Wasco 50th Golden Jubilee Souvenir Book, click here
Shafer Publishing Company, Inc. 1957
Ed. note: Shafer Publishing Company, Inc. has quite an important history in Wasco. Tom Shafer came to Wasco as a printer in the early 1920's and bought the Wasco News in the mid 1930's. Wally became a partner sometime after WW II. They operated the Wasco News, had a stationery store and printing shop at 910 7th Street. Wally was very instrumental as a Wasco city council member and mayor and helped incorporate Wasco in 1947. Wally along with many other downtown business people and farmers worked hard in the Wasco Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and with the city to help Wasco become a lot of what it is today. Wally was very, very pro-Wasco and quite a historian and had a great outlet to write about his Wasco passion in his newspaper. They eventually sold the Wasco News to Scripps-Howard newspapers. Scripps-Howard continued to publish the News but without the personal passion and historical touch by Editor/Publisher Wally Shafer, the Wasco News was never the same. Later the Wasco Tribune came to town and after awhile the Wasco News closed its doors.
Wally Shafer's historical book about Wasco's early history is being reformated for computer presentation and will be added to this site soon.
Early Wasco history as related on the Wasco High School website, click here
Weitt's Cottage Motel 1923 Letter, click here.
Letter provided by Ron Steward
Weitt's Cottage Motel had quite a history in Wasco. Located west of E Street between 4th and 5th Streets, this motel housed many travelers and also duck hunters who hunted out at the Wildlife Refuge north of SemiTropic School. The Hollywood crowd including John Wayne and Ward Bond were frequent guests before their early risings to head west to hunt ducks. Noted upper quality restaurant hosted travelers as well as local patrons also. Local forklore has it that the Weitt's was the worlds first motel, a name which was a combination of "motor inn" as they were called then and a hotel, hense the new word "motel". This letter gives evidence that Weitt's Cottage Motel was called a motel at least as far back as 1923. If other resting places were also called "motels" we have no idea. I found it fun over the years to throw out this local tidbit and see peoples reaction to this "possible" historical fact.