A Look Back in Time: Lewis County Has 'Quiet' Christmas in 1952

Dec. 26—Lewis County had a "quiet" Christmas in 1952, The Chronicle reported on Friday, Dec. 26, 1952.

"Christmas Day — as it should be — was a peaceful one for the Twin Cities and Lewis County Thursday," The Chronicle reported.

Despite heavy traffic on the highway later in the day, no serious accidents were reported with local law enforcement agencies listing a "minimum of difficulty" beginning Christmas Eve.

Many workers and all students received extra days off for the holiday, with schools not scheduled to reopen until Jan. 5.

"Traditional church services were held Wednesday evening and Christmas morning in the Twin Cities and they drew good attendances. Santa Claus, of course, was the featured morning attraction and scores of homes were opened for family dinners and gatherings," The Chronicle reported.

East Lewis County reportedly experienced a white Christmas, with residents reporting about 2 inches of snow. The snow apparently started near Randle and continued to Packwood and into the mountain area. The eastern part of the county was also particularly cold.

"Although the mercury said 34 degrees, there was a chill wind blowing," The Chronicle reported.

In the Twin Cities area, white frost covered the ground on Christmas morning with the temperature reaching 24 degrees. The Christmas Day temperature reached a high of 39 degrees, based on the reading at the Centralia City Hall weather station.

Christmas 1932

—Inmates at the Lewis County Jail received a "real Christmas dinner" on Sunday, Dec. 25. The dinner was served to the dozen inmates held in the jail and was prepared by "Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Walters." The Calvary Tabernacle of Centralia also put on a Christmas church service for the prisoners and gave them candy, fruits and nuts.

—Eugene Hite died at the age of 62 on Sunday, Dec. 25, in Chehalis. Hite was survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, two brothers and 15 grandchildren. He was born on an unspecified date in 1870.

—A special Christmas edition of the Chehalis High School newspaper, "The Rising Sun," was issued by the school's "Smith-Hughes" students. R.V. Kinsey served as the editor and Bill Short served as the assistant. The edition summarized Smith-Hughes and FFA events over a period of several months. It was unclear from The Chronicle's reporting what Smith-Hughes was, though based on further research it appeared it may have been related to vocational education.

—An image of people singing hymns under a stained glass window depicting the nativity was included on the front page of The Chronicle's Christmas Eve edition for 1932. On either side of the image were a lit candle and a wreath. Below the image was a quote from Luke's Gospel, reading, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

—Santa Claus had paid an advance visit to three welfare groups in Centralia on the night of Friday, Dec. 23. "The largest of the three functions took place at the welfare headquarters, corner of Pearl and Center streets, where 2,000 needy children were made happy through the joint efforts of local civic, fraternal and religious groups," The Chronicle reported on Saturday, Dec. 24. During the event there was a Christmas program that included singing from members of local churches and students at Centralia High School. Following the program, gifts were handed out from a huge tree by Centralia Chief of Police J.C. Kriebel, who played Santa Claus. Every child received a sack containing candy, nuts, an orange, peanuts, an apple, a popcorn ball and a toy. In total, the children at the event received 1,000 pounds of candy, 500 pounds of peanuts, 2,000 pounds of popcorn balls, 2,000 oranges and 2,000 apples. An additional 2,650 pounds of "roasting" beef and 2,000 jars of fruit were given out to "welfare families" for Christmas dinners.

—Most stores were expected to be closed in Chehalis for Christmas on both Sunday, Dec. 25 and Monday, Dec. 26, The Chronicle reported on Saturday, Dec. 24. Public offices, including the courthouse, were also expected to be closed. The Chronicle said it would also be closed and would not publish a paper on Monday, Dec. 26.

—The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story detailing road deaths over Christmas on its front page in its Tuesday, Dec. 27 edition. "This year's three-day Christmas weekend holiday was a costly one in the number of human lives sacrificed, it was revealed today as reports of violent deaths came from the width and breadth of the land," the story reported. According to the AP, there may have been over 400 deaths across the country due to the Christmas holidays, primarily driven by car accidents.

Christmas 1942

—Charles Shepard died at the age of 50 on the evening of Friday, Dec. 25. Shepard, born in 1892, had lived in the area around the Twin Cities area for 22 years. He was survived by his wife, a daughter, four sons and his father.

—Jeremiah Harty, a 76-year-old "inmate" at a Centralia nursing home, had been found dead alongside railroad tracks north of Winock on Christmas Eve on Thursday, Dec. 24, The Chronicle reported on Saturday, Dec. 26. Harty died of natural causes, primarily from exposure. His death had been previously reported by The Chronicle but he hadn't yet been identified. Harty was born on May 21, 1866.

—The United States' ongoing participation in World War II didn't put a stop to Christmas celebrations. "The demands of war, which dimmed lights, reduced travel, restricted variety in holiday buying and kept hundreds of young men on duty with the nation's armed forces, failed to seriously hamper the annual visit of Santa Claus to the Twin Cities Friday," The Chronicle reported on Saturday, Dec. 26. The weather on Christmas Day was described as being "nearly perfect." According to The Chronicle, there were "almost record piles of gifts" around lit Christmas trees, which had to be guarded so as not to violate wartime dim-out regulations.

—The Chronicle reported many chairs sat empty around the Twin Cities on Christmas as a result of many men being gone to fight in the ongoing war. "Highlights in most homes during the day, outside of Santa's "arrival," were beautiful dinners, saddened in many instances by empty chairs of loved ones now in Uncle Sam's fighting forces and unable to be home," The Chronicle reported. "However, remembering not only their own sons and brothers, but those of others, Twin City residents demonstrated their Christmas spirit by providing presents and dinners for service men in the Pacific Northwest." According to The Chronicle, stores and public offices in Chehalis and Centralia were closed for Christmas while the only deliveries were "those of Christmas parcels."

—Over 100 soldiers from Fort Lewis were welcomed as guests at a "huge" Christmas party in Chehalis on the night of Friday, Dec. 25. "Soldiers at the party in the USO clubrooms were given presents donated by local residents, with excess gifts having been sent to Fort Lewis to soldiers who were unable to come to Chehalis," The Chronicle reported. The soldiers had arrived by truck at noon and were taken to the homes of Chehalis residents for dinner. After being entertained by Chehalis residents throughout the afternoon, the soldiers went to the Christmas party at 7:30 p.m. The soldiers were given free lodging at the St. Helens Hotel and given breakfast before returning to Fort Lewis on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 26.

—"Mr. And Mrs. W.F. West were joined by their son, James, and his wife to visit "Mr. and Mrs. W.F. West" at their home on Alfred Street in Chehalis. W.F. West would go on to become the namesake of Chehalis' W.F. West High School.

—The Chronicle featured a front page story from the Associated Press detailing Christmas in Europe during the ongoing conflict. "The sad Christmas trees of Europe are bringing little joy into the hearts of cold and hungry remnants of families," The AP reported. " The religious Christmas still exists but only as a hope for the future in the hearts of the faithful: the French, the Poles, the Czechs and others whose faith is the only firm thing left in their lives. The catastrophe to the family Christmas is complete."

Christmas 1952

—Laura Pierson died on Christmas Eve on Wednesday, Dec. 24 at the Morton Hospital. Pierson, who died at the age of 79, was born on Nov. 12, 1873, in Joy, Illinois. She was survived by one son, one sister and six brothers, according to The Chronicle.

—John Minear died in a Morton nursing home at the age of 84, The Chronicle reported on Friday, Dec. 26. Minear was born on May 6, 1868, in England. He had lived in Morton for 15 years. He had four brothers, three of whom lived in Seattle and another who lived in Kent.

—Multiple pages in The Chronicle's Wednesday, Dec. 24, edition were filled mostly with ads from companies wishing readers a Merry Christmas. Companies sponsoring the ads, which included pictures of Santa Claus, the wisemen going to Bethlehem and other Christmas themes, ranged from insurance to lumber companies.

—The Chronicle featured the Christmas plans of many local residents in a special section of its Christmas Eve edition. According to The Chronicle, Mrs. C.G. Bain was expecting her two daughters, Katherine and Margaret, to be at her Chehalis home after returning from the University of Washington. Her father was also visiting from Edmonton, Alberta. Carolyn Dahl was visiting her parents, "Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Dahl," at their Chehalis home while on break from Washington State College.

—The Chronicle included a weather report for the North Pole on Christmas Eve. According to the report, the North Pole was experiencing a temperature of negative 27 degrees "as Santa Claus hitched up his reindeer for his annual visit to the homes of good girls and boys. The weather was partly cloudy but visibility was good for the beginning of St. Nick's world-circling trip," The Chronicle reported.

—An Associated Press story detailing deaths nationwide resulting from the Christmas holiday was included in the Friday, Dec. 26 edition of The Chronicle. According to the story, the country's accident death toll passed the 300 person mark on Thursday, Dec. 25. A reported 251 people had been killed by car accidents over the holiday. The story also reported the U.S. could break its record death toll for the Christmas holiday set in 1936 when 555 people died in car accidents.

—Weather forecasts for Christmas Day "were not the best," The Chronicle reported on Wednesday, Dec. 24. "(Christmas Day) weather was to be cloudy, with rain probably due before nightfall. Northwest forecasts failed to mention snow, and any 'white Christmas' thoughts remained only — thoughts," The Chronicle reported.

Christmas 1962

—On the front page of its Christmas Eve edition, The Chronicle featured a large picture depicting the nativity scene including a baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and shepherds. In the background there stood a crowd filled with a variety of different clothing styles, ranging from contemporary clothing to medieval styles.

—Lewis County experienced a cold snap over Christmas, The Chronicle reported on Wednesday, Dec. 26. That Wednesday marked the third day of the cold spell which began on Christmas Eve on Monday, Dec. 24. On Christmas Eve the low was 21 degrees and the high was 38 degrees. On Christmas Day the low was 22 degrees with a high of 36 degrees.

—Centralia Firemen were kept busy over the holidays, answering one fire alarm on Christmas Eve and three on Christmas Day. The Christmas Eve alarm came in at 10:48 p.m. for a chimney fire that caused no damage. The Christmas Day calls were at 9:43 a.m. at The Owl Cafe on North Tower Ave. for a grease fire that caused no damage and at 8:13 p.m. when smoke was seen in the Adler Market but no fire was discovered.

—The Chehalis Magoo Club gave 14 boxes of food to Twin City families with a blind family member for Christmas, The Chronicle reported on Wednesday, Dec. 26. The boxes were delivered by sheriff's deputies and Harold Belanga, the president of the Chehalis Lions Club. Several Chehalis businesses also donated chickens, bread, fruit and vegetables.

—The Chronicle reported funeral services had been scheduled for Elizabeth Schneider, who died at the age of 76 in a local nursing home. Schneider was born on Aug. 2, 1886 in Russia. A member of the Lutheran Church, she was survived by two sons, seven daughters, 29 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

—"Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Woody" of Winlock welcomed a girl who was born on Christmas Day. The unnamed girl was seven pounds and 12 ounces and was born at St. Helen Hospital.

—In its "People in The News" section on Wednesday, Dec. 26, The Chronicle included an Associated Press story entitled "Santa Starts Vacation." The story reported on Santa's post-Christmas activities. "Santa Claus was back in his North Pole headquarters today after dispensing a record number of toys, dolls and other gifts to children around the world. According to reports from usually reliable sources, Santa and his trusty reindeer were taking a brief vacation before beginning preparations for next year's Christmas," the story stated.