Moose team wins
Back some 48 years ago, Little League baseball was a big deal in the Columbia Basin, just as it is today. Read on about a game between the Braves and the Lions.
48 years ago:
A week-by-week account from a two-volume set of the Columbia Basin Herald, courtesy of Regan and David Bonato — continuing with information from July 2:
Moose Braves batter Lions
"The Moose Lodge Braves, scoring 10 runs in the fifth inning, clubbed the Sportsmen Corner Lions, 18-5, in a weekend contest in the American Assn. Little League.
"Dick Harris who pitched four innings of hitless ball, was the winner."
Ephrata Legion squad blanked
"Silenced by a one hitter, the Ephrata Junior American Legion baseball team yesterday dropped its fifth contest, bowing to the Wenatchee Legionnaires, 8-0, in Wenatchee.
"Right-hander Lee Eslick started for the Ephratans and was tagged for all eight runs before being lifted in the second for Doug Mangold, another righty. Duane Hauff was one of two Wenatchee pitchers who teamed to administer the one-hit job against Ephrata.
"Gary Matterson cracked a clean single for the loosers' lone hit. The winners gleaned three hits
"' … but it was walks and errors that did it,' Ephrata coach Jess Duncan said.
"Ephrata, now 1-5, will play at Cashmere next Sunday for its next game."
E-mail from Cheryl
Facts from the past gleaned from the Columbia Basin Herald and The Neppel Record by Cheryl (Driggs) Elkins:
From the Record in 1916:
News from Neppel
"Miss Elma Rinehart, teacher of the primary grades of the Neppel School, was numbered among the sick this week."
"Mr. and Mrs. Roy Sterner returned Tuesday on the stage from near Ephrata, where they have been staying for several weeks past."
"F.W. Schoonover, manager of the Wheeler yard of the Superior Lumber Company, was a Neppel business visitor Monday evening."
"Frank Reynolds has built a small barn adjoining his brother George's ice house. Frank will keep his horses there while he is employed on the road."
"J.E. Bassett, cashier of the Wheeler State Bank, was in Neppel on Tuesday on his usual business mission. He was accompanied by Earl Robinson."
Ship your cream
"The Ellensburg Creamery and Produce Company will pay Seattle prices for butter fat f.o.b. cars at your station. Present price is 33.5 cents a pound."
Guernsey Bull
"From M.M. Moore's fine thoroughbred 'The Dame,' well-known as an A1 milker. Service $1. M. Penhallick, owner, Neppel, Wash."
Girl for general housework
"Wanted: Experienced girl to assist with general housework, references required. Phone or write Mrs. R.L. Ireland, Lock Box S, Neppel, Wash."
No. 1 Rye for sale
"I have several tons of sacked No. 1 rye at my place, the southeast quarter of section 14, township 18, range 26, two miles east and six miles south of Wheeler. This will make ideal hog feed. Will be home at anytime. Jacob Bergen, Wheeler, Wash."
From Dan Bolyard about Sieler:
"After polling the usual gang of Milwaukee experts, the best that could be come up with is that maybe it was named after an adjacent landowner at the time. The only way to determine this would be a trip to the courthouse and look through some older county records.
"At first I thought that Sieler had been renamed Grow, but looking at the Columbia Basin Railroad Web site, Grow is at milepost 5.3 and Sieler at 5.6.
"Grow was named after a former Milwaukee Road engineer. I had the chance to meet him back in 1987. He was very proud of the siding named for him.
"He was working for Washington Central Railroad which bought the former Milwaukee from Warden to Othello, Sieler to Moses Lake, and the Northern Pacific branch from Warden to Wheeler from the Burlington Northern in 1986.
"BN had operated the Milwaukee lines after they were embargoed in March of 1980. When BN successor Burlington Nortthern Santa Fe repurchased the Washington Central lines between Kennewick and Cle Elum, the remaining Washington Central out of Warden was renamed the Columbia Basin Railroad."
Thanks for sharing, Dan.