Whitewater News & Opinion for May 13, 2020

Sympathy to the family of Judy Rustad. She and Cliff held great auctions for years.

Late happy Mother's Day also. Happy birthday to all May birthdays and anniversaries.

The Keystone pipeline is being worked on and there is a fence around the machinery. There are also security guards. The pipeline is just a few miles from whitewater.

The COVID-19 virus has caused most shutdowns. However, the churches are now holding services an N 40 opened. Some have compared the virus to the depression of the 30s.

This is from my dad's book, pioneers of the great northwest.

In 1929, we had the highest price cattle market in peacetime history. I was in Chicago, Illinois in 1929 with three cars of cattle. I had one car with three or four-year-old steers. Swift steer buyer had bought our steer for years period he came down the alley and I said, “What do you think of the stairs?” “What will you give me for them?” He looked at me and said, “They are about as good as any steers are, but we aren't buying any stairs!” I said, “I hate to let some other buying outfit in as we have always gotten along so good.” He replied, “No other companies are buying any steers either, for at least a week, or until they get much cheaper.” and cattle did get cheaper. So I set my stairs out on a ranch nearby for a while until the market opened again.

The year 1930 was the driest year in the history of Phillips County and the surrounding area! The dust was blowing like snow. It blew in drifts covering fences and other things. I recall seeing a Harrow or sometimes called a drag, a machine to level land, completely covered with dust that had blown over it. Some machines and other things couldn't be found until years later.

“The great panic” had started in Europe and spread like fire all over the world. The panic combined with the drought had made things terrible.

There wasn't money to buy anything, not even food. Livestock got so cheap that the railroad wanted freight in advance. If the railroad had turned the stock over to the stockyard company comma the Commission company, that the stock was consigned to, had to pay the free. So the Commission companies got wise and would send someone out to inspect the stock before they were turned over to the stockyard company.