A Look Back in Time: Centralians Petition for Change in Government in 1932

Jul. 29—Petitions were being circulated in Centralia to change the city's form of government, The Chronicle reported on July 30, 1932. The petition asked for the Centralia Commission to meet to call a special election allowing the public to vote on a proposal abolishing the commission.

The petition requested the language presented on the ballot read, "Shall the City of Centralia, Washington, abandon its organization as a city under a commission and become a city under the general laws covering cities of like population?"

A group of "representative businessmen" were allegedly behind the petition, The Chronicle reported. The purpose of the proposal was supposedly the "reduction in the cost of city government."

According to The Chronicle, signatures from 25% of Centralia's registered voters were needed to require the Centralia Commission to call the desired election.

The city's commission-based government had been adopted in a similar special election in 1911. Under the commission, Centralia was governed by a mayor and two commissioners, all of whom were paid salaries based on the federal census each decade.

Under the "general laws" referred to in the petition, Centralia would move to a system with a mayor and city council consisting of seven council members, all of whom would serve without pay. Under the proposal, one council member would serve as a member-at-large, while the other six members would be elected from council districts.

J.P. Guerrier had been the last mayor elected under Centralia's previous "councilmanic" form of government while Rev. H.W. Thompson served as the first mayor under the commission-style government, The Chronicle reported.

While the 1932 effort failed, the commission was eventually converted to the city council format the city operates under today.

July 30, 1932

—A pioneer celebration scheduled for Aug. 3 and 4 was given an advertising boost when an hour-long broadcast promoting the event was aired on KGY, an Olympia radio station. The radio broadcast was sponsored by the Centralia Kiwanis Club. The pioneer celebration was set to include a range of activities, including a rodeo to be held at the Chehalis airport.

—Crowds were expected in Fort Borst Park for an annual grange picnic on Sunday, July 31. A dinner was scheduled for noon with a program featuring speakers from Chehalis and Seattle to take place afterward. A "carload of watermelons" was to also be provided for picnickers.

—George Lehmeier, a Chehalis plumber, was found not guilty of hit and run charges in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday, July 29. Lehmeier is alleged to have hit Pauline Jenkins while she walked along a highway on the outskirts of Centralia.

—H.C. Johnson and Fred Keller were both put on trial for possession of alcohol, which was illegal at the time under prohibition. Johnson was acquitted of possession and sale of beer while Keller was fined $150 "and costs" for possession and sale of whiskey. Johnson's unnamed wife was also put on trial, convicted and fined $50.

—The Chehalis Grange heard from state Rep. Arthur Cory on July 28 in a speech that focused on tax issues. Cory told the grange there were two ways to reduce taxes, the reduction of unnecessary spending and finding new sources of taxation from wealthy individuals. Cory also discussed issues related to a proposed pension plan he said was similar to programs in California, New York and Massachusetts.

—Ten acres of "choice" land including "400 cherry trees" were listed for $600.

—New York Governor and Democratic Party Presidential Nominee Franklin Roosevelt was reported as putting the "finishing touches" on his plans to campaign across the country. Roosevelt, who had received his party's nomination earlier in July, was planning to begin his campaign tour on Aug. 20 in Columbus, Ohio.

July 30, 1942

—The Centralia Kiwanis Club offered support for a city salvage campaign at a luncheon on July 29. The campaign was part of an effort to gather war materials in support of the military's ongoing campaigns against the Axis Powers during World War II. As part of the Kiwanis Club's pledge to support the war effort, a committee was formed to investigate the salvaging of steel from two retired tanks from the Seminary Hill armory.

—Residents of southwest Centralia were "up in arms" on July 28 over excavations near Plummer Lake to gather gravel for an expansion of the Chehalis airport. The airport expansion was part of the war effort in World War II. The residents were unhappy the excavations were taking place in a residential area, "within a few feet of homes." The residents claimed the project would result in a "gaping pit that will be not only unsightly, but unsanitary and probably water filled," The Chronicle reported. Residents worried the work would reduce property values in the neighborhood.

—The Plummer Lake Swimming Center was likely to remain closed for the duration of the summer, the lake's control committee announced following a meeting with Mayor Ray Sprague. The committee members and Sprague agreed "the closing was necessary from the standpoint of public safety and health," The Chronicle reported. The closure resulted from the ongoing gravel excavation project at Plummer Lake, with the committee declaring the closure would likely last as long as the project continued due to runoff into the lake. Another concern was the presence of "moving trucks" in the area for the project, which made it dangerous for the usual "large numbers of children" that were normally present.

—The Chehalis and Centralia fire departments announced they would not be issuing any new permits for "burning of any sort" following what the fire chiefs described as "a misunderstanding" of the orders given by the Army on June 1. "Because of the wartime emergency, every blaze in the county must be checked upon its report and small fires on farms and in cities confuse observers," The Chronicle reported. Concerns were also raised about the smoke produced by fires interfering with observation of the sky. "Bonfires in cities are banned chiefly because the haze they create interferes with airplane spotters, and sometimes the observance duties of planes," The Chronicle reported.

—Josephine Pieffer, a Chehalis pioneer woman, died on July 29 in Pasadena, California, from a blood clot following an accident in which she fell and broke a leg. Pieffer was about 78 years old and was described by The Chronicle as "one of the highly respected early residents of Chehalis." Pieffer had married Frank Everett, a prominent businessman who owned a hardware store at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Boistfort Street in downtown Chehalis. The family had left Chehalis for California about 33 years before.

—Mos Turner, 46, of Toledo, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay a $10 fine by Judge William Bartz on July 28. Turner had pleaded guilty to driving without an "operator's license" and driving while his license was revoked.

—A 28-ton Army tank was to be displayed in Chehalis on Aug. 1 at the intersection of Boistfort Street and Pacific Avenue, then referred to as "Victory Center," from 12:30 to 1 p.m. The tank, a counterpart of the "Chehalis Bearcat" tank the city had raised $56,000 for a few weeks earlier, was to "be on the streets" from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., presumably to show off the product of the town's fundraising efforts.

July 30, 1952

—Lewis County Deputy Sheriff Ed Stanich apprehended three teenage escapees from the state training school in Chehalis, now known as Green Hill School, on the morning of July 30. The boys, ages 15, 16 and 17, were caught by Stanich near Randle after escaping while a group of training school prisoners were enjoying supervised swimming in the Chehalis River. The three boys, two of whom were from Everett and the third from Chelan, had been at the school for only a week. The Chronicle reported the three boys had attempted to steal a car from a Napavine woman, but ran away after she saw them back the car into a ditch.

—Two Portland men pleaded guilty to drunk driving in Chehalis Justice Court the week of July 30, and were ordered to pay fines before being turned over to Oregon law enforcement officers for prosecution in their home state. Norman Ewert, 32, was the driver of the car and was ordered to pay two fines totalling $175. Russ McCleary, 31, was a passenger in the car and was ordered to pay fines totalling $60 for "aiding and abetting drunk driving" and being drunk in public.

—An annual ball honoring Southwest Washington Fair princesses was scheduled for Aug. 9 in the Centralia Rollerdrome. A new feature to the ball was to be added for that year. The 1952 Southwest Washington Fair queen would be announced during the ball's intermission. The ball would last from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. with the intermission starting at 10:30. The decision to add the new feature was made to follow the example of similar events like the Portland Rose Festival. The girl chosen as the queen would serve as the official host of the fair, and would be assisted by the 12 princesses. The official crowning would take place on the fair's opening night on Aug. 20.

—The Lewis County commissioners authorized the issue of up to $70,000 in bonds for the expansion of the Lewis County General Hospital, ensuring adequate funding for the project, which was expected to cost about $300,000. According to county officials, while the bonds were approved, they would not actually be issued until the funds were needed.

—An advertisement for the 1952 Southwest Washington Fair was included in the July 30 edition of The Chronicle. "This Year FIVE Big Days!" the ad read. The fair was to take place Aug. 20 through 24 and include livestock, a carnival, wildlife, racing, prizes and "fun for all" under a headline of "BIGGER BETTER."

—A funeral service was scheduled for Charles Augee, 88, on Aug. 1 at 10 a.m. in the John W. Boone Chapel in Chehalis. Augee, who was killed by a train in Chehalis on July 29, was born on June 3, 1864, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and had lived in Chehalis for 30 years. He was survived by his wife, three daughters, a son, 13 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

—A new two-bedroom home on a lot with six "large shady fruit trees" was listed for $9,000. The house included an "extra large" kitchen, a utility room wired for a dryer and a guest room in a detached garage.

July 30, 1962

—A pioneer family reunion was held in Rochester on July 29 with 100 descendants of Samuel and Anna Maria James present. The pioneer couple had settled in the area in 1852. The oldest living descendant present at the reunion was Flossie James Parker, about 80, of Centralia.

—"Mrs. William Grayson," a Centralia native known previously as Sharon Armstrong, 18, was charged with second-degree murder for stabbing and killing a 52-year-old man from Las Vegas, Nevada, in Astoria. She is reported as having called police to her apartment on the morning of July 23, where Phillip Williams was found dead with knife wounds. Her husband was a member of the Coast Guard and had been away at the time of the stabbing, but had since returned to Astoria. Grayson had graduated from Centralia High School earlier that summer.

—Lewis County was given relief from an ongoing heat wave over the weekend of July 28 and 29 as low daily temperatures plunged down to 51 degrees, while the high temperatures declined as well. However, weather forecasts predicted temperatures would return to high in the upper 80s for the rest of the week. Friday, July 27, saw the highest recorded temperature for the summer with a high of 92 degrees. The cooler temperatures over the weekend had brought temperatures down to a high of 80 degrees on Sunday, July 29.

—Ray Longmore, 85, died at his Winlock home on Saturday, July 28. Born on April 22, 1877 in Pella, Iowa, Longmore was a retired farmer and had lived in Winlock since 1945. A funeral service was scheduled for July 31 at 2 p.m. at the Cattermole Funeral Chapel.

—A funeral service was held at the Morton cemetery for the infant son of "Mr. and Mrs. James A.F. Ball" of Mossyrock. The boy had died at a Tacoma hospital on Friday, July 27, after living only 17 hours. He was survived by his parents and older brother, Duane, as well as grandparents in Mossyrock and Glenoma.

—Juliette Wise, 90, died on Saturday, July 28, in a local nursing home. Wise, who had been a Centralia resident for 61 years, was born on Jan. 1, 1872, in Minneapolis. She moved to Centralia after living in Chicago.

—A nine-room furnished Centralia house was listed for $6,000. The house contained six bedrooms and was located on Logan Street.