Each one shows a man. The statue is dressed in a uniform, and the man in the painting, on one side at least, is dressed like a farmer. So what's with these two guys?

Well, they lived at the same time. But they each belonged to two different groups that didn't get along so well.

The man in the uniform is called "the sentinel:" a soldier who stands guard. He's made to look like the soldiers of World War I, who in 1919 had a parade in Centralia to mark one year since the end of the war.

Just stick your face in the snow!

The man with the farmer's hat was named Wesley Everest. He was part of a group of miners and timber workers who tried to get better pay from their bosses. They worked inside a building that was on the parade road.

The soldiers, who fit in with the bosses, didn't like the workers, and the workers didn't like the soldiers.

On the day of the parade, as lots of marchers were coming down the street, one of the soldiers left the parade and went inside the building where the workers were. He wanted to stir up trouble and show the workers who was boss.

But one of the workers, Wesley Everest, was waiting for him. The two men fought each other, chasing each other all around town, beating each other up until they were too tired to stand up.

The parade was ruined, both men were run out of town, and the bosses and the workers had a hard time getting along after that. That fight didn't do anybody any good.

But that was a long time ago, and now the statue and the painting are there to remind people of how bad things got.

Do you have any statues or paintings in your town? What's the story behind them?

Neda

Please email me at: neda@ustrek.org