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PROD removal, May 2024

[edit]

Hey everyone!

Coming to the defense of another Lewis County community article! It's clear to me that Forest is an unincorporated community, it still exists and has since at least the late 1890s. The PROD descrip does not give credence to the post office or voting districts that are currently ref'd and therefore the article should be deleted on those merits.

However, I support keeping the Forest article as well as keeping it classified as a UC. This is based on the long read ahead of you and the research that found plenty of past and recent history.

As a starter and background, I'd like potential readers of this discussion, or the potential AfD, to take a gander at the source link at the end of this paragraph of a two-part newspaper series I often refer to from the local newspaper, The Chronicle (Centralia, Washington) titled, If Towns Could Talk from 2002, particularly this one page report on Forest. It provides a deeper look into the history, etymology (not really certain how the name of Forest came about), early economy, photos, and more.[1]

Let's begin with sourcing by talking about the sources of GNIS, Meany, and Forte. Although there are some issues in those sources, they have not been proven to be wrong in this article. Declaring that a combination of a post office, a grange, and a voting district,[2] cannot also be a town or a community is a tough sell. Even if we ignore the importance of post offices from back in those days, or that voting districts represent people in a community, granges weren't just a bingo and rental hall back then. It was the definition of community. It is not up to us as editors to judge what something was because of what today is.

But, not everyone has to agree so let's get to sourcing, sourcing, sourcing to achieve notability. Below is a timeline list with sourcing provided. I've broken it up into two groups, the first being the town's history and the second section focusing on the Forest school. Why? There's was a f-ton on the school to be found.

  • Crossroads community, and farming article, with mention of early homesteading in 1850[3]
  • Repair of gravel and plank road leading to Chehalis; also post office delivery info on same page, 1900[4]
  • Local grange history articles about creation and/or milestone celebrations, of Forest Grange, 1904[5][6][7][8]
  • Interview from 1994 with woman born and raised in Forest recalling plank road, school, and that Forest "looks a lot like it always has", 1913[9]
  • Build and dedication of new grange hall, 1916Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
  • Draft roll, ten listed from Forest, for the first world war, 1918[10]
  • Build of permanent Boy Scout camp, 1920[11]
  • Creation of "poor house" retirement facility during the Great Depression, converted into a sanatorium, nursing home, and then as a present-day homeless shelter for kids and moms, 1930s[12]
  • Proposed route of gas pipeline near Forest, 1964[13]
  • Updated FEMA flood maps including "the community of Forest", 2003[14]
  • History of an 1880s corner store in Forest, still in existence, and its use as a "stage stop and post office", 2010[15]
  • The "tiny crossroads community of Forest", 2011[16]

Forest School:

  • Report about district consolidation, with Forest School the center-point, and given high-praise ala Nic Cage; also student population of 70 and describing the community and its residents in decent detail over two columns (various reports over the next few years will also describe student pop. and achievements), 1911[17]
  • New $8,000 school building bond passed, 1926[18] but rejected the following year, 1927[19]
  • Build by the WPA for a $3500 gym, 1937[20]
  • Fire destroys schoolhouse but gym and teacher's cottage saved, 1946[21]
  • School, though closed, used as a site for a children's handicap education program, 1955-1958[22][23]
  • Since school closure in 1950, buildings on grounds had been rented and now for sale, 1966[24]
  • Forest School property listed as surplus, 1972[25][26]
  • Article from 1974, teacher from Forest school recalling the building and community, school mentioned as no longer around[27]

I know this has become a long read, but I want to finalize by saying that early newspaper reports of Forest (also synonymously referred to as Newaukum Prairie), particularly in articles titled "Local News" or "Happenings", are abundant. I do mean abundant, as in hundreds. Here's four of the many, from 1897,[28] 1900,[29] 1936,[30] and 1945.[31] Yes, it's just comings-and-goings, someone opened a mercantile shop, the reverend's daughter married a son of a prominent businessman, someone totaled their Model-T...but it does prove a community. There's also dozens of articles of a semi-pro(?) grange league baseball team in Forest during the late 1920s into the mid-30s. I'd show the refs for it, but my husband talks enough about that infernal sport. There was a Forest Tennis Club, Gardening Club, and other organized groups between the 1900s and 1930s. Even if the argument is that Forest doesn't exist now, we can certainly agree that it did...and instead of removal of the article and therefore the removal of Forest from our collective knowledge, we can simply reclassify.

However, the community still exists and a reclassify, just like deletion of an article of a community that existed, is not warranted.

We should save this article as is and obviously expand upon with the history and sources recently found.

Shortiefourten (talk) 18:00, 15 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The name came from the postal service, and newaukum prairie contains its identity in its name. The sources speak for them selves and don't say what you think they do. James.folsom (talk) 00:20, 17 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Newaukum Prairie is separate a bit to the west of Forest although they do share a zip code along with Chehalis Isla🏳️‍⚧ 11:41, 28 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

References

  1. ^ Mittge, Brian (April 6, 2002). "If Towns Could Talk - Towns Once Bastions Of Highway Commerce". The Chronicle. p. 22. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  2. ^ MacCracken, Gordon (November 25, 1998). "This is no Mickey Mouse operation - or is it?". The Chronicle. p. 5. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  3. ^ Mittge, Brian (April 3, 2004). "After 101 Years, Family still down home on the farm". The Chronicle. pp. 9, 10. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  4. ^ "Over The County". The Chehalis Bee-Nugget. March 9, 1900. p. 2. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  5. ^ "Grange members to dedicate remodeled fair building at this year's fair". The Chronicle. March 20, 2004. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  6. ^ Jones, Pat (October 28, 2006). "Home, home on the Grange". The Chronicle. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  7. ^ Mittge, Brian (April 28, 2007). "Newaukum Grangers Celebrate a Century". The Chronicle. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  8. ^ Fund, Edna (October 7, 2009). "Today in History: Celery Predicted to Be Local Industry in 1909". The Chronicle. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Trout Blinks, Ann (February 5, 1994). "Horse-and-buggy days recalled by Chehalis woman". The Chronicle. p. D1. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  10. ^ "Men Eligible For The Draft". The Chehalis Bee-Nugget. July 27, 1917. p. 7. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  11. ^ "Permanent Scout Camp". The Chehalis Bee-Nugget. October 15, 1920. p. 2. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  12. ^ Jones, Pat (January 6, 2007). "Some Lewis County People Wound up in Poor House". The Chronicle. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  13. ^ "Proposed Route Of Petroleum Pipeline In County Disclosed". The Daily Chronicle. July 14, 1964. p. 1. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  14. ^ Mittge, Brian (July 17, 2003). "Feds unveil new flood maps". The Chronicle. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  15. ^ Allen, Marqise (May 11, 2010). "Convenience Store Left Isolated by Bridge Closure". The Chronicle. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  16. ^ Allen, Marqise (January 14, 2011). "Newaukum Bridge Scheduled to Open Next Month". The Chronicle. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  17. ^ "Forest School Given Praise". The Centralia Weekly Chronicle. September 6, 1911. p. 4. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  18. ^ "New $8000 Forest School". The Chehalis Bee-Nugget. December 24, 1926. p. 1. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  19. ^ "Rejects Forest Bond Issue". The Chehalis Bee-Nugget. February 4, 1927. p. 11. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  20. ^ "Gym For Forest". The Chehalis Bee-Nugget. January 22, 1937. p. 4. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  21. ^ "Fire Destroys Forest School". The Daily Chronicle. April 18, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  22. ^ "Handicapped Classes Open". The Daily Chronicle. November 30, 1955. p. 9. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  23. ^ "To Be Center". The Daily Chronicle. August 19, 1958. p. 12. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  24. ^ "What's News In The Twin Cities - Buildings Offered". The Daily Chronicle. July 14, 1966. p. 4. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  25. ^ "Property Not Needed". The Daily Chronicle. March 2, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  26. ^ "News Briefs - Meeting Changed". The Daily Chronicle. April 13, 1972. p. 13. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  27. ^ Swayne, Aleta (January 4, 1974). "Reminesence Of Forest School". The Daily Chronicle. p. 3. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  28. ^ "Newaukum Prairie". The Chehalis Bee. December 3, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  29. ^ "District Fity-seven". The Chehalis Bee-Nugget. February 16, 1900. p. 1. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  30. ^ "The Peoples Column - Forest". The Centralia Daily Chronicle. May 7, 1936. p. 3. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  31. ^ "Suburban News - Forest". The Centralia Daily Chronicle. February 8, 1945. p. 11. Retrieved May 15, 2024.

Shortiefourten (talk) 18:00, 15 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

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