Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
125 years ago
The Commoner
July 15, 1892
For an active interest in demonstrating the varied resources of the Palouse as an agricultural, fruit and general “garden sass” country none among all these hills can compare with Harry Cornwell.
He is daily adding to his choice exhibit destined for the world's fair, the latest of which would surprise even the oldest settler, familiar with astonishing things which have ground hereabouts.
H. Mitchell has brought in fair average samples of 100 acres of winter and 120 acres of spring wheat which are truly astonishing and bear no evidence of a scorch where they grew. They were raised on the J.C. Turner place, five miles south of town.
R. H. Martens, of Glenwood, and Lewis Cox, of Union flat, present samples of wheat unsurpassed in even this land of wheat.
Brown Bros., eight miles east of Colfax, add a sample of white barley which we doubt not will be unsurpassed, even at the greatest of great shows.
***
The new Episcopal church is nearing completion. It will be an imposing edifice of modern architectural design.
The new grade at Wawawai street in South Colfax will open up a new and very desirable residence portion of the city.
Milan Still has removed his law office to the Fraternity block where he has located in rooms 6 and 7 on the second floor.
Eight releases of mortgages were filed with the county auditor on Monday. On the same day but two real and four chartel mortgages were placed on record.
County Auditor Browder has, even this early, begun work upon the multitude of intricacies with which he has to deal in order to get the November election in proper shape.
The Palouse boys who sometimes play ball for exercise do not seem to be satisfied with the good sound drubbing which the Colfax team gave them last Sunday just to pass away the time. They are coming to Colfax next Sunday for another wipe out.
***
The march of improvement does not stop with the 500 feet of brick and granite frontage now going up on the business streets of the city. The erection of one building but calls for the plans of another.
Architect H. H. McCord has just completed the drawings for a handsome brick for George Ruedy, on his property adjoining the Telephone block on the north. It is to be 30x60 feet. Work has already begun upon the excavation and the completion of the building will be hurried.
J. H. Bellinger has just received from the same architect plans for a one story brick on the corner of Main and Island streets. Work begins at once. This is on the property facing the court house, where the dwelling house burned last Thursday morning. The building, however, is to be placed on the corner of the lot, next to Main street, and will have a frontage on both streets.
The contract for construction work on the Lommasson and Manning buildings was let Saturday to J. R. Good, the local contractor. The contract was awarded for the labor above the foundations for $4,000.
The Ellis building will be ready for the second floor joists Wednesday evening.
T. J. Burns' neat little brick is being rapidly pushed to completion by the finishers and will soon be ready for the reception of his saloon.
100 years ago
The Colfax Commoner
July 20, 1917
The records of the number of the students that were enrolled at the St. John's Academy shows that the number of students known as boarding students doubled in one year. In addition to the students who board at the Academy, the Sisters instructed 105 day students. This year the Sisters expect that this number of students will be increased to 150 day pupils and they are making arrangements to provide accommodations for a larger number of students that will board at the academy.
This year the high school course included only the 9th, 10th, and the 11th grades. Next year, the 12th grade is to be added and the Sisters will make application for having their high school accredited by the state board of education.
This year every student that was enrolled in the eighth grade work passed the state test with high markings. The students that were enrolled in the seventh grade passed the state test in geography and physiology. There was not a student who was enrolled in either the seventh or eighth grades that failed to receive passing grades in the state examination.
One little girl who was enrolled in the seventh grade and was forced to discontinue her studies, has just reported to the Sisters that she has passed the state test in the seventh grade subjects.
The musical department is under the supervision of the Sisters, who are proficient in the art. Carefully grade courses in piano, violin, and other string instruments are offered and large classes have availed themselves of the excellent opportunity. Training of the voice is given careful attention.
This year the Sisters are anxious to secure the list of students who expect to enroll in the school this fall and they expect to communicate with the parents in regard to these questions in a short time.
***
Street Commissioner Dirr told the members of the council at their meeting Monday evening that the Main street bridge was not safe for heavy traction engines. This bridge is opposite the county court house and the street commissioner stated that this structure should be closed to the heavy traffic of the large traction engines.
Mr. Dirr also spoke of the necessity of repairing other bridges leading into and out of the city which he stated he had examined and found to be in need of repairs. He spoke of the two Fairview street bridges both of which need redecking and then called attention to the weakness of the Main street bridge.
This bridge was examined by a civil engineer last spring and found to be in an unsatisfactory condition and at that time Martin J. Maloney secured plans for a concrete structure to replace the old bridge and these plans are still in the hands of the city or county engineer.
With the question of the safety of the bridge for heavy traction engines came up it was the opinion of the members of the city council that some efforts should be made to reach an agreement with the county commissioners for the immediate repair of the structure. Some of the members of the council intimated that they would be in favor of having a new bridge built at this point if sufficient funds could be secured for this purpose. The majority of the members of the council are opposed to building a new Main street bridge at this time owing to the high cost of labor and material.
75 years ago
July 17, 1942
“On the basis of 85 per cent of parity, the 1942 government wheat loan rate is to be $1.21 per bushel at coast terminals,” according to Anson Patterson, chairman of the Whitman County A.C.A. Committee.
Country point rates will average between $1.02 4-10 and $1.03 9-10 for wheat grading No. 1, depending upon the freight rate to the coast applicable at the point where the grain is stored. The schedule of deductions for grain of the lesser grade is similar to that in effect in 1941.
As in previous years, the loan rates will be the same whether the grain is stored in sacks or bulked in a public warehouse or on the farm. There is, however, a 7 cents per bushel storage allowance which may be earned by producers obtaining a loan on grain which is farm-stored, the qualifications for which are similar to those in 1941.
A C.C.C. Loan of 60 cents per bushel on barley may be obtained by producers who are in full compliance with both the wheat reduction and soil conservation programs in 1942.
***
Notices have been posted by County Superintendent R. R. Maxwell setting July 25 as the date for six elections in Whitman County on the question of school district reorganization as approved by the county and state reorganization committees.
The elections involve the proposed enlargement of the Colfax, Palouse, St. John, Garfield, Steptoe and Winona districts and in the case of the first three named districts, the question as to whether in indebtedness and the cash on hand in the bond redemption fund shall become the obligations and assets of the respective proposed new districts.
Following are the election places and the area proposed for the reorganized districts:
Colfax – Voting places, Colfax high school, Onecho schoolhouse, Penawawa schoolhouse. Proposed new district to include all of the present Colfax, Onecho and Hickman districts.
Palouse – Voting place, Palouse high school. All of the present Palouse and Eden Valley districts.
St. John – Voting places, St. John high school, Lancaster schoolhouse. All of the present St. John, Lancaster and Kamiache districts, a portion of Lower Downing and a major portion of Sunset.
Garfield – Voting places, Garfield grade school and Elberton schoolhouse. All of the present Garfield and Elberton districts and about half of the Belmont district.
Steptoe – Voting place, Steptoe high school. Part of the Sain district to be added to Steptoe.
Winona – Voting place, Winona high school. All of the present Winona district and a portion of Lower Downing.
There will also be an election in the Lamont and Dewey districts on the proposition of consolidation, as asked for in a petition. To carry, the vote, which will be cast in each district, must be favorable in each district.
Each reorganization issue will be settled in what is considered one election and the issue will carry on the basis of a majority of the total number of votes cast.
50 years ago
Colfax Gazette
July 20, 1967
Whitman county's “official” wheat allotment for 1968 will be 350,470 acres, according to Office Manager Harold E. “Tony” Smick of the county ASC office. This is a 15 per cent increase over the 1966 planting allotment of 304,765 acres, but is still considerably less than the number of acres which farmers seeding for harvest this year.
Notice of allotment will be mailed to individual farmers today (Thursday) and should be received Friday or Monday, Smick said.
***
Excavation for footings of the new Whitman Community Hospital is scheduled to start today (Thursday), a representative of ADSCO, Spokane general contractor, told the Gazette yesterday.
Several men have been at the site on the Almota road since last Thursday staking out the building location and making test excavations. A large tractor was moved in last week and other equipment will begin arriving within a few days.
The general contractor will have as many as 20 men on the job at the peak of construction, and employees of subcontractors may swell the total to 40 or more at times, but only a limited number of men can work on the beginning of the project. The contractor hopes to get a substantial part of the project under a roof before the snow flies so that interior work can continue during the winter.
The front wing of the hospital (business and administrative offices and surgery) will faced the grove of trees and the nursing wing (hospital rooms) will lie directly behind, with the nurses' living quarters behind the nursing win and almost directly in front of the Henry Savage house.
A representative of ADSCO said the hospital building was laid out to take best advantage of the site but that it isn't “square” to the road or any other particular object.
The parking lot will be on the south and to both sides of the large trees still standing. The ADSCO representative doubted that the trees would be felled in the near future. “The contractor is more interested in getting the building under cover by late fall and there's really no hurry about getting rid of those trees,” he said.
Treasurer S. H. Butler of the hospital association, the architect and representatives of the contracting firms will attend a pre-construction conference in Olympia Friday to review the state health department regulations and plans for building.
25 years ago
Colfax Gazette
July 16, 1992
Sale of the Colfax Coffee Shop and Pheasant Room was announced this week by Sid Lee. He and his wife, the former Darlene Eng of Colfax, have operated the restaurant for the past seven years. The restaurant has been sold to Shu and Mei Mei Lin, who have been operating a restaurant in the San Francisco area.
The Shu family is expected to take over operation of the business in the middle of next week with Lee assisting in the transition.
Lee said he expects the Lin family to follow the same format. Lin is an experienced chef and will probably introduce some of his specialties as he learns the market here, Lee said.
The sale of the 150-seat restaurant marks an end to 34 years of operation by the Eng family in Colfax. Darlene Lee is the daughter of the Peter Engs who had a restaurant from 1958 to 1985.
Lee said the Lin family has been looking for a rural restaurant out of the Bay Area of California. They were attracted to this area because they are related to the proprietors of the New Hong Kong Café in Moscow.
Two of the Lin children have already been employed on the staff of the Colfax restaurant this summer.
Lee said he hopes to continue to reside here.
***
Eight fire districts have submitted bills totaling $100,739 to the Camas Prairie Railroad for costs of fighting fires along the Snake River in June. The fires, which hit the Snake River breaks along the river June 5-7 and again June 21, involved lengthy battles from volunteer crews.
Camas Prairie was billed because the fires were caused by sparks from a train engine running along the river. The engine, which was put out of operation after the June 21 fires, emitted sparks that touched off a string of fires which led to around-the-clock battles by the fire departments.
In the last episode fire crews from an area ranging from La Crosse to Rosalia battled blazes which were strung along the river from Central Ferry upstream to the Almota area.
The fire took out one storage shed on the Riley River Ranch at Central Ferry and threatened houses at Onecho.
***
Player's Pub and Sports Bar will open Aug. 3 in the Rusty's Tavern location, said Scott A. Jones, who is leasing the business. Jones has applied for a transfer of the license from Charles R. Schulauser.
10 years ago
Whitman County Gazette
July 19, 2007
Residents of Whitman County know Rock Lake for its mysteries; the Rock Lake monster and the missing train full of Model T's among them.
If a group of developers have their way, the world may know Rock Lake as an exclusive high-end resort destination.
The Retreat and Residence Club, LLC, of Kirkland, unveiled to county commissioners Monday its plans to site the multi-million dollar “Pinnacles” luxury resort on the lake's west bank.
“We saw this spot and were just blown away,” said Daniel Peterson, managing member of the Retreat and Residence Club.
The group plans to build 22 multi-million dollar time share residences, along with a 24-room hotel on 815 acres of land currently owned by the Miller family.
The company has yet to consult with the county's planning office, but came to county commissioners to gauge how receptive local officials would be to the idea.
Peterson said he was encouraged by the reaction of commissioners.
“Based on what we've heard, we don't see any reason not to go ahead and get this done,” he said. “Everyone seemed receptive to the idea.”
“All we can do is be optimistic,” said Commissioner Michael Largent. “The rules are in place, now it's up to them to play ball.”
While commissioners were open to the possibility of Rock Lake as a vacation destination, they expressed concern over development on the lake.
“This is the only lake in Whitman County,” noted Commissioner Greg Partch. “And it's also one of the only lakes in the state without housing on it.”
Peterson assured commissioners the architecture of the development would be such that it would blend in with the natural setting.
“We're looking to build a world class resort that would undetectable by radar,” said Peterson. “Doug (Eddy) designs these giant mansions at Tahoe that you can't even see from the lake.”
Representing the Retreat and Residence Club were Peterson, Architect Doug Eddy, Construction Manager Robert Catlow and Chief Financial Officer Dale Towers.
“We really like this site,” said Catlow, assuring the company is trying to do everything it can to make the development happen.
The development would have its own fire station, stocked with two fire engines and at least four full-time firefighters. Peterson assured that service would be available for aid if needed by locals.
“We're not looking to drain anything from the county budget,” continued Peterson. “We'll take care of all emergency services, and provide them if they're ever needed by the community.”
The resort would also have its own airport – capable of landing private jets – beach, boat dock and possibly even an 18-hole golf course.
“These rich folk aren't going to have problems with common folk on the lake in their 12-foot aluminum boat?” asked Commissioner Jerry Finch.
Catlow assured the company wants to blend in with the local community.
“We're not here to push people away, we want to join in the community,” he said.
Peterson echoed that statement.
“We want to build a world class resort, but more importantly we want to be good neighbors to the existing community,” he said.
Along with providing locals use of the hotel, restaurant and golf course, the company looks to pump up the local economy by hiring approximately 200 employees to staff and maintain the resort.
Catlow was unsure if there would be sufficient stores of electricity for the development to tap, but Monte Miller said a recent upgrade of the power lines by the lake would allow for upgrades to the system.
While plans are still in the early stages, Eddy said once the area is surveyed, the developers will know better what the houses will look like. He assured commissioners that the development would be secluded from passing motorists.
“From the road you won't see anything,” said Eddy.
That pleased commissioners who put a viewshed requirement in the county's recently revised rural residential ordinance, which prevents building a house in view of an adjacent landowner.
The changes to the zoning code were designed to ramp up land development while protecting farmland.
Reader Comments(0)