100 years later, forgotten ‘Girls’ are honored
CHEHALIS — Washington unions
donated time and money to help build a
monument at the unmarked grave of
eight young women — “The Girls” —
killed in a flash fire in 1911 at the Im-
perial Powder Company. The tragedy
transformed enforcement of workplace
safety regulations and worker rights in
the United States, yet it’s gone virtually
unrecognized for nearly a century.
That all changed Nov. 1, with the
unveiling of a memorial for Ethel
Tharp, 20; Tillie Rosbach and Ethel
Henry, both 18; Sadie Westfall, Bertha
Hagle and Eva Gilmore, each 16; and
Vera Mulford and Bertha Crown, both
14 — “The Girls.”
“As young as these girls were, their
deaths served a purpose — it con-
tributed to an aggressive push to reform
labor and workers’ compensation laws
in our state,” said Jeff Johnston, presi-
dent of the Washington State Labor
Council, who spoke before more than
100 people at Pioneer-Greenwood
Cemetery in Chehalis.
The story of “The Girls,” was rekin-
dled a few years ago following mention
of it in a column in the local newspaper.
The article prompted local historians to
research the incident, which resulted in
more articles in the local newspaper.
In 1911, Chehalis was booming.
New businesses were moving in along
with European immigrant labor and
Cemetery owner John Panesko, a semi-retired attorney and anti-union
conservative talk radio host, addresses the crowd and acknowledges several
members of a local group who banded together to make the memory of the
eight, now commonly known as “The Girls,” a reality.
plenty of unskilled workers anxious to
earn a paycheck. The Imperial Powder
Company was welcomed to a location
on Coal Creek Road to supply explo-
sives for underground coal mines and
for farmers to remove stumps to clear
fields for needed crops. Workers were
routinely subjected to long hours, hard
work, and dangerous conditions.
That same year, the Washington
Legislature enacted laws protecting
workers from unsafe conditions. Child
labor laws were already on the books,
but none of the laws were enforced.
On the afternoon of Nov. 1, 1911 —
less than eight months after the Trian-
gle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York
City killed 146 workers — a flame ig-
nited the powder dust in the packaging
room of the Imperial Powder Company.
The intense fire flashed so quickly that
the eight girls packing powder into
boxes didn’t have time to run for the
door. Seven died at their work benches,
their bodies burned beyond recognition.
The entire community was in shock.
A hastily-called coro-
ner’s inquest jury was
made up of town leaders
who had invited the pow-
der company to the
area. Even though com-
pany managers were
known to smoke ciga-
rettes near the packing
room, in half an hour the
inquest jury ruled they
didn’t know the cause of
the fire — but the com-
pany was without guilt.
The news of their deci-
sion enraged citizens
throughout the country,
and public pressure forced governmen-
tal agencies to begin serious enforce-
ment of workplace regulations.
“It was one of the last straws. It cre-
ated a feeling nationwide that this
could not go on,” said newspaper
columnist Bill Moeller, who in August
shared the story of the tragic event, the
discovery of the group gravesite, and
the efforts to raise money to memorial-
ize “The Girls” with delegates of the
Thurston-Lewis-Mason Counties Cen-
tral Labor Council.
In those days, Moeller said, labor
was in extreme trouble, with unions
fighting for a 10-hour day, 6 days a
week, and the right to be paid in dol-
lars and not company scrip.
“This turned the tide for organized
labor,” he said.
The community, however, was anx-
ious to forget the whole event, and did
nothing to memorialize the girls’
deaths. The location of the graves was
quickly forgotten. The cemetery where
they were buried was abandoned and
became an overgrown jungle of impen-
etrable brush and rotting trees.
The land was purchased some 20
years ago by John Panesko who, ironi-
cally, is an anti-union, conservative lo-
cal radio talk show host in Chehalis.
Panesko was with Moeller at the labor
council meeting in August. He told del-
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egates that following an illness in 1993
in which doctors told him to start put-
ting his affairs in order, “I made a deal
with God; I basically said, ‘you keep
me alive, I’ll clean this (the cemetery)
up; I’ll put it back the way it was 100
years ago.”
The Thurston-Lewis-Mason Coun-
ties Central Labor Council donated
$1,000 and began spreading the word
in the labor community. The Washing-
ton State Labor Council, Washington
State Building Trades Council, and
many locals donated funds. Jared Ross
and Peter Lahmann, members of La-
borers Local 252, volunteered to place a
four-ton concrete pad for the foundation
of the monument. Ross is an organizer
for the Laborers District Council and
Lahmann is the apprenticeship coordi-
nator for the Laborers for SW Washing-
ton.
“I had no idea about these girls or
this story,” said Lahmann, 55, a life-
long resident of Lewis County and re-
cently-elected vice president of the
Lewis County Historical Society.
“Once I heard the story, I knew we had
to do something to get the story told.”
Donations are still being accepted
for signage, benches, and upkeep of the
memorial. Donations can be made to:
“The Girls Monument Fund,” Security
State Bank, P.O. Box 900, Chehalis,
WA 98532.
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