This Week in Odessa History

100 years ago

From The Odessa Record

June 18, 1915

Headline: Big crowd coming to celebrate in Odessa

The biggest 4th of July celebration is Eastern Washington is to be held on Friday and Saturday, July 2 and 3, in Odessa. Crop prospects, the best ever known in the Big Bend country, promise a record-breaking crowd for the town on those two days and the committees in charge of the big event here are making preparations to give every visitor to Odessa the best time they ever had.

The celebration is to open with cannon salutes at sunrise on Friday. By 9 o'clock, when the automobile parade opens, it is expected that a large crowd will have assembled. This parade will be headed by the band and will proceed through the principal streets. Prizes will be offered for the various features of the parade. At 10:30 p.m. the performance of the marvelous Juan Marveldez will be given. This performance will consist of three acts, which run for an hour, and include a Roman ring act showing feats of skill, strength and agility, a flying trapeze act which is daring and sensational in the extreme and goes the limit in the seemingly impossible in aerial gymnastics, and an acrobatic Barrel jumping act which includes sommersaulting in and out of ordinary barrels, blindfolded and feet tied, and other barrel stunts. This attraction is provided entirely free for the crowd and is to be held on the main street each morning for an hour.

The afternoon program will start with the races at the driving park grounds, the Odessa Concert band leading the procession to the grounds. Following the horse races on Friday, a baseball game between Lind and Wilbur will be played for a purse of $100, divided 40 and 60 percent. In the evening, foot sports will be held on main street.

Repairs are being made at the school building this week, chief among which is the fitting up of a new science laboratory for the use of chemistry which will be added to the high school course of study with the opening of school in the fall. Chemistry is required in the 4th year of the home economics course, and as this course was added to the school work three years ago classes that have advanced thus far will add this to the curriculum next year.

75 years ago

From The Odessa Record

June 13, 1940

The hot weather continued this week, reaching a high of 99 degrees on Wednesday. Nights are cool.

The Odessa swimming pool, which opened Saturday with Miss Erma Strate as lifeguard, found an immediate response. Ticket sales have reached 84 in less than a week.

On his return from the Batum district on Wednesday, W.C. Raugust, manager of the Odessa Trading Company said a good rain fell over that area. Only a few drops fell in town.

At a lawn wedding at the home of Mr. and Mrs. G.B. Kaiser at Cheney, their daughter, Miss Elsie Kaiser, became the bride of Mr. Theodore Shauerman of Odessa, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Schauerman, the Rev. Bushell officiating. The couple left for a honeymoon trip to Idaho. They returned to Odessa later in the week to make their home, where the groom is associated with his father in carpenter work. Mrs. Schauerman has been a member of the Odessa school faculty and is a graduate of the Eastern Washington College at Cheney.

50 years ago

From The Odessa Record

June 17, 1965

An architect's rendering of the nursing home addition to Odessa Memorial Hospital graced the front page of The Record. The addition extends 69 feet to the west of the current building. It will run 81 feet to the south.

Honoring the class of 1915, the annual meeting of the Odessa High School Alumni Association will be held in the grade school cafeteria at 6:30 on Saturday, June 19. A public dance will follow at the city hall, starting at 10 p.m. The class of 1915 had 10 graduating members, of which eight are believed to be living Ethel (Deets) Isaak, Helen (Deets) Ross, Cecil E. Jenks, Joe Kriegler, Bessie (McMenus) Bureanie, Gus Schlimmer, Agnes (Snider) Williams and Mabel (Snider) Kitt. Otto Wagner and Pearl Jenks are deceased.

25 years ago

From The Odessa Record

June 21, 1990

The Odessa FFA chapter sponsored a workshop on school district property near Finney Field. Students spent the day learning to operate farm equipment through a stake-outlined obstacle course and learn about farm safety as well. The program was set up by WSU Cooperative Extension with the Department of Labor & Industries, along with Odessa High School's ag department. Jim Walter of Walter Implement supplied some of the equipment.

10 years ago

From The Odessa Record

June 2, 2005

Odessa area farmer Mike Hardung brought home third place in the Lind Combine Derby on the weekend.

St. Joseph Catholic Church was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding on the coming Sunday.