A Rainmaker Meets His Match in Ephrata
- Image
- Hatfield and towers in Hemet, California, 1912
From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:
The reel grabbed at random this week contained The Big Bend Empire, the first newspaper established in Waterville, Washington. The issue for May 13, 1920 included this intriguing article:EPHRATA TO TRY OUT RAINMAKER
"The people around the Grant county seat want rain, and in fact they are willing to try any old scheme to get it, even to employing a professional rainmaker."
"The Ephrata Commercial Club has entered into negotiations with Chas. M. Hatfield of Los Angeles, who claims to have had success in rainmaking in other sections." "The fact that the commercial club of Ephrata became interested in Mr. Hatfield's proposition made it possible to guarantee $6,000 to Mr. Hatfield. Under the contract with the Commercial club he is to receive for first inch nothing; for second inch $3,000; third, $3,000 additional with a time limit of June 10. We understand that Mr. Hatfield is now on the ground and busy with his experiments."- Image
- Hatfield mixing it up.
He was active in "pluviculture" from the turn of the century to the 1930s. His work took him all over the arid regions of the world, but much of his activity took place in his home area of Southern California. Although he was self-credited with a large number of success stories, he met his match in Ephrata.
The rainmaker had set up his operation at the east side of Moses Lake and became an instant regional media sensation. He erected a tower constructed of 4 x 4s about 16 ft. square and over 20 ft. high, with vats containing his 23 top secret ingredients.
Image
![](/sites/default/files/styles/max_650x650/public/2022-05/hatfield9-300x149.jpg?itok=fmfFxKA1&uid=668a34595953e)
- Image
- A headline from the Grant County Journal
- Image
- Hatfield business card
- Image
- A telegram from Hatfield to the Ephrata Commercial Club
(html)