This Week in Odessa History

First concrete water tank was rising 90 years agoOdessa’s north hill reservoir, now dilapidated and leaking, will soon be history.

Ninety years ago this week, contractor Con Eckhardt had just finished pouring the concrete floor for the 250,000-gallon water tank. The wooden forms and steel reinforcing rods were ready to be set in place in preparation for pouring the concrete for the side walls.

Shortly before harvest in 1923, Odessa area farmers and able-bodied men of the town had joined to excavate the water tank site.

In 1923, it was thought that the new tank, which replaced two wooden tanks on stilts, would accommodate a much larger population that Odessa might eventually have. In reality, Odessa is about the same size today as it was 90 years ago.

But there was a need for a greater water supply, and in 1952, the concrete reservoir twice the size as the one on the north hill was built on the south hill. Final plans are in the works for a new concrete water tank to be built this year on the hill above the town near Hopp Road as a replacement for the old north hill reservoir.

The Odessa Record carried this report on the progress of the first tank’s construction in its issue of August 17, 1923:

Under the direction and supervision of engineer, Dennis P. Woods, of Spokane, the steel reinforcing of the floor of the concrete water storage tank was set in place this week. The steel in the floor is laid and bound in such a manner that it forms small nine-inch squares.

It is well worth the while of all to visit the tank and see just how it is being constructed.

100 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

July 25, 1913

Optimists hereabouts predicted a few weeks ago that Odessa would this year have the largest crop it ever knew, and their predictions have turned out to be true, and even more than that, for some of the yields that farmers hereabouts are reporting are beyond the fondest hopes of our best optimists.

Local grain men state that the quality of samples which they have seen this year is far above the usual average, some grain testing as high as 63. It is some of the heaviest wheat ever handled here. A considerable quantity of the grain has been contracted for, and the price paid this week for Bluestem has been right around 70 cents. White Amber is being contracted at about a cent under Bluestem.

75 Years AgoFrom The Odessa Record

July 28,1938

Farmers in all sections of the area report that grasshoppers are increasing in the fields, but no noticeable damage has been done.

The heat wave of several days duration abated on Saturday, after the Friday temperature reached 106 degrees. At approximately 5 o’clock Thursday morning a short, violent electric and wind storm struck Odessa, followed by a short rain, during which .07 of an inch of rain fell.

When goaded by hunger, Mormon crickets will devour anything, animal or vegetable.

In the region of sagebrush, the innocent-looking crickets are killing and eating the rattlesnake, whose darting head and poisoned fangs are feared by all men.

Morley Murphy, Star valley rancher, reported that large swarms of crickets are driving rattlers into pits dug by WPA workers.

Murphy said he saw the crawlers, by mass attack, force three rattlers into pits, where they swarmed over them without leaving a trace of the reptiles.

50 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

July 25,1963

Reports by the pioneers often spoke of the wild horse roundups, and it is hard to believe the number of wild horses that roamed the range.

A good cowboy often had as many as 30 head of horses from which to choose his saddler. Almost any Indian was good for 10 horses. Worth $2.50 a head, getting a horse did not involve too much of a problem. The range was full of them.

Farmers would go out ahead of field work, bring in a string of wild horses, work them as needed and turn them loose again.

With the advent of power farming the horse is almost gone from the area. Saddle horses are kept for pleasure on many ranches, but the day of the horse breeder is history in this area. No longer can a buckaroo work for a horse outfit.

The Odessa Cleaners, operated by Goldie and Tom Turner, will close on August 14, it is announced this week.

The Turners have purchased a cleaning business at Dayton where the potential trade is larger. This area is just not large enough to support the modern cleaning plant at a profitable level, the Turners revealed.

10 Years AgoFrom The Odessa Record

July 24, 2003

Harvest is on in the Odessa area, with grain growers expecting from average to very good yields despite a lack of moisture during the past two months.

Dryland wheat is not coming in to all of the elevators of Ritzville Warehouse/Odessa Trading Company.

“Growers are pleasantly surprised at the yields” he said. “Dryland wheat is running as high as 60 bushels to the acre in some cases, and there are lots of 40-and 50-bushel yields being reported.”

Lonny Suko, who was raised in Odessa and graduated from Odessa High School, last Tuesday was unanimously confirmed to be a federal judge in the Easter District of Washington. U.S. Representatives Doc Hastings said Suko would bring an exemplary judicial record and solid experience to the federal bench.

The Odessa Chamber of Commerce has tried different approaches to get its 50+ members to show up for the monthly meetings but to no avail. For the past several months, after business owners asked the meetings be changed to nights to accommodate their busy days, the chamber decided to stop the night meetings for the fact of lack of participation.

25 Years AgoFrom The Odessa Record

July 21, 1988

The Odessa Economic Development Committee, following its July 20 meeting, has recommended to the Odessa Chamber of Commerce that the board of directors approve installation of a telephone line.

With approval of the town council, the line could be installed at the town clerk’s office with call-forwarding capabilities, the EDC recommendation said.

The hot weather saga of town wells-- with their eroding pumps and their ‘tasty’ low water tables-- brought the Odessa town council to question public works director Roger Sebesta about the future of the city water system.

Sebesta said of Well #2 “Every time we run it for more than a day, it starts putting air in the mains.”

He added, “Well #3 just squeaks by when the weather turns like this. It’s real shaky whether it’s going to keep up or not.”

Well #4 is suffering from a frozen shaft and is not in working order at all.