A Look Back in Time: Centralia Bank Seeks to Head Off Bank Run Amid the Great Depression in 1932

Compiled by Matthew Zylstra / matthew@chronline.com
Posted 12/16/22

The First Farmers-Merchants Bank and Trust Company in Centralia apparently persuaded nearly all of its depositors to sign an agreement it believed would protect the bank’s solvency, The …

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A Look Back in Time: Centralia Bank Seeks to Head Off Bank Run Amid the Great Depression in 1932

Posted

The First Farmers-Merchants Bank and Trust Company in Centralia apparently persuaded nearly all of its depositors to sign an agreement it believed would protect the bank’s solvency, The Chronicle reported on Saturday, Dec. 17, 1932.

The plan followed the passage of a resolution by the Centralia City Commission two weeks earlier that established a 90-day moratorium on banking as a means to preserve the bank’s solvency. 

Many depositors had initially been skeptical of the plan, but after it was explained to them, the depositors “almost universally” supported the agreement. 

“An interesting and significant feature has developed in the fact that the largest depositors and those who have the greatest interest in the bank have been the first to sign. Many with deposits from $3,000 to $12,000, and one with as high as $81,000 signed the waivers without the least hesitancy, knowing that to keep the bank open for business was the only way to protect their money from exploitation through legal processes,” The Chronicle reported. 

A statement from the bank was published beside the story on The Chronicle’s front page. The statement announced a new bank president and said the bank would keep its overhead expenses to less than half of what they were before.

“With this information on hand, we ask our depositors and friends for their hearty cooperation and those who have not yet signed the depositor’s agreement to call on us at an early date,” the statement said. 

The agreement occurred during the ongoing Great Depression, when many banks were at risk of insolvency as people around the country went to withdraw their money out of fear.

 

Saturday, Dec. 17, 1932

• A Christmas pageant was scheduled for 4:45 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 18, at Chehalis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church. The pageant was to include children from the church’s Sunday school. 

• Anna Olsen, an 88-year-old Randle resident, died in her home on Dec. 17, The Chronicle reported. Olsen was born on Nov. 24, 1844, in Norway and had lived in Randle for 40 years when she died. Olsen was a member of the local Lutheran church and was survived by two daughters and six grandchildren. 

• “Mrs. Delbert Sloan” was reportedly badly burned during a house fire in eastern Lewis County. Sloan, upon discovering the fire, grabbed a child that was in the house and took them outside to safety. She then returned into the house to grab bedding to keep the child warm outside when “the flames burned a severe blister on her back and destroyed her hair,” The Chronicle reported. 

• A man named Bert Schell accidentally chopped off three of his toes on his right foot on the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 13, 1932. Schell was attempting to cut a tree at a logging camp in eastern Lewis County when his axe “slipped from the frozen tree and severed his toes,” The Chronicle reported.

• Lewis County Sheriff J.A. Blankenship said he favored a proposal to broaden the activities of the Washington State Patrol, The Chronicle reported. He also said he’d like to see a statewide police radio system created “similar to the systems now in use in the large cities.” According to The Chronicle, Blankenship made his statement after receiving a letter from B.H. German, the chair of the Sheriff’s Association, in which it was announced the association planned to propose legislation expanding the power of the state patrol. It was unclear from The Chronicle’s reporting what the new authority the state patrol would have under the proposal.

• The Chronicle reported a Chehalis man was playing chess with people from Canada and around the country by mail. “There are hobbies and hobbies, and nearly every Chehalis man has one or more. But by all odds the most unusual that has yet come to light is that of Dr. F.H. Waldron, optometrist,” The Chronicle reported. “For his recreation Dr. Waldron indulges in the not overly exciting but highly scientific pastime of correspondence chess.” Waldron would reportedly play a “dozen or more” chess games at the same time over the mail. Since joining the Correspondence Chess League of America on June 1, 1928, The Chronicle reported Waldron had played 70 games of chess over the mail, winning 36 games, losing 32 and drawing two. As of The Chronicle’s reporting on Dec. 17, he was playing 12 games. Waldron’s shortest game was won in 12 moves and took “just” 31 days to complete. His longest game took 54 moves to win and lasted 16 months. 

• A review of the movie “Tiger Shark” was included in The Chronicle ahead of a scheduled showing on the night of Dec. 17. “‘Tiger Shark’ has everything — adventure, romance, high-powered drama, comedy and the most sensational sea pictures that ever have been brought to the screen. Real man-eating tiger sharks. … in action in their native element. And what action!” The Chronicle stated. 

 

Thursday, Dec. 17, 1942

• Larry Weeks, the manager of the Centralia Oil Company, was named the head of Lewis County’s scrap collection committee, The Chronicle reported. The announcement came on Dec. 17 after Weeks was selected by the Lewis County commissioners. He succeeded A.W. Holland of Chehalis, who had recently resigned from the position. 

• Two men from the Chehalis Draft District had passed their physical examinations and were to report for duty with the Army on Dec. 21, The Chronicle reported. The men were Waine Lary and Albert Lininger. They were expected to leave for service on Monday, Dec. 21.

• An unidentified motorist who had been carrying gasoline containers in the back of his car “met a fiery death” on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 15, on The Dalles-California Highway in Oregon. The car apparently skidded off a curve, overturned and then caught fire. According to The Chronicle, all means of identification were destroyed in the fire except the license plate, which was registered to a C.E. Feldman in Lewis County. 

• Lieutenant Floyd Etheridge Jr., the son of “Mr. and Mrs. Floyed Etheridge,” had returned home from operations in the Pacific to spend Christmas with his wife and parents in Chehalis, The Chronicle reported. Etheridge had joined the Navy in the summer of 1940 as an ensign, rising to the rank of full lieutenant. 

• A picture was featured in the Dec. 17, 1942 edition of The Chronicle titled “Appropriate ‘Gift’ For Hitler.” The picture depicted the crew of a bomber surrounding a bomb with the words “MERRY XMAS ADOLF” painted on it. Three members of the crew were in their uniforms while a fourth member was dressed as Santa Claus. According to the picture’s description, the crew was stationed “somewhere in England” and flew an American Flying Fortress. The description said the crew “plans to deliver this little present — a 1,000-pound bomb — to Adolf Hitler in plenty of time for Christmas.” 

• J.M. Jensen, of Chehalis, reportedly received a letter from his son Maurice Jensen, who was stationed in French Morocco as a member of the military. The letter detailed Maurice Jensen’s experiences in the military. “He told of shells dropping ‘pretty close’ but he got through without a scratch although he ‘was plenty scared at times,’” The Chronicle reported. He detailed his thoughts on the people of Morocco, describing them as “mostly Arabs, and they live like they did 1,000 years ago.”



• In a section titled “At the National Capitol With John W. Kelly,” The Chronicle featured a story reporting President Franklin Roosevelt wouldn’t seek a fourth term in 1944. This report proved incorrect as Roosevelt did seek and win re-election in 1944, though he died only a few months into his fourth term. 

 

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 1952

• Lewis County commissioners announced on Dec. 17, 1952, that they had met with Gerald Fields, a Seattle architect, regarding the construction of a new addition to the Lewis County General Hospital. Commissioner Martin Jacobsen said some ideas for the new addition that had been previously dropped were now being reconsidered, The Chronicle reported. The commissioners also stated the county was purchasing medical items on the surplus market in order to save money. The county was also considering hiring a radiologist for the hospital, a position they apparently hadn’t previously had. 

• A power shortage in the region forced the cancellation of Chehalis’ annual outdoor lighting contest, The Chronicle reported. The event was supposed to be run by the Chehalis Junior Chamber of Commerce, who were also in charge of Chehalis’ Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The Chronicle reported the tree would not be using public power due to the power shortage and instead they were going to use a gasoline powered generator for the tree. 

• Three of Lewis County’s state legislators met with school officials to discuss issues of funding and a shortage of teachers. The meeting was held at Chehalis High School, soon to be renamed W.F. West High School, and was presided over by Wendell Iverson of Pe Ell, who served as the president of the Lewis County Superintendents’ Association. State Sen. Dale Nordquist and State Reps. Ed Mayes and Joe Chytil attended the meeting. 

• Louis Thompson, a 76-year-old Centralia resident, died in a Tacoma hospital on Monday, Dec. 15, The Chronicle reported. Thompson was born on Feb. 7, 1876 in Illinois. He was survived by his wife, three sons, two daughters and seven stepchildren. 

• Rosa Brannenan, an 83-year-old resident of the Vader area, died in her home on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Brannenan was born on March 23, 1869 in Berne, Switzerland and had lived in the Vader area since 1893. She was survived by a daughter, two sons, a sister and two grandchildren. 

• The Lewis County Girl Scouts were planning for their annual Christmas caroling at different hospitals and rest homes, The Chronicle reported. The plans were primarily focused on places in Chehalis and Centralia, but some caroling was expected in Mossyrock as the Mossyrock Girl Scouts were participating for the first time. 

• Four people were injured after a car accident on an icy section of the Tenino-Rainier highway north of Centralia on the morning of Monday, Dec. 15. John Simar was driving his car with passengers Joe Cekado, Phyllis Spiers and Winnie Reader when the car crashed into a bank. Simar received a lacerated hip and bruises while Cekado received a deep laceration on his right wrist as well as a shoulder injury. Spiers and Reader suffered from shock. 

 

Monday, Dec. 17, 1962

• The Chronicle featured a picture of a “49-voice living Christmas tree” on the front page of its Dec. 17, 1962 edition. The tree was composed of what appeared to be the R.E. Bennett seventh and eighth grade choruses and ensemble. The picture showed a group of students, predominantly girls with some boys, standing in what appeared to be the R.E. Bennett auditorium. They were in elevated rows in the shape of a triangle with a star hoisted above the student at the top. 

• The Chronicle reported a new law aimed at reducing Christmas tree thefts and trespassing on Christmas tree farms had gone into effect on Dec. 17. Under the law, “all persons with Christmas trees, ferns and other greenery can be stopped and questioned in order to enforce the new county ordinance. Persons transporting trees and other plants must have bills of sale,” The Chronicle reported. Those lacking a bill of sale could be charged with a misdemeanor. 

• Six Lewis County high school seniors were among nearly 500 “outstanding seniors” chosen from around the Northwest to participate in a holiday lecture program at the University of Washington on Dec. 26 to 29. The program was to be focused on scientific studies and research and was open to high ability seniors nominated by their high school principals. The Lewis County seniors were Bob Lytz and Erick Steffensen of Centralia, Richard Baginski of Chehalis, Elizabeth Sabin of Onalaska, Randy Hansen of Pe Ell and Jeff Stewart of Winlock. 

• A series of weekend burglaries in Lewis County culminated in a theft totaling $1,194 from the Chehalis Elks’ Lodge, The Chronicle reported. The Elks’ burglary reportedly occurred on the night before, or the early morning of, Sunday, Dec. 16. The cash register was apparently broken into with an axe and several coin-operated machines were stolen from. 

• A house in Chehalis was listed for $10,950 in The Chronicle. The house was described as having four bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, a large kitchen with a breakfast bar, a dining room, a large living room, an entry hall, a fireplace, city water, a large yard with fruit trees and was situated along a school bus route. 

• Martin Ness, an 84-year-old former resident of Centralia died in his Vancouver home on Friday, Dec. 14. He was born on February 16, 1878 in Norway. He had lived in Centralia until five years prior to his death. He was survived by four daughters, a son, 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. 

• Centralia College was scheduled to end exams on Tuesday, Dec. 18 and was to begin winter quarter registration on Wednesday, Dec. 19. The 1963 winter quarter was to be the first quarter in which the college used its new IBM processing computer. The computer was part of its data processing department.