Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 1, 1953 Adams County, Ritzville, WA ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************ ==================================================================== This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Sue Gardner sueboo18@hotmail.com ==================================================================== Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 1, 1953 Angell, Former Resident Dies CONRAD, Mont. - A former Ritzville resident, Mack Angell, Sr., widely-known here as one of the pioneers, died at his home in Valier recently. Angell, known here as "Uncle Mac," operated a saloon in Ritzville where the present S & K Motors building is located. Born in 1863 in Boone county, Missouri, Angell crossed the plains in a covered wagon at the age of three. His parents settled near Pendleton, Ore., where Angell lived until he was 16. He was married in Palouse, Wash., in 1867, and he and his wife later moved to Ritzville. From Ritzville they moved to Montana where Angell purchased a ranch on the Birch creek west of Valier. They retired about 26 years ago. Kechter Funeral Conducted Funeral services for Jacob Kechter, 79, were held Saturday at the Danekas and Duncal funeral home chapel with the Rev. F. J. Ahrendt officiating. Burial was in the Lutheran cemetery. Kechter, a longtime Ritzville resident, died Christmas day at his home in Tacoma where he had lived the past two years. Kechter was born in Kolb, Russia. He was an active amateur ballet dancer but according to members of his family never performed with a touring ballet troup in Russia as many of his friends believed. He lived in Ritzville for 45 years, spending most of his time as clerk and pumpman for the Northern Pacific railway. His survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Emanuel Klemmer of Longview and Mrs. Frank Christel of Tacoma, and four sons, Carl of Ritzville, Fred of Wheeler, and Edward and Victor, both of Tacoma. He was a member of the Lutheran church. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 8, 1953 Graveside Services Held for Jantz Baby Graveside services were held Friday afternoon for the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Jantz who died Dec. 31 in Adams County Memorial hospital. The Rev. Willard Weibe conducted the rites at the Mennonite cemetery. The infant also was survived by a sister, Sally; the maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Schrag, and the paternal grandfather, Andrew Jantz. Funeral Slated for L. C. Clary WASHTUCNA - Mrs. Walter Little received word Tuesday night of the death of her father, L. C. Clary of Granite, Ida., at Sandpoint. Mr. Clary who would have been 87, had he lived until Friday, suffered from a heart condition and had been a patient in the Sandpoint hospital, but had been recently moved from there to a home at Sandpoint where he appeared to be better. Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday at Sandpoint. Lyman C. Clary was born at Keokuk, Iowa, on Jan. 9, 1866. He was married at Lind, July 14, 1902, to Alvina Bertha Weise, Lind resident, who was born at New Salem, N. Dak. The couple later moved to Sprague and then to Cocolalla. Mrs. Clary died on May 4, 1944. Of the five children born to the couple, four survive and they are: Fred Clary, Sandpoint; Mrs. Floyd (Eileen) Winn, Ravalli, Mont.; Mrs. Walter Little, Washtucna, and Victor Clary, Granite, Ida. He also leaves 14 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 15, 1953 None Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 22, 1953 Ex-Tucna Resident, Mrs. Schmidt Dies WASHTUCNA - Word came of the death of Mrs. Charles Schmidt of Muenster, Texas, a former Washtucna resident, on Jan. 14 at Muenster. A daughter, Ethel, who lives in Walla Walla, left that night for Texas. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 29, 1953 None Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, February 5, 1953 None Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, February 12, 1953 Mrs. Nora Edwards, Ritzville Pioneer, One of The First Residents of Community Funeral services were held here Saturday for Mrs. Nora Harris Edwards, an 86-year-old pioneer who came west in a covered wagon. Mrs. Edwards came to Ritzville as a 13-year-old girl in 1880. At that time her family and three others were the only residents of Ritzville. It was not until the following year that grading was begun through this area for the Northern Pacific railway. Mrs. Edwards could remember horses freezing in the howling blizzards. She could remember hauling green willows from Cow Creek to use as fuel and the big washboiler kept on the family stove to melt snow for water. She lived here when Adams County was nothing except an unbroken prairie of bunchgrass occupied by a scattered handiful of cattlemen. Her early life was the grim, unceasing struggle of the pioneer against distances and elements which broke the backs of all except the strongest. Married in 1883, Mrs. Edwards and her husband lived in Ritzville, Walla Walla and Milton, Ore., before settling permanently in Ritzville in 1898. She has lived here continously ever since. During recent years she occupied an apartment in the Hotel Davis basement. She lived alone but was visited almost daily by her sons, S. E. (Skee) Edwards and R. E. (Skinny) Edwards or by their wives or other close friends. In failing health only recently, Mrs. Edwards was taken to the Adams County Memorial hospital late in January. She died there about 3:30 a.m. last Thursday, Feb. 5. Her funeral was held in the Danekas and Duncan funeral home chapel with the Rev. Alfred Carter of Trinity Methodist church officiating. Burial was in the Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Besides her sons, Mrs. Edwards was survived by a sister, Mrs. Nettie Pertain of Seattle; a brother, Clifford Harris of San Diego, Calif., four grandchildren, Mrs. Lee Stage, Mrs. Jack Stimpson, Mrs. James Schoessler and Tommy Edwards; and four great-grandchildren. Mrs. Edwards was born in Autagamie county, Wisconsin, on Sept. 9, 1866. Her father was Jared M. Harris, a veteran of battles of Gettysburg and Lookout Mountain. The Harris family traveled by covered wagon to Canton, S. Dak., in 1869. After eight years in South Dakota the family headed westward again in covered wagon to Walla Walla, where they arrived on Aug. 21, 1877. Harris met Philip Ritz, regarded as the "founder" of Ritzville, in Walla Walla. He helped Ritz build the first house in this area in the fall of 1878. The following year, Harris took up a timber claim just below the butte lying behind the present airport and now part of the Marcus Thom ranch. He built a one-room house there in 1879, and on Nov. 13, 1880, moved his family from Walla Walla to Ritzville. "Three days after we reached Ritzville a terrible blizzard blew up," Mrs. Edwards recalled for the Journal-Times several years ago. "It lasted for three days. We were completely snowbound. We had no barn, and our horses and livestock were at the mercy of the blizzard. "One horse wandered away and was frozen. Another kept beggin at the door for something to eat. My mother baked bread to feed the horse. She shook the straw out of our ticks to keep the cattle alive and we all slept on the floor." That first winter, the only four families living in Ritzville were Mr. and Mrs. Harris and their four children, Mr. and Mrs. McKay and child, Mr. and Mrs. James G. Bennett and two children and Mr. and Mrs. D. Keller and four children. A blacksmith, Henry Horn, also lived here. They were the only residents between Cow creek and Crab creek. The Bennetts and McKays had come with the Harris family from South Dakota. At this time Walla Walla and Spokane were the closest trading posts. The 60-mile trip to Walla Walla on the back of a cayuse to return with supplies and amil, was made only about twice a year. The Harris family hauled their drinking water from Sheep Springs and later from another spring at Paha. Once the family lived for a week on beans and fruit, which they kept in a hillside cave to prevent freezing. These early settlers had wheat on their minds, for most of them had been wheat farmers back east. In 1879 Harris broke a small plot of Ritzville's land and sewed it to wheat, the first wheat sewed in Adams county. An army of squirrels devoured the grain. The next year Bennett harvested the first crop in the county's history about 2-1/2 miles north of the present site of Ritzville. In 1881, Nora Harris helped her mother cook for an 80-man construction crew which arrived to build a grade for the Northern Pacific railway. Nora was one of the 10 students enrolled in Ritzville's first school, a 12 by 12 shack hauled in from the county in 1892. Miss Roxanna White, the teacher, sat on a kitchen chair behind a drygoods crate used as a desk and used blackboards made of two 10-inch planks stained with oil and lampback. School was held for three months during the year. Also in 1882 the first child was born in Adams county - Nettie Harris - Nora's younger sister, who was born April 23 and is now Mrs. Nettie Pertain of Seattle. As a pioneer settler, Nora Harris experienced many of the same heartaches young girls of today are familiar with. She recalled recently... "The first store in Ritzville was operated by William McKay in a small house near the railroad tracks. He carried groceries, a few bolts of cotton cloth, overalls and men's shirts. His supplies were very limited. "A Fourth of July celebration was being planned and my mother bought a few yards of cotton pattern and we made a new dress, white with red polka dots and trimmed with ruffles. "I was very proud of my dress and fairly pranced in it to the Fourth of July celebration. "A neighboring family arrived at the same time. I could not believe my eyes. Every woman and girl in the family was wearing a dress made from the same white and red polka dot material - only they had run short when they reached their mother so she had only a blouse in white and polka dot, with a black skirt. "After that I didn't cae much for my new dress." Nora Harris was the first girl in the Ritzville settlement to be married, although she was not wed in Adams county. A contemporary account reports: "Miss Nora Edwards, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Harris, and Samuel Edwards left Ritzville at 3 a.m. on an accommodation (mixed) train for Cheney April 10, 1883, to get married. "Arriving in time for breakfast at the hotel they had trouble locating a minister so were married by a justice of the peace in the hotel lobby at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. "The bride wore a dress of dark brown wool made with a polonaise and trimmed with satin and buttons. "Friends invited them to supper and they waited until 3 the next morning for a train back to Ritzville." Mrs. Edwards' first child, Bessie Erma Edwards, was born June 12, 1892, in a house at 208 W. Second Avenue. In November of that year the young Edwards family moved to Walla Walla. A son, Ray Ellsworth, was born on a small farm near Walla Walla in 1895. Later in '95 the family moved to Milton, Ore., where Edwards worked as a bookkeeper for the Stewart Flouring Mills. A second son, Samuel Everett, was born in Milton in 1898. In March of '98 the Edwards returned to Ritzville. They lived with Nora's parents until September when they bought a one-room house at 211 East Third Avenue where the Bill Sickmann residence is now located. They lived there until building a new home at 313 E. Fourth in 1916-17. Edwards was postmaster in Ritzville for many years. He died in June of 1926. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, February 19, 1953 Funeral Is Held for Farmhand, Frank Paul, 73 Funeral services for Frank B. Paul, 73, a farmhand who took his own life in a room in the Grittman Building Sunday night, were scheduled to be held Thursday morning at the Danekas and Duncan funeral home chapel with the Rev. Alfred Carter officiating. Cremation was to follow. Paul, who was more generally known in the Ritzville area as "Frank Burke," apparently shot himself shortly after midnight Sunday in an upstairs room he had occupied for many years. His body was discovered Monday morning. Born in Anderson county, Kansas, on Dec. 8, 1879, Paul had come to the Ritzville area 27 years ago. He worked as a farmhand. He was survived by his widow, Anna, and two sons, William B., and Joseph D., all living in Nebraska, and a sister, Mrs. L. L. Lucas of Roseville, Calif. Funeral is Held For Rev. Clyde Gearhart AUBURN - Funeral services were conducted here Feb. 9 for the Rev. Clyde M. Gearhart who died the previous Friday. His son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. George Gearhart of Ritzville were vacationing in California when they received word of Rev. Gearhart's death. They flew to Seattle to assist in making arrangements. Rev. Gearhart was a retired Methodist minister. His widow, Jessie, is staying with the Gearharts in Ritzville. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, February 25, 1953 Freise Funeral Set Funeral services for Edward W. Freise, 70, longtime Ritzville resident, will be held at 10 a.m. Monday. Site had not been announced. He died Thursday morning. Griffith Rites Set For Spokane Friday SPOKANE - Harvey Griffith, former Washtucna resident, died at Sacred Heart hospital Wednesday following a fall down his basement stairs Friday. Funeral services are scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday at Hazen and Jaeger funeral home in Spokane. Nauditt Funeral is This Friday Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Friday for William Herman Nauditt, former Marcellus farmer, who died Tuesday in a Spokane hospital. The Rev. Alfred Carter will conduct the rites in the Danekas and Duncan funeral home chapel. Burial will be in Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Born at Marcellus, Nauditt farmed here from 1920 to 1934 when he moved to Spokane. He settled at Orchard Prairie in 1950. Survivors include five brothers, Albert of Ritzville, Walter, Fred and Robert of Spokane, Louis of Metaline Falls, and four sisters, Mrs. Lena Lehman, Mrs. Martha Glomb, and Mrs. Lillian Day, all of Spokane, and Mrs. Bertha Carlson of Seattle. Funeral Rites Held Thursday for Mrs. Rice HATTON - Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Rice, 67, who died in Chewelah Feb. 16, were held last Thursday at Colville with burial in the Lind cemetery. Mrs. Rice was born at Russellville, Ill., and had resided for 25 years at Kewa before moving to Addy. She and her husband homesteaded between Hatton and Othello in 1904 and farmed there about 20 years. Survivors include the husband, Logan Rice of Addy; six daughters, Mrs. Beulah Franklin of Lind, Mrs. Naomi Cress of Kewa, Mrs. Georgia Franklin of Spokane, Mrs. Lottie Goff and Mrs. Elaine Parkison, both of Colville, and Mrs. Helen Colbert of Republic; and two sons, Earl (Bud) and Darrell, both of Addy. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, March 5, 1953 Griffith Rites Held Friday in Spokane Chapel WASHTUCNA - Funeral services for Harvey Matthew Griffith, Sr., 48, were held at 3 p.m. Friday in the Hazen and Jaeger chapel in Spokane with cremation following. He was a member of the North Hill Christian church and the Eagles lodge. Survivors include his widow, Bell, and a son, Harvey, Jr., at the home; a son, Lloyd Dee and one granddaughter, Colleen, Spokane; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. I. H. Griffith of Portland; two sisters, Mrs. L. E. Starret, Lewiston, Ida., and Mrs. John L. Beck, Spokane, and a brother, Lee Griffith, Portland. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, March 12, 1953 Edward Freise Funeral Is Held Funeral services were held March 2 for Edward W. Freise, 70, who died Feb. 26 at the Adams County Memorial hospital. Freise, who was born in Minnesota, came to Adams county with his parents at the age of five. He farmed near Ritzville until 1949 when he retired to town. He was survived by two daughters, Evelyn Louise Freise of Spokane, Mrs. Anna Marie Main of Seattle, and one son, Albert L. Freise of Ritzville. Also two sisters, Mrs. Bertha Conrath and Mrs. Mary Fifer, both of Spokane, and one grandchild. He was a member of Trinity Methodist church and the Ralston Grange. Services were held at the Trinity Methodist church with the Rev. Alfred Carter officiating. Interment was at the Country cemetery southeast of Ritzville. Danekas and Duncan funeral home had charge of arrangements. Funeral is Held for Mrs. Becker Mrs. Katherine Becker, 76, who had resided in Adams county for the past 24 years, died at her home here Monday. Born in Russia, Mrs. Becker came to the United States with her parents in 1907. She is survived by her husband, George F. Becker, at the hom; three daughters, Mrs. Marie Kiehn of Ritzville, Mrs. Catherine Arlt of Wilson Creek and Mrs. Lavina Brown of Thorpe. Also seven sons, Henry F., and George, Jr., of Ritzville; Connie of Wilson Creek, Johnny of Four Lakes, August of Veradale, Fred F. of Sprague and Clarence of Thorpe. One brother, George Melcher of Ritzville, 24 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She was a member of the Philadelphia Congregational church. The Rev. R. Kirschenmann officiated. Interment was at Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Funeral arrangements were made by Danekas and Duncan funeral home. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, March 19, 1953 Death Takes Longtime Residents Last Saturday Three longtime residents of Ritzville, who had lived in this area a total of 156 years, died Saturday. Funeral services were held Tuesday morning for Otto Emil Ernest Sielaff, 69; Tuesday afternoon for Rickleff E. Hinrichs, 84; and Wednesday afternoon for Alberst S. Ott, 67. All three had been born in Germany and migrated to the United States. Mr. Ott died early Saturday morning at his ranch home about three miles northwest of Ritzville. He was a member of one of Ritzville's pioneer business families. Born in Kleiniedesheim, Rheinpflalz, Germany, on Oct. 31, 1866, Mr. Ott was the eldest son of the late Andrew Ott and Margareta Ott, who at the age of 87 survives him. Albert came to the United States with his parents in 1896. The family settled in Ritzville where they purchased farm property. Andrew Ott and his brother, Sebastian purchased and operated the Ritzville Flouring Mills. Later the mills were taken over by Centennial, though the family retained an interest. Albert attended public schools at Ritzville and later Gongaza University in Spokane. He was employed for 11 years as bookkeeper at the Ritzville Flouring Mills. He was married on March 24, 1915, to Elsie Wellsandt, daughter of the late August Wellsandt and Mrs. Wellsandt. The family lived in Ritzville until 1918 when Mr. Ott took over management of his parents' farm. More recently Albert's son, Robert, has been operating the farm and had developed an outstanding Angus herd in addition to raising wheat. Mr. Ott was a life-long member of Zion Congregational church. He was a member of the board of trustees and served as church treasurer for 14 years. He was also a member of the Zion Men's club, the Modern Woodmen of America and Marcellus Grange and was a director of the Ritzville Trading company. He served as a member of the city council for several years and on his father's death in 1941 took over management of the estate for his mother until a few years ago, when illness forced his virtual retirement. About five years ago, Mr. Ott became afflicted with progressive muscular atrophy, the same type of nerve degeneration which led to the death of Lou Gehrig, favous New York Yankee baseball players. Although he sought medical treatment from May'o brothers and numerous other specialists, Mr. Ott's illness grew progressively worse until he was almost incapacitated. During his illness Mr. Ott became keenly interested in other medical cases of muscular atrophy, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis. Little is known of these puzzling afflictions, though interest in national research was greatly stimulated by the Gehrig case. Albert lived on the ranch farmed by his son, Robert. Other survivors include his widow, Elsie, at the home; two daughters, Mrs. Elaine Kutschkau and Mrs. Mildred Danekas, both of Ritzville, Mrs. Louise Webb of Pullman, Mrs. Carrie Hunter of Spokane, and Mrs. Barbara Denecke of Zenith. Seven grandchildren also survive. Funeral services for Mr. Ott were held Wednesday afternoon at the Zion Congregational church with the Rev. R. W. Rieger officiating. Burial was in the Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Rickleff Hinrichs Shortly before noon Saturday, Rickleff E. Hinrichs, died at the Adams County Memorial hospital where he had been about the past two weeks. Mr. Hinrichs was born on Oct. 13, 1869, at Wittmund, Germany. He was married on Jan. 12, 1887, to Teite Marta Dirks, who preceded him in death in March of 1931. Ten children were born; one died in infancy. Mr. Hinrichs came to the United States in May 1899 and settled on a farm north of Ritzville where he lived for 53 years. He suffered many years from an asthmatic condition which about three years ago became so severe as to force him to spend a considerable time in the hospital. His condition became more serious about a month ago. He is survived by five daughters, Miss Ada Hinrichs of Kirkland, Mrs. Mary Rains of Seattle, Mrs. Carrie Camp of Chewelah, Miss Sena Hinrichs of Ritzville; and Mrs. Tressie Smith of Spokane. Four sons also survive - Dick, Henry and Harry, all of Ritzville, and John of Spokane. Mr. Hinrichs was a member of the Zion Congregational church. Funeral services were held on Tuesday afternoon in the Danekas and Duncan funeral home with Rev. Rieger officiating. Burial was in Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Otto Sielaff Otto Emil Sielaff died at the local hospital about 11:30 p.m. Saturday. He had been there for about the previous two weeks. Mr. Sielaff came to the United States from Germany 52 years ago and had lived in Ritzville where he was a carpenter the past 45 years. One of his annual prides was the 7-9-foot corn crops he raised at his residence here. Mr. Sielaff was survived by the widow, Christina, at the home; a daughter, Mrs. Margaret Westover of Spokane; two grandchildren, a sister, Mrs. Minnie Sielaff of Lind, and four brothers, Bruno and August, both of Ritzville; and Marx and Ernest, both of Burns, Ore. Funeral services were conducted Tuesday morning at the Danekas and Duncan funeral home chapel with the Rev. F. J. Ahrendt officiating. Burial was in the Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Worker Electrocuted Near Kahlotus Ranch Harry Daggett, 27, Rushed To Hospital But Pronounced Death On Arrival Tuesday WASHTUCNA - A 27-year-old Spokane man was electrocuted Tuesday morning when he touched a "hot" wire on a Washington Water Power main line near the Hans Harder ranch between McAdams and Kahlotus. The victim, Harry D. Daggett, was rushed to Adams County Memorial hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. His body was shipped Tuesday night to Spokane, where funeral arrangements are being made. Daggett was employed by James Peterson of Colville, who hed a contract from the Washington Water Power company to run a new line into Harder's ranch. Daggett and his wife, Mary, and two small children, Baird and Claudia, had been living in a trailer parked near the Wachtel apartments in Washtucna. Rites Held for Mrs. Pflugrad WALLA WALLA - Mrs. Marie Pflugrad, 70, of Walla Walla, died March 5 in the Kadlec hospital in Richland. She was born in Mansberg, Russia, Feb. 17, 1883, where she lived until November 1889, when she migrated to the United States and settled in Lind. She married the late Jacob Pflugrad in 1901. They were the parents of five children, two of whom preceded her in death. In 1926 Mrs. Pflugrad and her husband retired to live in Walla Walla. Survivors include her two sons, Richard of Seattle and Howard of Detroit, Mich., and one daughter, Violet Kohl of Richland; and four grandsons, Johnnie, Richard and Gary Lee Kohl and Billy Pflugrad. Graveside services and burial took place in the family plot at the Lind cemetery, March 9. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, March 26, 1953 Funeral Conducted for Mrs. Kanzler TACOMA - Mrs. Henry Kanzler, former old-time resident of Ralston and Ritzville, died at Tacoma on March 6. She was survived by her husband, Henry, two daughters, Mrs. Mollie Lloyd of Opportunity, Mrs. Mary Bishop of Eureka, Calif.; and three grandsons. Funeral Services Held For Mrs. Webb, One of Adams County's Early Pioneers Funeral services were held Tuesday for Mrs. George Everett Webb, 81, one of the early settlers of Adams county, who died Saturday morning in Spokane. Mrs. Webb and her husband had come to Adams county from Radford, Va., in 1900. They were among the earliest settlers in the area southeast of Lind, where they farmed for 30 years. The Rev. Alfred Carter conducted the final rites in the Danekas and Duncan funeral home chapel. Mrs. Webb was buried in the Ritzville Memorial cemetery beside her husband who preceded her in death in 1949. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Chumbley, Emma Sue Chumbley was born Sept. 16, 1871, near Radford. Her father fought in several major battles of the Civil War where he suffered the loss of one eye and other injuries. One of ten children, Emma Sue grew to young womanhood near Radford and attended Normal School at Abingdon, Va., later teaching school for several years. She was married Feb. 15, 1898, to George Everett Webb, and after living near Radford for several years, the young couple with their two eldest children, Everett and Mary, moved to the state of Washington in the fall of 1900 where they were employed on the Daniel Buchanan farm four miles southeast of Ritzville. Buchanan, who came to Ritzville from Wisconsin in 1884, was one of the county's pioneer wheat farmers. In 1896, he, with Jacob Thiel, Sr., and others had introduced "Jones" Red Winter Fife which Turkey Red and Fortyfold became the standard wheat varieties in this area. Buchanan also developed improved tillage methods and very likely gave George Webb valuable experience in farming operations in what until only a few years before had been considered the "eastern Washington desert." The former Buchanan farm in now operated by Jim Schoesler. In the fall of 1901, the Webbs purchased a farm of their own from Jim Watson, 11 miles southeast of Lind. This farm continued to be the family home for 30 years and here their five younger children were born. The Webbs were among the earliest settlers in the Lind area, trading horses with the Indians and clearing much of their land of sagebrush and bunchgrass. They braved many of the hardships of the early pioneers, farming in an era when farm power was supplied by horses and mules and much back breaking labor. It was a familiar sight to see Mr. Webb driving a combine drawn by 27 head of mules and hauling wheat into town over dusty, rutted roads with heavily loaded wheat wagons drawn by a long string of mules. The Webbs were one of the first families to install a telephone between Washtucna and Lind. Mrs. Webb served as registration clerk for Fairview precinct for many years. When a doctor failed to arrive in time, Mrs. Webb often "filled in" to help victims of accident or illness or to bring new life into the world. The Webbs farmed at Lind until 1931, when they moved to an irrigated farm on the Little Spokane river at Chattaroy. They made their home in Chattaroy until four and a half years ago, when due to ill health, it became necessary for them to make their home with their daughters, Mrs. R. M. Damewood, Spokane; Mrs. Will Ahern, Fairfield; and Mrs. George Long, Plummer, Idaho. The couple observed their golden wedding anniversary Feb. 15, 1948, with an open house at their home in Chattaroy. The following year Mr. Webb passed away at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Long. Four years ago Mrs. Webb fell and fractured her hip, which with other complications caused her to remain bedfast or confined to a wheelchair continously since that time. She had been in a critical condition for the past several weeks and her children spent a great deal of time at her bedside. Mrs. Webb was long a member of the Presbyterian church and also served as treasurer of the Congregational church at Chattaroy for many years. She was a charter member of the Sandhills Grange near Lind, and later joined the Moran Prairie Grange, Spokane county. For many years she was also a member of the Willing Workers and Golden Chain club at Chattaroy, and the Mt. Hope Community club at Mt. Hope, near Fairfield. Seven children survived Mrs. Webb. They included two sons, Everett Milton Webb, associate professor of agricultural education at Washington State College and James William Webb, vocational agriculture instructor at Ritzville high school. Five surviving daughters are Mrs. Mary Slagel, Newcastle, Wyo.; Mrs. Nelle Damewood, Spokane; Mrs. Rachel Ahern, Fairfield; Mrs. Emma Long, Plummer, Idaho; and Mrs. Georgia Cowger, Clareton, Wyo. Survivors also include 17 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and four sisters, Mrs. Bessie Bowers, Centralia; and Mrs. Margaret Lucas, Mrs. Clemence Stone and Miss Myrtle Chumbley, all of Radford. One grandson, Everett Baker Slagle (note different spelling) was killed in action with the Marines in Iwo Jima.