Good Old Days 8/11/11

125 years ago

August 13, 1886

Last Saturday James Fairbanks, who lives some three miles from Palouse City, had his house and wagon consumed by fire. The barn took fire from the flames but was extinguished by the prompt actions of his neighbors.

All of the grading between Garfield and Farmington will be completed this week. The grade between Colfax and Garfield is finished with the exception of two rock cuts. The first one, twelve miles out, will be done tomorrow, and the second one will be gotten out of the way so as not to delay track laying. Track is laid some twelve miles out of Colfax.

A party of local capitalists are talking up street cars for Colfax. More talk than business, probably.

E.F. Geer while wrestling with the boys at Dave Stewart’s place, was so unfortunate as to fall in such a position as to break his right leg below the knee. He is at present at the Thielsen house under care of a physican.

100 years ago

August 11, 1911

While coming into town Monday afternoon, Charles LaRue passed the charred remains of a new Reo car about eight miles north of this city. The machine was completely destroyed and had been abandoned by the driver.

John Siegel has been demonstrating a gasoline engine for threshing for the first time in the vicinity of Rosalia. The gasoline engine is proving far more economical than the old steam type. it costs about $2 a day for distillate, the fuel used in the new engine. Over the old straw burning steam engine it saves the wages of three high priced men - the fireman, water man and straw boss - besides a four-horse team to draw water.

A man identified as George Hobbie lies at the Bruning undertaking parlors. Hobbie was taken to the hospital from near Pullman after suffering typhoid fever and died Tuesday. He had been working in the harvest fields. It was supposed he had relatives in Nebraska, but they cannot be located.

In his hurry to escape from the basement of the White House clothing store early Sunday evening, an unknown burglar dropped the new pair of $7 shoes he was trying on and crawled through a little window to the alley leaving his old shoes and hat in the store. He was last seen going up the bluff east of the city.

75 years ago

August 7, 1936

When he touched a match to the flooded auto carburetor to burn the excess gas, Clyde Brendel, 26, suffered badly burned eyes Monday evening on the John Sauer ranch near Dusty.

With the announcement by O.C. Glaser that the Whitman Realty & Investment Co. had refused to deed 40 acres of land at the top of Steptoe Butte unless the proposed road to the summit approached from the Oakesdale road on the east, the Chamber of Commerce Wednesday noon postponed decision on further participation in the plan for a state vista point until the report on the west approach is received from the county engineer.

The former Idaho beer parlor opened Friday afternoon under a new name, “The Sport Shop,” operated by Wilbur Michealson. The sporting motif was carried out when decorations pertaining to sporting elements were installed shortly after the opening.

50 years ago

August 10, 1961

Last Friday’s sizzler was warm enough in every way for B.U. Krummel of Seattle whose sedan caught fire as he and Mrs. Krummel were driving down Colfax’s Main street about 1:30 p.m. The Krummels were muttering something about “!@#$ Eastern Washington heat” when they finally left Colfax in a rewired car later that day.

Deposits in Whitman County banks fell nearly $2 million between April 12 and June 30, a report compiled by the county bankers’ association states.

The Northern Pacific railroad work crews have been taking up the track from the Farmington branch to the main line near Belmont for the past two weeks.

Students at Colfax High School will be able to avoid walking in mud this winter thanks to sidewalks installed this summer on the north and east sides of the high school and agriculture buildings.

25 years ago

August 7, 1986

A fire erupted in Fred Mader’s combine Friday evening while he was harvesting peas near his Clear Creek residence. Mader said he smelled smoke, looked down and saw “a wall of flame” under the cab floor.

Three fishermen located a partially decomposed section of a human body last Thursday afternoon on the earthen portion of Little Goose Dam.

Colfax Mayor Leonard Riedner declared a moratorium Monday on city capital expenditures until November, when the city books will be reviewed. The moratorium was recommended by the city’s finance committee when summer receipts for water usage and sales tax came in approximately $48,000 short of budget projections. Several chip sealing projects and an overlay of Cedar street will be affected by the moratorium.

10 years ago

August 9, 2001

Whitman County government, business, community, agriculture and education leaders will gather for the second time at Eddy’s Restaurant in Colfax to discuss the potential formation of a two-tiered countywide Chamber of Commerce to be entitled the Palouse Progress Partnership.

Colfax Golf Pro Craig Gronning pegged a new Colfax course record during an amazing five rounds of golf Monday. Gronning booked an 11-under score of 59 to take four strokes off the 63-stroke record posted in 1989 by Bob Biagi and matched last year by Steve Olson.