This Week in Odessa History

Wind in the Odessa area is something everyone accepts. This past Monday, with 45 to 50-mph gusts blowing the dust around, there was some cause to take note.

There was a big blow in the last week of April 1912 which was worthy of this report in The Odessa record of May 1:

One of the worst wind and dust storms experienced in the Odessa country for several years struck town shortly after 4 o’clock Thursday afternoon, and over two hours the wind blew a perfect gale, filling the air so thick with dust that it was not possible to see across the street, and when the storm was at its worst, the dust overshadowed the sky, resulting in almost complete darkness.

The big smoke stack at the mill toppled over when the storm first struck it, and the telephone and telegraph wires were torn loose from the poles and broke in several places, but repairs were made and services resumed in the evening.

The worst damage reported was to the trees, the limbs being torn from the trunk in several instances and a number of trees were broken off close to the ground, while among the fruit trees, much of the young fruit was shaken off and strewn around on the ground.

About 100 men and women and children who were attending the Presbyterian picnic at the stone place four miles east of town were caught out in the storm, and though they sought the shelter of the trees and heavy underbrush and used blankets and other coverings to protect their heads from the storm, their sufferings are easier imagined than described.

The storm also wrought great havoc at the Pioneer Picnic grounds, where a large number of tents were blown down and the large crowd in attendance was forced to seek such scant shelter as they could find.

So far as can be learned, little damage was done to the wheat crops. Around town, the store and houses were filled full of dust and several days of arduous labor will be required in the cleanup process.

The storm was one of the worst that ever struck the Big Bend country, with another 10 years ago being the nearest approach to it. But at that time, the wind was not so strong and the storm was all over in less than an hour, while this week’s blow continued for nearly 2½ hours.

100 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

April 19, 1912

It is shown by private information which has reached Olympia that there are 658,000 men in the state as against 483,000 women, and it is estimated that these figures are approximately correct as there were 175,000 votes cast at the general election in 1910.

It is estimated that with the women voting about 100,000 votes will be added to voting strength of the state, figuring on the basis that one woman out of every five will go to the polls.

75 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

April 29, 1937

A program of immunization from smallpox and diphtheria is announced for the Odessa community on May 4 and 5.

Diptheria is a dreadful affliction caused by a rod-shaped bacillus which grows rapidly under favorable conditions in the mucous lining of the throat, forming a grayish or whitish looking membrane. The microbe manufactures a powerful poison that causes paralysis of muscles or heart.

Smallpox is known to have existed before Christ. During the early history of our nation smallpox was stamped out by vaccination, but the condition has been neglected since. As a disease it can be devastating and crippling. Pneumonia is a common complication, a pox on or near the eye can cause complete loss of vision.

25 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

April 30, 1987

Odessa Union Warehouse Co-op is one of six eastern Washington grain storage cooperatives sharing in a settlement of $1,275 million claimed against the sellers of outdoor grain storage covering systems and fabric.

The claims, brought by Odessa Union and five other area cooperatives, arose from the cooperatives’ purchases of covering systems for temporary outdoor stored grain piles. According to plaintiffs’ attorney Jay Leipham, “The cooperatives asserted that the grain covering systems leaked, resulting in damage to the stored grain and extra labor and equipment costs to deal with the problems caused by the leakage.

10 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

April 25, 2002

For the second time within the past eight months, the Odessa Town Council voted Monday to call for new bids on the downtown enhancement project.

The long awaited beautification program on First Avenue and the asphalt overlay state routes 28 and 21 through Odessa have been stalled again this time not because there was anything wrong with the contractors bids but because in the bidding process, Wyatt Engineering, the general contractor, failed to include equal opportunity and minority hiring provisions in the bid specifications sent to contractors.

Many top-of-the-line items have already been donated and many more are still to come for the Odessa Healthcare Foundation’s 11th Annual Auction and Wine Tasting Event.