Ten Years Ago

August 9, 2001

Was Robin Hood here? The discovery of an arrow in the Bull's Eye Tavern's sign on Main Street is the talk around town. The consensus is Robin Hood would've hit the bull's eye-not the second ring. The Walla Walla County Sheriff's deputies are investigating.

Growing up in Prescott, Linda Flathers Parsley, began to research her family history. After hours of research she has compiled the information she has gathered about hundreds of families into a book, "Dancing With Mules, a history of Northern Walla Walla County", reflecting the settlement of the country. She writes, "More than by blood, we are related by our love of the rivers, mountains, valleys and shores of our country."

Twenty-Five Years Ago

August 7, 1986

An airplane, a fire truck and a crawler-tractor combined to put out a fire on the Alton Filan place last Wednesday afternoon.

The Waitsburg city pool will be closed for the remainder of the season due to unsafe operations pointed out in a "Letter to the Editor" printed in last week's The Times. The letter publicly put the city on notice of those conditions and may extend personal liability to the city.

Pea processing at the local cannery may be in jeopardy next season if the company fails to secure a contract with Green Giant, says David Jensen of Smith Frozen Foods Company.

Fifty Years Ago

August 11, 1961

Joe Abbey and son Bruce, Howard Smith and son Howie, Ken Smith and son Glen and Ellsworth Conover and son Larry spent two days in the mountains at the Smith cabin fishing the past week.

Mrs. Carl Fisher was hostess at a tea given Wednesday at her home for the women teachers and faculty wives.

David Webber and Thomas John, both 3, disappeared in Seattle about 3 p.m. Monday. At 9 p.m. they were found toddling along a street more than two miles from their starting point. They crossed at least five arterials through traffic.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

August 14, 1936

The eyes of the northwest are turned to Walla Walla and this district this week for the Whitman Centennial celebration Aug. 3 - 16. "Wagons' West" Centennial' outdoor pageant is scheduled for Aug. 12. Nearly 3,000 Walla Walla Valley residents will take part.

Wheat harvest is rapidly drawing to a close in this part of southeastern Washington.

Mr. Charles Packard, who will be the teacher in vocational agriculture and science in our high school this year, has rented the F.M. Scott apartment. A younger brother will stay with him and attend school here.

One Hundred Years Ago

August 11, 1911

Waitsburg again has a 24-hour light service, the Pacific Light & Power Co. readily agreeing to discontinue shutting down the plant between the hours of 12 and 4 a.m. when requested to do so by the council.

G.B. Walters, operator at the OWR & N depot with his family left Thursday for Sebastopol, Cal., where they expect to remain for a month visiting relatives and old friends.

Goldsmith Hammer returned from Portland this morning. He has been attending the Haliners Camp meeting at that place and reports an attendance from 26 different states.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

August 6, 1886

Mr. Wright of Eureka Flat preaches the gospel at the Pettyjohn school house. Full house every time.

A China wash house and empty building adjoining it in Dayton were destroyed by fire last Monday night at a loss of about $800. By great effort, the Walt flouring mill was saved.

Why incur the heavy expense of sending our sons and daughters away for an education when we have as good, if not better education facilities at our own door? Patronize home instructions. Remember the Waitsburg Academy. Give it your sympathy and support.

Two of Prescott's best girls, Julia and Ivia Flathers, were guests at the Terpening ranch on Monday last.

This week in History

The first income tax law became official on August 5, 1761. President Abraham Lincoln approved the act which was levied to aid in financing the Civil War. The tax was 3 per cent on incomes exceeding $800 per year, which the president sharing in the deduction. His warrant for one month was deducted in the amount of $61.

By another act, he provided for an internal revenue tax of 3 per cent on incomes in excess of $600 for the support of the government and payment of interest on the public debt. Lincoln's warrant was then deducted $101. In 1870, the income tax was 2 ½ percent over an exemption of $2,000 and there were a total of 75,000 persons who paid.

In the mid '90s, the United States Supreme Court declared the Income Tax unconstitutional, which was overcome by the adoption of the 16th amendment in 1913. Along about this time, the young state of Washington began to lose its frontier aspect and became fused politically and economically with the nation.