In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Friday, Sept. 27, 1935, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about charges of cattle stealing against Rochester resident Fred Seeger being dropped after a judge ruled he had the legal right to lay claim to cows that were “trespassing” on his property.
Complaints that the City of Chehalis’ sewage treatment plant was “odorous were substantiated,” according to the Tuesday, Sept. 27, 1955, edition of The Chronicle, after state inspectors discovered the plant simply had been handling more wastewater than it was designed for and local dairy companies were dumping milk solids into the sewer system.
And in the Monday, Sept. 27, 1965 edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that officers from the Tumwater Police Department “fed to the fish in the Deschutes River” a large amount of alcohol and beer seized from arrested suspects in an act that would have made “a brewmaster cry.”
A Look Back in Time is compiled using Chronicle archives stored at the Lewis County Historical Museum — located at 599 NW Front St. in Chehalis — along with digital archives on newspapers.com.
Friday, Sept. 27, 1935
• Olympia Justice of the Peace Judge Van R. Hinkle dismissed charges of cattle stealing following an incident between a pair of Rochester residents, The Chronicle reported. “A cattle stealing case, rare since the days of pioneer Olympia, vanished into thin air Wednesday … Fred Seeger, farmer living near Rochester, was accused of stealing cattle belonging to Jerry Dempsey, also of Rochester. Dempsey had Seeger arrested. In court it was revealed the cattle had been trespassing on Seeger’s property, in violation of a law providing a herd law district in that section.” Given the cows were “tresspassing,” Seeger was entitled to pick them up and claim them as his own. “Hinkle ruled Seeger innocent and he may keep Dempsey’s cattle until any damages done by the cattle are paid to Seeger.”
• A fire caused by an exploding tar barrel caused an estimated $75,000 in damage to the Winston Creek Lumber Company’s sawmill in Chehalis, The Chronicle reported. “The blaze consumed the dry kilns, the planing mill and some of the docks. Carol Brown, one of the owners of the mill, who estimated the loss, said the company carried no insurance. Workmen were busy tarring the roof of the dry kiln when the explosion occurred. The kiln was immediately engulfed in flames. The dry kilns were leased by the Coal Creek Shingle Company and contained about $2,000 worth of shingles. It was thought at first that the planing mill would be saved, but the flames crept through under the piling and the whole building burst into flames at once.” The fire got so large the Centralia Fire Department was called in to assist the Chehalis Fire Department in fighting the blaze, as did some curious spectators. “Business men, students and laborers worked side by side with regular firemen and members of the volunteer squad in fighting the blaze … Smoke from today’s fire rose hundreds of feet and was visible for miles, attracting a large crowd of spectators to the scene.”
• A total of 47 Centralia High School students got part-time jobs earning between $3 and $6 a month as part of the National Youth Administration’s National Youth Aid Program, The Chronicle reported. The National Youth Administration was part of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, providing employment, educational and recreational opportunities to Americans between the ages of 16 and 25 affected by The Great Depression. “Principal Paul Furgeson said every eligible student who has applied for part-time employment has been given work. Twenty-five boys and 22 girls went to work this week, the boys performing cleanup and maintenance tasks and the girls assisting with office and clerical duties. Students most in need of work were given the $6 monthly jobs while $3 assignments were given to others whose burdens were not as great, Mr. Furgeson said.”
• A repossessed piano was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $86. “You take over contract on this fine high grade piano at $5 a month. Address, Mr. Smith, adjuster, Cline Piano Co., 1011 SW Washington St., Portland, Oregon.”
Thursday, Sept. 27, 1945
• Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney John Panesko filed a first degree murder charge against Packwood resident Will Wilcox following the death of Randle resident Sam Clevenger, The Chronicle reported. “The charge was filed to hold Wilcox pending a complete investigation of the facts surrounding the death of Clevenger, who died in a Morton hospital after a fight at Packwood early Sunday. Wilcox was lodged in the county jail and is being held without bail. Clevenger died of multiple fractures of the skull. The complaint charged he was struck over the head with a chair.” Wilcox would end up being acquitted of the first degree murder charge in Lewis County Superior Court in November 1945.
• The steering committee of the newly proposed Lewis County Historical Society was preparing to ask the Lewis County commissioners to levy a tax on pinball machines in the rural parts of the county, The Chronicle reported. Tax funds were meant to pay for the construction of a new building at the Lewis County Fairgrounds to be used by both fair organizers, historical society members and as a place to establish a county museum. “The committee has been seeking ways and means of providing funds for the construction of a permanent building that could be used to house historical relics and war mementos of all this nation’s wars. The tax would be earmarked for the construction and maintenance of the building.” Committee members included Arthur S. Cory, William R. Porter, Francis B. Smith, Maude Meyers and Ernest Bechley. “The committee specified the tax should be placed only on pinball and slot machines which are not now being taxed by municipalities. These machines, they said, should be able to pay a considerable tax.”
• Bud Johnson, U.S. Army Air Force Captain and Chehalis High School class of 1937 graduate, returned to his high school alma mater to talk to students about his time in the service during World War II, The Chronicle reported. “Beginning with pre-flight training at Santa Ana, California, in 1941, he explained the requirements and fundamentals of schooling, age and adaptability. He also went to Arizona and Texas flight schools. After he finished his training, he went to England and flew on raids over Germany. On one raid he was wounded seriously, and on others had hair-raising experiences. When he finished his talk, Capt. Johnson answered questions about his flights and various other details.”
• A five-bedroom home on five acres of “river bottom land” with two hen houses and a barn in Fords Prairie was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $3,500.
Tuesday, Sept. 27, 1955
• Complaints that the City of Chehalis’ sewage treatment plant was “odorous were substantiated” by inspectors from the Washington state Pollution Control Commission who conducted a plant survey, The Chronicle reported. Survey results were released by State Pollution Control Director E.F. Eldridge. “Eldridge, whose report indicated the plant situation is not new, absolved two items to blame: The plant operators, and the plant itself. He said the plant is badly overloaded, and that it simply cannot handle the load given it.” He added sewage treatment plants can only handle specific amounts of wastewater and certain solids they are designed for, and that it was the responsibility of city workers and the industries contributing waste to control what was dumped in sewers. “The tendency, however, is to expect the impossible and to dump anything and everything. This is the situation in Chehalis. The commission has directed the attention of the city and the milk products industry to this condition on numerous occasions. Milk solids, when they decompose, cause a rank, sour odor even worse than sewage solids … West side Chehalins have complained of the disposal plant odor for months.”
• While the overall number of farms in Lewis County had decreased since 1950, the overall size and value of the remaining farms had increased, The Chronicle reported. “The number of farms in Lewis County has decreased to 2,793 in 1954 from a 1950 total of 3,396, according to a farm census just issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The average size of farms increased from 89.6 to 104.7 acres, however, and their value from $10,091 to $15,338. Total farm acreage in 1954 was 292,394, or 18.7% of the county’s area.” During the same four-year period, the number of dairy cattle in the county also increased from 31,426 to 37,651, generating $1,784,011 in revenue from dairy sales. “Other livestock brought in $1,027,168, and the poultry industry produced $2,441,726. Vegetables were sold in the amount of $92,743, and other receipts included nursery and greenhouse products, $52,244, and farm forest products, $403,118 … The federal report showed the same condition in Thurston County, where farms are fewer in number but are getting bigger and more valuable.”
• A renovated three-bedroom home with hardwood floors and an attached garage in Centralia’s Edison District was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $7,650. A three-bedroom partly-furnished home near Napavine was listed for rent for $55 a month.
Monday, Sept. 27, 1965
• Officers from the Tumwater Police Department “took a bit of official action that was enough to make a brewmaster cry” when they dumped beer and liquor they had seized during arrests, The Chronicle reported. Dumping of the alcohol took place “just out of the shadow of the Olympia Brewing Company … Fifteen quarts, 72 stubbies and seven cans of assorted beer were fed to the fish in the Deschutes River. The suds, at one time or another, had been introduced in Tumwater Police Court as evidence against both youths and adults arrested on charges involving the illegal consumption of intoxicants.”
• A “coyote jaywalker” was hit and killed by a motorist in downtown Centralia on Sunday, The Chronicle reported. “A half-grown coyote killed on a downtown Centralia street over the weekend is probably another sign of Mother Nature’s population balance for small wildlife has slipped in parts of Lewis County. The young coyote was hit and killed by a car Sunday on Railroad Avenue near the Northern Pacific freight depot. (Lewis County) extension agent Ralph Roffler said Monday that coyotes have been a constant problem in rural areas the past several years. He said reported losses in August alone over the county included 11 sheep killed and 15 chickens and nine ducks missing. Roffler added some of the damage probably was done by red foxes, who also have been giving farmers and ranchers trouble. The agent said he sees no invasion of the Twin Cities by the coyotes, but poor hunting because of (the) growing coyote population could be forcing some of the creatures to try for easier pickings from in-town garbage cans. Far worse than the coyote threat in the Twin Cities now are skunks.” The driver who hit and killed the coyote was unknown.
• A “modern” home with two fireplaces, a recreation room, a guest cabin and private well on six acres of land 15 minutes from Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $17,500. One- and two-bedroom furnished apartments in Centralia were listed for rent for $30 and $35 a month.
Saturday, Sept. 27, 1975
• After 20 years in business, Benny’s Florist and Greenhouse announced plans to upgrade and develop about an acre of property at its location on 8th Street in Chehalis, The Chronicle reported. Existing greenhouses were scheduled to be razed to make room for a new flower shop, a small apartment complex and a farm service center to be the office for local and federal farm agencies, according to business owners Al and Ted Benny. “All segments of the project will be constructed and placed to complement and blend with each other, Ted Benny emphasized. Benny said the greenhouse operation will be curtailed about 50% from the current operation, mainly because (of), ‘a 500% increase in fuel costs in the last 18 months.’” Construction of the farm service center was expected to cost between $85,000 and $90,000. “The new flower shop will be located behind the site of the existing shop. A mall area is planned for the center of the complex. The Bennys are reluctant to disclose an estimate of the cost of the entire complex at this time.” Benny’s Florist is still open today, located at the intersection of Southeast 8th Street and South Market Boulevard in Chehalis.
• The Walter “Brick” Wagner Park, located on the northeast shore of Plummer Lake in Centralia, had recently opened, The Chronicle reported. “Wagner is the chairman of the park board. He’s been a board member since 1949. He earned the nickname of ‘Brick’ because of the ‘shock of red hair he used to have,’ explained his wife. The park occupies about one-third of an acre. The city-owned land provides the only public access to Plummer Lake, said Vern Fowler, park superintendent.” While officially open to the public, work to complete the park was still ongoing as new grass had just been seeded and a picnic table was scheduled to be installed still. “The land was formerly host to only scotch broom. ‘We started clearing it off about a month ago, and we’ve added a chain link fence and a sprinkler system,’ Fowler related.” Benches had also been purchased to install, as were six-foot wide steps leading to the lake shore.
• A two-bedroom mobile home with a separate garage, private well and orchard on 12 acres of land near Toledo was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $26,000. An unfurnished two-bedroom carpeted home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $140 a month.
