A Polish Rancher in Muddy Boots Sits Down at the Piano and Steals the Show
Two hundred people in fancy dress fill the Olympia Theater to raise $83.75 for a Sherman Valley schoolhouse — with the lieutenant governor on fiddle, the mayor managing, and the sage of the valley in blue overalls at the keyboard.
About 200 persons witnessed the fancy dress concert at the Olympia theater last night in aid of a school house for Sherman Valley. When the curtain arose at 8:45 o'clock there was presented a very pretty parlor scene on the stage. More than a score of ladies and gentlemen were seated in fancy dress surrounded with musical instruments. All the ladies and the sage of Sherman valley were gray haired. Prof. Nitschke's hair was natural and the ladies had used powder, which gave a pleasing effect to many of the youthful faces.
The opening was a piano trio, by Mrs. Dr. Armstrong, Mrs. H. C. Atwell and Miss Beth Laughton, followed by "A Rosy Crown," delightfully rendered by Mayor O'Brien, A. B. Cowles, George G. Mills, Mitchell Harris, S. C. Woodruff, F. M. Gowey and L. P. Ouellette, Prof. Roberts at the piano and Mayor O'Brien singing a solo part.
A sweet solo was then sung by Mrs. H. P. Lee, accompanied by Mrs. Armstrong at the piano, and it captivated the audience so that they wanted a repetition of it, but Mrs. Lee bowed her acknowledgments to the warm applause.
Next followed an instrumental quartette, executed by Miss Beth Laughton, piano; Miss Lizzie Phillips, mandolin; Lieutenant Governor Laughton, violin, and F. M. Gowey, guitar. The applause was so strong and long continued that the quartette was compelled to answer to the encore and repeat the performance. Mitchell Harris then sang "Changeless," with Mrs. J. Benson Starr at the piano. He was loudly encored. A piano and flute duet followed, with Miss Fitch at the piano and Rev. Mr. Prichard, of the First Baptist church. His playing of the flute was so fine that it elicited loud tokens of praise.
"Oh, Loving Heart, Trust On," was finely rendered by Mrs. S. M. Percival, with "Home, Sweet Home," as a reply to the applause. She was accompanied on the piano by Mrs. Armstrong, and a violin obligato by Lieutenant Governor Laughton. Both the singing and the instrumental music of this number were exquisite. It showed the master of the violin in the lieutenant governor.
At this juncture a bell was heard ringing in the rear of the stage and Mayor O'Brien, in responding, brought in Farmer Nitschke, the sage of Sherman valley and one of the school directors of that district. His blue jean overalls, well worn suspenders, blue flannel shirt and soiled boots, all of which were overtopped by the massive head, long beard and expressive face of the sage, showed that he was above the ordinary man, even if his strange dress suit was in strong contrast to the costumes of those around him. When he sat down at the piano and executed some difficult and superb music, which was tremendously applauded because it was not long enough, and was compelled to give something else, it was plain to the audience that the sage was as much at home in gifted circles as on the ranch. It was through the efforts of Professor Nitschke, who is a rancher in Sherman valley, that the concert was arranged. He is a Pole, speaks several languages, is a good musician and has a wonderfully interesting history.
The surprise of the evening was the captivating voice of Mrs. C. L. Diven, who was accompanied by Mrs. Starr on the piano. It was evident that the solo she rendered was considered the vocal gem of the evening's entertainment. Long and loud applause greeted Mrs. Diven, and after some hesitation she seated herself at the piano and played and sang a verse of beautiful "Annie Laurie," which again called forth enthusiastic applause. She was followed by Professor Roberts on his fine pipe organ with a selection from Fra Diavolo, a quartette by Mrs. Percival, Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. Bolton and Miss Burntrager. "The Old Folks at Home," without accompaniment, was next and a recall followed.
Then came a violin solo, "Flower Song," by Lieutenant Governor Laughton, accompanied by Miss Laughton, which was loudly encored.
A male quartette, consisting of A. B. Cowles, R. G. O'Brien, S. C. Woodruff and L. P. Ouellette, rendered "Gaily the Dance," followed by an encore. Miss Jennie Young played the accompaniment. A quartette for female voices, "Wedding Waltzes," was then sung by Mrs. Percival, Mrs. Bolton, Miss Young and Miss Burntrager.
After repeated efforts to bring out George G. Mills with his "Little Empty Stocking," "Auld Lang Syne" was sung and the audience joined in the chorus. This ended one of the most delightful entertainments ever given at the Olympia theater. Governor and Mrs. Ferry, Hon. John Leary and Miss Lizzie Ferry occupied one of the boxes.
The total receipts from the concert were $126.50, the expenses were $42.75, leaving net profits of $83.75.
“When he sat down at the piano and executed some difficult and superb music ... it was plain to the audience that the sage was as much at home in gifted circles as on the ranch.”
A rural school district with no building of its own raised the money the only way it could — a benefit night, with the mayor, the lieutenant governor and a rancher donating their talents. Sherman Valley's one-room schoolhouse is long gone, but Washington school districts still run levies and bond campaigns to build, and the gap between what the state pays and what a community must raise by itself has never closed. The evening also shows how elastic Olympia's small society was: a Polish immigrant rancher who spoke several languages was a headliner, not a curiosity to be patronized.
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