Good old days

125 years ago

April 6, 1888

All of the hardy fruits will grow in the Palouse country.

Apples, cherries, plums, pears, etc., are fruits the production of which our deep rich soil and moderate climate are well adapted, as is proven by a number of thrifty orchards throughout the country.

Nothing more adds to the comfort of a farm than a well cared for orchard.

Heretofore the toil and labor incident to opening up a farm in a new country, the breaking of ground and fencing same, and the erection of buildings as well as many other important matters that divert the attention of the homeseeker, has occupied too much of the settler’s time to enable him to look to the comforts and appearance of his place which comes afterwards, and therefore it takes a year or two after selecting a home and making the necessary improvements, before time is found to properly prepare an orchard.

Too many of our farmers have delayed in setting out an orchard or cultivating and caring for the one they have set out, and the consequences is the number of bearing orchards are not as great as should be.

We urge upon all farmers for their own benefit and comfort, to set aside a few acres for an orchard at their earliest convenience, and in a few years they will have abundance of fruit for their own use and to sell.

100 years ago

April 4, 1913

Colfax had a real flood scare Saturday night.

The waters of the South Palouse rose rapidly Saturday and there was strong indications that a flood of dangerous proportions was coming.

Colfax people got busy on the telephone and kept in close communication with Pullman and Moscow.

Reports from these places were not reassuring.

Moscow reported water higher than it was at the time of the disastrous flood of March 1, 1910, and at Pullman the water was rising at the rate of six to eight inches per hour.

Colfax merchants employed men and teams to empty their basements of goods which were taken to higher ground to prevent damage in case basements were flooded.

Crowds stood upon the bridges and river banks marking the rapid rise of the water while other kept in touch with upriver points by telephone.

The evening train from Moscow, due here at 9 o’clock, came in before 7 and this added to the fears of Colfax people.

Conductor Jones explained that the water was rising so fast at Moscow that it was thought best to run the train to Colfax before the track was washed out.

By 1 o’clock Sunday morning, the water had begun to recede and the street were deserted and people went to bed.

By early morning Sunday, many of them were up to view the river and were delighted to find that the water had fallen two feet.

No damage was done here.

At Pullman a few homes were flooded, sidewalks washed away and water got out into Main street.

Two bridges were also washed out but the damage was light.

It is believed now that the danger of a flood is past and people along the South Palouse are greatly relieved.

75 years ago

April 1, 1938

That control of the unoccupied schoolhouse in Green Hollow had been given to the Kiwanis club by the Colfax school district was announced by O.C. Glaser at the club luncheon Tuesday noon. The Kiwanians in turn plant to use the schoolhouse as an outing center for all the Boy Scout troops and Camp Fire groups of Colfax for weekend trips and overnight hikes.

Prospects for a successful cinder path season brightened considerably when Coach W.B. Henry’s Colfax High School Bulldogs outpointed seven rival schools in the track meet in the Washington State College field house in Pullman. Colfax captured two firsts, a third and a fourth.

Official opening of the Colfax golf course is set for this Friday. Caddies at the course this season must have cards or they will not be allowed to caddy, the directors also decided. Card may be obtained by L.W. McFarland. A new sign directing tourists to the course will soon be placed on the highway near the grounds.

Max McClintock and family of Los Angeles, Calif., arrived by automobile Monday morning for a visit with his brother, Donald, and family and other relatives in the Palouse country.

50 years ago

April 4, 1963

Approximately 1,500 took advantage of the type III polio vaccine clinic held in Colfax Saturday to complete the polio immunization, Dr. Ole Slind, chairman of the sponsoring Whitman County Medical Society announced. Slind also announced that Colfax doctors will provide the vaccine free during regular office hours this week for persons who were unable to attend the clinic. Doctors assisting with the clinic were W.N. Freeman, Conrad Weitz Jr., Maurice Bryant and Slind.

At least 90 bright and eager faces will greet the teacher when Colfax’s annual six-weeks kindergarten session opens April 15 in a room in the Colfax High School building. The teacher will be Mrs. Wayne Larsen, wife of a Colfax elementary teacher, and she will be assisted by Mrs. Kenneth Berry of the Pre-School Mothers organization.

Visitors to the Endicott school’s science fair were testing the shocking power of the Van de Graf generator and some of the testers were convinced that it can produce an electrical shock. Pictured at the science fair were Connie Lust, Linda Geier, Flora Ochs, Harold Kyllo, Donnie Scheuerman, George Cozetto, Dickie Scheuerman and Mrs. Orest Cozetto. The generator attracted lots of attention.

25 years ago

April 7, 1988

The Palouse Empire Fair’s third attempt to gain voters’ approval for a grandstand levy went down for a final defeat when the election canvas board counted the last of the absentee ballots. Vote final tally was 14 yes and 15 no to make a total of 2,284 yes and 1,534 no, or 59.85 percent. To pass, the $250,000 special levy proposal required a 60 percent yes vote, and it lacked just three votes of making that after the election day tally.

Vada Colvin said she learned tatting, a technique for making lace, when she was a child. She will be the only Whitman County resident who’s work will appear in the State Folk Art Exhibit in Olympia and will be part of a traveling exhibit during the centennial celebration. Her mother showed her the basic technique, using thread and a tatting shuttle, and she was off and running.

Dr. Kim Mellor, family practice physician who will move here this summer, will practice part time in both St. John and in Colfax.

10 years ago

April 3, 2003

Yellow ribbons are blossoming along with buttercups and daffodils this spring across the country.

In Colfax, Cynthia Garrett, owner of Flowers and More floral shop said since the start of the action in Iraq, customers had been asking for the yellow support ribbons.

This was not the first time Garrett has tried to meet the demand for yellow ribbons.

“It was very indicative of our 9-11 relief that raised about $2,000,” she said.

After putting up nearly 20 large yellow ribbons on the flag stanchions in downtown Colfax, Garrett decided she still wanted to do more.

She said she talked with county Commissioner Les Wigen about placing a huge yellow ribbon as a show of support on the large flag pole in front of the county courthouse.

With Wigen’s help, Garrett installed a yellow ribbon on the pole Friday.

Yellow construction tape is up around the 1920s-era Texaco gas station located on Whitman Street in Rosalia. The yellow tape will soon be giving way to chain link protective fencing and the sound of backhoes. According to Nan Konishi, president of the Rosalia Chamber of Commerce, requests for bids to remove old underground gas tanks on the property were sent out last week. The work to remove the tanks and the decaying lube building on the property should be complete by Rosalia Battle Days in early June.