In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Friday, Oct. 18, 1935, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about Tenino resident Selbert Deisberg’s saxophone being stolen on the same night another Tenino resident had their car stolen.
Winlock Post Office Clerk Ray Nelmes, known as “Uncle Ray to Winlock post office patrons,” was being honored as he prepared to retire after a 38-year career with the post office, according to the Monday, Oct. 18, 1965, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Saturday, Oct. 18, 1975, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that seven Lewis County residents, six from the Twin Cities and one from Napavine, had been arrested in a drug raid where along with drugs, stolen “county road signs” were also recovered.
A Look Back in Time is compiled using Chronicle 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. 18, 1935
• A saxophone — and a car — was stolen in Tenino in two separate break-ins, The Chronicle reported. “Thieves were busy in Tenino Wednesday night and (James) D. McArthur is now minus his car, and Selbert Deisberg is missing a saxophone. The McArthur car, a blue 1930 Buick sedan, was taken from the side of the house, apparently at about 11 p.m. while the family was home. The saxophone was taken from the high school building, which was broken into during the same night. After attempting to cut a window pane of the front door, the glass was finally broken to permit the door to be opened from the inside. Nothing except the band instrument was taken.”
• The Lewis County commissioners formally accepted the new Rock Creek Tuberculosis Sanatorium west of Pe Ell in McCormick, The Chronicle reported. “The new construction has been completed and equipment installed. Construction contract totalled $16,838.91; new equipment, $1,178.15. It is estimated that receipts from outside sources will aggregate about $10,000 annually from state (and) federal sources, since the institution has been built along accredited lines to receive aid from the agencies named.” Tuberculosis sanatoriums were treatment facilities focused on recovery through exposure to sunlight, nutritious food and clean air as antibiotics were not widely available. Sanatoriums also isolated patients from populated areas during recovery periods which sometimes lasted years to calm public fears of a tuberculosis outbreak — with some even growing large enough to be unincorporated towns, like Sanatorium, Texas, which started out as a state-run sanatorium near San Angelo, Texas. It grew to have a population of over 1,000 residents and even had its own power plant, post office and school buildings before antibiotics became more widely available eliminating tuberculosis outbreaks, according to the Texas State Historical Association.
• The City of Tenino was awarded a $1,700 Federal Works Progress Administration grant to complete construction around the Stone City replacing aging wooden sidewalks, The Chronicle reported. “(Tenino) Mayor (Tom) Richards states that the new funds will be used to level the ground and put in sand walks. Those wishing concrete walks in front of their property may have the same built if the owners will supply the cement, sand and gravel and ribbons necessary for the construction.”
• A “house and lot on B Street” in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $350.
Thursday, Oct. 18, 1945
• First opened in 1910, the Centralia Business College was under new ownership, The Chronicle reported. “Roy J. Fletcher, owner and operator of the Centralia Business College for 33 years, disclosed Tuesday he has sold the institution to (Walter) B. Barger, of Tacoma, who has a chain of business schools in the state … Fletcher took over the institution in 1912 following its establishment in 1910 by C.S. Jackson. The new owner, incidentally, was a teacher in the Centralia college in 1911, the year before Fletcher acquired it.”
• Lewis County health officer Dr. George Parke stated the county had no ongoing polio epidemic following rumour of an outbreak, The Chronicle reported. “‘Four cases have been under treatment during the infectious stage of the disease,’ Dr. Parke said. ‘Two were from Lewis County communities, with one of them having been exposed in Bremerton. In the other two instances, one was entered from Thurston County and the other from Pacific County. All have occurred since October 1.’ In discussing polio, the health officer pointed out the fall of the year is the ‘epidemic season,’ and parents should observe special precaution during the present time. He said ordinarily the disease tends to increase in August and September, but this year appears to be extended, probably because of the late summer.”
• A seven-room “modern house” with a large barn and outbuildings on 120 acres of land “in one of the best valleys around Centralia” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $16,000. A “nice, modern bungalow” on Gold Street in Centralia was listed for sale for $3,500.
Tuesday, Oct. 18, 1955
• A 500-pound safe stolen from the Talbott Grocery store in Salkum 10 days earlier had finally been recovered “with its contents ransacked” about a half mile from the store, according to Lewis County Sheriff Earl Hilton, The Chronicle reported. “Burglary of the store and its post office came early morning of Oct. 8, and contained in the safe was nearly $2,500 in cash, checks, money orders and stamps. Hilton said the cash and checks are gone from the safe. Because the safe contained postal money, the Post Office Department has entered the investigation. The store and post office are operated by Mrs. (Vera) Talbott and her son, Victor.”
• An investigation into an “accidental shooting” of Archie Brown by his son-in-law Dallas Hazelrigg during a hunting trip in the woods south of Wildwood was still ongoing, according to Lewis County Sheriff Earl Hilton, The Chronicle reported. Brown was shot in the thigh by Hazelrigg and was recovering at the St. Helens Hospital, listed in good condition. While no foul play was suspected, Lewis County deputies were still determining if they were the ones who actually needed to handle the investigation. “Hilton said the hunting party members had been questioned on the mishap, but it still remains uncertain whether the shooting occurred in Lewis County or in Cowlitz County. The wounding case came in a wooded section close to the county line, and not until deputies actually go to the spot can it be determined in which county the shooting occurred.”
• Centralia High School graduate Betty Gene Fry, who was a WAVE — an old colloquial term for a woman serving in the U.S. Navy reserves — was having success on the softball field as part of the official Naval Air Station Patuxent River softball team in Maryland, The Chronicle reported. She was “a member of the station softball team that won the Potomac River Naval Command Championship and later won the All-Navy Eastern Championship, the game for which was played at Floyd Bennett Field, New York. The WAVE is the daughter of Mr. (Fred) and Mrs. (Daisy) C. Fry, Galvin.”
• A “very attractive six-room” furnished home with an attached garage on an 80x125 foot lot in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $9,000. A two-bedroom home plus a guest house “near Adna” was listed for rent for $40 a month.
Monday, Oct. 18, 1965
• Winlock Post Office clerk Ray Nelmes, known as “Uncle Ray to Winlock post office patrons,” was set to be honored upon his upcoming Nov. 5 retirement after working in the South Lewis County post office for 38 years, The Chronicle reported. “Nelmes entered service here in 1927 as a substitute clerk under Postmaster Mel Meloy and has held every position in the local office, including that of assistant postmaster … The veteran clerk has been given the postal department’s ‘Superior Service Award,’ a $100 check, a congratulatory letter from the regional Post Office Director James J. Symbol and a gold lapel pin.”
• The Pe Ell Korner Kafe’s kitchen sustained “considerable damage” following a fire early that morning, The Chronicle reported. “Fireman Gerald Nacht said the alarm came at 4 a.m. He said it appeared the blaze ignited near the range. Fire damage was limited to the kitchen, but smoke damage in the building was considerable, he said. The cafe building, owned by Mrs. Louise Hayes, was unoccupied at the time of the fire.”
• The Onalaska School District was set to accept a new 58-passenger school bus at the end of October, The Chronicle reported. “John Fitts, school superintendent, said Earl Gearns, school board member, will leave Friday for Mitchell, Indiana, to pick up the bus and drive it to Onalaska. Fitts said the bus will cost the district slightly over $9,000.”
• U.S. Coast Guard officials were still “confused” about the origin of a piece of unidentified vessel hull, several articles of clothing and fishing gear which washed up on Copalis Beach the week prior, as no vessels of any sort had been reported missing in the area, The Chronicle reported. “The Coast Guard reported finding one piece of a hull seven inches thick and a jacking, working shirt, two pairs of trousers and some hip boots.”
• A four-bedroom home with a living, dining, study and recreation rooms at 711 J St. in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $16,000. A two-bedroom unfurnished home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $65 a month.
Saturday, Oct. 18, 1975
• Six men from the Twin Cities and a Napavine woman were arrested following a drug raid in both Centralia and Chehalis by the Mutual Assistance to Drug Enforcement (MADE) team, The Chronicle reported. The MADE team was comprised of Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies and police officers from both the Chehalis and Centralia police departments. “Seized in the arrests were amphetamines, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and some county road signs. Further arrests and charges are expected, a MADE spokesman said.” Arrested were Randall Howard, Dana Caldwell, Thomas Hardy of the Twin Cities, while the remaining four suspects were unnamed as formal charges were still being filed.
• The local La Leche League in the Twin Cities, a nonprofit focused on advocating for mothers to naturally breastfeed their babies, was set to meet on Tuesday at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Chehalis, The Chronicle reported. “La Leche members believe that breastfeeding, among other advantages, promotes faster recovery after childbirth, decreases the chances of breast cancer and eliminates the need for feeding babies solid foods at an early age, in most instances. Breastfeeding also reduces the chances of serious digestive disorders and gives the baby the best protection against infections and allergies, La Leche members say.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about “the man identified as the leader of a Jesus Christ outer space cult,” being released from a St. Louis County, Missouri, jail after serving time for auto theft. “The Portland Oregonian Thursday identified Marshall Herff Applewhite Jr., 44, of Brownsville, Texas, as one of ‘The Two,’ who told their followers to forget everything and prepare to leave earth on a spaceship to meet their savior. The woman who accompanies him has been identified as Bonnie Lou Trousdale Nettles, 48, of Houston, Texas. Applewhite was arrested on a St. Louis County auto theft warrant after he failed to return a rental car. At the time, he identified himself as a free-lance writer.” Earlier that year, the couple had been preaching at a hotel in Waldport, Oregon, where they convinced around 20 people to give up their jobs and family ties to travel with them around the country, sleeping in tents to avoid detection. While Nettles passed away from cancer in 1985, both she and Applewhite founded the infamous Heaven’s Gate cult, which taught followers they could become immortal, extraterrestrial beings by rejecting their human natures and bodies. The Heaven’s Gate cult ended tragically on March 22 and 23, 1997, when 39 cult members, including Applewhite, committed ritual suicide in Rancho Santa Fe, California, believing they were about to obtain their immortal extraterrestrial bodies and leave Earth aboard a spaceship hidden behind Comet Hale-Bopp, which was visible in the sky and at its closest point to the Earth in its approximately 2,500-year-long orbit at the time.
• A two-story home with a private well and fruit trees on a 25-acre “secluded” homestead near Onalaska was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $29,500. A two-bedroom home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $140 a month.
