PIONEER PORTRAITS

Ten Years Ago

January 29, 2004

T.J. Hofer, son of Jeff and Christine Hofer of Waitsburg, has been chosen for the 2004 WMEA All-State Elementary Honor Chorus. The WMEA Elementary Honor Chorus is an elite group of students whose music teachers belong to Washington Music Educators Association. Rebecca Wilson, Waitsburg Elementary music teacher, nomi­nated T.J. for this honor.

The Waitsburg Lions Club Board of Directors voted to contribute $5,000 towards an outstanding electrical bill facing the Days of Real Sport, Inc. following the club's meeting Tuesday, January 27.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

January 26, 1989

John C. Catt and wife Marla, who drifted out of Waitsburg after defrauding lo­cal residents out of an estimated $10,000 in goods and services, was arrested last Thurs­day, January 19, in Los Angeles. . . Posing as a prospective buyer of the defunct Lewis & Clark Motel, behind the White Stallion Res­taurant, on Preston Avenue, the Catt secured a set of keys from the investment company trying to sell the property. While his financ­ing was being investigated, Catt stripped the motel of nearly anything of value - beds, televisions, washer, dryer, tables, chairs, fixtures and air conditioners. Meanwhile, he had traded in the car he had apparently fraudulently obtained in Boise, Idaho, and wrote a bogus check to a local individual for another car. After bouncing several checks at a Waitsburg business, police were alerted, and started questioning Catt about his ability to manage money. Catt, Mrs. Catt and the young girl left town in a hurry on Thanks­giving Eve, in the car paid for with a rubber check.

Fifty Years Ago

January 24, 1964

Congresswoman Catherine May has nominated James Douglas Wood of Waits­burg to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. Jim was one of 11 boys nomi­nated to the Air Force school by Mrs. May.

Gerald Maib announced this week that plans for next year include the hiring of at least three additional teachers in the Waits­burg System. This would include at least one more high school teacher and two new grade school teachers.

Don Gagnon, chairman of the Board of Supervisors of the Columbia Soil and Water Conservation District, announced that Dwight Fullerton was elected to the board of supervisors for a three-year term during the annual meeting of the Columbia District held last Thursday, Jan. 16.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

January 27, 1939

Roy Jones had the misfortune to cut his hand with an axe while cutting wood a few days ago and almost severed the forefinger of his left hand.

The Preston-Shaffer Milling Co. now has its office located at N. 133 E. Alder Street, Walla Walla.

Mrs. Earl Freeman gave a dinner party Tuesday evening in honor of her daughter, Barbara, on her 18th birthday. Covers were placed for six and a very pleasant time was enjoyed.

Ellsworth Conover, while playing ball Wednesday afternoon on the grade school grounds, was accidentally hit in the head with a baseball bat, cutting a gash over his eye requiring several stitches to close the wound. It is anticipated no serious results will develop.

One Hundred Years Ago

January 23, 1914

The county commissioners have grant­ed the petition of Gustav Vollmer, who asked permissiontolaya1¼inchpipeacrossthe county road in front of his dwelling. Mr. Vollmer was required to guarantee to indem­nify the county against damage and to leave the road in as good condition as he found it.

The game commission of this county, which recently liberated 49 paris of Hun­garian partridges, has decided to order 100 pairs additional and they will be liberated in different parts of the county.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

January 25, 1889

W. S. Laidlaw, who came out from New York in November on a visit to his brother, J. D. of this city, is so well pleased with our city and country that he has de­cided to come among us to remain. He left last Saturday and will settle up his business in the East and return in the early spring to become a permanent citizen of Waitsburg. Sensible man.

A few cases of smallpox are in the pest house in Walla Walla, but great precau­tion has been taken, and there is but little danger of its spreading.