May 5, 1882 – 141 Years Ago
Last winter J. W. Jackson of Spring Creek had about 300 sheep. He had just sold to G.W. Smith of Rockland 100 mutton sheep at 3 cents a pound, wool on, and still has some 300 head of wool-bearing animals. As he has neither bought, borrowed, or stolen any sheep, you ask how it can be thusly. The explanation is that five score frolicsome, long tailed, little lambs now sport over his fine bunch grass. We were at Mr. Jackson’s place the other day and found many improvements within the last year.
April 24, 1913 – 110 Years Ago
At the livery barn of A. J. (Babe) Watson in this city, on lower Main Street, known as the Red Barn, the following prices are in effect: Hay 35 cents per team one feed. Hay and grain per team, one feeding 50 cents. He will be pleased to have his farmer friends call and patronize him. The very best of satisfaction is guaranteed.
April 26, 1953 – 70 Year Ago
Cliff “Twister” Youngquist, former Goldendale High School football stalwart, visiting here last weekend while enroute home to Los Angeles from Pullman, said WSC has an electronic brain which puts the finest mathematicians to shame. [WSC was Washington State College, which became Washington State University in 1959.] While here to visit his mother, Cliff, an engineer with the Los Angeles department of water and power, declared the device solved 65 complex algebraic riddles in 56 hours, an operation that he estimated would have taken 1000 man-days to solve by hand and mind. He is trying to interest his superiors in the purchase of a similar machine. Charles L. Barker, professor of the hydraulic engineering at WSC, is in charge of the” brain,” which will unravel almost any number of equations simultaneously.
April 18, 1963 – 60 Years Ago
A prodigal has returned! Missing for many months has been Alvin the Chipmunk, a friend and companion of Tony Yankee. A bosom chum who would eat peanuts out of Tony’s pocket until his disappearance a while back, Alvin returned to the fold last Thursday! We understand that joy was unconfined, and that it was only a short time until Tony and his furry friend had re-established complete rapport…and now Tony has Alvin in his pocket again.
April 12, 1973 – 50 Years Ago
The very first man to operate a ferry at Arlington, Oregon [then known as Alkali], was involved in the capture of a suspected murderer. Leroy Weaver started the Alkali Steam Ferry in 1884 and in the fall of 1886, he transported a man driving a four-horse team with two wagons from the Washington shore to Alkali. Based on Weaver’s replies to the questions of a deputy sheriff, the wagon was captured and returned to Washington where he was tried, convicted, and hanged in Goldendale. His name was Henry Timmerman.
May 3, 1973 – 50 Years Ago
Four million miles is a distance hard to visualize. It is equal to about eight round trips to the moon, for what that is worth. And it is just about the distance traveled by rural mail carriers in the United States every day. Goldendale has two rural carriers, plus on contract or star route carrier. The two regular routes cover only 196 miles per day, in the course of a year that amounts to 58,032 miles, a considerable distance traveled to provide postal delivery service. In the Goldendale office, distance traveled is measured in steps rather than miles, but it is safe to say that a good many miles are traveled within the four walls while distributing mail. The postmaster and his six employees are experts, averaging 16 ½ years of service on the job. Their names and service years are: Postmaster Mike Montanye 17; clerks Harold Mason 18, Bob Cole 17, Florence Blanchard 13 and Vic Winton 12 ½; and rural carriers Loren Storkel 22, and Bill Gibbs 16, Their total service is 115 years. In 1960 the office sorted mail into 816 boxes; now the number has grown to 11,122 boxes.
—Richard Lefever
Klickitat County Historical Society