Double decker became bribe for pinochle game
Phyllis Hirai, co-hostess for the recent Sisters On The Fly event titled Cowgirls Gone Wild, looks over the guest book outside her vintage trailer. There were 48 trailers and one tent at the gathering.
Each of the vintage trailers was decorated in a unique manner. This one, owned by an unknown member of Sisters On The Fly, is mainly red and white in color.
Playing pinochle was a favorite pastime of Zach Finney, but when the table was a player short, a bribe was in order. 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 backtrack a bit and then conclude the story of the J.G. Kirchner family:
Located across the street from the Wilson Creek World building was the Chas. Davis pool hall. One of the steady afternoon customers was Zach Finney who arrived every week day from his ranch on Crab Creek for a game or two of his favorite recreation.
Whenever they were short one player for the pinochle game, Zach would come across the street and inquire if Earl could come over to fill in. This got to be a rather steady procedure and finally Edythe decided she would rather have a little help with the typesetting, so she gave Zach a negative answer to his request.
Zach needed another player and didn't want to drive the Model T back to the ranch without his usual winning tokens. He went back to the pool hall and soon returned with a double ice cream cone as a bribe and was able to enjoy this afternoon game.
This became a somewhat regular procedure and you often see Mr. Finney crossing the street with a double decker. The Sibleys now reside in Centralia.
Mr. and Mrs. Kirchner spent their adult years in Wilson Creek. Mr. Kirchner passed away Oct. 16, 1941 followed on Jan. 8 1943 by Mrs. Kirchner. Both are buried in the Wilson Creek Cemetery.
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.
We backtrack a bit and then conclude the article headlined "Dam to irrigate area nearly size of Delaware" from the CBH on Friday, June, 8 1950:
"During the war, with fewer than half if its 18 generators installed, this giant, Grand Coulee Dam, produced power equal to the labor of 78 mission men working an eight-hour day for a whole year," Warne says. "These spectacular achievements have led some to overlook the fact that this dam is about to give us an agricultural realm three-fourth the size of Delaware."
Warne referred to the 1,029,000 acres ultimately due to come under irrigation in the Columbia Basin Project. The first 87,000 acres will receive water in 1952.
The assistant secretary also praised the new pooling concept; to take power revenues and group them in support of those irrigation projects which don't have power immediately adjacent as the Columbia Basin Project does.
Grant County history
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 Hartline, by Kathryn (Kay) Evans, recorded May 9, 1978 and the letter written by her grandmother, Aunt Kate, in 1940:
"My time in Hartline, outside of that housekeeping time at Smith's and the eight months at Ragged Butte in the Nelles District, was doing just what I pleased. I was Sunday School superintendent, and janitor for one year at $6 per month, and then for nothing, when the church got so hard up there was nwo money to pay a janitor.
"Mrs. Gage and Mrs. Millie Shepard used to help me with the dusting and sweeping, but when they were gone in the winter, I did it alone. One winter, Mr. Weeks did part of it. I lived next door to the church, so I would start the fire early on cold mornings and Mr. Weeks would come later and replenish it and do some dusting. I was also president of the Ladies Aid, did soliciting for money, for donations for church dinners, and any old job that was to be done.
"Entertained the ministers we had during that time, who lived at Almira, but were joint ministers, when they came to call on their Hartline parishioners. I always told them to drop in when they were not asked to eat anywhere else, which was quite often.
"I enjoyed having the preachers eat with me very much. We had lively discussions about various subjects. One young preacher would ask for criticisms on his sermons, manner of delivery, grammar, etc., which I always gave. Another older man spoke of me as his mother.
"I even had the privilege of conducting two funeral services, one for a little 2-year-old boy whose father had been in my Sunday School class of young people years before. Our pastor was on vacation at the time. The other funeral service was that of a man 69 years old who lived in Hartline.
"He and his wife were bitterly 'down' on churches and would have nothing to do with a church in any way. The wife told a neighbor she wanted me to conduct the funeral services for her husband, but I did not think it right for me to do so, as we had a pastor at home at the time. I tried my best to persuade her to have the pastor.
"I said, 'I know you will like him if you meet him. Let me bring him down to your house.' But she refused to have anything to do with the church, so I could only go ahead and act as preacher.
"Those years in Hartline were perhaps the most carefree of my life. I had lost the ranch like so many others, but had a monthly compensation for my boy's death of $20 on which I could live and nothing more to lose, so nothing to worry about. I had a radio and magazines, New Republic, The Nation, The Christian Century, The Forum and any other I wished to buy occasionally, and I had plenty of time to read them; a few neighbors with whom to discuss various subjects, and with whom I disagreed freely.
"Bess' husband, Harry Warne, died suddenly the last day of June 1935. I came over to ww at that time and have been here ever since. It is a lovely country, but I felt pulled up by the roots for several years. I had lived over East of the Cascades for 45 years, knew everyone and some of their grandparents when they were school children.