Harrington news

Tuesday morning, March 27, the Seattle Shakespeare Company arrived at the Harrington school and gave three or four workshops including the topics of Elizabethan dance and style of clothing. The school obtained a director's grant which paid for this event. At 1 p.m., students in grades K-12 came from the school to the Harrington Opera House to view an actual production by the same people who had given the workshops. Parents and local residents joined the students to make up an audience of 126 people, giving the appearance of a full house. Justin Bradford, principal/superintendent, introduced the company and welcomed all, thanking the Opera House Society for the venue.

Six actors and actresses, several performing double roles, made up the cast in an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. They had relatively few props, but they were more than adequate to give a spectacular performance, which was described as that of "consummate actors," using realistic gestures and animation with convincing voice tone.

The well-behaved students were enthralled throughout the entirety of the 90-minute play. With sword fights, chase scenes and fast paced drama, the players held their audience's attention. Without the use of electronic microphones, they used the acoustics of the auditorium design to fill the room with their story. Juliet's final speech was so moving that when she gestured longingly toward the east, the entire right hand side of the audience turned in their seats to see what it was she spoke of. "Awesome" and "realism" were the two most frequently used descriptors given by adults.

K-12 students attended, but grades K-3 left early in a planned departure to ensure that they remained attentive. Following the performance, there was a question-and-answer session in which the students were allowed to ask what they were interested in. One could tell that the students were not coached on what to ask, as their questions included, "What's your favorite color?", "How old are you?" and "What did you do before you knew what you wanted to be?" Students gave Panther Pride T-shirts to the performers, who seemed delighted with their acquisition and took selfies on the Opera House staircase.

Tim Tipton and Cade Clarke were out during the past week seeking individuals to help participate in the mutually beneficial relationship that the Chamber of Commerce has established with the Huckleberry Press. In particular, they were hoping to find someone who would be willing to do the graphics weekly for a full page of business ads and local functions.

The Harrington Public Library board has announced another after-school game program on April 19 from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. The last game event brought out about 10 children, all enthused about competition, and none refusing the after-school snacks provided.

Ilona Sewall Wiley donated scores of books to the Harrington Public Library and the Opera House rummage sale. Books included histories of World War II, cookbooks, biographies and local history books. She also donated a battered photo of a harvest scene with teams of horses and an early combine, circa 1910. It is assumed that the crew was of the Uhrich family on Ilona's mother's side of the family.

The Electric Hotel or Hotel Lincoln had its doors open Friday, March 30, with Jerry and Karen Allen working inside and enjoying the fresh breeze.

Historic information is being sought on the construction of the Harrington Evangelical church building which is the present Harrington United Methodist church. The Emmanuel Church of the Evangelical Association at Harrington, Washington was organized by Rev. W.N. O'Kelley and wife in 1894. The church was served consecutively by Rev. J.B. Schneider, Rev. G. Koch and Rev. Schneider without having their own structure to worship in. In 1899, Rev. A.A. Powers became pastor of the church and through his efforts a parsonage and a church were built. The property, Lots 5 & 6 in Block #18 in Harrington, was purchased from the Rosebaugh brothers for $100 on April 6, 1900. The plans for building a parsonage were made in May of 1900. The church funds were being secured in September 1902. "The Evangelical church is rapidly nearing completion, a full description of it will appear in this paper next week." (Citizen: 10-31-1902)

The dedication of the church was announced for the first Sunday in January of 1903. The first two weeks of newspapers in 1903 were missing both in the hard-bound copy as well as on the microfilmed papers. To date, no one has donated the program for the dedication of the church to the city collection of memorabilia. If anyone has one of these rare items in a scrapbook, please contact Pastor Michelle Mitchell at the Harrington United Methodist Church at michelle@christpoint.org.

Lots of excitement and fun was provided to the children of Harrington on Saturday morning with the Lions Club Easter Egg Hunt at the school.

Friday, March 30, was the annual Harrington Golf and Country Club clean-up day to prepare for their season opening on Sunday, April 1. Community residents will be pleased to know that the club's cafe is now open as well.

The Harrington sign is now planted in cement on Highway 28, announcing the city's next event Cruizin' Harrington on the third Saturday in May. This year it falls on May 19.