Pioneer Portraits

Ten Years Ago

February 14, 2008

A desire to reconnect with Waitsburg, make a significant local investment in Waitsburg’s economic development and be close to family – no doubt – are what prompted Travis and Deb Larsen to become owners of the Whetstone Public House on Preston Avenue in Waitsburg.

Former mayor and city councilman Marty Dunn was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Waitsburg City Council. The seat was held by Jim Helm, who died in early December, 2007. Dunn has served as mayor and as a council man. He also served on the Planning Commission.

An impressive rally by the Waitsburg High School Knowledge Bowl Team 1 resulted in a second-place finish at the East Schools Meet in Walla Walla Tuesday, February 5. Team 1, made up of Kourtney Foley, Isaac Huether, Sarah Paul, and John Hockersmith, passed Pomeroy and Dayton in the final round for second behind DeSales. Twenty teams competed.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

February 11, 1993

Bigfoot has gone high-tech. And, it took the pioneering knowhow of popular Touchet Valley writer Vance Orchard to bring the legendary pursuit of Bigfoot into the computer age. Orchard’s ninth book, “Bigfoot of the Blues” is not only untraditional is subject matter but in its method of publishing as well. The book is available on computer disk only.

Residents of the Waitsburg School District are being invited to an open house on Tuesday, Feb. 23 to see the remodeling that has just been completed at the home owned by the school district at 621 Main Street, south of Preston Hall. The two-story, wood-frame house, owned by the school district since the late 1930s, had traditionally been the residence for the district’s superintendent. Today, superintendent Burton Dickerson, his wife Debbie and sons Tim, 20, and Jeremy, 17, live there.

Odako Club met Jan. 28, in the library of the Waitsburg Elementary School for an informative program on computers and lasar discs, presented by Margie Douglas. The ladies then moved on to Ruth Petersons for their first meeting of the new year.

Fifty Years Ago

February 8, 1968

Roy Leid, Waitsburg Commercial Club’s Man of the Year for 1967, and Julia Davis, Waitsburg City Treasurer were both honored at the Club’s annual banquet for long and faithful service to the community.

Joe Abbey was the senior match winner in the fourth annual Walla Walla-Waitsburg gallery rifle tournament.

Home for the semester break at WSU are John DuPree, Jeff Broom, Charlie Zuger, Dick Baker, Tom Richardson, Norman Hansen, Joanie Land and Stan Pearson.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

February 12, 1943

Harold Pfannekuchen announces the opening of fountain service at his new drug store beginning next week.

Sgt. Walter Campbell, son of Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Campbell, was among the fortress gunners getting credit for the destruction of an enemy plane according to word received from the Allied headquarters in North Africa.

Waitsburg women who have received Red Cross Service award pins are Mrs. Jessie Russell, Mrs. E. L. Wheeler, Miss Marion Kingman, Mrs. Ray Allen and Mrs. Bertha Taggard. Mrs. Taggard knitted 45 sweaters this year and Mrs. Allen 25.

Fuel oil registration will be handled at the high school next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. S

Shoes are rationed to three pairs a year.

One Hundred Years Ago

February 15, 2018

Ray Wheatley and A.C. Macomber4 this week bought out F. J. McFarland purchasing his plumbing tools and stock of plumber’s goods.

The Potlatch Lumber Co., which recently purchased the Farmer’s Lumber Co. yard in this city, has commenced the erecting of a wooden building at the corner of Preston and Coppei Avenues which has a frontage of 68 feet and extends 100 feet south.

Mrs. Smith Hoops of the Cash Bazaar, had a rather expensive crocheted yoke taken from her store one day last week. She is practically certain as to the identity of the person who carried it away and the guilty party can avoid trouble by returning it to the Cash Bazaar by mail.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

February, 1893

About the maddest man in this city for some time was H. Bateman when he found a number of his horses in the pound Wednesday morning. At first he thought he would not pay the fine and take them out – would test the validity of the ordinance, but his better judgment finally prevailed – he paid his money and took his horses.

Miss Marietta Wickersham will next Monday move her stock of millinery goods into the building adjoining The Times office on the south. The building has been renovated, repainted and repapered and is now one of the handsomest rooms in the city.

The ground was frozen fourteen inches deep, greater than it has been for many, many years and this gives a better assurance of an abundant harvest than all the rain in the clouds could give.