This Week in Odessa History

100 years ago

The Odessa Record

Aug. 2, 1918

Few interested in Chautauqua: The attendance at the Radcliffe Chautauqua which has been presenting it's attractions here for the past two days has been very disappointing. When the attraction was booked no date was set and no one here ever thought of it coming right in the midst of harvest, and the lightest one ever experienced in this section and also at a time when everyone is vitally interested in saving every kernel of the already too short crop.

The result is that there is not a farmer and only a limited number of town people who have had time to take in the program, which those who have been fortunate enough to attend say has been a good one. The attendance has been so light that the 18 guarantors will all have to go down in their pockets to make up the deficit, the first time such thing has ever been necessary in the history of the town.

According to the report of Mrs. Adams, one of the managers who visited the Record office today, Odessa is not the only town to fail to bring in the crowds. The company is in new territory and the schedule was arranged according to last season's harvest dates from Montana west and the result is that the later harvests which have prevailed this year, have made an unsatisfactory schedule on the entire circuit and Chautauqua business has been poor.

First 1918 class boys called: Five Odessa boys of the 1918 class which registered for military service in June have been called to report at Davenport to be mustered into the service next Tuesday, August 6th. They are Boyd Fink, Karl Horn, Eric Peterson, Charlie Kucera and Roy Pitner. These five with the three enlisted, Cecil Jenks, Otto Wagner and Edmund Weber go a long ways towards cleaning up the local boys of this section in this year's draft. It is reported that these boys that are called to the army will go the Fremont, Calif., instead of Camp Lewis.

Combine team runs away: Joe Reitner had a runaway yesterday morning when his 12-horse combine harvester team got beyond his control when he was cutting at his ranch just southeast of town. After getting away from their driver the team took a mile run, during which time they knocked down about 80 rods of fence and put a new Deering harvester in very bad shape. They were finally caught and W.L. Michaelson sent a crew of men with extras to get the machine ready for business again.

75 years ago

The Odessa Record

Aug. 5, 1943

Area declared hazard region; upward exhaust must be used on all trucks: The entire eastern Washington agricultural area of extreme fire hazard, and trucks operating there may use direct upward exhaust systems as a safety precaution, the Washington State Commission on Equipment announced this week.

At the request of the Washington State Defense Council, the commission issued a "Regulation No. 10," direction that throughout the area, operators of motor vehicles may use a direct upward exhaust during harvest time.

The regular exhaust of each vehicle should be left in place so it can be reconnected after harvest season, the commission ordered. Discontinuance of the use of upward exhausts will be provided in subsequent orders.

W.A. Groce, civilian director of the defense council, pointed out that the new regulation will enable truck operators to install direct upward exhaust readily. Heretofore it has been necessary to install mufflers when using upward exhausts, a requirement entailing more expense than most operators were willing to undergo.

"Eighty per cent of the record breaking grain fire loss suffered in Washington last year resulted from exhaust pipes and hot mufflers coming into contact with growing grain or stubble," Groce said. "By cutting out the conventional exhaust muffler and using an exhaust pipe running directly upward from the motor, operators can remove a serious hazard to grain fields.

Harvest going along smoothly; labor problem appears to be licked, fires are menace: Another wartime harvest, harassed by the problems of labor and equipment, has gotten well under way and operations are going smoothly. From all directions trucks are hauling steady streams of wheat to the warehouses and elevators.

Breakdowns are the greatest problem, owing to restrictions on materials. Mechanics are still busy attempting to keep all machinery active.

Fire is the greatest menace that the region faces at this time. On Tuesday fire broke out in the large wooden combine used on the Emanuel Schmierer ranch, completely destroying the machine and burning considerable stubble before being brought under control. The farmers fire truck responded.

The Julius Franz combine was badly damaged when it tipped over while operating on Friday. It tipped toward the header side, damaging the reel, augers and other parts. Members of the crew were shaken up but received no serious injuries.

A fire, apparently set by a passing train, was fought on Wednesday morning, and the farm truck responded, one tank of water serving to control the blaze.

Several of the business men have taken time from their duties to assist in the harvest. Lamar Strate and E.G. Gunderson are employed at the Ed Borgens ranch, Henry Michaelson Jr., at the F.W. Heimbigner ranch. George Schiewe is to work at the John Deife farm.

Harvest was interrupted on Thursday morning by a rain that started on Wednesday night. A general rain, it stopped harvesting operations for all day.

50 years ago

The Odessa Record

Aug. 1, 1968

Three more break-ins here; 4 apprehended: Three more business establishments here have been broken into during the past week, two of them on the night of July 26th and one on July 27th.

Approximately $50 in cash was stolen from Ross's Tavern and Cafe Friday night while the Odessa Auto Parts was also entered, but no losses have been discovered as yet.

Liquor and merchandise was stolen from the Odessa Drug Saturday night. Four suspects have been taken into custody by the Lincoln County Sheriff. Three men and a woman from Spokane and Omak, were arrested at Soap Lake. They are being held in the county jail pending determination of second degree burglary charges filed against them. An attorney was appointed by the court Tuesday to represent the quartet.

The rear door was used for entry of Ross's Tavern and Cafe, Robert L. Nolan, deputy sheriff and investigating officer, reports. A burglar or burglars entered the Auto Parts store through a back window of the shop section, Harold Suchland reports. Entry was noticed after a timber was spotted which obviously had been used to reach the window from the outside.

Entry of the drug store was made by breaking the glass in the front door. The break-in was discovered by Don Haase early Sunday morning. It is reported that merchandise has been recovered except for part of the liquor which had obviously been consumed.

The members of the quartet implicated in the drug store burglary are 19 and 20 years of age, No suspects have been determined, the sheriffs office reports, on the two Friday night entries.

Rolls foreign car three times: John McGuin, 18, Odessa, driving southbound on Highway 21, 3.3 miles north of Odessa, rolled a Volkswagen three times Tuesday morning. The vehicle is considered to be a total wreck. The driver received bruises on his left leg ad on the back of his neck. He was hospitalized for examination only.

A passenger, Kenny Briant, 16, also of Odessa was uninjured.

The vehicle was out of control for over 400 feet after the driver fell asleep, State Trooper Gordon Campbell reports. Traveling on a downhill grade, the vehicle went off the left side of the highway into the dirt shoulder, back onto the roadway where it rolled once, then continued on its wheels on across the highway rolling two more times off the right side.

The accident occurred at 11 a.m. Tuesday, the Trooper said.

25 years ago

The Odessa Record

July 29, 1993

Jewelry is reported taken in burglary at farm home: A daytime burglary at her farm home on a busy highway south of Odessa last Friday resulted in the loss if an estimated $6,000 worth of jewelry, Barbara Walter reported.

She reported to Lincoln County Sheriff's deputies that the burglary occurred at her home 4 miles south of town between 9 a.m. and noon when she was helping relatives paint.

Only a jewelry box which contained diamonds and other jewelry was missing. No other valuables throughout the house were disturbed.

Neighbors say they saw no suspicious vehicles stopping at the Walter residence. These could be easily seen from well-traveled State Highway 28 (Editor's note: this should have said Highway 21), which passes in front of the home.

There have been reports of other home burglaries in rural Odessa in recent months. The entering of occupied homes is a new development. Isolated farms without residents on premises, particularly machine shops and barns, have been targets of burglars for many years.

Barbara has asked that if anyone who might have observed a suspicious vehicle last Friday in the vicinity of the Walter farm contact her at 982-2784.

Letters to the Editor

Readers have different views of Record article about safari.

To the Editor:

I am writing this letter to show my disgust with your article on the supposed hunting trip...to Zambia.

First of all, as your story stated, they were on a farm in Africa, not out in the wilds of Africa. My understanding of these farms for hunters is that the animals are caught in the wild and brought to the farms purely for a person (not a hunter) to shoot and then have the family all sit around the dead animal while holding this victim's head and be photographed so that the picture and the carcass could then be mounted on that person's wall. What a chill I feel when I think that someone could actually think that a wild animal looks better dead and stuffed on a living room wall than in Africa out in the wild. The cadre of dead animals that your newspaper showed pictures of made me sick.

My wife and I were in Africa in October of 1992 and you ran a story of our travels while we were there. I hope that we never gave the feeling that the animals were as plentiful as humans, because the humans far outnumbered the animals. The only place we ever saw animals was in the national parks. The reasons for this are that human pressure (population growth) and poaching (hunting) are making Africa a large zoo with animals only in parks where they are protected. My point is that any animal that is not in the parks anywhere in Africa can be taken by a hunter or a farmer because people...have the money to entice the poor people of these countries to create farms with animals that are captured somewhere else and then brought to the farm to shoot.

When I was in Africa, I was able to get a vehicle within 20 feet of a pride of lions and within 40 feet of a pack of three cheetahs. My shots that I took will last me a lifetime in both video and still picture format. I left something for the next person to see, animals that were alive and healthy. I disagree with everything (the hunters in your article) did while they were in Africa, and I disagree with you publishing pictures and text stating the animals are plentiful and it is alright to shoot them for sport and pleasure.

The animals in Africa are almost tame in the sense that they let vehicles with people in them within a short distance of themselves.

This is not really hunting is it? It is closer to going to the store and shooting your next wall hanging.

David Stubbs and Shawn Reihs-Stubbs, Issaquah

Editor's note: The farm referred to in the article was not a game farm, but a cattle farm which Abie duPlooy leases to the government. The hunters did not hunt on any game farms. The area they hunted in was about the size of eastern Washington, and is in a government game management area. It is not a fenced area. The animals in the area are not tame, as those in the areas which the writer refers to. There is a difference between animals encountered on picture safaris and those areas for hunting safaris.

To the Editor:

I thought the safari coverage (in The Record) was great! The article was well done with excellent pictures illustrating a super story telling not only about a hunt but also about African traditions and their way of life. Apparently not everyone read the article.

As for the "emotionally violated minority," I'm sorry if you were offended, but that feeling is not sufficient reasoning for censorship. As for the need for conservation, American sportsmen have led the way for many years with millions of dollars for preserves and refuges and to improve habitat on private as well as public land to ensure populations of wildlife for consumptive and non-consumptive use throughout the world.

Keep up the good work, Odessa Record staff!

Mark J. Iksic, Irby

Opinion by telephone:

To the Editor:

The article on the safari was great. I found it enjoyable from beginning to end.

Sincerely,

Dr. Warren D. Kragt, Ritzville

Opinion by telephone:

To the Editor:

I thoroughly enjoyed the article about the African safari. it was well-written and informative. We're fortunate in having local people who shared their experiences with us through The Record's article.

The other side of the hunting issue is understandable, and all are entitled to their opinions. I feel that when the animal population multiplies to the extent where it is a threat to crops that hunting is justified.

Again, thanks for an interesting feature article.

Sincerely,

Gary Schell, Odessa

To the Editor:

Many of us enjoy hunting, which takes many forms. Some people like to go on safari. This kind of hobby is their enjoyment and I see nothing wrong with it.

We found the article in The Record about the local people and their adventure in Africa to be most interesting.

Sincerely,

Audrey Beck, Odessa