EDITH ELEANOR SHINN ERICKSON
(1914-2008)
The late Edith E. Erickson was
well-known as a teacher and for her research and writing about history of
various aspects of the Palouse and Whitman County. For example, her 1985 book, “Whitman County: From Abbieville to Zion” remains a popular source for information on settlements, towns and cities in the county. Here is information about
her. This was posted 12/16/2017
--Based on information from Fall 2008 Journey magazine of Lewis Clark State College (Lewiston, Idaho):
Edith (Shinn) Erickson (LCSC
Class of 1934) of Eatonville, Washington,
passed away on August 1, 2008. She was 94. After graduating from Lewiston State
Normal School, she taught in one room schools in Idaho and Nez Perce Counties
during the 1930s, in Southwick in the 1940s, and spent about 25 years teaching
4th grade in LaCrosse, Washington. She retired. In retirement she became the
perpetual volunteer. She worked with exchange students or adults who found
English challenging. She volunteered for the Red Cross and numerous community
committees in Colfax, Washington. Colfax honored Edith by naming her the first
annual 'Edith Erickson Community Service Award' recipient. One of the joys in retirement
was having the time to write. She carefully researched and wrote five history
books. She also did genealogy and wrote stories and poems of her life and
observations.
--From John E. Cochran
Family Association website:
=Their second child, Edith
Eleanor, arrived two years later on April 27, 1914. For a time she was called
Polly by her doting Aunts and Grandparents. On March 11, 1916 disaster stuck
the Shinn's. A fire destroyed the new house on the homestead. Among the things
saved were the wedding dress, the old Shinn family Bible (dating back to the
1700's) and a quilt pieced by Grandmother Pickard for Ethel many years before.
It is said that Louis yelled, "Oh, oh, our stovepipe is on fire."
Edith, age 2, watched the flame and said "Pretty, pretty." An old
tool shed was used for a home until other arrangements could be made.=
=The year of 1923 was one of
trials and tribulations. Edith and Maurice contracted scarlet fever in October.
They were the only children in the community to have the disease. The malady
was discovered while Edith was at school so there was a vacation for all the
other children while the building was fumigated with burning sulfur.=
=On September 20, 1923, Edna
noted in her diary: "… On October 6 (Ethel) was in bed all day but
believed "I am better tonight!' On October 13 both Louise and Edith [Shinn]
were sick. Dr. Foskett came from Whitebird. Edith had the chicken pox…=
=After that both he and
Edith went to high school in Grangeville, a distance of 40 miles. Maurice spent
the first year in Grangeville, but joined his siblings in a "batch
camp" in Lewiston while Edith and Louis were going to Normal School.
Marion joined them in Lewiston in 1934.=
=1938 was an eventful year.
Marion graduated from high school in May. Edith married Einer Erickson at
Doumecq in June. The wedding was held at the same place her parents married 27
years before.=
=Their home was the center
of activity for young and old alike. Friends gathered there for quilting
parties, for Bible study, or just visiting. Einer, Edith and Geneal Erickson
lived in Colfax and were in Lewiston nearly every weekend.=
--Edith
Eleanor Shinn Erickson
Memorial Service August 20,
2008, 1:30 p.m. Eatonville, Wash., United Methodist Church
August 7, 2008,
EatonvilleNews.net
Edith was born 4-27-1914 at
Canfield on the high plains of central Idaho where her grandparents had
homesteaded about 1900. She was the only daughter of Ray and Ethel Shinn and
had 3 brothers. Maurice and Louis (widow Rowena) predeceased her. She is
survived by brother Marion (wife, Lorena) of Lewiston, Idaho. In 1938 she
married Einer Erickson who passed away in 2003. She is survived by daughter,
Geneal Palmer (Willett) of Eatonville, Granddaughter Elizabeth Dompier (Chad)
of Renton, and Grandson Darin Palmer (Abigail) of DesMoines. Blake and Keegan
Dompier, her great grandsons were the joy of her life.
In retirement she became the
perpetual volunteer. Several times she worked with exchange students or adults
who found English challenging. She tutored her neighbor to become a U.S.
citizen. She volunteered for the Red Cross and numerous church and community
committees in Colfax. It was a proud day when several years after her move to
Eatonville to be near her daughter, Colfax honored her by naming her the first
annual Edith Erickson Community Service Award recipient.
One of her joys in
retirement was having time to write. She carefully researched to write 5
history books. She also did genealogy and wrote stories and poems of her life
and observations which she shared with her family. She enjoyed gardening and
remained actively involved in several organizations. She rarely missed lunch at
the senior meal site and greatly appreciated the caring shown by the workers
and volunteers there. After she was widowed she enjoyed traveling with her
family. She was a member of the Eatonville Methodist Church.
A memorial will be held
August 20, 2008 at 1:30 at the Methodist Church in Eatonville with internment
at the Colfax cemetery on September 6, 2008.
....................
--Edith Erickson, 94,
Eatonville, Wash.
Aug 8, 2008 Lewiston Tribune
Edith Erickson was born
April 27, 1914, at Canfield, on the high plains of central Idaho where her
grandparents homesteaded about 1900. She was the only daughter of Ray and Ethel
Shinn and had three brothers. Maurice and Louis (widow Rowena) predeceased her.
She is survived by her brother Marion and his wife, Lorena, of Lewiston.
In 1938 she married Einer
Erickson, who passed away in 2003. She is survived by daughter, Geneal Palmer
(Willett) of Eatonville, Wash.; granddaughter, Elizabeth Dompier (Chad) of Renton,
Wash.; and grandson, Darin Palmer (Abigail) of Des Moines, Wash. Blake and
Keegan Dompier, her great-grandsons, were the joy of her life.
In retirement she became the
perpetual volunteer. Several times she worked with exchange students or adults
who found English challenging. She tutored her neighbor to become a U.S.
citizen. She volunteered for the Red Cross and numerous church and community
committees in Colfax. It was a proud day when several years after her move to
Eatonville to be near her daughter, Colfax honored her by naming her the first
annual Edith Erickson Community Service Award recipient.
One of her joys in
retirement was having time to write. She carefully researched to write five
history books. She also did genealogy and wrote stories and poems of her life
and observations, which she shared with her family. She enjoyed gardening and
remained actively involved in several organizations. She rarely missed lunch at
the senior meal site and greatly appreciated the caring shown by the workers
and volunteers there. After she was widowed she enjoyed traveling with her
family. She was a member of the Eatonville Methodist Church.
A memorial service will be
at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Methodist Church in Eatonville, with inurnment at
the Colfax Cemetery at 2 p.m. Sept. 6. Both will be followed by receptions at the
Methodist churches to visit and continue a celebration of her life.
Information posted here found through Internet and other research.
..................
..................
Researched/written by Edith E.
Erickson unless otherwise noted:
--“Lumbering
in Whitman County” (Summer 1980/ Vol. 8, No. 2, ppp 13-17, Bunchgrass
Historian, Whitman County Historical Society)
--“Colfax
100 Plus” history of Colfax (1981)
--“From Whence We Came 1632-1985,”
compiled by Edith E. Erickson (1985)
--“Whitman County: From Abbieville
to Zion” (1985)
--“Colfax I.O.O.F. No. 14 and Verona
Rebekah Lodge No. 13” (Fall 1987/ Vol. 15, No. 2, pp 20-23, Bunchgrass
Historian, Whitman County Historical Society)
-- "Rosalia: From Battlefield
to Wheatfield, 1858-1988," compiled by Edith E. Erickson (1988)
--''From Sojourner to Citizen: The Chinese of
the Inland Empire,'' by Edith E. Erickson and Eddy Ng (1989)
Also:
--Looking Back” column in Colfax Gazette --In the
Colfax Gazette (also known as Whitman County Gazette), May 21, 1992: “The May 7 Gazette story of mammoth bones found
on the location of the new PGT pipeline near La Crosse reminded Edith Erickson
of other mammoth bones found in the Rosalia region in the 1870s. Erickson,
former long time Colfax resident who now lives in Eatonville, found an article
from the Nov. 7, 1930, issue of the Whitman County Farmer about Tom and William
Donahue finding an 800 pound skull, foot wide backbone joints and leg bones
nearly ten feet long. Erickson, who has written three historical books and used
to write the “Looking Back” column for this paper, said fossilized bones were
found north of Rosalia at Hangman Creek and south of Rosalia at Pine Creek.”
--"Tabor LaFollette History of Colfax,
1956-1979" in the WSU Libraries MASC/Manuscripts, Archives, and Special
Collections "comprises Tabor LaFollette's tape recordings from newspapers
of Colfax entitled, The history of Colfax (Colfax, 1956-1957; microfilm), and
an index created by Edith E. Erickson (1979)."
--Biography of Ethen Ann
Cochran Shinn by Marion Shinn at John E. Cochran Family Association website
includes "special thanks to Edith (Shinn) Erickson, my sister,
for her assistance in writing this biography. Her files contain detailed year
by year accounts of important and trivial events in the life of Ethel Shinn and
other members of the family."
--Edith Eleanor Shinn Erickson
Birth Date: 27 April 1914
Birth Place: Idaho, possibly
in Canfield on Doumecq Plains in Idaho County.
Death (age 94) Date: 1 August 2008
Death Place: Eatonville,
Pierce County, Wash.
Cemetery: Colfax Cemetery, Colfax, Whitman County, Wash.
....
Story on
back cover of book "Whitman County: From Abbieville to Zion" -- Edith E. Erickson
is a retired teacher, who has for many years been interested in local history.
Her first book, Colfax 100 Plus, was a thoroughly researched study of the town
where her great-grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. James Pickard, homesteaded about
1871. While researching for that book, Mrs. Erickson interest spread to other
areas of Whitman County as she uncovered interesting bits of information and
felt others might be intrigued by the number of places that had at one time
been named and have since disappeared. In her attempt to make this book as
accurate and complete as possible in recording the history of Whitman County’s
place names, she had used a variety of sources ranging from U.S. Postal records
to interviews with people who have attended some of the very small and now
consolidated schools in the past seventy years.”
