Earl Cole tells of early pioneers in the Moses Lake area

The Grant County Historical Society has compiled several volumes of Grant County history. The books are available for purchase at the Historical Society Museum gift shop in Ephrata.

I bought the series in 2009 and secured permission to relay some of the history through this column.

Memories of Grant County, compiled from taped interviews by the Grant County Historical Society.

Today we backtrack a bit and then continue with the story of Moses Lake by Earl Cole, recorded May 13, 1975:

There was a man by the name of Walter Kapp and he was a well-educated man. He could speak five different languages. He was also superintendent of schools in Moses Lake at one time in later years.

They came from Dubuque, Iowa and his father was a mattress maker. Later folks came out here and stayed with them, but they both died and are both buried in this Corfu Cemetery. Walter got married in later years and he had two children, three I think, but they lost two of them during that flu epidemic in 1918.

By the way, Ben Hutcheson is buried there, and the Robbins. There are about 50 graves altogether there in that cemetery and I don’t think there’s half a dozen that are marked so you can tell. My father was instrumental in getting that cemetery laid out, but in later years the new people that have come in haven’t been interested in it and of course the early settlers have all moved or gone.

I wrote down some names of some of the people that lived there in early days. These Kapp brothers, I got that, they lived there and the section they lived on. There was a lawyer from Wilson Creek whose name was C.J. Lambert was a partner of C.J. (Clyde) Jeffers that used to be here in Ephrata, who was later Judge Jeffers.

There were four lawyers in Wilson Creek at that time, the two Southard boys, Jeffers and Lambert. This Lambert had a home?stead down there. Also a fellow that worked in the Wilson Creek Bank, do you remember F. E. Snedecor? He had a homestead down there in that section, too.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Burkes. Mrs. Burke had several boys. McCaskey was another man that lived up where they drilled that oil well up on the hill there. That was supposed to be an oil well, but they never got any oil. That was his homestead where they drilled the well.

Then there was the Houghton family and my sister, Ethel, that lived in Soap Lake for a number of years. She married one of the Houghton boys. Ralph was manager of the Potlatch store there in Soap Lake. He died with a heart attack. He was quite a figure juggler and a good writer.

Wilson Creek history

A large part of this column deals with firsthand accounts of history seen through the eyes of our early pioneers. The book of memories of Wilson Creek is packed full of them. Read on.

The Rev. David H. Crawford compiled and published a history of families in and surrounding Wilson Creek titled, “Family Memories of Wilson Creek Area.” The book was printed in 1978, which was the 75th anniversary of the town. David’s son, John Crawford, has given permission for those memories to be a part of this column.

Today we continue the story of James P. Gilman by Thomas Howard Gilman:

A large house was moved from Hartline in 1915 and put together on the place. It being cut into three, pieces and hauled on wagons. This was quite a feat, considering that there were only dirt roads, full of ruts, chuckholes and washouts.

A large barn was built about that time also, by Ora Cunningham and Eaf Scott. The barn held 20 horses and had a large hayloft. P. J. Kane sold the property to Charles Schemmel of Coulee City in the early 1920s and James Gilman continued to farm the half section and the Ruch property east of the home.

Schools, being a must, the Whitehall school was built in 1906, one mile south of Gilmans, and was an important factor in the Gilman family. Milton S. Weaver is thought to be the first school teacher, and he taught the three older Gilman children and later years married Effie E. Gilman. Barteaux Crosswhite taught one half year and married Tony S. Gilman. Edna Lamb taught there later and married T. Howard Gilman. The school was closed in 1920 thru 1922 for lack of pupils. It reopened in 1923 thru 1938 and then consolidated with Wilson Creek.

E-mail from Cheryl

Facts from the past gleaned from the Moses Lake Herald, Columbia Basin Herald and The Neppel Record by Cheryl (Driggs) Elkins:

From the Columbia Basin Herald on Friday, April, 1950:

Planting of 1093 acres of sugar beets underway

Sugar beet planting is underway and should be completed next week, according to F.J. Francom, field agent for the Utah & Idaho Sugar Co. The 1093 acres contracted in the Moses Lake are scattered from Potholes, east on U.S. 10, Potato Hill, Cascade Valley and the Mae Valley.

Francom said three experimental eight-row plots had been laid out and planted to get data on the proper rate of application for nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers, and to learn the best combination of the two substances. Growth and yield will be measured, he added.

The plots are located on Lakeview Farms at Yoe Nishi’s place on the Welch and Kandra Farm, and the Jess M. Perez place on Goodrich Bros. Farm. All are marked by signs.

Moses Lake trapshooters win two county championships

New club range to be dedicated here on Sunday

Trapshooters of the Moses lake Gun Club took two of five championships in the all-Grant County shoot Sunday at the Coulee City Gun Club’s range.

Moses Lake won the five-man team event, with Tom Russell Joe Mende, Eric Peterson, Evarst Olander and Bob Burton outgunning their opponents.

Jess Johnson won the Class B individual championship in a shootoff with Drew Cruikshank. The two Moses Lake men tied with 91 birds out of 100 in the regular competition. They tied again in a 250round shootoff and Johnson won in the next shoot off.

Ephrata gunners also took two championships, winning in Class A and Class C. Almira took the Class D honors.

The Moses Lake club’s new range on the county fair grounds will be dedicated Sunday with a merchandise shoot. Firing will begin at 9 a.m., with four electric traps in operation.

With their scores also counting in the two telegraphic shoots the local club is entered, they turned in the best three of 73 Sunday. Paul Lyman had the only perfect 25, and Bob Burton, Eric Peterson and Ted Isaac all had 24s.

The results put the Moses Lake Club in 17th  place among the 54 clubs in the Spokesman-Review shoot. Ephrata, Wilson Creek and Marlin clubs, combined for this shoot, turned in a 71, but remained in fourth place. Coulee City, Almira and Wilbur clubs are 25th and Grand Coulee is 39th.

The Moses Lake Club ranks 15th among the 23 clubs entered in the Post-Intelligencer competition.