Lewis County News donates to Winlock's rich history

Tommy Thompson, President of the Winlock Historical Museum picking up the Lewis County News books for the Museum.

The Lewis County News, owned by Pat Myers, has been binding their editions ever since he purchased the paper. Pat had mentioned to me, the editor, that he was thinking about finding a forever home for the books he had for the Willapa Harbor Herald newspaper. That gave me the idea that the Winlock Historical Museum would be the perfect place for the Lewis County News/Town Crier books. The museum is here for our history and these books provide years of history that will serve the community for years to come.

In these books, you will find former Egg Day Queens, all of the south county festivals, schools and so much more. It was time that the public had the same opportunity I did to look at these books. I loved going back and looking at old graduation photos. I have always loved Winlock for one reason, it gave me an upbringing that allowed me to succeed elsewhere and come back like I never left.

If you grew up here, you remember Winlock was a village. We had a community, it was always full of people shopping. It is fun to see the prices of groceries, even tires and other things for sale in these books. They have the state champions from 1977,there is so much history in these books that I hope you take the time to go look. While I will miss being able to see them, there is no doubt this is a much better purpose for the books than just collecting dust in my office.

I contacted Tommy Thompson, who I graduated with and asked if he would take these books off my hands for the museum. Tommy very kindly agreed. Tommy is one of those guys, even back in high school that I looked up to. He has always had a kindness and common sense approach so I knew he would see to it they were taken care of. I don't know everyone on the board at the Museum but I know between Sue Mickelsen Lindeman and Tommy Thompson they are in the best hands possible.

Tommy Thompson, President of the Winlock Historical Museum and 1981 graduate of Mt. St. Helen's High School stated, "This generous donation is a priceless addition to our Museum's archives, as it quite literally chronicles the history of Winlock: the people who created our community, who they were, what they did, their comings and goings, the activities of the fraternal organizations, the young smiling faces of the little league teams, most of them collecting Social Security now, and like any newspaper, the lists of the businesses advertising reminds me of when every storefront in town was full." The history in these books will be around for generations to enjoy!

Sue Lindeman stated, "A huge thank you to Lynnette and the Lewis County News Publisher for the generous donation of their collection of annually bound editions of the Lewis County News and Town Crier to the Winlock Historical Museum. When someone explores the museum, they can get an idea of the history of the city and area of Winlock--logging, farming, businesses, Finnish immigrants,and schools. Often, however, visitors are seeking information about families or events and researching the old newspapers is our best resource for answering these questions. This gift gives our town a new depth of discovery and it is very exciting for the museum to have more possibilities of serving the community." Sue has been busy cataloging the books, she has them stored and ready for the next person to peruse.

There is something about Winlock that will always have a dear place in my heart, I am 4th generation in south Lewis County. I have watched families over the years and know without a doubt that we have some wonderful people in our community. I have met several new people as well, they too want to see Winlock continue as a small community. So, for now, the only memories of our small town we will have will be what we have saved in our Museum. If you have old items that you are thinking of getting rid of, don't forget our museum is the best option.