In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Friday, Aug. 23, 1935, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about contracts being awarded for bridge construction work on six bridges around the Twin Cities area.
Rochester resident Ed Angwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison for arson and other charges after he and others celebrating the surrender of Imperial Japan during World War II let their celebrations get out of hand, resulting in not only fires but the slaughtering of a cow, according to the Thursday, Aug. 23, 1945, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Saturday, Aug. 23, 1975, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that Vietnamese refugee Doan family was settling in with the Johnson family in Chehalis, and they were one of seven families fleeing Communist governments in Southeast Asia taking refuge in Lewis County at the time.
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, Aug. 23, 1935
• Lewis County commissioners opened and selected bids for the construction of six bridges in Chehalis and Centralia, The Chronicle reported, with five of the bridges going to one contractor alone. “W.O. Salesky, Centralia contractor, was the successful bidder on construction of five bridges, bids on which were opened by the Lewis County Commissioners this morning. Frank Pakar was awarded the contract for the rebuilding of the Ceres Bridge.” Pakar was actually the only contract to bid for the Ceres Bridge project, while the bridges Salesky was to construct included the Claquato Bridge and four bridges on Hannaford Valley Road northeast of Centralia. Pakar’s bid for the Ceres Bridge was $5,360.50, while Salesky bid $4,908.02 for the Claquato Bridge and $4,244.31 for the four Hannaford Valley Road bridges.
• After being captured while on the run in a Rushville, Missouri transient camp in July 1935, Bob Brandon — one of two men accused of the Dec. 17, 1934, murder of Pe Ell gas station attendant William Walker — was saying Great Depression-era transient camps were “doing more harm than good,” The Chronicle reported. During The Great Depression, many who lost their homes ended up in make-shift shantytown camps also known as “Hoovervilles.” Having been forced to live in one under a fake name while on the run, Brandon found them dangerous. “‘Especially,’ says Brandon … ‘are they dangerous to the boys who have wanderlust. They would never be on the road if it were not for these camps. In fact, if the government would cut out the transient camps and shelters and the railroads would make it harder to hop freights, there would be only 25% of the men on the road that there now is. … In these camps and shelters they are thrown in with all kinds of men, more different kinds than they would contact in the penitentiary.’” Though to be fair, the boys with wanderlust probably would have run into murderers like Brandon in prison too. Brandon’s partner in crime, Joe Bryan, had already been tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. As for how the murder occurred, Brandon and Bryan had stolen a car from a Raymond resident, and stopped at Walker’s gas station near Pe Ell. The men got into an argument, and eventually gunfire was exchanged. After fatally shooting Walker, Brandon fled in the stolen vehicle and left behind Bryan, who had also been wounded in the shootout. Brandon would eventually plead guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 to 35 years in prison.
• The Centralia Business College celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding, The Chronicle reported. “When the Centralia Business College ended its summer term today, it marked the end of the 25th year since the institution was established here. The fall term will open Monday, Sept. 2. The college, which has enrolled hundreds of students from throughout Southwest Washington since it was opened, was founded by C.S. Jackson. Roy J. Fletcher, present owner of the school, has been here 23 years.” While no longer open, the Centralia Business College was actually opened 10 years before Centralia College, which was founded in 1925 by C.L. Little.
• A “large house, barn, chicken house” on six acres of land near the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds “adjoining town” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $2,500.
Thursday, Aug. 23, 1945
• Rochester resident Ed Angwood, 27, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Thurston County Superior Court after he pleaded guilty to arson charges after he and three juveniles let their Imperial Japanese World War II surrender celebrations get out of hand, The Chronicle reported. “The conviction grew out out of a celebration following the Japanese surrender last week, in which Angwood and three juveniles, according to Thurston County prosecutor Levy Johnson, did these things: Set a number of fires along the highway; Plundered and burned down a house belonging to James Blowers, near Olympia; Killed a cow in a field near Little Rock, cut off the hindquarters, and lugged them to a Michigan Hill home for a feast.” The unnamed juveniles were still in custody amid further investigation, and the owner of the Michigan Hill home where the cow was eaten, Vance Newhart, was also arrested.
• An approximately 3,000 acre wildfire southwest of Ryderwood was “partly out of control” but being contained still according to District Fire Warden Louis Panush, The Chronicle reported. “Panush said the fire was, ‘pretty well corralled,’ in the north side, but jumped the fire trail on the south side Tuesday afternoon, causing some trouble. He said he believed it could be brought back under control.” The fire had started more than two weeks earlier, mostly scorching an already burned areas and slashed forest areas.
• Centralia Mayor Louis Vimont and Chehalis Mayor Ray Sprague signed and issued a joint proclamation published on the front page of The Chronicle designating Friday, Aug. 24, 1945, as Chehalis-Centralia-Centennial Day marking the 100th anniversary of Lewis County’s founding during the ongoing Lewis County Fair. “Chehalis and Centralia, as centers of much of the development activity, should assume active leadership in properly observing the occasion above set forth … all businesses houses close at noon that day; that the citizens of Chehalis and Centralia join heartily in the spirit of this occasion and give special support by attendance and in other ways on the historical pageant to be presented each evening during the fair.”
• A six-bedroom “modern” home with a breakfast nook, new roof, a barn and an orchard on eight acres of land near Galvin was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $5,500.
Tuesday, Aug. 23, 1955
• Renton resident Melvin Eaton was sentenced to 90 days in jail and a $200 fine, plus court costs, after he was found guilty of “drunken driving and driving with his operator’s license revoked,” by Chehalis Justice J.A. Vanderstoep, The Chronicle reported. He also had his license suspended for an additional 60 days, another $100 fine and 30 days in jail for fleeing the scene of an incident and driving without a valid license. “State patrolmen said Eaton’s car hit another at Mary’s Corner and then he fled in his car from the scene. He was run down near Chehalis.”
• “Some half-dozen householders in southwest Centralia” believed their well water levels were sinking due to pumping at Plummer Lake, The Chronicle reported. “Joe Daly, who lives in the district, said the area, which is adjacent the Old Chehalis Road and just outside the city, has experienced most of its shallow dug wells going dry or near dry. He declared no wells in the district have gone dry in previous years. One well, it was said, has for 18 years not only served a family but has provided plentiful garden and lawn irrigation. Over the weekend its depth dropped 10 feet.” Pumping was being carried out at Plummer Lake by the Twin City Sand and Gravel Company, which was removing gravel from the lake for the new Pacific Highway project. Company officials told the homeowners the pumping was only temporary for the highway project, and would cease upon its completion.
• While their parents may have been dismayed, students in the Vader School District were facing the possibility of a delay to the school year’s start, The Chronicle reported. “(Vader School) Board clerk M.L. Phillips said difficulty has arisen over land-scaping work being done on the school grounds and the fact the work, which is involving the use of heavy hauling units, will not be done next week. He said directors are concerned of the danger of the heavy equipment and children being together on the grounds. Possible solution, it was said, is to shove the start of the 1955-56 school year to Sept. 6.”
• A five-bedroom “completely remodeled” home with a full basement, two-car garage and woodshed on Washington Avenue in Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $14,500, furnished, or $12,500, unfurnished. A three-bedroom, partly furnished “modern” home in Cinebar was listed for rent for $40 a month.
Monday, Aug. 23, 1965
• Organized by the Mossyrock Lions Club, the inaugural Mayfield Water Carnival was scheduled to start on the upcoming weekend, The Chronicle reported. “The two-day fun-fest will include sky diving, water skiing and hydroplane racing, not to mention a beef barbecue, boaters’ breakfast and dance. Bruce Dunn, chairman of the carnival, Monday announced the activities will center in the Lewis County Park along the 14-mile-long lake.”
• The Lewis County Public Utilities District (PUD) received a record amount of revenue and sales over the past 12 months due to growth in the county, The Chronicle reported. According to a report compiled by the PUD’s consulting engineers, R.W. Beck and Associates, operating revenues were up 7.4% over the 1963-1964 period. “PUD auditor Ron Miller said kilowatt hour sales for the 1964-65 period are also at a high, being 8.4% up … The district has also listed a record high in customer average. It stands at 12,380 as compared to June 30, 1964, when it was 12,152.” Over the same time period, the PUD’s operating expenses had increased 5.3%, mostly due to power purchased from the Bonneville Power Administration.
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about strikes beginning in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, beer breweries after last-minute wage negotiations fell apart. “A spokesman for the breweries said the two cities would be without local beer within a week because current stocks would not last long. Affected are Lucky Lager, Melson’s, Carling’s, O’Keefe’s and Pacific Brewers Warehousing Ltd. The 530 employees walked off after last-minute efforts failed … The companies made an offer Saturday which they said would increase employees’ wages by 13% in two years compared with 9% proposed in a conciliation report. A union spokesman said the offer was rejected because the proposals fell far short of wages negotiated for workers in the breweries’ eastern plants.”
• A four-bedroom home on two acres in Fords Prairie was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $22,500. A furnished one-bedroom home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $65 a month.
Saturday, Aug. 23, 1975
• Amid the fallout from the end of the Vietnam War, the Johnson family of Chehalis was hosting a Vietnamese refugee family of eight, The Chronicle reported. According to Barbara Johnson, “everybody is, ‘having a ball,’” as she was helping the Doan family get settled in at their Quincey Avenue residents. “Her visitors are Kim and Oanh Doan, and their four youngsters — Chinh, five months, Thuy, 2, Tran, 3, and Dung, 5.” Also joining them was Oanh’s mother, Tuat Nghiem. “They fled from the Communists a few days before Saigon fell. They made the decisions to flee to the United States in five minutes, and 30 minutes later they were aboard a U.S. military C-141 jet heading for the Philippines. They grabbed what they could and left everything else behind in their home … The public will have an opportunity to meet the Doan family and six other refugee families from Indochina in the Lewis County area at a picnic to be held Sunday afternoon at Riverside Park in Centralia. Just bring some food to the potluck affair and join the fun. There is a Cambodian family in Chehalis and two Vietnamese families in Centralia, two more in Rochester and one in Toledo.”
• Curtis resident Michael Gress suffered a leg injury after a rock hit his right leg at a Weyerhaeuser Company drilling operation near Pe Ell, The Chronicle reported. “Gress, a tractor-drill operator for Weyerhaeuser, was preparing a rock pit for blasting when some rocks rattled down, striking his lower right leg, breaking both bones in that leg about six inches below the knee. He underwent surgery Wednesday to reset the bones, and has been placed in a cast to the hip.” Gress was expected to return home within the next few days, and was also the Boistfort Little League Baseball team coach and treasurer of the newly formed Boistfort Booster Club.
• A “super duper” two-bedroom home with a two-car garage, a private well on 20 acres of land near Winlock was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $42,000. A “newly redecorated” home in Centralia was listed for rent for $150 a month.
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To submit historical photos or information to Chronicle reporter Owen Sexton, email owen@chronline.com or call The Chronicle during business hours at 360-736-3311. Submission forms are also available online at chronline.com.
