In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Friday, May 10, 1935, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about operations being shut down due to the start of a labor strike at the Eastern Railway and Lumber Company’s sawmill in Centralia.
A Longview man, “considered one of the most accommodating in police annals,” was in custody after breaking into a Longview bar and upon the arrival of police, immediately jumping into one of the police cars, leading to a very easy arrest, according to the Tuesday, May 10, 1955, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Saturday, May 10, 1975, edition of The Chronicle, Barbara “Bobbie” Hubbard, of Tumwater, was chosen as the Mother of the Year in a ceremony held at Washington State University.
A Look Back in Time is compiled using Chronicle archives at the Lewis County Historical Museum along with digital archives on newspapers.com.
Friday, May 10, 1935
• Operations at the Eastern Railway and Lumber Company’s sawmill in Centralia were suspended after the company failed to comply with worker demands for a wage increase, a six-hour work day and union recognition, The Chronicle reported. “About 400 men are affected by the cessation of operations. It was stated at the company offices that many of the men wanted to work, while others were afraid of the results in the face of union opposition, and that it was impossible to operate with a partial crew. No attempt will be made to run, it was said, until there is a settlement of the controversy that has crippled the lumber industry throughout the Northwest.”
• The Chronicle featured Associated Press stories about strikes shutting down lumber companies, including the Capital Plywood Company, Washington Veneer Company and Olympia Veneer Company in Olympia, and also at the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company mill in Longview. Combined with other ongoing strikes in Olympia, approximately 1,650 employees had now walked off the job demanding better pay and hours. “Only one small plant, a shingle mill, out of nine in the city, is now operating.” In Longview, around 900 Weyerhaeuser workers walked out, but it was undetermined what started the strike as the local Sawmill and Timber Workers Union had yet to announce its demands.
• The trial of Joe Bryan, who was accused of the first-degree murder of Pe Ell gas station attendant William Walker the previous December, was set to begin on Monday, The Chronicle reported. Bryan was one of two men accused of Walker’s murder. The other was Bob Brandon, who was still on the run. “A case that is largely circumstantial has been developed against Bryan. The state has endorsed the names of 65 witnesses, while the defense has asked subpoenas for 14.” The duo allegedly stole a car from a Raymond resident and then got into an argument with Walker at the Pe Ell gas station. Eventually, gunfire was exchanged, with Walker being fatally shot, but Walker succeeded in wounding Bryan with his own pistol. Brandon left Bryan behind and fled the scene in the stolen vehicle, which he later abandoned in Chehalis. Bryan was found guilty of Walker’s murder and sentenced to life in prison. In July 1935, Brandon was apprehended in St. Joseph, Missouri, and eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Lewis County. He was sentenced to 25 to 35 years in prison.
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about fires being fueled by high winds causing an estimated $25,000 in damages to homes and businesses in Fife the previous day. The cause of the fire was unknown but prior to Thursday’s high winds, it had already caused around $22,000 in damages and destroyed the homes of at least 100 people. “Owing to almost complete lack of water to fight the flames, the fire was practically unhampered as it swept from building to building as high winds whipped flaming shingles and other burning fragments into the air.”
Thursday, May 10, 1945
• U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sergeant and POW Ronald R. Rosebrook, of Centralia, a reconnaissance pilot, was finally coming home following Nazi Germany’s surrender, The Chronicle reported. The 29-year-old had flown 176 reconnaissance missions over Nazi-occupied Europe and had actually been shot down three times, surviving and escaping the first two crashes. “‘I was lucky twice, and even the third time,’ the quiet-spoken, good looking pilot said.” In his final flight before being captured, he performed evasive maneuvers to dodge a Luftwaffe fighter plane, but his own plane was damaged by anti-aircraft fire, resulting in a 1,500-foot plummet that ended with a crash. “‘The motor went six feet into the ground,’ he recalled, ‘and it’s a wonder I didn’t land in the same place.’” While Rosebrook survived the crash, he was severely injured and stranded approximately 20 miles behind enemy lines. Initially, he was held in an interrogation center for 10 days, before spending four months captive in a German hospital.
• Washington State Insurance Commissioner William A. Sullivan visited the Centralia City Commission to present the mayor with a letter commending the city’s firefighters for their work containing a blaze at the Hotel Centralia, The Chronicle reported. “His deputy fire marshal had inspected the damaged hotel, and had reported the fire fighters had made a most remarkable halt of the blaze.” Despite the hotel lacking fire stops between its basement and attic, or attic division walls, firefighters quickly contained the blaze. Sullivan’s letter, addressed to Centralia Mayor Ray W. Sprague, stated, “I take this opportunity to compliment you on a very efficient fire department, and, through you, to express to Chief Ryckman and the members of his department my highest commendation for a difficult job well done.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about continued Victory in Europe (V-E) Day celebrations throughout Europe following Nazi Germany’s surrender, ending fighting in World War II’s European Theater. “Buoyant merrymakers in this British capital embarked today on their second V-E day celebration, while parading Soviet citizens in the streets of Moscow held their first rejoicings over the tidings of peace.” Celebrations were also happening in many other European cities. “In Oslo, capital of Norway, armed German soldiers strolled about the streets watching the jubilant Norwegian celebrants. That curious V-E day situation, duplicated in other Norwegian towns, was due to the fact allied authorities had not yet been able to collect enemy arms.”
• A six-bedroom “modern” house on 10 acres 4 miles away from Centralia with “poultry houses, lots of fruit,” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $5,250.
Tuesday, May 10, 1955
• A Longview man was being held in connection with a break in over the weekend at King’s Tavern in Longview, The Chronicle reported, and “the culprit is considered one of the most accommodating in police annals.” A nearby resident had first called to report seeing someone break into the tavern around 4 a.m. on Saturday, explaining the man was still inside. As police responded, “a man ran out the back door and leaped obligingly into the front seat of the auto driven by Sergeant Ernest McLaughlin.” He was immediately arrested. “It seemed in his haste and confusion, the culprit had mistaken the police car — the only one on the force without a red top light — for his own auto parked nearby.” He was caught with money, beer, cigarettes and gum he had stolen from the tavern.
• Former Centralia resident Stanley Groleau was arrested by Oregon State Police in Gold Beach, Oregon, after being on the run for three years, The Chronicle reported. Groleau had been wanted in Lewis County since 1952 after allegedly embezzling money from his former employer and being charged with grand larceny. “Officers said Groleau is alleged to have embezzled from $2,000 to $3,000 over a period of several years while working as a truck driver for a Centralia firm. Undersheriff Henry Valentine said Groleau will probably be returned from Oregon Wednesday.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about military tensions rising again in the Korean Peninsula despite the Korean War having ended nearly two years earlier. The rise in tensions was caused after U.S. Air Force F-86 Sabres got into a dogfight with Chinese Communist MiG fighter jets, shooting down two MiGs and critically damaging a third. According to Air Force officials, all Sabres involved returned safely, and the clash took place over international waters off the Korean coast. “A Peiping (Beijing) broadcast heard here identified the MiGs as Chinese Red and said they shot down one Sabre and damaged two others. Peiping mentioned nothing of any MiG losses.”
• Chehalis residents attending an “Adventure in Cooperation” meeting the previous night voted to adopt the red rose as the community flower, The Chronicle reported. “Since Chehalis is called, ‘The Friendly City,’ the rose was selected because of its universal appeal, for being a symbol of love — and because roses smell good.” Meeting attendees encouraged their neighbors to plant red roses, with the goal of having every Chehalis resident plant roses on their property. “In addition, it was suggested a study be made to cultivate one particular variety to be named ‘The City of Chehalis Rose.’”
• A “nice three-bedroom brick home” with a patio and fenced yard in Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $13,500. An unfurnished, three-bedroom home in Centralia was listed for rent for $58 a month.
Monday, May 10, 1965
• Pe Ell High School student Gilda Baker was named the 1965 Lewis-Pacific Dairy Princess in Centralia, The Chronicle reported. Baker was “crowned by Susan Mickelsen, the 1964 Dairy Princess and alternate State Dairy Princess, in colorful coronation rites following a program in which nine girls competed for the dairy honor.”
• Members of the Bucoda Improvement Club had set July 25 as the date for the clubs annual reunion held for Bucoda residents along with former residents of Tono and Mendota, The Chronicle reported. “It will be held in Volunteer Park here, as in previous years. It previously had been reported the event, which has drawn large crowds, might not be repeated … Tono and Mendota, former coal mining centers, now are no more, but Bucoda is still thriving.”
• A Red Cross blood drive in Randle was being called a success and the small East Lewis County community received a Red Cross Blue Ribbon for its turnout, The Chronicle reported. “Pat Kinzel, Centralia, county Red Cross blood program chairman, said there were 35 donors and 29 units of blood collected. Elvira Hickey was community chairman.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about the Ku Klux Klan holding a Mothers Day rally and parade in Anniston, Alabama. Over 500 attended the rally and “heard Imperial Wizard Robert M. Shelton declare that, ‘segregation and purity of the races is God’s law.’” Joining the Klan’s parade were the three Klansmen who had been charged with the murder of Viola Liuzzo, a mother of five from Detroit — known in history as the first white woman killed in the Civil Rights struggle — who had been slain in March while shuttling Civil Rights protesters from Montgomery, Alabama, to Selma, Alabama, following a protest. “The trio, Eugene Thomas, 43, William Orville Eaton, 42, and Collie Leroy Wilkins Jr., 21, all of the Birmingham area — got a standing ovation when they were introduced by Shelton.”
• A “new custom built tri-level, four-bedroom” home with a family room, two bathrooms, two patios and a garage in Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $31,500. A one-bedroom apartment on 11th Street in Chehalis was listed for rent for $50 a month.
Saturday, May 10, 1975
• Barbara “Bobbie” Hubbard, of Tumwater, was honored as Mother of the Year during mother’s weekend festivities from May 2 to May 4 at Washington State University in Pullman, The Chronicle reported. “She was nominated by her son, Joseph E. Hubbard, a junior at WSU. The orchid corsage she is wearing was a gift from her daughters, Lisa, Linda and Sally. She holds a gold inscribed bowl she received from the Spurs, an honorary organization that sponsors the Mother of the Year Award.” Barbara, who raised all four of her children alone following her husband’s death in 1966, was the preschool program director at the Maple Lane School for Girls in Grand Mound, and passed away in 2018 at the age of 87.
• The Southwest Washington Fair Association’s Admissions Committee recommended raising admission and ticket prices for the 1975 fair, The Chronicle reported. While admission to the grandstand show was still free, committee members proposed raising the price of adult regular admission from $1.75 to $2, children’s admission from $0.50 to $0.75, and to also raise prices for season ticket books from $5 to $6, junior exhibitor tickets from $1 to $2 and adult exhibitor tickets from $2 to $3. The price increases were suggested after inflationary cost increases in running the fair. “Lee Coumbs, vocational agriculture instructor at Centralia High School, endorsed the exhibitor increase for junior exhibitors, which includes mostly 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) youth. ‘We’ll get some static, but the increase pretty well matches the premiums given to FFA exhibitors,’ Coumbs said.” Coumbs would go on to be a long-time community advocate and Centralia’s mayor. Along with continuing to be involved with the Southwest Washington Fair, he founded the Southwest Washington Spring Youth Fair. Coumbs passed away in December of 2024 at the age of 82, and at the Spring Youth Fair on May 2, 2025, the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds Exposition Hall was officially renamed and dedicated in his honor.
• The Iron Creek Campground in East Lewis County was closed indefinitely after a storm blew down multiple trees, The Chronicle reported. Located around 12 miles south of Randle, U.S. Forest Service Ranger Harold Coates explained “crews are currently logging out the trees blown down in the area in an effort to have the campground ready for use by Memorial Day weekend.” However, Coates cautioned that cleanup efforts may need to go beyond the holiday weekend.
• Fred Hanson, of Salkum, had discovered an old garden hoe which Henry Stanley of Salkum had left hanging in a young tree near the Brown Shack Tavern in 1930. Stanley forgot about the garden hoe and over the decades, the wood of young tree grew around it, concealing it and keeping it hidden until Hanson was cutting the tree down with a chainsaw. He hit something that made his chainsaw stall, took a closer look, and discovered the old garden hoe. “The rare specimen currently sits on the back bar at the Brown Shack, owned by Josephine Linginfelter. There, the tavern has several old conversation pieces, such as an overhead fan from the first Chehalis theater and a back bar from an old Chehalis ice cream parlor.”
• A three-bedroom home with a living room, dining room, family room, patio deck and garage with a “view of Rainier” in Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $43,700. A one-bedroom home “one block from Fuller’s” in Centralia was listed for rent for $150 a month.
