In this installment of a Look Back in Time, “pioneer resident” Thomas G. Glover, owner of the Hotel at Oakville who first moved to the area in 1889, died. Originally born in Wisconsin in 1852, Glover was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Swain, and their seven children, according to the Friday, April 19, 1935 edition of The Chronicle.
In the Thursday, April 19, 1945, edition of The Chronicle, Centralian Wayne E. Kendall was promoted to captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps. A decorated B-25 Mitchell bomber pilot, Kendall had taken part in over 40 combat missions over Italy, France and Austria and had even earned a Distinguished Flying Cross.
R.E. Bennett Elementary School seventh grade student Orin Smith, of Chehalis, had his bike stolen, it was reported in the Tuesday, April 19, 1955, edition of The Chronicle. Also in this issue, local agricultural and civic representatives welcomed Centralia College’s first agriculture instructor, Robert Wallenstein.
A Look Back in Time was compiled using Chronicle archives at the Lewis County Historical Museum along with digital archives on newspapers.com.
Friday, April 19, 1935
• “Pioneer resident” Thomas G. Glover, who had been the owner of the Hotel at Oakville for 42 years, died, The Chronicle reported. Born in Wisconsin on Oct. 30, 1852, Glover and his wife, Elizabeth Swain, moved to Centralia in November 1889. “The following August they moved to Oakville.” He was survived by Swain, their seven children, a sister living in Oregon City, Oregon, and a half-brother back in Wisconsin. “The deceased was a member of the (International Order of Odd Fellows) at Oakville.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about Puyallup rancher Elmer J. McCune, who had confessed to murdering his wife with an axe “during a family quarrel” to the Pierce County sheriff and deputy prosecuting attorney. The couple was already separated and McCune’s wife and son were living with her mother in Orting. They agreed to give their married life another try, but got into an argument in the car on the way home. “That night the quarrel reached its climax when McCune killed his wife and buried her body.” It was believed the murder itself had taken place the previous November, as his wife’s body was found in a “shallow grave” and “badly decomposed.” He had told his son that his mother had left, and a week after murdering his wife, McCune went to Seattle to try to convince a woman named Ruth Dunlap to return with him to his farm.
• Blind World War I veteran Reginald White and his famous seeing eye German shepherd dog Wickee were making multiple appearances in the Centralia area, The Chronicle reported. White was due to make appearances at Charlet’s Furniture Store, the Oakville school and the American Legion Grant Hodge Post 17 in Centralia giving seeing eye dog demonstrations and speaking about the dogs’ training. White was the first American WWI veteran to receive a trained seeing eye dog, and Wickee was trained at the Seeing Eye Dog College in Morristown, New Jersey. “White said he ‘just didn’t like to think what he would do,’ when the time comes to part with Wickee.” White added “she has raised me from a ‘common bum’ to a successful business man, doing more for me than any human being has done.”
• Former Chehalis resident Fred Gates passed away in Portland, Oregon, from an “unusual ailment,” The Chronicle reported. After being injured in a traffic accident the month prior, his injuries “caused him to enlarge to twice his normal size, the technical name for his trouble being emphysema, or ‘pneumatic man.’” His ailment is now known as Hamman’s syndrome, or spontaneous pneumomediastinum, a rare medical condition where air accumulates in the central space of the chest and sometimes under the skin.
• A Chehalis farm was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classified section for $1,000, along with a Jersey cow for $35 and a 9-year-old horse for $80.
Thursday, April 19, 1945
• Centralian Wayne E. Kendall was promoted to the rank of captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps, The Chronicle reported. Already a distinguished B-25 Mitchell bomber pilot, Kendall had earned 16 different awards including a Distinguished Flying Cross during 44 combat missions flown over Italy, France and Austria in World War II’s European Theater. “Capt. Kendall won the Distinguished Flying Cross last October, when he flew as flight leader of a 48-plane formation to strike at a vital road bridge at Galliate, Italy. The citation disclosed that despite the intense anti-aircraft fire that enveloped the formation, Captain Kendall, displaying great courage and determination, maintained perfect flight control for the run over the objective. The bridge, of three spans, was destroyed, blocking a vital link in enemy communication lines.” Prior to becoming a pilot in 1943, Kendall graduated from Chehalis High School and Centralia Junior College.
• Jim Rectors Cafe on the Pacific Highway south of Chehalis was broken into, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, The Chronicle reported. It was believed the break-in occurred earlier that same morning, and entrance was gained by breaking through the cafe’s front door. “Missing were approximately $15 in nickels from a pinball machine, a gallon of wine and several boxes of candy, and a small amount of tax money.”
• Dick Rinta, Winlock High School student and Future Farmers of America (FFA) Winlock Chapter member, won a registered Jersey heifer from the American Jersey Club, The Chronicle reported. “The calf was offered as a prize to the FFA boy who has shown the most progress in dairy herd improvement work in the Southwest Washington district, which includes 12 chapters from as many schools.”
• U.S. Army Air Corps Cadet John W. Thompson Jr., 19, of Centralia, was one of 10 cadets and officers killed south of the Big Spring Texas bombardier school when two planes collided, The Chronicle reported. Born on April 23, 1925, Thompson graduated from Centralia High School in 1943 and was “an outstanding player on the Tiger grid squads for 1941 and 1942.” He entered the service in August 1943, undergoing basic training at Miami Beach, Florida, before being stationed at several other Army bases eventually winding up in Texas, training as a bombardier.
• Centralia Junior College students were preparing to present their 1945 play, “The Great Big Doorstep,” starting that Friday in the Centralia High School auditorium, The Chronicle reported. “Cast members, who, in last-minute dress rehearsals, showed complete mastery of their roles, include Tove Hodge, Grace West, Melva Clark, Tam Moran, Kathryn Lucas, Mary Wakefield and Bob Teitzel, all of Centralia; William Hagerman and John Mitchell, Chehalis; Bill Cannon, Adna; Nils Isaksson, Bucoda; and Robert Nugent, of Yelm.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about a San Diego, California, teacher who listed her cat as a dependent on her tax returns that year. “Attached was a note explaining the pet was not an ordinary alley cat, but one that was highly intelligent, and adding this information. She had spent not less than $1,000 during the animal’s life in buying it special food, including caviar.”
• A “practically new” two-bedroom house with a “large” living room, “pleasant” kitchen with a bay window and linoleum floors on half an acre of land in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $2,500.
Tuesday, April 19, 1955
• R.E. Bennett Elementary School seventh grade student Orin Smith, of Chehalis, had his bike stolen, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, The Chronicle reported. The bike, which had chrome fenders and black trim, “was stolen Monday afternoon from the bike racks in back of the school.” Anyone who saw or found the bike was asked to contact either the Chehalis Police Department or sheriff’s office. Smith would go on to attend Centralia College, the University of Washington and Harvard, earning an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1967. In 1990, he joined the Starbucks executive team and helped the company grow from 45 locations to over 10,000 in 33 different countries. He never forgot where he came from, though, and engaged in many philanthropic efforts in the Chehalis community. Smith passed away in 2018 at the age of 75. The Orin C. Smith Elementary School in Chehalis is named in honor of him.
• Seven Green Hill School runaway students were back in custody after escaping, and three stolen vehicles were recovered, The Chronicle reported. Four of the escapees were apprehended in Kelso driving a vehicle they had stolen from Irvin M. Thomas, of Winlock, after initially escaping from Green Hill School in a stolen Jeep. Two other escapees were picked up by Centralia police trying to hitchhike on Harrison Avenue, and the last escapee was arrested by Olympia police after escaping Chehalis by stealing a car owned by Ed Haunreiter on South Market Boulevard.
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, of Wisconsin, who was under investigation by the IRS after it was discovered he had made “photographic copies” of his income tax refund check. The discovery was made after an anonymous person mailed one of the copies to the AP’s office in New York. “McCarthy told the reporter he didn’t know who sent the photographic copy of the check to the AP but that he had some copies made and these were still in his possession,” later adding he “planned to distribute (the copies) at the news conference this afternoon. I wasn’t aware of any regulations against it, but if I find there is such a law or regulation they will not be distributed.”
• Chehalis resident Gilbert Becker was hospitalized after he received deep lacerations in his mouth, The Chronicle reported. Becker was “at home when a spring flew out of a hair dryer he was moving. Becker was admitted to the hospital about 4 p.m. His condition is good, hospital attendants said.”
• Representatives of both agricultural and civic groups met and welcomed Robert Wallenstein, Centralia Junior College’s first agriculture instructor, The Chronicle reported. Wallenstein met with members of the Centralia Chamber of Commerce, the Washington Co-Operative Farmers’ Association, the Washington State Dairy Commission, the Centralia Community Development Agricultural Committee and the Centralia School District.
• Onalaska High School junior students were preparing to put on their play, “Go West, Young Man,” at the school’s auditorium at 8 p.m. on Friday. The play was directed by Joan Berry along with Onalaska High School senior student director David Abshire. “The dramatic leads are played by Barbara Acheson and Jerry Nehring, with Diane Powell and Max Perry as comedy leads.” Following the performance, pie, cake a la mode and coffee were going to be served in the high school’s home economics room.
• A 1-acre lot on Old Highway 99 with a two-bedroom home, attached garage and a pump house was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $10,000. An unfurnished two-bedroom home with a washing machine, dryer and oil-burning furnace was listed for rent for $55 a month.
Monday, April 19, 1965
• Around 100 Northwest loggers were preparing to take part in the “Alder Logger’s School” in Chehalis that upcoming weekend, The Chronicle reported. Sponsored by the Northwest Hardwood Association in partnership with a number of forest agencies, loggers were due to visit an alder site near Napavine on Friday for demonstrations on grading, estimating yields, falling, bucking and loading logs. “Saturday morning the logs will be milled at the Cascade Fiber Plant on the Chehalis Industrial Park.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about the installation of new Soviet Union surface-to-air missiles in North Vietnam. The missiles were expected to bring a “significant but not a drastic change in communist defense capabilities, U.S. officials have said.” They added there was no evidence the Soviet Union was planning to send manned MiG 21 aircraft. “Communist China has been hoarding the Soviet-built MiG jets Peking has available for its own defense.”
• A jury was selected that morning in Lewis County Superior Court to hear a lawsuit against Fred Sydney Beck, of Morton, filed by members of the Morton Grange for damages totalling $23,284, The Chronicle reported. Grange members filed the lawsuit after the grange building was damaged by a fire in 1963. “The building caught fire as Beck was burning grass at his nearby home.”
• Winlock High School driving instructor Carl Boe called attention to the lack of traffic rules enforcement within the city at a Winlock City Council meeting. “He cited numerous infractions, and said his instructions were badly hampered as a result.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about an Edmonds Police Department investigation into reports from residents of strange, underwater lights at a ferry dock over the weekend. “The mystery was finally solved by patrolman Norm Sedor, who reported the lights were manned by members of the Marker Buoys Diving Club of nearby Seattle. They were holding an underwater Easter egg hunt.”
• A 4-year old Olympia boy named Corry Taylor was severely injured after being attacked by a neighbor's German shepherd dog, The Chronicle reported. “Police say the dog was chained up when he attacked the boy. But they logged conflicting reports on whether or not the dog was angered.”
• A three-bedroom Centralia home near the school was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $8,000. A “cozy” one-bedroom furnished home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $55 a month.
Saturday, April 19, 1975
• Tenino Middle School eighth grader Craig Lovell finally won the Thurston County Spelling Bee championship after finishing second the prior four years, The Chronicle reported. “Lovell has finished second for the past four years in the event, the last three of those years to Littlerock student Eric Campbell. He turned the tables this year, in his last chance to defeat Campbell.” Lovell spelled 49 out of the 50 words given to him correctly, while Campbell only spelled 46 correctly. His score also helped the entire Tenino team win its ninth consecutive team spelling bee championship out of a field of eight teams. It was podium domination for South Thurston County too, with the Yelm school team taking second and Rainier taking third.
• Ferlyn E. Hanson, 24, was convicted of first-degree murder and rape in Lewis County Superior Court, The Chronicle reported. “It was the first first-degree murder conviction in Lewis County Superior Court since 1949.” Hanson, who used the insanity defense in his trial, was found guilty by a jury of the premeditated rape and murder of 16-year-old Nancy Sweet of Portland, Oregon, strangling her to death “near the Ocean Beach Highway and freeway interchange at Chehalis.” The penalty for first-degree murder was life imprisonment.
• The Rochester High School Associated Student Body elected officers for the upcoming 1975-1976 school year, The Chronicle reported. “Lowell Deguise was elected president, Jim Brown vice president and Diane Weaver, secretary.” The treasurer position was yet to be filled.
• The Boistfort Helping Hand Club met at Clarence Mueller’s home with seven members present, The Chronicle reported. Club members sent a sympathy card to Josephine Pinkerton, and were planning a luncheon trip for members to tour the Capitol building in Olympia before returning to Chehalis for lunch on April 24. “The annual mothers tea is planned May 8 to honor senior mothers who live or have lived in the Boistfort Valley.”
• Funds from the previous year’s Morton Loggers Jubilee were distributed by the Morton Chamber of Commerce, The Chronicle reported. The Morton Athletic Association and Jubilee Park improvement fund both received $1,290, while the Husky Scholarship fund and the Chamber’s reserve and special projects fund received $860 each. Chamber members also decided to move forward with replacing bleachers at the Jubilee Park arena and “discussed thinning trees in Jubilee Park and using the timber to finance the replacement of the bleachers.”
• A three-bedroom, two-bathroom Chehalis home with a fireplace, dining room and recreation room was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $27,750. Another three-bedroom home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $150 a month.
