A Cheery Booster Lost
A White Bluffs orchard worker dies following a failed medical operation in Yakima.
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.
R. J. Milles passed away in St. Elizabeth’s hospital in Yakima at 7 o'clock Tuesday morning. The deceased came to White Bluffs last spring with C. H. McCready from Selah, and the two have had charge of the Showalter orchard south of town during the past season. Mr. Milles had been suffering from severe headaches for some time and he was taken to Yakima three or four weeks ago, where an operation disclosed a stoppage in one of the small canals at the base of the nose. The operation failed to relieve the trouble, which finally resulted in brain fever. He was buried Friday at his old home in Selah, the funeral arrangements being in charge of the Masonic lodge, of which he was a member. Mr. Milles was a great booster for this valley and by his cheery and happy disposition made many friends during his short stay here.
“Mr. Milles was a great booster for this valley and by his cheery and happy disposition made many friends during his short stay here.”
Orchard workers have been the backbone of the Tri-Cities agricultural economy for over a century; this tribute reflects the deep-rooted community reliance on transient but vital labor.
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