Source: Written by Bruce Landeck, landeckb@bellsouth.net WARREN ORT GRIMM Warren was born on March 9, 1888 in Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania of old Pennsylvania Dutch stock. In 1891 his family moved to Centralia, Washington along with his uncle Oliver Ort and his family and grandmother Mary Aurand Ort. He had 4 siblings, brothers Huber, William, and Francis and a sister Mary. The family bought a farm in the Hannaford Valley. He attended the Centralia schools and although he always ranked high in his studies, he devoted a great deal of time to athletics and for four years was a star on the Centralia high school football team. Warren entered the University of Washington in the fall of 1908, a tall, powerful looking chap. He made his way through college by doing clerical work in the office of the County Assessor of King County. He starred on Washington's famous football teams under the great Coach Dobie and was a member of the Sigma Nu social fraternity. He immediately became the leader of his freshman class. In those days hazing was still acceptable, the law of survival of the fittest ruled and the University authorities permitted the freshmen and sophomores to fight it out in a good free-for-all, nock down, drag out battle. The object was to see which class could produce the biggest bunch of huskies (nickname for U of W students) and tie the others up in the shortest time. Warren, because of his unusual size, was chosen captain of the freshman "tie-up" squad. He here demonstrated that he was a master tactician. He introduced a new form of attack, hitherto unknown even to this roughest of college sports. He picked about fifty of his biggest, strongest classmates and when the time came to charge the "enemy" Warren called to his fellows and they fell into the triangular formation. The name for this maneuver, which was highly successful, was "wedge" and from this time on Warren was known on all the athletic fields of the northwest as "Wedge". In 1910 Warren was awarded the Flaherty medal, an honorary symbol bestowed upon the member of Washington's football team who, during the preceding season, had been the source of the greatest inspiration to his fellow players. Warren lettered in football 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1911. Every honor society on the campus, to which Warren was eligible, honored him with membership. He became a member of the two principal upper class societies, Oval Club and Fir Tree. In addition to this he made Phi Delta Phi, a national law honorary fraternity, which selects its members from among those who stand highest in their classes and show the greatest promise of becoming a credit to the profession. He graduated from the University of Washington with both B.L. (Bachelor of Law) and L.L.M. (master of law) degrees. After graduation from law school he returned to his home in Centralia and practiced law. Warren then married his first wife, Ina Olive Gilbert, who shortly thereafter developed diabetes and died two and half years later on April 12, 1917 from "Coma terminating Diabetes". He was made deputy prosecuting attorney and at the expiration of his term he entered into a law partnership with his brother Huber Grimm. When the United States entered the World War I Warren turned his business over to his brother and left for the Second Officers Training Camp. He earned a commission of First Lieutenant and was assigned to the 12th Infantry. In January 1918, his regiment was ordered to Camp Fremont. On April 15, 1918 he married Anna Verna Barstad who was librarian of the Centralia library. Warren was introduced to Verna by his sister Mary, who was a close friend of Vernašs. The wedding was in the Chapel of Stanford University and was performed with full military honors. Pictures and an account of the wedding were in the San Francisco papers. In August, 1918 Warren's regiment was ordered to Siberia. Upon his arrival at Vladivostok, he was assigned to Co. I of the 31st Infantry and was stationed on guard duty about one hundred miles north of the Siberian seaport. On November first he was transferred to Hardin, Manchuria, where he was detailed to act as legation guard. He was in command of about fifty men. The latter part of December Warren was recalled to the 31st Infantry for duty with the headquarters Company. His company left Vladivostok on April 1, 1919 for home and upon his arrival in San Francisco, he hurried to Centralia to greet his wife and new baby daughter, Shirley Ann, who had been born during his absence. Centralia welcomed him back and he again took up the practice of law. His fellow service men showed their respect and confidence in him by electing him Commander of Grant Lodge Post of the American Legion. Warren settled down to his law practice in an endeavor to make up for the time in the service and with the ambition to make a place for himself in his chosen profession. On Armistice Day, November 11, 1919 Warren stared out tending his rose garden, a hobby. Later that day he was scheduled to lead the Grant Lodge Post in the Armistice Day parade. At this time the International Workers of the World (I.W.W. or Wobblies as they were known) were trying to infiltrate the lumbermenšs union in central Washington. The IWW was a socialist labor movement espousing the doctrines of syndicalism. Its aim was to unite in one body all skilled and unskilled workers for the purpose of overthrowing capitalism and rebuilding society on a socialistic basis. Its methods were direct action, propaganda, boycott, sabotage, and the strike. Warren, along with his brother Huber who was then city attorney for Centralia, was leading the effort to stop the Wobblies organizing efforts. The tension was very high on both sides. This was a time of labor unrest and social upheaval. At 2:00pm civic organizations and the American Legion Post contingents of Centralia and Chehalis left City Park and marched down Tower Avenue. When the Armistice Day parade started, Warren as Commander of the Grant Lodge Post was in the lead of the Centralia group with the color guard behind him. They were all unarmed. The Chehalis Legionnaires passed the Wobbly hall. The Centralia contingency arrived next and Warren halted them to reform. Either through premeditation or in panic fearing their hall was about to be stormed, the Wobblies opened fire. Shots rang out from the Wobbly Hall, the ramshackle Avalon Hotel across the street to the rear of the Legionnaires, an old rooming house ahead of them, and a hill farther away. Warren fell first hit by a high powered dum-dum bullet killing him instantly in the middle of the street. Arthur Elfresh was killed by a bullet fired from Seminary Hill. The unarmed Legionnaires were caught in a pocket. Some broke for cover, others charged the source of the first shots, the Wobbly hall. Bernard Eubanks took a bullet in the leg on the curb in front of the Wobbly hall and Eugene Pfitzer was shot through the arm. As Legionnaires broke into the hall and seized several armed men, a Wobbly gunman who ran from the hall shot down Ben Cassagranda. Earl Watts fell within a few feet of the mortally wounded Cassagranda. Wobbly Wesley Everest escaped from the rear of the hall, firing at his pursuers, reloading as he ran. Alva Coleman grabbed a revolver from an occupant of a house along the line of chase but was hit and passed it to Dale Hubbard, a powerful athlete, who reached the Skookumchuck River where Everest, after attempting to ford, had returned to the near bank. When Hubbard ordered Everest to put down his gun, Everest opened fire. Hubbard fell. Everest then pistol whipped the dying Legionnaire before others overpowered him. All of the captured Wobblies were taken to the local jail. That night a lynch mob formed. The Legionnaires enlisted by the sheriff tried to protect the jail but the mob took control of the municipal electric plant shutting off all power and lights to Centralia. They rushed the jail but took only one prisoner, Wesley Everest. He was castrated and hung from the bridge over the Skookumchuck River. With this one act of revenge, the upright citizens of Centralia lost the moral high ground and controversy has swirled around the Centralia Massacre (or Incident, or Tragedy, depending on your point of view but all are accurate) ever since. Ten Wobblies and their legal advisor who was accused of counseling them in the planning of the crime were later arraigned for the murder of Warren O. Grimm. A lengthy trial followed at Montesano, Washington attended by Warrenšs widow Verna and baby daughter Shirley Ann. Of the eleven defendants, seven were convicted of murder in the second degree and received twenty five to forty year prison sentences. Centralia raised a monument to Warren and the other American Legion victims of the deadly Wobbly attack. But it did not end there. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 15 years later commuted the sentences of the convicted Wobblies and recognized the Soviet Union in an attempt to gain support of the American radical left which had grown in strength during the great depression. Then when Verna died many years later at the home of her daughter, Shirley Ann, her daughter received terrorist threats via mail, which were turned over to the FBI. Warren is buried in Mountainview Cemetery in Centralia, WA.