Good Old Days: April 11, 2019

125 years ago

The Commoner, April 6, 1894

There was excitement in the town of Tekoa for several hours last Tuesday, and if a cyclone had struck the Commercial State Savings Bank of that place, and carried the building, along with the bank officers, a few miles into the country, President H. L. Moody and Cashier O. D. Moody would hardly have been more astonished than they were when Deputy Sheriff John McMahon suddenly stepped into the bank at noon and informed Mr. Moody that judge Sullivan had appointed a receiver for the institution, in the person of James Cairns, of Colfax, and that Mr. Cairns would assume immediate control of affairs. President Moody turned white at the announcement, and appeared dumbfounded for a moment. Mr Cairns stated to the president that an investigation of the bank’s affairs was wanted, and he had been appointed to make the examination. If the books and accounts were straight, and nothing was found wrong in the business of the bank, nobody would be made to go to the Superior Court in accordance with the findings. The Commercial State Savings bank of Tekoa has been eyed with suspicion for some time back, and recently there have been rumors that an assignment was contemplated.

***

At about 12 o’clock noon Saturday, William B. Bird was found dead in room No. 6 of the Tennessee lodging house. Bird had been drinking rather heavily of late, and within the last few days, rheumatism compelled him to resort to the use of crutches. He talked rather despairingly to a friend at his room on Friday.

At noon Saturday, one of the lodging house employes, Mike Iosca, started to make the rounds of the rooms on the first floor of the sleeping apartments, he found the door of the room No. 6 unlocked, and pushing it open, he saw the ghastly features of Bird, with glassy eyes blindly staring at the ceiling.

The physician was summoned and Chief Clerk Will Ellis repaired to the room, where it was found that Bird had been dead several hours. By the side of the bed was a tell-tale bottle which had been half emptied of its contents—morphine.

***

On Saturday evening last, at Attorney R. G. Blair’s office, Judge Sullivan performed a double marriage ceremony, which united, according to American law, two Chinese couples. The celestials looked rather shy and embarrassed, but as soon as the rites were over, they gave vent to their jubilation in a beautiful lingo, and treated all hands ‘round to cigars.’

The two brides were last week brought up before Justice Zimmerman, on charges of keeping bawdy houses. As they claimed to have husbands, the justice demanded their certificates, and gave until Saturday night for the pair to show their legal papers. The justice anticipated a fee, and the celestials were about to let the justice have the job, when they chanced to consult the attorney for the Chinese, Mr. Blair, who secured the services of Judge Sullivan to tie the nuptial knot.

100 years ago

The Colfax Commoner, April 11, 1919

A temporary organization of the Whitman County soldiers and sailors will be effected at the court house in Colfax on Saturday, April 29th. The temporary organization will be maintained until the arrival home of the American Expeditionary Forces in order that these veterans may have a voice in the permanent organization.

The real object of the organization which is to be held in this city Saturday is to form a temporary organization which will be in working order so the permanent organization can be readily affected when the overseas men arrive home.

***

The county commissioners issued a call for bids on two county roads Tuesday morning. Both of the roads are to be hard surfaced roads with a crushed rock or a gravel. One of the roads leads out west from Colfax, extending along the state graded road for nine and a half miles. This road has been graded for the last three years and it was to have been surfaced more than a year ago.

The other road connects Rosalia and Oakesdale and the calls for bids is for surfacing eight and four-tenths miles. The contracts for these two roads are to be let on the 5th day of May at which time sealed bids for doing this work will be opened. These two roads are the first surfacing road contracts that had been let in this county for over a year.

***

Judge R. L. McCroskey excused all but 24 of the 75 jurymen who were called for duty at the April term of court, and had the wishes of the jurymen been consulted there would not have been a single man left to sit as jurors.

Each one of the men had work to do at home and they presented good and sufficient excuses to the court that would have won their point from any other duty except that of serving as jurors. The court told them that he must retain enough men to hear the cases and reminded them that it was a part of their duties as citizens to sit as jurors and settle disputes between other citizens. The judge also stated that he would excuse every man possible owing to the present busy season but he retained 24 of the original 75 jurymen and these men are taking turns in deciding the civil cases that are being tried during this term of court.

***

A delegation of taxpayers, headed by Archie McGregor from Hooper, and A. J. Shobe from La Crosse blocked the hall at the court house Monday morning and after they had set forth the need of roads in the lower part of the county they secured a promise from the three members of the county board that they would go to Hooper on Monday and inspect the proposed road.

The farmers and tax payers living on the road that connects Hooper and La Crosse have been advocating the building of this road for years. The road is a direct line from La Crosse to Pasco and considerable traffic passes over this road at certain times of the year. These months are the summer months as the road is practically closed during the greater part of the year, owning to its poor construction.

75 years ago

Colfax Gazette Commoner, April 7, 1944

Crop proposals of Whitman County farmers on the 1944 farm plan sheets tabulated in the county A.C.A. Office indicate that larger acreages of dry edible peas, barley, oats, and potatoes should be planted if the 1944 goals are to be met.

The proposed 1944 plantings for dry edible peas is 10 per cent less than that grown in 1943.

Proposed oat and barley acreages, while indicating a slight increase, still fall short of the goals established.

Less than 500 acres of potatoes have been proposed, whereas the goal is 1200 acres.

***

David Baldwin, 28, farmer of the Bethel community east of Colfax, is in the Bryant & Weisman clinic with a fractured left wrist and ankle, face and body bruises, suffered shortly after midnight Sunday morning when the car he was driving crashed into the side of a Union Pacific stage about a mile south of Plaza.

The stage driver, Darrel Johnson, suffered cuts on the face and acid burns when the bus tipped over in a ditch.

Baldwin, who said he became confused from the headlights of the stage, was brought to the clinic by Bill Johnson, Glenwood district, who had been taken to Spokane by Baldwin to enable him to drive his own car home.

Baldwin explained the accident by saying that he drove onto the shoulder of the highway, and in attempting to bring the car back onto the pavement he lost control and crashed into the side of the stage. His car was reported to be virtually a total loss.

50 years ago

Colfax Gazette, April 3, 1969

Construction of a new grain elevator at Steptoe and remodeling of the St. Ignatius hospital building into a home for elderly persons were underway this week to lead a springtime construction boom in the area.

The concrete Steptoe elevator will replace the flat storage buildings which are now being pulled down by Faires Equipment Co. of Colfax, according to Robert Patton, Colfax Grain Growers manager. Capacity of the elevator will be 400,000 bushels.

Under construction by Hay-Co Inc., Spokane, the new Steptoe structure is expected to cost $265,600, according to a request for a building permit filed in the county engineer’s office.

***

Wearing coveralls and a blue shirt-the clothes he “made ‘er in”—Glen Miller sat in his ranch office near Diamond and began his 90 minutes of “visiting.” In a rambling “extemporaneous” discussion with Bo Henry, Colfax real estate broker, Miller talked in a strong, fast voice about everything from teaching tap dancing lessons at the Ewan school to closing some of the complicated land transactions which have made the Miller ranching operations, Glenacre Inc., the largest in the county.

“I hope this isn’t as bad as the last one,” Miller started off after saying goodbye to an earlier visitor.

“Oh, who was that?” Henry asked.

“That was the internal revenue service. A real nice fella. They never find anything out of place, but it always makes me nervous,” Miller commented on a just-finished tax audit.

A short, square man, Miller sat in the center of his office and listened while Henry explained the nature of the visit.

***

Postal employees throughout the Palouse Empire are still sorting letters “edged in black,” clearing up charred paper and answering questions as a result of a fire about eight miles south of Spokane that destroyed or damaged most of the mail in the Saturday morning truck bound from Spokane to Lewiston.

Postmaster Kenneth McNeilly of Colfax said neither the driver of the truck not any postal employees in the Spokane terminal have any idea how much mail was totally destroyed, but sorting of the “remains” is continuing. Patrons in this area began receiving partially-charred letters, newspapers and packages in postoffice boxes Monday morning and on delivery routes Tuesday. Postal service was on a Sunday basis Monday because most employees were given a day off in observance of the death of former President Eisenhower.

25 years ago

Colfax Gazette, April 14, 1994

The boxcar has got to go, the Rosalia City Council decided last night by a 4-1 vote.

The boxcar in question is parked across from City Hall where it has served since last April as a welding shop for Studebaker Manufacturing Inc.

The council ordered the boxcar to be moved within 90 days.

According to Roberta Messinger, part owner of K & S Engineering, which owns Studebaker, the former mayor and building inspector approved the boxcar site last year.

But the city council and new mayor don’t like it, and now they want it moved.

10 years ago

Whitman County Gazette, April 2, 2009

With the final seconds ticking off Seattle’s Key Arena clock, the mechanical arm of a Rosalia robot reached through the neon lights, picked a “space ball” off the floor and rocketed it into the trailer of a competing robot to earn a win in the final round of competition.

So ended the Rosalia High School Ag department’s rookie entry in the Microsoft FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) regional robotics competition Saturday in Seattle.

***

Two-year old Walter McGraw of Colfax is home and walking after spending nearly a month in the burn unit at Harborview Hospital in Seattle.

The McGraws returned last Thursday, and Tuesday morning Walter walked for the first time since burning his right leg March 1.

***

A call for bids for an expansion and remodeling of the Whitman Medical Group building next to Whitman Hospital in Colfax was authorized by the hospital board at its March 18 meeting.

The expansion will create 3,300 square feet of new space that will extend out of the back of the current clinic. Included in the project will be a remodeling of 900 square feet inside the existing building.