A Californian Comes Back After Five Years and Can't Believe His Eyes
Property owner C. E. Williams steps off the train expecting the old town and finds a boom instead—then pledges to spend freely fixing up the derelict second story of his block.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
C. E. Williams, of Chino Vista, Cal., arrived yesterday and will spend most of the summer in Kennewick looking after his property interests. Mr. Williams is the owner of the building occupied by Sherk Co., and other business and residence property.
This is Mr. Williams' first visit to Kennewick in five years and he expressed great surprise at the growth of the city and the development of the country. So favorably impressed is he with the appearance of the town that he announced that he will immediately begin the repair of the second story of his building, which has been in disuse since the roof gave way three years ago. Mr. Williams intends to spare no expense in fully repairing and refinishing the building and promises to convert it into a thoroughly equipped hall.
"When I stepped off the train yesterday and sized the town up, I could hardly believe my eyes," said Mr. Williams. "I did not think there was any town in the United States that had grown so rapidly, and right now Kennewick looks the best to me of any town I know of."
Incidentally Mr. Williams said, "I read the Courier-Reporter every week with considerable interest and I want to tell you it is the best 'small-town' newspaper I have ever seen and there are a lot of towns three times as large as Kennewick that haven't newspapers that can hold a candle to it."
Mr. Williams made the trip from San Francisco to Portland on the steamer Roanoke and experienced one of the worst storms the Pacific coast had had for fourteen years. The trip, however, was made without accident.
“"When I stepped off the train yesterday and sized the town up, I could hardly believe my eyes."”
Kennewick's booster years were built on exactly this arithmetic: an absentee owner walks the streets, likes what he sees, and opens his wallet. A century later the Tri-Cities still sells itself to investors who arrive skeptical and leave as evangelists—though the run-down upper floor waiting years for a roof is a reminder that boom money does not always reach the buildings already standing.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.