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In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Saturday, Oct. 16, 1926, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about federal Prohibition agents carrying out more raids on illegal liquor stills and bootleggers in Centralia and near Toledo.
While some suspected murder, an autopsy report revealed Morton Police Constable Alexander “Doc” Bradley died from fall-related injuries, according to the Thursday, Oct. 17, 1946, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Saturday, Oct. 16, 1976, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported a Washington State Patrol (WSP) trooper opened a teen-safe night club at the Sunbird Shopping Center in Chehalis.
Some Sunday and holiday editions were not in the archives, so stories from the previous days’ editions have been featured instead. When The Chronicle was still a daily newspaper, Sunday editions were often reprints of Saturday editions, unless major breaking news needed to be reported.
A Look Back in Time is compiled using microfilm archives at The Chronicle, physical copies stored at the Lewis County Historical Museum — located at 599 NW Front St. in Chehalis — and digital archives on newspapers.com.
Saturday, Oct. 16, 1926
• Federal agents carried out more Prohibition raids in the region, The Chronicle reported. “Mark Croxall and Richard Lambert, federal Prohibition agents, and a local police officer last night raided a roadhouse on Fords Prairie operated by Otis Griffis, and arrested Walter Fuston and Thelma Quick on charges of possession and sale of liquor. Griffis was later picked up in Centralia. All three are being held in the city jail and will face a federal charge. Furnishings of the roadhouse were reduced to kindling wood by the officers. Griffis had been arrested twice previously by federal officers. Croxall, Lambert and E.R. Small, another Prohibition agent, yesterday seized a still and 100 gallons of liquor seven miles from Toledo. A.J. Williams and W.L. Williams were taken into custody and brought here, where they are being held in the city jail.”
• A six-room home with water and electricity “on highway” on 11 acres of land was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $400. A seven-room home “close in” to Centralia was listed for rent for $18 a month.
Saturday, Oct. 17, 1936
• An Olympia man’s car was struck by another vehicle while he had stopped to assist another motorist involved in an earlier crash, The Chronicle reported. “N.W. Compton, Olympia resident, reported to the police this morning that his car had been badly wrecked on the Pacific Highway seven miles south of Chehalis when a car driven by C.W. Mondorff, Seattle, crashed into him during a fog. The accident, Compton said, occurred when he stopped to render assistance to a girl who had been slightly injured in another wreck, and Mondorff crashed into his parked car while traveling at a high speed. Preston Fetty and Fred Buck, also of Olympia, were accompanying Compton. One of the men barely jumped out of the car in time to escape being crushed. Officers were investigating the accident today.”
• A “newly shingled, painted and decorated” home at 1023 J St. in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $1,650. “Government jobs” were listed with salaries ranging starting at $105 a month.
Thursday, Oct. 17, 1946
• Following suspicions of murder, an autopsy report was released confirming Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney John Panesko’s counter-theory that Morton Police Constable Alexander “Doc” Bradley died from fall-related injuries, The Chronicle reported. “... The synopsis, written by C.P. Larson, Tacoma pathologist, stated Bradley died as a result of an injury to the ‘occipital region of the scalp with underlying skull fractures, brain trauma and hemorrhage. Because there was no break in the skin in this region, except for a superficial separation of the outer layers of the skin, the injury could not have been produced by any sharp or hard instrument. The report explained that ‘all injuries inflicted by clubs, bats, hammers, pipe, etc., almost invariably break the skin. The shape of the scalp injury was circular, indicating if an implement was used, it would have had to be circular in shape. This type of injury could have been produced by a sap, blackjack, sandback or small sack containing gravel. ‘The finding of a piece of rock embedded deeply in the tissues of the scalp at the superior part of the bruise would indicate the individual sustained this injury more likely as a result of a fall into a graveled surface. It is, of course, impossible from an autopsy standpoint to determine whether the fall was accidental or whether the individual might have been pushed by someone else, thus producing the fall. Since the man had no other traumatic injuries on any part of the body, it was unlikely he was in a skirmish or fight. Since he had been embalmed, a blood alcohol determination could not be made.’ Bradley, 52, was found unconscious at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 on Main Street in Morton. He had been robbed. His clothing was not badly disheveled, investigating authorities disclosed. His eyes were open, but he was reported incontinent, taken to his home and, 17 hours later to the Morton General Hospital, where a physician’s diagnosis showed a brain hemorrhage. Bradley never regained consciousness, and succumbed Oct. 7 at 11 a.m.”
• A six-room home with a barn, orchard, 48 chickens, a cow and a pig on four acres of land “near Fords Prairie School” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $6,400. A house, barn and other outbuildings on 37 acres of land near Curtis was listed for $4,500.
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 1956
• Developers and local representatives held a groundbreaking ceremony to start construction of the new Goodyear plant in Chehalis, The Chronicle reported. “Before any excavation began for foundations, Chehalis civic heads and company and contractor leaders held a simple groundbreaking ceremony. Ray P. Melhart, Chehalis Chamber of Commerce president, turned the first shovel of earth, and at the same time he wished the project every success possible. Present at the groundbreaking ceremony were K.T. Henderson, general contractor, Longview, and his construction foreman, W.A. Christenson, Kelso, and the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company’s resident engineer, Bill Bailey, who has just arrived from Akron, Ohio, to supervise the construction operations … The new plan will be a modernistic one-story, steel-framed structure of cement block and glass. It will be 240 feet long and 80 feet wide, and embrace a floor area of 22,000 square feet. Installation of machinery is scheduled for mid-December and production lines are expected to be in operation in February.”
• A three-bedroom home described as “one of Centralia’s finest homes” with “all masonry construction” with a fenced yard and a patio at 1005 W. First St. in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $15,000. A four-bedroom unfurnished home with a “large fenced yard” was listed for rent for $55 a month.
Monday, Oct. 17, 1966
• A pair of Green Hill School escapees were back in custody after stealing a car owned by a nurse, kidnapping her in the process, then crashing in Longview after leading law enforcement in a pursuit at speeds near 100 mph, The Chronicle reported. “The woman, Mrs. Mayme Olmsted, 55, Centralia, suffered a broken ankle and a nose injury. The State Department of Institutions identified the boys as John Parrish and John Pierce, both from Snohomish County. Green Hill Superintendent Robert Quant said the boys received only minor injuries at the end of the chase. They were treated at a Longview hospital where Mrs. Olmsted remained Monday. Her condition is good … State Patrol Sergeant Ray Powell at Chehalis said the high speed chase, nearly 100 miles an hour at times on the Pacific Highway, saw three men of his detachment and two troopers from Cowlitz County involved. Powell said fog made the pursuit highly dangerous, and that officers refrained from following too closely for fear the young driver would panic … Quant, relating the sequence of events, said the boys were released from the school infirmary, where Mrs. Olmsted works, at about 3:30 p.m., Saturday, but did not return to their cottage. They missed a 5 p.m. meal check, and a search was started for them. ‘Apparently they hid somewhere around the school,’ Quant said. ‘When Mrs. Olmsted finished her hospital shift at 10 p.m. and went to her car to drive home, the boys appeared and forced her into the machine.’ The school head said details of the abduction were hazy because he had not talked directly with Mrs. Olmsted or the boys. Almost immediate chase by troopers resulted because some unidentified Chehalin saw the car and called the patrol, reporting it was being driven erratically and that its driver must be drunk. In south Chehalis and farther south along the Pacific Highway, the patrol had three cars. Those officers saw the speeding car with the two boys and the woman. The chase ensued. Powell said the fleeing car was finally driven into Longview, where a wrong turn was taken and the car went over a 15-foot bank and into a field. The boys leaped from the machine and began to run. However, Trooper Smith fired a shot in the air and the pair surrendered.”
• A new three-bedroom home in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for “no cash down” with monthly mortgage payments of “only $79.” A "spacious" one-bedroom home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $60 a month.
Saturday, Oct. 16, 1976
• A local Washington State Patrol trooper had started a teen-safe nightclub to give local youth a safe place to gather on weekend evenings at the Sunbird Shopping Center, The Chronicle reported. “A nightclub for teenagers, the Lewis County Teen Club, is open Friday and Saturday nights in the Sun Birds building in north Chehalis. The club is operated by Henry Dean, a 12-year veteran of the Washington State Patrol. He opened the club with an eye toward providing wholesome, attractive activity for Lewis County teens on weekend evenings. The club opens at 7 p.m. each Friday and Saturday, with live music beginning at 9 p.m. and going until 1 a.m. Dean said similar clubs in this area have failed because of lack of supervision, but made it clear that wouldn’t be the case in his establishment. ‘I’m not going to allow any booze or dope in the place,’ he said, noting that an adult would always be on duty. Patrons of the club will be allowed to enter, leave and re-enter only once, Dean said. He believes problems would develop if customers were allowed freer access than that. Although Dean plans to charge admission in the neighborhood of $2.50, a price that will be based on the band, it won’t all go into his own pocket. He plans to put 5% of his net profits into a trust fund at Rainier National Bank for college scholarships. Administration of the fund has yet to be set up. Dean invites parents to come to the club, meet him, and see if the facility would meet their children’s needs.”
• A four-bedroom home with a garage and landscaped yard in Centralia’s Edison District was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $29,500. A two-bedroom home on 15 acres of land in the Adna School District was listed for rent for $250 a month with a $100 deposit.
Friday, Oct. 17, 1986
• The Centralia Main Street Association received a $15,000 state grant “to help make downtown Centralia a showcase,” The Chronicle reported. “Jim Garland, Main Street president, announced the grant award Thursday at a public meeting of the Main Street association at the Lewis and Clark Restaurant, and Kyle Castellano, Main Street executive director, explained what it will do for the community. ‘To reverse the downward trend in retail vacancies, the City of Centralia proposes to create an economic development plan for the Centralia business district,’ said Castellano.” With the city co-sponsoring the grant and providing a matching $15,000, a total of $30,000 was going to be spent on a 9-month project including feasibility studies for vacant buildings, renovation estimates and viability studies for new planned businesses. Other improvements were also planned for the Hub Cities downtown district including new trash cans.
• A home with a shop building, garage and other outbuildings on three acres of land in the “Onalaska area” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $49,950. A two-bedroom home in Centralia was listed for rent for $225 a month with a $75 deposit.
Thursday, Oct. 17, 1996
• White Pass School District board members approved upgrades to their high school computer lab, with more modernization planned, The Chronicle reported. “‘This is a stick-your-big-toe-in-the-water motion,’ said Nancy Webber, a school board member. Her motion, which passed unanimously, authorized Superintendent Rick Anthony to spend up to $60,000 to have the high school computer room and business labs rewired for newer equipment. Board members acknowledged that ‘putting wires in the walls’ will only be the beginning of what needs to be done. They noted that equipment has to follow the wires. The technology also needs to be made available to the elementary schools as soon as possible, said board members.” Though they approved the upgrades, where the money would come from was still a question, as the board had previously balked at committing to a bank loan. “‘I’m not comfortable with getting the whole district done at one time,’ said Larry Miller, another board member. The board agreed to meet before the end of the month to discuss financing of the computer upgrade project.”
• A remodeled four-bedroom home on a double-corner lot in Napavine was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $82,000. A two-bedroom duplex with a garage in Winlock was listed for rent for $525 a month with a $250 deposit.
