Good Old Days June 2

125 years ago

The Commoner

May 29, 1891

The experiment of the Farmers' Alliance last year in storing and selling the grain of its stockholders proved so satisfactory that the storage capacity in Garfield will be doubled before another harvest. It was proposed to take the profit from last year's business, amounting to $1,400, and construct another warehouse on the U.P. Road. But at the recent stockholder's meeting it was discovered that a few stockholders desired their share in cash, so, in order to retain harmony and good will, a division of the profits was ordered.

The second warehouse will be built just the same. The warehouse company now has two canvassers, Clayton Bicknell and A.W. Lemon, in the field. More than half enough stock has been subscribed and not half the field has been worked yet.

Some of the leading men of the Alliance met a company of U.P. officials at this place not long since. The Alliance was offered the choicest site, and the railroad company further offered to do the grading and furnish the timbers for the foundation. The approximate size of the new building will be 80x200 feet. It can be built with but little more than half the cost to the warehouse company of the house on the Spokane & Palouse. This independent warehouse movement will put thousands of dollars into the farmers' pockets.

***

Owing to the very large amount of business done by the Oakesdale Milling company, it has been found necessary to erect a large elevator and warehouse, which is to be done at once. The building is to be two stories at 35x60 feet and will be located just north of the mill, the machinery to be run by the power used to run the mill. About one-half of the storage room will be used for storing grain in bulk, and one-half will be used for sacked grain.

***

Pursuant to action taken in the superior court of Pierce county, mention of which was made last week, a temporary restraining order was issued from said court, debarring the regents of the agricultural college from proceeding with their work until the case could be heard on the charges preferred against the commission, as given in detail last week. This order, it seems, was issued by Judge Campbell on Thursday the 21st. It was served on the regents at Pullman by Deputy Sheriff Miller, of this city, on Friday last. Whether the regents had already done business before the order was served is not definitely known.

100 years ago

The Colfax Commoner

June 2, 1916

Chas L. MacKenzie stated Thursday morning that the committee was in a position to state that the Rhodes Manufacturing plant which is located at Moscow, would be moved to Colfax this fall. The site for location of the plant has been made but the exact location will not be given out until the final papers have been signed up.

The location of the factory in this city means much for Colfax and it marks the beginning of securing payrolls for the workmen. The combined harvester that is being made by the Rhodes Manufacturing Company is recognized as one of the best machines that has been used in the county and the use of the machines means a great saving to the Whitman County farmers.

The committee plans on selling 20,000 shares of stock this month, and this amount of stock should furnish a sufficient capital to keep the factory running this summer and move it to Colfax as soon as suitable buildings can be erected.

The company has several orders for combines that must be filled before the harvest season begins and this makes it necessary that the committee sell sufficient stock in order that the plant may not be forced to run short-handed and be crippled for lack of funds.

A number of business men and farmers of the surrounding country are purchasing shares of stock in the plant and the business will be controlled by local men. This makes it a safe proposition and the stock will not only find a ready sale but it will and should pay a splendid dividend to its owners each year.

***

Ground has been purchased at Rosalia by the Standard Oil Company and storage tanks are to be erected on the grounds. The company plans to make Rosalia a distributing point from which other towns of the northern part of the county are to secure their supply of oil and gasoline.

The property that has been secured by the company lies alongside of the Northern Pacific tracks and a short spur will be built to connect with the property.

Work of leveling the ground and erecting the tanks will be started at once.

75 years ago

Colfax Gazette Commoner

May 30, 1941

Repairs and replacements at the county infirmary, amounting to $1,342, have been approved by the county commissioners, according to C. A. Erickson, county welfare administrator.

Repair of the cement floor at the south end of the basement will cost $113; an electric range to replace a coal range, $396 and the old range; repair of plaster and enamel hall surfaces, $113, and two windows to be cut in the basement laundry room, $20.

The job of rewiring the entire farm plant, started early in the spring, is to be finished probably by July 1 at an estimated cost of $700. A state electrical inspector condemned the old wiring and ordered the commissioners last February to completely rewire all of the institution's buildings.

***

Need for some type of permanent building or group of buildings to house the Whitman County fair was indicated as the most pressing problem of the association by A. F. Harms, speaking as a member of the chamber of commerce's fair committee at the group's regular Wednesday noon meeting in the Colfax hotel.

Although immediate discussion of the problem was limited, H. W. Chase said he believed that the city owned land to the south of the present ball park where presumably the fair association might wish to expand, while R. J. Gretencort was of the opinion that a portion of Schmuck park and adjacent land would be the ideal location for the proposed buildings.

50 years ago

Colfax Gazette

June 2, 1966

Strong support for a feasibility study of the Steptoe Canyon route from Colton to the Snake river is expected at a hearing to be held in Colfax next Thursday by a subcommittee of the state legislature's interim highway committee.

At least three members of the subcommittee are expected to conduct the hearing at 10:30 a.m. in the courthouse of road extension proposals and other highway matters. In addition to the Steptoe Canyon proposal, the county commissioners are expected to discuss the proposed change in the gas tax allocation formula with the legislators.

Pullman's Chamber of Commerce roads committee adopted a resolution at a meeting Tuesday to present to the hearing. It will urge the joint committee to make a feasibility study of the route from Colton down Steptoe Canyon to Wilma and over a new bridge to Clarkston and federal highway 410. Pullman expects to send a delegation of seven to the hearing and Colton is also planning to have a delegation present.

***

The introduction of nationwide direct distance dialing and the concurrent telephone number changes originally scheduled for mid-June in the Tekoa area have had to be postponed until July because some of the necessary equipment has not been received from the manufacturer, Clancy Standridge, district manager for the General Telephone of the Northwest, announced today.

“Midnight July 23 has been tentatively set as the date for the start of direct distance dialing in the nine exchanges of Fairfield, Farmington, Latah, Malden, Oakesdale, Rockford, Rosalia, Tekoa and Thornton, providing the present equipment delivery schedules are met,” Standridge said.

The telephone number prefix changes will be made in two stages, he added. Rosalia, Malden and Thornton will convert to all number calling at midnight Saturday, July 16. Fairfield, Latah, Farmington, Oakesdale and Rockford will start using their new three-digit prefixes at the same time DDD becomes effective – midnight, July 23.

***

Demolition of the old Rosalia high school building is scheduled to be completed about June 20 and construction of an addition to the house grade school classrooms and an office will start shortly afterward.

Superintendent Kenneth White told the Gazette that bids are now being advertised for the addition and also for brick facing on the area of the gymnasium that will be exposed when the old high school has been torn down. Also required will be a fire escape on the back of the gymnasium building for the protection of music students who will be practicing on what will be a second floor.

One of the alternates in the bids also calls for a ceiling in the gymnasium, for which a special levy was approved last spring. Total cost of the demolition and the improvements is estimated at about $35,000, White said.

Landscaping is not included in the call for bids and will be completed later.

25 years ago

Colfax Gazette

May 30, 1991

The Palouse Boomerang museum renovation is “going real well” and is almost complete, according to museum director Patti Pearce.

The roof was redone, the windows were reframed and one door was refinished and hung, she said. They will hang the other two doors by the end of the week.

“It looks real nice. We have a bit more to do, but I'm really pleased with what we have accomplished.”

An inspector from the state's historical preservation program also was pleased, she added.

The state program awarded a $7,250 grant to the museum in October to fund the renovation.

The grant states the work must be done by May 31, Pearce noted. They received an extension until June 15 for placing drainage tiles because of the wet spring.

The $7,250 grant requires a local match, and they have raised $6,000 so far, Pearce said.

The remaining fundraising will wait until fall so they can catch up on museum work, which was put on hold during the remodeling project, she explained.

***

A fire early Monday morning destroyed a shop which contained tools and materials of Sid Barth, Winona area carpenter. The building, located on the north side of Winona, was in flames when fire crews arrived at the scene, according to Virgil Jordan, Winona truck operator for the Endicott Winona fire department.

Three fire trucks from Endicott and four tankers assisted at the fire scene. Jordan said crews were at the scene most of the day Monday.

10 years ago

Whitman County Gazette

June 1, 2006

A groundbreaking ceremony is set for next Wednesday, June 7, to mark the long-anticipated widening of State Route 270 between Pullman and the state line. The project will add two lanes of travel and a center-turn lane to the 6.5-mile section of the highway.

The groundbreaking ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. at the intersection of SR 270 and the Airport Road, just east of Pullman. State Secretary of Transportation Douglas MacDonald will be on hand, and souvenir nickels made of the rock drilled from the site will be given out. The $2.5 million project is funded through the 2003 “Nickel” legislative gas tax package.

Project Supervisor Chad Simonson said the DOT extended an invitation to Governor Christine Gregoire for the event, but he was unsure if she would be able to make it.

Also, Pullman Holiday Inn Express will be the location of a DOT open house June 15 to present details on the project and field public inquiries on construction scheduling and traffic impacts.

“This is an important commute route between two university communities, Pullman and Moscow,” said DOT spokesman Al Gilson. “Along with passenger vehicles, this route also carries a large number of heavy trucks and averages about 14,000 vehicles daily.”

North Central Construction of Moses Lake was awarded the contract on the project, turning in a construction bid of $18.1 million.

Total bill of the project is estimated at $25 million, with the state covering the cost of engineering, right-of-way acquisition and permit fees.

North Central is scheduled to begin preliminary construction, including the erection of construction signs and silt fencing, Monday, June 12. Major construction will start soon after.

Gilson said drivers will need to be aware of construction hazards when traveling the roads during construction, as shoulders will be narrowed and speed limits reduced. He noted that traffic may be stopped for 15 to 20 minutes for occasional blasting operations.

The project is slated to extend over two construction seasons, with completion coming in late fall of 2007.

***

A contract signed May 24 with Robert Zimmer, noted Seattle architect, for final design development and construction administration of the St. John public service center. The construction committee also met with the architect to discuss possible changes between the concept drawing and final plans.

Zimmer said he started work on final plans in November as soon as he heard that the bond issue had passed.

St. John voters approved a proposal for a $500,000 bond measure with 75 percent in favor. The project will house the St. John branch of the Whitman Library and the city hall.

“I am so happy to be involved with this special building and see it as a way to give back to the area where I was raised. Libraries have always held a special place in my heart, especially the Whitman County Library at Colfax. As a small child it opened a world of possibilities to me.”

The design is expected to be available for bid by early September and exterior construction should be complete before winter sets in.

At the meeting, City Clerk Linda Hayes announced that $1,000 had recently been donated to the project from the Hog Jog Fund. Librarian Clancy Pool also presented a check at $1,000 to the building fund from the Friends of the Library.

For the past five years the Friends have been accepting donations and raising funds for the new building.

“With this check the total amount added to the building fund from the Friends is $20,000,” Pool said.

Pool also announced Robert Zimmer has been named as a lifetime member of the group in recognition of his dedication to the St. John project and libraries in general.