Good Old Days: Feb. 28, 2019

125 years ago

The Commoner, Feb. 23, 1894

A small gathering of silver federation men was held at Pioneer Hall Tuesday afternoon for the purpose of arranging matters for a final and grand assault on the citadel of the county commissioners.

A. Drascher occupied the chair, and some dissatisfaction was expressed that the attendance was not more numerous.

Petitions have been in circulation all over the county for some weeks past and have received hundreds of signatures to their peculiar demands. These petitions demand that the county commissioners and the prosecuting attorney resign their respective offices forthwith. The commissioners are charged with dishonesty and the prosecutor with incompetency.

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The trial of Mrs. Eliza M. Sutton, which was set down for the February jury term, was continued until May 4th. The charge against Mrs. _______ is assault with intent to murder her son-in-law, Eugene _______, near Endicott, last October. Prescott is at the hospital, and hope of his recovery is very slim. He cannot live many months, it is thought, and, in event of his death within the time of one year from the shooting, a charge of murder will be preferred against Mrs. _____. Hence, the continuance, from time to time, awaiting the result of the patient's wounds.

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An agitation over the alleged card playing by minors in the Port Townsend Athletic Club has reached the mass-meeting state in excitement. The women folks are much worked up.

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The 8-year-old daughter of M.L. Heltzel died Tuesday night at the Heltzel ranch, two and a half miles north of the city. The cause was scarlet fever.

100 years ago

The Colfax Commoner, Feb. 21, 1919

Mayor Patrick Codd outlined a plan to the members of the city council Monday evening whereby the city with a small outlay of cash would be able to generate sufficient power for pumping the city water and run an electric light plant to light the city streets. Mayor Codd gave the council a heart to heart talk. He said the pumping station and the street light bills were too high and they were costing the city too much money. He recommended that the members of the city council consider the question of putting the city steam plant into service and take over the pumping of the water and the lighting of the city streets.

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A man giving his name as A. F. Davis, was arrested Wednesday evening at Oakesdale. The party who was arrested is the man who had been operating in Oakesdale, Elberton, LaCrosse and different parts of Idaho. He had gone under a different name at every place that he has attempted to operate. At Elberton he purchased a $25,000 ranch and employed an architect to draw plans for a costly home. After cashing a number of small checks, he disappeared from Elberton and next showed up at La Crosse where he entered negotiations to purchase city and farm property and made a deal to secure the practice and office equipment of a physician at La Crosse. Next he appeared in Idaho under the name of Arthur D. Jones. He purchased a large acreage of land under this name and disappeared after drawing a check for a few hundred dollars on a bank in which he had no funds. He appeared recently at Oakesdale and purchased some large holdings from Boyd and Nye at Oakesdale.

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It took City Clerk, T. J. Weity, nearly a half hour Monday night to read a list of names on a petition filed by the citizens of the city requesting that the play houses be allowed to remain open on Sundays. The object of the petition was to head off the passing of an ordinance closing the theatres on Sunday afternoons and evenings.

75 years ago

The Colfax Gazette-Commoner, Feb. 25, 1944

That army engineers of the war department's district office at Portland are initiating a comprehensive study of the Columbia and Palouse river basins looking forward to post-war flood control, was the information conveyed to the city council Monday evening in a letter from Major William D. Alexander, executive officer of the Portland district.

This information came as a reply to a letter from the city to the Association of Washington Cities making inquiry as to what aid the federal government might give the city in regard to flood control on the Palouse River.

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The Kuhn Tramway road that takes off from the Klemgard road and runs 2.8 miles to the Snake River breaks above Interior station, will probably be vacated by the county commissioners if recommended following an investigation and report by Engineer Jack Redmond.

The road was built in 1901 to serve the tramway which carried bags of grain down to a warehouse at Interior.

50 years ago

The Colfax Gazette, Feb. 20, 1969

Consolidation of the St. John and Colfax Federal Land Bank associations was approved by 150 persons attending a dinner meeting of stockholders last Wednesday in the Wheatland Grange hall near St. John. A seven-man board was elected for the new association which has approximately $17 million on loan to stockholders in the county.

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St. John Hardware and Implement Co. has been formally honored by International Harvester's farm equipment division for the local firm's 35 year service to agriculture in association with IH.

Overman Howell represented St. John Hardware and Implement Co. in recent ceremonies in Memorial Coliseum at Portland commemorating the long association. Presenting him with an engraved plaque and jeweled pin was Fred Fernald, manager of IH's Portland farm equipment district.

25 years ago

Whitman County Gazette, Feb. 24, 1994

The Port of Whitman Commissioners were confronted with an unusual decision at their Thursday meeting―whether to allow a high-tech agriculture company at the port's Pullman industrial park.

The company has shown interest in leasing a building that the port would construct on a vacant eight-acre site.

According to Port Manager Jim Weddell, the Pullman-based company uses animals in a non-harmful way to produce pharmaceutical and diagnostic veterinary products.

Locating the business in the industrial park would require keeping up to 32 head of livestock on site.

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Colfax City Administrator Myrt Webb Thursday night said he will begin a hunt for matching funds to pay the city's share of a $4 million project to widen Main Street. Webb said he planned to undertake the fund hunt after residents voiced support for the project at a public session Thursday night.

The Main Street project calls for cutting back sidewalks by three feet on each side. The “gain” of six feet would be added to the parking spaces on each side and one foot to each of the four traveling lanes.

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The fight over the proposed Waste Management of Washington regional landfill in Adams County has spilled over the Whitman County line. Waste Management is hoping to build a 500-acre landfill east of Washtucna.

Organization to Preserve Agricultural Lands (OPAL), a political group opposing the proposed landfill, recently filed suit against Adams County in Whitman County superior court.

10 years ago

Whitman County Gazette, Feb. 19, 2009

Susan Fagan of Pullman, former chair of the Whitman County Republican Party, announced this week she will mount a campaign for the Ninth District legislative seat currently held by Don Cox of Colfax.

Fagan, 61, director of public affairs for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Pullman, said she will run for the seat in the primary this August if Cox decides not to file.

Fagan joins Darin Watkins of Palouse on the list of possible contenders.

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To save money after failed street levies, the towns of Farmington and Garfield decided to turn off a portion of their streetlights. The process has not been a simple one, and Garfield may now just leave all its lights on.

Since voters turned down the street levy proposals, the towns have been working with Avista to have the lights turned off. The process did not go as smoothly as expected.

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Brady Kiesz of Rosalia found himself swamped with telephone calls last Wednesday from people all over North America who are interested in setting up a grocery store in the former Longhorn Café with five years of free rent.