Good Old Days: September 19, 2019

125 years ago

The Commoner

Sept. 21, 1894

County School Superintendent M. A. Corner has received from State Superintendent C. W. Bean, a notification that the semi-annual apportionment of state school money had been made September 10th, and that to Whitman County had been apportioned $3581.87. This is the largest semi-annual apportionment ever made of state school money to this county.

***

To obviate the necessity of buying sacks, there have been many plans evolved during the last few months. One of the most practical of these is the portable graneries. Both Ed Peeble and C. A. Pears have simultaneously originated the same idea. It is this: That each farmer build a number of good strong bins of about 1,000 bushels capacity each, to be built upon a couple of sills with the ends trimmed off in the shape of a sled runner. The bins can be moved to any part of the farm and placed so that the grain will pour into them directly from the spout of the machine. It is then proposed to make a little machine that will blow the wheat through a tube into the wagon box and be taken to market in bulk.

***

The regular meeting of the board of regents of the state agricultural college began at Pullman Monday. The college is again in trouble on account of alleged misappropriations of the Hatch and Morrill funds, and this question will be thoroughly discussed at this meeting.

There seems to be a misunderstanding between the general government and the regents and president of the college as to the purposes for which these funds are appropriated.

100 years ago

The Colfax Commoner

Sept. 12, 1919

There will be a committee appointed by the members of the commercial club to take up the question of directing the tourist travel thru from Colfax to Lewiston by way of Pullman. Colfax is located at the junction point of the Lewiston and Central Ferry line, but the business men of the city want the tourists directed by way of Pullman in order that they may inspect the State college grounds and buildings on their way to the coast. The average tourist who makes the trip overland is not in a hurry and it is the opinion of the business men of the city that he should be given an opportunity to see the western agricultural college and also make the trip down the Lewiston hill.

***

A fire which originated in the Rosalia Supply Company’s woodyard, spread to the warehouse and a large quantity of wheat, flour and feed was destroyed. The loss will run close to $100,000 and a large quantity of the grain is insured. The fire occurred on Tuesday night and it was discovered after it had gained such headway that it was almost impossible to control it.

The company stockholders are farmers and a large quantity if the wheat that was in the warehouse was not covered by insurance. The owners of the grain had insurance on it while it was in the field and had not taken the precaution of having the insurance covered while it was being delivered at the warehouse and as a result no one is able to determine whether the loss will be paid by the insurance companies.

***

George McCroskey and J. S. Klemgard started a movement this week at Pullman, which had for its object the securing of a sixty thousand dollar hotel for the city of Pullman. The farmers living in and near Pullman state that the city should have a hotel the equal of any other hotel found outside the larger cities. They insist that Pullman as the home of the State college, would entertain more visitors during a year than any other town of its size in the state if it had a good hotel. Meetings which are taken from Pullman to Spokane would be held in the college town if there were suitable hotel accommodations for visitors.

75 years ago

The Colfax Gazette-Commoner

Sept. 15, 1944

The first four by four weapon carriers released in the state of Washington to farmers by the procurement division of the treasury department are those purchased within the past few days by Arthur J. James of the Clear Creek neighborhood and Ira Scott of Lacrosse through R. H. Morrell of the Colfax Garage.

The weapon carrier is a Dodge one-ton truck with a four-wheel drive and is not to be confused with the small passenger car jeep, said Mr. Morrell, who has also sold one of the reconverted military machines to William Sutherand of Washtucna. The trucks, delivered here from Spokane, sell in the $800 class. They were originally used by the armed forces in Australia and the one owned by Mr. James is marked by two bullet holes.

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At a meeting Saturday evening of representatives of the five granges that financed the purchase of the rural fire truck and members of the Colfax rural fire committee, it was decided that hereafter the truck would answer calls only to fires within a 12-mile radius of town, as was first intended when the rural fire program was organized.

“The public has taken for granted,” said Roy Endley, chairman of the city council’s fire committee, “that the truck would go to fires regardless of distance and regardless of who had contributed to its purchase.”

50 years ago

The Colfax Gazette

Sept. 18, 1969

Controversy over state financial support for the smaller high schools has triggered what promises to be the hottest election in many years for a single position on the state board of education from this congressional district.

Six candidates filed by Tuesday night’s deadline for the job now held by J. Palmer Trimble, Garfield, who will seek re-election. The election will be conducted by mail from Olympia with all directors of every school district in the fourth congressional district eligible to vote. The district embraces roughly the entire southeast quarter of the state of Washington, from the summit of the Cascades west of Yakima to the Idaho line.

***

A decision to close the county rural dump located three miles north of Diamond was made by the Whitman County commissioners Monday after receiving a signed petition from 26 area residents. The petition followed a series of fires at the dump during the summer months.

The petition said the dump is in an “Improper location and is poorly maintained, creating a pollution, fire and health hazard.” The dump was the scene of numerous fires this year, two of which “got out of control,” the petition said.

25 years ago

Whitman County Gazette

Sept. 22, 1994

Colfax city council Monday night approved purchase of 20 acres of pastureland land for the development of a recreation field north of the Colfax Golf Course. The city will pay $30,000 for the property, a price which is about $24,000 less than its appraised value.

Approval for the purchase came two weeks after the city learned that an application for a state grant had failed to qualify for funds at Olympia. The city has sought state matching funds from the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation.

***

Garfield Medical Clinic, which has been operating two days a week, was officially closed in an announcement issued last week by Pullman Memorial Hospital. The clinic’s door actually have been closed since Aug. 1, according to Scott Adams, administrator of Pullman Memorial Hospital.

The Pullman hospital has operated the clinic since 1991 under an agreement with the Garfield Hospital District which acquired the building and reconditioned it to start the joint operation.

10 years ago

Whitman County Gazette

Sept. 17, 2009

The flu outbreak that has affected thousands of Washington State university students since fall semester began is now hitting Whitman County schools.

Whitman County Public Health officials said the flu hit Colton and St. John last week, and has since spread from there.

***

Though the fate of the county-owned CETC building in Colfax has not been officially decided, County Commissioner Pat O’Neill said Monday it was a “foregone conclusion” that the building will be razed.

“I don’t want to see one cent spent on snow removal on that building this year,” O’Neill told his fellow commissioners in a workshop session Monday.

The building sustained serious damage to its roof from a heavy snow load last winter.