Pioneer Portraits Week 41

Ten Years Ago

December 17, 2009

Winter freezes Touchet Valley. The snow that covered the Touchet Valley this weekend turned to freezing rain on Tuesday, coating roads and sidewalks with a slick and treacherous layer of ice. The dangerous conditions led to numerous accidents, school closures and sports cancellations, but noone was seriously injured.

Photo caption: Scott Huwe and Guy McCaw put some of the Lions Club’s smoked turkeys in the reefer truck at the fairgrounds. The club prepares and sells several hundred turkeys each year to raise money for youth-focused community projects.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

December 8, 1994

In pursuit of prey, hunters sometimes trespass on private property. In some cases this leads to property damage. The end result is a few careless hunters cost the majority of conscientious sportsmen the privilege of hunting on private land.

Students packing an unloaded gun at Dayton school expelled. Two Dayton High School students who brought an unloaded pistol to school last month have been expelled, in an incident that also led to discipline of two other students who knew the gun was at school.

Headline: Waitsburg family living with dad’s illness is thankful for group’s help. Traditionally the holidays are full of joyful activities tinged with anticipation of looking ahead to the promise of a new year. For Gale Gleason of Waitsburg, Christmas will be a treasured time spent with his family before undergoing a bone marrow transplant next month, surgery his family is hoping will save his life.

Fifty Years Ago

December 11, 1969

Cindy Culbertson, 17, of Prescott was named Washington State Wheat Queen at the Wheat Growers convention in Spokane last Tuesday evening. She is the daughter of Mrs. and Mrs. R. Dean Culbertson. Cindy started by winning the Walla Walla contest and then the Southeastern District competition. She is a student at Prescott High School, and was recently crowned Touchet Valley Junior Miss.

Judy Harper of Waitsburg took top honors in 4-H horse judging at the Northwest Quarter Horse Show in Walla Walla last weekend. She got a total of 389 points. In second place was another Waitsburg horse enthusiast, Debbie Conover.

Photo caption: An unidentified Colfax player goes up for a rebound with Waitsburg’s Martin Huffman and he looks as if he is planning to take a bite out of someone as he struggles for possession. Colfax downed the Cards by a 5 freethrow margin in the second game of the jamboree played at DeSales last Friday evening.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

December 15, 1944

A crew of men from the Bozeman Canning Co. were busy Wednesday evening erecting a giant Christmas tree in front of the Plaza Theatre on Main Street, and setting up evergreens in front of every business house, giving the community a look of festivity for the holidays.

Barbara Cockburn and Barbara Reid played a piano duet at the Progressive Club Christmas party held at the home of Mrs. G. G. Bickelhaupt Tuesday. Assisting hostesses were Mrs. Will Hawks, Mrs. C. N. Eaton and Mrs. Clyde Florea.

Earl Smith was honored at a birthday party Saturday when Mrs. Smith invited several of their friends in for pinochle.

One Hundred Years Ago

December 19, 1919

According to the weather bureau at Walla Walla, the cold snap which we hope is now ended reached 14 below as the official record and 21 below recorded at the ground government thermometer, breaking all records for cold weather in this valley for 31 years.

The waterfront in the range at the G. G. Bickelhaupt home blew up one morning this week shortly after the morning fire was lighted. Fortunately there was noone in the kitchen at the time. The range was badly damaged.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

December 14, 1894

We think seriously of having this item stereotyped with blank space for name. This time Ott Smith’s Cigar and Lloyd & Marvin’s meat market are the victims of burglars. Next.

A quiet wedding occurred Wednesday afternoon at 3 o’clock at the suburban residence of Hon. Miles C. Moore. The contracting parties were Walter B. Preston of Portland and Miss Mary L. Moore, daughter of J. M. Moore of Walla Walla.

Our William Kirby was shooting geese on Eureka Flats most of this week. If he had shot ‘em on the wing, he would have killed more.