Lake Bowl says good-bye to windmill
A Grant County homesteader's windmill sits at its former home about 20 miles northeast of town. It was brought to Kebo's, now Lake Bowl, in Moses Lake, in 1978.
Lad Irrigation removed a windmill from the parking lot of Lake Bowl in Moses Lake. The windmill had been there since 1978 and is estimated to be about 90 years old, according to information provided by Bob Russell, Lake Bowl's owner.
MOSES LAKE - Thirty-three years ago, a windmill was brought to Lake Bowl in Moses Lake from a homestead about 20 miles northeast of town.
The wooden structure was recently removed because of worries it could fall and hurt someone, said Lake Bowl's owner Bob Russell.
He points out most wooden windmills have already been replaced by metal structures.
For years, the windmill sat in front of the Stratford Road business, serving as a landmark and a piece of Grant County's history.
The structure dates back to the 1920s or 1930s, the time of its original installation at the homestead, estimates Russell.
The theme of a windmill and early Grant County homesteaders, mostly dryland wheat farmers, was synonymous with Kebo's, then a restaurant and bowling alley in Moses Lake.
Kebo's is now called Lake Bowl.
He recalls pictures hanging on Kebo's walls showing horse-drawn combines, threshing machines and other area scenes.
The business was owned by Russell's parents, George and Bernice Russell, and built in 1957.
Bernice, now 90, has farming roots in Eastern Washington. She grew up on a dryland wheat farm near Connell in Franklin County.
"Kebo's logo was a windmill with a watering trough," Bob Russell commented. "This is where the original idea for obtaining a windmill came from."
The structure was manufactured by Chicago Aermotor, a 118 year old business that is the only windmill manufacturer in the U.S., according to the business's website.
"It's been an icon," said Tim Harper, manager of Lake Bowl's trophy shop. "It's just strange to see it gone. We're talking about putting a bowling pin there. It's like taking off your right hand."
He and other Lake Bowl employees watched Lad Irrigation employees take apart the windmill and lift it from the ground.
"It didn't take them long at all," Harper said. "It was pretty brittle. It took them probably a few hours, that was it."