FROM PIONEERS TO POWER - post 50

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GLIDER SHADOWS ON THE COULEE WALLS

"Cloyd Artman, skillful Oroville glider pilot, is believed to have far surpassed all American and World records for primary glider flight when he made a spectacular sustained flight of 13 1/2 hours at Orville Saturday.  He used a flashlight to keep in touch with his ground crew after dark."  The above quote was taken from the July 9, 1934 Wenatchee World paper.

Artman was a young fellow enthused over air-flight, he was on his way to college at Pullman when he first stopped in Almira, driving a Model T Ford with his home built glider on a trailer behind.  He made a flight off of the old Almira Golf Course using a drum to wind up the strand of double twisted bailing wire, to lift off his glider.  The drum was fitted onto the jacked up back wheel of the Model T.

Martin Falls at Devils Punch Bowl

Charles Perryman, theatre man of Almira who filmed the interesting events for Pathe News spent several days filming Artman's glider flights off the Coulee Wall near the Devil's Punch Bowl.  Setting up for a flight meant hoisting the glider, and several young men from Almira were out to watch the flights and lend a hand including George Alling.  The glider was set in a greased 2 x 6 trough, one end extending out over the vertical drop of rock wall, the other end was propped up onto the car.  Cloyd wearing a leather jacket, jodhpurs, leather hightop boots, aviator's leather helmet and goggles, would climb aboard, check the controls and the wind currents going up the bluff.  Then with a couple of boys steadying the wings till he was at the brink of the drop off, they would release the glider from its restraining ropes.  With Mr. Perryman's camera focused on the scene below, Artman would glide down towards the poplars, make a turn and pass below the onlookers on the bluff.  He would make several passes back and forth until he lost the right air currents and then he would land on the floor of the coulee.  Then, one of his volunteer assistants would drive his car and trailer around by the coulee hill and down the coulee to pick him up.  On a good day he could make two flights.  He first flew off of the south coulee wall over the present site of the Grand Coulee Rodeo Grounds in Delano.

Artman and a friend were killed in the crash of a two place glider they had built and were flying off of the Snake River bluffs.

It is interesting to note that the glider meet based at Ephrata has the last leg of its triangular course coming down the Grand Coulee and on south to Ephrata.

Wouldn't those old films be interesting??

Edith Alling

1976         

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THE SLIDE

A Tremendous slide occurred on the north bank of the Columbia River in 1906 which according to the Bureau of Reclamation files, completely filled the river from shore to shore.  The area has since been known as The Slide and is so marked on the geological maps of the area.  The river eventually cut through the slide material.

The location of The Slide is about five miles south of Hunters and about five miles west.  The river at this section makes a bend and flows nearly due west.  To the immediate east of the first slide, there was another small slide in 1969.  Pictures of the scar of the hillside and the immense hollow created by The Slide are on file at the Bureau of Reclamation offices.

Esther R. Rice

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RANCHING AND RODEOING HOMESTEADER STYLE

Up Hopkins Canyon from the Columbia River where it swung west along the Colville Indian Reservation, two brothers, Oroville and Everett Covey took up land when the reservation was opened to homesteading after World War I.  The boys were veterans and came up to the Okanogan area from Salmon River, Oregon, bringing their young wives.  Friend, neighbor and also from Salmon River, was Wildhorse Dick Henderson, a bulldogger cowboy and now homesteader.

Their homesteads lay on the edge of Whitmore Mountain, rocky land, with some meadow patches and grass hill sides.  Not much to make a living off of but being young and full of life, and boys who felt they could whip anything on four legs into shape, they took in the local rodeos.  Keeping in practice was easy when their stock ran out in that rough country, and you might have to rope it to take it home.

One spring one of the Henderson's longhorned old range cows lost her calf and thinking how good some fresh milk and cream would be to fill in with the staples on the kitchen shelf, he saddled up the two saddle horses and with his wife hazing for him, they soon roped the old range cow.  Henderson threw her down "bulldoggin" style and held her while his wife untied the 5 pound lard bucket from her saddle and then she held the cow down by the horns while Henderson's strong hands squeezed five pounds of fresh milk from a fighting old heifer.  They never did make a gentle milk cow of the

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old girl, in fact she dried up pretty fast after being flopped on her side for a few milkings.

The Wild Horse Rodeo was coming up in Nespelem and all the boys on their little scratch patches up Hopkins Canyon wanted to go and compete.  Always ready to join in any joke they got the fun idea of riding up to the rodeo on wild horses -- going to be a wild horse rodeo anyway.  So they spent a day running in a bunch of broom-tails and each one keeping a lookout for a good young two or three year old that would make a showy saddle horse.  After the herd was in the corral, the old mares with colts and yearlings were split off, and pushed back through the gate and the boys started roping out their choces.  Dust flying, horses snorting and jumping, and one come choking and wheezing for air out of the dust and up to the snubbing post, where he was saddled up.  The wives on their steady saddle horses standing ready to snub the broncs up while their husbands mounted.  last to pick his horse for the ride was "Wildhorse" Dick Henderson and out of the dust on the end of his rope came plunging and fighting the eight year old black stallion from the herd.  The Covey boys helped him saddle up and get the old black out of the corral and burned the rest of the herd out to go tearing off, kicking up their heels to where the old mares were whinnying and calling from the hillside.

All riders up on their hoses and off to Nespelem for the rodeo!  Wives hazing their husbands' unbroken saddle horses along.  Except for the old black stud who decided to take off and soon had outrun the rest of them.  Mrs. Henderson decided to go along with the others towards Nespelem, so old Dick was left to get into town when and how he could.  The bunch made it into town, camped, stayed up late watching for Dick, finally rolled up in their blankets and slept.

Next day about noon a scratched up black stud with puffed up eyes carrying a rider came up main street of nespelem, not much fight left in the horse -- he was even starting to neckrein.  "Wild Horse Dick" told of getting the stud up near a tree on his wild ride, throwing one rein around the tree and tieing him up while Dick got off and rested awhile.  But he had spent most of the 24 hours on his wild horse, riding to a Wild Horse Rodeo!

Edith Alling

Note from Edith Alling:  This story was told to me by my Uncle Cecil Scott.  The Covey boys were relatives to Cecil's mother.

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FIRST LADY DOLLS

A real Bicentennial project was carried on through 1976 by Mrs. Mary Granger, wife of the first Third Powerplant engineer, J. R. Granger.  She researched and dressed in authentic colonial costumes, the early First ladies in our White House.  Twenty dolls make up the collection so far and she intends to have a doll for each First Lady before the year is up.  Fifteen showings and lectures have been given in four schools, six classes and various church and club groups.

The collection is similar to The Smithsonian Institute on a smaller scale and is valued at over $1,500.00.  It has been fun and a very rewarding trip into history.

Mary Granger

1976             

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