FROM THE FILES

125 Years Ago

Adams County News

April 20, 1898

Local and Personal

Farmers will note that wheat has gone up five cents per bushel during the past week. It is likely the talk about war has influenced the market. Possibly the war talk will suddenly stop one of these days and wheat may come down again.

S.P. Wright of Hatton sent us word last Friday by Benj. Martin that there is at his place a runaway boy. Mr. Martin says the boy is about fourteen years of age and appears to be bright and industrious. He gives his name as Willie Smallwood, says his parents are both dead and that he has formerly lived with the family of W.R. Jones of Roslin whose cruelty he could not bear, and he ran away.

He managed to beat his way on a train as far as Scott, at which place the engineer put him off the train and told him to light out for some ranch. He found his way finally to Mr. Wright's, who, Mr. Martin says, is willing to keep the boy, but for fear someone might be anxious about him, he thought it best to have the matter published.

Mr. Martin says the boy looks as though he had seen a hard life and his appearance indicated that he had been poorly fed and clothed. Mr. Martin was told that the boy was about naked when he was put off the train and that the train men gave him some old clothes, cutting off the legs of the pants and the coat sleeves to make them fit him. Mr. Martin gave Mrs. Wright $10 and told her to buy the boy a decent suit of clothes.

100 Years Ago

Ritzville-Journal Times

April 19, 1923

Pled guilty on liquor charge

Two farmers residing west of Ritzville toward Odessa pled guilty to charges of liquor in possession before Justice W.D. McCollom on Monday. They were Jacob Greenwalt and G.W. Janke. Each was fined $250 in costs and given a jail sentence of 90 days which was suspended on good behavior. Sheriff Joe Schafer and deputies raided the premises of the men on Saturday, locating liquor at each place.

Sunday Deputies Buehler and Oestreich went out to the Greenwalt place to dispose of a quantity of corn and fruit mash. They poured part of the stuff in the hog trough and scattered some of the cracked corn about. Soon the hogs were in high ecstasy and the roosters commenced crowing. Later the hogs succumbed to the lethargy of intoxication. The distressing sequel, however, was the fact that several of the hogs died.

Columbia Basin League will hold first annual meeting at Pasco next Saturday

SFederal investigation of the Columbia Basin project has been authorized by Secretary of Interior Hubert Work and federal engineers are already assembling data. A congressional appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars has been provided for the purpose. The Columbia Basin Irrigation League whose energies have been directed to securing the federal investigation has therefore called the first annual meeting of the league to be held at Pasco, April 21, on the anniversary of the league organization.

75 Years Ago

Ritzville-Journal Times

April 15, 1948

Green light is given

on final powerline here

All of the rural areas in Adams County will have access to REA electricity by the end of this year. Bob Klatt, manager of the Big Bend Electric Co-op in Ritzville has announced that the "go ahead" signal has been given on the last REA project needed to blanket the county with a network of rural power lines. The new construction will cover the territory between the present system and the Grant County line, including the Schragg and Roxboro areas. Approximately 200 miles of line will be put up in Adams County to serve about 110 members of the cooperative.

Build on club

Work has begun on a 36 x 24 addition to the Ritzville Country Club. The basement, excavated Wednesday, will contain a locker room and showers, while the upstairs will consist of a dining room. The project will cost an estimated $5,000.

50 Years Ago

Ritzville-Journal Times

April 19, 1973

Neighbors plow

Godfrey Sackmann fields

Neighbors of Godfrey Sackmann put on a plowing bee Friday and Saturday while he lay in Kadlec hospital at Richland seriously hurt in a highway crash. Fifteen tractor and plow outfits swept through field after field for a total of between 850 and 900 acres. They began at 7 a.m. Friday, worked until evening, resumed again at 7 a.m. Saturday and finished the job at 9 a.m. The plowing was for weed control on land being fallowed this year.

Women from throughout the community swarmed to the Sackmann machinery repair shop where they staged lunch Friday for the workmen. Nearly three-fourths of the community either gave food or helped serve it. Other volunteers brought tables and needed supplies to the luncheon.

Program planned on drug abuse by church women

Mrs. Ron Kison will present a program on drug abuse when the Eva Burch Circle of Trinity United Methodist Church entertains Daughters of Zion of Zion Congregational and Faith Chapter of Philadelphia Congregational Churches Apr. 24. Mrs. Kison is employed at the Adams County Development Center in Lind and was formerly employed at a drug abuse house in Everett.

25 Years Ago

Ritzville-Journal Times

April 16, 1998

Lantis residence

destroyed

The David Lantis residence was destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning on the corner of Third and Chelan. City assistant fire chief Bruce Benzel said the fire started when Shannon Lantis attempted to use gasoline to start a wood stove in the living room. Mrs. Lantis was burned in the accident and transported by air to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The house was a total loss.

Lynch studies music in Israel

Frank Lynch of Ritzville spent January studying in Israel through a special study program at Linfield College. Lynch, the son of Harriet and Michael Lynch of Ritzville, took a course called World Music: Music of the Middle East. Set in Jordan and Israel, the class was a study of the music traditions of the Middle East, including Arabic and Jewish music, from the earliest recorded history to the present. Students gained on-site knowledge from lectures, readings, recorded examples, videos and live performances. Travel sites included Amman, Aqaba, Eilat, Beer Sheva, Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv.

- The Journal