PIONEER PORTRAITS

Ten Years Ago

September 1, 2011

After recent bicyclist-vehicle collisions that resulted in death and injuries in 2011, local authorities are asking vehicles to be on the lookout for bicyclists, and they’re telling bicyclists to take precautions to stay safe.

Just as some residents in the Touchet Valley were watching the news about Hurricane Irene making landfall on the East Coast on Sunday, they were suddenly taken aback by a local weather event of their own. After late afternoon clouds gathered over Waitsburg, winds picked up out of nowhere and took huge clouds of dust from the dry fields with them, towering high over the city and surrounding countryside.

The Starbuck School District was audited for school years 2008-2010, and the district did not violate state laws in any way, the report said. The audit checked for misappropriation or misuse of public funding in the district. The report did say “certain matters” were discussed with the district, and it is working with the district to solve them.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

August 17, 1995

Looking for something new to farm? Julie and Jack Wyatt of Dixie have the answer. Emus. Raised for their meat and fatty oil, the couple says emus are one of the fastest-growing agribusiness in the nation, with breeders in every state.

[Photo caption] Richelle Coleman, 4, of Walla Walla, takes a shot during putt-putt gold game at RC Mini Golf in Waitsburg. Her sister, Nicole, 8, looks on. Girls are granddaughters of Dorothy Coleman of Waitsburg.

The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has granted a three-year approval to the cancer program at the St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla. The center has been approved for the past 15 years.

Fifty Years Ago

August 27, 1970

Several of the Waitsburg male golfers take part in the Thursday evening competition at the Dayton Golf Course each week in the summer.

An appreciation day for those who worked so diligently on the Touchet Dam legislation will be held in Walla Walla at 12 noon, Friday, August 28, in the ballroom of Eddie Mays Inn.

Stanley E. Francis, Administrator of the Inter-agency Committee for Outdoor Recreation, has notified the County of Walla Walla that a regional recreational plan for the County has been approved. The County is now eligible to make an application for matching funds to create and update parks, Commissioner Jim Stonecipher told the Times this week.

School bells will ring Monday morning, August 31, as Waitsburg school children return to their studies.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

August 31, 1945

Mr. and Mrs. Homer Reed and family, and Mr. and Mrs. Hesper Archer and family left Thursday for a week’s fishing trip on the Clearwater.

Roy Allen returned the first of the week from Mt. Adams, where he was picking huckleberries. Roy reports lots of berries and a bear on one side of the bush while gathered on the other side. He also stopped on the road home to pick up a couple salmon.

One Hundred Years Ago

September 3, 1920

Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Kingman served a three-course dinner Tuesday in honor of their daughter, Marion. Those present were Mrs. N. Brown of Seattle, Mr. and Mrs. D.G. Ingraham, Mrs. Montgomery, Georgia Montgomery, Mary Dixon, Florence Shuham, and Hazel McCown. Miss Marion is to teach in Centralia this year.

Malcolm McCownis hauling lumber to his ranch at Coppei preparatory to build a large bunkhouse. He and his family expect to use the new bunkhouse until the erection of the new farmhouse which is to replace the one recently destroyed by fire.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

September 6, 1895

Last Thursday was the 37th marriage anniversary of our esteemed townspeople, Lewis Cox and wife and a host of their friends gave them a complete surprise by marching in unheralded. What a pleasant thing it is to be thus remembered by friends. A royal good time was the result.

Hon. W.G. Preston now has the nobbiest cart in her neck ‘o the woods. In fact, there is nothing at all like it here or elsewhere. It was made to order, is painted red, has pneumatic tires, and runs like an airship. And he nearly always has a handsome lady by his side—sometimes his wife—sometimes not.