Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Ten Years Ago August 1, 2013 [Photo Caption] Firefighters mop up a harvest fire that began Saturday afternoon south of Dixie and spread quickly across the hills off Spring Road east of Highway 12. The three-alarm was the fourth mutual aid call in six days to which Waitsburg firefighters responded. Twenty-Five Years Ago August 6, 1998 Thanks to a lot of pantomime and extensive employment of an English-Japanese dictionary, communications between two Sasayama, Japan high school students and...
Ten Years Ago July 25, 2013 Bruce Abbey is a fourth-generation wheat grower who runs a seed farm operation on the Lower Whetstone near the Menoken elevator. His farm has been operating for nearly 150 years. A homestead certificate signed by President Ulysses S. Grant hangs on the wall of the family home near the spot where his great grandfather fist set down roots. The late June rains weren’t perfect for Abbey, but he is still satisfied. “This time of year, you get a rain, you never know if it...
Ten Years Ago July 18, 2013 A childhood’s worth of memories floods back for Kay Baker as she peruses the photos and memorabilia that she and friend Mary Phillips set up two weeks ago as part of the Huntsville history exhibit now showing at the Wilson-Philips house on the grounds of the Bruce Mansion. “When most people drive from (Waitsburg) to Dayton they don’t even know Huntsville is there,” said Baker. “They don’t know it exists. And I want them to know there was actually a town there. It w...
Ten Years Ago July 11, 2013 At five minutes 'til noon here this July 4, a small cadre of servicemen advanced with Old Glory and service flags to an agreed upon rendezvous point – the intersection of Main Street and Third. Once assembled, the eight men spread the width of the street – six hoisting the colors, the other two bookending the group as rifle bearers. At the sounding of the noon siren, the unit advanced in patriotic reverence two blocks toward the hardware store to the sound of the app...
Ten Years Ago July 4, 2013 There’s something new cooking at Ye Town Hall these days – Tamales! Anita Hernandez of Granny’s Hot Tamales is utilizing the commercial kitchen at Town Hall as home base for her new tamale business. No stranger to the food business, Anita, who is originally from the Grandview/Prosser area and her husband, a Walla Walla native, have spent the last several years in Corpus Christi, Texas. There they helped Anita’s mother, the “Granny” behind Granny’s Hot Tamales, mana...
Ten Years Ago June 27, 2013 Wesley Hoskins grew up on a farm on Whetstone creek in the 1920s and 30s. During those years he witnessed some amazing changes. In 1930, there was no electricity on the farm. By 1940, the REA co-op had brought electricity to farmers on the Whetstone, and throughout Columbia County. In 1930, Hoskins' family – and all their neighbors – plowed, harrowed, and harvested wheat using draft horses or mules. By 1940, many farmers in Columbia County were using Caterpillar tra...
Ten Years Ago June 20, 2013 Though their numbers have declined over the years, the dedication and patriotism of Waitsburg's American Legion members has not. Current club members, mostly World War II vets, are hoping younger generations of men and women will join them in their quest to support veterans and families. One of Waitsburg's oldest service clubs, the Samuel W. Southard Post #35 was chartered in August 1919. The post was named in honor of 23-year-old Samuel W. Southard, the first...
Ten Years Ago June 13, 2013 Graduation ceremonies are typically solemn occasions steeped in tradition and pomp, so the audience was at first startled, then delighted when the entire Dayton High School class of 2013 started singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” during salutatorian Samantha Harting’s commencement speech. Harting was describing various shared memories of the class that, for the most part, has been together since kindergarten. “I had asked a couple of classmates to start sin...
Ten Years Ago June 6, 2013 There are few occasions in life more filled with expectation than high school graduation. This ceremony, more than any other in our society, marks the shift from childhood to adulthood. The parents and teachers who have thus far provided care, authority and tutelage, step into a background role and watch as the young adults take the lead. Waitsburg Valedictorian Samantha Moss (3.972 GPA) spoke to those expectations as she addressed the crowd and the 29 other graduates...
Ten Years Ago May 30, 2013 The Dayton school district will say farewell to three very special ladies at the close of this school year. Elementary school principal Katie Leid, first grade school teacher Julie Howard, and school secretary Dallas Dickinson are all set to retire. Combined, these women have well over fifty years experience in education, and for them the decision to begin a new chapter in their lives is bittersweet. Leid, who was born in Walla Walla and raised in Waitsburg, has...
Ten Years Ago May 23, 2013 [Photo Caption] GIRLS’ DAY OUT: Stephanie, Helen, Fran and Barbie (a.k.a Steve Martin, Doug Hinds, Chuck Amerein, and Ken Graham) hang out at Thresher’s after the Men’s Drag Races during All Wheel’s Weekend 2012. Twenty-Five Years Ago May 28, 1998 A good crowd was in attendance Saturday night for the 95th reunion and banquet of the Waitsburg High School Alumni Association. Ball games and other commitments cut into the size of the crowd. About 160 folks partook of the p...
Ten Years Ago May 16, 2013 "My granddad settled in the area in 1898 and we still farm some of that original land," said lifelong resident, Jack McCaw. Area roots run deep for Jack and his wife Lauretta, parade marshals for this weekend's 100th Anniversary Waitsburg Celebration Days. Jack was born to Jay and Katherine McCaw in March of 1927, on a farm three miles from Prescott. Lauretta, whose parents farmed near Dusty, was born to Martha and Jake Stueckle, in June of 1930. Her family moved to...
Ten Years Ago May 9, 2013 Volunteers from the Waitsburg Historical Society have spent recent weeks at the Wilson-Phillips house, busily readying it for the upcoming Waitsburg Celebration Days. The home was purchased in 2008 by Mary Phillips, who made significant improvements, including new paint, a roof replacement and repairing and re-routing broken sewer lines prior to renting it out for a brief time. In 2011 Phillips donated the home to the Waitsburg Historical Society. The Society faced...
Ten Years Ago May 2, 2013 In a special meeting last week, the Port of Columbia commissioners agreed to issue bonds through Banner Bank of up to $300,000 to complete construction of the first building at Blue Mountain Station. The vote was 2-1, with Commissioner Earle Marvin dissenting. The move will allow the Port to proceed with construction of the first phase of the artisan food center planned for the site at Dayton's west end. Five firms have signed letters of commitment to rent the eight...
Ten Years Ago April 25, 2013 [Photo Caption] Members of the Waitsburg FFA Trap Team competed in the state championship in Wenatchee last weekend. L to R: Mark Montgomery, Jennifer Nichols, Cheyenne Frohreich, Tristan Newman, Kelcey Scott and Megan Morrison. Twenty-Five Years Ago April 30, 1998 Life-long Waitsburg resident Bettie Chase will lead the 1998 Waitsburg Days of Real Sprot Parade. The annual two-day horse racing and community celebration will be May 16 and 17. The parade will commence...
Ten Years Ago April 18, 2013 A 1948 dance program indicating that Mr. Dean Low, a Dayton High School senior should dance with Miss Beverly Roberts, a Waitsburg High School sophomore, was the instrument responsible for introducing the couple, who recently celebrated their 60th anniversary. This first dance initiated a 5-year courtship, the last three years mostly by mail while Dean was drafted into the army and Beverly attended Cottey Jr. College in Missouri, spent eight months recovering from...
Ten Years Ago April 11, 2013 Columbia County Public Safety Communications is recognizing Barbara Phinney as the 2012 dispatcher of the year. Barbara has shown extraordinary devotion to the ideals and goals of public safety dispatching, a consistent spirit of teamwork and cooperation, being a model of personal integrity and honesty, and for serving as a role-model for others. Barbara was awarded this honor during the Columbia County Board of Commissioners meeting on April 3rd. Twenty-Five Years...
Ten Years Ago April 4, 2013 At the launch of Paul Gregutt's Waitsburg Cellars, tasters were offered a small ribbon-bound booklet describing the elements of the new wine label's logo. The image contains many symbols – all elements of what inspires winemaker and critic Gregutt and his wife, filmmaker Karen Stanton Gregutt, about being artists in Waitsburg. "Our sense of time both slowed and expanded," Gregutt wrote about the couple's transition to life in Waitsburg, which started about eight years...
Ten Years Ago March 28, 2013 [Photo Caption] The Waitsburg High School Knowledge Bowl Team pretends to pose in front of the real Space Needle in Seattle. L to R: Thibault Martinelle, Alex Leathers, Hannah Grant, Emma Philbrook, Cherry Dai, Meara Baker, EJ Meserve and Coach Brad Green. Twenty-Five Years Ago April 2, 1998 Turning a hobby into a business is the impetus for Joe Jr. and Jean McCown’s new rock, mineral and mining-related business, which is starting operation at 232 Main Street, in t...
Ten Years Ago March 21, 2013 Long-time Waitsburg resident, activist and tireless historian Jeff Broom received the prestigious Commercial Club Community Service award on Tuesday, a recognition some said was long overdue. “Jeff has done more than his share to see that Waitsburg is on the map and deserves our thanks for all his volunteer work to support our wonderful community,” club members Larry and Deanne Johnson wrote in their nomination letter. Broom, who received a standing ovation from Com...
Ten Years Ago March 14, 2013 A group of teachers in the Prescott School District has created a scholarship fund in honor of former athletic director Jack Smiley, with the first recipient expected to be a 2013 graduate. The initiators of the Jack Smiley Memorial Scholarship, the Prescott Education Association teachers’ union, hope the popular sports figure’s reputation and his aspirations for young student-athletes will inspire Prescott alumni and residents of the Touchet Valley to help sup...
Ten Years Ago March 7, 2013 [Photo Caption] Brad Grende and Abby Schrader of Adrian North Dakota announce the birth of their baby boy Jace Scott Grende, born February 20th, 2013, 9lbs .5 oz at 12:23 a.m. Grandparents are Erica and Stacey Grende of Waitsburg WA, and Donna and Scott Schrader of Adrian ND. Great Grandparents are Karen and Jerry Tonne of Prescott WA, Rae and Gene Walker of Dayton WA, and Bobbi and Ted Grende of Lakeside MT. Great Great Grandparents are Marge and Ivan Thompson of...
Ten Years Ago February 28, 2013 Lisa Caldwell’s job is to expect the unexpected. What happens when the next flood arrives? Or the next big wildfire? The next disaster might be something new and different, like a plane crash or an emergency at a local school. Caldwell is the new Emergency Management Director for Columbia County. She replaces Bill Peters, who left that position at the end of November. “My job comes in four parts,” she said. “Preparedness, mitigation, response and recover...
Ten Years Ago February 14, 2013 Assuring people that they are loved, cared for and most of all not alone, is what the Waitsburg Prayer Shawl Ministry is all about. Initiated by Joan Helm and sponsored by the First Christian Church, the Prayer Shawl Ministry began in the fall of 2009. Helm, a retired teacher, had spent time each year instructing fifth graders in Pam Conover’s Waitsburg classroom in the fine art of knitting. After Conover’s retirement, Helm found her interest piqued by the Deb...
Ten Years Ago February 21, 2013 When Mike Spring was learning to brew beer a few years ago, he took a class for home brewers at Ice Harbor Brewing Company in Kennewick. Now that he and his wife, Ann, own a brew pub in Dayton, they hope to help and encourage local home brewers by offering classes and other services, like Ice Harbor does. The Springs, as The Times went to press, were planning to open Wednesday, with new wood floors and a new bar configuration. "We'll still have some remodeling wor...
