Politics and Ice Cream at the Grange
Election fever meets community fundraising as local candidates take the stage at a Kennewick gathering.
In their turns Mr. Delle and Mr. Jenkins lost no time in driving right to the point and speaking directly of their respective candidacies. Mr. Delle reviewed his record in office, while his opponent presented his proposition of running the clerk’s office at a maximum cost of $1450 per year. Other speakers of the evening were County Auditor J. C. Syfford, who is unopposed for re-election, County School Superintendent A. C. Jones, candidate for re-election on the republican ticket, Robert Q. Macmahon, republican candidate for county engineer, H. S. Huntington, democratic candidate for county treasurer, and A. R. Gardner, who was merely there from force of habit. County Assessor A. H. Wheaton, who has no worries about re-election, was there, but he was too busy at the ice cream booth to waste any time with politics. The ice cream feature of the program was given for the purpose of starting a fund to purchase a new piano for the Grange Hall. The profits of the evening were materially increased by the liberal donations of ice cream by the Kennewick Co-Operative Creamery.
“County Assessor A. H. Wheaton, who has no worries about re-election, was there, but he was too busy at the ice cream booth to waste any time with politics.”
Before digital town halls, civic engagement relied on physical gatherings at local institutions like Grange Halls. The combination of serious campaign speeches and ice cream socials serves as a reminder of how town life balanced the drudgery of bureaucracy with community-building activities.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.