From the
East Benton Historical Society
The Courier
Volume 29, Issue 1
30 April 2007
Virginia Riblet was born to R.N. Riblet and wife, probably in Spokane in either 1895 or 1896. A precocious baby, her father made her a sleek two wheel bicycle she began riding at the age of 18 months. It left quite an impression on the family, and as impression on the family, and as she grew, her bicycle remained a treasure.
Virginia Riblet graduated from Whitman College in Walla Walla, and when E.C. "Cy" Smith {returned} from World War One, they married. In the post war boom, automobiles and their accessories were a hot commodity. Cy became a territory representative for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, traveling the Northwest. In his travels, Cy kept running across the "road man" for Ford Motor Company, Scott Roff of Pasco, since they shared similar territories. But the life of a traveling salesman wears thins, and when Scott saw a chance to settle down, he grabbed it. The Ford Agency of Pasco was becoming available and Scott and Cy pooled their resources and bought it.
By 1922, they bought out Phil Bier, owner of the Kennewick Ford Agency. Scott managed the Pasco side, and Cy the Kennewick. It also necessitated that Cy and Virginia Smith move to Kennewick in August 1922.
The E.C. Smith Motor Company flourished, and so did Cy and Virginia. In 1924, they had a baby girl, also named Virginia.
Her mother Virginia had cherished the tiny bike her father had made her, keeping it in good repair over the years. Taking cues from her own youth, Virginia taught her daughter to ride it by the age of 22 months.
To great acclaim, Ripley's "Believe it or Not" published this feat, giving Kennewick rare national attention.
During the 1920s, Virginia turned her considerable in intellect to teaching sewing through the 4-H Club. She had many good pupils, but one in particular, Lois Brue, she would remember as her star. As a young lady, Lois Brue Anderson demonstrated considerable sewing acumens, and Virginia encouraged her to enter sewing contests. Such was her talent, that one year Lois took second place in a national contest held in Chicago, losing first place by a fraction of a point.
Virginia had a playful side, and esespeciallyiked table tennis. She was a deft and clever player, adopting a very ladylike strategy. She played defensively, not taking those aggressive shots that could easily go awry. She let her opponent defeat himself through his own mistakes. More than once, Kit Gifford and Hank Belair learned this lesson.
Years later, after her daughter Virginia Smith was grown and married to Mr. Blackwell, she went to work for Mr. Fryfe, intending to help him out for just a few weeks. Instead, she worked for him for ten years, helping build the firm Fyfe and Spaulding.
Her legacy of love laced with wit still resounds after her death on 27 July 1978. What happened to the bicycle remains a mystery.
{The bicycle was donated to the East Benton County Historical Society in 1984, possible by Virigina Smith. It is on display until mid-January 2024 as part of our vintage toy exhibit}