Saturday, September 05, 2026
66.0°F

Rusty Mammoth sale a success — outdoors

JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 11 months AGO
by JOEL MARTIN
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | September 30, 2020 1:00 AM

MOSES LAKE — It was a windy day, but that didn’t deter the folks who came out to the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center’s Rusty Mammoth sale on Saturday.

“It went really well,” said Dolly Boyd, the museum’s director. “We broke a fundraising record. We beat our previous fundraising total by a couple of hundred bucks,” bringing in about $3,000. “So we’re happy with that, especially since it was just one day.”

The staff wasn’t sure how many people turned up, but Boyd estimated about 200.

The museum staff had to get a little creative this year, with COVID-19 restrictions making any kind of public event difficult. This is the third year the museum has held the sale, and in the past it’s been a three-day affair held inside the museum. Holding it outside made social distancing more feasible, and also had some other advantages.

“I think having it outside was really good, because people driving by could see it was happening,” said Boyd.

“It was a little breezy,” she added. “We had to think about how we could anchor things down, and some things did get broken.”

The items for the sale were donated mostly by members of the museum, with a few coming from members of the community at large, Boyd said. Offerings included original art, photographs, glassware and pottery, handmade linens and vintage clothing and tableware.

Eileen Angier, of Othello, was one of the people impressed with the miscellany on display.

“There’s lots of interesting things,” she said. “My home is pretty much done, but the hand-sewn items are beautiful. And some of the paintings are amazing.”

Nearby, the museum’s artistic director, Erika Kovalenko, stood browsing through some paintings. “The staff has been buying things too,” she said. “We had a really busy day. We opened at 8, but we had people here at 7:30.”

“We sold some rare books,” said Boyd. “There was some early interest in that. We sold a lot of glassware, pottery. A lot of people donated masks from different cultures around the world, and those were a big seller. We had some camera equipment, old vintage cameras. There was just a wide range of things.”

“We kept a few things,” she added, “and everything else we donated on to the senior center. So if you found a treasure here and you didn’t buy it, you might check the senior center and see if it wound up there.”

The money raised will go to the museum’s Family and Education fund, which fuels programs like Free Family Saturday that are still going on, albeit in modified form, in spite of the coronavirus.

“And we’re doing online things, so we’ve purchased some better recording equipment so we can do better-quality videos,” said Boyd. “People don’t know, I guess, all the preparation and the unseen costs that go into programs like this. We need the proper equipment and publicity, and that costs money. So there’s a lot that goes into it besides just glue sticks and construction paper.”

Next year’s sale will also be held in September, she said, and may be held outside again, since that proved successful this year.

“We’re really thankful to everyone who donated and everyone who came out and purchased,” she said. “And if they missed it this year, they’ll know it’s happening next year.”

photo

Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald

Masks from cultures around the world were among the eclectic offerings at the Rusty Mammoth sale Saturday.

ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN

Quincy National Night Out scales down
September 1, 2026 3:20 a.m.

Quincy National Night Out scales down

QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.

Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
September 1, 2026 3 a.m.

Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill

QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.

Big fun on a small scale
August 31, 2026 3:20 a.m.

Big fun on a small scale

Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday

RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.