The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1923-02-08

hanging vicissitudes through which
Hover has passed In the last two ue.
<ades, the writer Is reminded TIN,
Aennewick has also had some changes
and some Inconsistencies and lest q
rev persons should forget would like
co recount them.
Time was when Kennewick, as well
as all other towns from the Column
ola to the Cascades, had but one rail-
road and each was hoping ana pray
ing for others.
AT an early day Kennewick consti-
tuted herself the lower gateway to the
Yakima Valley, acclaim she will not
lightly relinquish and it is her duty
to make good that claim. In those
days q number of transcontinental
railroads were seeking passage across
the state to tidewater. Among them
were the Milwaukee, Burlington, I'm
ION Pacific and perhaps others. Ear
~ in the game Kennewick had es-
tablished crows nest lookout. The
man in the lookout was to keep his
eyes peeled for any signs of coming
railroads in the state and point out
to them that because Of geographical
position of rivers and valleys, Kenne-
wick offered the most feasible route
to any point.
One morning the lookout reported
a crew of engineers had arrived at
Wallula and were going to survey
an air line from Hover to Kiona. Just
whether the company intended to bore
tunnel under the hills to Kiona or
operate fleet of airplanes the pub
Tic was not informed. But in few
days engineers were setting stakes
on the flats south of town which
nearly drove some of our citizens
frantic. They said it would never do
to have rival town over there and
subscription papers were started and
property owners both in. and out Of
town were told that it was to their
interest to subscribe literally toward
a fund to bring the road down thru
Kennewick, when at the same time
hardly one owner ont Of FIVE could
meet the deferred payments on land
and water rights. Some of these ell
thusiasts were not only willing to
Tomato a right Of way thru his
leighbor's - land, but to bond the
lands as well. Their efforts were
execrfve, Tor nothing more was heard
or the air line, but there appeared the
mysterious thing called the North
Coast, or as Barber Blattler was wont
to say 'sthe Morse Cose." No one
knew when it started or where it
was going or what it's mission was.
It was not myth, for its right Of
way man bought whole string of
properties north Of the N. P. and west
Of Washington street, whose owners
went away with easy money and fat
pocketbooks and little later bunch
of homes changed hands in the east
part Of town the owners Of which
went out with broad smiles.
About this time selling right Of
way was the most paying crop one
could produce provided one had fore
sight enough to pick q winner. But
it certainly did make a fellow feel
all down and out to have the engineers
plaster his place all over with sur
vey stakes and then set the grade
stakes over in the next section. Down
on the S., p. & S. right Of way some
fellows got stung 80 badly that they
could afford to send the wife back
East on an extended visit to pap's
folks. And to think, some Of these
got it in the neck second time by
the North Coast! As General PERISH
ing is quoted as saying, Don't it
beat hell, anyway"
|. Then there appeared on the North
side two bright new locomotives much
admired by all and here was the
North Coast owning property on both
sides Of the hostile Northern Pacific
which like the Great Northern at this
time, was going to hog everything
on the grounds that they had discov.
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