In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Thursday, July 25, 1946, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about Ellensburg resident Larry Hightower, who was embarking on a worldwide hike while pushing a wheelbarrow, visiting Centralia on his trek.
Chehalis toddler Billie Estep was being monitored at a Seattle hospital after he had been accidentally shot in the eye with a BB gun, according to the Monday, July 25, 1966, edition of The Chronicle.
Also in the Monday, July 25, 1966, edition, it was reported that an estimated 4,000 people attended Airport Day at the Chehalis-Centralia Airport to watch aerobatic skydiving, a flyby and local radio-controlled aircraft flyers.
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, July 24, 1926
• A fire in East Lewis County destroyed a logging mill and a house was also burned down by a chimney fire, The Chronicle reported. “The Van Liew Sawmill at Glenoma, in Eastern Lewis County, has been destroyed by a fire that started in adjacent timber, according to word received here. Cut lumber was also burned, the loss being several thousand dollars. Firefighters had diverted the flames from the mill, but a change in the wind defeated their efforts. Another fire is reported in Eastern Lewis County, that destroyed the home of William Bevins at Mineral. A defective flue caused it. The furnishings were saved.”
• A total of 30 acres of logged land in Centralia “on mail and milk route” with running water were listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $30 per acre, while a five-room home on a 55 acre ranch with a barn and outbuildings was listed for $3,000. A five-room “modern furnished” home located at 1005 Locust Street in Centralia was listed for rent for $22.50 a month.
Saturday, July 25, 1936
• Members of the Centralia Ministerial Association were planning a service sponsored by multiple local churches at Fort Borst Park, The Chronicle reported. “The Centralia Ministerial Association has arranged a gospel service, sponsored by the Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, Christian, Free Methodist, Nazarene, Lutheran, Baptist and Assembly of God churches, to be held in the city park tomorrow evening at 7:30 o’clock. Rev. G.E. Landon, of the Baptist church, president of the ministerial association will preside, and other pastors of the city will take part on the program. H.K. Ghormley will conduct the community song service, and music for the singing will be provided by a combined church orchestra. Special singing will be provided by Thomas Jackson, of Los Angeles, an accomplished tenor soloist of opera fame, who has appeared with Madam Schumann-Heink, John McCormack and others both in Europe and America. He will sing ‘The Holy City,’ and, ‘Hear, O Israel.’ Melvin Hansen, director of the Lewis County Symphony Orchestra, will accompany Mr. Jackson on the piano.”
• Six-week-old leghorn pullet chickens were listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for a “summer price” of 32 cents each.
Thursday, July 25, 1946
• Larry Hightower, an intrepid hiker who was attempting to push a wheelbarrow around the world, was due to arrive in Centralia on Thursday, The Chronicle reported. A World War I veteran, Hightower was originally from Ellensburg and had embarked on a wildly ambitious trek to push a wheelbarrow around the world starting that year, which he estimated he would complete in 12 years according to his obituary in The Flint Journal in 1978. “Larry Hightower, Ellensburg cowboy, who hopes to push a wheelbarrow around the world, has reached Tenino on Wednesday on his arduous trip, and is due in Centralia Thursday. At Olympia Tuesday, a Washington state flag was added to the contents of the wheelbarrow. It was presented by Art Garton, director of the state department of conservation and development. Hightower said he would have government officials along his route sign the bunting.” While he never did make it all the way around the world, he did succeed in pushing the wheelbarrow throughout North America, walking to both Mexico and Canada over the course of the next several years.
• A seven-room home on 40 acres of land with “10 acres wheat and oats ready to harvest” located “11 miles from Chehalis, cornering on paved highway” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $11,000. A total of 157 acres, with six acres cleared and some “buildings” in Cedarville, “six miles west of Oakville,” were listed for sale for $3,500.
Wednesday, July 25, 1956
• Morton resident Bruce Laudahl was recovering at a hospital after nearly drowning in the Tilton River over the weekend, The Chronicle reported. “Bruce Laudahl, 17, who nearly lost his life Saturday afternoon in a swimming accident near the Tilton River Bridge here (in Morton), was released Tuesday from the Morton hospital. Laudahl, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Laudahl of Morton, can’t swim, but had a face mask on and ducked underwater for a look at the stream. While under, the face mask leaked and he panicked and began to inhale water. Bill Mason, Morton patrolman, and Willie Winslow, ambulance driver, rushed to the scene with a resuscitator, but Laudahl had recovered when they arrived. Dr. Brant Bede, a Morton physician, gave Laudahl a preliminary treatment on the spot and ordered him taken to the hospital. Hospital attendants explained the boy remained in the hospital until Tuesday to avoid the danger of pneumonia, which is common in near-drowning cases.”
• U.S. Forest Service officials in Packwood were reporting record numbers of visitors to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest that summer, The Chronicle reported. “Ranger station staffs here and at Randle said Tuesday all park areas of the U.S. forest are open and that the volume of traffic is greater than in the past summers with the peak not yet reached. Campers and picnickers are assured all roads and lakes in the Randle and Packwood ranger districts, with the exception of Council Lake, 40 miles southeast of Randle, are open. Council Lake is closed because of snow, although it can be reached on foot. For high climbers, rangers reminded snow can be found on all trails above 4,000-foot elevations. At La Wis Wis campgrounds, north of here on the White Pass Highway, 20 campers had to be turned away last Saturday because the 52 camping areas in the park were filled. An additional 10 emergency camping areas pressed into service to handle weekend visitors were also utilized.”
• A four-bedroom home on 40 acres of cultivated land with a large barn and three-car garage “near Winlock” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $4,000. A “modern, furnished” duplex “three blocks from city center” was listed for rent for $50 a month.
Monday, July 25, 1966
• A three-year-old Chehalis boy was at a Seattle hospital after he had been shot in the eye with a BB gun, The Chronicle reported. “A three-and-a-half-year-old Chehalis youth, Billie Estep, is recovering from a serious eye injury he suffered at the family home, it was learned Monday. The boy was injured when a friend discharged a BB gun and the BB pellet rebounded striking the youth in the eye. When the youth did not respond to treatment, Mr. and Mrs. John Estep, the boy’s parents, took him to the Seattle Orthopedic Hospital for observation. Specialists in Seattle have not operated yet but have the boy under observation, a relative said.”
• An estimated 4,000 people came out to the Chehalis-Centralia Airport for Airport Day to watch aerobatic skydiving, a flyby and local radio-controlled aircraft flyers, though one skydiver was injured, The Chronicle reported. “The attendance estimate came from Jack Hocker, owner of Twin City Airways and airport manager. Seattle skydiver Ted Braunstiter landed off balance during his stint and injured his back, the only mishap of the day. St. Helens Hospital officials in Chehalis listed Braunstiter’s condition as good Monday morning. The all-day program, said Hocker, ‘came off just fine. We expanded Airport Day this year and plan to add events yearly. The public seems to feel happy with what we’ve done so far. Miss Lewis County, Susan Rosbach, and chaperone Mrs. Max Alton were given an airplane ride. Hocker said this will be made a yearly tradition of the day. The general public was offered plane trips at penny-a-pound fees.”
• A three-bedroom home with a carport and two-car garage in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $17,000. A “large, clean” four-bedroom home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $65 a month.
Saturday, July 24, 1976
• The Chronicle featured an United Press International story about a Centralia business owner who was believed to have been found dead in Ocean Shores after he and one of his employees went missing in a private airplane on July 15. “The body of of man believed to be that of William J. “Jack” Bennett, 43, Portland, missing in his single-engined aircraft since July 15, was recovered from the ocean near here about 3 p.m. Friday. Bennett was the owner of the Nor’Wester Restaurant in Centralia. With Bennett in the aircraft was Kathy Miltimore, 19, Centralia, a waitress in the Nor’Wester. No sign of her has been found. An autopsy was scheduled for Saturday afternoon. It will be necessary to use dental charts to make a positive identification of the body. When Bennett and the Centralia woman departed the Chehalis-Centralia Airport July 15 in a Piper Comanche, they were reportedly leaving for a pleasure flight around Mount St. Helens. However, it was confirmed Thursday that Bennett landed at Ocean Shores about 3 p.m., July 15, departing about eight hours later. Ocean Shores Police Chief Gale Stokes who talked with Bennett that evening said, ‘he asked me about the radio frequency at Hoquiam but I didn’t know the information.’ The body thought to be Bennett’s was found by a fisherman in a small craft. He thought he had struck a seal or another large fish. When he raised his outboard motor, however, he found the waistband and pocket from a pair of blue corduroy trousers snagged in the propeller.”
• A four-bedroom “ranch home” on 22 acres of land with views “overlooking Lake Mayfield” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $37,500. A three-bedroom, unfurnished home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $175 a month.
