This week in Odessa history

Apple and silk trains were curiosities in the 1920'sThe trains that used to go through Odessa, even those that streaked through without stopping, were always of interest to early day residents.

From the beginning until about the middle of the last century, Odessa depended on the railroad. Odessa was a regular stop for local-service passenger trains. Express trains could be flagged with advance arrangements to pick up passengers traveling to the East, as long as their destination was to points beyond Helena, Mont.

A number of Odessaites turned out Monday to see the Great Northern’s first 100-car train pull through town. The engine hauling this train, which was composed of 100 refrigerated cars of Wenatchee apples destined for the St. Paul terminal, was one of the compound moguls that the railroad recently purchased.

This locomotive is so heavy that no attempt was made to run it across the Columbia River bridge below Rock Island, and two engines brought the cars from Wenatchee to this side of the Columbia river, where the big engine picked them up. The 100-car load on a grade like that from the river to Odessa appears to be about the capacity of the engine, for it came into Odessa about a half hour late.

One more freight record has been reported by the Great Northern Railway with the arrival Sunday evening at the Twin Cities of engine Number 2517 with 18 baggage coaches loaded with raw silk valued at approximately $5 million.

This was the largest single shipment of raw silk the Great Northern has ever handled, with bales weighing 757,311 pounds.

100 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

September 5, 1913

Odessa’s public and high schools opened Monday morning, in charge of eleven instructors, with a total attendance of 192 in the eight grades and 37 in the high school. Making the total enrollment on that date of 229. This is almost exactly the same enrollment as the schools started out with last year, but each day is seeing one or two more entering school and Superintendent Edmunds says that in November, when the enrollment reaches its highest point, there will be a total of 2560, the fall work on the farms holding out a number of pupils who will enter within the next few weeks.

75 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

September 8,1938

Starting on September 1 a new rainfall season was begun, following a record rainfall of 12.51 inches for the season just ended.

The Albers Milling company of Seattle, with a bid of $25,000 was the successful bidder for the salvaged wheat from the Odessa Union Warehouse company elevator fire, at an auction held here on Tuesday afternoon.

The bid made an average of slightly more than 18 cents a bushel for the entire amount.

When the main elevator of the company burned on Monday, August 22, of last week, it represented a loss of approximately 140,000 bushels of wheat.

50 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

September 5,1963

The rodeo is out for the 1963 Lincoln County Fair, but if Billy Oestrich has his way the September 6 and 7 arena shows will reach a new high in excitement and entertainment. The contests set for Saturday afternoon include musical chairs, western equitation, a pack horse race, pack saddle and run twice around the arena, barrel racing, pole bending, chases for pigs, geese and banty hens, walk, trot, run and the cow corraling.

25 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

September 1, 1988

Odessa’s Junior Miss, Teresa Repp, beat the deadline for sending the official forms to Pullman, qualifying her to enter the state Jr. Miss competition to take place in January, 1989. Teresa is the daughter of John and Chris Sloan.

High school principal Jim Miller, having been hired by a school district in western Washington, tendered his resignation from his positions here as principal and activities director after five years.

“Toys, Games and Sports” will be the theme of this year’s Deutschesfest kiddie parade, according to coordinator Nancy Floether.

10 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

September 4, 2003

Enrollment in the Odessa School District has risen to an actual head count of 291 with the opening of the 2003-2004 school year.

Salem Lutheran Church, of Marlin, will celebrate its 100th anniversary on September 14.

A ministerial student, Carl Mennicke, came from Illinois in August, 1902, to do pastoral work and canvass the towns along the Great Northern Railway, which had laid its rails in the Crab Creek Valley in the late summer of 1892.

More and more settlers, the majority of whom were of German descent, came to take up homesteads in the region. The Lutheran Church played an important part in the lives of these pioneers.