The Appelo Archives Center exists because of the lifelong curiosity of Carlton Appelo, a history enthusiast and collector who died in 2019.

He was president of Western Wahkiakum Telephone Co. and served on several regional telecommunications boards. His love of history, preserving stories and collecting artifacts earned him the 1996 Governor’s Heritage Award.

Annika Kay took over as director of the center a year after his death. “I feel like I have come to know him well,” she said. “He started the archives because he enjoyed history. He worked for the phone company and put historical inserts in the phone book about Altoona and Pillar Rock.”

A life of service

Appelo’s obituary told of a colorful life of service.

The word Appelö means “apple island” in Swedish.

Carlton was born in 1922, son of an immigrant Karl Arthur Appelö, a self-educated man who changed his name to “Carl” on arrival in the United States, worked his way from Boston through logging camps in Canada and the West, eventually landing in Deep River where he became the long-serving postmaster in 1915.

He married Agnes Paju, another Finnish immigrant, and they operated a store and post office, contributing greatly to the community. The C.A. and Agnes Appelo Memorial Library is named for them.

Swedish legacy

The older of their two sons, Carlton — born on a fishing boat crossing the Columbia River as his mother was being ferried to the hospital in Astoria — lived in Deep River and Rosburg for 96 years. He was Naselle High School’s 1939 student body president, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, and saw World War II combat as a U.S. Army captain in Okinawa, Japan.

He earned a master’s degree in business administration from UW in 1948, did graduate work at Stockholm University, then became merchandise manager of Appelo Shopping Centers in 1950.

Wooden chairs which he acquired during his schooling in Sweden are among artifacts on display in the upstairs library at the center.

Plaques honor dedication

His memberships included the Grays River Grange and the American Legion. He helped found Port District No. 2 and Vista Park in Skamokawa and co-founded the Natural Resource Conservation District and served on its board. He and his wife, Berenice, who died in 2004, were active in the Congregational Church in Naselle for decades.

A sturdy wooden sign with foot-tall letters “C. Arthur Appelo” stretches along one wall upstairs near an exhibit about Deep River. Nearby a crowded wall is almost a shrine to Carlton, with photographs, a cute cartoon, and plaques from groups like the U.S. Telephone Association and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association.

Ashley McCoy’s skill in creating traditional Scandinavian food treats at the Appelo Cafe is one key to the lure of the center.

She is keenly aware it would not exist without Carlton Appelo.

“This guy saved everything!” she enthused. “I don’t think he ever threw anything away.”