Pomeroy Pioneer Portraits

Ten years ago

October 10, 2012

Caroline Wendt, who was serving Pomeroy Post Office as officer-in-charge since August during the transition after Bill Chandler’s retirement, will be at the facility on a permanent basis. The friendly, energetic manager received her official appointment to the position on Oct. 1 as the office’s postmaster. In her career with the Postal Service that started in 1990 in Endicott, Caroline has served as postmaster in that city as well as in Starbuck and Waitsburg.

Friends of the Library will welcome author Dr. Daniel Miller to Denny Ashby Library on Thursday, Oct. 11. Dr. Miller’s latest book, “Tin Cup Johnny”, is a fictional tale of a U.S. soldier who survived the Nez Perce War of 1877 and went on to become a very successful business man in Lewiston, in fact one of the richest men in the territory. According to Kathy Feider of FOL, the setting and many of the situations described in this novel are real, tough the main character is of Dr. Miller’s own creation. Kathy said he did extensive research and the story weaves fact and fiction together in a way “guaranteed to charm the reader”.

Twenty-five years ago

October 15, 1997

Gary Cole won Safari Club International-Inland Empire Chapter’s 1995 award for the best continuing wildlife enhancement project. The award was presented at the club’s banquet in February 1996 and included $500. Alan Knott, the chapter’s wildlife enhancement coordinator said Cole’s project, including planting windbreaks and leaving unharvested food plots for wildlife would alone be notable, but Cole has gone beyond with his work building “guzzlers” or water collectors for birds and animals and developing springs for the same goal. He also maintains feeders for wintering birds, establishes permanent grass and legume cover for bird nesting and predator protection.

Five of our local people were members of a Heritage Club tour group of 42 people who recently spent six days touring Canada. They were Jim and Marilyn Herres, Lois Keatts, Marjorie Tetrick and Maurene Allen. The motorcoach left Spokane and drove across northern Idaho to St. Mary, Montana, where they entered Glacier National Park and toured there. They traveled to the Douglas Fir Resort where they saw beautiful mountains and lakes, the deep gorges of Johnson Canyon and Moraine Lake. Marjorie said that was a beautiful sight and something she will always remember.

Fifty years ago

October 12, 1972

Interested residents are urged to attend a meeting Thursday, Oct. 12 for discussion on a new airport in the Pomeroy area of Garfield County. This could be a most important meeting for formulating plans and discussing possibilities of a new airport. The meeting will be held at the engineer’s office at the county shop, said Darrel Bartels, an interested flyer.

Pam Bowles, the junior candidate was named Queen of the 1972 FFA-FHA Carnival Saturday night. She was escorted by Don Killingsworth. Miss Bowles also becomes the FFA Sweetheart for 1972-73. The carnival was attended by several hundred people and brought in over $750 in profit for the project of the two groups, Pomeroy Chapters of Future Farmers of America and Future Homemakers of America. Some ten door prizes valued at nearly $200 were given away.

Seventy-five years ago

October 16, 1947

Deposits in the Pomeroy branch of the Old National Bank, the county’s only banking institution, hit a new high record in deposits totaling $6,407,072.10. These are the figures as released by the banking institution and submitted in response to a national bank call as of October 6. This is said to be the largest bank deposit ever recorded in Garfield County and perhaps on the per capita basis the largest in the entire state. The population of the county, 1940 census, was 3,383.

The bazaar, dinner and dance sponsored annually the by Ladies’ Altar Society will be held in the Maple hall, Saturday, October 18, afternoon and evening. Funds derived from this event go towards partially financing the operation of the parochial school. The sewing booth, country store and candy booth will be open for business at 2:00 in the afternoon. A fried chicken dinner will be served from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. The charge for the dinner will be $1.25 for adults and 75 cents for children. Following the dinner, dancing is to be enjoyed with Dave Missal’s orchestra furnishing the music. The public is most cordially invited to attend any and all of these events.

One hundred years ago

October 14, 1922

Considerable grain is being shipped out of Pomeroy on flat cars, but so far no serious shortage of cars has been felt locally, according to the grain buyers and warehouse men. W.J. Robinson, manager of the Washington-Idaho wheat growers’ association, is quoted in a recent issue of a Spokane daily as saying that a car shortage in the country tributary to Portland is causing delay in loading grain for export. The farmers’ union warehouse in Pomeroy has 12 carloads, ready to ship, the agent, Robert Thodt says. The Pomeroy Flour Mills has a like quantity for shipment, but cars are coming as fast as they can be loaded, according to Secretary Silas Matthies.

William Hadden is in jail charged with operating a still. He was arrested yesterday by Deputy Sheriff Ellis Powell and special Deputy James Patterson, who located the still in the brush on the bank of Snake River about five miles above Ilia. The officers found the still during the absence of Hadden and waited for his return. He came down from the Offield bar, a mile away, where he said he had been working for White Bros. & Crum. The outfit is a crude contrivance of the wash boiler type, but the supply of mash was 120 gallons.