This Week in Odessa History

100 years ago

May 27, 1921

The Odessa High School Alumni Association held its annual reunion and banquet in the parlor of the English Congregational Church last Friday evening with about 40 in attendance. The members of the senior class and high school faculty were guests. The association voted to adopt a resolution endorsing the building of a new high school.

G.W. Finney’s Hudson Super Six and Wentel Hamburg’s Ford collided head on near Ruff Wednesday, during a heavy dust storm that made it impossible for either of the drivers to see the other’s car. Mr. Hamburg had with him at the time his entire family and Henry Trupp Jr. besides. Mr. Finney had but one passenger, Mrs. Conrad Wacker, and only the fact that both drivers were going slowly prevented death or serious injury to some of the occupants of the cars, both of which were badly wrecked. As it was, no one was hurt. Mr. Finney was brought back to Odessa later in the day by his niece Mrs. Edith Hinzman.

The officers of the Odessa American Legion post, which had charge of Memorial Day arrangements, state that attorney W.M. Nevins will give the Memorial Day address and that all plans are complete for the program. Odessa businessmen have declared the day a holiday. Stores will not open at all that day. In addition, all will decorate their places of business in national colors. A parade will start at 9:15 a.m., moving east from the Community Hall to the English Congregational Church, returning by way of Marjorie Avenue to Third Street (now Alder St.) then south to the foot of the hill, where cars will be waiting to take people to the cemetery. The program there will include Mr. Nevins’ patriotic address, a salute by a firing squad and the decoration of graves.

Sam Wo, Odessa’s laundry man, has a Chinese friend from Wenatchee visiting him this week. His name is Lin Lim.

75 years ago

May 23, 1946

Diplomas were handed to 27 members of the class of 1946 at Odessa High School Wednesday night. Dr. Vernon McKenzie of the University of Washington was the speaker at commencement exercises held in the high school auditorium. Student speakers were William Jessett, valedictorian; Frances Cook, salutatorian; Betty Raugust and David Williams. Don Zicha was presented in a trumpet solo and Frances Cook, Wilma Lenhart and Deloris Uhrich formed a musical trio.

The graduates were Frederick Horst, Betty Raugust, Lloyd Carlson, David Williams, Erma Lenhart, Frnak Groh, Merlin Jantz, Floyd Kester, Carol Urich, Eugene Widmer, John Speck, Wilma Lenhart, Merlin Kissler, LaVern Schafer, Richard Laney, Deloris Uhrich, Wallace Weishaar, William Jessett, Frances, Donald Zicha, Dick Kareen, Dewain Hemmerling, Ruth Giese, Wayne Walter, Helen Groh, Warren Weishaar and Norma Carlson.

The Odessa Veterans of Foreign Wars post charter will be presented on May 31 at the high school gymnasium with a degree team from Spokane in charge. The public is invited. A benefit dance for the VFW post will be held at the Odessa City Hall on May 22. Music will be furnished by the Harrington Melody Makers. The proceeds will be used toward furnishing the post meeting rooms over the Strate Furniture Store.

50 years ago

May 27, 1971.

Keith Cronrath and Wade Walter, both sophomores at Odessa High School, qualified for the State A Track and Field Championships at WSU on Friday and Saturday. In the Northeast District meet at EWSC (now EWU) last Saturday, Cronrath ran the fastest mile of his career, leading all the way until nipped at the tape by Grand Coulee’s Mike Wold, Coach Leland Boyk reports. Keith’s time of 4:36.7 and Wold’s 4:36.2 are both five seconds faster than the Bi-County record of 4:41.8. Wade Walter’s leap of over 20 feet for the first time won the long jump by an eighth of an inch. The winning jump was 20 feet, 1 5/8 inches. In the triple jump, Walter’s 42 feet, 2 1/8 inches qualified him for a second state event, making him the second sophomore in Odessa history to enter the state competition in two events. In 1965, his brother Forey Walter qualified as a sophomore in both the 100 and 220 sprints, Boyk says.

A barren stretch of rock-strewn, sagebrush-covered land near Marlin was announced Tuesday as the site of a rock music festival next month. The festival to be known as Sunrise 71 was announced at a news conference in Seattle by a group of promoters who said the festival here has been in the planning stage for more than a year. They predicted the event may attract 500,000 rock music fans. The announcement caught Grant County officials by surprise. The site is located just west of the Grant/Lincoln county border. The announcement was made in Seattle by Douglas Willard, who served as spokesman for a group he said had taken a lease-option on nearly 1,800 acres of land adjacent to Highway 28, which runs between Odessa and Ephrata.

25 years ago

May 30, 1996

For the second time in as many years, stripe and leaf rust have hit wide areas of the Inland Northwest, including the Odessa area. Ironically, the same weather conditions that favor a good wheat crop at this time of year have caused the rust to flourish. WSU agronomist and Odessa native Bill Schillinger said growers should be reassured that they won’t be wiped out even if they don’t spray fields to combat the rust. A return of sunny skies and 80-degree temperatures should impede further development of the disease.

Commencement for 12 Odessa High School seniors will be held in the gymnasium on June 1 at 2 p.m. Principal Gordon Neale will present the class, followed by awarding of the diplomas by Superintendent Dr. Steve Smedley and school board chair Clark Kagele.