Pioneer Life
Below are a series of articles written by Burton Lum, a member of one of the pioneer families in the area. He gives us a view of what pioneer life was like in the Kennewick area in the late 1800's. These articles appeared in the Tri-City Herald as a weekly column from 1960-1962. Copies of the articles can be found at the newspaper collection of the Mid-Columbia Library, Kennewick, Washington.
- July 30, 1960
Burton O. Lum, Kennewick Pioneer, Starting Series on The Early Days - July 30, 1960
Toughest Horses Sold to British - August 7, 1960
Young, Old Pioneers Went Partners To Ferry Horses - August 28, 1960
Early-Day Growing Season Short - September 4, 1960
No Sombreros Then Clothes of Early Day Settler Have No Similarity to Those on TV - September 11, 1960
Wedding 70 Years Ago Was Big Event - September 18, 1960
Kennewick Teacher's First Job was Combing Pupil's Hair - September 25, 1960
Northern Pacific Dining Car Scraps Caused Crisis - October 2, 1960
Penalty for Being Bad was Two Hours of Sagebrush Work - October 16, 1960
Local Politics Were Different in The Early Days - October 23, 1960
Hunting Was Tough But Fruitful in the Old Days - October 30, 1960
Chief Wolf Owned Many Horses and a Big Hearse - November 6, 1960
Early Kennewick Crop Set Off a Juvenile Search - November 13, 1960
'Dad' Owens Knew Something About Everything - November 20, 1960
Man Who Came Here for Health Introduced Mint - December 4, 1960
Tri-Cities First in US to Raise Casaba Melon - December 18, 1960
Kennewick's 1st Yule Tree/Strong Oarsmen Necessary - December 25, 1960
Tri-Cities was White, Cold/ Christmas Day in 1888 - January 1, 1961
New Year's in the 1890's/No Time for Celebrating - January 8, 1961
Chamber Pots, Axel Grease/Merchants of Yesteryear - January 15, 1961
Chinese Junks Plied River/Coolies Were Strong Men - January 22, 1961
Katy Al-La-Hle Chief's Wife/Stately Indian was Popular - February 5, 1961
Literary Club was Popular/Program Topped by Debates - February 12, 1961
Thieves Were Active Too/Steep Pull on 'Relief Hill' - February 19, 1961
Indian Johnny Escaped/ Chief Al-la-hie Murdered - February 26, 1961
Oh For Days of Pioneers!/Flies, Mosquitoes, Bedbugs, Fleas - March 12, 1961
Round-up Time in Kennewick from Plymouth to Rattlesnake - March 19, 1961
Pioneer Held Fear of Fire/Tobacco Chewed Not Smoked - March 26, 1961
Pioneers Had Advice Too/Tenderfoot of Old Days - April 2, 1961
Fire Drove Pioneer Here/Charles Beach Built City - April 9, 1961
Horse Trader Hit Town/Went to Work Grubbing Sage - April 16, 1961
Old Country Traditions/Piercing Ears Painful - April 23, 1961
Paw Dodson Was Long and Lean/Maw Raised in Frontier Ways - April 30, 1961
Market Ruined by Electricity/Sad Ending to Story - May 14, 1961
How About the Early Miner/One Settled Near Here - May 21, 1961
Wildflowers Everywhere/Soda Boxes Kept for May Day - June 4, 1961
Kennewick Boy Gets a Bike/Lum Cycles to Dedication - June 18, 1961
Columbia Bridge Badly Needed/Two Men Died on the Job - July 2, 1961
Barbed Wire Arrives/Post Material Went Fast - July 9, 1961
Saloon Keepers Friendly Lot/ Liquor Dealers Muscled in - July 16, 1961
No Spreading Chestnut Tree/ Kennewick's First Smithy - July 23, 1961
Chicks Hatched in Depot/Incubator Beats Job Problem - July 30, 1961
Teacher Was a Mystery/Played Soccer, Was Artist - August 6, 1961
Dad Disowned Jim White/Job Obtained as Ferry Pilot - August 13, 1961
Horse Heaven Pioneer/Best Speller Got a Prize - August 20, 1961
Teacher Paid For Books/Had Zeal of Missionary - September 10, 1961
Tiny Visitor Goes to School/But He Only Went Once - September 17, 1961
Toys Once Were Different/More Imagination Required - September 24, 1961
Whitest Man He Ever Knew/Mr. Jackson Remembered - October 1, 1961
Early Teacher was Woman/She Went Along Halloween - October 8, 1961
Peddler's Back Was Strong/So Was His Mind - October 15, 1961
Fishing Spotty in Old Days/Newcomers Bit Often - October 22, 1961
Old Dental Car Unique/Brandy Was Only Painkiller - October 29, 1961
Mothers were Doctors, Too/Vinegar Sniffed for Nosebleed - November 12, 1961
Photography-Car Visit Excited/Subjects Needed Steel Nerves - November 19, 1961
Ponies Popular With Children/Many names Had to be Learned - November 26, 1961
Skates Were Homemade/Boys Turned Grindstone - December 3, 1961
Dogs no Mark of Wealth/Pioneers Talked of Hans Smid - December 10, 1961
Chinese Owned Most Cafes/Diners Served All Wanted - December 17, 1961
Kennewick Hotel Built in 1885/All Rooms Had Double Beds - January 7, 1962
Prior Family Were Pioneers/ Artesian Well Failed - January 14, 1962
Lum's Dad Grew Black Angus/First Herd in Tri-City Area - January 21, 1962
Mr. Kanable Was Mystery Man/Large Watering Hole Nearby - January 28, 1962
Bulls Fought Stirring Duel/1892 was Year of Drought - February 4, 1962
Jackrabbits Were Pests/Pioneers held Huge Drives - February 11, 1962
Death Struck the Young/Early Funerals Recalled - February 18, 1962
Hand Made Valentine/Her Papa Got There First - February 25, 1962
Winter of 1895 Mild/A Visit to Fish Hook - March 4, 1962
Indians Whooped/You Would Too - March 11, 1962
Spring Meant Hated Dose/Children Ducked From Spoon - March 18, 1962
Spring House Cleaning/Full Week of Scrubbing - March 25, 1962
People Had Time to Talk/Traffic was Slow Then - April 1, 1962
Pioneer Attacks Modern Drivers/Halt Carnage, His Plea - April 8, 1962
April the First, There was a Day!/Pioneers Liked to Play Tricks - April 15, 1962
First Windmill In Kennewick/Area Was Never Short of Wind - April 22, 1962
Easter Was Day For Picnic/Currant Island Favorite Spot - May 6, 1962
Two Pioneers Take Trip/Mind Goes Back 73 Years - May 13, 1962
Old Pioneer Waxes Poetic/Full of Praise for Tri-Cities - May 20, 1962
Pioneer Writes On Spring/Column Turns into Sermon - May 27, 1962
Came West in 1870/Life of Service Recalled - June 3, 1962
Schoolhouse Put Near Saloon/ Principal Shaky Walking Plank - June 10, 1962
Blasting Cap Took Hand/Fun Turned to Pain - June 17, 1962
Circus Came in 1891/ Tom Thumb was Here - June 24, 1962
Prayer Started Pioneer Meal/Dinner Lasted Hour or More - July 1, 1962
Catsup Bottle Thing of Past/Chefs Live in Troubled Time - July 8, 1962
About Old-Time Hair Styles/Safety Razor Changed Life - July 15, 1962
Bubbles Caused Embarrassement/Pioneers Copied Indians - July 22, 1962
Firewood was Scarce/Joke Played on Bachelors - July 29, 1962
Political Rallies Have Changed/Jones, Lewis Debated Issues - August 5, 1962
Enjoyed Humor Used in Sewing/Area Indians Deer, Elk Hides - August 12, 1962
Crocks Used for 'Canning'/Round-up Paid $15 a month - August 19, 1962
Faith in Youth is Only Hope/Wastefulness is Denounced - September 2, 1962
Author Rode in 1st Parade/Recent Parade is Praised - September 9, 1962
Local Means Solved Problems/Election Days Are Compared - September 16, 1962
Early Ponies Were Small/British Bought Tri-City Horses - September 23, 1962
TV Westerns Are Denounced, Buckaroos Misrepresented