PIONEER PORTRAITS

Ten Years Ago February 8, 2001

Established in 1998 to fund salmon habitat restoration efforts, Washington's Salmon Recovery Funding Board authorized more than $1 million in grants for habitat restoration and protection projects in southeast Washington. Among the approved projects are in-stream and riparian improvements along the south Fork Coppei, Tumalum, Deadman, Hendrickson and George creeks, habitat restoration on Whiskey Creek and fish screens at the spawning reach of the Walla Walla watershed.

The City prevails, and so 50,000 board feet of timber remains standing in the City of Waitsburg's recently purchased North Coppei Creek watershed. The timber was sold in 1994 to a Walla Walla company, but failure to record a "logger's lien," a document recorded in the county auditor's office, resulted in a three-year legal battle.

Twenty-Five Years Ago February 7, 1986

Looking for home cooking? Head to Main Street, where Martha Brodhead opened Martha's Kountry Kookin'.

Gladys Ritter is now living in the Robinson Nursing Home in Dayton after the fire which destroyed the interior of the Second Hand Store here on Main Street. Mrs. Ritter is 81 and made her home in the back of the store.

Margaret Hagerman, senior, and Angela Hopkins, sophomore, have earned 4.0 GPAs at Waitsburg High School. Others on the honor roll are Gennie Adams, Mary Conner, Wendy Davis, Brenda Gales, Bobbi Jo Wilder, Mark Aylward, Ronda Bell, Ray Clayton, Kris Darby, Lyle Harshman, Judy Helm, Marne Lytle, Janice Mason, Jack Otterson, Lisa Thompson, Lee Fullerton, Jackie Helm, Jeff Jameson, Tammy Warehime and Scott Hagerman.

Fifty Years Ago January 27, 1961

A new 10,000-gallon gasoline tank was installed at the Touchet Valley Grain Growers north of the city limits last week to improve the supply during harvest. This brings the total of six tanks to the Grain Growers supply area.

Miss Vickie Gohlman entertained at a slumber party last Friday evening, the occasion being her birthday. Siamese cats were used for the theme of the evening. Susan Hawks, Janice Bloor and Judy Langdon were guests.

Joe Abbey won five matches out of six entries in a gallery shoot at Wenatchee Sunday, scoring 1,171 out of a possible 1,200 to win the rand aggregate trophy.

Seventy-Five Years Ago January 24, 1936

The Preston-Shaffer Milling Company had approximately 500 barrels of flour on the freighter Iowa which sank off Cape Disappointment early Sunday of last week. The flour was consigned to a customer on the Atlantic coast.

The McKay Grange will sponsor another series of their popular dances at Legion Hall, Saturday evening of this week. Tickets, gentlemen 40 cents, ladies 20 cents.

Miss Helen Sanders and Hazel Buroker sang a group of two duets at the weekly Commercial Club dinner Tuesday evening. Mrs. Evangeline Baxter was the accompanist.

One Hundred Years Ago January 27, 1911

At the enthusiastic meeting of the Waitsburg Improvement Club Tuesday night, the Paving Committee reported that the petition asking that an improvement district be created for the purpose of paving Main Street between the south side of Third Street to Touchet Bridge had been signed by the principal owners of frontage in the district.

The cattle-eating outlaw cougar is no more. He regaled this week on his last two victims, two fine young horses on the upper Tucannon. Bud King of Turner, Oscar, Harry and Sila Ring of the Tukanon set out Wednesday morning with hounds to the Watson place on the Tucannon. They then tracked the animal up Cummins Creek, where he was finally treed and killed. He weighed 300 pounds and measured over seven feet.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago January 29, 1886

Mr. and Mrs. T.B. Weller celebrated the tenth anniversary of their wedded life on Tuesday evening. Only a few intimate friends were invited, but the evening was spent in a most pleasant manner. At ten o'clock an elegant spread was dispatched after which the happy gathering dispersed, wishing Mr. and Mrs. Weller many returns of their marriage anniversary.

Last Tuesday evening the literary society discussed the question, and decided that saloon keepers should be held responsible for the deeds of the individuals to whom they sell liquor.

The new post office in J.H. Morrow's building is about completed, and Postmaster Jessup will probably move into it early next week. The new office is a very neat one, built very much after the usual style. It contains seven large drawers, 56 lock boxes, and 136 call boxes, besides 135 general delivery boxes, all of which are placed at a convenient height and tastefully finished. The work was done by E.H. Bogart and is strictly first class in every respect.