Good Old Days Nov. 10

125 years ago

The Commoner

Nov. 6, 1891

The building and grounds of the new public school at Garfield are to be attractive ornaments to that town. The location is in a central part of the town. The block will be enclosed with a handsome fence and the ground seeded into a beautiful lawn.

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Pullman is to have a machine shop and foundry. A gentleman from Sacramento, Calif., is at the head of the new enterprise.

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The Pullman Herald entered upon its fourth year last week. The Herald has been a good newspaper, and its work for the advancement of the “city of flowing wells” has at all times been of a deserving and enthusiastic character.

100 years ago

The Colfax Commoner

Nov. 10, 1916

City attorney Chas.

F. Voorhees prepared a new ordinance which gives the city council full power to order a side walk constructed in any portion of the city.

The ordinance is based on the state law passed by the last session of the legislature.

Under this new ordinance, the street commissioner has power to order the construction of side walks as well as to designate the material which shall be used.

Under this new ordinance, the construction of side walks in this city will be under the jurisdiction of the city council and any property owner can either be forced to construct a side walk or the city council can order it constructed after sixty day’s notice and have the cost assessed against the property.

Under the new ordinance, the property owners of the city can be forced to build side walks in any part of the city and the contractors view the new ordinance as passed in their interest.

A property owner on Main street claims the new ordinance can be used as a club to force the tax payers of the city to construct walks at that season of the year when labor and material is high. Another property owner maintains that it places too much power in the hands of the street commissioner. Another citizen says that there was no demand for this ordinance and states that if the ordinance is passed that property owners can be forced to build side walks on both sides of the street from the north to the south end of Main street.

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The Whitman County campaign closed with the polls this year, and Monday was a busy day for the candidates and their friends. Every man and woman were visited during the closing days of the campaign and some of the candidates made a house to house canvass for votes Monday. Some of the candidates had a list of every voter in the city and each one of these voters who were considered doubtful by the candidates was visited wither in person or through the aid of friends.

The candidates for prosecuting attorney worked every minute of the day for votes Monday as well as did one of the candidates for county treasurer. The closing hours of the campaign were busy ones for several of the candidates. Others claimed that they had completed their work Saturday evening and they claimed that every man and woman had made up their minds how they would vote and it was useless to try to change them at the eleventh hour. A dry ticket which was issued Saturday appeared throughout the county Monday morning containing the names of several wet candidates and leaving as many dry candidates classed as wet off the ticket.

These eleventh hour political tricks failed to change the votes to any great extent but they added excitement to the closing hours of the campaign.

75 years ago

Colfax Gazette Commoner

Nov. 7, 1941

Beginning Monday, Nov. 10, a star route, Tekoa to Colfax, will be established to serve communities whose mail service will be impaired by the discontinuation of mail trains 77 and 78 on the Union Pacific route. Mail for Spokane should be in the local post office by 3 p.m., Virgil Canutt, assistant postmaster, said. The star carrier will leave Colfax at 3:30 p.m. touching Elberton, Garfield and Farmington, reaching Tekoa in time to make connections with the Wallace-Spokane train at 5:08 p.m.

Morning mail from Spokane will be taken from the Wallace train at Tekoa and arrive in Colfax at 11 a.m. in time for noon distribution. The Spokane-Wallace train does not leave Spokane until mail trains from the coast and eastern points have arrived, resulting in a speed-up of service from these points amounting to practically 24 hours, postal officials said. Walter C. Hays, Spokane chief railway mail clerk, was in Colfax Tuesday to arrange details of the service.

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Glen Ruark and Harley Van Ausdle, both of Pomeroy, purchased the Tavern Café last Saturday from Lloyd and Leonard Freeburg, who return to Lacrosse where they will operate a service station. The new proprietors indicated the restaurant would stay open Sundays. The Freeburg brothers recently bought the Tavern from B. T. Henry.

50 years ago

Colfax Gazette

Nov. 10, 1966

Nearly $34,000 has been contributed in the new hospital drive by residents of Colfax and the immediate vicinity, Treasurer S. H. Butler of the hospital association announced Wednesday morning. “This total includes a few donations from people in the Endicott and Dusty areas but does not include any money or pledges collected by the committees in those areas,” he added.

Butler said the hospital association office in Colfax has a record sale of 325 of the $100-a-plate benefit dinner tickets, and a number of additional individual pledges for amounts less than $100 each but totaling nearly $34,000.

“We are still somewhat encouraged although time is getting short,” both Butley and Finance Chairman DeLon Ray said yesterday morning. The goal of $150,000 must be met by Nov. 25 or the hospital project will collapse since federal aid funds will be withdrawn unless the local association has proof that it can provide its share of the necessary total.

Very little of the farm area surrounding Colfax has been solicited with most of the money coming either from volunteers who came into the hospital association office in the Butler-Miller agency to buy tickets, or from the initial sales of Colfax solicitors.

Some of Colfax solicitors are still “getting organized” but more complete reports are expected by next Wednesday, Ray said. Kiwanis, Rotary, American Legion and Auxiliary Eagles and Auxiliary, Hospital Auxiliary, Jaycees, the Chamber of Commerce and others have districted the community and are making calls daily, but may have not reported their results.

Reports from outlying communities are expected soon, although solicitation was late in getting started because of farm work in some areas. Bob Zorb of St. John reported last week that his community had already raised more than $7,000 but no report was given this week.