As the saying goes, better late than never. It was actually during the City of Powell's Centennial Observance that the building was dedicated in honour of Marshal Lewis, on March 16th, 2009, exactly 70 years after the Marshal's death. The Billings Gazette ran an article on the dedication of the building, including a great deal of background information on the dedication, Marshal Lewis and the incident in which he was fatally shot. Excerpts from the article follow.
70 years later, Powell pays tribute to town marshal slain in the line of duty
MARK HEINZ For The Gazette | Mar 15, 2009
March 16 of her 14th year was a terrible day for Mary Milrae Catlett - it was the day her father, at the time Powell's only full-time lawman - was shot and killed by a dangerous fugitive.
Now 84, Catlett on this March 16 will finally see her father get due thanks from the town he was instrumental in building. The Powell City Council has proclaimed Monday as Charles Lewis Memorial Day. To further honor Lewis, who was the town marshal, the Powell police station will be renamed the Charles E. Lewis Law Enforcement Center.
The Powell Police Department and others will spend much of the day paying tribute to Lewis. He was fatally shot on March 16, 1939, while trying to apprehend Earl Durand at Durand's parents' house near Powell. He died at the local hospital about four hours after the shooting. He was 44.
Powell Police Chief Tim Feathers said honoring Lewis, as part of Powell's centennial celebration, is a way to set right what he
thinks is an injustice. Durand has gained folk-hero status during the 70 years since his rampage left five other men dead and ended in his suicide. Lewis was all but forgotten, Feathers said.
"Nobody seemed to remember this guy, Lewis, who gave so much to the community and gave his life in the line of duty," Feathers
said, "but everybody seems to remember the man who killed him."
In addition to serving as the marshal, Lewis was also Powell's street commissioner and water commissioner, Feathers said. "He was wearing three hats for the city. This guy was working six or seven days a week," he said.
Catlett and her daughter, Mary Catlett, both of La Habra, Calif., will return to Powell for the ceremonies honoring Lewis...
...Lewis' death was part of a notorious crime spree. Durand was arrested by a game warden for poaching deer and handed over to the Park County Sheriff's Office, Feathers said. The sheriff was out of the county, so Durand escaped by attacking the undersheriff.
"He busted the undersheriff over the head with a milk bottle and took him hostage to escape from the jail," Feathers said. The undersheriff survived, and Durand fled to his parents' house. Having learned of Durand's whereabouts, Lewis recruited the help of D.M. Baker and went to the house to find Durand.
"As they pulled up, he (Durand), stormed out of the house with a rifle and just shot them both," Feathers said. Baker, 70, died at the scene, and Durand fled into the Beartooth Mountains. A manhunt ensued, and two men assigned to the posse to catch Durand were killed by him in the mountains. Durand then fled back to town and robbed the First National Bank of Powell.
"A number of citizens got word of the robbery, armed themselves and went down to the bank," Feathers said. Desperate to escape, Durand tied three hostages together and burst through the bank's front door.
"In the exchange of gunfire that ensued a young bank teller, Johnny Gawthrop, was fatally wounded. Durand himself also was wounded, and went back into the bank and committed suicide," Feathers said.
From the Billings Gazette