News

A woman has filed a lawsuit against Thurston County alleging the county failed to protect her from sexual abuse while in juvenile detention between 1996 and 2000.

Lawyers for the woman, only identified by her initials, filed the lawsuit in Pierce County Superior Court on May 13. She is being represented by Seattle lawyers Kirk C. Davis and Jonah L. Ohm Campbell.

In the complaint, the lawyers allege a guard at the Thurston County Juvenile Detention Facility sexually assaulted the woman, then a minor, in her cell on multiple occasions, causing her “physical and emotional pain.” The lawyers claim Thurston County knew or should have known about the guard’s “criminal conduct and grooming.”

The Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office serves as the legal representative for the county. Tara Tsehlana, a spokesperson for the office, said they’ve received a draft of the complaint but have not yet been officially served with the lawsuit.

“At this point these claims are allegations, but our office is taking them seriously,” Tsehlana said. “The Thurston County Juvenile Detention Facility follows best practices with regard to the safety of in-custody youth.”

Tsehlana said the county’s team has asked the woman’s counsel for more information about the alleged incidents. If they are served, she said the county will respond in accordance with court rules.

The five-page complaint only identifies the guard by a single name he’s believed to have gone by. In a statement to The Olympian, Davis said the parties have yet to begin discovery, an evidence-gathering process, so many details are still unknown.

Davis said the woman he’s representing recently reached out to his law firm. He said she never reported what happened to her to law enforcement.

The woman is seeking “fair compensation” for the alleged abuse, Davis said.

The complaint offers a few details about the abuse the woman allegedly endured as a minor.

The woman was sent to the detention facility for juvenile offenses and at-risk youth petitions between 1996 and 2000.

The guard allegedly came to her cell after doing checks on the other juveniles at night. She claims he spoke with her over the intercom to tell her “some of the things” he planned to do to her.

She alleges in the complaint that he opened her cell door on multiple occasions and had sexual intercourse with her.

The complaint contends the county was negligent in “hiring, monitoring and supervising of staff and residents” at the detention facility by allowing a “sexual predator” to have “unlimited, unsupervised access to vulnerable children.”

“Staff used their position of power to intimidate vulnerable children placed there in order to sexually abuse and exploit them, including Plaintiff,” the complaint says.

The complaint says the woman continues to suffer from emotional trauma.

Court records indicate a jury trial for this case may be held as early as November 2025.

The stories of Washingtonian war heroes going back to before World War I can now be found in a newly published book released earlier this spring.

“Beyond Belief: True Stories of Washington State Heroes that Defy Comprehension” is a compilation of the stories of more than 100 Washington U.S. service members — including several from Lewis and Thurston counties — and is the 12th book in the Beyond Belief series.

With Memorial Day next week on Monday, May 27, this will be the third article in a series where The Chronicle previews the Beyond Belief Washington edition by sharing some stories of Lewis and Thurston veterans leading up to Memorial Day.

This installment features the story of a Centralia resident.

The books are written by a team of authors led by C. Douglas Sterner, a U.S. Army combat engineer who was awarded two Bronze Star Medals and served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. Now, Sterner is a self-published author of over 100 books on military history.

The Chronicle reached out to Sterner, who lives in Pueblo, Colorado, to find out more about his efforts.

“I recently signed up with the (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) … and they sent me to talk to a shrink,” Sterner previously told The Chronicle. “I said, ‘I never thought I had PTSD,’ and she said, ‘Well it’s my professional opinion that the reason you’re so driven to write all these stories of other heroes is how you’ve dealt with your PTSD.’ And who knows, she might be right.”

Writing is an art form, and since art can be used for therapy, Sterner has no plans to stop publishing books. Along with his books, Sterner has spent nearly 30 years creating a database for recipients of Distinguished Service Crosses, Distinguished Flying Crosses, Silver Star medals and other highly distinguished awards. 

“I started doing this after I found out the services weren’t maintaining a comprehensive list of medal winners aside from Medal of Honor recipients,” Sterner said. “I have more than a quarter of a million citations in there of people who received high awards.”

It is from this database he is now pulling stories from award citations for the Beyond Belief book series.

Along with the Washington state edition, Beyond Belief books are currently available for the states of Arizona, Alabama, Montana and Colorado. Sterner hopes to publish Oregon’s next. Ultimately, his goal is to have an edition for all 50 states.

“Oregon will be in June, and I’ll just keep on going from there as long as I can keep writing these stories,” Sterner said.

Other Beyond Belief books focus on stories of U.S. Navy sailors, U.S. Marines, military chaplains, civilian heroes, U.S. aviation heroes and military families.

Beyond Belief books featuring special operations missions and great escapes are also in the works, Sterner added.

All of Sterner’s work is available on Amazon in both print and digital form. For more information,  visit https://www.herobooks.org/. 

To access Sterner’s medal recipient database, visit https://homeofheroes.com/. 

Fighting in the Philippines

Born on Dec. 21, 1907, in Centralia, Dexter James Kerstetter was known for his love of fighting, which would eventually help him earn the military’s most distinguished award — the Medal of Honor.

Historian and fellow Medal of Honor recipient Donald K. Ross said Kerstetter was described “as a scrapper, ready to fight anyone for the pure pleasure of fighting.”

He attended Centralia High School for two years before dropping out to work as an equipment mechanic at the Hub City Creamery. Kerstetter was married in 1933. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing.

At the age of 36, he enlisted in the Army during World War II on March 18, 1942. Kerstetter earned the nickname “pop” in boot camp as he was much older than the other recruits.

After graduating from boot camp, Kerstetter was assigned to Company C, 130th Infantry Regiment, 33rd Infantry Division, as a cook. On July 12, 1943, the 33rd Infantry Division arrived in Hawaii for jungle warfare training.

Then they deployed, first landing unopposed on Morotai Island in the Philippines, then on to the Lingayen Gulf where heavy fighting ensued. Tired of being a cook and wanting to get into the fight, Kerstetter made an appeal to his commanding officer and was given the chance to be an infantryman.

On April 13, 1945, as a private first class, Kerstetter and his platoon received orders to take a hill near Galiano, a small village on Luzon Island in the Philippines.

Imperial Japanese forces were well entrenched on the hill and rained down mortar rounds and machine gun fire on anyone who approached.

To make things more difficult, the only way to the top of the hill was a narrow jungle trail with cliffs, caves and spider holes; commanders estimated it could take weeks to root out enemy forces and gain control of the hill.

As Kerstetter’s platoon began making its way up the trail, they were immediately fired upon. Five men were hit.

Kerstetter, as the platoon’s lead scout, saw what he thought could be an alternate route and led his squad up a steep hogback where they were able to advance around 500 yards before being noticed by Imperial Japanese forces, who opened fire. Five more men fell to machine gun fire and Kerstetter dove into a shallow depression to take cover.

He looked around and located the enemy position, then carefully moved close enough to where he could engage them, killing four enemy soldiers and knocking out the machine gun. His surviving squadmates were inspired by his tenacity and followed Kerstetter in a charge that forced Japanese soldiers to retreat to another position.

His scout squad regrouped and advanced a bit further before being stopped again by enemy fire. Kerstetter left the trail temporarily and lowered himself into a cave entrance, where he opened fire and killed four more Imperial Japanese soldiers.

Returning to the trail, he charged forward again and eliminated another machine gun nest. When a patrol of about 20 Imperial Japanese soldiers appeared as reinforcements, Kerstetter threw grenades and unloaded his rifle on the patrol, killing some, wounding others and forcing survivors to scatter in all directions.

He was firing so much he burned his hand on the barrel of his rifle, but continued fighting still. Kerstetter’s platoon continued advancing up the hill while he briefly returned to the rear to get more ammunition and have a medic bandage his hand.

With more ammunition in hand, Kerstetter returned to the front and attacked again, inspiring his fellow soldiers to continue their own efforts.

In the end, Kerstetter was credited with killing 16 enemy soldiers that day, and his bravery was credited with inspiring the rest of the platoon to be able to take the hill near Galiano that same day — instead of the weeks that had been originally predicted by his commanders.

“The hill was taken and held against the enemy's counterattacks, which continued for three days,” read an excerpt from Kerstetter’s Medal of Honor citation. “Private First Class Kerstetter's dauntless and gallant heroism was largely responsible for the capture of this key enemy position, and his fearless attack in the face of great odds was an inspiration to his comrades in their dangerous task.”

After WWII, he returned to Centralia and served in the Washington State Guard. In 1954, he began working at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. On July 9, 1972, Kerstetter was fishing in a 14-foot boat with his son and stepson off Misery Point near Seabeck when their boat hit a swell, took on water and capsized.

The three men jumped out in an effort to flip the boat back over. Their efforts were unsuccessful and the men ended up having to cling to the boat's overturned hull for three hours.

During that time, Kerstetter slipped beneath the waves and drowned. His son and stepson were eventually rescued by a passing pleasure boat.

While divers from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office made repeated attempts to locate and recover Kerstetter’s body, he was never found.

A cenotaph with his name was placed at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent.

Additionally, signs on Mellen Street and state Route 507 in Centralia were installed and read “Home of WWII Medal of Honor Recipient Dexter J Kerstetter.”

The United Way of Lewis County and the Lewis County Rotary Foundation held a Dolly Day Lewis County special fundraising event Friday, May 17.

The event was dedicated to supporting Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Lewis County.

“Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a cherished worldwide initiative aimed at fostering a love for reading among young children by providing them with high-quality books each month from birth until age five at no cost to the family,” United Way stated in a news release. “The program not only ignites imagination but also lays a strong foundation for literacy and learning.”

The event featured a pledge drive on KELA/KMNT radio throughout the day. Listeners were encouraged to support the literacy goals of the Imagination Library by giving a one-time donation or signing up to be a monthly recurring donor.

On Saturday night, Cascade Country music artist Kitty Mae performed at The Juice Box in Centralia as part of the event.

United Way of Lewis County partnered with the Lewis County Rotary Foundation to start the Imagination Library in the county and has been running the program since 2019.

As of last December, 2,624 children in Lewis County were enrolled in the program, representing 57% of eligible children in the county, according to previous Chronicle reporting.

Washington was the 11th state to join the program, according to a previous news release from the United Way of Lewis County. The legislation was cosponsored by state Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia.

To learn more about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Lewis County, visit https://www.lewiscountyuw.com/dolly-partons-imagination-library. 

Following the success of the second annual Onalaska Volunteer Firefighters Association car show last year, members are preparing for the third annual car show, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 10, with gates opening at 7 a.m. at the Lewis County Fire District 1’s fire house.

The fire house is located at 1733 state Route 508 in Onalaska.

In 2023, the association raised nearly $10,000 before the show had even ended.

The money went to purchase equipment to wash and dry the specialized clothing worn by Lewis County Fire District 1’s firefighters, along with helping fund the association’s scholarships for Onalaska High School seniors and feeding local families during Christmastime.

Fire district volunteer firefighter Oliver Jackson contacted The Chronicle to explain what this year’s car show will be raising money for.

“We need three new gas detectors, and they run around $1,500 each,” Jackson said.

Any additional funds will once again go to help fund scholarships for local high school students and feeding families during the holidays.

Along with raising money with the entry fee, the association will also be cooking and selling breakfast and lunch, with breakfast starting at 7 a.m. when the gates open and lunch beginning at 11:30 a.m. and featuring pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw or chips.

Local craft vendors will also be on hand, a 50/50 raffle will be held and some lucky winners will get T-shirt door prizes. The award ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. Participants must be present to receive a trophy.

Along with the classic cars, trucks and motorcycles that will once again be on display, classic fire trucks will be featured along with the association’s giant American flag.

“We’re very proud Americans here, and we will be flying our giant flag again and have a couple of other ladder trucks,” Jackson added.

Advanced registration for the third annual Onalaska Volunteer Firefighters Association car show ends Aug. 5. To find out how to register and for more information, email onycarshow22@gmail.com or message the association on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OVFALC. 

CENTRALIA POLICE DEPARTMENT

Mental health crisis

• Just before 8:20 a.m. on May 17, officers assisted the Washington State Patrol with a subject who was sitting on the Interstate 5 Mellen Street overpass with his legs over the ledge, as if he intended to jump off. After officers arrived and spoke to the subject, who appeared to be suffering from a mental health crisis, he was pulled to safety by officers and transported to a facility for treatment.

Criminal trespass

• A Lewis County man was trespassed from a city park in the 100 block of South Pearl Street just after 8:50 a.m. on May 17 for disorderly behavior.

• A Spokane man was trespassed from a business in the 1400 block of Harrison Avenue just before 12:50 p.m. on May 17 for “making employees feel uncomfortable.”

• A 37-year-old homeless Centralia man was trespassed from a business in the 900 block of Harrison Avenue just after 5:35 a.m. on May 18.

DUI

• A 29-year-old Doty woman was arrested for DUI in the 1100 block of Belmont Avenue just after 10:20 a.m. on May 17 after she was found passed out in a running vehicle and “presumably under the influence of narcotics.” A 25-year-old Chehalis resident and a 35-year-old Chehalis resident were also cited for possession of narcotics.

• A 19-year-old Centralia woman was arrested at the intersection of Mellen and Ellsbury streets just after 3:50 a.m. on May 18 for DUI.

• A 28-year-old Yelm man was arrested for DUI in the 100 block of South Tower Avenue just after 12:15 a.m. on May 20.

Vehicle accidents

• A non-injury, two-vehicle collision was reported at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Russell Road just before 2:45 p.m. on May 17.

• A minor, non-injury collision was reported at the intersection of West First Street and Harrison Avenue at 6:10 p.m. on May 18.

• A minor, non-injury, two-vehicle collision was reported at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and northbound Interstate 5 just after 5:05 p.m. on May 19.

• A minor, non-injury, two-vehicle collision was reported in the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue at approximately 6:50 p.m. on May 19.

Dispute

• Police were dispatched to a physical dispute in progress in the Safeway parking lot in the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue at 8:45 p.m. on May 17.  The reporting party advised at least two men were engaged in a fist fight while a large group of car enthusiasts gathered around to record the incident on their cell phones. Officers arrived on scene, but nobody would cooperate with police.  Officers asked the group to disperse.  The physical dispute was later confirmed by other witnesses who were present. 

Burglary

• Chase D. Beesley, 29, of Centralia, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree burglary after homeowners pulled into their driveway in the 500 block of South Diamond Street just before 9:35 p.m. on May 17 and saw a man exit their residence. Beesley allegedly provided the homeowners dog with food and water before exiting the house with stolen property. Beelsey was booked into the Lewis County Jail and had a preliminary hearing scheduled in Lewis County Superior Court at 4 p.m. on May 20.

• A 37-year-old homeless Winlock woman was arrested for burglary after she allegedly shoplifted from a convenience store in the 900 block of Harrison Avenue just before 11:40 p.m. on May 18.

Harassment

• A 70-year-old Olympia man was cited for telephone harassment in the 2300 block of North Pearl Street at 10:40 a.m. on May 18.

Theft

• A 24-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for breaking into a vehicle in the 800 block of North Tower Avenue at 9:30 p.m. on May 18 and was booked into the Lewis County Jail for vehicle prowl and possession of a controlled substance.

Found dog

• A brown and white dog without ID tags was found in the 900 block of North Pearl Street just after 7:35 a.m. on May 19. The Centralia Police Department will post a photo of the dog to its Facebook page to try and find its owner.

Malicious mischief

• At approximately 2:40 p.m. on May 19, a citizen reported someone had slashed all four tires on their vehicle in the 1500 block of Johnson Road sometime overnight.

CHEHALIS POLICE DEPARTMENT

Burglary

• A burglary to a building in the 2100 block of North National Avenue was reported just after 9:50 a.m. on May 17.

Criminal trespass

• A man who was reportedly “being unruly” was trespassed from a business in the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue at approximately 11:25 a.m. on May 17.

• A man who reportedly refused to stop vaping inside a business in the 160 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue just before 2:20 p.m. on May 17 was moved along.

• A “belligerent” subject was trespassed from a business in the 800 block of South Market Boulevard just after 3 p.m. on May 18.

• A man who was doing drugs in a bathroom of a business in the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue just after 3:10 a.m. on May 19 was trespassed from the business.

• Two subjects who were reportedly setting up camp in the 800 block of West Main Street at 12:10 p.m. on May 19 were moved along.

Found property

• A backpack reportedly fell off the back of a truck at the intersection of Southwest Riverside Drive and state Route 6 just before 12:35 p.m. on May 17.

Vehicle prowl

• Two men possibly broke into a car in the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue just before 1:15 p.m. on May 17.

• A purse containing credit cards and a cellphone was reported stolen out of a vehicle in the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue at approximately 5:10 p.m. on May 17.

• A non-injury, two-vehicle collision was reported at the intersection of North National Avenue and Northwest Chamber of Commerce Way at 6:35 p.m. on May 17.

• An iPad was reported stolen out of a vehicle in the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue just after 12:10 a.m. on May 18.

• Tools were reported stolen from a vehicle in the 2100 block of North National Avenue just before 8:05 a.m. on May 18.

• A car battery and other items were reported stolen out of a vehicle at the intersection of Southwest Third Street and Southwest Chehalis Avenue just before 11:15 p.m. on May 18.

Theft

• Solar lights valued at $12 were reported stolen from a yard in the 1400 block of Southwest Johnson Avenue just after noon on May 19.

Vehicle accidents

• A non-injury, two-vehicle collision was reported at the intersection of Northwest Chamber of Commerce Way and Northwest State Avenue just after 1:35 p.m. on May 17.

• A non-injury, two-vehicle collision was reported in the 1100 block of South Market Boulevard at 3:35 p.m. on May 17.

• A driver reportedly struck an unoccupied parked car while trying to pull out of a driveway in the 200 block of Southwest 13th Street just after 12:45 p.m. on May 18.

• A non-injury, two-vehicle collision was reported at the intersection of Southeast 12th Street and South Market Boulevard at approximately 3:20 p.m. on May 19.

Hit-and-run

• A hit-and-run reported in the 1000 block of Southeast Adams Avenue just before noon on May 18 is under investigation.

• A hit-and-run was reported in the 300 block of Southeast Washington Avenue just before 1:50 p.m. on May 18.

Prison riot

• Green Hill School reported several cases of prison riot to the Chehalis Police Department just before 2:05 p.m. on May 17.

• Green Hill School reported a prison riot at approximately 3 p.m. on May 17.

Vicious dogs

• Just before 2:45 p.m. on May 17, a citizen reported a dog bit them in the 1500 block of Southwest Johnson Avenue at 8:30 p.m. the night prior.

• Dogs were reportedly loose and barking at people in the 200 block of Southwest 13th Street just after 10:25 p.m. on May 17.

Shooting complaint

• A single gunshot was reported in the 300 block of Southwest 15th Street at 9:45 p.m. on May 17.

Scam

• An unidentified subject reportedly scammed a citizen in the 700 block of Southwest Moonlight Lane out of $1,860 via CashApp just after 10:05 a.m. on May 18.

Malicious mischief

• A case of first-degree malicious mischief reported in the 400 block of Northwest Front Street just before 1:55 p.m. on May 18 is under investigation.

Juvenile problem

• A young boy was reportedly screaming, yelling and hitting a car in the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue just after 3:35 p.m. on May 19. Officers confirmed the child was throwing a temper tantrum over his grandparents not buying him a balloon.

FIRE AND EMS CALLS

• Between Friday morning and Monday morning, Lewis County 911 Communications logged approximately 58 illness-related calls, 20 injury-related calls, four Lifeline medical alerts, 12 fire-related calls, seven vehicle accidents, eight non-emergency service calls, three overdoses, one suicide-related call, one report of a dead body, one 911 hangup call and three other calls.

JAIL STATISTICS

• As of Monday morning, the Lewis County Jail had a total system population of 135 inmates, including 122 in the general population and 13 in the Work Ethic and Restitution Center (WERC). Of general population inmates, 99 were reported male and 23 were reported female. Of the WERC inmates, 12 were reported male and two were reported female.

• As of Monday morning, the Chehalis Tribal Jail had a total system population of 19 inmates, including seven booked by the Centralia Police Department, 10 booked by the state Department of Corrections, one booked by the Lummi Nation and one booked by the City of Elma.

•••

Sirens are compiled by assistant editor Emily Fitzgerald, who can be reached at emily@chronline.com. The Centralia Police Department can be reached at 360-330-7680, the Chehalis Police Department can be reached at 360-748-8605. If you were a victim of physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence or sexual assault, call Hope Alliance at 360-748-6601 or the Youth Advocacy Center of Lewis County at 360-623-1990.

An unusual mound on the Boistfort Valley southwest of Chehalis proved the perfect place to bury early pioneers — at least until 1887, when a wealthy Canadian farmer bought the property, removed the headstones and plowed the land for crops.

In the early 1850s, Pierre Charles, a Hudson’s Bay Company employee, was among the first whites to settle in the valley. He’s credited with naming it Boistfort, which means “dense forest” in French or alternatively “a small valley surrounded by green hills” or “a French translation of the Indian name of the oak,” according to “The Boistfort Valley: A Southwest Washington Prairie Remnant” by Joseph Arnett, a rare plant botanist with the Washington Natural Heritage Program.

Charles and Elizabeth White arrived in 1852 and, the following December, Elizabeth gave birth to a boy, Cyrus, the first European American baby born in the valley. Elizabeth’s parents, George and Catherine Buchanan, moved to the valley in 1853 and filed a donation land claim for property that included an unusual grassy 2- or 3-acre mound, where they allowed neighbors to bury their loved ones in a corner of the property.

From 1855 until 1887, the mound served as the community cemetery. A 1909 newspaper account said 40 people were buried on the mound, while old-timers set the number at 70. The mound also might have served as a burial place for Native Americans.

One of the early pioneers buried on the mound is Kentucky native Turner Richardson Roundtree, who fought in both the Black Hawk War against Native Americans and the War of 1812 under William Henry Harrison, who later became president of the United States, according to The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume XXXI, History of Washington, Idaho and Montana, 1845-1889. Turner Roundtree’s Scottish wife, Mary Adeline “Polly” Ferguson, who was a cousin to Founding Father and Revolutionary War statesman Patrick Henry, is also buried there.

The Roundtrees, who had seven children, settled in the Boistfort Valley in 1853. Their youngest son, Martin, built a three-room cabin beside the Chehalis River near what today is the Pe Ell McDonald Road. Their granddaughter, Mary Adeline Roundtree, had traveled west in 1852 and, two years later, married Centralia pioneer Joseph Borst.

Turner Roundtree was 73 when he died in March 1868 aboard the steamer Carrie Davis while returning home from Claquato west of Chehalis. His wife, Polly, was nearly 85 when she died in February 1880.

The Roundtrees rest beside at least a half dozen of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren who never lived past the age of 5:

• 2-year-old James A. Roundtree, who died of heart disease in June 1869;

• 3-month-old Allen S. Roundtree, the youngest son of Martin and Mary Lucinda (Brewer) Roundtree who died in April 1871;

• 5-year-old Lucy A. Roundtree, who died in February 1874;

• 3-year-old Henry G. Roundtree, who died in March 1874;

• 4-month-old Ulin M. Roundtree who died on Jan. 1, 1870;

• 7-month-old Willis T. Roundtree who died in April 1871;

• and Thomas William Roundtree, who was a year old when he died on March 22, 1874.

Also buried near the Roundtrees are their sons, Martin Dudley Roundtree, who died in May 1871 at the age of 34, and Perry Oliver Roundtree, who died in April 1875 at the age of 38.

Although other pioneers were buried in the cemetery on the mound, it was a descendant of the Roundtrees who decades later spearheaded the fight to preserve the graves so the dead could rest in peace.

In the fall of 1887, Canadian John Hutchinson bought 375 acres from the Buchanans — paying $4,000, the equivalent of $137,800 today. He prohibited additional burials, banned people from visiting the graves on the mound and refused to let them fence the cemetery — yet he also declined to sell them the cemetery.

In response, Edward and Mary Harris set aside land in the southeast corner of the Turner Roundtree donation land claim for a new cemetery, which they platted on Oct. 4, 1888, and recorded on June 17, 1889, according to The History of Lewis County, Washington by Alma Nix and John Nix. The Boistfort Cemetery, which was donated to a local cemetery association, lies across from the mound near the intersection of Boistfort and Wildwood roads.

On Nov. 2, 1895, the Salem Statesman Journal reported that four barns belonging to Hutchinson burned, destroying 150 tons of hay, 11 head of stock and many farm tools. The article estimated the loss at $7,000, which in today’s dollars would be more than $260,000, but mentioned no cause for the fire.

Thirteen years later, in the fall of 1908, Hutchinson, who had expanded his holdings to more than 600 acres, figured the cemetery had been abandoned so he removed the headstones, placed them in the cemetery across the road and plowed the mound to plant crops.

That prompted Pat M. Roundtree to lead his neighbors in a fight for an injunction to prevent such desecration of their ancestors’ graves and force return of the headstones to the graves. Superior Court Judge A.E. Rice heard their plea in April 1909 and, the following month, sided with the residents, saying the headstones could be replaced and the graves fenced off and maintained by relatives.

Hutchinson appealed that ruling all the way to the Washington Supreme Court, which heard the arguments in July of that year and upheld the lower court’s ruling to protect the hallowed ground.

In June 1924, when Hutchinson died from a stroke at 85, a news item in The Tacoma Daily Ledger recounted his battle to plow up the original Boistfort cemetery. He was buried at Claquato.

Cemetery records burned in a house fire, but 11 headstones remain atop the mound, marking graves of early pioneers. In the 1940s, a new owner put a fence around the cemetery, but the land became overgrown. Then, in 1982, the Boistfort Lions Club cleaned up the site, erected a fence and a cross, and built steps at the south side of the hill.

According to the Lewis County GIS parcel search, the mound and adjacent property appear to be owned today by Bragg Holding Inc. of Abbotsford, B.C.

Next week, I’ll share additional early Boistfort Valley pioneers, the Blacks and the Raytons, ancestors of Lois (Orloske) Keen, of Centralia, who told me about the Original Boistfort Cemetery on the mound.

•••

Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.

I am an Organic Valley dairy farmer. My grandfather purchased the land we still farm in 1949, and I have a 23-year-old son, Jack, who is in the process of taking over management. He will be the fourth generation of organic dairy farmers on this farm, where we manage 225 acres and milk about 60 cows.

Our cows graze perennial pastures that, in some places, are made up of more than 35 native species. We have found Washington’s summers are getting drier and hotter, so we’ve started planting and grazing summer annuals, like sorghum sudangrass, grazing turnips and anything I can get my hands on to try.

I’ve always loved being around cows, being outside working all the time with the earth. We call it “being grounded with the soil.” I am proud to say our pastures support at least 70% of our cows’ dry organic matter intake for 200-plus days out of the year when U.S. Department of Agriculture organic certification only requires 30%. To be successful, we are intentional with our grazing and want to see as much biodiverse life in the soil and in our pastures as possible.

Our cows become a tool for fostering life, and we’ve been fortunate to have another tool: support from state and federal programs that provide technical assistance and funding to help us be good land stewards.

In the early 2000s, we reached out to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for help putting together a grazing plan after learning our farm was home to some of the 1% of habitat left for Kincaid’s lupine, a native plant that hosts the endangered Fender’s blue butterfly. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) would be placing the lupine on the federally threatened list soon, and we needed to prove we were protecting the plant.

NRCS was able to offer us Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding to put in additional water lines and fences so we could keep cattle out of areas with Kincaid’s lupine when the butterflies need it most, from April to September. Recently, we joined USFWS’s Partner for Fish and Wildlife program, which will help us put in even more cross-fencing and water features so we can ramp up our rotational grazing.

In nearly 14 years, I am happy to report we’ve been able to increase the population of Kincaid’s lupine on our farm by 33%.

Currently, we are in the process of putting in a solid-liquid separator at the dairy as part of our manure management system. Our cows spend most of their time on pasture, but they come indoors to be milked on average two-and-a-half times per day in the summer and three times per day in the winter. When a cow is ready to be milked, she walks up to an automatic milking machine, which sanitizes her udders and collects data about her milk production and health during the milking process.

Right now, manure from inside the barn is collected in a lagoon. With the solid-liquid separator, we will still have a lagoon but, as the name suggests, the separator will separate solids from liquids. The solids are what typically create greenhouse gasses. Separating them out will save 70 TO 75 metric tons of CO2 equivalent from entering the atmosphere, and we will be able to compost those solids and place them more strategically onto our ground as a slower-releasing, natural fertilizer.

This project is great, but it costs $120,000. Fortunately, I was able to apply for and receive a grant from the Washington Conservation Commission’s Sustainable Farms and Field Grant, which provided $75,000 toward the project with me contributing $25,000. Organic Valley received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities Program, which I also applied for and received a one-time payment of $500 per metric ton of CO2 equivalent saved using the new technology, or about $35,000.

Climate-smart programs put farmers at an advantage of being able to help themselves, their farms and the environment all in one package. Most farmers, including myself, can’t afford the giant numbers that it costs to do these projects nowadays, which is why it’s so important that they have access to funds to help them better manage their farms’ soil, water and air quality.

Through the Inflation Reduction Act, roughly $19.5 billion was allocated to the U.S. Department of Agriculture climate smart agriculture and conservation programs. In Congress, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are in the process of considering the Farm Bill – important legislation that outlines farming policies and funding for the next several years. Some opponents are seeking to use the bill to re-allocate this important funding.

It would be a grave mistake. Farmers need this funding to survive, thrive and meet the agricultural needs of all Americans.

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Maynard Mallonee is a third-generation dairy farmer and a member of the Organic Valley Co-Op. He operates Mallonee Farms in Curtis.