Cousin Sam: FROM PIONEERS TO POWER

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GRAND COULEE

                              G -- is for its Grandeur and its beauty,
                              R -- is for the River wandering nigh,
                              A -- is for the Ages in its making,
                             N -- is for the Nation standing by,
                             D -- is for the Dam, mounting higher,
                             C -- is for the City built near,
                             O -- is for      Our hopes, ever climbing,
                             U -- is for the Unity that's here,
                              L -- is for the Labor and the sweating,
                            E -- is for the Energy you see,
                            E -- is for the Effort -- altogether

                              You have what the world's admiring --
                              GRAND COULEE!

. . . M. Wesley Goss

Published in a local paper some time ago, date not known.

Welthy M. Buchholz

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MAYORS OF GRAND COULEE

Charlie F Howell - 1935 - 1936

Frank Tierney - 1936 - 1938

Allen Spratlin - January 1939 - June 1953

L. E. Carlson - 1953 - 1954

Clyde McLain - 1954 - 1958

A. J. Sammons - April 1958 - May 1962

Al Theissen - June 1962 - June 1963

A. J. Sammons - July 1963 - December 1964

E. E. Fahr - December 1964 - April 1969

Cecil Stanley - June 1969 - July 1969

Edgar Isbell - Mayor Pro-tem - July 1969 - December 1969

L. F. Carlson - December 1969 - 1975

Alan Webley - 1975 -

MAYORS OF COULEE DAM

Ed Cole - February 1959 - death - August 8, 1965

Walter Riddlington - August 11, 1965 - death - August 30, 1970

Marion N. Nance - September 3, 1970 - April 30, 1972

William (Si) Dickerson - April 30, 1972 -

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GRAND COULEE TO HAVE BIRTHDAY

GRAND COULEE - Friday, November 6, 1970, the City of Grand Coulee will celebrate its 35th birthday as an incorporated town.

Old photographs of the town and other points of interest in the immediate vicinity will be on display and refreshments will be served all day at the city hall.

Invitations have been sent out by the city to every old-timer who can be located. These include Joe Wicks, Omak attorney, who was Grand Coulee's first lawyer, and Chief Justice Robert Hunter, who was the second.

It's a sure bet that those old-timers will have some very interesting stories to tell as they reminisce, probably in groups, around the old pictures.

Almost every sentence will, no doubt, begin with a "do you remember when" as the old-timers recall the excitement of having money to spend during the time when the depression was at its worst. They'll also talk about the dust and the heat and the proximity of their neighbors in the rows after rows of unpainted, tar-paper-roofed cabins which comprised much of the town.

They'll be sure to mention that the town was only two years old and that it had all begun up on old B Street when a hotel opened in a tent and a restaurant opened in an old abandoned range shack.

"You furnished your own bedding at the hotel," they'll say, "and, if you were gonna eat in the restaurant you had to like stew."

They'll talk about how fast the town grew and how, within a matter of months, the whole area surrounding B Street was filled with business houses and residences, such as they were, since many of them were constructed of packing boxes, tar paper and tin.

They'll tell about the business houses which used to flourish on old B Street; The Hub Clothiers, the Pioneer Cafe and Tavern with rooms above occupied by four full-time dentists, the Big Three, which included a bowling alley, Workman's Club and the Deluxe Hotel. They'll mention Pryor's dry goods store, Massert's plumbing, Blanche's dress shop and many others.

They'll explain how Grand Coulee Heights and Grand Coulee Center were created, and how the original road from the east which came up to old B Street and over the hill to the dam-site had to be fenced in order to force the road through the Center, thus creating what is now known as the Speedball Highway.

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They'll recall the first hospital for Grand Coulee was on Federal Avenue headed by a Dr. Carmichael, and Loepp's Hardware was Loepp's Electric back in 1935. Someone will be sure to mention Gemmel's Grocery, the Bungalow Hotel and Kinnune's Clothing Store among many others operating in the Center.
They'll also talk about the business houses which used to operate up in the Heights. Among them were Mac's Tavern, McCue's Store, Smith's Cabins and Hansen's Grocery.

The old timer will, no doubt, bring up the early day water problems confronting the town. He'll remember that the first water for the town was either hauled or carried from a spring which is now beneath the north dam and that, later, a well was drilled near the springs by the Jensen Water Company and that two large aluminum water storage tanks were installed on C Street and two in the Center.

this will remind other old-timers that everyone used kerosene lamps in the beginning. Then, three men, whom the old-timers called the Three Engineers, but whose real names seem to have been forgotten, put in an electric plant at the corner of Fortuyn and 4th Streets where the Grand Coulee park is now located. The Three Engineers were able to furnish electricity to all of Grand Coulee and the other small towns in the Coulee.

They'll also remember the first schools for Grand Coulee. The first one was located above the Purtee Addition. It was later purchased and moved to the 100 block on A Street and given to the Catholic Church.

The next school was a two-room building near the present site of Center Elementary in Grand Coulee. This school, after it had served its purpose was moved to Federal Avenue where it has served for several years as a boarding house.

The old-timers will remember the first Police Chief was Jake Myers. They'll tell about the first fire department and how an old Dodge car was equipped with some hose and served as the only fire truck in town.

The old-timers will also remember the good times they had in the old boom-town of Grand Coulee. Besides the usual entertainment furnished by the many taverns in the town, there were potluck suppers and card parties, swimming parties and tennis.

There was also McCaslin's Castle. It had originally been a mess hall and living quarters for construction men. It was a large building surrounded by one-room cabins and the ground between had been floored and painted a brilliant green. Open air dances were held on the board floor for those who did not care for tavern dancing.

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"It was hot and dusty in the summer," the old timers will say, "and cold and muddy in the winter, but we had a lot of fun. Of course, we were all younger then."

By Virginia Beck

WENATCHEE DAILY WORLD

November 5, 1970

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