In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Friday, June 21, 1935, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about Harmon Waley, one of three conspirators charged with kidnapping the son of the owner of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company for ransom, pleading guilty and being sentenced to 45 years in prison.
While typically having an average lifespan of about seven years, Gertie the duck in Centralia had now lived to 20, or the equivalent of 210 years old in human years, and was still living strong according to the Tuesday, June 21, 1955, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Monday, June 21, 1965, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that the City of Centralia might have still had a Great Depression-era ordinance on its books prohibiting men from shaving from July through August in preparation for “pioneer picnics” city staff used to organize.
A Look Back in Time is compiled using Chronicle archives at the Lewis County Historical Museum along with digital archives on newspapers.com.
Friday, June 21, 1935
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about Harmon Waley — one of the three suspects in the kidnapping of 9-year-old George Weyerhaeuser for a $200,000 ransom — who pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. George was the son of John Weyerhaeuser Jr., the third generation Weyerhaeuser to run the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, founded by Frederick Weyerhaeuser in 1899. He was kidnapped by Harmon and his wife, Margaret Waley, along with one other accomplice named William Dainard. “(Harmon) Waley made a desperate plea for leniency for his wife, who, he indicated, participated in the crime blindly. ‘When she rented the house in Tacoma where George Weyerhaeuser was concealed for several days, she did not know why nor for what purpose it was to be used,’ he said. ‘… She never knew until the Sunday after the kidnapping that we had the boy.’” The trio kidnapped George as he was walking home from school in Tacoma on May 24, 1935, and held him for ransom until John left the money for the kidnappers to collect on a dirt road between Seattle and Tacoma on May 30. Early in the morning on June 2, they left George in a shack near Issaquah, where he wandered to a nearby farm, announced his identity and was taken back to Tacoma by the farmer, finally reunited with his family. Unbeknownst to the kidnappers, the ransom bills were marked, and the FBI caught up to Harmon the same day when one of the ransom bills was used to purchase a train ticket from Huntington, Oregon, to Salt Lake City, Utah. Ultimately all three were caught, though Dainard took longer to track. Following Harmon’s conviction, Margaret would be convicted and sentenced to two concurrent 20-year sentences. Dainard remained on the run using the ransom money until he was finally caught on May 7, 1936. He was also convicted of kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap, and was sentenced to two concurrent 60-year sentences.
• “At least a dozen flying ships” flown by members of the Sportsman Pilots’ Association of Oregon were scheduled to land at the Chehalis Airport on Saturday afternoon and stay overnight, The Chronicle reported. Dinner for the pilots and their passengers was planned at the St. Helens Hotel. “The Associated Women Pilots of Boeing Field, Seattle, have been invited to join the Oregon party at Chehalis. The ships will arrive between 1:45 and 3 p.m., and one ship will go over the field dropping tickets entitling the finders to courtesy trips above the ground.”
• An estimated $700 to $800 was missing from some of the City of Toledo’s budget accounts according to Washington state Attorney General Garrison Hamilton, The Chronicle reported. Hamilton had reported the missing funds in a letter to Lewis County prosecutor James Sareault and suspected the money had been embezzled by a city employee. Hamilton recommended Sareault step in to prosecute since city officials had failed to file charges yet. “‘Toledo seems to be in bad shape,’ Hamilton declared. ‘The former tax collector for the water department and for some other funds seems to have left the city with a shortage. We understand the official who absconded is not under bond, and it may take some action on your part to either put this official where he belongs or else get the city’s money back.’ As soon as further data is in the prosecutor’s office, action will be taken, Sareault said today.”
Thursday, June 21, 1945
• Having been serving in both the Northern Africa and Italy campaigns since January of 1943, U.S. Army Air Force Sergeant Frank Urban, 31, finally returned to his wife, Mary, and son Larry, whom he had never seen, The Chronicle reported. The couple had been married on March 18, 1942, just nine months before Frank left for World War II’s European Theater. “He serviced (Curtiss) P-40s, (Republic) P-47s and (North American) P-51s, working up the east coast of Italy until the campaign ended in northern Italy. He is home on a 30-day furlough after which he will go to Santa Ana, California, for 12 days. He expects to be assigned somewhere in the United States.”
• U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Marion Vermeer, 21, had been listed as killed in action during the Battle of Okinawa on May 25, The Chronicle reported. “He was … a battle veteran wounded last September in the Palau Islands and returned to combat duty for the Okinawa campaign.”
• Recent Toledo High School graduate Roberta Calvin was named a delegate to the National Council of Westminster Fellowship to be held in St. Louis, Missouri, from July 1 to July 6, The Chronicle reported. “She will represent the synod of Washington and will be the only person attending from the state … Miss Calvin was graduated from Toledo High School this year; and was the valedictorian of her class. She is a present moderator of the Columbia River Westminster Youth Fellowship, comprising all Presbyterian youth work in Southwest Washington. She has also taken a leading part in 4-H work, and is well known throughout Lewis County in this field.”
• Gail Edinger of Centralia was accompanied by her parents to the University of Oregon commencement ceremony where she received a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism, The Chronicle reported. “While attending the school, Miss Edinger was affiliated with the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. They visited the home of Mr. and Mrs. M.G. Glassman and son, Tommy, until Tuesday, when they returned to their home in Centralia.”
• A two-bedroom “modern” home in Napavine with plastered walls, a garden and easy access to nearby schools and shopping was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $1,850.
Tuesday, June 21, 1955
• Gertie the duck was celebrating what was the equivalent of her 210th birthday, The Chronicle reported. “Ducks, like everybody else, apparently are only as old as they feel. At least such must be the case with one old duck, Gertie, who is still paddling in her pen in Centralia like a 10-year old — after 20 years. Gertie, who belongs to Greg Morris … is referred to by him as a ‘pensioner’ now that she’s stopped laying eggs and is taking life a little easier.” Considering the average lifespan of a duck is about seven years, 20 years was out of the ordinary. The Morris family had gotten Gertie as a family pet when she was two in 1937, but still had a wild side. “The wild streak used to come out once in a while long after she’d become a family pet, when ducks would fly over the area on their way north or south. Morris, recalling Gertie’s past life the other night, said that she, ‘used to get notions to take off,’ when a flight of ducks would go over. ‘She’d take a big run across the yard and try to get off the ground, but never made it. She was too fat,’ Morris said. ‘She’d feel bad about it. Sometimes so bad she’d run and stick her head in a tub of water like she was going to drown herself.’” Having retired from laying eggs and guarding the family’s hen house from rats, Gertie was now living quietly in Morris’ back yard, “looking like she’s going to be enjoying her ‘pension’ for a long time to come.”
• Packwood residents were meeting on Thursday to discuss the “possible formation” of a new fire protection district following a number of recent fires in the community, The Chronicle reported. “If the district is formed, there will be a sizable saving to residents within a three-mile radius of the fire house and the district would provide equipment which can prevent fire losses, a committee member indicated Tuesday.”
• Morton cattle rancher Ellis Compton was named the Lewis County Cattleman of the Year by Lewis County Livestock Association selection committee chair George Francis, The Chronicle reported. “Naming Compton as this year’s cattleman appears almost as a duplicate of last year’s selection, when his brother, Bill, was accorded a similar honor. The two brothers farm side by side in the Highland Valley west of Morton. Both are breeding purebred Hereford cattle, and both have been farming for about the same number of years. Previous to getting into the livestock game, the two brothers were partners in a logging venture. To cap it all off, both built identical barns in 1951.
• A three-bedroom home in Centralia with plastered walls, electric heat, a fireplace and “some finishing work to be done” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $6,850. A three-bedroom unfurnished home in Centralia was listed for rent for $58 a month.
Monday, June 21, 1965
• A strange Centralia City Code ordinance pertaining to growing facial hair was believed to still be “on the books,” The Chronicle reported. The ordinance was a topic of discussion as planners of Centralia’s 75th Diamond Jubilee celebration were organizing a “whisker growing contest … At one time, Centralia had a legal ordinance prohibiting male residents of Centralia over 21 years of age from shaving from July 8 to Aug. 12. The ordinance, apparently the first of its kind anywhere and featured several times in Robert Ripley’s famed ‘Believe it or Not,’ was adopted in June of 1931. (Centralia) city clerk Lloyd Hackett said Monday morning he believes the ordinance is still ‘on the books,’ although a check will have to be made on the matter.” The ordinance was originally enacted as a feature of “pioneer picnics” city staff were holding at the time, where men were required to have facial hair and dress the part. “For Centralia men who declined to spend the summer growing prickly whiskers, regular kangaroo courts were held on a huge downtown stage. Vigilantes with cowboy hats and pistols, drove a ‘Black Maria’ with its bell clanging throughout the city to pick up whiskerless victims and carry them to justice. Punishment was inflicted while they were locked in stocks on the outdoor stage.” The ordinance also had a stipulation that women were supposed to wear only “bathing suits and beach pajamas … Elder Centralians recall that while the whisker law was rigidly enforced, the vigilantes wisely chose to do nothing when Centralia women chose long dresses and bonnets as their celebration attire instead of bathing suits.”
• Both Centralia and Chehalis police officers were still searching for a robbery suspect who had held up a gas station attendant in the Fairway Shopping Center and stolen approximately $60 earlier that day, The Chronicle reported. “The station attendant, Edward J. Sager, Chehalis, who was bound with tape after the holdup, said it occurred about 10:30 a.m. He gave a limited description of the holdup man to sheriff’s officers. The man was armed, he said. Officers said that immediately after the holdup and with Sager bound and left in the station, the robber fled north into Centralia in a yellow car.”
• A five-bedroom “ranch home” north of Winlock with a private well, large kitchen and a “huge ventilating fireplace” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $21,500. A furnished one-bedroom apartment in Chehalis was listed for rent for $40 a month.
Saturday, June 21, 1975
• Cyndy Decker of Onalaska, 18, was preparing to leave on Sunday for Seattle to try to become the fifth Lewis County Dairy Princess to be named Washington State Dairy Princess, The Chronicle reported. “Prior to the coronation luncheon Wednesday in the grand ballroom of the Olympic Hotel, Miss Decker and the other contestants will participate in judges’ interviews, giving a 15-minute speech on the dairy industry, and be honored at a dinner, a boat cruise and grooming sessions and rehearsals.” The previous four Lewis County dairy princesses to win the state title included the reigning state dairy princess Shirley Larson, Gail Hamilton who held the title in 1968, Marilyn Hummel who won it in 1969 and Kathy Sauter, who took the title in 1960.
• The bicentennial wagon train traveling around Washington state to celebrate the nation’s upcoming 200th birthday in 1976 was scheduled to roll through Tenino and the Twin Cities, The Chronicle reported. “The Washington wagon train is one of several in the nation retracing, in reverse, the routes of the pioneers. The wagons will converge July 4, 1976, at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.” Numerous activities and events were planned to welcome the wagon train in both Tenino and the Twin Cities. “The wagon (train) will visit the Forest Grange Tuesday for lunch and will then travel to Toledo for another program.”
• A “spacious” four-bedroom home in Silver Creek partially remodeled with a barn, pump house and other buildings on 27 acres of land was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $45,000. A two-bedroom brick home near downtown Centralia with carpets, drapes, appliances and offstreet parking was listed for rent for $170 a month.
