Harrington news

Harrington Historic

Preservation Commission

The Harrington Historic Preservation Commission met March 1 with members Celeste Miller, Karen Allen, Aileen Sweet, Lindsey Hutsell and Anita Harman, as well as Margie Hall of the Economic Development Council and visitors Amy Foley and Marge Womach. The group held elections, with Celeste Miller reelected as chair, Lindsey Hutsell co-chair (replacing Karen Allen, who had served for several years).

Several local citizens have been approached to elicit their interest in joining the commission. Members were encouraged to turn in their time sheets. On the topic of grants, it was stated that no new information had been found. Miller stated that no new businesses had shown interest in having their businesses added to the historic register. Amy Foley expressed interest in joining.

Margie Hall encouraged the group to attend a training session in Davenport on April 14, which is being offered for non-profit organizations. The fee is $15 for the session which lasts from 9 a.m. to noon.

Hall also brought along the recent Davenport Times article on the demolition of the hotel building at Sprague. Her concern for the loss of buildings in Sprague in the last several years was expressed, followed with concern for empty buildings in Harrington. Empty and idle buildings can deteriorate if owners are not conscientious about repairing weakening foundations or leaking roofs. Some discussion was held on whether the City of Harrington has adequate ordinances in place for the city to deal with property neglect. The consensus was that Hall should contact the city to learn of the specific ordinances pertaining to property neglect and what options the city has to deal with property that is perceived to be in a state of neglect.

A member asked if the new owners of the Harrington Food store knew that their building is on the Historic Register and, if they knew, had that affected their purchase of the building.

Regarding the commission's interest in repairing the Harrington pillars at the north end of town, Miller stated that one of the balls that tops the pillars has been missing for some time. It was her understanding that the ball was known to be in the vicinity. No one was appointed to seek out its location, however it appeared that the commission would like to retrieve it. Discussion followed on people who might be able to do the cement work on the pillars.

Lions Club

Billie Herron, representing the Opera House Society, gave a PowerPoint presentation on Wednesday evening at the Memorial Hall to about 20 members of the Lions Club. The purpose of the presentation was to provide the Lions with general information as to the history of the Harrington Opera House Society from its inception in 1992, to describe present projects and to show with graphics and photo frames the various phases of its rehabilitation. The presentation was organized by Karen Robertson and Herron. The highlight was showing the progress over the past year of adapting the building to the soon-to-be-installed elevator, which included the cement sidewalk, ADA-compliant construction and restrooms, and resurfacing of the auditorium floor. The informal presentation allowed for audience questions. Gordon Herron was also present and responded to construction issues. Following the meeting, it was learned that this presentation will be made available to organizations in surrounding communities by request and that HOHS is contemplating showing a revised version to the community at an opera house function in the near future.

Chamber of Commerce

Wednesday noon the Harrington Chamber of Commerce met at City Hall with the following persons present: Heather Slack, Summer Clark, Cindy Haase, Paula Pike, Tim Tipton, Kathy Hoob, Mark Stedman, Bunny Haugan and Cassandra Pfaffle-Dick. The group discussed the city clean-up day, May 16, for which a list of needed supplies was created. Elementary-aged children will work in the city park with supervisors. It was suggested that older students could possibly paint or stain the benches at the park and downtown locations as community service projects.

It was announced that the Chamber does not participate in sponsoring things on Cruizin Day, that the purpose of the Chamber is to organize and make preparations prior to the event. Kathy Hoob will organize the quilt club's show and invite the community to participate in it. She will also contact the Lions Club to inquire about using their speakers for street music. Cindy Haase provided price quotes from the Lincoln Advertiser and the Huckleberry Press. She will also rent a portable toilet and will inquire if the beer garden will also need restrooms.

Memorial Hall has been reserved for May 21 as a back-up for vendors. Shelby Fries was contacted regarding the historic walk she was interested in doing, but she has yet to respond. The school has been contacted to determine if there is a group there willing to run some games at the Nazarene Church.

A meeting will be held Saturday, March 12, at 11 a.m. at the Studebaker Garage for anyone interested in helping with the car show and the various activities on Cruizin' Day.

Discussion was held again regarding the directory sign at the north end of Third Street. When no decision could be reached as to how to make it more visible or whether it should perhaps be moved, the topic was tabled until the April meeting to allow for more research.

Footnote to

Moscow/Bluestem

An avid reader of The Odessa Record remarked this week that an important detail in the brief overview of Moscow/Bluestem had been overlooked. In 1902, the body of outlaw Harry Tracy was taken to Moscow to meet a train traveling from this part of the state to Seattle and on to Portland. The outlaw was killed by a Creston posse following a three-month manhunt across the Pacific Northwest.

Other perhaps more impressive details from Moscow/Bluestem in 1910 were the presence of a large hotel (Chas. Blake proprietor), a profitable meat market (John B. Carden), the Folsom & Hadsell saloon, a barber (Walter Graham), Ollie Mangis' general merchandise store, Bluestem Supply Co. (proprietor Henry Lloyd) and three grain companies: Moscow Grain Co., Everett Grain & Warehouse Co. and the Seattle Grain Co. Of course, the post office continued, as did the telegraph office and Baptist church.