Good Old Days 6/23/11

125 years ago

The Lewiston Teller tells of the existence of fabulously rich quartz mine situated somewhere in the mountains north and east of Lewiston, the exact location of which cannot be found.

During the excitement of 1861 and the rush to the Oro Fino district, three California placer miners returned from an extended prospecting tour bringing with them specimens of quartz.

Neither they nor any one in the camp were judges of quartz and little attention was given the matter at the time.

They went away and did not return to the camp.

Some time after specimens of the rock were assayed and averaged over $30,000 to the ton.

Nobody knew the names of the men who brought in the quartz or where they found it and the most careful search has thus far failed to discover the ledge.

But it is known to exist and when found is expected to strike terror to all other discoveries on the Pacific Coast.

100 years ago

A wife is entitled to a divorce if her husband, who is worth $12,000, places her in the charity ward of a hospital at the time her first child is born, holds the supreme court in a King County case. The supreme court says that the husband showed no interest in his wife and that he is not entitled to any consideration, and affirms the verdict of the lower court which gave the wife a divorce, the custody of the child and $6,000 worth of property.

The law requires that tuition in the State University shall be free, and students at the State University cannot be charged an annual fee of $10 for use of the library, any more than they can be charged for rent of rooms or for use of the furniture, holds W.V. Tanner, attorney general.

Monday night the Ridgeway Theater was crowded on the occasion of the weekly drawing, when 10 sacks of Pomeroy flour went to nine hungry citizens. The first prize (two sacks of flour) went to Mrs. Emma Gross. This Friday night will be the ladies’ novelty prize of $3. Two dollars will be offered as the first prize and $1 as the second prize for the ladies bringing in the most tickets.

Regular drawing for $12 of groceries will take place next Monday night, divided into 25 different prizes.

75 years ago

A radio announcement Thursday morning stated that William Goodyear, veteran publisher of Whitman County, had died at 8 a.m. at the home of his son, Trevor Goodyear, state forester, at Olympia. In early days, Mr. Goodyear was the publisher of a newspaper at Palouse. Later, he published the Colfax Commoner and in 1912 moved to Pullman. At the time of his death he was a co-publisher of the Pullman Herald. Mr. Goodyear’s death resulted from a gangrenous condition which started from a scratch on the small toe of his left foot.

50 years ago

Colfax is a “mighty nice town” and most of the people are “very friendly.”

That’s what some of the pipeline families told the Gazette reporter when asked how they liked Colfax, although most of them have been here only a few weeks.

The workers and their families have migrated to Colfax to work on the Pacific Gas Transmission Co’s pipeline through the county. The pipeline workers, most of whom are from the southern U.S., don’t think it matches southern hospitality, but Colfax is friendlier than most towns they have visited while working the line.

“Nice country around here,” said one interviewee, “But, oh those hills! Little San Francisco is what we call towns built like this one.”

Three wives of pipeliners, who took in the horse races last weekend, expressed only one gripe: no catfish! And, they said, “there’s just nothin’ like catfish and hushpuppies.”

25 years ago

What Larry Schlenker considered a necessity years ago when he worked on cattle ranches has developed into an avocation. Schlenker is a saddle maker of considerable talent who would ideally spend all his time making custom saddles by hand. Schlenker and his family have lived in Green Hollow north of Colfax for 13 years.

Norma Becker of Colfax is recuperating from dog bite wounds at Whitman Community Hospital after undergoing two surgeries at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane. She was bit repeatedly by a dog June 9 in Worley while working for Washing Water Power Co.

10 years ago

Decked out in a new paint job and roof, the Perkins house is ready for their annual ice cream social, Sunday, June 24, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The Snake River Six is also scheduled to perform. Whitman County Historical Society President Kathy Meyer said that Sally Vogel of Pullman has been overseeing some of the landscaping, pruning and trimming.

Entertainment will also be provided by members of the Palouse Country Cowboy Poetry Association. Many vintage automobiles will be on display.