Ritzville - Rich in German/Russian Heritage: Hi, Jerri! Great article! Nice Eastern WA town!

» Naomi_Mathews - Hi, Jerri! Great article! Nice Eastern WA town!

It's been a while since we've actually driven into the town itself, Jerri. Like you, we now usually stop at Perkins Restaurant for a late breakfast when heading east toward Spokane from Wenatchee on I-90. (Freeways are great, but you really don't "see" much!) When we lived in Spokane many years ago (before the freeway), we always went through Ritzville en route to Yakima to visit our families there.

Jerri, I can really relate to the German/Russian folks who ultimately settled in Washington State in the very early years after leaving Russia to carve out a new life in a free country, as did my father and mother. My mother often told me that when we moved to Washington from Colorado (when I was just a little "four-year-old kid") that our family almost settled in Odessa, WA. Odessa is another small farming town not far from Ritzville as the crow flies. Instead, my father chose the rich farming area in Yakima, WA as he wasn't a dryland farmer. In Yakima he grew many acres of sugar beets, potatoes, corn and the like -- which were all irrigated crops like those he grew in Colorado.

You have really piqued my curiousity about Ritzville now, Jerri! The B&B sounds lovely; the pattern shop intrigues me; and hopefully -- there might even be some "antique" shops there! This year we hope to take in some of our Eastern WA towns on short camping trips. My hubby would dearly love looking for arrowheads in some of those rocky bluff areas!

Thanks for the great read about Ritzville, WA. We really DO live in a versatile state, don't we? (-;

Naomi ~~

-- posted by Naomi_Mathews