Pomeroy Pioneer Portraits

Ten Years Ago

November 10, 2010

The 50-year relationship between the Chevrolet division of General Motors and Ferd Herres Chevrolet in Pomeroy ended with the Oct. 31, 2010, contract expiration and final ties were cut Thursday when the dealership sign in front of the building on Main St. was dismantled. Although GM factory warranty service work has ceased, used car and truck sales will continue under the Farm & Home banner, the dealership’s parent company, as will farm machinery sales and vehicle maintenance,

The Pirate volleyball team qualified for State by winning both of their consolation bracket matches in Colfax.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

November 15, 1995

Garfield County residents turned thumbs down on bond requests by the two largest publicly funded institutions in the county, the school district and the hospital district. Though both issues received slight majority votes, 479 yes to 463 no for the hospital’s five-year bond, and 501 yes to 499 no on the school district’s 20-year bond, neither came close to the required 60 percent approval needed for passage.

All members of the community are invited to attend the annual Thanksgiving dinner sponsored by the Pomeroy Ministerial Association and Pomeroy Senior Center, particularly those who are alone or who otherwise might not celebrate the holiday.

Fifty Years Ago

November 12, 1970

A 70-year-old lost Spokane hunter who spent Saturday night in the rugged and cold Blue Mountains without food or matches turned athlete and chinned himself all night on a low hanging fir limb to keep warm, and walked into camp the next morning before a search party could be organized. A 22-year-old from Seattle spent a night alone down Fourth of July Canyon after losing his rifle over a cliff just before dark and waiting until daylight in order to retrieve it.

A large homemade bomb capable of destroying an entire building and all human life with the vicinity was found clamped to the door of the Elmor Trescott cabin located on the Mountain road south of Pomeroy. Why it fortunately did not detonate when the door was opened is a mystery.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

November 15, 1945

A bulldozer belonging to Ernest Poe, Clarkston, and a crew of men left Pomeroy this morning headed for the Blue Mountains to free the road of snow for an undetermined number of elk hunters and their cars. Snow is reported to be 2½ feet deep at Mt. Misery with drifts as high as eight feet in some places. It is believed about 35 men and ten cars are still marooned in the vicinity. Poe’s equipment is said to be the only one of its kind in this area capable of opening the road, if at all.

The Washington State Junior Chamber of Commerce board recently recognized the Pomeroy chapter as one of the outstanding clubs in the state.

One Hundred Years Ago

November 13, 1920

Everything is set for the big Armistice Day celebration which bids fair to give Pomeroy one of the most stirring patriotic days in the history of the town. Stores will be closed, the garages will close at noon, and Mayor Kuykendall has turned over to the commander of the local American Legion post the keys to all barred doors.

The Waitsburg high school football team defeated the local eleven on the home field, 23 to 0, before one of the largest crowds that ever witnessed a high school game here.

The public school is considering a one week Christmas vacation plan.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

November 9, 1895

Pension agent J.D. Brooks has secured a pension of $12 per month in favor of John Wilson. Perhaps there is not another old soldier in the county more needy or deserving than “Uncle Johnny.”

Chas Laken left Friday morning with his family for Garfield, to take charge of his barber shop in that place. He has deputized Fred Sherill to act as marshal until the next meeting of the city council, when his resignation will be considered and a new marshal appointed. Like all other men Charley has his faults, perhaps, but that he has been an energetic, faithful and efficient city officer no one can deny.

A dispatch from Lewiston says that Thomas Beall and W.R. Smith, two old gentlemen, were hauling hay down the well-known Lewiston hill in a basket hayrack when the brake attachment gave away. The wagon rushed upon the team and the speed over the rough ground broke the wagon down, turned it off the grade, threw the drivers way down the canyon and let the four horse team run with the fore part of the running gear. Mr. Beall had his arm broken, but Mr. Smith was only slightly bruised. The horses went over a precipice, killing two and injuring the others.