This Week in Odessa History

100 years ago

July 15, 1921

Not a bumper crop this year. The wheat crop is not so good, as was expected early in the season due to the burning during the last week of much of the spring wheat. The winter wheat is now ready for harvest. G.W. Finney made a trip through the country around Marlin, Ruff and Wheeler and reported that the crops north of Marlin promised the largest yield, some farmers expecting 25 to 28 bushels to the acre. Around Ruff he thought 6 to 12 would be the best that could be expected, while the Odessa vicinity would probably go 10 to 25 bushels.

Plant 100,000 trout fry. Rainbow trout fry were planted in Lincoln County streams by D.C. Holmes, county game warden, with 15,000 placed the the rearing pool at Blluestem, 15,000 in the Spokane River near Miles and 70,000 near Almira and Wilbur.

July 22, 1921

Burglars rob Luiten and Schorzman garages. Wednesday night a burglar or burglars broke into two garages in town, taking property valued at $150. The Highway Garage owned by John Luiten was entered first and later the Big Bend Garage of William Schorzman. The town marshal heard nothing of the disturbance at either place.

Area farmer George Schoessler was kicked in the abdomen by a horse, suffering internal injuries which caused his death. When Dr. Ganson was called, he sent the patient to a Spokane hospital, but Schoessler was unable to survive the journey, dying a mile this side of Spokane. He is survived by his wife and several children.

75 years ago

July 11, 1946

Harvest is getting closer to the Odessa area with the first wheat already coming into Lauer station nine miles south of town. The first field of Leslie Schrag yielded 25 bushels to the acre. The second field is estimated to go nearly 30 bushels.

The dance held the evening of July 4 was attended by 180 couples. Miss Betty Raugust was also chosen that evening as Odessa princess for the Lincoln County Fair.

50 years ago

July 15, 1971.

The 1971 harvest has yet to get underway in the Odessa area. Although the first load of grain was delivered to the Odessa Union Warehouse on July 6 last year, no grain is expected here this week, possibly not until well into next week. But when the harvest does get underway, it should be one of the best here in many years, according to Winston Weber, manager of the Odessa Union.

School directors authorized a capital outlay of approx. $6,500 worth of new equipment and installation for the Odessa school kitchen. Funds to update the kitchen to meet health department specifications were authorized in a special levy vote earlier this year.

July 22, 1971.

Harvest of 1971 winter wheat and barley started last week on scattered fields and is swinging into full operation as this week continues. The first load to arrive last Wednesday at an Odessa Trading Company warehouse was that of Eddie Jasman, cutting Wanser, a red wheat variety, near Ruff. Yields on shallow soil, unfertilized, to good fertilized cropland thus far have run from 28 bushels per acre to 55 bu/acre dryland.

American Legion junior baseball returns to Odessa Sunday afternoon when Odessa players host the Banner Fuel team from Spokane. Game time for the first game of the double-header is 2 p.m. at Finney Field, according to Coach Lou Iksic. The most recent double header held in Wenatchee resulted in a double loss for the Odessa team. They were leading 5 to 1 when the rug was pulled out from under them when the Wenatchee players rolled up 16 runs in one inning. The final score was 19-6. The second contest was much closer but was nevertheless a 6-3 loss.

25 years ago

July 11, 1996

The Channeled Scablands, of which Odessa is near the center, is gaining new recognition this season as a tourist attraction and vacation area. A series of visitor guides and tour books, as well as other promotional vehicles, including two video cassettes produced by the Odessa Economic Development Committee and a brand new Channeled Scablands interpretive center in Odessa are helping to boost the area’s popularity.

Prospects bright for wheat growers. Last year all factors were in order to make for one of the greatest harvests on record: favorable weather, commodity prices edging upward and great demand for Pacific Northwest wheat. This year the same set of circumstances is repeating itself in nearly every respect except for prices.