Chet Newell was born in Deer Park, Washington in 1904 and spent most of his early life in and around Spokane. With an 8th grade education, typical of its day, Newell became a truck driver before eventually finding work at a magnesite mine in Idaho. He married Vivian South in 1933. At age 40, Chet moved to Black Diamond and became an equipment operator for Palmer Coking Coal Company, founded in 1933. Chet and Vivian later bought a home from Palmer, next door to their coal washing plant in Black Diamond. He’s shown here in August 1955 operating a Caterpillar D7A bulldozer at Palmer’s surface coal mining operation near the Green River Gorge. Sadly, Arnim Chester Newell died two years later in July 1957, at age 52.
In the mid-1950s, Palmer was by far the largest of four remaining coal mining companies in King County. Thirty years earlier there were 20 firms mining coal in the county. This photo was taken as a promotional shot by the Caterpillar Tractor Company of Peoria, Illinois. Their D7 tractor was first manufactured in 1938, and most commonly used as a bulldozer. Photo No. B8-5096 was taken by C.L. Edwards and given to Palmer by Caterpillar. Donna Brathvode of Ravensdale provided genealogical information about Arnim “Chet” Newell.
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