WELCOME TO
BENTON COUNTY, WASHINGTON
in the heart of the Columbia Basin

Below are a series of articles written by Burton Lum, a member of one of the pioneer families in the area. He gives us a view of what pioneer life was like in the Kennewick area in the late 1800's. These articles appeared in the Tri-City Herald as a weekly column from 1960-1962. Copies of the articles can be found at the newspaper collection of the Mid-Columbia Library, Kennewick, WA.

• July 30 1960 Buton O. Lum, Kennewick Pioneer, Starting Series on The Early Days
• July 30 1960 Toughest Horses Sold to British
• August 7 1960 Young, Old Pioneers Went Partners To Ferry Horses
• August 28, 1960 Early-Day Growing Season Short
• September 4, 1960 No Sombreros Then Clothes of Early Day Settler Have No Similarity to Those on TV
• September 11, 1960 Wedding 70 Years Ago Was Big Event
• September 18, 1960 Kennewick Teacher's First Job was Combing Pupil's Hair
• September 25 1960 Northern Pacific Dining Car Scraps Caused Crisis
• October 2, 1960 Penalty for Being Bad was Two Hours of Sagebrush Work
• October 16, 1960 Local Politics Were Different in The Early Days
• October 23 1960 Hunting Was Tough But Fruitful in the Old Days
• October 30, 1960 Chief Wolf Owned Many Horses and a Big Hearse
• November 6, 1960 Early Kennewick Crop Set Off a Juvenile Search
• November 13, 1960 'Dad' Owens Knew Something About Everything
• November 20, 1960 Man Who Came Here for Health Introduced Mint
• December 4, 1960 Tri-Cities First in US to Raise Casaba Melon
• December 18 1960 Kennewick's 1st Yule Tree/Strong Oarsmen Necessary
• December 25 1960 Tri-Cities was White, Cold/ Christmas Day in 1888
• January 1, 1961 New Year's in the 1890's/No Time for Celebrating
• January 8, 1961 Chamber Pots, Axel Grease/Merchants of Yesteryear
• January 15, 1961 Chinese Junks Plied River/ Coolies Were Strong Men
• January 22, 1961 Katy Al-La-Hle Chief's Wife/Stately Indian was Popular
• February 5, 1961 Literary Club was Popular/Program Topped by Debates
• February 12 1961 Thieves Were Active Too/Steep Pull on 'Relief Hill'
• February 19, 1961 Indian Johnny Escaped/ Chief Al-la-hie Murdered
• February 26, 1961 Oh For Days of Pioneers!/ Flies, Mosquitoes, Bedbugs, Fleas
• March 12 1961 Round-up Time in Kennewick from Plymouth to Rattlesnake
• March 19, 1961 Pioneer Held Fear of Fire/Tobacco Chewed Not Smoked
• March 26, 1961 Pioneers Had Advice Too/Tenderfoot of Old Days
• April 2, 1961 Fire Drove Pioneer Here/ Charles Beach Built City
• April 9, 1961 Horse Trader Hit Town/ Went to Work Grubbing Sage
• April 16, 1961 Old Country Traditions/ Piercing Ears Painful
• April 23, 1961 Paw Dodson Was Long and Lean/ Maw Raised in Frontier Ways
• April 30, 1961 Market Ruined by Electricity/ Sad Ending to Story
• May 14, 1961 How About the Early Miner/ One Settled Near Here
• May 21, 1961 Wildflowers Everywhere/ Soda Boxes Kept for May Day
• June 4, 1961 Kennewick Boy Gets a Bike/ Lum Cycles to Dedication
• June 18, 1961 Columbia Bridge Badly Needed/ Two Men Died on the Job
• July 2, 1961 Barbed Wire Arrives/ Post Material Went Fast
• July 9, 1961 Saloon Keepers Friendly Lot/ Liquor Dealers Muscled in
• July 16, 1961 No Spreading Chestnut Tree/ Kennewick's First Smithy
• July 23, 1961 Chicks Hatched in Depot/ Incubator Beats Job Problem
• July 30, 1961 Teacher Was a Mystery/ Played Soccer, Was Artist
• August 6, 1961 Dad Disowned Jim White/ Job Obtained as Ferry Pilot
• August 13, 1961 Horse Heaven Pioneer/ Best Speller Got a Prize
• August 20, 1961 Teacher Paid For Books/ Had Zeal of Missionary
• September 10, 1961 Tiny Visitor Goes to School/ But He Only Went Once
• September 17, 1961 Toys Once Were Different/ More Imagination Required
• September 24, 1961 Whitest Man He Ever Knew/ Mr. Jackson Remembered
• October 1, 1961 Early Teacher was Woman/She Went Along Halloween
• October 8, 1961 Peddler's Back Was Strong/So Was His Mind
• October 15, 1961 Fishing Spotty in Old Days/Newcomers Bit Often
• October 22, 1961 Old Dental Car Unique/Brandy Was Only Painkiller
• October 29, 1961 Mothers were Doctors, Too/Vinegar Sniffed for Nosebleed
• November 12, 1961 Photography-Car Visit Excited/Subjects Needed Steel Nerves
• November 19, 1961 Ponies Popular With Children/ Many names Had to be Learned
• November 26, 1961 Skates Were Homemade/Boys Turned Grindstone
• December 3, 1961 Dogs no Mark of Wealth/Pioneers Talked of Hans Smid
• December 10, 1961 Chinese Owned Most Cafes/Diners Served All Wanted
• December 17 1961 Kennewick Hotel Built in 1885/All Rooms Had Double Beds
• January 7, 1962 Prior Family Were Pioneers/ Artesian Well Failed
• January 14, 1962 Lum's Dad Grew Black Angus/First Herd in Tri-City Area
• January 21, 1962 Mr. Kanable Was Mystery Man/Large Watering Hole Nearby
• January 28, 1962 Bulls Fought Stirring Duel/1892 was Year of Drought
• February 4, 1962 Jackrabbits Were Pests/ Pioneers held Huge Drives
• February 11, 1962 Death Struck the Young/Early Funerals Recalled
• February 18, 1962 Hand Made Valentine/Her Papa Got There First
• February 25, 1962 Winter of 1895 Mild/A Visit to Fish Hook
• March 4, 1962 Indians Whooped/You Would Too
• March 11, 1962 Spring Meant Hated Dose/Children Ducked From Spoon
• March 18, 1962 Spring House Cleaning/Full Week of Scrubbing
• March 25, 1962 People Had Time to Talk/Traffic was Slow Then
• April 1, 1962 Pioneer Attacks Modern Drivers/Halt Carnage, His Plea
• April 8, 1962 April the First, There was a Day!/Pioneers Liked to Play Tricks
• April 15, 1962 First Windmill In Kennewick/ Area Was Never Short of Wind
• April 22, 1962 Easter Was Day For Picnic/Currant Island Favorite Spot
• May 6, 1962 Two Pioneers Take Trip/Mind Goes Back 73 Years
• May 13, 1962 Old Pioneer Waxes Poetic/Full of Praise for Tri-Cities
• May 20, 1962 Pioneer Writes On Spring/Column Turns into Sermon
• May 27, 1962 Came West in 1870/Life of Service Recalled
• June 3, 1962 Schoolhouse Put Near Saloon/ Principal Shaky Walking Plank
• June 10, 1962 Blasting Cap Took Hand/Fun Turned to Pain
• June 17, 1962 Circus Came in 1891/ Tom Thumb was Here
• June 24, 1962 Prayer Started Pioneer Meal/Dinner Lasted Hour or More
• July 1, 1962 Catsup Bottle Thing of Past/Chefs Live in Troubled Time
• July 8, 1962 About Old-Time Hair Styles/Safety Razor Changed Life
• July 15, 1962 Bubbles Caused Embarrassement/Pioneers Copied Indians
• July 22, 1962 Firewood was Scarce/Joke Played on Bachelors
• July 29, 1962 Political Rallies Have Changed/Jones, Lewis Debated Issues
• August 5, 1962 Enjoyed Humor Used in Sewing/Area Indians Deer, Elk Hides
• August 12, 1962 Crocks Used for 'Canning'/Round-up Paid $15 a month
• August 19, 1962 Faith in Youth is Only Hope/Wastefulness is Denounced
• September 2, 1962 Author Rode in 1st Parade/Recent Parade is Praised
• September 9, 1962 Local Means Solved Problems/Election Days Are Compared
• September 16, 1962 Early Ponies Were Small/British Bought Tri-City Horses
• September 23, 1962 TV Westerns Are Denounced/Buckaroos Misrepresented