Pomeroy Pioneer Portraits

Ten Years Ago

January 2, 2013

Papé Machinery has acquired the assets of Arrow Machinery located in Colfax and Pomeroy, an authorized dealer for John Deere Agriculture and Turf equipment, as well as Honda, STIHL, and several other high-quality manufacturers.

The Pataha Flour Mill thanked everyone for making 2012 a wonderful year in the preservation and use of an important part of Garfield County's history.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

January 7, 1998

Pomeroy's 1997-98 Junior Miss, Jessica Warren, was in Pullman this week for the state contest. Jessica is one of the 34 high school seniors who will compete for more than $10,000 in scholarships and awards.

Former PGG manager and lifelong Garfield County resident Vern Emerson has joined James D. Broemmeling & Associates, Clarkston, as a licensed agent, providing life, health and disability insurance as well as financial planning. He is a nine-year county commissioner.

Fifty Years Ago

January 4, 1973

Jon Van Vogt, a senior at Pomeroy High, has been selected as a participant in the 1973 All-Northwest Choir. The highly competitive screening process for the 450-voice choir takes applicants from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

New State Trooper for Garfield County is Mike Cassetto, 27, who comes here from Goldendale.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

January 8, 1948

It's good news to the fans of Pomeroy that the clever Harlem Globetrotters are coming to test their famed basketball wizardry against a Jaycee-sponsored team on Monday, Jan. 12. With such men on deck as "Piper" Davis, Floyd Bates, John Smith, Willie Malone and Othello Strong, they manipulate the big ball with amazing skill.

Dr. P. D. Brink bought the Ray Bottorff residence on Columbia Street for $20,000, the highest price ever paid for a home in Pomeroy.

One Hundred Years Ago

January 6, 1922

The Pomeroy Radio club was organized with 20 members. A constitution and bylaws have been adopted. The organization's purpose is to discuss and experiment with different kinds of radio equipment and promote good will and cooperation among all local amateur receiving stations. Hugh McClung was appointed temporary chairman and Alfred Obenland secretary. G.W. Jewett, Rev. Father Frederick and W.B. Kuykendall were a nominating committee.

Writing from Paris, France, under date of Dec. 6, Miss Katherine Brownell says: "I sailed from Montreal in July. After traveling all about the British Isles, I went to Paris via LeHavre and Rouen along the Seine, then to Chateau Thierry, Verdun, and Reims to see the battlefields and the devastated area. Much of it is cleaned up now. I saw the American cemetery near Belleau Wood. Rheims and Verdun are still in ruins. I saw the cities of Metz and Strassburg in Alsace-Lorraine en route to Munich and Oberammergau in Germany. The Passion Play was very beautiful and realistic, and it was very interesting to be in the Bavarian village, because it was the rendezvous of all nationalities this summer."

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

January 1, 1898

It is because nearly all of us live on hope, because we are mentally sustained by expectations, that New Year's is always welcome. It is the one day of the twelve months-Christmas is chiefly for children-that appeals most to men and women. Much of its attractiveness depends on its nominal newness. We are all familiar and weary with the old. We are ever sighing for the new, which seems as if it would bring a change of mind and condition. New Year's is not a whit newer for its name, as everyone who thinks for a moment is aware, but names are potent, more potent than things.

Thursday morning, about 2:30 a.m., the Red Elephant Stable, at the upper end of Main Street, was found to be on fire. There were about four or five persons sleeping in the barn, and all slept so soundly that they were not awakened, until the whole interior of the building was in flames. The mud in the streets was so deep and tough it was almost impossible to get hose carts on the grounds.

When they were there, the wrench for turning on the water from the reservoir was not at hand, and there was considerable delay in getting the hose to work. There were about 15 horses in the barn, but all were gotten out.