Harrington news

Winds had been predicted to range near 65 mph on Tuesday and with that intensity Harrington was fortunate to have only minor damages to homes with roofing being the major complaint. One homeowner reported a limb lying on his roof. Dust was thick in the air all day, sometimes resembling dense fog.

In the downtown business district, signs and awnings were challenged, with only one awning sent to the ground. The newly fixed roof on the former Harrington Haus was seen flapping in the wind all across the west end of the building. The Big Bend Insurance sign on the building now owned by Paul Gilliland flipped up and was wedged between the post and the building, but within minutes the wind circled in from another direction and loosened it to land in its normal position. The city park tolerated the strong winds with minor branches falling to the ground. The Harrington cemeteries lost two 40-foot fir trees. One snapped off about 10 feet from the ground, while the second snapped off about 20 feet up. As they fell, they destroyed a flowering Hawthorne and part of a locust tree.

On November 18, a special budget meeting was called to discuss the 2015 revised budget. Following discussion, it was determined that no budget amendment was needed. Discussion was held pertaining to the need for an increased library budget to cover Noa-Net expenses. The city engineer informed the city that turning down the grant/loan for the water treatment system would not adversely affect Harrington. The preliminary 2016 budget had a few corrections and will be presented at the December 7 meeting. An ordinance will be written with the anticipation of confirmation when voted upon. The next regular council meeting will be December 9 at 7:30 p.m.

The Harrington Chamber of Commerce is preparing for the arrival of Santa on December 5 at the Opera House. He is due to arrive by fire truck at 10 a.m. and will do visitation with the children from 10:15 to noon when professional photos will also be available. Goodie bags will be presented by the Chamber. From noon to 1 p.m., Santa will stay for family photos to be taken.

The Memorial Hall will be a busy site with perhaps as many as 20 vendors on location arranged by Amy Foley of the Rusty Lark, who will also have her wares available for purchase. Poinsettias will be offered by the high school FFA chapter. This event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to about 5 p.m., depending on weather and turnout.

The Harrington Opera House Rummage Sale is set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with its main items being Christmas decor, brass and wooden items. Vintage jewelry (men’s and women’s) will be available in the Art Room next door, where items will be displayed in an antique glass case from one of the early Harrington businesses. Other items for the Rummage include children’s toys and books, one table filled with kitchen wares and a table of variety items.

Harrington Librarian Marge Womach had an informative discussion with Ron Ferderer of Odessa regarding their mutual interest in the Lamona Cemetery and keeping it clean and protected. The Lamona Public Cemetery was dedicated October 13, 1898, and west of it is the Lamona Lutheran Cemetery, which has seven known burials: those of Olga Brueggemeier and Infant Brueggemeier, H.C. and Marie Gruenhage, Willard Tanke and Elizabeth and Henry Harms. The public cemetery has 33 known burials with markers for the following: 3 Calliott, 1 Cox, 7 Finch, 2 Hammersmith, 1 Jensen, 2 Johnson, 3 Kunz, 1 Lebert, 2 LeDuc, 3 Luiten, 2 Mitchell, 2 Unger, 1 Vent, 2 Wilson and one Zabel. Documented burials for others include 3 Finney, Maria Gelada in 1902, Annie Kaputa in 1898, one Logsdon, Sam Marsh in 1906, Jean Mitchell in 1902, A.D. Pytcher (removed to Spokane), and 4 Smith graves. Tombstones for the Finney burials, Logsdon and Smiths were found in the Odessa Cemetery with no records of the purchase of their plots nor any record of their removal from the Lamona Public Cemetery. Evelyn Luiten Lenhart (1925-2004) had a deep love for the Lamona Cemetery and aided Womach in locating some of the descendants of bodies interred in Lamona. It had been Lenhart’s desire to see the Lamona Cemetery put into a cemetery district where it could have perpetual care. Lenhart recalled the center area of this cemetery being dotted with wooden markers placed on the graves of children who had failed to survive. Fires, accidental and intentional, cleared the weeds and wild brush from the cemetery but also destroyed the wooden markers and wooden fencing at gravesites. Ferderer built a new wooden fence to replace an enclosure that was destroyed. Some of the graves are enclosed with iron pipe fencing and others with cast iron. If photographs had been taken by family members, it would be helpful if they could be shared with local cemetery preservationists.