Good Old Days: May 7, 2020

125 years ago

The Commoner

May 10, 1895

The residents of Colfax and vicinity have within the past week nearly all been to Rock creek, or sent a friend, on a fishing excursion. The first catch was brought in about two weeks ago, put everyone in the notion of fishing and since then there has been from one to three parties a day leave the town headed for some place on the creek where no one else has been, but on arriving at such a place it is discovered that from one to 50 people have done the same thing, consequently the stream is fished to death, but notwithstanding some handsome catches have been made. A party headed by the renowned fisherman, Wm Dumdi, returned last Thursday night with a string of nearly 200 trout, while James Good, Tom Baker and others brought home over 300 as a result of their effort. Sid Lyle, C. A. Carey and others returned Monday with a catch of 150, the result of about five hours fishing. Leo Carter, Sam Mitchell, Harry Benton and Claude Privett caught nearly 300, and other catches are reported too numerous to mention. Fishing has been better this season in that stream than for some years before, but it would seem that with such continued onslaught the supply would soon give out, but those who go last seem to have as good success as the first.

100 years ago

The Commoner

May 7, 1920

The city council granted a building permit to the Colfax Improvement and Benevolent Society Monday night. The local company will erect the community building which has been under consideration for more than a year. The permit calls for the construction of a building which is to cost $100,000. It will contain a library, an auditorium, a swimming pool, class rooms and a gymnasium. The building is to be constructed on property owned by the school district and it is to be leased to the officers of the school district for a yearly rental.

Bonds are to be issued for the construction of the building and when the rental value has equalled the cost of the construction of the building it is to be turned over to the school district without further expense. For years, the people of this city have favored a community building and the building organization was effected to supply this need. The local company is composed of a number of the leading business men and through their efforts the building is to be built.

75 years ago

The Colfax Gazette-Commoner

May 11, 1945

What to do with the old English college building that later became the home of the Whitman County Interstatae Museum and Historical society was the subject of discussion at the council meeting Monday evening after L. L. Burgunder, deputy state fire marshal, reported that a resident in the neighborhood of the now abandoned museum had contacted his Spokane office to complain that the building was a fire hazard.

Mr. Burgunder explained that the responsibility for the existence of the building as a fire menace rested on the city and that his office had no authority to take the initiative in ordering that it be razed, but would lend assistance in whatever action the city might decide upon.

Advised by Attorney S. R. Clegg, the council decided that action should await a petition from nearby property owners recommending what should be done and that in the meantime the present title holder of record, Mrs. Myrtle Schloty Stone, Seattle, niece of Mrs. Daisy Sanders, former museum manager, be notified to have the open doors and windows boarded up and other hazards eliminated.

50 years ago

The Colfax Gazette

May 7, 1970

Census count for the upper half of Whitman County was completed Tuesday, 35 days after the April 1 start, according to Mrs. Dale Williams, crew leader of the 15 census workers who covered the district. One member of her crew finished the count in her area within two weeks.

“It went better than anyone expected it would,” Mrs. Williams said.

All the results of the census will be sent into the district office in Spokane where they will be processed and forwarded to the US Department of Commerce Bureau of Census in Washington D. C.

Preliminary figures giving total population for incorporated places of over 10,000 population and for counties will be issued as soon as he is convinced a complete count has been made, J. Robert Halford, district manager of the Spokane office said. Final, detailed population figures will be issued from Washington later this year after returns have been tabulated by the bureau's electronic computers, Halford said.

25 years ago

Whitman County Gazette

May 11, 1995

They came from “a lot of small towns,” and they took part in a slice of American history “that changed everybody's life” 50 years ago.

Monday, on the 50th anniversary of Victory-Europe Day, the Whitman County boys and girls who fought it out in World War II gathered in a second-floor banquet room in the WSU Compton Union Building and had themselves a party.

A two-hour special, a photo session which produced a 50-year time-advance of those World War II group pictures, dinner and a program of music and tribute made up the evening.

Official listing for the banquet had 101 veterans enrolled. Not all of those were able to make the scene, but others showed up at the door. The total count of veterans was 104 with 91 spouses and family members added for a banquet total of 195.

“Everybody was thrilled about how things turned out. I think it was the greatest thing that ever happened in Whitman County,” Augie Luft of Colfax said.

10 years ago

Whitman County Gazette

May 13, 2010

The Colfax School District has no immediate plans for layoffs for next school year, but has not completely ruled out the possibility, according to Superintendent Michael Morgan.

The district must cut $195,000 from its budget for the next school year, a cut created by income loss in state funding.

The cut totals almost three percent of the district's $,549,262 budget for the current school year, according to business manager Reece Jenkin.

After an executive session during the school board meeting Monday, Morgan announced they would not be laying off any teachers at this time.

“We have not made that decision, and at this point we are not planning on layoffs, very clearly,” Morgan said in a later interview.