Pomeroy Pioneer Portraits

Ten Years Ago

June 23, 2010

Pomeroy Masonic Lodge members Ron Kessler and Steve Kazda presented Mason Blachly and Heidi Heytvelt each a bike, lock and helmet for their effort in reading this spring.

Garfield County Human Services and Quality Behavioral Health kicked off its summer youth program with a scavenger hunt at Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

June 28, 1995

Hiller, a new soft white club winter wheat is named in honor of the late Ed Hiller and his son Henry Hiller, who permitted WSU and USDA-ARS wheat breeders to grow trial plots on their farm 5 miles south of Pomeroy for more than 30 years.

Pomeroy Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the appearance of the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus this Sunday at the Garfield County Fairgrounds. The Arizona-based circus features aerial and high-wire artists, clowns, performing dogs, jugglers and ponies.

Fifty Years Ago

June 25, 1970

About ten acres of pastureland burned last week when a county crew was burning weeds out of ditches and culverts and the fire got out of control.

Washington State University archeologists began excavation operations this month to uncover cultural artifacts of this area’s earliest inhabitants at a site on Lower Granite Dam Reservation east of the bottom of Wawawai grade.

A county-wide local sales tax of one-half of one percent approved by both the Pomeroy city council and Garfield County commissioners begins here on July 1, boosting total sales tax to five percent.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

June 28, 1945

Heavy winds earlier this week did considerable damage to growing crops in the county particularly peas on Pataha Flat. Some estimated crop damage could reach as high as 25 percent. A wagon on the Tucannon containing a load of hay was blown over. The wind carried with it sand and dust. The comfortably warm temperature of last weekend has dropped to a point where fires in homes have been necessary for comfort.

The Jaycees will take a caravan of seven trucks to Big Springs on Sunday to gather their year’s supply of wood, making an event of the occasion by taking their wives and children along to enjoy a day in the mountains with a potluck dinner and plenty of ice cream.

Bob Still had just arrived at the dump grounds with a load of trash consisting of paper, ashes, etc., when he noticed the trash was on fire, started presumably by hot ashes. Realizing he must get back to town where water was obtainable or lose his truck by fire, he drove the half mile into town at record speed. Seeing a hose with running water at the Leonard Herres home he stopped there, and with the assistance of Mr. Herres put out the fire. The wooden rack and truck bed were badly charred.

One Hundred Years Ago

June 26, 1920

After a couple of innings of the game with Waitsburg on the home ballpark Sunday, the Pomeroy club suddenly awakened to the fact that here was a game it was going to win, and win it did with a bang—the end of the massacre reading 14 to 3.

A large crowd attended the picnic at the Mayview grange hall last Friday. This was the first meeting of the kind, and grange master C.B. Fitzsimmons hopes to see it become a permanent annual get-together.

Cloudbursts last week flooded Alpowa Ridge and Meadow Gulch. A heavy downpour extended to the north and west, considerable hail falling at the Lambie farm and elsewhere in the Mayview country. Gardens were badly washed and on the Bowers place 190 chickens out of a flock of 200 were carried away by the flood. Casey creek went on a tear, blocking the road with rocks and piling debris on the bridges. It required four hours for Frank Fitzgerald and C.W. Simonson to work their way with cars up Casey creek to the Dixon farm.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

June 22, 1895

Born, in this city, June 14, 1895, to the wife of C. Obenland, a daughter. Chris has so far recovered as to be able to make the regular rounds with his delivery wagon.

John Flerchinger brought down from Peola the other day a specimen of what is called beardless barley, the seed of which was procured in the east and is the first to be planted in this county. It resembles bald barley somewhat, but is said to be a better producer on dry soil.

Wheat in some parts of the county is beginning to burn, and there is much uneasiness among our farmers. A copious rain now would save our crops, but much longer delay would cause an enormous shrinkage of our wheat harvest and with many, a total loss. We hope Jupiter Pluvius will speedily turn loose his showers and water the parched land. Our people better send for Moody and have him pray for rain as he did in Texas.

Peter Gearhardt, Lester Gibson and Wm. Morris returned home from a trip on bicycles to Walla Walla. Excepting a layover in Dayton the run from Walla Walla to Pomeroy was made in six hours. At Dayton Peter got up a race against Harry Kimball, one of Dayton’s crack wheelmen, and won an easy victory. Pomeroy’s all right!

Truth is not exciting enough for those who depend on the characters and lives of their neighbors for amusement.