Harrington News

Normalcy on Friday, April 25th, was replaced with an aire of activity, stirrings, comments about the untimely spring showers and chilling winds, and people briefly stopping to greet one another as they hurried in their last minute preparations for the Spring Festival.

Poking one's head into the Studebaker Garage, buckets of water and rags were busily removing the dust from the last of the beautiful display automobiles for the Third Annual Classic Auto Show in Harrington. Although only about 60 were registered, when the festivities began, it was realized that perhaps only two-thirds of the autos had preregistered. The count on Saturday fell short of 100, one estimate that there were only 80 total. Allan Barth was pleased with the turn-out and was kept active the entire day.

Jerry and Karen Allen, of the Hotel Lincoln, were kept busy there as well until after 3 p.m. when they were then seen making the trek up Third Street to their prized hotel, with folks wanting to view it.

18 trophies were awarded at the car show. Among the winners were Jamie Floyd's 1970 Challenger that took first place in Post War Stock. From Odessa, Pat Gies' turquoise 1959 GMC pickup took third in People's Choice and second place in Post War Stock. A 1932 teal Ford Coupe won Best of Show.

About 3 p.m. the red Studebaker fire truck was beginning its return to Idaho, a long trip toward Lewiston at a top speed of 35 mph. Many of the vehicles that were not entered into the showing were placed conspicuously near the Studebaker Garage, such as the 1968 Chevy Short Box one-half ton red pickup owned by Bryan Armstrong, one of the judges of the event.

By all accounts, the vendors were pleased with the turnout of people, with sunny skies ruling the day and only gentle breezes, and there seemed to be a continuous stream of potential customers in and out of Memorial Hall.

A vendor at Memorial Hall sold several chain-saw bears that were observed touring the town of Harrington in the back of a black pickup, and eventually these purchases were delivered to the Hideaway RV Park in Harrington.

Proceeds from the Carrot Patch, present name for the old Harrington Drug Store, seemed to meet the owners' expectations where quite a number of pieces of furniture were sold in addition to many smaller items. The Carrot Patch is owned by Gordon and Billie Herron, and is one of the properties in the downtown district that is ready and available for sale.

"Oohs" and "Aahs" were the trademark of the many people that went up the stairs to the opera house auditorium to view the quilts, handicrafts and displays put on by the Stitchin' Chicks. The lobby was well-decorated to entice onlookers from the street. People were pleased to come into the warmth of the opera house building.

After a nominal donation to the opera house, the Stitchin' Chicks took in enough on the raffle to purchase one of the combination tables with benches for the city park. The Stitchin' Chicks do not keep any of the proceeds, but each year select a community project for their donation.

One might think that the Stitchin' Chicks was a private club or some secret society, since they do not appear to have a "membership" list. Some of these hard-working "participants" were viewed after closing, making trip after trip up and down the stairs carrying their supplies to their cars among them being Linda Mielke, Jo Gooley, Beth Oestreich, Emily Oestreich, Kathy Hoob, and perhaps others who retained their anonymity.

Winners of the raffle were Toni Crosby from Spokane and Jewel Haskins, 93, a former land owner near Harrington.

As the story goes, Jewel Haskins' husband was Glen Haskins, a son of Victor Haskins and Lelia M. Turner Haskins. Glen's brother, Ward, purchased Glen's share, and farmed a few years, but eventually leased the land to local farmers. Lelia was one of the daughters of Luther P. Turner, and shared in the land wealth that was his. His land was west of town.

Luther Turner and his wife Jane Ivester had a large family: son Attie, and daughters Maude Armstrong, Lela Haskins, Ruth Travis, Lois Heavner, and Ethie Erickson who died early from spinal meningitis in 1927.

Luther Turner was instrumental in the Harrington First Baptist Church as one of its charter members. L.P. Turner and Harry Ochs were two of the largest wheat shippers from Mohler, and at one time were raising money for a flouring mill in Mohler.

The year 1897 was a turning point for many of the early farmers of the region. L.P. Turner was struggling like others of the area until that crop came in. In 1902, he moved to town where he had a 12-room house. By 1904 he was so successful as to boast the ownership of 4000 acres of choice land, all under cultivation. Even with all of Mr. Turner's prominence, in July of 1913, he was found living in his garage for a short period of time. Of course, this was out of necessity since he was quarantined there with a case of smallpox. In 1917 they built a mansion in Spokane, the envy of many early-day Harringtonians.

Artisans in the Art Room for the Spring Festival were Jeff Stevens and Chris Clayton with their newly formed skill creating "Metal Plasma Art". These young men are busy weekdays as contractors, frequently constructing fine cabinets or remodeling homes, and are based in Reardan. They brought with them to this showing only a small sampling of their work, of which they were able to sell a few, but were primarily interested in and successful at taking orders for specific types of scenes.

The rummage sale for the elevator fund was incredibly busy, and in only three hours there were so many bare spots that additional merchandise was placed on the tables for sale. Topping the income from any previous sale, the rummage sale is making a name for itself as having quality, unique and useful items; there is something for everyone at these sales.

As things began to slow at 3 p.m., an influx of donations of new used merchandise began to appear, perhaps items left over from yard sales that closed early, and the rummage sale items had to be condensed to make space for bunk beds in wonderful condition, that were only viewed by perhaps the last dozen customers.

For those that have not viewed this rummage room, it is about 16 by 24, with perhaps ten or more long tables of goods offered for donation. To say that there were times that the room was crowded is an understatement, with 15 at a time milling about, between the tables.

From the windows of the room, it was interesting to watch the flow of people make their way to the asparagus sale from the back of a pickup in what is eventually planned to be the Opera House Square, an empty lot on the corner of Willis and Third, where the Adams & Mitchum Block once stood.

Music filled the air in the downtown district, and many people commented on the quality and volume of the music. Cindy Luiten Smith was praised for her voice, style and presentation of music for several hours.

Individuals who had been out to see Pete Nelson's draft horses were excited to relate their experience of observing the plowing of the field west of town. One lady was thrilled to see the four Percheron pulling the plow and expressed her concern for the exhaustion that a man would feel spending days working at his plot of land in this manner.

Music Recital

The students of Billie Herron and Heather Safe will be performing in the Opera House auditorium Sunday afternoon, May 4. Following the recital, refreshments and socializing will take place in the Art Room on the street level.

HOHS

The Harrington Opera House Society will have its meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, May 5. The society reminds readers that the public is welcome to attend their meetings and add their input to the discussions. Also, the sidewalk project on Willis Street has begun and the area roped off for safety.