In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Saturday, Sept. 25, 1926, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about Centralia resident Bob Devereaux, who after being arrested on charges of stealing a car, was found to have “157 bottles of home brew” at his house on West Fourth Street amid the Prohibition era.
Earlier that week, The Chronicle also provided an update on the arrest of Lewis County Sheriff Frank Roberts, who had been arrested the previous week on allegations of being involved in a county-wide liquor ring as featured in last week’s Look Back.
Centralia resident Kenneth Mulford, 23 at the time, failed to get a court order forcing the parents of his 15-year-old wife, Dorthy Russell Mulford, to return her to him amid her own divorce filing, according to the Thursday, Sept. 26, 1946 edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Thursday, Sept. 26, 1996, edition of The Chronicle, Chronicle staff debuted their new website for the newspaper, chronline.com, which is still operational today.
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, Sept. 25, 1926
• Centralia resident Bob Devereaux was arrested on a grand theft auto charge and “happened to have 157 bottles of brew at home on Fourth Street,” The Chronicle reported, while the Volstead Act, also known as Prohibition, was still in effect making both producing and possessing alcohol illegal. “When a police officer last night went to the home of Bob Devereaux at 311 West Fourth Street to serve him with a warrant charging the theft of an automobile, Devereaux fled through a rear door and escaped, but was later arrested at a house south of the city limits. The car in question was stolen in California and is alleged to have been sold by Devereaux to Len Kuehner, a Chehalis dealer, who swore to the complaint … The police officer who visited the Devereaux home found 157 bottles of home brew. A charge of possession has also been placed against Devereaux.”
• In the previous day’s edition of The Chronicle on Friday, Sept. 24, an update was provided as to the charges against Lewis County Sheriff Frank Roberts, who had been arrested the previous week on charges of Volstead Act violations and allegations of being involved in an illegal liquor ring, as featured in last week’s Look Back in Time. “That Sheriff Frank Roberts of Lewis County and Lou Hawkins of Chehalis and William B. Coston of Morton, deputy sheriffs, received bribes for aid and protection and that they joined with D.H. Renaud and Frank Cook of Kelso and Dave Fenton and Robert Fallon of Chehalis in a conspiracy to violate the national prohibition act in manufacturing, possessing, transporting and selling liquor are the allegations made against these men by the government, it was revealed yesterday in Tacoma … Specifically, the men are charged with violating section 237 of the penal code. The government charges that they have been in conspiracy for some time, the inception of the alleged liquor ring dating from May, 1925, according to (Assistant U.S. District Attorney) Bertil Johnson and continuing up to the time of the arrest of the men.” To see the story announcing Roberts’ arrest initially, read last week’s Look Back in Time online at https://tinyurl.com/tub8s6tc.
• A 90-foot-by-110-foot plot of land “near corner of Summa Street” in Centralia where the owner could “build what you please, build where you please,” was listed for sale for $600, $3 cash down payment with $3 weekly payments. “Nice king apples” were listed for sale for $1.25 a sack.
Saturday, Sept. 26, 1936
• Wilma Nickelson was arrested on charges of stealing a purse from another woman and forging checks, The Chronicle reported. “Wilma Nickleson, 22, was arrested by Police Officer Otto Rucker last night after she is alleged to have stolen the purse of Bonnie Doyle at the local theater earlier in the week, forced Miss Doyle’s endorsement to a check she found therein, and cashed it at a Chehalis store. The defendant is said to have admitted the offense after being identified by store clerks. Miss Nickelson is being held in the city jail under a warrant issued by Justice Cameron charging her with petit larceny, but, according to police, a more serious charge may be placed against her.”
• A three-room home “with bath, etc.” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for “only $300.” “Pick them yourself” king apples were listed for sale for $0.50 a sack.
Thursday, Sept. 26, 1946
• Centralia resident Kenneth Mulford, 23 at the time, failed to get a court order forcing the parents of his 15-year-old wife, Dorthy Russell Mulford, to return her to him, The Chronicle reported. “A petition for a writ of habeas corpus was dismissed by Judge John E. Murray in Lewis County Superior Court Tuesday that had been filed by Kenneth Mulford, 23, to ascertain whether his 15-year-old bride, Dorthy Russell Mulford, was being held by her parents ‘unlawfully and illegally and refused to permit her return to the home of the petitioner.’ Meanwhile, the divorce proceedings filed by the young wife, which followed by less than two months their marriage in Olympia on Aug. 2, will be heard in superior court next Monday. Wearing a red sweater, black and white checkered skirt, brown and white saddle shoes, Dorothy appeared to find novelty in Tuesday’s hearing, and frequently answered questions by the court with questions of her own. Testifying she is not being confined by her parents, and is attending high school in Centralia, Dorothy emphatically stated from the witness stand, ‘if I wanted Ken around the place, he could have come. I could have gone out to live with him any time I cared to. I wouldn’t go out there and live for anything. I wish you would get that through your head,’ she emphatically told Gus L. Thacker, Mulford’s lawyer, after persistent questioning. Kenneth testified that during the six days preceding the return of his bride to her parents and filing of abduction charges, the couple was happy together, and Dorothy had voluntarily made the bus trip to Olympia with him, where they were married by Justice Van R. Hinkle. Efforts of Mulford to make contact with Dorothy at her home proved futile, he said. He testified Mr. Russell said he had ‘stolen his own flesh and blood, and told him off, following her return to her parents’ … During a court recess Dorothy braced herself on two desks and swung her feet back and forth while her lawyers, Clifford D. Cunningham and James E. Sareault, conversed. She later walked out into the corridor to get a drink of water, while Kenneth watched. ‘Dorothy, I have something to say to you,’ he began, but drew a quick, ‘I have nothing to say to you,’ from his estranged wife. ‘The divorce proceedings are entirely of my own free will,’ Dorothy told a Daily Chronicle reporter.”
• A five-room home with a full basement, barn and hen house “for about 500 hens” with an orchard on 10 acres of land nine miles south of Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $10,000. An 18-foot camper which “sleeps four” with a gas stove and electric heater was listed for sale for $1,455.
Wednesday, Sept. 26, 1956
• The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company announced plans to build a new $1 million, 22,000-square-foot tread rubber plant in Chehalis, The Chronicle reported. “The huge Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, from its main offices in Akron, Ohio, announced Wednesday it will build — at Chehalis — a million dollar plant to produce tread rubber. Construction of the plant, the 22nd in the company’s chain of production centers, is set to begin in October. Production is anticipated to begin by Feb. 1. Approximately 40 people will be hired in the Chehalis area to handle production. The company said Robert W. Jenkinson, for 25 years associated with Goodyear production operations, has been named to manage the Chehalis division … Goodyear said the new plant will be located on a 7.5-acre site just south of Chehalis adjacent to the new four-lane Pacific Highway.”
• A three-bedroom home with a barn and “two drilled wells” on 30 acres of irrigated farm land along Highway 99 was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $10,000 with a $1,000 down payment. An unfurnished, four-bedroom home with a fenced yard at “1213 Old Chehalis Road, Centralia” was listed for rent for $55 a month.
Monday, Sept. 26, 1966
• Local young girl camping clubs were preparing to host a “grand council fire” later that week, The Chronicle reported. “Camp Fire and Blue Bird groups from Centralia and Chehalis will have a grand council fire Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Chehalis Community Building. Purpose is to give recognition to girls who have passed rank or achieved other Camp Fire objectives. The event is open to the public.”
• A two-bedroom home with a drilled well on one acre of land five miles south of Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $4,000 with a $500 down payment. A two-bedroom home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $42.50 a month.
Saturday, Sept. 25, 1976
• An unnamed Chehalis resident was killed in a two-car collision near Winlock the previous day, The Chronicle reported. “The name of the dead man is being withheld by authorities pending notification of next of kin. The fatality, the 13th on Lewis County roads this year compared to nine at the same time last year, occurred at 10:15 p.m., 1.6 miles east of Winlock on the Winlock-Napavine-Toledo Highway. The dead man was a passenger in a 1973 pickup truck driven by Dennis L. Luurs, 24, Winlock, according to the State Patrol … Driver of the other vehicle in the mishap, Paul D. Tornblad, 34, Gaston, Oregon, driving a 1972 tractor-trailer rig, received bruises but did not require treatment. Troopers said the mishap occurred when the Tornblad rig was turning on the highway. The Luurs vehicle was eastbound.”
• A remodeled, two-bedroom home on two acres of land near Mossyrock was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $25,000. A two-bedroom duplex in the “Rochester-Grand Mound area” was listed for rent for $230 a month with a $150 deposit.
Friday, Sept. 26, 1986
• The Twin Cities Chamber of Commerce was chartering buses for 200 people to take them to Tacoma to ride a steam train back home to celebrate the Heritage Days festival starting the next day, The Chronicle reported. “The chamber has run out of tickets for the Tacoma-Centralia-Chehalis run Saturday, but plenty of tickets remain for the trip back to Tacoma on Oct. 5. The steam train will run on the Chehalis Western Line, owned by the Weyerhaeuser Co. The public will have an opportunity to ride the steam train on shuttle runs between the Twin Cities on Sunday afternoon … “Proceeds from the train rides will be used to restore a steam locomotive now on display at Recreation Park in Chehalis. Engine No. 15 at the park was owned by the Cowlitz, Chehalis and Cascade Railway. When restored, it will be used for tourist shuttle runs between Centralia and Chehalis.”
• A two-bedroom home with a two-car garage, barn and a greenhouse on 10 acres of land in the “Morton-Randle area” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $59,500. A three-bedroom home near Centralia was listed for rent for $285 a month with a $150 deposit.
Thursday, Sept. 26, 1996
• The Chronicle’s website was officially launched this day, The Chronicle reported. “The Chronicle has premiered its online newspaper ‘chronline.com’ providing Lewis County with online local news updated daily. The online newspaper will feature local stories taken from each day’s edition of The Chronicle. When The Chronicle hits newsstands about noon each day, so will the updated news appear online, said online technician Jon Bennett. Local sports scores will be available through chronline.com even earlier, with Friday night scores posted online about midnight … The online newspaper has just debuted, so many of its planned features are still being developed. ‘People need to be patient — if things don’t work let us know,’ Bennett said. ‘It’s a work in progress. Eventually, Bennett said, the finished product will include local letters to the editor, sports stories and editorials. Bennett said the news stories will be archived so readers can glance back to any story that’s been placed online.”
• An “older remodeled” three-bedroom home on one acre of land located at 283 Chilvers Road near Claquato was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $93,000. A two-bedroom home at 147 Gleason Road on Seminary Hill in Centralia was listed for rent for $550 a month with a $300 deposit.
