Skagit River Journal

of History & Folklore
Subscribers Edition, where 450 of 700 stories originate
The most in-depth, comprehensive site about the Skagit
Covers from British Columbia to Puget Sound. Counties covered: Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan, Snohomish & BC. An evolving history dedicated to committing random acts of historical kindness

Noel V. Bourasaw, editor 810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284 Home of the Tarheel Stomp Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug
Site founded Sept. 1, 2000. We passed 5 million page views on June 6, 2011 The home pages remain free of any charge. We need donations or subscriptions to continue. Please pass on this website link to your family, relatives, friends and clients.

Portal section: Charles M. Dwelley,
Concrete publisher for 40 years, and his
and his family who made Skagit history for a century

Charles M. "Chuck" Dwelley spent 40 years as the voice of the town of Concrete, after originally being assigned there in the months just prior to the October 1929 stock market crash to edit a failing small-town weekly newspaper, the Concrete Herald, which had gone bankrupt. His early days as an editor were not auspicious at all, especially for the grandson of one of Skagit County's earliest pioneers, Joseph Dwelley.
Joseph Dwelley was born in 1839 in Kittery, Maine. His father was a Boston ship carpenter and Joseph learned the trade well. He moved from New England to Wisconsin as a young man and in 1861, after learning of the fall of Fort Sumter, he enlisted in the Union army. His autobiography includes eye-witness accounts of the battles at Antietam, Chancellorsville and the Wilderness and he watched Pickett's charge from Round Top Hill at Gettysburg.
Following the war, after Dwelley married Angeline Wells on Feb. 11, 1870, and Having decided to seek a home in the West, he left his bride to wait until he could send for her. At San Francisco he arranged to work as ship's carpenter on the Isaac Jenner [EN 2] for his passage to Whidby [Whidbey] island [EN 3]. The captain set him ashore on or about March 26, 1870, with a $5 gold piece as a bonus, to begin his career in the new territory.
The young man had inherited his father's carpentry skill, so he built barns and houses on the island in the summer. On a trip up the Skagit river he located a land claim above the great log jam which blocked the stream near the present Mount Vernon [EN 4]. He sent for his wife in 1871 and they spent the winters on their wild homestead. Each summer they migrated to Whidby Island, where Dwelley worked at his trade.

From Coupeville to future Mount Vernon by canoe, as a babe "One of my first conscious memories," said Joseph's daughter, Mrs. Kate Maloy, in 1959, "is of going back and forth to Coupeville in a large canoe. Mother put a feather bed in it and we children slept while our parents rowed. We lived in a log cabin on the island two summers. [EN 5]
After four seasons on his Mount Vernon homestead Dwelley moved to LaConner. The country above the jam was too lonely for a man with a family. He lived there for the next 60 years, one of the leaders out of the early pioneers, in government and in social lodges. The boy who learned to be a carpenter grew into the man who helped imprint social structure on the frontier.
Along the way, two generations later, Chuck Dwelley actually eclipsed the publicity and historical reputation accorded to his grandfather, Joseph Franklin Dwelley, and he grew into a significant journalist rival for his mentor, Frank Evans, publisher of the Sedro-Woolley Courier-Times. His voice became pre-eminent for all things upriver in the Skagit Valley and he pushed badly needed infrastructure and transportation projects, while he opposed others that he considered boondoggles or frivolous.
Chuck's value for historical researchers was insured when he published his memories of his adopted town, So They Called the Town Concrete, in 1980 (link soon will be changed to the current domain) That link is for our review and introduction to the book. You can order it through this link. That book has recently been reprinted by the Concrete Museum. In a 1984 letter to Anne Bussiere, who took over as editor of the Herald for owners Bob and June Fader, Dwelley explained how he soon became the established upriver "whipping boy" and how the manager of Superior Cement Co. soon demanded that Herald articles concerning the cement plant were to be brought to him for approval. Dwelley called the man's bluff and he was soon on his way to establishing a presence in town.

See the extensive section on Charles M. "Chuck" Dwelley, which was created by Larry and Josef Kunzler as part of their program in August 2006 to honor Dwelley by installing a plaque on the Dalles Bridge, one of Dwelley's most important projects.

In his 1980 book, Dwelley recalled how he was sent to Concrete as a young man of 21 to take over the bankrupt weekly Herald, just before the depression struck, Mr. Dwelley eked out a living of sorts until he managed to put the Herald on its feet financially and retire the mortgages some ten years later. Meanwhile, he was establishing a reputation, which grew to statewide and eventually nationwide, as a top editor and writer. His short editorials have been reprinted in numerous daily newspapers and national magazines and reread over radio stations throughout the country. Dwelley sold the Herald in late 1970 to Robert and June Fader. In 1979, he edited a collection of historical stories in a book for the Skagit Valley Historical Society, Skagit Memories, and he wrote a column, "The Bridge Tender," in the Channel Town Press, LaConner newspaper.
Charles M. Dwelley was the middle child of three of Charles L. Dwelley, who was born in LaConner in 1878 as the fourth child of Joseph and Angeline Dwelley. Charles L. Dwelley moved his family to Anacortes in 1910, where he worked for the Anacortes Pulp Mill when it started and remained there until his retirement. He was president of the Historical Society in 1954.

Any time, any amount, please help build our travel and research fund for what promises to be a very busy 2011, traveling to mine resources from California to Washington and maybe beyond. Depth of research determined by the level of aid from readers. Because of our recent illness, our research fund is completely bare. See many examples of how you can aid our project and help us continue for another ten years. And subscriptions to our optional Subscribers Online Magazine (launched 2000) by donation too. Thank you.

Links, background reading and sources

Introduction to Charles M. "Chuck" Dwelley publisher of the Concrete Herald from 1929-70.
Charles M. "Chuck" Dwelley, country weekly newspaper editor. We present for the first time full biographies of Chuck, the publisher of the Concrete Herald for 41 years; his grandfather, Joseph F. Dwelley, who was a pioneer of the Skagit Valley in 1870; and his father, Charles L. Dwelley, pioneer resident of Anacortes.
A reprint of So They Called the Town Concrete is now available from the Concrete Museum, as one of their main fundraisers.
Obituaries for Chuck Dwelley and Art Dwelley.
Chuck Dwelley's 1953 history of Skagit County
We have updated our story on the 50th anniversary of the Dalles bridge at Concrete, which was erected in 1952 after decades of nail-biting, harrowing rides across that canyon and the Faber gorge by both settlers and buses full of children on gravity ferries. Includes a drawing of the bridge from a 1951 Concrete Herald issue.
Early next year we will begin serializing the autobiography of Joseph F. Dwelley, grandfather of Chuck and easily one of the ten most important pioneers of the county. He was one of the men who staked claims at present Mount Vernon in 1870 and he moved to LaConner in 1874, where he was a town and county leader for the next 60 years. Read here an introduction to that section and some background on how we found this document and the kind souls who donated it rather than selling it on EBay.
See a list of our many Journal features about Concrete and that area of the upper Skagit River.
See the website by Larry Kunzler and Josef Kunzler that explores Skagit River floods in depth — past, present and future, and offers a special section about their research of Chuck Dwelley and the Concrete Herald. They have researched archival issues of the Herald and catalogued articles about Skagit River floods archives, as they have done with other newspapers. Read about their project and see links there to their website and articles about replacement of the Dalles and Faber ferries.
In future Journal issues, we will transcribe and post a series of stories about historic Concrete from the Fiftieth Anniversary Edition of the Concrete Herald, dated June 21, 1951.
Introduction to articles about Lucinda and Glee Davis. Includes an article about the Davis family from Charles Dwelley's 1929 Concrete Herald.

Story posted on Story posted Dec. 1, 2005, last updated April 24, 2007, moved to this domain Nov. 21, 2011
Please report any broken links so we can update them
This article originally appeared in Issue 31 of our Subscribers-paid Journal online magazine

Getting lost trying to navigate or find stories on our site? Read how to sort through our 700-plus stories.		*See this Journal* Timeline website of local, state, national, international events for years of the pioneer period.**
Return to the new-domain home page	Links for portals to subjects and towns	Newest photo features	Search entire site
Our monthly column, Puget Sound Mail (but don't call it a blog) debuted on Aug. 9, 2009. Check it out.

Remember; we welcome correction & criticism.

Please report any broken links or files that do not open and we will send you the correct link. With more than 700 features, we depend on your report. Thank you. And do not give up if you find a link that seems to be closed. Just put the subject in the search box below. The story may have been moved to our new domain. Or just ask us and we will guide you to it.

Did you enjoy this story? Remember, as with all our features, this story is a draft and will evolve as we discover more information and photos. This process continues until we eventually compile a book about Northwest history. Can you help with copies or scans of documents or photos? We never ask for your originals.

Read about how you can order CDs that include our photo features from the first ten years of our Subscribers-paid online magazine. Perfect for gifts. Although it was delayed by our illness, it is due for completion in 2012.

You can click the donation button to contribute to the rising costs of this site. See many examples of how you can aid our project and help us continue for another ten years. You can also subscribe to our optional Subscribers-Paid Journal magazine online, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in September 2010, with exclusive stories, in-depth research and photos that are shared with our subscribers first. You can go here to read the preview edition to see examples of our in-depth research or read how and why to subscribe.

You can read the history websites about our prime sponsors
Would you like information about how to join them in advertising?

Our newest sponsor, Plumeria Bay, is based in Birdsview, just a short walk away from the Royal family's famous Stumpranch, and is your source for the finest down comforters, pillows, featherbeds andduvet covers and bed linens. Order directly from their website and learn more about this intriguing local business.

Oliver-Hammer Clothes Shop at 817 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley, 90 years continually in business.

Peace and quiet at the Alpine RV Park, just north of Marblemount on Hwy 20, day, week or month, perfect for hunting or fishing. Park your RV or pitch a tent — for as little as $5 per night — by the Skagit River, just a short drive from Winthrop or Sedro-Woolley. Alpine is doubling in capacity for RVs and camping in 2011.

Check out Sedro-Woolley First section for links to all stories and reasons to shop here first
or make this your destination on your visit or vacation.

Are you looking to buy or sell a historic property, business or residence?
We may be able to assist. Email us for details.

Did you find what you were seeking? We have helped many people find individual names or places, so email if you have any difficulty.

Tip: Put quotation marks around a specific name or item of two words or more, and then experiment with different combinations of the words without quote marks. We are currently researching some of the names most recently searched for — check the list here. Maybe you have searched for one of them?

Please sign our guestbook so our readers will know where you found out about us, or share something you know about the Skagit River or your memories or those of your family. Share your reactions or suggestions or comment on our Journal. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit our site.

View My Guestbook
Sign My Guestbook

Email us at: skagitriverjournal@gmail.com

Mail copies/documents to Street address: Skagit River Journal, 810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, WA, 98284.

Skagit River Journal

Portal section: Charles M. Dwelley, Concrete publisher for 40 years, and his and his family who made Skagit history for a century

Portal section: Charles M. Dwelley,
Concrete publisher for 40 years, and his
and his family who made Skagit history for a century