Good Old Days

125 years ago

The Commoner

Feb. 22, 1889

In the St. John news, 14 town lots, all told, have been sold.

G.W. Smith was visiting his brothers in this vicinity last week.

He says Whitman County is sorely in need of a courthouse and jail.

Track laying is being pushed ahead.

The force is now at Clark’s place on Cottonwood.

A Valentine party was given at A.P. McKern’s on the evening of the 14th.

A splendid supper was prepared for the occasion by the young ladies.

A blacksmith has located here.

St. John will no doubt be the junction of the contemplated railroads from Sprague to Colfax as Pleasant Valley offers the only natural route.

It is thought our friend A.K. will soon call on the county auditor to procure a right to trot in double harness.

The new rates for ferriage across the Snake River, made by county commissioners last week, is meeting with a vigorous “kick” from ferry owners who will make an effort to have old rates installed by the new board of commissioners.

As C.S. Miller and B.N Danskin were rounding up stock one day last week in the Rock Creek country, they were startled by seeing a large cougar crouched on a cliff near them.

The boys at once concluded it would be fine sport to lasso him and proceeded to do so with all the skill at their command, and after a short chase, had their tugs securely tied to the animal’s hind feet and neck.

After many exciting adventures with the wild animal they succeeded in getting him to camp alive, where they now have him chained secure.

The animal is about nine feet in length from the point of his nose to the tip of the tale.

These animals are rarely found in this country and it is supposed the old fellow came down from the mountains after a supply of fresh mutton.

100 years ago

The Commoner

Feb. 20, 1914

The farmers between Colfax and Thornton have it within their power to secure the building of 18 miles of state highway during 1914. They can have the road if they want it or they can block the road if they see fit. The road is 18 miles long and will be a link in the great state highway from Spokane to Walla Walla. It will be the only road in Whitman County built entirely with state funds.

Colfax was the scene of a notable wedding at the German Lutheran Church at 1 o’clock Wednesday afternoon when Peter Repp, a prominent young farmer in the Endicott neighborhood, and Miss Emma Lautenschleger of Calgary, Alberta, were united in marriage by the pastor of the church. Following the ceremony a dinner was served at the Hotel Colfax, where covers were laid for 10.

75 years ago

Gazette Commoner

Feb. 24, 1939

Purchase of the auto parts and mechanical equipment of the Cram Motor Co. operated by J.W. Cram and Clyde Cram here for the past 24 years, by Brown & Holter, Pullman Chevrolet dealers, was announced this week. While the Studebaker agency will not be handled by the new owners, they will continue to service Studebaker cars and International trucks, they said.

Teachers of Colfax schools proved their abilities as clever and amusing entertainers again this year at their annual program given at the Parent-Teacher Association meeting Monday evening given in the high school auditorium.

50 years ago

Colfax Gazette

Feb. 20, 1964

The Lamont School District, in financial difficulties, has three courses of action, County Supt. Orville Widman told a group at a community meeting there. Citizens can raise the money on the local level; they can continue to operate the grade school but send the high school students to another school or they can consolidate with another district Widman told the group. Acting in an advisory capacity at the request of the Lamont School Board, Widman said the district might have difficulty raising the $77,000 which would be required to operate the school next year.

Endicott is making final preparations to host the Southeastern Washington district Class B basketball tournament next week, high school Principal Richard Johnson said today. The tournament, in which four teams from Whitman County and four from the Blue Mountain league will participate, will begin next Wednesday and last through Saturday.

Serving dinner for 200 Federal Land Bank borrowers in Whitman County was a full day’s work for Ewartsville Grange members who took on the job to raise money for their organization.

25 years ago

Colfax Gazette

Feb. 23, 1989

The 25-cent commemorative stamp being issued by the U.S. Postal Service in recognition of the Washington state centennial will be available with a special pictorial cancellation at 40 locations throughout the state including Colfax.

A Colfax park located on Mill Street will be home to new benches, picnic tables, shrubs and flowers this spring. The Henry Niehenke Park will also have a marble marker and underground sprinkler system. Funding for all of the improvements has been donated by Niehenke’s daughter, LaVerne Pavlik of Ritzville. Mayor Carol Stueckle said the park, which is near Excell, will be designed for people who eat lunch in town and for the elderly.

Observance this week of George Washington’s birthday should not pass without also noting the 75th anniversary of the Colfax loss of Martha Washington ... the rock not the First Lady. Colfax, in 1914, lost one of its most premier geologic attractions when the Martha Washington Rock rumbled off its perch and crashed onto the North Flat along the North Fork of the Palouse River. Before its fall the rock drew people from around the countryside. Residents, usually dressed in their Sunday best, would climb to the site and have their photo recorded.

10 years ago

WC Gazette

Feb. 19, 2004

Alexander Looladze, a student from Georgia in eastern Europe, has only been on the Palouse for a month. In his country, lentils are a staple and he came to get a taste of home at the annual Groundhog Day Lentil/Legume Cookoff last week on the Washington State University campus. After a couple of trips to the tables covered in appetizers, soups, salads, side dishes, main dishes and desserts, he was feeling pretty good.

Steve Appel was in Washington D.C. from Monday through Wednesday last week.