Good old days - Dec. 2, 2010

125 years ago, December 2, 1885

The dead body of a half-breed horse thief named J. Keats was found hanging on an improvised gallows, constructed of fence rails, by the stage road between Pendleton and Adams a few days ago.

Mr. Bellmore of Union Flat, found the bones of a human being under his old wood pile, while digging a grade for a race track. It was buried only about fifteen inches. It was left at the drug store for examination.

The Governor’s Report;

In his report to Secretary Lamar, Governor Squire, of this Washington Territory, gives the population of the territory at 129,438, an increase of 36,930 in two years.

The assessed value of property is $50,484,437, and there are yet 23,000,000 acres of public land unsurveyed, of which 16,000,000 are good agricultural and timber lands.

The governor states that by the territorial census of 1885 there were 3276 Chinese residents in the territory.

He says the recent attacks on the Chinese in the territory have grown out of the fact that the China-men are continually coming across the border from British Columbia in violation of the restriction act.

The governor suggests an increased customs force on the border, a revision of the restriction act, and the revision or abrogation of the Burlingame treaty, as necessary for the tranquility of the territory.

Riggs, an inmate of the county jail, held for horse stealing, will bear watching. On Saturday, Deputy Spencer discovered that he had, by means of a staple, used as a wedge, nearly removed his shackles. The prisoner has also amused himself by plugging the locks with pieces of wood, and has made himself generally troublesome. His doings indicate that he is in his proper sphere.

100 years ago, December 2, 1910

To kill a goose, make a quick, sharp cut in the roof of the mouth below the eyes, or stun by a sharp blow on the head and then make the cut for bleeding.

The feathers are assorted while picking. The picker uses a box about the height of his knees and holds the bird with the left hand, clasping the feet and wings together and holding the head of the bird in place with the knee.

If the bird is to be scalded, use the same temperatures of water as for a chicken, but dip several times, placing the back in the water first. A common practice to wrap geese in a blanket after scalding to loosen the feathers, but the steaming must not last long enough to cook the flesh.

Harvest time is approaching. The election returns of 1910 indicate that the Democratic party is approaching the hour of its triumph. For fourteen years it has been laboring in behalf of certain fundamental reforms which were much needed. At first, its policies were regarded as dangerous, and every pssible effort was made to arouse opposition to ouir party among the timid radicals

75 years ago, December 6, 1935

As the outcome of a meeting of community representatives at the city hall here Friday night, Kamiak Butte was to have been visited Thursday by a committee appointed to survey the summit to suggest the amount and location of land wanted for the proposed rural recreation reserve under the WPA program. Included in the party was to have been Mr. Lawrence, an engineer from the Spokane WPA office, and a representative from the office of the county engineer.

A mechanical device that softens water, thereby making clothes cleaner, softer and whiter, has been installed by Clyde Duncanson at the Model Steam laundry.

Notwithstanding the superior court decision of last week in which the Whitman County National Bank of Rosalia was awarded judgment on unpaid notes, L.D. Johnson, E.J. Frantz, A.M. Johnson and J.E. Anderson, defendants, have filed motion either for judgment against the bank or a new trial on the charges made in their cross complaints, which were dismissed by the court for Frantz. The cross complaints alleged irregularities in handling L.D. Johnson’s deposit funds.

When Wayne Talkington opens the old Liberty Theatre it is expected that it will be under the name of the Family theatre. Workmen have removed this week the old electric sign and wooden awning, which will be replaced with a neon sign and a marquee of metal frame and roof.

50 years ago, December 1, 1960

Tomorrow night’s basketball game between the Colfax Bulldogs and the Moscow Bears will be the first played in the new Colfax High School gymnaisum. Also used for the first time will be a new six by four foot scoreboard which flashes the minutes and seconds in large numbers, as well as the score.

Graceful white plastic and aluminum Christmas trees have converted Colfax’s Main street into a glittery fairyland for the enjoyment of Christmas shoppers. Fifteen trees are decked out along four blocks of Main street. The decorations are the first of their kind in this city.

Sheriff’s officers are investigating a burglary of Gossett’s Variety store in Tekoa in which several men’s and women’s wrist watches, two pieces of luggage, $75 in cash and an undetermined amount of liquor were taken Thanksgiving night. The thieves apparently entered the store by drilling a hole in the roof.

25 years ago, December 5, 1985

State and county road departments are soaking up snow removal funds at an unhealthy pace with the record early snowfall. A total of 21.5 inches was recorded in November, topping the 20.4 inch November record set in 1893, according to Lem Long, volunteer weatherman in Colfax.

Whitman County library’s former bookmobile has been purchased by the sheriff’s office for use as a command post and exhibit vehicle. The 1964 Gertenslager model on an International chassis was purchased for $1,500.

The furnace in the new county jail picked an unpropitious time to go on the fritz this week. The furnace failed to come on Tuesday. Temperatures were relatively mild Tuesday, as the jail’s insulation kept inside tempeature around 68 degrees. Portable electric heater were brought into the Sheriff’s offices. Prisoners were issued extra blankets.

10 years ago, November 30, 2000

St. Ignatius Manor, a housing center for developmentally disabled and mental health patients, will close Dec. 1. Its eight residents will be transferred to Paul’s Place, formerly the Palouse Care Center on Mill Street. The manor building will be used as an apartment complex and rented out in one and two bedroom suites.

Did the Quad Cities Drug Task Force nab three would-be marijuana dealers in a massive drug bust last summer in Pullman, or did their paid informant negotiate a “reverse sting” to make a quick commission and add over $84,500 to the crime fighters budget? That question is at the core of a hearing which has been slated for superior court Jan. 11. Judge Wallis Friel rejected a plea bargain attempt which would have reduced the charges against the three suspects and left the $84,500 here.

Whitman County’s part of the mandatory recount of ballots for the Maria Cantwell-Slade Gorton U.S. senate race will take place Thursday. The process was supposed to start at 8 a.m. and end by noon.

Whitman County commissioners voted to join in a lawsuit that will ask a judge to grant a preliminary injuction against implementing Initiative 722, which would roll back tax increases in the last half of 1999 and limit more property tax increases to 2 percent.