Good Old Days May 5

125 years ago

The Commoner

May 1, 1891

The sealed report of the commission appointed to select a site for the state agricultural college and scientific school was opened and read by the governor this morning. Pullman gets the prize.

This is the substance of a dispatch which flashed over the wires into Colfax Monday morning.

It was received with a degree of surprise, and, as a matter of course, a degree of disappointment, for it was confidently believed that, should the commissioners select Whitman County, the advantages which Colfax presented, together with her liberal offer of 320 acres of the choicest Palouse soil, valued at $12,000, would, at least, receive some consideration at the hands of the commission.

The selection is made, and whatever may have been the personal choice of the Commoner, it is glad to chronicle the news that Whitman County has deservedly won, and the agricultural college has been located in the banner agricultural county of the state, and for which the Commoner urged earnestly and hard, without reference to any special locality.

As a representative newspaper of the county, the Commoner congratulates the entire people of Whitman upon the success attained.

As a local representative newspaper of Colfax, the Commoner heartily congratulates the people of Pullman upon the more direct advantages which will thus be according their thriving town.

***

The movement to erect in Colfax a handsome new public school building is progressing.

The movement has met with the hearty encouragement of the citizens, who are almost unanimous in favor of the proposed plan.

At a meeting of the board of directors, held last Saturday afternoon, the question came up for further discussion, and resulted in the calling of an election, to be held on May 9th at the Main street school building, for a vote upon the proposition of bonding the district, in the sum of $30,000, for twenty years, to carry out the purposes of the plan.

With the sentiment strong in its favor, it is safe to presume that the proposition will carry by a large majority.

***

The price of wheat, as gathered from the leading commercial centers of the United States, show a gratifying upward tendency.

In the local market 70 cents is offered to-day.

On Saturday, the price reached the highest notch attained here for several years.

A pool of 20,000 bushels, formed by H. S. Hunt, W. V. Ewing and John Carroll, big wheat farmers, whose farms lie about nine miles east of the city, was sold to a Portland shipping firm, through Aaron Kuhn, at a price which netted them, sacked, 75 cents per bushel.

This pool was formed immediately after last season's harvest, and the parties interested have bravely held out for 75 cents a bushel from that time, at least receiving their price.

When stored in the warehouse last fall, wheat was selling for 53 cents.

It is understood that at Endicott, on the same day, 5,000 bushels were sold for 80 cents.

This advance in the price of wheat is supposed, among dealers to be due to the scarcity of wheat in the Willamette valley, and the need of the Portland and Oregon mills of a supply to fill local and shipping orders for flour, which has also advanced.

100 years ago

The Colfax Commoner

May 5, 1916

A blaze which threatened to become a conflagration of great dimensions broke out in the basement of the Gooding Garage on south Main Street about 4 o'clock Tuesday morning, but for the efficient work of the local fire department, would have no doubt, spread to the armory building and placed the entire block in danger.

The origin of the fire is not known but Mr. Bert Gooding, who, with his family occupied living quarters on the second floor of the building, stated that the fire must have started in the basement.

Mr. Gooding and his wife were compelled to leave the burning building through the upper story window.

The fire was discovered by a man sleeping in the shop of the Colfax Iron Works at a time when the Garage was covered with flames.

The garage building was owned by Theodore H. Becker of Spokane and is estimated to have been worth close to $3,000, with insurance of $1,000.

***

The committee appointed by the Commercial club of Garfield to solicit funds for the annual Modern Woodmen picnic has secured nearly $400. Governor Lister will give one of the morning addresses. The afternoons will be taken up by sports. There will be baseball games between the four different teams, the winners on the first two days playing in the finals on the last day. The final winner will receive a purse of gold.

***

Members of the Farmers Union of Eastern Oregon and Washington, and of Northern Idaho, will have an opportunity to attend the annual meeting of the Tri-State Warehouse Co., which is to be held in Seattle in June. A rate of one and one-third fare for the round trip has been arranged for from all points in the Inland Empire via the Northern Pacific from Spokane on the 5th of June. One of the objects of the excursion is that each one interested in the proposition of bulk shipment of grain may personally investigate the facilities for the handling of grain at the terminals. Another is to determine whether the shipper is ready to handle Inland Empire grain crops in bulk.

75 years ago

Colfax Gazette Commoner

May 2, 1941

Opposed to the adoption by the city of a milk ordinance patterned after the United States standard milk code, three Colfax dairymen have circulated a petition asking the council to incorporate in the present city ordinance amendments which would embody state laws and regulations, thereby strengthening, they say, the city law and thus obtaining results as desirable as those would be brought about by the standard ordinance.

***

The Colfax Junior Chamber of Commerce, represented at the state convention of the organization in Spokane last weekend, came home with three plaques, a cup and in addition had their draft-strikers resolution unanimously accepted by the delegates.

The plaques were awarded to committees directing the most effective campaigns in the state during the past year, and were won by Colfax committees for fire prevention, agriculture and traffic safety. The cup was awarded for the best local project sponsored by the Jaycees, and was captured by the Colfax public health committee. Gene Eastep, president of the local club, received the plaque for the fire prevention campaign; Howard Storie received the agriculture plaque; Tref Roberge accepted the traffic safety award and Dr. Troy Moore was presented the cup for public health effort.

A resolution, proposing federal drafting of strikers engaged in national defense industries at minimum army wages, was submitted by the Colfax delegation, and was unanimously accepted by the convention. The state organization was subdivided into seven districts, plans were made for a state publication and the convention was awarded to Olympia for next year.

50 years ago

Colfax Gazette

May 5, 1966

Chairman D. J. Hopkins and Manager Neal Klemgard of the Whitman County port commission were informed in Washington, D. C., Tuesday that “in all probability the Camas Prairie railroad will be relocated on the Snake river between Riparia and Lewiston.”

The two men conferred Tuesday morning with Lieut. Gen. William F. Cassady and Maj. Gen. Jackson Graham of the corps of engineers, and M. S. Gurnee, a civilian official of the corps in Washington.

“We were informed that the engineers will finish their study and announce their decision in July of this year,” Klemgard said.

The corps has not indicated whether the railroad will be built on the north or south side of the Snake river, but Klemgard and Hopkins were led to believe that if the cost of relocating the rails on the south side of the river were less than relocation on the north side, the tracks might be rebuilt on the Asotin and Garfield county shores.

“They told us they did not have all of their costs yet, but that they were taking everything into consideration,” Klemgard added. “If their figures show that is is cheaper to build on the south side we don't intend to get into a north-south battle.”

***

Colfax volunteer firemen made a final decision Tuesday night to “go it alone” in their campaign to raise $13,000 for a new ambulance, after rejecting the latest proposal of the Colfax Chamber of Commerce.

Fire Chief Don Maier said nearly half of the $13,000 will still have to be raised in the less than 30 days remaining before the June 1 deadline, if the public wants the fire department to continue operation of the ambulance service. Contributions in cash and food coupons now total approximately $7,000.

Co-chairmen Joe Henderson and John Ellis of the Chamber of Commerce ambulance committee were disappointed at the volunteers' rejection of the chamber's latest proposal but wished the firemen “every success in your private drive.”

25 years ago

Colfax Gazette

May 2, 1991

Directors of Whitman Hospital and Medical Center have asked for a study of “the figures” in a tentative sale offer of the Whitman Convalescent Center which adjoins the hospital on the north side of the parking lot. Dennis McDonald, manager of the center, met with the hospital board last week and said the convalescent center would be available for purchase by the hospital.

The 91-bed center was built in 1985 with an addition opened last year.

Roy McDonald, who started in the nursing home business in 1957, said he is phasing out of the business. The Colfax nursing home and one at Polson, Mont., are the last two of 10 homes which were operated by McDonald at one time.

Roy McDonald said the Colfax center cost approximately $3 million to construct.

“They now cost about $40,000 a bed to construct. When I started in the business they cost about $5,000 a bed,” he said.

McDonald said the Colfax nursing home has not yet been placed on the market. He said the offering to the hospital was the first move he's made to sell the facility and he probably won't make any additional moves to sell the facility for the next year.

He said the negotiations with the hospital were tentative at this time.

***

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new U.S. Bank building in Pullman is scheduled for Thursday, May 9, at 5:30 p.m., according to vice president Rod Carey.

The grand opening celebration runs May 13-17 with refreshments and a prize drawing.

Construction started Sept. 21 on the 6,500 square foot building, which has parking for 23 cars.

The vacant lot across Paradise Street from city hall was a popular downtown parking area for more than four years until it was closed July 21.

Old National Bank bought the lot in December 1985 and demolished the Empire Building and two others to make way for the expansion.

10 years ago

Whitman County Gazette

May 4, 2006

Palouse will restructure classes next year to reduce over staffing in the elementary school by merging kindergartners with first grades in the morning and fourth graders with fifth graders in the afternoon. Also in the morning, second and third grades will be merged.

The Palouse and Garfield school boards last Thursday approved the class configurations, which will reduce teaching staff by 1.5 full-time equivalents from this year's five in the elementary school.

Staff cuts, restructuring and budget scrutiny for the next year come as Palouse's reserve fund balance dropped to about $67,000 for March.

Declining enrollment, which is tied to state funding, is cited as the main cause of fund balance decline. Projected enrollment next year is about 193, down from 244 in 2000.

***

Transfer from the former Milwaukee Railroad right-of-way in eastern Washington from the state's Department of Natural Resources to Washington State Parks will become a reality over the next two months. A transportation bill from the last legislative session authorized the transfer, and officials from DNR and Washington State Parks are now making arrangements to make the switch, according to Vanessa Freeman, recreational manager for the DNR office in Ellensburg.

The switch will mean 66 miles of the former Milwaukee Route across the northern section of Whitman County will come under the management of the state parks department, the agency which already oversees the trail on the west side of the Columbia River. The Whitman County segment will be included with the Adams County segment east from Lind to Revere.

Transfer of the trail will be official recognized during the 25th annual John Wayne Pioneer Trail Ride.