Aunt Kate receives teaching certificate, pursues career
Aunt Kate needed to take the teachers' examination in order to pursue the job of teacher in the Big Bend Country of Eastern Washington. The trip required two days travel each way and ...well, read on.
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 backtrack a bit and then continue the story of Hartline, by Kathryn (Kay) Evans, recorded May 9, 1978 and the letter written by her grandmother, Aunt Kate, in 1940:
"I rode home alone the 80 miles from Sprague, stopped about halfway overnight. I got home the second evening about 9 o'clock, tired, hungry and thirsty. Found the water in the tiny spring from where I got my water, all muddy.
"The gophers had gotten into the top of my sack of flour and so I had nothing to eat. I staked out my pony and tumbled into bed and slept the sleep of the righteous.
"The next day, I got up and cleaned out the spring, let fresh water run into it, I then poured out the ruined top of the flour sack and made some biscuits. My but they were good after having had nothing to eat since noon the day before and riding about 40 miles. I forgot to say that the gophers had gotten in through the cracks in the floor.
"The next important event in my homesteading days was to go back again to Sprague for a teachers' examination. And speaking of this 80 mile trip from Sprague, I just could not help but think when Air Force One touched down at Fairchild Air Base last Friday morning with the President, and they killed time from Portland. How many miles is that And to be back in Washington, D.C. before midnight and to have done all these things. These people could not have imagined it.
"This time I went with a neighbor who was going after a wagon load of flour for a little store near where Coulee City afterward sprang up. The trip took two days each way and the examination, two days, so altogether it took almost a week to gain a certificate.
"I was the first applicant to get through with the exam at 4 p.m. the second day. As it was costing my fellow traveler quite a bit to keep four horses in a livery barn, we started for home as soon as possible.
"That evening, after we were camped and had eaten our supper, an old gentleman who was going back to the Big Bend strolled over to our campfire, and had the news that a young fellow, Ed Boyant, had gotten a three-year certificate, the highest obtainable. I thought he must be very smart.
"But when I got my returns a week later by mail, I also had a three-year certificate. In fact, we had 40 applicants from Douglas County and two were the only ones to get the three-year certificate. The Spokane County Superintendent wrote to our county superintendent congratulating him on his applicants.
"I taught my first term in Washington in what used to be known as the Vorhees School, a three-month term. It was a hewed log building with long tables and benches. It was a very pleasant time, and I always look back with pleasure to those three fall months."
Email 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 Aug. 10, 1950:
Mammoth bones found in Weber Coulee diggings
Remains of the tusk and several thigh bones of a prehistoric mammal have been found near the mouth of Weber Coulee by Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Kerving of Moses Lake, amateur paleontologists.
The mammal, long extinct, resembled an elephant, but was slightly smaller, had long hair, a longer trunk and large tusks which curved upward, Kerving reports.
The remains found in Weber Coulee probably are a million years old, he estimates. They crumbled badly when disturbed. The find has been verified by A.H. East, Wenatchee archaeologist, who visited the digs recently.
The tusk excavated was in two parts. Its overall length was 13 feet and measured 34 inches around the large end. The shoulder blade was 36 inches long and 22 inches wide. The Kervings have found camel and horse bones in the same area.
Big air marker completed on warehouse roof
A gigantic air marker, believed to be the largest in the state, has been completed on top of the Western Cold Storage Co. warehouse by members of the Moses Lake Civil Air Patrol Flight. It reads, "Moses Lake" and has an arrow with a numeral 2 pointing to the municipal airport two miles distant.
Six gallons of silver paint were applied to the tar roof under the area where lettering was made.
Picnic is planned for CAP cadets
Civil Air Patrol cadets and their guests will hold a picnic on the west side of the lake near the dam on Sunday, Aug. 27, according to Warrant Officer Ray Shinkle, Public Information Officer of the local flight.
Water rescue drills will be held along with the fun. The potluck affair will begin at 2 o'clock and include a bonfire, hot dogs and pop, Shinkle said.
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 begin the story of the Keller family:
The Keller family was one of many German families encouraged by Catherine the Great, who was of German ancestry, to migrate to Russia to farm and develop the rich farmland around the Black Sea area. After Catherine's death the German people began to be mistreated by the Russian government, possessions stolen, forced to give up their schools, churches and young men conscripted for the military. Consequently, many of these families emigrated from Russia to the United States, the Keller family among them.
Christoff Keller and Elizabeth Kafer Keller were married February 14, 1879 in Guildendorf, Russia. Six children, Christ, Katie, George, Amy, Charles and Jacob were born in the colony of Guildendorf and two more Minnie and Bertha, after they arrived in the United States. There were also two older girls, Elizabeth and Karolina from a previous marriage of Christoff.
"He made a successful living as a wainwright, but fear of political conditions caused them to leave. Christoff had two sisters and cousins already in Eureka, South Dakota, so in the year 1889 he and his wife with their eight children, two from the previous marriage included, arrived in the United States settling in Eureka.
Jacob Keller, born December 27, 1888, was a year old at the time of the immigration. The older children attended school in South Dakota, but desiring more land for the boys, the family decided to come out west, homesteading six miles northeast of Wheeler.
They came west by train in 1903. Ed Wagners and other friends were in the Odessa area. So that is what prompted them to choose this region. They cleared the sagebrush on their homestead land, built a nice house, barns, pump house and hauled water from Blackrock until a well was dug.
The family home is still standing and occupied. Christoff contributed part of his land for a small cemetery and he, Elizabeth and some other family members are buried there.
Young Chris died in 1910 after being thrown from a thresher and subsequently developed stomach cancer. Christoff and Elizabeth retired in Odessa living there until his death in 1916 and her death in 1933. Katie faithfully took care of her mother, not marrying until 1934 to Con Libsack. They lived in the same house until Con's death in 1954 and her death in 1972.
It is interesting to note that Amy (Amelia) taught country school in Strasburg, North Dakota, living with the Lawrence Welk family. She married Reverend George Hein, a German-English Congregational minister and they lived most of their married years in Seattle.
The Wheeler wheat land that Christoff had chosen was not very productive, so eventually George and Charlie went to Port Angeles, where they found work in the mill and reared their families. Bertha and Minnie married brothers, Henry and Dan Goetz and they lived in the Odessa and Marlin area, later moving to Seattle. The half-sisters remained in South Dakota.
As a young man Jacob attended Blair Business College in Spokane from 1909 to 1911. Upon graduation he became a bookkeeper and later manager of the Wheeler grain elevator. After several years he became manager of the Ruff grain elevator, which he managed until 1919 when he became manager of the Wilson Creek grain elevator.
He was a dedicated and successful manager, serving in this capacity until 1962 when he became assistant manager and officially retired in 1968. For 40 years he was a volunteer Official Weather Bureau observer. He faithfully kept the weather records daily and received official recognition in a ceremony in Seattle from the U.S. Department of Commerce with an award of a plaque and pin for his 40 years of service.
He also contributed to the community by serving on the School Board and Town council. He was a faithful church member of the Presbyterian Church.
It was during the time of his Ruff job that he met and courted Gertrude Griesinger, then a teacher in Wilson Creek. They were married June 28, 1916 in the family home in Wilson Creek, then occupied by her mother, Maria Griesinger.
They began their married life in Ruff and on August 13, 1918 a son, Leonard was born. They moved to Wilson Creek to the family home in 1919 when Jacob became manager of the Wilson Creek elevator. Two more children were born, Margaret on August 19, 1922 and Harold on October 2, 1928.
Leonard, Margaret and Harold attended school at Wilson Creek, graduating from high school in 1936, 1939 and 1946 respectively.
Leonard and Harold attended Washington State College in Pullman, Harold obtaining a degree in Pharmacy. Margaret attended Eastern Washington State College at Cheney getting a degree in education.
Leonard and Harold both served in military service. Leonard was a Staff Sergeant in the Army Air Corps during World War II and served in the South Pacific. Harold was in the Navy during the Korean War, serving as a pharmacist aboard a hospital ship.
It was during this time that our dear mother passed away, on July 11, 1952, after being in failing health for several years. She endeared herself through her selfless years of service to the Presbyterian Church and other social organizations.
There was never enough time to accomplish all she wanted to do each day and so she usually was on a quickstep. She loved her home, flowers and garden, but always put the needs of others before herself. We cherish precious memories of her.
Margaret married Stanley Siegenthaler from Spokane, on February 12, 1944, and they have three sons, Kent, born Mar. 25, 1946; Craig, born Aug. 25, 1950 and Mark born Dec. 4, 1953. Margaret, Stan and family reside in Seattle where Margaret has pursued a teaching career.
Stan was in an architectural business. Craig married Nancy Wood from Minneapolis, Minn. on Nov. 28, 1975. They met while both were employed at a radio station in Washington D. C. They lived a short time in San Juan, Puerto Rico and now live in Seattle where Craig is chief engineer at KUUU and KZOK Radio Stations.
Leonard met Lillian Kay while both were working for the Navy Department in Seattle and they were married on August 16, 1947. They have two children, Rosetta, born Oct. 31, 1952 and Jeffrey born Sept. 19, 1955.
In 1953 they moved from Seattle to Wilson Creek, where Leonard became bookkeeper, assistant manager and manager of the Wilson Creek Union Grain and Trading Co. in 1968 when his father retired.
Rosetta married Terry Olsen from Hyde Park, Utah on Aug. 13, 1976 and they have a son Matthew, born May 24, 1977. Jeffrey served two years as a Mormon missionary in New Zealand and attends Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
Harold married Joanne Walter from Odessa on Nov. 5, 1950. They have four children; David, born Jan. 9, 1952; Ronald, born Jan. 9. 1954; Nancy, born Jan. 13, 1955 and Will born May 10. 1956. Harold and Joanne lived many years in Odessa where Harold owned and operated a drug store and Joanne continued a nursing career at the local hospital. With family reared, Harold decided to pursue a new career and purchased the Card N Candle Gift Shop at Northtown in Spokane, and part-ownership in a pharmacy in the valley. He recently acquired the Hallmark Gift Shop also at Northtown.
David is working in research for a public television station in Los Angeles. Ron married Danielle Radlova, a Czechoslovakian girl whom he met in Cairo, Egypt while working on Arabic language mastery for his degree from the University of Chicago.
They were married in Cairo in May of 1977. Nancy is now a First Lieutenant in the Army Corps of Nurses having received her degree in nursing in May of 1977. She is now stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonia, Texas. Will is attending Western Washington State College at Bellingham.
Jacob Keller, our dear father, passed away on May 31, 1972. During his last years he lived with Leonard and Lillian, but boarded with them for many years previously. Of interest to the family is that Harold's sons and Leonard's son are the only ones to carry on the name of Keller.