Good old days

125 years ago

The Commoner

Oct. 11, 1889

Palouse City – Andy Breeding is the owner of a handsome two year old buck deer. He captured it on the Columbia River some time ago, and it is as gentle as a lamb.

A dozen more smokestacks arising from so many more manufacturing enterprises is something that every one interested in the future prosperity of Colfax should wish to see at an early day. Our city already has a few good manufacturing establishments and they give it an air of solidity and prosperity that very few places in this part of the state enjoy.

There is not, at this writing, a vacant house in Colfax, and almost daily inquires at the several real estate offices in the city for a house to rent are met with the same answer: "Every house on our list is taken." In view of this situation of affairs would it not pay some of our property owners to put up a number of tenement houses to meet this demand?

Geo. Ruedy, proprietor of the Colfax Nursery, has been appointed sole agent for the famous Idaho pear and will be prepared to sell trees to his patrons. The pear is a variety raised from seed saved from an unknown variety and planted in the year 1867 by Mrs. Mulkey of Lewiston, Idaho, and was first brought to the public notice in the fall of 1886 by John H. Evans, of that place. The original tree began to bear fruit four years from the seed. Its season is late in September.

100 years ago

The Colfax Commoner

Oct. 9, 1914

Whitman County Fair A Success. The school exhibits are a feature. Garfield, Colfax, Endicott and the Riggs district, near Rosalia, have fine exhibits. The Riggs district is entitled to special mention, as it is a rural district with few of the facilities for work that the city districts have, yet it is one of the best exhibits ever seen here. Miss Elizabeth Akers is teacher in this district, which lies just east of Rosalia, and the exhibits consist of a fine collection of agricultural products and manual training exhibits that would be a credit to any city school.

In virtually every important wheat raising section of the country the producer can now obtain $1 a bushel for his wheat.

Colfax lodge No. 691, Loyal Order of Moose, which was instituted in 1911 and has had a remarkable growth in Colfax, was the first lodge in Colfax to have its own lodge hall and club rooms. Many unusual stunts are planned for the coming winter.

75 years ago

Colfax Gazette Commoner

Oct. 6, 1939

Construction of a modern, compactly arranged six-room house, was begun this week by R.E. Osborne, principal of Martha Washington School, on Harrison street, next to that recently built by Harry Peck, high school instructor. E.J. Colvin is the contractor and the lot was purchased from Potlatch Yards. Of English colonial type, the house will have four rooms and a bath downstairs, and will have a basement and a forced air heating plant. It is expected to be completed in about 10 weeks. Construction of another house, just east of that of Mr. Osborne, will be begun in about two weeks by Potlatch Yards.

50 years ago

Colfax Gazette

Oct. 8, 1964

A little less than half (25) of the 60 Cuban children who came to the United States and Colfax two years ago at the beginning of the Castro regime, will begin the process of becoming U.S. citizens in November. "As refugees, the children cannot become citizens," Father Steffani said.

"In November, 25 of the children will go to Canada and re-enter the United States as permanent citizens under the immigration act, and will then be able to become – after a five-year wait – naturalized citizens." There are currently 25 of the refugee children still in the program sponsored by the Catholic church, Father Steffani reported.

25 years ago

Colfax Gazette

Oct. 12, 1989

A merger of the two Colfax cable television companies was announced this week. Colfax Cable and High Line TV Co. have reached an agreement to operate as Colfax Highline with costs and proceeds divided on a 50-50 basis. The merger will mean a change in some rates for some viewers.

10 years ago

Whitman County Gazette

Oct. 7, 2004

Staffers in the county's auditor's office are working overtime to log in a stack of voter registrations which have arrived before the November presidential election. Debbie Hooper, elections supervisor, estimated between 1,200 and 1,500 have already been added to the rolls since the county closed off registration prior to the Sept. 14 primary date.

The county's registration count for the primary was 24,570 voters. Voter registration drives on the Washington State University campus and by political party members are part of the reason for the surge in registration requests.

Retail giant Wal-Mart is looking to build a Supercenter on Bishop Boulevard in Pullman, according to Pullman City Supervisor John Sherman.