PIONEER PORTRAITS

Ten Years Ago

January 11, 2001

Frank Thomas, Jim Burres and Frank Thomas, members of the local Lewis Clark Bicentennial Committee, presented their banner to the Commercial Club for consideration to raise awareness of the Lewis Clark Bicentennial in 2006. The yellow Goretex banner with gold fringe depicts the design familiar from road signs with "Waitsburg, Washington" below the graphic of the two explorers.

The overlying layer of haze over the valley recently broke Tuesday. Tuesday was bright and sunny but temperatures were brisk.

Thanks to the snow of mid-December, reports of Bigfoot tracks in the vicinity of Rooks Park, a short distance above Walla Walla Community College Campus, are rampant. Harley Michaels of Walla Walla and a friend report noticing some large footprints in the snow. They were particularly prominent in the area just west of the big foot bridge by the park.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

December 26, 1985

Jay Thomas and Jay Penner were elected to the board of directors of the Touchet Valley Grain Growers at their annual election on Saturday, Dec. 7.

Old timers around Waitsburg have been hard pressed to remember the last time there was snow on the ground for Thanksgiving-Christmas without a melting Chinook in between.

Jason Payne was first, Reuben Stokes second and Travis Larsen third with age 12-13 group at the freethrow contest at Whitman College's Sherwood Center Jan. 11.

The City Council approved the purchase of a new garbage truck from Teague Motors. The bid forms called for a trade-in. Unit price was $54,878.86.

Fifty Years Ago

December 30, 1960

Waitsburg firemen are sponsoring their annual benefit dance on Saturday night, Dec. 31, with Bill Hopwood's band furnishing the music. There will be noisemakers and confetti at midnight to welcome in the New Year of 1961.

Familiar names at the National Association of Wheat Growers Convention in Enid, Ok., were Mr. and Mrs. Glen Bayne, Prosser; Glen Hofer and Chet Stonecipher of Waitsburg.

Workmen are tearing the brick off the sides of the Waitsburg Welding Works on North Main and will refinish the outside of the building with a tin siding, which will be painted.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

December 27, 1935

Over four hundred kiddies, 407 to be exact, received treats from Santa Claus at the Community tree here Saturday afternoon.

Maxine Conover, Erma Zuger and Winnifred Neace, Waitsburg, and Benjamin Flathers of Prescott are included in the Whitman College orchestra, presented in its initial concert of the season Tuesday.

We had to look at the calendar Monday to be sure that spring was not here. Old Indian Sam and his wife were in town from over near Lyons Ferry. We did not talk to them, but if we ventured a guess, we would bet they were looking for Wes Lloyd.

One Hundred Years Ago

December 30, 1910

Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Spencer and Mr. and Mrs. A.G. Lloyd have been enjoying a visit of several days past from Mr. and Mrs. John Miles of North Yakima who are nephew and niece respectively to Mrs. Spencer and Mrs. Lloyd; also Mrs. A.G. Irwin of Philometh, Oregon, a sister of Mrs. Spencer and Mrs. Lloyd is here visiting.

Some miscreant with murder in his heart took aim at the engineer near Bolles Saturday night and shot, very near hitting him. This is the second time he has been shot at, the other time near Dayton about two months ago.

The editor is under lasting obligation to J.B. Caldwell for a very acceptable Christmas remembrance of a box of excellent cigars. "May your shadow never grow less."

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

January 1, 1886

Parson Sam Jones is not the only divine who stirs up the brethren and sisters during a rapid delivery of bad English. At the close of a sing-song sermon, a preacher at Tecumser, Neb., made the following announcement: "Next Thursday, the Lord permitting, we'll have a doin' at the crick, at which time and place we will have a baptism of two adults and three adulteresses. Thursday night we'll have a strawberry festival, all the sisters who give milk are requested to come early. We will now close the services by singing, "Little drop water, little grains of sand."

For throwing a potato through the front window of S.T. Samuel's store last Tuesday, Ed Monroe was arrested and taken before Recorder Mineer. After hearing all the testimony, the boy was liberated.

J.H. Morrow this week sold to W.P. Bruce his Main Street property. Consideration $1,600. Mr. Morrow has leased the building for a period of three years and will continue business.

One Hundred Forty-Four Years Ago

January 6, 1866

A resolution was passed in the Washington Territorial legislature which directed its delegate to congress "to resist any and all attempt to diminish the area of the territory of Washington by annexing Walla Walla County to the state of Oregon."

Oregon's memorandum to congress has been instigated by a Walla Walla legislator who had been elected to a supposed vacancy, but which did not exist when the former member returned to the territory.