This Week in Odessa History

Growth and progress were in the minds of almost everyone in the fall of 1960.

The town’s population had reached an all-time high. A home building boom was continuing. Downtown, new businesses were opening.

Also prominent on page was announcement of plans for the nursing home in Odessa as part of a $314,000 expansion program of Odessa Memorial Hospital. The Odessa Convalescent Center was opened in 1963.

Here is The Record’s report appearing 53 years ago this week:

The Odessa Memorial Hospital administrator, speaking to members of the Memorial Hospital auxiliary on Wednesday, presented plans for the future of the hospital and announced that the building program includes plans to add a nursing home to the hospital. This would be done, he said by converting the existing hospital section to a 24-bed nursing home and building a north wing from the east end of the hospital to include patient rooms for 20 hospital beds. The improvements would also include air conditioning through the entire structure, improved heating, more storage and a new laundry facility on the ground floor.

Traylor stated that with the anticipated increase in population, which is expected in the community in the near future, these proposed hospital plans could service such an area very well.

Smaller community hospitals are becoming increasingly popular as the years progress because more individual and personal care can be given in them, he said.

Traylor, who became administrator at Odessa Memorial Hospital in October, went on to say that life expectancy has increased, and the number of chronically ill has also gone up. With a growing population of older people, he said, there will be a greater need for a nursing home in Odessa.

100 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

November 7, 1913

The Odessa high school has leased the Presbyterian church property, near the high school, which was recently vacated by the consolidation of the Presbyterian and Methodist churches into the Congregational church, and this building will hereafter be known as the High School auditorium.

The case of D.C. Bonthius, of Irby, versus the Great Northern railway which has occupied the attention of the courts of this county on two different occasions heretofore, came up for review again before the Superior court at Davenport this week. The case is one in which Bonthius is suing for damages which he claims were caused his land when the railway company put in a fill and diverted the waters of Crab creek into his farm.

75 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

November 10,1938

The first snow came on Tuesday night, with chilly temperatures. When residents awakened on Wednesday morning a faint skiff of snow covered the ground, melting early in the morning.

Freezing weather has prevailed during the nights.

The two million dollar mark has been passed in wheat loan disbursements in Washington and Idaho by the Commodity Credit corporation. The loans are on approximately 4,250,000 bushels of wheat.

The total on fruit loans, which have been made in the Wenatchee, Yakima and Spokane districts is about $997,000.

50 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

November 7,1963

The bi-county music festival, involving high school musicians from Almira, Davenport, Harrington, Lind, Odessa, Reardan, Ritzville, Sprague and Grand Coulee will be held in Odessa on Saturday, November 9.

The choral program will consist of sacred and secular as well as folk music. The band will also play a varied program.

It takes a lot of puddle forming rain to make a discernible measure, it was apparent in recent weeks, when rain finally started falling. There was enough to cause puddles on the streets, but little gain in the parched ground.

The English Congregational church is nearing its 50th anniversary of organization.

The church was officially organized in January of 1914.

The newly formed congregation was in reality a merger of a former Methodist church, organized before 1909, and the Presbyterian group, organized in 1902. The present church was the former Methodist church, built in 1909.

The Presbyterian church was sold to the Pilgrim Congregational and used by that group until the United Congregational church was built on the site. This structure was dedicated in November 1947.

10 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

November 6, 2003

Winter outer wear and coats for adults and children who are in need of them will be available in Odessa through the first annual community coat drive.

The Heritage Women’s Circle began talking about what they could do for the community and the coat drive was an idea that turned into a worthy project.

Winds up to 40 mph out of the Northeast roared through Odessa Thursday, fanning grass fire south of Highway 28 just east of Irby Road.

The high winds caused need for an increase in equipment and manpower. The water tanker truck was not ready to go because it was being serviced for winter.

Once approaching the fire the Odessa firemen were able to get a quick handle on the blaze and stop it from any further spreading.

25 Years Ago

From The Odessa Record

November 3, 1988

Two residential burglaries have been solved and a suspect remains in custody in the Spokane City-County Jail after a license-plate check led local police to a resident there.

Carlson said residents should take care about securing their home and vehicles, “and we want to know if anything strange is going on no matter what time it is.”