George Stitch stands in the middle of his Lewiston vegetable patch which was ruined by vandals in this Barry Kough photo published in the Aug. 9, 1976, Lewiston Tribune. According to the accompanying story by reporter Jay Shelledy, Stitch had worked, along with three acquaintances, to create a vegetable garden to help supplement his meals through the winter, after another friend agreed to preserve the harvest by canning vegetables in exchange for some of the produce. Stitch, a retired lumberjack, had lost a leg to cancer in 1949 and lived on Social Security. He had planned for the vegetables to help defray his food costs but after the vandalism, he wasn’t sure what he would do. “If they came and asked for some vegetables, I’d give it to them. It was one of the nicest gardens in the whole world,” he said. Readers who would like to share their historical photos (20 years or older) from throughout the region may do so by emailing them to blasts@lmtribune.com or submitting them to: Blast from the Past, P.O. Box 957, Lewiston, ID 83501. Questions? Call Jeanne M. DePaul at (208) 848-2221.
