Pomeroy Pioneer Portraits

Ten years ago

November 14, 2012

Ed Huntington received a Quilt of Valor from Alice Gwinn at Pomeroy Elementary School's Veteran's Day program last week Friday. Alice, a member of the organization's chapter in the Lewiston-Clarkston valley, said that the presentation was made to recognize Ed's service in the U.S. Air Force. She also told students that in the past eight years that Ed has lived in Pomeroy, he has become a valuable member of the community, taking over many duties that the late Johnny Capwell had performed.

Thanks to a recent grant award, Garfield County residents who utilize Denny Ashby Library can take home books on a lightweight eBook reader. The library in Pomeroy, the Asotin County Library, Columbia County Rural Library District, Neill Public Library (Pullman), Walla Walla Rural Library District and Whitman County Library are partnering in the project eREADS in eWA to circulate 12 NOOK eReaders to their patrons. Each library will have 2 NOOKs at a time; each NOOK will be preloaded with 10-12 titles from different genres. The NOOKs will remain at each library for eight weeks and then rotate to the next library.

Twenty-five years ago

November 19, 1997

For the first time in the school's history, a Pomeroy High School ball team claimed a state championship when the 1997 Pirate girls' volleyball team won the state Class B volleyball title Saturday, Nov. 15, at Spokane Arena. (The 1991 Pomeroy boys' and girls' cross country teams both won state championships, the first team championships of any kind won by PHS.) Though there were a few anxious moments during the tournament Friday and Saturday at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, the Pirates sailed virtually unscathed through the field, winning seven consecutive matches without losing a single game. In fact, the Pirates hadn't lost a game since their match loss at DeSales in October. The Pirates ended the season at 34-2 overall.

Jaci Sigmon of Pomeroy has been selected to receive a $2,000 General University Scholarship for the 1997-98 academic year at Eastern Washington University. The scholarship fund was established with the EWU Foundation in recognition of academic excellence. Jaci is a junior at EWU majoring in geology. She is a 1989 graduate of Pomeroy High School and the daughter of Tim and Diana Burt of Pomeroy.

Fifty years ago

November 16, 1972

Actual construction work on the retaining wall below the concession stand-rest room building at the athletic field will begin this week, weather permitting. A crew of approximately nine Pomeroy Booster members this week, under the direction of Les Norland, chairman of the building project, surveyed and laid out location footings and forms for the retaining wall. After it is poured, the wall will be allowed to settle until next spring. Then, after the wall is backfilled, providing a ground surface even with that behind the present retaining wall, construction will be able to start on the building itself.

Murphy Bros., Inc., of Spokane bid $5,550,310 to become the apparent low bidder on a project to relocate about six miles of Camas Prairie-Union Pacific Railroad in Whitman County and adjacent to the road between Wawawai and Bishop, the Walla Walla district of the Army Corps of Engineers reported Thursday. The project is part of the construction made necessary by Lower Granite Lock and Dam. Road and rail already have been relocated to Wawawai, about 30 miles down the Snake River from Lewiston. The waters of the Lower Granite pool will inundate present road and rail lines.

Seventy-five years ago

November 20, 1947

Kiwanis club members and their wives and invited guests, following a baked ham dinner served at Pomeroy hotel Monday evening, were taken on a trip, via colored motion pictures, to the Hawaiian Islands. The pictures flashed on the screen were shots taken by C.A. McCabe, who with his wife, spent several weeks on the islands this spring. They took motion pictures of many interesting scenes to be found on the main islands, agricultural, street, schools, churches, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head and last but not last, flowers of the islands that had the women in particular at times gasping for their breath.

Harry L. Chard, chairman of the Garfield County hospital district, reports that the volunteer cash contributions to the hospital now exceeds $10,000. This money is to be spent exclusively for the furnishing of rooms and for purchasing such equipment as the hospital is in need of. Mr. Chard stated that practically all of the major hospital equipment has now been purchased, and is arriving almost daily.

One hundred years ago

November 18, 1922

An interesting feature of the Armistice Day celebration was the presentation of flags by Eugene Buckley to Verle Whittaker, commander of the local post, during the patriotic service at the Seeley theatre. As chairman, J.R. Stevenson made a short talk eulogizing the services rendered by the service men during the war. The dinner for the benefit of the band was a record breaker both as to the amount taken in and the sum of the profits, which was the same figure, as all food supplies were donates, as well as all the service performed in cooking and serving the meal. The women were highly complimented, both as to the excellency of the food and the efficiency of the service. Mrs. J.F. Hale and Mrs. H.C. Krouse, who had charge as a committee of general arrangement, report the proceeds to be $193.

"Well, you have nothing on me. This is my first marriage ceremony," said H.E. Burns, justice of the peace, speaking to Arthur Vawter, who shyly replied to certain questions which a man must answer if he expects to contract the marriage vow. Assisted by his mother, Mr. Vawter and winsome Gladys Park had just secured their license from the auditor. They were in the assessor's office, where a little group of unbidden guests had arrived at the opportune moment. When it was learned that the justice of the peace was making his first effort in this line, and that it was also the first venture of each of the contracting parties, everybody laughed and the best spirit prevailed thereafter.