Good Old Days

125 years ago

Dec. 23, 1887

The business department of Colfax College, Prof. Wm. English, opened Monday in the council chamber where it will probably be conducted until the new college building is occupied. The former quarters being too small to accommodate it.

Near the depot, Saturday last, a four-horse team took fright at a moving train and ran away, one of the wheelers jumping the doubletree, in which position he was dragged until his forelegs were nearly worn off, necessitating his being shot. Five bullets were put into the animal before the vital spot was touched.

Capt. Montfort, in charge of the coal bunkers, states that he has now in the bunkers and on top of them in car, an aggregate of 6,000 tons of coal. The output of the Carbonado mines will be curtailed until the arrival of ships to carry some away. The foregoing prompts us to inquire why some of this coal cannot be brought east of the mountains, where a coal famine exists.

J.A. Starner, formerly probate judge of Columbia County and now residing in Endicott, was among the Gazette’s callers this week. He was in the city on business and was detained for jury duty.

The fair and supper given by the ladies of the guild at Opera hall on Thursday evening of last week was a pronounced success, socially and financially. The attendance was large and every article offered for sale found a buyer, while the New England supper, which was a fine spread, suffered an entire annihilation so liberally was it patronized. The gross receipts amounted to $375.

100 years ago

Dec. 20, 1912

The second game of the season will be played by the Colfax High School basketball team at Farmington on Saturday evening of this week. The boys are pleased with the prospects of new suits which have been promised them by the board of control of the high school.

The Agora Literary Society will present a program at the high school auditorium on Friday afternoon of this week beginning at 2:45 o’clock. The pupils have been pleased with the attendance at the programs given during the past few weeks and it is hoped that the attendance this week will be larger than ever.

A number of the high school boys have formed a glee club and have asked Superintendent Moses to train them. They have already met several times for practice and good progress is being made.

The contract was let Monday evening for the construction of a municipal water system in Farmington. Foster & Hinkle of Spokane were the successful bidders. The contract price is $7,898 and work is to start at once.

P.F. Chadwick, better known in Colfax as “Boots” Chadwick, is planning to open a hardware store in the Pioneer building. Shelving and counters are being placed in the store room and Mr. Chadwick hopes to be ready for business at the beginning of the year. He will occupy the stand vacated by Simon Dreifus & Co., when they moved into their new building a few weeks ago.

The “Midget” cafe, smallest in the United States, was wrecked by fire Tuesday afternoon. The gasoline range exploded, badly burning the proprietor, “Whitey” Titus, and setting the entire inside of the building on fire. The flames were quickly extinguished on the arrival of the fire department. The “Midget” was located in a three-foot space between the Silver Kitchen and the Pocket pool hall.

75 years ago

Dec. 17, 1937

Boasting a cast of 113 youngsters, more than half of the school enrollment, “Rip Van Winkle’s Noel,” a Christmas program arranged by Martha Washington faculty members, will be presented by children of the school in the high school auditorium this Friday evening at 7:30 o’clock.

Red Cross workers will fill approximately 50 baskets with food next Thursday morning at the courthouse, and they will be distributed by Boy Scouts that afternoon to homes of the needy in Colfax. Packing will be done by high school boys.

Entertainment provided by pupils of the Hamilton and Martha Washington grade schools proved a treat to Kiwanians at their luncheon meeting Tuesday afternoon. Two numbers by the Hamilton orchestra showed the surprising development of the young musicians under the capable direction of Miss Mary Marjorie Course.

Capping time, a thrill for every student nurse, will be observed at the St. Ignatius school of nursing next Monday evening when 13 young women will be definitely admitted to the school following a four months’ preliminary course.

In an advertisement from Penney’s: Celanese taffeta Pullman robes $2.98, terry towels 10 cents, double blankets 77 cents, wash frocks 10 cents, shoes and oxfords 25 cents, flannel gowns 25 cents.

The Mildred Busch memorial award for the junior girl doing the most at the courthouse work in the county went to Avis Poffenroth of the Sunshine Sewing Club near Palouse. She has completed four years of gardening and sewing work and has been active in 4H demonstrations.

50 years ago

Dec. 20, 1962

Postal employees are still struggling daily with mountains of mail coming and going. Leonard Guptill is pictured trying to make room for just one more packet of Christmas cards while Arlan Grubbs looks on at the Colfax post office this week.

Terms of two of the five members of the county board of education will expire at the end of the current school year and new members will be elected in March. Ivor Nelson of Sunset and Adrian DeVries of Colfax are the two members whose terms will run out. Holdover members are George Miller, Garfield; Bill Knight, Pullman and Gwen Osborn, Rosalia.

Cuban refugee children at St. John’s Academy in Colfax are pictured decorating a Christmas tree in the recreation room.

A special assembly for sixth, seventh and eighth graders with a play and singing and Christmas parties for the lower grades will mark the close of school Friday before the Christmas vacation, Principal Leonard M. Jennings of Colfax elementary said today. Mary Magee’s sixth grade will present the play.

Colfax elementary school cafeteria has been serving an average of about 500 meals daily for the past week, Supervisor Carrie Green said.

Officers elected by circles of the Women of Peace Lutheran Church were announced today. They are: Dorcas Circle, Mrs. Ole Slind, president, Mrs. Jack Guthrie, vice president and Mrs. John Daubert, secretary-treasurer; Marian Circle, Mrs. Con Weitz Jr., president, Mrs. Bob Repp, vice president, Mrs. Richard Repp, secretary-treasurer; Martha Circle, Mrs. Dallas Cox, president, Miss Emma Rudy, vice president and Mrs. Wayne Geagley, secretary-treasurer.

What may be the largest steelhead caught for some time in the Snake River was pulled out Saturday by Richard Appel of Endicott, while he was fishing with his father, Don, at Penawawa. The monster weighed 27 pounds, 8 ounces, was 42 inches long and 22 inches in girth. The fish was caught while drifting, using an “OK doke” lure and a light casting outfit.

25 years ago

Dec. 17, 1987

Rye Hall, 11, of Pullman designed the winning logo for the county centennial committee’s logo contest. The logo will be used to design a county flag and for such things as lapel buttons and souvenirs. Jeremy Hall of Uniontown was second place and Lori Smith of Endicott was third.

Jim LeGette of Diamond added some Christmas cheer to Colfax’s Main Street with paintings on windows. He painted a Santa Claus on the Gazette’s window.

Colfax Cable Television which operates the other television system in Colfax, is expected to make some type of offer to Highline Television of Colfax before the cooperative members vote on a sale proposal from Kenneth Julian. Larry Dickerson of St. John said he anticipates making some type of offer. Dickerson is manager of St. John Telephone which purchased Colfax Cable from Donald Stine after Stine two years ago attempted to purchase Highline. St. John Telephone also operates television cable systems in LaCrosse and Endicott.

National Honor Society inductees from St. John/Endicott include Dana Henning, Tracey Lamb, Judith Tiegs, Julie Cricksman, Dan Schmick, Steve Smith and Brock Kleweno.

Travis Wise of LaCrosse left Dec. 6 for Hawaii to visit a few days with the Glen Wises before meeting his brother, Todd, who is a crewman on the U.S.S. Tripoli. Travis will join Todd on board for the eight day “Tiger Cruise” back to its home port at San Diego and then return home.

10 years ago

Dec. 19, 2002

Clark Johnson of Garfield is going into the grocery business. He is planning to re-open the former McCabe’s Empire Foods No. 2 store in downtown Garfield which closed in April.

County commissioners voted Monday to allow annexation of 343 acres of Palouse Coulee City Railroad and Columbia Ag Fiber, Inc., property out of the county and into the town of LaCrosse. The annexation by LaCrosse means a loss to the county in property tax revenue. Estimated annual loss would be approximately $80. CAF president Gary Young requested the annexation to facilitate development of a proposed strawboard manufacturing facility.

A preliminary injunction to halt U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from dredging the lower Snake River was granted by a federal judge in Seattle. Dredging, which was scheduled to begin Sunday, would have maintained a 14-foot deep navigation channel to ensure continued access to the Ports of Clarkston and Lewiston from the Pacific Ocean.

High winds dropped a tree at the Carol Larson residence in the 300 block of East Thorn in Colfax. The house sustained minor damage. The tree fell on a dog pen occupied by Sport, an 18-month-old Maltese poodle cross. He escaped injury.

Members of the Colfax Rotary Club generated $2,330 as proceeds from bidding at their annual Christmas gift auction.

In 1967, Marshall Hyde lent Mel and Sharon Olson the down payment to buy his tavern. For the last 12,780 days, the Olsons have kept the Hyde Out on Main Street in Colfax open. Some of their regulars, from the coffee crowd in the morning or the pizza and beer crowd in the evening, enjoy testing their memories to recall a day the tavern was not open.