The Codger Pole - Colfax, WA - Washington Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The 65 ft pole is located along Main Street. It was inaugurated in 1988, years after a big football game.

The sign reads:


"ARMISTICE DAY 1938, OUR COACH SAID, "WELL, MEN,. IT'LL BF A WHITE FIELD WITH BLACK LINES," WHICH WAS -Tr.7-er HIS WAY OF TELLING US THE GAME WAS STILL ON. WE SENIORS WERE ANXIOUS TO PLAY IN SPITE OF THE SNOW, WE'D HAD A POOR SEASON AND IT WAS OUR LAST CHANCE TO NAB A LITTLE GLORY IF ANY WAS TO BE HAD. SO WE SCROUNGED HEAVY SOX AND LONG-JOHNS, SLAPPED MUD-CLEATS ON OUR OLD WORN-OUT HIGH TOPS, GRABBED A LEATHER HELMET AND WENT OUT THERE. OUR TINY CHEERING. SECTION SAT THERE IN THEIR HAND-ME-DOWN DEPRESSION DUDS, TRYING TO IGNORE THE BITING COLD WHILE THEY WATCHED PETE CHRISTENSEN, THE ST. JOHN FULLBACK, PILE-UP ALL THE POINTS THAT AFTERNOON. WE HOBBLED OFF THAT FROZEN FIELD MUTTERING HOW WE'D LIKE TO GET 'EM BACK OUT THERE AGAIN SOME DAY. I GUESS THAT'S WHEN THE CODGER BOWL WAS CONCEIVED. IT HATCHED FIFTY YEARS LATER WHEN I GOT THE BOYS OF '38 TO COME BACK TO THE SAME FIELD AND REPLAY THAT GAME. AND THAT WEEK IN SEPTEMBER OF '88, THE BAND PLAYED "YOU'VE GOT TO BE A FOOTBALL HERO" AND SIXTY OLD BUCKS WENT LIMPING BACK THROUGH A TUNNEL OF MEMORIES TO EMBRACE THE YEAR 1938. MASTER CARVER, JONATHAN LABENNE'S SUPERB TALENT AND WHIMSY CAPTURED THE WARMTH, FUN AND LOVE COLFAX AND ST. JOHN SHARED WHILE WE CODGERS CAVORTED ABOUT THE FIELD IN. SCHOOL COLORS WEARING OUR NUMBERS FROM A HALF-CENTURY AGO. THE GHOSTS OF OUR YOUTH REVEALED GLIMPSES OF GRIDIRON BRILLIANCE, UNFORTUNATELY BRIEF AND I.' FEW BUT EVEN SO, THAT GLORIOUS AFTERNOON OF FUN GAVE US GUYS A CHANCE TO FULFILL THAT DREAM EVERY SEVENTY-YEAR-OLD KID SECRETLY HANGS ONTO: PLAYING ONE MORE GAME. AND HOW MANY OLD RASCALS EVER GET TO DO THAT? ??"

Marker Name: The Codger Pole Marker Type: City Town name: Colfax Date marker was placed: 1988 Placer: City of Colfax Related website: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/13/2019 Awol visited it 06/21/2019 The A-Team visited it 04/17/2018 Noe1 visited it

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