WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018 ܂ SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Mt. Angel sees 125 years
Historical Society president shares stories of city’s early years at event
Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
MT. ANGEL – Religious institutions like Mount An-
gel Abbey and the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel
(then known as the Queen of Angels Monastery) ex-
isted before the city was founded in 1893.
But it was the saloons that gave the city the money
to operate in Mt. Angel’s early years.
As a few hundred Mt. Angel residents from all
areas of the community came together April 3 at the
Mt. Angel Community Festhalle to celebrate the city’s
125th birthday, and those people received a lesson
about the history of their town.
Bill Predeek, the president of the Mt. Angel Histori-
cal Society, gave a half-hour presentation about the
city’s early years as part of the birthday party.
The first land claim of the property that would be-
come the town was in 1850, but it wasn’t until the Ben-
edictine monks and German Catholic families settled
in the town in 1881 that it got its identity.
“The abbey came because of the enthusiasm of the
people,” Predeek said.
“But the people then came because of the abbey
and the convent, not because the priests and the nuns
were here but because of the Christian education op-
portunities they provided.”
And monks were brewing beer in Mt. Angel before
it was a city.
Father Martin Grassel of Mount Angel Abbey said
the abbey started its first brewery in 1882, though
those operations ceased during prohibition in the
1920s.
In his presentation, Predeek showed how the first
See BIRTHDAY, Page 2A
WWII Marine killed
in 1943 is back home
Struggle to stay
off the streets
AJ Campos plays his guitar at the St. Joseph
Shelter in Mt. Angel, where he and his family
currently reside. The Campos family had been
homeless for over a month, but they'd been able to
keep the children from sleeping outside until July
of last year. To see more on this story, turn to page
3A. MOLLY J. SMITH/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Swings for
disabled kids
added at
local park
Christena Brooks Special to Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Sometimes the means to a good deed is just wait-
ing for a good idea.
The idea came to local elementary school student
Karis Coleman, who thought to tell the mayor, and
the deed was done by Silverton’s Rotary Club and
Public Works Department.
As of last Saturday, March 31, the city’s most pop-
ular park now has swings designed for kids who use
wheelchairs. Next to the toddler swings and ADA
bathrooms are two new “adaptive” swings.
Made by Landscape Structures, they feature har-
ness systems that keep kids – who must be lifted
from their wheelchairs to swing – from falling out or
slipping down. One is sized for kids aged 2 to 5, the
other for kids 5-12.
Originally, Karis wished to see a wheelchair swing
See SWINGS, Page 3A
Marie Galloway, 87, sits with the flag-draped casket of her brother Marine Pfc. Lyle E. Charpilloz on April 5
in Salem. PHOTOS BY MOLLY J. SMITH/STATESMAN JOURNAL
75 years later, soldier’s
only living sibling
finally receives closure
Capi Lynn Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A case file, about an inch-thick with a black cover,
sits on a table in Marie Galloway’s living room, a grim
reminder of her 17-year-old brother's death during
World War II.
Inside are medical examiner, forensic and DNA re-
ports, along with historical accounts of how he died,
what happened to his remains, and how they were
identified nearly 75 years later.
The family now has answers, but only Marie is
alive to get closure. She is the last surviving sibling of
Marine Pfc. Lyle E. Charpilloz, whose remains are fi-
nally home.
Marie never thought it would happen.
Her brother was killed Nov. 20, 1943, during the in-
famous Battle of Tarawa. He was buried on that tiny
Pacific island, along with 1,000 or so other Marines
and sailors who died during the three-day bloodbath.
As a result of “bad record keeping, massive recon-
struction on the island and poor memories,” nearly
half the casualties were never found.
It’s all in the copy of the case file on Marie’s table.
To be honest, she grew up believing her brother
was blown up and there wasn’t anything left to find.
Now the forensic reports tell her he died of gunshot
wounds and that there's even a metal fragment still
lodged in his left collarbone.
Advances in forensic science and scientific tech-
nology have made it possible for a team of anthropol-
ogists, dental experts and technicians from the De-
fense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to con-
nect once unidentifiable remains to missing service
members like Lyle Charpilloz, bringing long-awaited
closure to families.
Some of Lyle's remains had been buried for dec-
ades with other Tarawa unknowns at the cemetery
nicknamed the Punchbowl in Honolulu. Some were
Rotary members and volunteers pose for a photo at
the installation of "adaptive" swings at Coolidge
McClain Park in Silverton.
CHRISTENA BROOKS/SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
Marie Galloway, 87, is the younger sister and last
remaining direct relative of Marine Pfc. Lyle E.
Charpilloz.
“Lyle would go to school and then
come back to protect my mom. You
looked at him as being a lot older than
he was.”
Marie Galloway,
regarding her brother Marine Pfc. Lyle E. Charpilloz
recovered on Tarawa in 2014 by a nonprofit called His-
tory Flight, Inc., which has recovered more than
13,000 bones and fragments worldwide and helped
identify more than 100 service members.
Lyle’s flag-draped casket arrived at 2:16 p.m. April 5
at Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service in Salem, which is
handling arrangements for the family.
"What a long journey for him," said Kevin Cart-
wright, one of four Patriot Guard Riders standing sen-
See SOLDIER, Page 2A
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
Vol. 137, No. 16
News updates: ܂ Breaking news ܂ Get updates from
the Silverton area
Photos: ܂ Photo galleries
Serving the Silverton
Area Since 1880
A Unique Edition of
the Statesman Journal
50 cents
©2018
Printed on recycled paper
2 rescued after
getting trapped
on road by snow
Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Marion County Jeep Patrol rescued two women
stranded on snow-covered roads April 2, officials
said.
Two women from Washington were traveling Brei-
tenbush Road 46 on April 1 in search of good places to
snowboard when their car got stuck in the deep
snow, Marion County Sheriff ’s Office spokesman
Chris Baldridge said.
They were pulled out, but then suffered vehicle
trouble and were trapped overnight on the road, Bal-
dridge said.
Members of the patrol were dispatched and
brought the two down to safety.
“There’s still a lot of snow up there, and conditions
are very wet and slippery,” Baldridge said. “If you’re
going up there, make sure you have the equipment to
get yourself un-stuck.”
In a Facebook post, the patrol added:
“It may be warm and sunny down in the valley but
it is still winter in many parts of Marion County and
will be for some time yet. Twenty miles from Detroit
it is still the middle of winter!
“It is hard to believe that in April there are areas in
Marion County where snowplows and tow-trucks
cannot access! If you plan to travel through the higher
elevation parts of the county go prepared. The snow
condition this time of year is challenging to drive in.”