FROM THE FILES

125 Years Ago

Adams County News

October 19, 1898

The town of Ritzville has increased in size and population almost a hundred per cent. The town of Lind has increased from a little station of a few small buildings to a flourishing little town of about a hundred inhabitants and is rapidly growing. The small inferior class of farm buildings have given place to large fine dwellings and generally handsome farm buildings. Some idea of the amount of business done in the county can be had from the fact that Adams County alone pays out almost half a million dollars to the Northern Pacific annually for freight.

Local and Personal

The Thiel-Dorman building is nearly completed. This building is certainly an advertisement to its owners and a benefit to the town. C. Arthur, the builder, certainly deserves much praise for the erection of such a building.

The hobo elements that line up and down the railroads are getting rather obnoxious. Petty thievery is being reported from many neighboring towns and Ritzville is not escaping, and if it was not for the vigilance of our peace officers, probably we would hear of some "mix-ups" within our own borders.

Those boys who take so much delight in throwing stones, breaking windows and otherwise abusing the Chinese certainly have little respect for themselves. If the law does not keep the Chinese out of this country, the small boys can't and the best thing they can do is to let them alone. Probably when about a $50 fine will be brought to bear on them, they will soon learn a few morals.

100 Years Ago

Ritzville-Journal Times

October 25, 1923

Senior class notes

We fear that some of the Senior girls are not living up to the ancient tradition that Seniors should be dignified. Please, someone teach us how. We also fear that the English IV class will probably have to continue having written lessons on Monday until the football season is over, as on Friday our thoughts seem to travel on to the time when we will be down on the field boosting and cheering for RHS. Since we have been studying Physics, we are real anxious to find the density of other people's heads.

Local Brevities

Kenneth Farrier, 12-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Farrier of Crab Creek, fell from a buggy on the road home from school last Friday and his face was badly lacerated. Dr. Bloch had to give him an anesthetic before he sewed up the wound.

Last night the Masonic and Eastern Star lodges gave a "kid" party at the Masonic Hall. Men and women were changed into boys and girls "just for a night." After games and stunts, refreshments of pumpkin pie and city were liberally consumed.

75 Years Ago

Ritzville-Journal Times

October 14, 1948

New lighting system here is turned on

The first of Ritzville's new downtown street lights were turned on last Tuesday evening. Tony Eichner, Washington Water Power company manager, said Tuesday that the 13 big 20,000-lumen mercury vapor lamps strung along Main Avenue from Columbia to Adams were throwing their first light well ahead of WWP's original schedule. The lamps ended a two-week blackout which has gripped the business district ever since the old street lighting system went on the bum again.

3 Lind owners, local attorneys win in Spokane

In the largest single land condemnation suit in the history of the Columbia Basin project, a federal court jury set the value of the 27,000-acre Urquhart-Wahl ranch surrounding O'Sullivan dam at $507,077 last Friday in Spokane. The award appeared to end a two-year struggle between the Lind owners of the ranch, Mr. and Mrs. Gus Wahl and A.J. Urquhart and his son, Douglas, and the Bureau of Reclamation.

The bureau had offered $270,000 for the property, but no settlement had been reached when construction of the huge earthen dam began in January 1947. The government took title to the entire ranch in October 1947, after Wahl and Urquhart had decided to seek what they considered a more legitimate price.

At the Ritz

"Deep Waters" starring Dana Andrews, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Dean Stockwell, and Anne Revere.

50 Years Ago

Ritzville-Journal Times

October 18, 1973

Students pay debt for lights

Final payments were made this month for the overhead lighting at Bronco field. Janet Schoessler, treasurer of the Associated Student Body at Ritzville High School, said the final payments totaled $2,747.50. The lighting project, constructed in 1951, was built with gifts and loans totaling $13,317 from friends of the school and Ritzville business firms.

Marijuana fines $50

Philip Oskam, Redmond, and Michael A. Exendine, Bellevue, both 20, received $50 fines for possession of marijuana in the justice court of Judge Alva Lightbody last Friday evening. Local officers, searching for a car with stolen deck tapes, arrested the pair last week as they drove through Ritzville.

At the Ritz

Ryan O'Neal in "Paper Moon."

25 Years Ago

Ritzville-Journal Times

October 15, 1998

Broncos down Warriors 41-19 in Bi-County play

It is wise to adopt a policy to investigate things that happen in order to get a clear picture of the event because many times things are not as simple as they seem. On the surface, a 41-19 Bronco victory over the Warriors of Almira/Coulee/Hartline looks like a sound pasting was dished out by the Broncos. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"The game was hard fought by players from both sides and a few key plays were the difference between having a big lead at the end and the game being a nail biter," said Bronco Coach Mike Lynch. "We really didn't do a good job of stopping them, but we held our own pretty well and once the offense got cranked up, they couldn't keep up with us."

Milk truck spills load in accident on US 395

Got milk? Not if you were awaiting a delivery on Oct. 3. A 1996 Kenworth was northbound on US 395 about 19 miles south of Ritzville at 2:20 a.m. when the tractor, pulling two trailers loaded with milk, drifted off the side of the road. Both the tractor and trailers rolled, spilling the milk.

The tractor and trailers were totaled and the driver, Dennis Wardop, 61, of Spokane, suffered possible head, rib and leg injuries. He was transported to East Adams Rural Hospital in Ritzville. Investigating the accident for the Washington State Patrol was Trooper Dan Dale.

-The Journal