Saturday, December 27, 2014

EWGS 80th Birthday 2015

2015 will be the 80th birthday of Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, founded in 1935 at the Davenport Hotel. So what was happening in 1935. We all know it was during the depression, many out of work, and slowly coming back to normal. The big news story was the trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann accused of kidnapping and killing the Lindbergh baby. The Chronicle carried the story on the front page every day of the trial and had a whole page of testimony, along with reporters notes on what was happening.

January 1, 1935   The Tournament of Roses was having their 46th annual parade with an expected crowd of one million expected. They were to have 67 floats with the spectacular one the Tournament of Roses Float "Fire Bird" with the queen of the parade riding on that float. The Theme for this year was Golden Legends in Flowers. Harold Lloyd was the Grand Marshall.

January 2, 1935  There was an article on The daughter of David Jenkins Emma Rue. Colonel David Jenkins had been a lieutenant in the 14th Illinois Cavalry at the close of the Civil War. He came to Spokane in 1879 and homesteaded 160 acres north of the Spokane River. The area today is from Howard to Cedar and from the River to Boone.He Gave $50,000 to Jenkins Institute a college located just about where the county Health Department Building is today, and the reason the street in front of the health department building is called College Avenue today. He also gave Spokane County the land to build the County Courthouse. Emma came to Spokane in 1881 and lived in the little house on the north side of the river, the only house on that side of the river you could see from downtown. Missionary Cushing Eels married Emma and W.H. Rue. He owned a machine shop on the "Big Island" and a sawmill in what is now Cocolalla, Idaho.  Their Daughter Mabel Rue Frederick was EWGS president part of 1958 and all of 1959 and 1960.

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