Good old days

125 years ago

The Commoner

May 17, 1889

William Chambers, one of the quartet of tramps brought down from Farmington a few weeks ago and lodged in the county jail on a charge of assault, the particulars of which were published at the time, escaped from the jail yard through the help of some of his comrades on Wednesday morning by scaling the stockade and has not been recaptured although Sheriff McLean and deputies have used every endeavor to run him down.

He is described as being 30 years old, five feet 10 inches high, weight 150 pounds, eyes blue and crossed, mustache thin and red, very red cheeks, of Irish descent, complexion light, wore low crowned reddish hat and dark jeans pants.

Fifty dollars reward will be paid for his capture and delivery to Sheriff McLean.

Mrs. Laura DeForce Gordon, the celebrated lady lawyer of California, was greeted with a packed house at the delivery of her lecture on women's suffrage at city hall Saturday night last. The lady is an orator from whom choice and entertaining language flows in a stream, and whose voice, unlike the generality of female speech makers, is a pleasure to listen to. She exhibits a rare insight into the political situation and from her manner of dealing with politicians and "newspaper scribblers" it is to be earnestly hoped that her husband dabbles not in politics or endangers his life by monkeying around a newspaper office.

A drawing of the courthouse plans, as accepted by the commissioners, is on exhibition in the front windows of Hamilton's drug store. These windows, with the various collections, are very attractive and draw much attention from passersby.

The Masonic Temple and the Odd Fellows hall will no doubt be in course of construction within a few weeks. The preliminaries are fast being made. They will be magnificent buildings and will add greatly to the good appearance of Main Street and the city at large.

100 years ago

The Colfax Commoner

May 15, 1914

Mr. and Mrs. O.H. Clifford and daughter of St. John were Colfax visitors Wednesday. Mr. Clifford says fall wheat in his neighborhood is almost ready to head out, which means one of the earliest harvests in the history of the county.

Raymond Slate has accepted the position of prescription druggist at the Elk drug store. Mr. Slate has been with Fay Dickey at Libby, Mont., and says that Mr. Dickey has about completed the sale of his drug store at that point and will again take up his work with the telephone company.

The frame is up for a new dwelling which J.R. Good & Co. are building on the west hillside. The house will have six rooms and a sleeping porch and will be modern in every respect.

75 years ago

Colfax Gazette Commoner

May 19, 1939

Alleviation from a long dry spell and the heat wave that reached a record maximum of 94 here Monday, is bringing on again the spring grain which had not shown any growth for about five days. Change in weather came Monday afternoon with a dust storm and cooler temperatures.

50 years ago

Colfax Gazette

May 14, 1964

The first train to use the new Union Pacific shoofly in the bed of the South Palouse river hauled several hundred tons of ballast for the new track last week - and the process will continue until the tracks are ready for steady use some time next week.

More than 180 registered Arabian horses have been entered in the Pacific Northwest Shriners All-Arabian horse show sponsored by the Whitman County Shrine Club at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds. All but about five stalls have been filled to date but although entries have officially closed, the remaining stalls will probably be filled before show time. The show will include halter, stake, driving and costume classes.

St. John's long-awaited switchover to dial telephones is scheduled for one minute after midnight Saturday, Howard Trunkey of the St. John Cooperative Telephone & Telegraph Company said yesterday.

25 years ago

Colfax Gazette

May 18, 1989

Members of St. Patrick's Catholic Church are awaiting a report on how to stabilize the tower section at the front entrance to the building. The tower, which is aligned with Main Street and marks the southbound view, is now leaning five to six inches and is separated from the rest of the church building. Estimated weight of the tower is 320,000 pounds and stands 68 feet from the base to the top. The architect said the problem seems to stem from fill dirt which was under the site when the church was constructed in 1960. Church members have reported the fill was placed years ago between the present church and the former St. John's Academy.

10 years ago

Whitman County Gazette

May 13, 2004

An old empty Quonset building in Dusty on State Highway 26 could be a rural museum and country store if Randy Scheideman, owner from LaCrosse, sees this vision through. It won't be some cookie-cutter convenience store, he said, but a destination store. He is the third generation owner of the 1959 building which sits on a 2.5 acre lot at the intersection of SR 26 and SR 127. The project is just in the early stage of developing ideas.

A Tekoa seventh grader, Susannah Scaroni, pegged a second place finish among female wheelchair racers in Spokane's Bloomsday Race May 2. Scaroni, who was making her first start in Bloomsday, clocked a 52.13 in the race, a mark which surprised her coach and fellow racers.