In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Friday, Oct. 25, 1935, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about the home of Centralia resident Loueza Victoria Mortimore after it had just been hit by a car early that morning — marking the seventh time it had been struck by a vehicle over the previous few years.
Washington Gov. Mon C. Wallgren was set to make an appearance at an upcoming banquet honoring U.S. Army Sergeant and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Dexter James Kerstetter after an upcoming local holiday honoring him was announced, according to the Thursday, Oct. 25, 1945, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Monday, Oct. 25, 1965, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that Coal Creek resident Tanny Thomas and the rest of her family were mourning the loss of a local deer they considered a pet and named “Spots” after the buck, which was considered a runt and estimated to be less than 100 pounds, was shot and killed during hunting season.
A Look Back in Time is compiled using The Chronicle’s archives stored at the Lewis County Historical Museum — located at 599 NW Front St. in Chehalis — along with digital archives on newspapers.com.
Friday, Oct. 25, 1935
• The home of Centralia resident Loueza Victoria Mortimore located at the northwest corner of Chestnut and Gold streets in Centralia — which had been hit by a car six times over the past few years — got hit a seventh time early Friday morning, The Chronicle reported. The home “was given another jolt about 1 o’clock this morning when a heavy truck operated by the Nickel Plate Truckline of Portland failed to make the turn in the highway and crashed into the structure. The heavy truck, driven by O.J. (Omer John) Munden of Portland, gave the house a glancing blow, knocking boards away from its side and tearing away the wall of the back porch; plowed furrows a foot deep in the back yard, and then tore into the carriage in the rear of the residence, moving it five feet off its foundations.” The crash was attributed to dense fog. While the crash left Mortimore “scared to death,” she was uninjured following the incident, as was the truck’s driver Munden. “(Palmer) Boardwell, a roomer in the home, has been bedridden with paralysis, but, according to Mrs. Mortimore, the excitement of the crash caused him to forget his paralyzed condition and he walked about the house to ascertain what it was all about.”
• Lewis County corn farmers and hog ranchers were set to go to the polls to vote with the rest of the nation on whether or not to continue the federal Production Control Program beyond 1935, The Chronicle reported. The Production Control Program was part of the federal Agricultural Adjustment Act and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, and gave farmers subsidies for limiting certain crops and culling livestock with the goal of limiting overproduction and raising market prices. “Figures released by the extension service at the state college indicated five eastern Washington counties probably would cast half the state’s votes, judging by their total of 1935 contracts. All corn and hog producers, however, are eligible to vote whether or not they are contract signers under the current program.”
• A used Fordson tractor with an Oliver grain drill at the Burdett Implement Company in Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $150.
Thursday, Oct. 25, 1945
• Washington Gov. Mon C. Wallgren was set to make an appearance at a banquet at the Lewis & Clark Hotel to mark the first Kerstetter Day on Wednesday, Oct. 31, a new local holiday which was created to honor U.S. Army Sergeant Dexter James Kerstetter after he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service during World War II, The Chronicle reported. “The 37-year-old Centralian was formally given the Medal of Honor by President (Harry) Truman at the White House on Oct. 12. He won the medal last April 13, when he slew 16 Japanese soldiers in a single engagement on Luzon.” To learn more about Kerstetter, read The Chronicle’s feature on his service online at https://tinyurl.com/yhdafzun.
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about the final U.S. Navy-contract commissioned ship being launched after the end of World War II by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation. “The vessel, the Brainerd Victory, was the 455th to skid down the 11 ways at the Maritime Commission Yard built early in 1941, expected then to build only 43 ships.”
• Local women were set to finalize the formation of the Lewis County Women’s Republican Club, The Chronicle reported, with an “organizational meeting being scheduled in Centralia next Monday evening at 8 o’clock at the Lewis-Clark Hotel, with both men and women party members being urged to attend. A guest and featured speaker for the women’s session is to be Mrs. R.M. (Marion Louise) Schutle, of Spokane, vice-chairman of the Republican state central committee.”
• A two-bedroom bungalow with a full basement, fireplace, hardwood floors and electrical wiring in Centralia’s Lincoln District was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $5,600.
Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1955
• Olympia resident Dallas Hazelrigg pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree assault after he accidentally shot his father-in-law, Tacoma resident Archie Brown, while the pair were hunting in the Wildwood area in South Lewis County back on Oct. 16, The Chronicle reported. “Appearing before Judge John E. Murray, Hazelrigg pleaded guilty to firing the shot at what he believed was a deer. However, instead of a deer, Brown was struck, who received a shattered thigh which hospitalized him at the St. Helen Hospital in Chehalis. Brown was transferred to an Olympia hospital for further treatment late last week.” Hazelrigg was released on a bail amount of $1,000 and his sentencing hearing was scheduled for Nov. 1.
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about around 100 residents being evacuated from Longmire to the nearby community of Ashford following flooding in the foothills of Mount Rainier. The evacuation occurred that morning after “the rain-swollen Nisqually River washed out the Glacier Bridge and threatened this small Rainier National Park community. The concrete bridge which collapsed is between Longmire and Paradise and cut off the ski resort from auto traffic. Al Rose, chief ranger at the park, said Longmire residents were evacuated as a ‘precautionary measure.’ The flood waters had not yet reached the town, Rose said, ‘but it is at the high stage now and anything can happen.’”
• Lewis County Public Utilities District Commissioner Ted Teitzel was named a new member to a nationwide committee for utility providers, The Chronicle reported. Teitzel was now serving on the “membership committee of the American Public Power Association, it was announced this week. The organization is composed of 800 publicly-owned utilities throughout the United States.”
• Following a public hearing on the proposed sale of county-owned land around the Twin Cities, Napavine and Winlock, Lewis County Commissioners moved to sell the land, The Chronicle reported. “Since no objections were raised, the lots, land and timber will be put up for sale on the courthouse steps by County Treasurer Harold Quick at 10 a.m., Nov. 14. Four of the lots are located in Marin Kulien’s addition, Centralia, while the other 11 are situated in the Napavine park addition, Napavine. The 23 acres of land are located north of Winlock to the east of the Northern Pacific Railroad right-of-way, and the timber, which includes 3,000 board-feet of Douglas fir, 7,000 feet of maple, 6,000 feet of alder and 61,000 of cottonwood, all standing, and 16,000 feet of cottonwood felled and piled, is located about two miles south of Chehalis, south of the Newaukum River.”
• A two-bedroom home located at 1118 N. Tower Ave. in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $3,000. A one-bedroom furnished home with a garage in Centralia was listed for rent for $50 a month.
Monday, Oct. 25, 1965
• Coal Creek resident Tanny Thomas and the rest of her family were mourning the loss of a local deer they considered a pet after he was shot and killed by a hunter, The Chronicle reported. “Mrs. Tanny Thomas said the deer was hardly large enough to be considered game. He was known as ‘Spots,’ and was apparently the runt of a deer family that has been in the Coal Creek area for years. ‘He knew he was safe here,’ Mrs. Thomas told The Daily Chronicle.” Thomas estimated the little buck weighed barely 100 pounds, and the family let him have a free run at the Thomas farm, eating apples to his heart’s content. “She related on the first day of hunting season her husband saw Spots some distance from home and literally chased him to safety. She said that since then two hunters stopped and were going to shoot from a car at Spots, who was by the Thomas home. Fast work by Mr. Thomas stopped that. But, this morning Spots went across the road. A hunter was there waiting for him.”
• A new informal job placement office in Morton had been established to help Morton High School students find part-time jobs, The Chronicle reported. “The placement office is under the direction of Leroy H. Davison, high school principal. Thus far, Davison has placed students in 31 jobs. Jobs obtained for students include reforestation work, baby-sitting, bank and store work and general after-school jobs. Businesses or individuals who have work for high school students are asked to contact Davison at the high school.”
• South Lewis County farmer Allen Lee Damewood was arrested over the weekend for failing to keep his cattle corralled, The Chronicle reported. “Damewood, 36, Route 1, Toledo, was arrested Saturday by Lewis County Sheriff’s officers on a charge of allowing cattle to run at large. Damewood posted $100 bail pending a Chehalis Justice Court trial before Judge James B. Gober.”
• A four-bedroom home with a family room and two fireplaces in Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $17,500. A three-bedroom home with “wall-to-wall carpeting” and a fenced yard in Centralia was listed for rent for $100 a month.
Saturday, Oct. 25, 1975
• Plans were in the works to finally replace a “much-discussed hump bridge” over the Skookumchuck River north of Centralia, with construction set to start as soon as state funding became available, according to Washington State Highways Department district engineer Richard Carroll, The Chronicle reported. “State Sen. Gary Odegaard, D-Centralia, said Friday Carroll had told him the district would proceed with the necessary preliminary work so his department will be ready to go when the funds are available … The bridge is a bane to motorists who have to cross it in their travels to the Centralia steam-electric plant or to Bucoda or Tenino. School bus drivers and truckers have been outspoken in their criticism of the bridge. Increased travel on the Centralia-Tenino Highway, along with the pounding the planked bridge takes, is creating an almost perpetual maintenance problem and has spurred efforts to get the bridge replaced.”
• Tires, Inc. Chehalis co-owner William McWilliams said the company was planning to rebuild its tire recapping facilities following a fire which destroyed them, The Chronicle reported. “‘It is too early to announce any definite plans or give any cost figures, but the retreading plant will be put back into operation. It is a major portion of our business,’ McWilliams said.” The fire occurred earlier in the week on Tuesday and while it destroyed the company’s recapping facilities, it left the retail building untouched. McWilliams stated salvage operations were underway, and added “‘right now, it is business as usual at Tires, Inc. We have moved the truck service department to the south end of the retail building.’” The fire’s cause was still under investigation.
• A three-bedroom home with a large barn and detached garage with river access on 37 acres in Onalaska was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $41,500. A one-bedroom furnished apartment in Centralia was listed for rent for $135 a month.
