Fall activities include elections, festivals and general small-town life

100 years ago

The Odessa Record

September 21, 1919

Odessa students at Washington State college include Eva Martin, Doris Ganson, Will Geissler, Clifford Patton, Eardley Glass, Joe Weik and Orlou Ganson. Madeline O’Leary and Esther Deets are taking commercial courses at Spokane and Anna Mayer has enrolled at Cheney Normal.

Manager Al Wagner of the Odessa Concert Band announces an open-air concert Thursday, with a speaker talking in the interests of the community hall.

Ducks were plentiful on opening day. Pacific lake was crowded and firing at that lake would have done credit to a skirmish.

Clinton S. Bennett has sold his 640 acre ranch near Ritzville to Peter Thiel for $64,000, a new record for Adams county lands.

John Frieske has purchased an interest in the Oak confectionery and bakery and immediately took active part in the business.

P.R. Harrild and Virgil Harrison are building a barn at the Jacob Walter school house for accommodation of horses the children ride to school.

Henry Schiewe finished his job as engineer of the Andrew Janke harvest rig, after a 20 days run.

Frank Vostral has moved from Marcellus to Scappose, Ore. to make his home.

The recent rains, while wetting the top of the soil, did not reach down to the reserve moisture.

W.W. Russell has been promoted to the main office at Spokane, and a Mr. Parker is being sent here to manage the Odessa branch of the Commercial creamery.

The prune crop is one of the heaviest ever raised here. C.E. Porter estimates he will have over a thousand pounds.

Those who have been saying there is a good road between Odessa and Marlin should apologize to tourists after traveling between Irby and Marlin.

George Kuest returned this morning after two years in the navy.

75 years ago

The Odessa Record

September 21, 1944

Final ballot puts in student officers. Student body elections at the high school this year are finally settled, after several ballots, during which no candidate received a majority needed to win the post. This was finally achieved on Wednesday, after the school news had been printed. Final returns saw David Lenz, business manager; Wilma Lenhart, treasurer; Lois Ann Gunderson, yell queen; Betty Raugust, duchess; Erma Lenhart, assistant secretary.

Raugust wants pioneers to report at store. W.C. Raugust, who is planning a pioneer’s entry in the parade on Saturday morning, requests all pioneers who arrived in this area before 1900 to report at the store, so that provision can be made for the comfort of all.

He chose the year 1900 because at that time the community had not started its fast growth and the men who came to the district before that time were true pioneers. At the turn of the century the town developed rapidly and many of the persons sharing in this stage of pioneering are still living here.

"WE APOLOGIZE. THE 50 YEAR HISTORY WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE"

25 years ago

The Odessa Record

September 22, 1994

Foley at Square dedication. Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Foley was a Deutschesfest visitor on Saturday in a bid for reelection as the congressman from the Fifth District and to assure his farm constituents that all is well with agriculture.

While he was in Odessa, Foley dedicated the carved wooden cornice depicting the area’s chief industry, wheat, which was unveiled last week and placed atop Record Square. Also participating in the brief ceremony was Odessa Mayor Denny McDaniel.

The cornice, which replaces an original architectural feature on Odessa’s oldest commercial building, symbolizes downtown revitalization. The addition of the carving to the building is part of a long-range program to restore Record Square to its original appearance.

In an interview, Foley said he believes the farm outlook is a bright one. Enhancement programs in foreign lands are stimulating exports, particularly of eastern Washington soft white wheat, he noted. The wheat price in Odessa has risen by 60 cents in the past two months.

Foley said he was optimistic about the passage of a farm bill for 1995 which grain growers could live with. The proposed bill has worried some producers because of its many considerations for environmental interests and food processors. He suggested that growers attend and provide input next week at the Farm Bill Forum in Spokane, one of three being held throughout the country.

There is a 50-50 chance health care reform will become a reality this year, Foley said. The Democratic congressman who has served 30 years in the House said he expects an amendment exempting small businesses from health insurance premium mandates.

He said his efforts are continuing to seek funding for a feasibility study of the Lake Creek rejuvenation project, which would replenish the dry lakes and streams north of Odessa.

Saturday’s visit was Foley’s second to Odessa this year. Earlier, he conducted a town hall meeting. Just 10 years ago, he was the grand marshal of the Deutschesfest Parade.

Crowd at Fest ‘one of the best’: There was an air of elation among members of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce at their meeting Tuesday as one superlative after another was recited during a report on Deutschesfest 1994.

“Better than last year,” “the best ever,” “one of the best” were the oft-repeated phrases describing the Fest’s performance.

The weather couldn’t have been better, except perhaps a bit cooler, throughout the celebration’s three-day run.

What was really music to the Chamber members ears was a preliminary report that total receipts from the Biergarten during the 24th annual Deutschesfest were up from last year. They stood at $54,876, an increase of about $3,700 over those of 1993. The Biergarten is the Fest’s chief source of revenue.

Door receipts at the Biergarten amounted to $13,873, up from last year’s $12,858. There were 507 more paid admissions than during the previous year. Each day, there was an increase in attendance. Thursday, the crowd was up slightly for the Big band music. Beer sales were at an all-time high. By final tally, 192 kegs were served, up from last year’s 185.

Businesses reported brisk sales throughout the Fest. Das Kraut Haus reported it had never sold out of some foods in the past, but this year, except for sausage, everything was gone.

“It was a good Fest for us,” said proprietor Jerry Schafer.

Voise Sausage also reported selling out several items.

“We only had 200 pounds of sausage left, said Richard Voise. He also stated that the sausage booth in the Biergarten sold 100 pounds more sausage this year than during the previous Fest.

Food booths were busy beginning on Friday. By the time the weekend was over, the corn booth, which was run by high school seniors, had sold 996 ears of corn. The booth of the Odessa Baptist church, selling German food specialties, sold out Saturday evening. Others reported having some items left over. Some observers believed the warm weather caused a drop in food sales. Sun tea, pop and lemonade were popular.

The Lions Club served 174 persons for breakfast on Friday morning, an increase from last year. Cheryl Schibel, manager of the V.F.W. Club, said there was a excellent turnout there for Saturday morning breakfast. From 7:30 to 10:30, 331 persons were served. This also was an increase from the previous Fest. Attendance at the Fi-We breakfast on Sunday morning was down from a year ago.

Estimates of this year’s total attendance at Deutschesfest varied. Lorry Anderson, of the Odessa Schools custodial staff, who supervises parking arrangements for visiting RVs at Finney Field, said there were 200 motor homes parked there. This was more than in any of the three previous years, she said. It is believed about 600 RVs of all types come to Odessa for the Fest. Lawrence Libsack judges the crowd by the how*** near to his residence at the south edge of town cars are parked. This year, he said, they were not within a block of his house.

By most estimates Fest crowds in recent years have numbered about 15,000. The low guess is 10,000 and the high is 20,000.

Already, plans are in the making for the 25th anniversary celebration. Next year’s Biergarten chairman and his wife, Bob and Clarene Haynie, have been busy looking for a special stein commemorating a quarter-century of festivals.