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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1914 | 5 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 8 |
| 1917 | 8 |
| 1918 | 1 |
26 stories matching desert
- The Hard-Won Lessons of Irrigating the Desert
An editorial reflection on the struggle to transform the arid sagebrush of the Columbia Valley into productive farmland through experimental science.
- Desert Land Dreams Turn to Dust
A failed irrigation scheme in Franklin County leaves thousands of acres of claims in limbo after a scathing government report.
- The River Overflows: Lives Lost and Homes Deserted
A catastrophic flood on the Yakima River leaves homes submerged, stock lost, and two local men drowned in a tragic crossing attempt.
- Horse Heaven Landowners Organize for Irrigation District
Landowners in Klickitat County push for inclusion in a massive irrigation project, envisioning the transformation of high-desert plateau into fertile farms.
- A Gas Well Roars to Life in the Sagebrush — and Yakima Comes to Watch
Sixty North Yakima men drove out to a wildcat well 14 miles north of Benton City, where escaping gas hissed like a locomotive, then lit into a 20-foot tower of flame — and raised fresh hopes of oil under the desert. Spoiler: the gas wasn't there in commercial quantities yet.
- A Nameless End in the Horse Heaven Hills
A stranger is found in a deserted sheep-camp shack, leaving behind no clues, no name, and no family to claim him.
- Fugitive Returned to Face Desertion Charge
After eluding local authorities for months and facing a forgery conviction in Portland, a Hanford man is brought back to Benton County.
- Lost in the Sagebrush: A Driver's Frustration
A traveler vents his anger at the lack of signage between Prosser and Kennewick, highlighting the perils of early automobile travel in the desert.
- Federal Relief for Failed Homesteaders
A new act of Congress allows pioneers who lost their land to try again if the initial failure was truly beyond their control.
- The River Crossing: Why Our Youth Choose Pasco
A local editor criticizes Kennewick's lack of public recreation, arguing that if the town doesn't provide a place for youth to play, they will inevitably cross the river to find it.
- The Stockyards That Were Really About Raising the Value of Sand and Sagebrush
When Pasco promoters pushed stockyards at Ainsworth, Kennewick’s editor saw a railroad, a packer and owners of “practically worthless” land getting a public subsidy. He wanted no part of it.
- The Battle for the Strawberry Market
Kennewick strawberry growers attempt to end internal price-cutting by forming a unified marketing union.
- The Rattlesnake Well's Hidden Energy
Engineers claim a natural gas well in the Rattlesnake district could power regional irrigation and heat every town from Ellensburg to Walla Walla.
- The Governor’s Nightmare Road
An editorial critique of the state's failure to maintain a fifteen-mile stretch of road between Richland and Benton City.
- The Price of Living in the Desert
A scathing editorial calls out the discriminatory rail rates that forced Columbia Basin farmers to subsidize Puget Sound middlemen.
- The First Call to the Colors
As the United States prepares its first massive mobilization for World War I, local boards receive final instructions for shipping the region's men to training camps.
- The Turkey Rush on the Columbia
As irrigation transforms the desert, Benton County ranchers pivot from livestock to poultry, forming a new association to stake their claim in the Thanksgiving market.
- The Desert Beckons: The Fight to Irrigate Benton County
Highland Improvement and Commercial Clubs launch an ambitious campaign to finally secure irrigation rights for the long-promised Benton Unit.
- The Desert Manhunt of the Richland Safe-Crackers
After a daring nitroglycerin heist at the Richland post office, a trail of discarded gear and footprints in the sagebrush leads sheriff’s deputies to three suspects.
- The War Effort to Water the Desert
Federal officials eye the extension of the Sunnyside Canal to bring thousands of parched acres into cultivation for the national food supply.
- The Wheat Gamble: A Warning to Inland Empire Farmers
Former State College President E. A. Bryan cautions local farmers against abandoning diverse crops for the high-stakes 'wheat gamble' driven by war-time market trends.
- The Struggle to Irrigate the High Lands
Federal engineers are surveying the Kennewick and Richland deserts to determine the most economical way to bring water to 210,000 acres of parched ground.
- Seven Years of Sagebrush
A Highlands farmer transforms raw desert land into a productive bungalow estate.
- A Crate of Sweet Potatoes to Sell the Desert
Land agents pack up the valley's finest produce — mammoth sugar beets, honeydew casabas, and one 250-pound potato crop — and ship it to Chicago to convince Eastern buyers that this sagebrush country is a garden.
- The Bachelor's Last Stand
A satirical tale of a local men’s club that fined members who dared to fall in love, until a ‘diabolical’ social boycott forced their surrender.