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In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Saturday, Oct. 30, 1926, edition of The Chronicle featured an update embattled Lewis County Sheriff Frank Roberts, who, along with other men, including other law enforcement officials, was pleading “not guilty” to federal charges of running an illegal liquor ring during Prohibition.
The Centralia Community Development Recreation Group rejected a proposal to build a race track at Fort Borst Park, according to the Wednesday, Oct. 31, 1956, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Thursday, Oct. 31, 1996, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that local 4-H Club members were helping train guide dogs for the blind.
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, Oct. 30, 1926
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about Lewis County Sheriff Frank Roberts, along with several other local law enforcement officials and men, pleading not guilty during their arraignment hearing that day in a Tacoma federal court. The men were charged with allegations of violating the Volstead Act, also known as the federal Prohibition Act, as federal prosecutors alleged the men ran an illegal liquor ring in the region, facilitating both liquor production and trafficking. “Pleas of not guilty were entered by Sheriff Frank Roberts and Deputy Sheriffs Lou Hawkins and William B. Coston of Lewis County and four other defendants, who are charged jointly with conspiring to violate the national prohibition act, when they were arraigned before federal Judge E.E. Cushman in federal court today. Cushman set the case over until Nov. 8 for assignment. The Ruby Beach fraud case has taken more than five weeks in the court and has crowded the court calendar, and until completion of this case, which promises to take at least two weeks more, the court is setting no cases. Promise of an early trial was given to the defendants, and it is expected that the trial will follow the fraud case.” Details of some of the charges levied against the men were published in the Oct. 1, 1926, edition of The Chronicle, and can be found in that week’s Look Back in Time on The Chronicle’s website at https://tinyurl.com/yesjy8x2.
• A six-room home on South Tower Avenue in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for a “bargain at $2,300.” An apartment house with 14 “well furnished” units was listed for sale for $5,000.
Saturday, Oct. 31, 1936
• Joe Bryan, one of two men convicted of murdering Pe Ell gas station operator William F. Walker in December of 1934, died during an escape attempt from the Walla Walla state penitentiary, The Chronicle reported. “Joe Bryan, 35, serving a life term at the state penitentiary for the murder of William F. Walker, lost his life in an attempt to escape over the west wall of the prison last night when the improvised hook and rope which was to support him gave way, dropping him to instant death in a light well about 12 feet deep, according to an Associated Press report to The Daily Chronicle from Walla Walla. Frank Allamand, 27, who had gained the roof of the new shop line extension and planned to go out with Bryan, made no further attempt to get away when he witnessed the tragedy, the report said. Three wall guards, with rifles trained on the two, whom they had discovered on the roof, had not fired, authorities said. Allamand gave up without resistance when seeing he was ‘spotted.’ Walker was slain the night of Dec. 17, 1934, in an altercation over payment of gas. Bryan, wounded, was arrested after stopping at the home of a Doty physician for surgical aid. Bob Brandon, his companion the night of the killing, was captured in Missouri several months later and is also serving a sentence at Walla Walla. Bryan’s father and other relatives reside at Fort Smith, Arkansas.”
• A five-room with oak flooring and a basement “near high school” in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $1,850.
Thursday, Oct. 31, 1946
• Centralia Municipal Court Judge W.H. Cameron dismissed charges levied against a Winlock man, accusing him of threatening to shoot another Winlock man, The Chronicle reported. “A case against Leonard Zyger, charged by Clyde E. Leathers, Winlock marshall, with threatening to shoot one John A. Gasso on a Winlock street recently, was tried in Justice W.H. Cameron’s court in Centralia Tuesday afternoon, and was dismissed for lack of evidence. The charges were originally filed in Justice W.H. Bartz’ court in Chehalis on Oct. 24, where a warrant was issued and cash bail set at $500, which the defendant furnished. The case was later transferred to Justice Cameron on a change of venue. About 40 witnesses, mostly Winlock and Toledo residents, testified at Tuesday’s hearing, all but one of them for the defense.”
• A six-room home with a barn and other outbuildings on 20 acres of cleared land with an orchard “close to Chehalis” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $4,750. A two-bedroom home with a “closed back porch” on North Tower Avenue in Centralia was listed for sale for $5,800.
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 1956
• Plans for a proposed race track at Fort Borst Park were rejected by the Centralia Community Development Recreation Group, The Chronicle reported. “Almost unanimous disapproval of a proposed automobile speedway at Fort Borst was voiced by about 40 persons in attendance at a meeting of the Centralia Community Development Recreation Group at Centralia City Hall Tuesday night. Most outspoken advocate of the race track, which would enclose the presently proposed athletic facilities (baseball and football fields), was Centralia’s Public Works commissioner, Alva Yeager. Yeager said the track would provide recreation for a great number of local persons and would attract a lot of visitors to the city. ‘Centralia has never had anything that would draw a crowd,’ he said. First opposition to the track proposal was voiced by the Rev. Dr. S. Raynor Smith Jr., of the Centralia First Methodist Church. Rev. Smith said, ‘those responsible for the moral and spiritual welfare of children are overwhelmingly opposed’ to the construction of a race track at Fort Borst, and if the proposal were to be taken seriously, protests would soon be forthcoming.”
• An “unfinished” one-bedroom home with wires and plumbing installed on 1.8 acres of cleared land with an additional acre of timber was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $3,100. A furnished three-bedroom home in was listed for rent for $75 a month.
Monday, Oct. 31, 1966
• With Halloween’s arrival that day and trick-or-treaters due to hit the city’s streets that night, Centralia Police Chief Bill Merriman and Lewis County Sheriff Orville Amondson warned teens considering carrying out acts of vandalism that they would be arrested, The Chronicle reported. “Law enforcement officials have issued stern warnings that anyone picked up for destructive Halloween pranks will be treated as if he were a vandal. All units announce that they will have all available men patrolling the area. Centralia Police Chief Bill Merriman promises quick action for all arrested for vandalism. Sheriff O.R. Amondson said vandals will not be able to hide behind Halloween masks. All lawmen stress that extra safety precautions should be exercised, because of the many youngsters roaming the streets.”
• A three-bedroom home at 214 N. Rock St. in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $10,500. A three-bedroom home at 1208 J St. in Centralia was listed for rent for $75 a month.
Saturday, Oct. 30, 1976
• Pe Ell Post Office clerk Jessie Arrington was retiring after over three decades of working in the West Lewis County community, The Chronicle reported. “Pe Ell postal patrons are invited to a party next Friday afternoon to honor Jessie G. Arrington, clerk in charge, who is retiring after 33 years of service on the job in the Pe Ell Post Office. Miss Arrington has served under four postmasters and watched the community grow and change with the times. She will turn over her chores to Mrs. Sydney Gudyka. They have worked together in the post office for the past 25 years. Mrs. Gudyka has served under the same four postmasters … Miss Arrington was doing odd jobs around the town in 1943 when she was asked to work in the post office. Bashful and hesitating, she agreed to try it for a year. The year has lasted for nearly 400 months … Miss Arrington, who has lived most of her life in Pe Ell with her sister, Cordie, plans to remain in the community. Both attended schools here.”
• A four-bedroom home on two acres of land in Fords Prairie was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $29,500. A two-bedroom townhouse apartment in Winlock was listed for rent for $140 a month with a $50 deposit.
Friday, Oct. 31, 1986
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about President Rondal Reagan visiting Spokane to stump for an incumbent U.S. senator. “President Reagan told a cheering crowd today that he would see to it that sections of the budget law banning test drilling at the Hanford nuclear reservation this year are upheld. The statement fell far short of the ‘Hanford surprise’ announcement some observers believed the president would make in supporting Sen. Slade Gorton’s re-election bid. Gorton, R-Washington, is locked in a tight battle with Democrat Brock Adams, who has continually hammered away at the theme that Gorton has been ineffective in dealing with the selection of Hanford as one of three finalists for a national nuclear waste repository. The president said, ‘Slade has told me of his deep concern and Slade has gotten the ear of everyone in the nation’s capital on this issue.’ Reagan noted that the current budget contains specific language banning the U.S. Department of Energy from drilling test holes at the Hanford site.” Ultimately, Nevada’s Yucca Mountain site was chosen as the location for the national nuclear waste repository in 1987. Despite Reagan’s visit, Gorton would go on to lose his Senate seat that year to Adams, but then won Washington state’s other Senate seat in 1988, holding it until 2000 when he was defeated by Sen. Maria Cantwell — who still holds the seat today.
• A three-bedroom home on 10 acres of land near Adna “with view of two mountains” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $75,000. A two-bedroom mobile home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $285 a month with a $150 deposit.
Thursday, Oct. 31, 1996
• Local 4-H Club members were featured in The Chronicle for their efforts in training puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc., which had just delivered a group of new puppies to train while also picking up trained dogs to partner with those in need. “Tom Kruger sat atop his musical instrument case Wednesday stroking the blond fur of his eight-week-old labrador retriever, Harrington. Kruger looked down at the puppy, playing with its ears. He refused to watch his father, Kenneth Kruger, lead Ruslan, another labrador retriever, into the back of a truck. Ruslan and another retriever, Native, are on their way to Boring, Oregon, for further training as guide dogs for the blind. Tom Kruger’s nose was red and tears gently rolled down his cheek. ‘Do you want to say goodbye?’ Kenneth Kruger asked his son. ‘I already have,’ he said as he buried his face further into Harrington’s fur. For young Kruger and Adna teenager Emily Sibbert, who helped train Native, it’s an inevitable yet emotional part of training guide dogs as 4-H members. The two teenagers started the process again Wednesday when they exchanged the older dogs for puppies. The teens, along with Rebecca Scobee of Montesano, immediately took their new charges to a Centralia church to start the training process. Kruger’s mother, Gwen Kruger, coordinates training of the dogs for the local 4-H organization. The puppies arrived by truck from Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc., of San Rafael, California. The company provides puppies for 4-H members throughout the Pacific Northwest. The training, which lasts until a dog is between 14 and 16 months old, generally consists of obedience classes and familiarizing the dogs with people and their surroundings … Michele Cawley, who lives in Ellensburg and directs the delivery of dogs in Washington and Idaho, said 4-H clubs are always looking for teens or adults to volunteer as trainers, especially in the Lewis County area. The commitment does come with some emotional attachment, but Kruger and Sibbert didn’t hesitate when reaching for their new puppies. As they drove out of the parking lot, smiles and kisses of affections for the new puppies replaced the tears.”
• A three-bedroom home with a vaulted ceiling and three-car garage on half an acre of land in Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $149,500. A “large studio apartment” with cable, laundry and telephone service included in Centralia was listed for rent for $400 a month with a $100 deposit.
