Coulee Recollections

Ten Years Ago

A contractor has been chosen for the new water filtration plant in Coulee Dam, but one detail must wait another several weeks - the contract signing. That’s because the town council decided by a 4-1 vote at a special meeting Monday that the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Agency needs to approve $800,000 more in funding.

Inchelium singer and songwriter Jim Boyd’s album, “alterNATIVES” won the record of the Year Award at the Native American Music Awards Sept. 5.

A showing of Bill Niendam’s photos was placed in Holland Library on the campus of Washington State University last week.

Twenty Years Ago

Spokane Public Radio will receive a $7,743 federal grant to construct a translator tower in Grand Coulee raising hopes that KPBX will soon beam a signal to the Grand Coulee Dam area.

The Colville Confederated Tribes’ business council took another step toward Class III gaming last week when it approved a compact with the state of Washington for establishment of tribal casinos. The council voted eight to five to approve the compact, but even some of those who voted for a state-tribal negotiated agreement did so reluctantly.

Thirty Years Ago

The Grand Coulee Dam Senior Citizens acquired a new building this week. The site is on Main Street in Grand Coulee.

New teachers to the GCD Junior High will be Paul Bender, Jan Williams, Lori Adkins and Sharon Hartnett.

Charles Long has produced a 13-foot sunflower in his garden. It measured 12 inches in diameter.

Forty Years Ago

The Grand Coulee Dam area will lose its only medical facility midnight Saturday with the closure of the Coulee General Hospital under the present management.

The first of a new design in steel towers soars into the air as the top section is lifted into place in the 500kV switchyard for the Third Powerplant at Grand Coulee Dam.

Fifty Years Ago

Rapid Robert’s Drive In opened for business in Grand Coulee with a two-day celebration.

Sixty Years Ago

W.M. (Mickey) Foisy has opened an insurance office in the recreation hall building at Coulee Dam. The office formerly housed the Coulee Dam Shoe Repair Shop.

Seventy Years Ago

Sunday afternoon the calm and stillness of the Grand Coulee along the shores of the equalizing reservoir near Electric City was broken by the hum of speedboats, the occasion being the regatta sponsored by Daniel Schreiber post 157 of the American Legion.

The Bureau of Reclamation this week announced a call for bids for completing river channel shape protection downstream from Grand Coulee Dam. Bids will be opened here October 15.

President Harry S. Truman will make a major stop at Ephrata next Thursday morning from 8:00 to 8:30, during which time he will speak, according to word received late yesterday from Clifton Collins, Grant County Democratic central committee chairman. The chief executive is in route to Tacoma where he will make a major address.