Pioneer Portraits

Ten Years Ago

March 3, 2005

Waitsburg High School sophomore Courtney Gritman was crowned princess of the 2005 Pioneer Posse Court Sunday Evening.

Nathan Hamann, son of Fred Hamann and grandson of Jan Chronkhite, both of Waitsburg, was recently presented with the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist pin while serving aboard the U.S.S. Camden, a fast battle support ship providing fuel, ammunition and other stores. Nate is on his way to the Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago to start medical tech school.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

March 1, 1990

A new business grew out of the several hours of no power on Monday, January 8, 1990. Lois Stephenson and Leslie Uselman of Waitsburg are starting a company they call Waitsburg Apparel. Lois said that the two of them had lots of time to talk during the 14 hours or so when the windstorm cut off electricity to town, and came up with this idea about sewing their own product.

Seventy-six firemen, their spouses, and invited guests attended the annual crab feed held Saturday night in the Legion Banquet rooms. Butch Peck and George Van Horn were general chairmen. Joe McCown, Jr. conducted the meeting, introducing his officers, John Lindsey, secretary-treasurer, and Corky Callahan, chief; Louis Gagnon, assistant chief; and second captain, Pete Huwe.

Fifty Years Ago

February 25, 1965

In a wide-open ball game that went right down to the wire evenly matched, the Prescott Lions defeated the Waitsburg ball club by a score of 73-71. This was despite some help from the timekeepers (Waitsburg fans) who got a fair amount of mileage out of the final 3 seconds of the second overtime. (Say like about 32 seconds!)

Joe Abbey shooting in the master class and Karen Peters in the junior experts, were trophy winners in the rifle match held in Walla Walla on Feb. 14. Sponsored by the Walla Walla and Waitsburg Rifle and Pistol Clubs, the meet was termed a big success in this initial effort.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

March 1, 1940

Preston-Shafer Milling Co. is celebrating its diamond jubilee year.

James D. Stonecipher is a candidate for county commissioner for the second district subject to the Republican primaries, Sept. 10.

Articles of incorporation for Waitsburg Grange No. 1 were filed with the Secretary of State at Olympia Tuesday with Ralph T. Danielson and Mary Heinen listed as incorporators.

Otto Lee Hamby, second son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Q. Hamby died Sunday morning, Feb. 25 at the Colfax Hospital. He was aged 19 years 2 months and 20 days.

R. D. Manis has purchased the Singer acreage on the Touchet bottom a mile west of the city and will improve the place. The tract consists of 53 acres of choice bottom land.

One Hundred Years Ago

February 26, 1915

Pursuant to their plans to get 50 deputy sheriff’s appointed in this county to stop speeding on the hiways, automobile owners next week are to circulate petitions for the signatures of those who own cars, agreeing to act as such deputies and to act as witnesses in cases where this is required without fees.

Mrs. R. E. White entertained at a luncheon shower last Thursday honoring Miss Flo Hawks who is to be married soon to Bernard Micheals of this city. The affair was in order of a china and the decorations were suggestive of valentine week, the idea being carried out throughout the luncheon.

H. F. Clodius, who recently had a well drilled at his residence on West Sixth Street, will extend his back porch to cover the well, and has had Frenchie concreting around the well and building concrete piers to support the new porch.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

February 28, 1890

It was so cold on Tuesday evening that the only song they could sing at the Christian Church was “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains.” But then it was appropriate.

A farmer near Dixie last Monday sent a letter to J. H. Morrow & Co. of this city asking for a bill of goods. He enumerated articles he wished and intermixed with the list a bit of news. The following is a copy of the letter: “Send me a sack of flour, five pounds of coffee and one of tea. My wife gave birth to a boy baby last night and also a keg of nails, a screw driver and a spool of barb wire. It weighted ten pounds and a ton of soft coal.”

At the teachers’s examination in Colfax last week there were fifty-eight applicants for the coveted parchment. Of this number one secured a first grade, six secured second grade and twenty-five secured third grade, and twenty-six failed.