Dale Pullin stands outside the bus that will soon take people on an 18-stop tour to sites related to the 1919 Centralia Massacre.
Dale Pullin stands outside the bus that will take people around Centralia to sites associated with the 1919 Armistice Day Massacre.
When one searches online for things to do while visiting Centralia, there are a few suggestions that pop up more than others: Burgerville, the outlet stores, Fort Borst Park and the Northwest Sports Hub.
Only one of those entries reveals the historical fabric of the Hub City and even then, spending time in Borst Park won’t introduce visitors to arguably the most well-known but least-talked-about event in the town’s history: The Centralia Massacre.
Dale Pullin is the one driving the bus for those who want to enlighten out-of-towners on the infamous events of Nov. 11, 1919. Literally.
A 21-seat bus outfitted with a 40-inch television screen and wrapped in historic photos of the Twin Cities will begin ferrying people in the coming weeks to various places associated with the massacre. Videos narrated by a professional voiceover artist will provide context at each of the 18 stops on the GPS-guided excursion, which clocks in at about an hour in length.
Pullin, who founded Thorbeckes FitLife Center in 1982 and manages the Northwest Sports Hub, said he’s been wanting to launch such a tour for a number of years, but couldn’t pull together a coalition of partners. So a few months ago, he decided to do it himself.
“I’ve traveled around the country and gone to places that do these historic bus tours, and they’re fascinating,” Pullin said. “What we want to do is get people around the community and show them some of the places outside of where they play their tournament games or the hotel they’re staying in. I know for myself, knowing about our history but never really understanding it, doing this has helped me learn more.”
Pullin worked with a roster of local history buffs, including leaders of the Lewis County Historical Museum, local business owners and Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund, to pull the project together over the course of about three months.
A production company based out of Florida created the multimedia package for the tour, a process that included a number of writers spending time in the Twin Cities researching the history behind the massacre that left six dead and an aftermath that drew the attention of the nation.
Lewis County Historical Museum Director Jason Mattson said the museum supplied photos for the tour and allowed researchers to use their library as a reference point.
“I definitely think it could be a good thing,” Mattson said. “It gets people moving around, seeing what’s in the area. I think people maybe just stop downtown or at the outlets and don’t realize there’s a lot more historical things to see and enjoy. I think it could be a great thing for us.”
The tours will run on the weekends and cost $20 per person to start. Pullin hopes the rides around town will serve as a soft-sell of sorts that leads people to return to local restaurants or stores that catch their eyes.
If the Centralia Massacre tour is successful, the plan is to create additional routes highlighting the founders and early settlers of Centralia as well as other sites under the umbrella name of N.W. Hub Historical Tours.
Pullin may also work with tournament directors to advertise the tour as something for teams to do between games.
“People come from as far away as British Columbia for tournaments or for other reasons,” Pullin said. “Some come two to three times a year having never otherwise been in the area, and they may want to do different things while they’re here. Our end goal is to have the people visiting our community. There’s always new people coming through.”
For more information, call 360-669-0077 or look for the Centralia Massacre Tour page on Facebook.
