Wilson Creek History

The Rev. David H. Crawford compiled and published a history of families in and surrounding Wilson creek titled, "Family Memories of Wilson Creek Area." The book was printed in 1978, which was the 75th anniversary of the town.

David's son, John Crawford, has given permission for those memories to be a part of this column.

Today we backtrack a bit and then continue the story of Erhard Hirschel by Howard Hirschel:

Sad occurrence

There also is a report of an auto wreck that occurred about a mile and a half north of Wilson Creek in which a teacher of the Timm School was killed and Erhard injured.

Miss Ella Cook, who boarded at the Harry Hirschel home received notice of her father being near death in California. Erhard was taking her to meet the night train in Seattle where her brother lived and from where she would have continued her journey to California.

It was a dark moonless night and about 9:30 they ran into a bunch of loose horses on the roadway. The car overturned throwing Miss Cook out and into the rocks killing her instantly.

This incident has been mentioned because it is part of the Wilson Creek story. It was a sad occurrence.

Today we begin the story of Harry Henry Christian Hirschel by Howard Hirschel.

Harry Henry Christian Hirschel, the eldest son of Adam and Emma M. Hirschel was a young lad when they arrived in Wilson Creek on October 18, 1901.

He had been born at Jackson, Minnesota on Dec. 5, 1892. Some may say that his parents loved him so much, that they named him three times. The names, Henry and Christian, were those of his grandfathers, so I presume he was given the name Harry to avoid confusion. He was known as Harry, but his signature was H. H. C. Hirschel.

One of Harry's first tasks in the new country was to assist in moving the livestock to the 320 acre home, north of town, where his father was to begin the arduous task of establishing himself and family.

His father, Adam, had sold some of their belongings before coming west. He brought some machinery with him. As near as I can determine, it consisted of, a wagon, harrow, disc, and a single plow, sometimes referred to as a walking plow, or a foot burner. The plow was pulled by two or three horses and was controlled by the driver who walked behind it. It is easy to understand why the plowman would call it foot burner after trailing it for hours.

A small portion of the land was made ready for planting the first year. It was necessary to hire the harvesting done the first year, due to lack of the required machinery.

The second year a two bottom plow was purchased along with additional horses to pull it. Additional equipment was accumulated as soon as it could be afforded. Eventually the buildings were erected, the livestock was increased, and a well was dug. A McCormick header was purchased to cut the grain, so it could be stacked to await the threshing crew.

The three brothers grew to manhood and pooled their efforts, to gradually assume the farming operation, under the name of Hirschel Brothers. In due time the combined harvester appeared. These machines were pulled by horses and mules. The power to drive the machinery was derived from the large wheels that the harvester rode upon. The first harvester had a 16-foot header. It was replaced by a 20-foot Harrington harvester that required 32 head of horses or mules to pull it.

June 18, 1913 was a red letter day for Harry Herschel and Lillie Roschmann. They were married in the City of Wilson Creek by the Rev. Helmer.

They went to the Frank Vorba farm north of town. They were able to improve their farming equipment and were able to afford the luxury of a 1917 model T Ford. Harry escaped the draft of World War I. The next call would have included him.

It was a happy time until August 5, 1919. On that sad day his wife, Lillie, passed away, to be followed about one month later by her infant daughter. Harry placed the little one in the care of his aunt, Sophia Helmke, and he along with his other children, Howard and Eleanor, returned to the parental home of Adam Hirschel. Time is a great healer, but the scars of memory will always remain.

Harry continued to carry on his part of the farming operation. His sister Clara had taken over the responsibility of the household labors. The time came when Clara, and her sister, Ida, left home to pursue a life of their own. It was then that Adam, the father incurred the duties of housekeeper.

Eventually, as brother Ben's health deteriorated, the father, Adam, left home to care for his son. This necessitated the hiring of a housekeeper from time to time. Sarah L. (Semro) Swartz, with her two young sons, George and Donald, was one of those hired. On February 19, 1929, Harry and Sarah were married at Davenport.

Sarah's three daughters and her oldest son came to visit from time to time, but live in the Spokane area.

E-mail from Cheryl

Facts from the past gleaned from the Moses Lake Herald, Columbia Basin Herald and The Neppel Record by Cheryl (Driggs) Elkins:

From the Columbia Basin Herald on July 27, 1950:

Today we backtrack a bit and continue with the article titled, "Junction here clocks more cars than Wenatchee Bridge," where the intersection of Broadway and Alder in Moses Lake counted more traffic than the Columbia River Bridge at Wenatchee.

Count taken by hand

James Gray, engineer attached to the Wenatchee District Office of the State Highway Department, said the 24-hour average during 1949 for traffic crossing the Columbia River Bridge at Wenatchee was 9,667.

The Moses Lake count was taken manually by the state from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 11, he reported. Gray gave no reason why the count was not continued through a full 24-hour period, but indicated that traffic normally is light from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

All four approaches to the intersection were counted, he revealed. Vehicles coming in from the Moses Lake-Ephrata road totaled 4,565, those traveling east on U.S. 10 totaled 7,987, those going west on U.S. 10 totaled 5,754 and those coming in from the south on Alder Street totaled 1,364.

Only 601 of the 1,364 cars entering the intersection from Alder Street side went straight across the fill across Moses Lake toward Ephrata, Gray said, showing that well over half the total turned onto U.S. 10, which is called Broadway Avenue inside the city limits.

Automatic counters

A count made by the county of traffic crossing the Moses Lake-Ephrata fill bridge, which handles vehicles coming from the Knolls Vista area and the air base, shows an average of 5,181 cars in 24 hours, according to James H. Dodson, county engineer.

This count was made by automatic counter with a rubber cable across the road, similar to counters used in service stations. The counter was left on the south side of The Fill for eight days, form June 12 through June 20. The maximum 24-hour count was 5,306; the minimum, 4,952.

The county also checked traffic at points on the Moses Lake-Ephrata on either side of the air base.

More about the busy intersection of Broadway and Alder streets next week.