Ten Years Ago

December 9, 2009

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey administered the oath of office to newly elected State Representative Terry Nealey for the 16th District.

The final phase of the Veterans Memorial is a reality as a Pacific Power crew and Wylie Monuments personal put the Chinese black granite panels engraved with the 800 names of veterans who are buried in all of Columbia County in place.

The Port of Columbia is now official the proud owner of the 28-acre Bell Farm, setting the stage for the Blue Mountain Station’s physical identity to take place.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

December 7, 1994

Showing of the Breeds December 10th; Pure Bred Breeders from Walla Walla, Columbia and Garfield Counties, are having a “Showing of the Breeds” event at the Columbia County Fair Grounds in the large barn. Area breeders will be showing Polled and Horned Herefords, Red & Black Angus, Salers, Simmental, and Shorthorn.

Fifty Years Ago

December 11, 1969

Walt’s Department Store in Dayton was closed Tuesday, December 9, with stock and fixtures consigned to a firm of liquidators. Grubb, who has been a Dayton businessman for the past 17 years, as manager of the J. C. Penney Co. store, which had been a part of the Dayton business scene since 1912. Grubb opened his own independent department store in June, 1960 at the site of the former Penney store in the Eagles building.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

December 7, 1944

The aviation committee reported it had met with the county commissioners and found them favorable to establishing an air landing strip near Dayton.

Camp Wolters, Texas; Privates Wayne M. Bushnell, James Arthur Turner, Merwin Francis Neace, Glenwood Erral Newby and Dean Rainwater have arrived at this infantry deplacement training center to begin basic training as infantryman.

Mike Floyd, left for overseas, has landed in Italy according to word received by home folks.

Leo Stearns, wounded in action some time ago, in Italy, is still hospitalized. His folks have had no news as to the nature or extent of his injuries.

Gene Fletcher Gets Second Oak Leaf. An Eighth Air Force Bomber Stations, England. First Lieutenant Eugene R. Fletcher, 22, pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress of the 95th Bombardment group, has been awarded the 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster to the Air Medal for “meritorious achievement” while participating in bombing attacks on vital German industrial targets, Nazi airfields, supply dumps and gun emplacements.

Staff Sergeant William A. Elder, 19, ball turret gunner of a B-17 Flying Fortress of the 96th bomb group, has been awarded the air medal for “meritorious achievement” while participating in Eighth Air Force bombing attacks on Nazi war industries and supporting ground forces battling in Germany.

One Hundred Years Ago

December 6, 1919

The Starbuck Commercial Club has gone on record as record as favoring the surveying and locating of the 14-mile stretch of road between Washtucna and Lyon’s Ferry and pledged itself to raise Columbia County’s share of the cost of this work.

Notice was served today by the regional fuel committee that retail coal dealers, in the future, will be required to observe a priority sales and delivery of coal. The coal regulations apply to coal on hand as well as coal to be received.

Reduction of Thirty-three Per Cent Is Ordered on Lines out of Chicago. Another standstill in plans looking to an end of the soft coal miners’ strike marked the 34th day of non-production, in most union mines.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

December 8, 1894

The State’s First Millstone: Word was received from H. H. Spalding, of Almota, the first millstone ever used in Washington was ground out of a piece of granite along in the ’40s and used by the Indians near Alpowa to grind the grain they were taught how to raise by Mr. Spalding’s father and his colleague, Dr. Marcus Whitman. Those two pioneers crossed the plains together in 1836. Alpowa is located on the Snake River below Lewiston, Id.