Good old days

125 years ago

Dec. 9, 1887

A bullet, presumably from a pistol in the hands of a drunken man or someone possessed with very little sense, came crashing into the residence of Rev. J. Alter, in the south end on Thanksgiving evening, passing within a few inches of Mrs. Alter’s mother who had retired. This practice of promiscuous shooting within the city limits, which has become quite prevalent of late, is in violation of city ordinances and an effort should be made to bring the guilty persons to the bar of justice.

Among the manufacturing industries of Colfax worthy of mention is the candy factory of Harris & McDonald, proprietors of the cracker bakery. The establishment has a capacity of 500 pounds daily and turns out a quantity of candy if anything superior to that imported, including French creams and all the plain and fancy varieties. A good market for the product is found in Colfax and all the surrounding towns, where sales are constantly increasing.

Post No. 19 of this city has taken the initial steps for an entertainment to be given about the middle of January. They are in correspondence with and hope to secure for the occasion the services of Maj. Hendershot, the famous boy drummer who was the youngest of the nation’s defenders, being only 12 years old when he entered the army.

100 years ago

Dec. 6, 1912

A city basketball league is the latest scheme planned for amusement among the young men of the town. Last year, a town team had the use of the high school gymnasium three nights a week and it is hoped to secure the gym again this winter for three or four evenings a week. The plan is to form teams among the courthouse employees, bank clerks and perhaps among the lawyers. In this way a strong city league could be formed and many interesting games played.

J.J. Miller passed through Colfax Thursday afternoon with 180 head of cattle which he was taking from his north ranch near Steptoe to his Snake River ranch near Almota. The cattle were purchased in Oregon about a month ago.

The city of Palouse has let the contract to Smith & Stratton for constructing the connecting link between the state laid road and the macadam laid by the city several years ago. The connecting link is only a few hundred feet long and will be put down for $1.50 a yard.

The time of O.W.R.&N. train No. 6 was changed last week without notice. The train now leaves Colfax at 4:15 a.m. instead of 2:15 a.m.

A concert will be given at the Ridgeway theater Wednesday evening, Dec. 14, for the purpose of raising money to buy new uniforms for the Colfax band. Leader Sauve is preparing a good program consisting of vocal, instrumental and band numbers. Admission has been fixed at 75, 50 and 25 cents.

Covers were laid to twelve at a dinner given by Mr. and Mrs. Nestor Lacerte Wednesday evening. The affair was in honor of the six ladies all of whose birthdays occur in December.

Miss Lulu Davis entertained a number of her young friends at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Davis, last Friday evening, before her departure for Los Angeles. Four tables of hearts were played and Miss Audry Montgomery won the prize. After refreshments were served the remainder of the evening was spent in dancing.

75 years ago

Dec. 3, 1937

From a squad of 10 will be picked the five Colfax Bulldogs who will first represent the Blue and Gold in the opening basketball game of the season to be played on the new gymnasium floor against the Garfield quintet, according to Coach Howard Moses. Coach Moses was unable to name a starting lineup since regular workouts have been interrupted by operetta rehearsals.

Alex Litzenberger, 53, Steptoe farmer, suffered a fracture of the fifth lumbar vertebrae, when the automobile driven by his son, Clayton, 22, skidded on the pavement two miles north of Steptoe, rolled over, crashed through a fence and landed in a field. The youth and his mother escaped unhurt. Mr. Litzenberger was brought to St. Ignatius hospital here. He will be in a cast at least two months, Dr. F.A. Bryant said.

Rev. and Mrs. King entertained as guests over the week-end, the Rev. and Mrs. N.M. Cressman and children. The visitors are on furlough from missionary service in Cambodia, French Indo-China, and stopping here enroute to Pennsylvania. The Rev. Cressman delivered the Sunday morning message at the Onecho Mennonite Church. At the evening service he thrilled an appreciative audience with vivid fast moving accounts of his experiences in the foreign mission field.

Stanley A. Smith, architect at Washington State college, has completed plans for two building projects at the college and the board of regents have approved the calling for bids. One contract involves the construction of greenhouses on the college grounds for which $26,750 is available for the construction contract. The second contract provides for the construction of a turkey experiment brooder house with $6,600 available for that work.

50 years ago

Dec. 6, 1962

“Jackie” King is probably Colfax’s first “service station girl” and she comes by it naturally! The personable young mother, who is ready to “gas ‘er up” at the least squeal of a brake at the Flying A station on South Main Street, was “born” into the automotive business.

Her father has been a mechanic all of his life and she was virtually “raised in a garage” since her mother was killed in an accident when “Jackie” was very young.

Before coming to Colfax last year, she and her husband, Kenneth King, an oiler with Peter Kiewit Sons Co., operated a service station at Vantage and before her marriage, she worked at one of the Economy system’s service stations at Airway Heights west of Spokane for about six months.

25 years ago

Dec. 3, 1987

Final tally on the Nov. 3 election shows two contests ended with one-vote margins, County Auditor James Repp reported. Repp last week conducted a recount in the two close races after all returns were certified earlier for the state deadline. The one-vote win by incumbent D.M. Johnson Jr., who edged challenger Nancy Elder for Garfield treasurer, held up through the certification and recount process. Repp said the 104-103 count from election night was unchanged during certification. The other one-vote win was by David Moseley over Bea Nagel in Pullman’s school board position-two seat. That race went into the books at 1,645-1,644 for Moseley after the recount last week, Repp said.

The Rev. Jim Doak and Ray and Elaine Fry all of Colfax, could be included in a Dec. 7 CBS network program which was taped in Moscow last week. The CBS crew went to Moscow to do a “Moscow to Moscow” feature program in connection with the summit meeting of President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

The bell tower at Hay’s First Baptist Church stood empty after the bell was removed to be sent to the state’s Centennial Bell Garden in Seattle. The bell was installed in 1902 when the church was built and was rung every Sunday until the church was closed in 1971. The bell garden will include a historic bell from every county in the state and the bells will be rung at a ceremony in September 1989.

Louise Braun and Arden Johnson of Colfax, directors of the Johnson-Braun Theater Productions, have announced a cast call for a spring production of “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” The Johnson-Braun productions are responsible for a string of benefit musicals in Colfax. Their last production was “Little Mary Sunshine” in 1986.

10 years ago

Dec. 5, 2002

Palouse Empire Fair board members were advised of some of the ramifications of a cutback which has been charted in the county’s preliminary budget proposal. The county parks department, parent agency for the fair, has been charted for a $74,000 cutback, about 15 percent from the current year’s budget. The park cutback is the steepest for county agencies and reflects the commissioners’ view of the department as providing non-mandated services.

While the county seems to be embracing the opportunity of commercial wind generating plants in the area, individuals hoping to set up residential systems have not received the same type of greeting - not because the county doesn’t want them to have wind turbines but because the systems they bought were not up to Whitman County code.