Coulee Recollections

10 years ago

Yvonne Kilsmoola-Quilachin St. Pierre is the first born baby at Coulee Community Hospital for 2005, the daughter of Yalonda and John St. Pierre of Elmer City.

Marvin and Marilyn Farver of Nespelem celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Jan. 23.

The sale of the Banks Lake Golf Course is on the agenda at the Grant County Port District 7 special meeting this month. Port Chairman Dennis Wiese said commissioners will discuss selling the business and/or the land, and whether the golf course lease with the port is transferable.

CCH Administrator Mike Wiltermood, leaves Jan. 31 to take up his new position as the CEO for the Fremont-Rideout Health Group, a $200 million operation located in Yuba City, Calif. He took over CCH in 1994, as an employee of a consulting company that specialized in hiring out health care administrators for small facilities, left in 1997 for a small Idaho hospital, and returned in 1999 after the CCH board ended its relationship with the consulting company. The hospital is close to securing a federal low-rate loan to build a new facility.

20 years ago

At its annual banquet, the GCD Chamber of Commerce honored That Italian Place of Grand Coulee as the 1994 Business of the Year. The restaurant, started in 1990 by owners Mary Ann Winn and Bev Smick, won the Golden Pizza Award in 1992 as the nation’s top independent pizza restaurant and has been featured in the national Pizza Today magazine. Winning the Achiever of the Year award is Sue Shear of Electric City. Sharon Hollingsworth said Shear, a past chamber president, is active in her church, with the emergency medical program, the community float group, and all chamber functions. She has chaired the Jr. Miss program since 1990 and is active in the Beta Sigma Phi sorority.

Electric City’s council will advertise for an animal control officer who will answer to the Grand Coulee Chief of Police Mel Hunt, with hours on-the-job depending on the amount of business.

30 years ago

Winners of the First Annual Banks Lake Ice Fishing Jamboree held last weekend included: Largest Fish Caught, Adults, 1st Gene Fields, 2nd Jerry Brenchley, 3rd Reg Morgan; Most Fish Caught, Adults, Gene Fields, 13-18 years, 1st George Shear, 2nd Flint Bjorson, 3rd Frank Seiler; and 12 and under-1st Chris Webster, 2nd Wade Alling.

40 years ago

A recent election puts Rod Hartman in charge of the Coulee Dam Firemen’s Association for 1975, with Byron Warnecke, vice-chair, Don Seaver, treasurer, and Jerry Pederson, the new 3-yr. trustee joining trustees Pat Sullivan and Virgil Moorehead. Fire Chief Roy Terou listed the calls for 1974 as: fire calls-11, 4 false, 6 requests for mutual aid; an average of 14.5 firemen responded to each alarm; the Coulee Dam Ambulance, manned by the firemen, made 140 runs and traveled more than 17,000 miles during the year. Six firemen were the most active, Vern Drake, Rod Hartman, Jim Elliott, Virgil Morehead, Larry Hamilton and Gyron Warnecke.

50 years ago

Between 5 and 9 a.m., on Sunday, Jan. 3, the Sea Mule, a World War II boat owned by the Bureau of Reclamation, sank stern first in over 150 feet of water, where it was anchored upstream from the pumping plant in Lake Roosevelt. The twin screw boat, 32 feet long, was swamped by waves five to six feet tall.