Wilson Creek flood of 1957 proved especially bad
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Spring flooding is a part of Wilson Creek history. The flood of 1957 was an especially bad one. Read on.
Wilson Creek area history
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 R.H. Lee, C.W. Davis and George Lee history by Macil Lee:
My sister, Audrey, married Ray Kelby and they had two children, Carald Jean and Dana. They moved to the coast after their home burned down here and Ray worked in the shipyards. In 1946 they moved back to Wilson Creek and Audrey started working as clerk in the post office.
Our dad had retired from the railroad and spent a lot of his time hunting and fishing which he enjoyed very much. He passed away in 1955 after a short illness.
Our mother had not been very well for some time and in 1956, she broke her hip and passed away before she got out of the hospital.
Every spring, part, or all of the town of Wilson Creek, would be flooded and I am amazed that someone was not drowned.
Then in 1957, we really had a bad one. Everyone had to move out of their homes to the Presbyterian Church, School House and to the homes of friends who lived on higher ground.
George and I lived with the Schroeders during that time. We were not able to get to the post office for a number of days. Finally Audrey and I put on hip boots and walked down the middle of the highway with George.
He got several men and they went to the depot and carried the first class mail pouches to the post office and we put the mail out. I have no idea why, no one could get there to get their mail anyway. There was six inches of water in the building and when the water went down, there was six inches of silt left. It was a real mess to clean up.
E-mail from Cheryl
Facts from the past gleaned from the Moses Lake Herald, Columbia Basin Herald and The Neppel Record by Cheryl (Drig vgs) Elkins.
From the CBH on Thursday, July 16, 1953:
Boyle, Higgins win chamber posts
Henry J. Boyle and Harry F. Higgins were elected directors of the Moses lake Chamber of commerce during the chamber dinner meeting in Elmer's Café Tuesday night.
They replace Alex Law and Marshall Burress, who resigned because they were elected to the city council last spring and assume office June 1. Boyle is a Chevrolet dealer and Higgins operates the Marshall Wells Hardware Store.
The two new members bring the chamber board up to its full membership of 12.
President Henry F. Trisler presided over the Tuesday meeting. Musical entertainment was furnished by a vocal quartet composed of Howard Smith, Chuck Smith, bob Yerxa and O.D. Goodrich and by Urban Drew, Irish tenor.
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 continue the story of Ephrata by Thelma Billngsley Nicks:
Gordon had graduated in 1925 and had gone to barber college. I started going with him in 1926. He had a shop with his uncle Ed. I worked in the phone office at that time. I graduated in 1926.
The first movie I can remember seeing was a magic lantern that was put on in the little building across from the Rock Cafe. One of the first movies in the Kam Theatre was a Charlie Chaplin one. The theatre was also used for many graduation cere?monies.
Gordon's class used the theater for their gradua?tion. The class had gone up the canyon and brought down vines to decorate the stage. During the cere?mony the blossoms on the vines started to explode with fuzzy down.
It came floating down on all the class and the teachers and school board mem?bers. When they would walk around the fluff would fly around their feet. The class of 1926 had their graduation exercises on an afternoon across from this same theatre.