Pomeroy Pioneer Portraits

Ten Years Ago

October 12, 2011

Former Pomeroy High School history teacher Dr. Herman Ronnenberg will present a program and book-signing at Denny Ashby Library October 20 and he is looking forward to seeing former peers and students.

“Pen and the Tin,” a song by Shane Herrell, 2000 graduate of PHS, and his Seattle band “First Times”, was featured on the ABC hit series “Revenge.”

Twenty-Five Years Ago

October 16, 1996

Rob Cameron, fired last April as the City’s Director of Public Works, appeared before the Council last week asking why a letter he sent to county prosecutor John Henry had not been forwarded to council members as requested by Henry. Following discussion of the matter, Cameron asked the Council to give him a reply to issues raised in the letter. Members said they wished first to consult with Henry.

Pomeroy Ranger District personnel executed a prescribed burn in the Umatilla National Forest about 25 miles south of Pomeroy last week, burning slash and fir covering around 1,200 acres along Abel’s Ridge.

Fifty Years Ago

October 14, 1971

Pomeroy Shriners participated in what was to become the largest Food Caravan ever held for the Shrine Crippled Children’s Hospital in Spokane last weekend with over 100 pickup loads of food. In Pomeroy, a truck loaded by Alton Houser and moved by Houser and Mearns Gates delivered 232 bushels of wheat for area farmers. A pickup donated by Ellis Cox and operated by Jack Caldwell and Harold Shepherd delivered a full load of canned goods and other donated items.

County Commissioners will be represented in Richland for testimony before the United States District Court in the matter of the taking of certain segments of the Garfield County road system by the United States in conjunction with the Lower Granite dam project.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

October 17, 1946

A petition now being circulated and freely signed, is asking the state highway department to improve and maintain that portion of Highway 3L, between the top of the grade near the Columbia-Garfield County line to Marengo, and that it be improved and made safe for travel. This road, besides being greatly used, is also a mail route and is in the same condition it has been for the past 40 years.

The Jaycees, as a whole, favor an airport for Pomeroy, realizing that it is only a matter of a few years when the citizens of the county will be demanding it, when private planes will be almost as numerous as cars are today.

Three Garfield County 4-H boys, Bobby McGreevy, Marcus Flerchinger and Raymond Beale, were fortunate enough to catch themselves a calf in the calf scramble at the Pacific International exhibition in Portland. Eight Hereford and Angus calves were turned loose in the arena and 16 boys whose names had been drawn to participate tried to catch one, put on a halter and lead it from the arena. Each boy is to feed the calf and exhibit it at the 1947 Pacific International. Bobby McGreevy put on one of the outstanding performances in catching his calf. He caught a good-sized Hereford calf around the neck which dragged him for a ways. When the calf stopped, Bobby was standing straddle of him fighting for all he was worth. Bobby was finally able to regain his feet and throw his calf and with the calf on the ground he was able to put on his halter. As Bobby left the arena with his calf, his overalls were something not to be seen in public, so he made a quick exit. The other boys also had a real rassle with their calves but their clothes were not torn like Bobby’s were.

One Hundred Years Ago

October 15, 1921

The game associations of Garfield and Columbia counties combined recommended challenging the Whitman County association to a hunting contest. Asotin also may be invited to join in an effort to defeat the powerful enemy lying along the north bank of the river.

Pomeroy certainly rejoiced in the victory last week over Washtucna of 61-0, but the score of 96 to 0 against Waitsburg last Saturday met with even greater gratification for it more than compensates for the score which was made against us last year in two games.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

October 17, 1896

Typhoid fever seems to be prevailing to an alarming extent in this community, as well as at other points in Eastern Washington and throughout the state generally.

The new schoolhouse in the Ruark settlement is one of the best and most complete country school buildings in this section of country.

Three children of Isaac Slaybaugh are victims of diphtheria. Four years ago last spring, Mr. Slaybaugh lost three children of the same dread disease. We sincerely hope that providence may deal more gently with the unfortunate family during this time of their affliction.

Hans. Anderson, who owns a fine farm north of Columbia Center, brought the last load of his 2,500 bushels of grain to town Monday. His crop averaged from 14 to 16 bushels to the acre of No. 1 wheat and, despite the shortage in yield, he claims to have realized a small profit out of it. He sold at 45 and 46¢ per bushel.