Pullman High girls’ sports classic photo: ‘Asian Invasion’ PHS girls' soccer at Deer Park Sept 21, 1999

June 14, 1909: Pullman Day at Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition in Seattle

Story from June 15, 1909, Pullman Herald about Pullman Day at A.Y.P.:

According to Wikipedia, the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition, a world's fair held in Seattle in 1909, publicized the development of the Pacific Northwest. “It was originally planned for 1907, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush, but the organizers found out about the Jamestown Exposition being held that year, and rescheduled. The fairgrounds became the campus of the University of Washington."

Pullman’s artesian history

The tiles of those honored in the Distinguished Residents category (sponsored by the Pullman Rotary Club) of Pullman’s “Walk of Fame” include art work in a circle located in one corner of the tile.

Within the circle is the letter “P,” representing Pullman. Difficult to decipher for some is the object in front of the “P.” No, it is not a haystack. It’s a representation of a Pullman artesian well. 

=An artesian well replica is located in downtown Pullman on Northeast Kamiaken Street, across the street from Porch Light Pizza and on one side of the Neill Public Library parking lot. It is a replica of Pullman’s original artesian well #7 located near that site in 1890. Pullman known then as the “Artesian City” had 20 such wells by 1909.

=The book ‘Pullman: Images of America’ (2010) includes these photo cutlines related to artesian wells:

--“Artesian water was first encountered in May 1889. The artesian well shown here was struck in 1889 or 1890. This one was located in what is now the parking lot of east of Neill Public Library. The plentiful water supply from these wells was a stimulus to Pullman’s early growth. The building in the distance in the upper left was the second schoolhouse in Pullman, located on the present site of the Gladish Community Center."

--“Pullman’s artesian wells were an important focus in the selection of the town as the location for the Washington Agricultural College and School of Science,” now Washington State University. “This well appears to have been located west of North Grand Avenue. The photograph was probably taken about 1913."

=The 42-room Artesian Hotel of Pullman was constructed in 1892 and opened in 1893. It was at the corner of Grand Avenue and Main Street, directly across Grand Avenue from downtown Pullman’s Flatiron Building. The hotel was destroyed by fire on Sept. 3, 1922.

 =Some issues of the Pullman Herald newspaper nameplate featured a shield with text “PULLMAN The Artesian City Gem of the Palouse.”

=Members of the “Artesian Committee” of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce “act as representatives at ground-breakings, grand openings, dedications and other events.”

………..

Information and photos posted here were found via searches on Internet. Some, but not necessarily all of the info and photos are from WSU Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections; Whitman County Historical Society; Pullman Herald; City of Pullman and the book ‘Pullman: Images of America’ (2010).

Whitman County food pantries could close for lack of volunteers (Colfax Gazette 8/23/2017)

Food pantries could close for lack of volunteers

August 23, 2017

By Kara McMurray Whitman County (Colfax) Gazette reporter August 23, 2017

Every month, pantries around Whitman County distribute 45,000 pounds of food to more than 800 families which total about 2,000 people. This service happens once a month in most of the rural communities of the county and twice a month in Colfax.

And it may be on the verge of disappearing.

“That really could be a reality, losing the pantries,” said Paige Collins, executive director at the Council on Aging in Colfax.

Collins said she is worried for the future of Whitman County food pantries with a lack of volunteers and nobody to step up to run them.

“The majority of our pantries are run by folks of mature age. People who are 40 to 60 years old are working and not in town to help out,” she said. “They’re not there anymore because everyone’s working. I’m really stumped as to how we motivate and find the next generation of people to run it.”

Ashley Vaughan, Palouse Fresh Food Project coordinator through the Center for Civic Engagement at WSU, said she has become concerned over the potential of losing food pantries, too.

“There are some pantries where the pantry lead volunteers have been running the pantry for years, and when they leave, there isn’t anyone that is willing to take it over,” she said.

The potential of losing a food pantry has become a big reality in Garfield, where the pantry is currently administered by James Woomack of Farmington. Woomack found himself involved with the pantry there a few years ago, and not long after, he was the one in charge.

“I’ve been involved for better than four years, but been running it for about two,” he said. “I just went in one day when LaJeanne Proctor was running it, and I asked her if she needed help. She signed me right up.”

Woomack said he and his wife do have some volunteers for the pantry, but many of them, like the Woomacks, do not actually live in Garfield.

“Most of the people who are deeply involved are from other towns,” he said.

He noted that one volunteer, Penny Martinez, is from Pullman and deeply involved, but she is also a WSU student and started classes again this week at the university. She will not be as available to help as much as she has in the past. Woomack does have other volunteers, but he is unsure of being able to find someone to take over the operation.

“James Woomack is now working full-time and trying to step down,” said Collins. “They can find help in a pinch, but nobody to be the lead.”

“I’m getting to the point with other obligations that I just can’t do it,” said Woomack. “The pantry, without help, it’s in danger. We’re doing our best to keep it running.”

Woomack said he spends about five days a month operating the pantry between gathering and sorting the food and the distribution day, as well as the necessary government paperwork to report how much.

Woomack is also a member of the LaDow Grange, which currently sponsors the pantry. To remain in operation, the pantry needs to be sponsored by a 501c3 organization, and the grange may soon close.

“I can’t get any support from the Grange,” he said. “I have to have officers nominated by September, or it closes in October.”

The American Legion, Woomack said, is willing to step up to be the sponsor of the pantry, but there is still concern that there will not be a pantry to sponsor.

“That doesn’t solve my volunteer problem,” he said.

The reality of a closed pantry has already been felt in one Whitman County community. In August of 2016, the Rosalia pantry closed indefinitely due to a lack of volunteers, high utility bills and some volunteers abusing the pantry’s space by leaving it a mess.

“I’d really like to find a place to start it up again,” said Rosalia Mayor Nanette Konishi.

Konishi has been working on the pantry issue for a year now, and she said this week she hopes she may be close to a resolution.

“I’m thinking of maybe opening up the community center again for it, but I have to bring that before the town council first,” she said.

The pantry at one point operated out of the community center, but it later moved to the Baptist church. The high utility bills related to the pantry operation were one of the reasons that it became an unrealistic location.

“I’d like to be able to do that (move the pantry to the community center) early in the fall,” said Konishi. “It would take moving a freezer and taking the steps to get it going again.”

One thing communities may not realize, Woomack said, is how much the different organizations in a town rely on one another. In Garfield, for example, the Grange sponsors the pantry, but is in danger of closing. The American Legion hosts the monthly community lunch at the Legion hall on the third Thursday of the month, and that is sponsored by the Methodist church. The Methodist church, however, could be closing in December, and the monthly meal may not be able to continue without a sponsor.

Woomack said the Grange could take over sponsorship, but the Grange needs to remain viable for that to happen.

“These groups are interdependent, and then the community is interdependent on them also,” said Woomack. “The community just sees them as individual entities, but they just don’t realize how all interdependent they are.”

Mayor Konishi said she is unsure why it is so difficult to find volunteers.

“I wish I understood why it’s hard for people to get involved in something that is so critically important,” she said.

Konishi said she is not sure if the food pantry in Rosalia needs to be sponsored by a 501c3 like in Garfield, but she said there are some options available if that is needed. She said she will be researching the matter.

Woomack said he wants to get across to the community how important the food bank is. He said there about 55 to 60 families served out of it monthly.

“They need the food bank because for some of them it’s the only food they get each month,” he said.

Lack of volunteers, he said, is a problem he knows can have a solution, if people step up.

“I’m sure there is enough that could step in if they chose to,” said Woomack. “It’s not impossible, it’s just somebody needs to have the dedication to do it.”

With his other obligations and Martinez being back in school, the need for an administrator and volunteers for the pantry is imminent.

“Penny and I are going to run it until December,” he said.

After December, the future of the pantry is up in the air. Woomack said there are some people who are potentially interested in operating the pantry, but he is not sure if it will work out or not.

As for the Grange, he said he really needs people to step up to fill the officer positions. He holds two positions.

“I’m currently the treasurer and the secretary,” said Woomack. “Those positions are supposed to be a check and balance, not held by the same person.”

There are three other officers right now, but they will not all be continuing in their positions.

“I can’t do it myself,” said Woomack. “I would need six members to fill positions that should be filled by separate people.”

Woomack said anyone interested in serving as an officer should find the LaDow Grange on Facebook, or contact him (509-287-2001) or Martinez (509-635-0150).

Collins said she wants to remain optimistic on the future of pantries, but she is not sure what to think right now.

“It could really be a problem in the next two to three years. We could really be losing the pantries,” she said. “There are a lot of the pantry administrators saying, ‘If I left there’d be no one to do this.’”

She noted that the Council on Aging supports the county pantries with commodities, and people could be served out of the Colfax pantry, but she does not want that to become the reality.

“There could be just Colfax and Pullman left,” she said. “But people can’t afford the gas to get to Colfax.”

Konishi said she does not want to see this become the permanent reality either.

“If I’m not using the pantry myself, I don’t see the direct effect, but I know people are struggling more than usual (without the pantry),” she said. “They have to get rides to Colfax, and that just doesn’t work all the time.”

Vaughan said she will be continuing to work with the Council on Aging, the Whitman County Food Coalition and the various pantries to address the issues and come up with ideas.

Collins said that looking at how many people are served across 12 pantries in the county, she knows so many people cannot afford to lose this service.

“There’s definitely a lot of need,” she said. “It used to be that people said it would work itself out, but that’s not the case anymore.”

Pullman to honor Walk of Famers on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017

Whitman County (Colfax) Gazette Aug 17, 2017, print edition

Inductees to the Pullman Walk of Fame will be honored during the 29th annual National Lentil Festival at 10 a.m. Saturday at the corner of Kamiaken and Main streets.

The Walk of Fame was established in 2003 to honor individuals who have served the Pullman community in a significant way, promoted goodwill, improved the quality of life for Pullman residents or brought acclaim to the area through their contributions. This year’s inductees bring the number of commemorative granite plaques to 105.

Each plaque has the names of these individuals inscribed and has been installed in the sidewalks of downtown Pullman. Brochures listing all inductees are available at the Pullman Chamber of Commerce office. Donations are always accepted for the Walk of Fame program.

This year’s inductees include Dan Maher, host of the “Inland Folk” public radio show for more than 30 years; Richard (Dick) Fry, former WSU sports information director and historian; Mike and Sue Hinz, strong supporters for Pullman’s Fourth of July celebration to track and field at Pullman High School, and Lt. Col. Robert and Miriam Rehwaldt, volunteers for many organizations.

'Washington State on the Air' book published in 1993 (KWSC, KWSU etc)

Book Title: Washington State on the Air

Publication year: 1993

Author: Burt Harrison

Publisher: KWSU Radio-TV

96 pages, softbound

2017 National Lentil Festival in two slideshows

Slideshow: National Lentil Festival
Pullman
Fri., Aug. 18, 2017

Slideshow: National Lentil Festival
Pullman
Sat., Aug. 19, 2017