In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Saturday, Aug. 21, 1926, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about Chehalis attorney Willard Bishop, who, while vacationing in Europe with his family, wrote a letter to The Chronicle explaining how Germans had insulted him during his visit.
An unnamed Toledo man was in custody after shooting his brother-in-law early after a family fight that morning, according to the Wednesday, Aug. 22, 1956, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Saturday, Aug. 21, 1976, edition of The Chronicle, it was stated 13-year-old Centralian Ray Teshera was considering making a pet out of a wild skunk that had been repeatedly entering his home over the past week.
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, Aug. 21, 1926
• Chehalis attorney Willard Bishop wrote in a letter to The Chronicle that Germans were rather insulting to him while he was on vacation in Europe with his wife, Ethel, and their daughter, Jane, who also found the French only tolerated them. “W.E. Bishop, well-known Chehalis attorney, who, with his wife and daughter, is making a tour of Europe, writes that after three months of touring, he is more than ever stratified that ‘The queen of the earth is the land of my birth, my own United States.’ Continuing, Mr. Bishop says: ‘We haven’t a friend in Europe. Repeatedly I was insulted by Germany in cafes in banter because I spoke English. The French tolerate the American tourist for his money. There are thousands of American tourists in Paris. You have read about the plunge of the French franc. Prices mount in anticipation of further fall. The decline of the franc is attributed to England and America, whose money remains stable. The French people are still very rich, but the government is pauperized because any plan to adequately tax is so unpopular that the ministry proposing such a measure is immediately overthrown.’”
• The Chehalis Fire Department listed a “Buick roadster” for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $200. A furnished, three-room home “suitable for a bachelor” in Centralia was listed for rent for $ 12 a month.
Saturday, Aug. 22, 1936
• Pe Ell Marshall Ward Carper passed away unexpectedly after suffering a stroke the previous day, The Chronicle reported. “Ward Carper, resident of Pe Ell 31 years, died there suddenly of a stroke early yesterday. Carper had been the Pe Ell marshal for the past four years, and his death occurred just after he had gone off duty in the early morning. He is survived by his widow, Lucinda, Pe Ell; a son, Dwight, of Bordeaux; brother, Lee Carper, and a granddaughter, Carol, both of Pe Ell, and aged mother and two brothers of Wheeling, West Virginia, where he was born. Funeral services will be held Sunday afternoon at 2 o’clock at the Pe Ell Baptist church under the direction of Catermole’s Rev. Levi Smith. Burial will be at Pe Ell, with graveside services conducted by the IOOF (Independent Order of the Odd Fellows).”
• A 1927 Chevrolet coupe was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $65. Corn, beans and beets were listed for sale for $0.75 a sack “past Grand Mound on highway.”
Thursday, Aug. 22, 1946
• The first government-funded housing units for World War II veterans started to arrive in Centralia earlier that week, The Chronicle reported. “The first shipment of government housing units arrived in Centralia Tuesday, and their erection got under way immediately, John Raugh, city commissioner, announced. The units, part of the city’s housing program, will be turned over to veterans and their families when completed. The homes must be assembled, furnished, and electric and water connections made before being occupied. During the past two months the building site in the southeast section has been leveled, and sewage and water pipes laid in readiness for arrival of the houses. In addition, foundations have been completed and many minor details taken care of during the preliminary work prior to the actual erection of the units.”
• An eight-room “modern house” on 96 acres of land with 45 in cultivation and a well “located on Highway 99, south of Chehalis,” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $10,500. A furnished, four-room home on a corner lot in Centralia was listed for sale for $4,350.
Wednesday, Aug. 22, 1956
• An unnamed Toledo man was being held in custody by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office after shooting his brother-in-law, though charges had yet to be filed, The Chronicle reported. “Lewis County sheriff’s officers said Wednesday they hold in jail a rural Toledo man who fired six shots from a small caliber revolver at a brother-in-law at 12:55 a.m., Wednesday. Sheriff Earl Hilton said no charge has yet been placed against the prisoner. The victim was identified as Jim Bock. Officers said he apparently was hit only twice by the shots, both wounds being in his left knee. Bock was taken to a Toledo physician, who treated him. Deputies said the shooting occurred in the prisoner’s home, one-and-a-half miles east of Toledo and was the climax to a family row.” No charges were ever made, and the prisoner, who remained unnamed, was released the following day, according to the Thursday, Aug. 23, 2956 edition of The Chronicle.
• Logging work had finally begun the previous week in “one of the largest tracks of timber sold in 1955 in the Packwood District,” The Chronicle reported. “In a single sale, 24 million board-feet of timber located in the Willame Creek drainage area, was sold to the Peninsula Plywood Corp. of Tacoma. Cutting of the timber has been delayed until the date while a road was constructed to the timber. The Cotton and Tayler firms of Morton are hauling the timber out of the woods. Bob Novy, head of the timber sale administration at the Packwood ranger station, said the peeler logs are going to Tacoma and the saw logs are being taken to the Packwood Lumber Co. mill here.”
• A “good, modern house” with a new barn on 21 acres of land “near new highway” south of Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $7,500. A two-bedroom home in Centralia was listed for rent for $40 a month.
Monday, Aug. 22, 1966
• Tenino area horse riders held a “fun night” the previous week to hold various riding competitions, The Chronicle reported. “The 99ers Saddle Club staged a ‘fun night’ last Wednesday at Silver Meadow Arena near Tenino, it has been reported. Horseback riders participated in pole bending and barrel racing games directed by Stanley Price. Refreshments were served. The event was held in conjunction with the club’s weekly drills. It holds its meeting the third Thursday of each month.”
• Lewis County Public Utilities District (PUD) staff blamed a faulty switch for a short power outage on Saturday night throughout multiple parts of the county, The Chronicle reported. “The power outage lasted only about four minutes but voltages fluctuated, lights flickered and several local outages occurred before the entire area south of Centralia, including the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, was blacked out. The area extended to West of Walkum but did not include Pe Ell. About 7,000 PUD customers were affected by the outage. Merle Johnston, Lewis County PUD manager, said the outage occurred during a routine maintenance of switches by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). In order to take the switches out of service for maintenance work, Chehalis was to have been served from the Silver Creek substation. During this switching change, one of the switches not normally operated was used at the Leonard Road substation. It was this switch that malfunctioned to cause the power outage, Johnston explained. BPA failed to get its routine maintenance work done. It will be done later after the faulty switch is repaired at the Leonard Road station Johnston said.”
• A three-bedroom home on a "beautifully landscaped lot with patio and outdoor fireplace” on Seminary Hill in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $34,000. A one-bedroom home with a den and a “view” in Centralia was listed for rent for $65 a month.
Saturday, Aug. 21, 1976
• Centralia youth Ray Teshera, 13 at the time, was contemplating keeping a skunk which had made itself at home in his closet as a pet, The Chronicle reported. “Ray Teshera, 13, had a skunk in his closet Friday afternoon. He had telephoned Centralia police, who said they would send someone out to remove the critter. Police said Saturday morning the animal was removed by the city’s dog catcher. Teshare said Friday he would like the skunk to be caught and deodorized so that he could make a pet of him. ‘He’s been around here all summer and hasn’t caused any trouble,’ he said. The animal is believed to have come in the back door of the house, which is usually left open. He was in the house Wednesday night, but left on his own accord. Thursday night he came in again, got into the boy’s bedroom, crawled into the closet and showed no indication of a desire to leave. Friday afternoon young Teshera was feeding the skunk meatloaf while waiting for someone to come and catch the animal. ‘I just hope he gets here before three o’clock because I have a paper route,’ he said. ‘I deliver The Daily Chronicle and I waited three years to get the route.’ In an effort to get the skunk to leave, all the drawers of the closet and most of the clothes were removed, all to no avail.”
• A “two-year-old” mobile home on 18 and a half acres of land with “artesian well pumps” and 1,400 feet of Newaukum River access was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $42,000. A three-bedroom home “overlooking downtown Chehalis” was listed for rent for $175 a month.
