Good Old Days Sept. 1

A horse-drawn combine on Henning farm, circa 1920's. Archibald Greene Henning harvest operations on the Henning farm between Thornton and Oakesdale. Three of the men on the combine are Arvil, Fred, and Therod Henning, others unidentified. The man in the wagon could be their father, Archibald G. Henning. From the private collection of Steve Henning.

125 years ago

The Commoner

Aug. 28, 1891

About 7:30 o'clock a.m. on Wednesday the peace of Main street was disturbed by loud yells of “fire, fire.” An alarm was quickly turned in. The fire was found to be located in a shed in the rear of the city hall building. It had already run up the walls of the shed and through the roof when discovered. Fortunately Oliver Hall's tank and hose were handy by and a stream from this source quickly subdued the flame.

The fire department responded promptly and within three minutes from the sounding of the alarm hook and ladder truck, hose cart and engine were thundering down the street, with the boys out in full force. Although the case did not require their subsequent service, yet it was encouraging to note the dispatch and good order with which the companies turned out. Such incidents as that of Tuesday morning demonstrate the fact that the Colfax fire department is well organized and efficient.

***

W. A. Hayes, of the real estate firm of Actor & Hayes, of this city, was out on a tour of observation among the farms and farmers on a recent occasion.

The route followed was from this city to Steptoe, around by Garfield and Elberton and back by the Palouse City road.

The Steptoe country has been said to be less flourishing than most sections.

Mr. Hayes, however, did not find it so.

The crops along the entire distance traversed, some forty miles, were found to be excellent.

“Some fields,” says the gentleman, “are not so fine and heavy as when I made the same trip about a year ago.

But the acreage is greater and the amount of grain, I think, will fully equal the yield of last year.

Headers are running everywhere and I saw a few threshers.

The crop is very excellent in all the country through which I passed.”

Another week or two will find many fields threshed and returns coming in which will be interesting reading to the Commoner subscribers, both those at home and especially those residing east of the Rockies. Palouse is not quite at her best this year, but as she is, she is good enough to be a surprise to the residents of most grain producing sections.

100 years ago

The Colfax Commoner

Sept. 1, 1916

Only a handful of members were present at the commercial club meeting held at the Maple Wednesday noon, but considerable business was transacted and a number of important issues were discussed.

J. V. McCall, state president of the farmers' union, has issued a personal letter to prominent farmers in this county and it is expected that every section of Whitman County will be represented by resident farmers at the coming meeting.

The commercial club of this city will also be represented by a committee consisting of Chas L. Chamberlin and two other members whom he may select later. Other towns in the Palouse country will have representatives at Spokane to meet with the Federal loan board who will hold only one meeting in this state.

H. R. Reid, who was appointed as a committee on securing information in regard to a location of a gas plant for Colfax, stated he had taken the matter up with a number of companies that were engaged in this business and owing to the fact that he failed to bring along with him the letters which he received, he reported only progress, and stated that he would present this information to the board in definite form at the next meeting.

The information which he had received, he stated, had convinced him that the city was too small at present to make a gas plant a paying success.

The Lewiston company had informed him that a city should have at least 10,000 people in order to make a plant of this kind a success.

***

The twenty-first annual Whitman County fair will soon be on hand and every effort is being put forth to make it a success. In order to overcome the bad weather conditions of other years, the fair will be held earlier this year, being from Sept. 11 to Sept. 16 inclusive.

All the usual exhibits will be made this year and improved upon, liberal premiums will be given for the best exhibits. The fair will be given assurance that only high class amusements will be provided and no expense will be spared to secure amusement attractions that will be pleasing to young and old.

The committee has arranged an excellent racing program and Whitman County owners of racing stock will have a chance to show off the fine qualities of their horses, many of which are being entered to take part in the contests.

The auto races promise to be exciting as many auto owners have signified their intention of entering. The prize money has been increased to such an extent that quite a number have confidence enough in the speeding qualities of their respective cars to have much hopes of winning some of the races arranged.

Owing to the fact that wheat prices are good this year and money plentiful, it is expected that the daily attendance will be large. All can afford to spend at least one day at the fair for the purpose of enjoying a little physical recreation and also dissimilate the educational value every fair affords.

A fine band will be in attendance every day of the fair and every town in Whitman is expected to furnish its quota in the number of exhibits and entries.

75 years ago

Colfax Gazette Commoner

Aug. 29, 1941

With a balcony and the entire second floor of their present quarters converted into showrooms, the Driefus-Von Soehen store plans a showing of its newly-acquired furniture line by the first of next week. The space formerly occupied by the Golden Slipper has been redecorated, and fluorescent lighting installed. Venetian blinds have been added, and a good part of the furniture has already arrived and been arranged.

They plan a complete line of bedroom, living room and kitchen furniture, together with rugs, linoleum and unfinished stock. The balcony space will be devoted chiefly to kitchen furniture, with the chrome metalware, painted and raw chairs, tables and cupboards on display. The second floor shopper will find davenports, beds, springs, mattresses, chests, tables, all types of chairs, dressers and occasional pieces.

***

Continued damage to Whitman County's grain crops has been caused during the past week by hail, rain and fire. A heavy hail storm destroyed about 25 per cent of the unharvested wheat on the Arthur and Dallas Cox ranch three miles east of Hay near the noon hour Tuesday. Other losers were Charles Bass who farms the J. A. Carmin place southeast of Lacrosse; C. R. Davis on the Allen farm, and R. M. Barnhill. Rain of near cloudburst volume severely eroded summer-fallow fields on the Joe Schweiger place.

Nearly half an inch of rain fell in a relatively short time at an early morning hour Wednesday in a wide area including the Colfax and Pullman districts, which is expected to result in the lowering of the wheat grade in respect to the test weight per bushel. Peas in the eastern portion of the county caused shattering and bleaching.

Many fires were started in the southwest portion of the county last week, one of the largest being on the Harvey Barr place near Canyon on which approximately 225 acres of standing grain, insured for $7,200, were burned.

***

Plans for the expansion of the Gamble store to include the area occupied by the Oasis café, as well as the room back of Alden's barber shop, was announced this week by Paul Raugust, manager of Gamble's. Actual occupation of the new quarters will not take place until the end of September or thereafter, since O. H. Kenfield, Oasis operator, has a lease good until November 1.

Raugust plans to carry a furniture line as well as expand his present hardware and electrical appliance departments. An arch will connect his present site with the new portion of the store. He plans to install his office in the balcony of the Oasis building, and to utilize the portion of the building back of Alden's as a storage room. The lease of the new store area will triple his floor space, according to Raugust.

50 years ago

Colfax Gazette

Sept. 1, 1966

Feasibility studies of a large marina and recreation facility to be located downstream from Lower Granite dam in the Boyer siding-Almota area are continuing under supervision of Port of Whitman officials, Manager Neal Klemgard said this week.

Engineers from the Walla Walla corps district have pointed out that this proposed development has great similarity to a marine development plan just completed for the Port of Umatilla on the Columbia river.

President A. E. Lorenzen of the Port of Umatilla at McNary, Ore., has asked Klemgard to meet with their commission to discuss their plans and method of financing.

The Umatilla port is now floating a general obligation bond issue of $1,025,000 and estimates that by 1971, a total of 160 small boat stalls will be completed to rent at $6 annually, which would bring in nearly $10,000, and that by 1975, there would be 203 boat stalls and moorings from which the rentals would total $22,600 per year.

The Whitman port's study has shown that at Umatilla, landscaping, paving, rest rooms, water and sewing systems would require $143,000, and the marina for 348 boat stalls would cost about $90,000. It has been estimated that for the year 1968, operation and maintenance would cost $19,400, financing costs $18,500 resulting in a total of $37,900.

This amount would be raised by rentals and concessions amounting to $16,100 and $22,000 by a local tax levy of 26 mills on their assessed valuation.

***

Whitman County taxpayers will have to dig deeper next spring to support the growing costs – and dwindling reserves – of county government, according to calculations of the county commissioners during preparation this week of their 1967 budget.

For several years, the county commissioners have been slowly using up large reserves accumulated over the years by lowering the tax levy for current expense – which is the money used for general operation of county offices.

By the end of this year, the reserves will have dwindled to an estimated $50,000, and the commissioners are faced with mandatory salary increases for all elected officials, approved the last session of the legislature, and with requests for pay raised for deputies in all offices.

***

Telephone users in Colfax and the western half of Whitman County will be able to dial nearly any telephone in the continental United States and Canada from their own instruments in less than 30 seconds after the advent of Direct Distance Dialing at 11 p.m. Saturday.

More than two tons of complex electromechanical telephone gear will go into action in the Colfax plant of the Pacific Northwest Bell Saturday night to mark the arrival of DDD for subscribers of the Colfax, LaCrosse, Endicott, Winona, St. John and Hay exchanges.

Customers can dial only station-to-station calls direct, according to Manager Earl Halverson of Pacific Northwest Bell's Colfax office. Telephone operators will continue to handle person-to-person, collect credit card and other special calls.

25 years ago

Colfax Gazette

Aug. 29, 1991

The county's insurance company will insure six bridges which they had declared “structurally insufficient” last month, according to public works director Lon Pedersen.

The insurance was restored after lapsing for ten days. The decision means the county won't have to close the bridges.

The six bridges are the following: The Undercrossing Bridge, located on the Pittman Road west of Tekoa; The New Kelsey Bridge, located on the Kelsey Road north of Rosalia; The Parvin Bridge, located on the Parvin Road south of Colfax; The Revere Bridge, located on the Revere Road west of Ewan; The Dowling Bridge, located on the Union Flat Road west of Pullman, and The Hamilton Bridge, located on the Long Road west of Pullman.

Hartford Insurance Company informed the county in July they would not insure these six bridges and seven others after Aug. 12 because the spans were structurally deficient.

10 years ago

Whitman County Gazette

Aug. 31, 2006

Five days after a fire roared up the South Palouse River Valley east of Colfax, fire crews Monday officially reported the fire was 100 percent contained and 95 percent under control. The fire, which destroyed the Risbeck grain elevator and a state-owned trestle, threatened eight homes in the river valley.

District 11 Fire Chief Jim Krouse said the fire area will continue to be under patrol for possible flare ups. Timber and brush areas, which were covered by the fire, could flare up during windy days, and Krouse said he believes the fire can't be considered out until a sustained rain or snow hits the area.

The fire started off a combine Wednesday afternoon in a field just east of Colfax, went over the edge of the river valley into timber and then pushed up the valley in front of strong winds. It finally came to a stop late Wednesday night when enough volunteers from all parts of the county were able to keep it from another crossing of the river approximately a mile north of Parvin.

Krouse said Monday the length of the fire's run was about 4.8 miles.

Fire District 11 crews realized soon after the fire went into the timber Wednesday afternoon they had “exhausted their resources.” At that time dispatchers at Whitcom in Pullman sounded the alarm and all other 12 county fire districts sent in crews to help with the initial battle which continued through the night.

“It was amazing how Whitcom did that and the speed of the response we got out of it,” Krouse commented in a Gazette interview Monday.

The situation also led to an emergency session of the county commissioners about 11 p.m. Wednesday to declare a state of emergency. The declaration led to fire crews being called from around the state to help get a handle on the fire. The state operation first set up near the Risbeck elevator which was still in flames at the time.

***

A Department of Transportation official said Monday DOT will not be evaluating options for the trestle destroyed by the South Palouse River fire last week for another 14 to 30 days.

With the trestle out east of Colfax, the segment from Colfax to Pullman is out of service, which forces shippers to find other routes.

“The trestle's considered a total loss,” said Scott Witt, DOT freight multimodal program and policy manager.

DOT is working on proper disposal of the burned trestle with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Department of Ecology.

“At this point we're still in cleanup,” Witt said. “There's a lot of inspection to be done.”

The trestle east of Colfax is part of the state-owned Palouse River & Coulee City Railroad (PCC) that runs from Hooper to Pullman via Colfax.

Witt, who made an inspection Friday at the fire scene, said there possibly was fire damage to another, smaller trestle farther east, but he has not confirmed the report. He said he will continue inspection this week.

He noted there are burned railroad ties and spill from a damaged grain elevator on the tracks.

He said DOT is talking with shippers on temporary work-arounds.

“There’s only one option, really,” said Clark Capwell, fertilizer division manager at McGregor in Colfax.

Capwell said for chemicals going to the McGregor’s Wilson Siding location east of Pullman near the state line, rail cars will have to travel a roundabout way.

He said shipments from southern Idaho, for instance, normally come in via the Union Pacific to the south and connect to the state railroad at Hooper.