Good Old Days

125 years ago

August 19, 1887

There was a fire in Colfax, Calif., last week and it is going the rounds of the territorial press as having occurred in this town. We have had no fire lately. We don’t want any.

Notwithstanding the fact that work is plenty everywhere this time of year, several tramps have been begging for something to eat at different private houses in Colfax the past week. People who feed them only encourage idleness. The best way to get rid of them is to ask them to saw wood.

A kitchen and dining room on wheels attracted much attention on Main Street Monday. It was 9 x 18 feet in size and belonged to J.T. Arrasmith’s threshing outfit.

When all the buildings and fences at the fair grounds have been finished, more than 300,000 feet of lumber will have been used.

An old drunk named Lewis created a disturbance in the vicinity of the Vigor of Life wagon last Friday night by throwing mortar at the occupants of the vehicle. He was very properly marched off to jail. He is the father of Chas. S. Lewis, a boarder at the county jail, who returned last week from a visit to the Coeur d’Alene Lake.

100 years ago

August 16, 1912

Three suits have been brought by Sheriff G.B. Carter against county commissioners in the last few months to force payment of his claims for automobile hire and in each instance he has won. The last case was to force payment of $398.90 with interest from date of rejection.

Owing to the reports of robberies coming from the jungles and the number of gardens in the vicinity which have been raided, Rosalia authorities had the hobo resort raided a few days ago and the occupants were forced to move out.

The first threshing machine to burn in this vicinity this year was on the Robert Crabtree place soon after starting up Monday morning. The machine, owned by Elmer Gentry, caught fire caused by a smut explosion.

Two Spokane & Inland Empire railway employees were electrocuted and instantly killed Tuesday afternoon while putting in new lightning arresters a half mile north of Palouse.

Burglars entered the Colton Hardware store one night last week and secured a number of razors, watches, revolvers and shotguns.

75 years ago

August 13, 1937

Contracts were awarded at Olympia by the state highway department for construction of a reinforced concrete bridge and a concrete and steel undercrossing on the Mockonema cutoff road now under construction south and west of Colfax.

Telephone calls were responsible for three responses to the south end of town within two hours Monday night by deputy sheriffs and city police in a futile attempt to find a peeping Tom.

By kicking out a wooden panel in a large door on the north side of the building, one or more persons gained entrance Tuesday night into the rooms of Colfax Tractor & Implement Co. As far as could be determined, nothing was taken.

A Waitsburg man was brought to the county jail from Rosalia Monday on charge of petty larceny for stealing 12 gallons of gasoline and several tools from a combine thresher operation on the Robert Dowling farm.

50 years ago

August 16, 1962

Nearly 100 men are now employed on the $1.5 million Palouse river flood control project in Colfax. Earth-moving equipment and tractors are still being operated two shifts daily but other work is confined to a single shift.

A long-hoped-for automatic pitcher promises to be the “busiest Man” in local sports come next season. Local popularity of America’s top summer sport has doubled in enrollment in the six-year history of Colfax Youth League. Hopes are to get the pitching machine from money raised by community calendars sold by the Lady Jaycees.

Lamont Community Church was filled to capacity Sunday for the ceremonies of dedication of the memorial gifts for the late Anna Bernice Colray, a pioneer to this area. The memorial fund was used to paint the class rooms and install sliding glass doors partitioning the primary department on the lower level.

25 years ago

August 13, 1987

Suprisingly high wheat yields have produced a Whitman County crop that is sending warehousemen in the eastern part of the county scrambling for additional storage.

Two people were seriously injured by electrical shock in a farming accident Tuesday morning near Pullman. A 17-year-old-girl suffered cardiac arrest when she was struck by high voltage. Mark Meyer, 28, was also injured, but regained consciousness at the scene and is in stable condition. Five people were attempting to move a 40-foot auger when a chain placed around the auger that was being moved by a forklift came in contact with a high voltage electrical wire. The forklift caught fire from the electrical arc.

Ova Gerling of Palouse suffered arm pain and several small cuts after the 1976 Dodge Aspen she was driving rolled over a bank seven miles north of Palouse. She was apparently distracted by a bee in the car, which missed a curve, went off the road and up an embankment before rolling on its top. She said she is allergic to bees.

10 years ago

August 15, 2002

The Palouse Community Center now has drawings to go with its vision for an expanded facility. Spokane Falls Community College architecture students donated initial design for renovation of the nearly 100 year old center building along with a new buiding on the former site of the Congress Theater.

The Washington State Junior American Legion baseball tournament that has brought eight visiting teams to Colfax last week has been deemed a success by state Legion officials. Legion commissioners were impressed with McDonald Park facilities and the event should net $2,000 to $3,000.

Colfax Fire Department responded to a fire at Hamilton Park Saturday evening, apparently started by juveniles. The fire was doused by police prior to the fire truck’s arrival.