Pomeroy Pioneer Portraits

Ten Years Ago

December 9, 2009

John Gates, the “Voice of the Pirates” for over four decades, won the Meritorious Award given by Lewis-Clark State College and the Warrior Athletic Association. Gates has been announcing PHS football for 43 years, the announcer for basketball games since 1969, and was in charge of Pomeroy Little League baseball for 25 years.

The second annual Silvery Moon Christmas sale in Pomeroy takes place on Thursday. Last year’s sale was one of the most successful downtown promotions in recent memory, participants said.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

December 7, 1994

The Port of Garfield has been notified that it will receive a grant of $154,592 from the state’s Community Economic Revitalization Board for improvement to Port property at the west end of the city.

The board of commissioners of the Garfield County Hospital District will consider the proposal by the Inland Cardiology Group, Spokane, to provide services here through the district. The cardiologist told the board that the key to survival for small hospitals is to acquire the services of “as many specialists as possible.”

Fifty Years Ago

December 4, 1969

Hundreds of dollars in Bonus Bucks, good for trade and services at the participating store whose name is stamped on the individual Buck, will be awarded this Saturday afternoon at the first of three drawings.

Annual outside home decoration contest for all residents of Pomeroy was announced this week for the 1969 Christmas season by the yearly sponsors, the Pomeroy Jaycees.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

December 7, 1944

In a remarkable rally this week, the people of Garfield County, young and old, executed a power drive almost unparalleled force, and oversubscribed the county’s 6th war loan quota of $400,000.00 far ahead of the closing of the campaign. Like a sleeping bear roused from a nap, Garfield County “got its dander up”, went into action and with a burst of bond buying emerged as the winner of a friendly challenge issued by Columbia county at the start of the campaign.

County Auditor Charles Rathbun has issued more than 300 1945 automobile license plates since December first. License plate GA 1, held before by the late Al Halterman, was issued this year to Charles Kausche.

One Hundred Years Ago

December 6, 1919

For holding up a stag party at William Ruchert’s place last Saturday night, Ray Watson and Olen Umphfres are held under $5000 bonds each for trial in the superior court. The men admit having held the party up and taken $175 from Mr. Ruchert and his guests, it is said, but they claim it was only a practical joke. They also claim they lost the money, the sheriff reports. According to some of the men who were held up, Watson appeared in the door with a mask on the upper part of his face and with a gun in his hand. He covered the crowd and issued the command, “Stick ‘em up!” Calling him by name, Otto Ruchert, who was in the party, said, “Ray, what are you trying to pull on us?” He then uttered some uncomplimentary remarks and refused to raise his hands. The other member of the hold-up party then came into the house and relieved the company of what cash he could find. Hearing that the sheriff was looking for him, Watson gave himself up. Umphfres was arrested the next day.

The old Catholic church building sold for $350, which the Rev. Father Frederick says is a price entirely satisfactory.

The Asotin high school basketball team defeated the Pomeroy team by a score of 16 to14 in a fast but rough game.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

December 8, 1894

Fifteen dollars and costs is what a Pomeroy justice said it was worth for a Mayview man to kill a Gould City man’s dog that came out into the road and barked at him as he was riding by.

Thos. Boggs and M.B. Scott were tried in Justice Brown’s court Monday for assaulting Val Loy. Quite a number of witnesses were sworn, but as no one saw the encounter except Loy and his assailants, their evidence was of little value. The testimony adduced seemed to materially hurt the causes of both plaintiff and defense, and the justice imposed slight fines upon as many of the crowd as he could get at, and looked as if he wanted to get a whack at some of the witnesses.

The people of Gould City took their baskets filled with turkey and chicken and other good things and assembled at their schoolhouse on Thanksgiving Day to eat and mingle together socially. A short but interesting program was rendered by the schoolchildren.