Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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GARFIELD — A belated “Happy Birthday!” to Schaut’s Market! On Halloween 2019, Connie and John Schaut purchased the Garfield business from its previous owner, Sonya Hall. Five years later, it remains a local “go-to” for a large variety of items. Many people in town, especially seniors, rely on the market, located at 210 West California Street, for their grocery needs-and beyond. As Connie explained, “You never know what you’re going to find!” Beyond its convenient location, customers appreciate its well-stocked shelves. They feature a wide va...
GARFIELD - Garfield Community Association's (CGA) annual Family Christmas Party took place Sunday, Dec. 8, in the school campus's cafeteria. Socializing, sweets, and Santa ruled the day, even The Grinch crashing the event and starting a snowball fight failed to dampen the enthusiasm, of kids of all ages who were in attendance. The CGA provided a lunch of pulled pork and baked potatoes. It was accompanied by a variety of baked goods provided by the Gar-Pal VIKotics team whose members also...
GARFIELD –– Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! With Thanksgiving—the “official start of the holiday season,”––landing on November 28 this year, the season is a brief one. It is time to let the festivities begin! The Garfield Farmers’ Market, which, after a very successful summer season moved indoors in mid-October, is hosting its first Small Business Saturday event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30. A variety of vendors will be selling their wares, including baked goods and different kinds of crafts. If that is not enough to e...
PALOUSE –– One way people can be categorized is by the way they track the seasons—some depend on the calendar, others by sport schedules, and still others, by the weather. My tracker of choice is the frequency of truck traffic on Route 27. Another year of crops have been harvested and transported to their storage units, and all is now relatively quiet. The 3 a.m. 18-wheelers that signaled the beginning of another work day are now gone and have left silence in their wake. Truck traffic, along with field planting and harvest are all segme...
GARFIELD — Representatives from across military branches attended last Thursday’s annual Veterans’ Day Assembly at the Garfield campus of the Garfield-Palouse (Gar-Pal) School District. The festivities began with performances of the “Star Spangled Banner” by the high school band and the “Armed Forces Medley” by elementary singers. Gar-Pal middle school language arts teacher, Phil Weagraff, acted as emcee. As part of the program, he shared portions of two student essays, written by Tucker Marcus...
November has arrived and has announced its presence on this rainy cold Monday morning with SNOW! And not just occasional small flakes but a speedy cascade of puffy wet clumps. Combine that with Sunday’s “fall back” return from Daylight Savings Time, add a 4:27 p.m. sunset, and stir well. With November comes, Thanksgiving and numerous holiday happenings. Among them are a few date changes for regularly scheduled events at the Garfield American Legion Hall: The weekly Garfield Farmers’ Market...
It’s October and that means that brown, red, orange and yellow are working overtime to show their colors and announcing the unmistakable arrival of fall in our magnificent Whitman County. If you have checked your fall calendar, you will see that it’s also time for Haunted Palouse! Brave adventurous souls age 12 and up can enjoy this October evening tradition which will be held from 7-10 p.m. over the next two weekends, on Fridays and Saturdays, October 18 and 19 and 25 and 26. Remember to dress warmly, wear close-toed shoes, and bring a friend!...
Last Saturday evening, the Community of Garfield Association hosted Harvest Fest 2024 at the town park. The cold clear night provided a perfect backdrop for the gathering locals and vendors with Yellow Dog Flat's combination of blues and Americana rounding out the event. It was an evening full of neighbors and assorted townies visiting with each other with kids running around enjoying the festivities. Since several of them were attired in shorts and t-shirts, maybe they were just trying to...
In the past few months, Palouse has shared not one, but two classic car shows! The first was the annual Hot Rod Gathering in June; the second, part of the recent Palouse Days celebration. Wandering around these memory-triggering events is always time very well spent. Owners sit near their “babies,” which are, inside and out, showroom ready. Models range from Ford Model Ts to Pontiac GTOs, and there is no shortage of “glory days” models. Correction: Almost no shortage. I always grieve a bit when I realize that, once again there is one model t...
PALOUSE — Two events are coming up in Garfield and Palouse, addressing mental health and rucks hosted by Ruck for the Fallen. Garfield Christian Fellowship will host an all-day conference from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sept. 21, titled “Unplugging to Restore,” at the Church Fellowship Worship Center, 303 North 3rd Street, in Garfield. The family-friendly event offering strategies “to unplug from technologies and reconnect with others,” is in response to the book Dr. Johnathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is...
A few days ago, I returned from a trip to Akron, Ohio, my hometown and the former “Rubber Capital of the World.” Like many young adults, my future seemed a “given.” Like my parents and grandparents before me, of course I’d stay in town and eventually be interred at Holy Cross Cemetery. In my certitude, I neglected to consider what John Lennon once acutely observed: Life is what happens when you’re making other plans. In my late 20s, I left Akron, and made my way to Washington, DC, Knoxville, Tenn., and Seattle before reconnecting (43 years l...
A few weeks ago, I happened to look out the back window when something next door caught my eye: Grayson and Leroy were chasing each other up the backyard hill of their grandparents’ home. Laughing and running, they were just enjoying each other’s company, without a care in the world. It was a snapshot in time, a seemingly insignificant moment that, in the future, will likely be remembered with great affection and nostalgia. When we first met, both boys were in primary school. This fall, Grayson will move on as a Gar-Pal freshman and Leroy wil...
PALOUSE –– Our long hot summer is turning the page and readying to morph into fall and the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. The first day of classes for the Garfield-Palouse District will be Wednesday, Aug. 28. On Monday, Aug. 26, the Garfield campus will offer all-day new student registration; please call the school at 509-635-1331 to make an appointment. Later that day, from 5-7 p.m., Garfield Elementary and Gar-Pal Middle School students and their families are invited to campus to an Open House to meet teachers; middle schoolers wil...
At its heart, the definition of “neighbor” is a warm and fuzzy one. Typically, they wave when you drive by, pick up your mail when you’re out of town, and keep an eye out for unusual activity. Has anyone else noticed a recent shift in their behavior? I’m talking bizarre changes that include, but are not limited to, the following: avoiding eye contact, hurriedly scurrying in their house at the sound of your vehicle entering your driveway, and—weirdest of all—randomly opening their front door, looking out, then quickly closing and locking it. Onl...
August has arrived and, for many, this signals the beginning of the fall college term. With two state universities nearby, this is especially true on the Palouse. For both kids and parents, leaving home for college is one of life’s date stamps and feelings tend to be mixed on both sides. I was a commuting student when, fresh out of high school, I began my college journey. Little did I know what a long journey it would be! The fact that I was absolutely clueless about the practical coursework necessary to enter the job market did nothing to d...
GARFIELD — Summer is in full swing with local calendars brimming over with events. One of these is the Garfield Farmers’ Market. Well into its 2024 season, it will be held—rain or shine-at the town park on 5th Street from 2-6 PM every Sunday through September 29. Just follow the signs in town along Route 27! The market’s organizer is Betty Walden (AKA “the Garfield Spice Lady”) who has poured her heart into living up to this year’s slogan, “Let the fun begin!” Her booth sells a variety of products, including barbecue sauce, “Rub for Grub,” a...
The Palouse Music Festival returns from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. this Saturday, July 27 at Hayton-Greene Park. There is an admission price for adults kids ages six to sixteen. Kids aged 5 and under are free. The event is co-sponsored by the Palouse Arts Council and the Palouse Chamber. People are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and well-behaved leashed dogs are welcome. Fun activities will be provided by a Kids’ Zone and local vendors will be selling their wares. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted to be brought in to the event, but the Palouse B...
GARFIELD –– The July calendar wouldn’t be complete without—drumroll, please—the Annual City-Wide Yard Sales event, sponsored by Community of Garfield Association (CGA), which will be held a week from this Saturday on July 27. In addition to the yard sales around town, this year, the CGA will join the fun by sponsoring its own Rummage Sale at the Garfield-Elberton Museum (GEM), located on 3rd Street across from the Garfield Library. The CGA decided to add its Rummage Sale to the sales around town to provide a place for people who want to clean...
Online communication is a modern marvel. It allows near- instant connection to people around the world. Although efficiency has its value, sometimes simpler is better. Take, for example, the humble community bulletin board. It provides an opportunity to intentionally stop, read, and connect with "what's going on" close to home. Having spent most of my life "back east" as an anonymous city dweller, I make it a point to examine these announcements of upcoming events. It was just such a bulletin board that informed me that the city of Palouse's...
PALOUSE — Recently, I had a chat with Bev Pearce about one of the gems of Whitman County—the Palouse Community Center. Located in Palouse’s downtown, it both serves and contributes to the city’s charm. The Community Center has two areas of business: Needful Things, its thrift store, is in the front. The rear of the building houses the Event Center, a large community space equipped with a commercial kitchen. In addition to hosting the weekly Council on Aging’s Wednesday senior luncheon, the Event Center is a popular rental venue for weddings, br...
GARFIELD — Like most people, my husband, Blake, and I have a weekly routine—“going to town.” Grocery shopping is the main focus and, because of that, I’ve learned to be very attentive to “keeping a list and checking it twice.” Anything we neglect to pick up has to practically endure a court hearing to prove that it’s worthy of another 50-mile round trip. Gasoline, and occasionally, clothing shopping are included on our schedule, but other than the occasional jeans and t-shirt purchase, we rarely have a need for new fashion. Yes, placing an orde...
GARFIELD -- Buried within the brief section of Route 27 that connects Garfield and Palouse is a mystery: For some reason, the road sign from Garfield lists the distance to Palouse as 8 miles, while the sign from Palouse declares the distance to Garfield as 10 miles. Whatever the distance, the road is a scenic paradise. Beyond the rolling hills encompassing thousands of acres of cultivated land are railroad tracks, the meandering Palouse River, rock formations, trees, barns, and grazing cattle. As if that wasn’t enough, the changing seasons b...
