A Look Back in Time: Kittens survive Chehalis house fire; Explosive blasting caps found near Glenoma; Oakville man accidentally shoots himself
In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Thursday, April 25, 1946, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about Chehalis resident Hugh Lowery's home catching fire - and while the fire gutted the home's first floor, it "did not seem to disturb three kittens," which were found "fast asleep in their basket in the bathroom."
More explosive blasting caps were found near Glenoma after the Kosmos Timber Company reported a theft of blasting caps and dynamite earlier in the month, though timber company employees said the caps found near Glenoma didn't match theirs, according to the Wednesday, April 25, 1956, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Monday, April 25, 1966, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that Oakville resident Larry Jelle accidentally shot himself in the leg when the .22 caliber pistol he had holstered suddenly discharged a round.
The Sunday, April 25, 1976, edition of The Chronicle was not in the archives, so stories from the Saturday, April 24, 1976, edition have been featured instead.
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.
Saturday, April 25, 1936
-Construction of several federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects in Lewis County - including a swimming pool in Pe Ell - was expected to start on the upcoming Monday, The Chronicle reported. The WPA was a New Deal agency created to combat Great Depression economic fallout by providing unemployed Americans with jobs completing various public works projects. "Work on the much discussed Pe Ell swimming pool will begin Monday morning when 14 men go to work under a WPA project, N.W. Avery, WPA resident engineer, announced today. The pool will be 90 by 30 feet in area and will be nine feet deep at one end, tapering off to a few inches in depth at the other. It will be of concrete construction and will be an open air pool. The cost of construction will be $4,417, Avery said." Three other projects were also set to start including: a 30 by 20 foot garage at the Galvin School, costing $891 and employing eight workers; Repainting the Alpha School and building a fence around its athletic field, costing $816 and employing eight workers, and installing 350 feet of sidewalks and 650 feet of sewer lines for the Randle School District, costing $1,020 and employing 15 workers.
-Chehalis Senior High School students performed their annual play, titled "Growing Pains," the previous evening, The Chronicle reported. "The play was an uproarious comedy based on the 'puppy love' affairs (of) adolescents. Harris Laughnan played the part of the love sick youth who hit a traffic officer because the officer insulted his girl. He was thrown in the town jail and the next morning, after his release, the girl, played by Evelyn McCracken, turned him down because he was 'awfully young.' He was heartbroken but felt better when his father bought him a dog and forgot completely about the affair when a new girl, 'a smooth number,' came to town. Young Laughnan and Miss McCracken played their parts to perfection as did Esther Flagg, who played the part of Laughnan's younger sister who wanted to play baseball with the boys. Dick Blanchat was exceptionally good as the father, as was Mary Jane Balsom in the part of the mother. Others in the cast were: Lucill Morrow, Bertha Durham, Mary Laughlin, Bob Schwarz, Henry Stearns, Clark Penner, Ace Logan, Bob Reynolds, Ben Calvin, Norma Hazlett, Corinne Peters, Betty Senn, Jean Shorey, Carol Sturdevant, Betty Sturdevant, Bill Bantz, Ray Paulsen and Howard Skepper."
-A "gentle and true" horse, weighing 1,600 pounds and 12 years old, was listed for sale in The Chronicle's classifieds for $75.
Thursday, April 25, 1946
-Chehalis resident Hugh Lowery's home caught fire on Tuesday, The Chronicle reported. "Fire Tuesday night gutted the first floor of the Hugh Lowery home at 13th and McFadden streets, in Chehalis. Firemen laid two blocks of hose to reach the home, which is out of the city limits, (Chehalis) Fire Chief (Ernest C.) Kuehner. The blaze started at about 7:30 p.m., when pipes from the kitchen stove and the heating unit blew out simultaneously, throwing fire into the rooms. Lowery, rushing to the kitchen, said the room was a ball of fire. The flames, spreading over the first floor, gutted three of the rooms and did some damage to the second floor, Kuehner said. The heat did not seem to disturb three kittens, who were fast asleep in their basket in the bathroom when (a) fireman removed them to safer quarters."
-Local state Reps. Arthur S. Cory and George R. Thompson were set to host the state Senate Agriculture Interim Committee - composed of five senators and U.S. Department of Agriculture liaisons - at an upcoming Chehalis Kiwanis Club luncheon at the St. Helens Hotel on May 2, The Chronicle reported. "The primary objective of the committee is to get a complete picture of the agencies set up by the state Legislature, thus being able to secure better co-operations from federal agencies working in the state on the same lines of thought ... The Kiwanis Club is inviting farmers of the county to join it at this noon luncheon with the idea of discussing any phase of the agricultural set up which they believe can be improved. After the regular meeting, the committee will meet with all interested parties to discuss any particular problems and cases affecting Lewis County farmers, Representative Cory said."
-A four-room "semi-modern" house with a small barn and hen house on a "43 acre secluded ranch near Tenino" was listed for sale in The Chronicle's classifieds for $1,500. A five-room home "on paved street in excellent residential district, extra large lot" in Chehalis was listed for sale for $6,500.
Wednesday, April 25, 1956
-More explosive blasting caps were found near Glenoma, after caps were stolen from the Kosmos Timber Company by local youth earlier that month, according to Lewis County Sheriff Earl Hilton, The Chronicle reported. However, it appeared these caps were not from the Kosmos company. "A total of 260 of the caps (were) found hidden by a Meade Road bridge about 1 1/2 miles from Glenoma. They were turned over to the sheriff's officers, who said another mystery was raised when they took them to the Kosmos Timber Company, loser by theft of a large amount of blasting supplies in the past month. Deputies said timber company employees examined the caps and declared they were not from the timber company supply. On April 15, a Kosmos boy had his hand shattered by an explosion, and it later developed a number of Kosmos boys had stolen a large quantity of caps and dynamite from the timber company. Most of the material has been recovered, but deputies said apparently some of it has been either cached or thrown along roads. Deputies urged Lewis County residents to be especially watchful along roads for the deadly caps and to caution children against picking them up."
-Silver Brook Baptist Church director William R. Baker was certain a fire the previous Saturday which gutted the church's kitchen and caused an estimated $5,000 in damage was the work of an arsonist, The Chronicle reported. "Baker said he is convinced, as are other officials of the church, that someone deliberately started a fire in the kitchen of the 2 1/2 -year-old building. At first it was thought the fire started from faulty wiring in the electric range in the kitchen. Closer inspection revealed the blaze started near the wall among some cupboards where dishes were stored ... Another factor that adds to Baker's suspicion of arson, he said, was the fact that he had always left two keys on the front porch, one to the front door and one to the rear door. Following the fire, it was discovered the key to the back door was missing and the door was unlocked." State Deputy Fire Marshal Walter Ryckman was assisting the Lewis County Sheriff's Office with the investigation into the fire. "The church congregation is now using the Silver Brook Grange hall as a place of worship."
-A five-room home described as a "nice place for retired couple or young couple who wants to live in country and work in town" on two and a half acres of land near Winlock was listed for sale in The Chronicle's classifieds for $4,000. A three-bedroom "modern" home in a "good neighborhood" was listed for rent for $50 a month.
Monday, April 25, 1966
-Oakville resident Larry Jelle, 18 at the time, accidentally shot himself in the leg with a .22 caliber pistol when the pistol apparently discharged a round while holstered on Sunday morning, The Chronicle reported. "Centralia General Hospital officials said Jelle was in good condition Monday. The youth's mother said he had been target shooting near the home with his younger brother. 'Larry had four cans set up and had been practicing. He and his brother had just started back toward the barn,' said Mrs. Nadine Jelle, 'when Larry must have hit the safety with his hand. The gun went off in his leg.' Ronald Jelle rushed his son to Centralia. When Centralia police heard of the emergency, a police car was dispatched to the city limits to lead the Jelle car to the hospital. Hospital officials said a .22 slug was removed from the boy's leg. 'Larry is ready to go back to school now,' said his mother, 'but it looks as if he'll be in the hospital a few days.' Young Jelle attends St. Martin's College in Lacey on a basketball scholarship."
-Members of the U.S. Navy Band "made a land invasion of Chehalis Saturday night" and performed a concert for over 1,500 locals, The Chronicle reported. "Conducting the successful invitations was Lieutenant Commander Antony A. Mitchell, a 20-year veteran of the band. Held in the W.F. West High School gymnasium, the concert featured five soloists and the Navy Band trio. A Navy man also narrated the selections during the two-hour concert. Ronald Simpson, W.F. West High School band director, was invited by Lt. Comdr. Mitchell to conduct the Navy Band on the 'National Emblem March.' One of the bandsmen was a Chehalin - Everett McLaughlin, who is leading chief of the band and personnel manager for the band on its annual spring tours."
-A three-bedroom home with "wall-wall carpet" located at 692 SE Adams St. in Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle's classifieds for $6,000. An unfurnished, two-bedroom home in Centralia was listed for rent for $75 a month.
Saturday, April 24, 1976
-The Tenino Junior High School spelling bee team racked up another Thurston County Spelling Contest championship win, The Chronicle reported. "The Tenino team scored 236 points, 11 more than Yelm's 225. The Griffin school team was third with 220. A perfect score would have been 250. The Tenino team was awarded a trophy for its display case, which will bring the number of spelling contest trophies in the case to 14. Tenino students won their first championship trophy in 1962. That trophy, which is enshrined in the display case of the Tenino Junior High School, reads: 'Champions County Spellinng Contest' (with two n's!). Since that time Tenino has failed to win the trophy only two times and in those years the team placed second. In addition to the trophy, the team win assured that Tenino will host the spelling contest again in 1977. The Tenino team included Roxanne Fitzgerald, fourth grade; George Smith, fifth grade; Zee Fitzgerald, sixth grade; Brian Kildow, seventh grade, and Brett Brashear, eighth grade. Three members of the team, George Smith, Zee Fitzgerald and Brett Brashear, also were first place winners in the individual spelling competitions. Other individual first place winners were brothers Kraig Powell, fourth grade, and Karl Powell, seventh grade, of Yelm. Five-member teams from eight schools competed in the contest. In the order of finish, they were Tenino, Yelm, Griffin, Southside, Rainier, St. Michael's, Hood Canal and Rochester."
-A three-bedroom home with a new, large barn on "40 acres all fenced, mostly cleared" near Ethel was listed for sale in The Chronicle's classifieds for $62,500. A one-bedroom apartment in Centralia was listed for rent for $125 a month.
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