I’ve been heartsick all week and praying for all the people who lost loved ones after a chemical rupture at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. in Longview last Tuesday.
A 900,000-gallon vat of “white liquor,” a caustic chemical used to turn wood chips into pulp for paper making, imploded, killing 11 workers.
Among those who died was 38-year-old Braydon Finkas, the son of Napavine Clerk Michelle Whitten, longtime Toledo city clerk. I’ve been praying for her and Braydon’s girlfriend, Kaitlyn Kincaid, and all their family this week as well as others who lost loved ones or suffered emotional and physical pain because of the disaster.
Gov. Bob Ferguson ordered all flags lowered to half-staff this week at state agencies to honor the men who died.
GoFundMe accounts have been established for many of the victims’ families to help them survive each day, each week, each month as they go through the shock, grief, and pain of suddenly losing their loved ones. Credit unions also are collecting donations for families.
The 11 victims are:
• Braydon Finkas, 38, Cathlamet, a technician at the plant for about seven years, moved to Cathlamet four years ago and built his dream home with his girlfriend, Kaitlyn. They had a trip planned to Italy. https://gofund.me/c4e23ed9a
• Dale Miller, 54, Portland, a millwright who started working at Nippon Dynawave this year, leaves behind three children and three grandchildren as well as his sister, Sarah Barton, and his mother, Mary. He was a car junkie and motorcycle enthusiast. https://gofund.me/a3f4d2e7d
• Jared Ammons, 35, Longview, leaves behind his wife, Mackenzie, and two children with a third child on the way. He had planned to accompany his wife to a prenatal appointment that day. https://gofund.me/c134c605b
• John Forsberg, 51, Longview, who is survived by a son and a daughter, was described by friend as witty, kind, and “wicked smart.” He competed regularly in the Ashtown Brewing trivia night in Longview. https://gofund.me/572d1c35a
• Gilbert Bernal, 52, Kelso, an electrician who worked for the company about 15 years, was a Seventh-day Adventist who leaves his wife of nearly 32 years, his son who also worked at the mill, and a daughter as well as grandchildren. https://gofund.me/534c5ecda
• Two Covington brothers who lived in Castle Rock — Tyler, 29, and Brad, 27 — both perished in the disaster. Donations will help their parents — Sherri (St. Pierre) King and John King — pay for the funerals of their two boys and support Tyler’s partner, Kenzi, and their three children.
• Tyler and Brad Covington: https://gofund.me/d0d559f7b and Tyler Covington: https://gofund.me/c36755cfa
• Dillon Miller, Longview, the son of Andrew Miller, brother of Dayton Miller and Payton Miller, leaves behind three daughters shared with his partner, Ana Soto. Dillon and Ana had planned to marry on Sept. 12, 2026, at Burkett’s Barn on Hemenway in Winlock. https://mealtrain.com/v665eg
• Clint “CJ” Doran, 26, Kelso, the spiritual leader of his family, leaves behind his wife, Alisa. https://gofund.me/34aafbbf5
• Robert “Robb” Wilson, 48, Clatskanie, Oregon, an electrician and engineer, leaves behind his wife, Crystal, who is originally from Moses Lake but now lives in Longview, two children and grandchildren.
• Norman Barlow, 58, Vancouver, a Washougal High School graduate, is survived by his mother, Ethel, and his sister, Cindy Barlow Bickford.
Eight others suffered injuries.
Megan Hubbard, a Longview digital creator whose husband worked as a millwright at Nippon, wrote on Facebook about the effect the tragedy has had on workers who were there that morning. She said her husband and others immediately rushed to help, then donned special gear when they learned a white liquor tank had ruptured. They assisted injured coworkers and searched for others with little thought for their own safety. They helped, she said, because that’s who they are.
Donations also are being collected for the families by the Columbia Longshoremen’s Federal Credit Union (Longshore Credit Union 629 14th Ave, Longview, WA 98632), the Cowlitz Wahkiakum Central Labor Council (629 14th Ave., Longview, WA 98632) and the Longview/Kelso Building Trades Council. Fibre Federal Credit Union and Red Canoe Credit Union also are collecting donations for the families at their branches.
CLAQUATO CHURCH
On Memorial Day last week, my sister and I hosted people who dropped by the historic Claquato Church, which was opened during the holiday weekend, thanks to the 1858 landmark’s new owners, the Claquato Cemetery.
The cemetery, through the nonprofit Claquato Heritage Association, purchased the church for $5,000 and spent about $25,000 on a study detailing improvements needed to the building. They started by replacing the roof in April. Next are improvements to the siding, windows, exterior paint, and interior restoration. Donations to support the restoration can be mailed to Claquato Heritage Association P.O. Box 1443, Chehalis, WA 98532 or dropped off at the Claquato Cemetery office.
Dozens of people signed a guestbook when they stopped by over the weekend to see the oldest remaining church in Washington, complete with its original pews and pulpit donated by the people of the Boistfort community, a bronze bell cast in 1857 and shipped around Cape Horn from Boston, and wooden spires protruding from the belfry to represent a crown of thorns.
We greeted people who had never entered the old church and others who hadn’t been inside for more than half a century, not since a grade school field trip. I loved hearing stories of people like longtime Centralia fourth-grade teacher Serena Armentrout and other educators who took students on field trips to Claquato.
In 1853, Lewis Hawkins Davis, a Vermont native, settled with his wife, Susan, and family in a double-log cabin on the hillside west of Chehalis. His son, Levi Adrian Davis, claimed an adjoining homestead and, in the fall of 1857, began operating a waterwheel-powered saw- and gristmill. The following year, they sawed lumber to build the small nondenominational church that still stands today. Susan’s brother, John “Duff” Clinger, supervised construction and built the doors and window casings. Nails forged by hand by blacksmith A.F. Gordon hold the church together.
Claquato served as a waystation for stagecoach and other travelers and featured hotels, blacksmith and carpenter shops, a post office, and even a ferry across the Chehalis River. After Lewis H. Davis donated land and constructed a two-story courthouse, the community of nearly 50 became the county seat in 1862. But a dozen years later, the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed Claquato, spelling doom for the small community, and the county seat moved to nearby Chehalis. We also met the granddaughter of a man who helped restore the church in 1953.
I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed listening to stories. Edna Fund, who staffed the church on Saturday, said Marilyn Ponder Gallagher and her daughter, Amy Dunnagan, expressed surprise upon discovering relatives of theirs — a great-uncle, Nelson Edward Fay, and his wife, Mary Edith Joy Fay — had donated an organ to the church in 1997. I’ve written in the past about Marilyn’s mother, Carol Ponder, who grew up in Salzar Valley. She died on April 13, 2025, at 91.
The small community connections rooted in rich Lewis County history are amazing.
•••
Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
