Pomeroy Pioneer Portraits

Ten Years Ago

May 29, 2013

Pomeroy Pirate pole vaulter Kenny Lomen-Carr cleared 13 ft. at the State 1B track championship meet Friday at Easter Washington University in Cheney. Kenny broke the old meet record of 12-9 on his second vault. Several other Pirate track athletes brought home State medals.

Wild Country Wearables, the shop in the former Food City space west of Pioneer Plaza, will open next weekend, just in time for Pioneer Day and Tumbleweed weekend activities. Asked to describe her new endeavor, owner Dawn Waldal jokingly answered, "evolving," then said the retail shop will concentrate on "family resale. We'll start out with mostly second-hand clothing." Dawn will share the space on Main St. with partner Kris Anderson, owner of Estimators Northwest, a materials estimating firm that generates lumber lists for lumber yards from construction plans. "Pomeroy happened to us," Dawn said of how the couple decided to settle in Garfield County.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

May 27, 1998

Nurses at Garfield County Memorial Hospital's open house Sunday, May 17, wore uniforms going back to 1900 as part of the recognition of health care providers during May. Suzanne Grove wore a gray dress under a white pinafore, the uniform from 1900 through 1920. Patti Weaver wore the uniform from 1920 through 1929, a blue-striped dress with stiff collar and cuffs, under a white pinafore. Cathy Savage modeled the nurse cadet uniform that was the street dress uniform from 1944 to 1946. The loan of the uniforms from Deaconess was arranged through Anna Mae Ericksen, a graduate of the nursing school who founded the Rural Nurse Organization.

Pomeroy High School senior Brian Long was elected vice president of the Washington State FFA at the organization's 68th state convention the weekend of May 15 through 17 at Washington State University. Brian is the Pomeroy FFA chapter reporter and FFA District IV vice president. He is president of the PHS drama club and he placed sixth in the state Voice of Democracy contest. Brian is the son of Gary and Julie Long of Pomeroy.

Fifty Years Ago

May 24, 1973

Noise of jackhammers broke the quiet of Pomeroy Tuesday as work began on the new street lights for downtown Pomeroy. Work had earlier started on erecting new mercury vapor lights in the residential areas. Sam Harrison's crew will be placing the concrete foundations for the 22 new light standards in downtown Pomeroy, between Fifth and Tenth streets while the Pacific Power & Light crew is already at work replacing the old incandescent lamps elsewhere in town. The PP&L crew will do the actual erecting of the new metal standards and lights, which will replace the present street lights and standards.

Jon Vogt, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Vogt, has been accepted as a member of the Unites States Honor Band and Choir which will tour Scandinavia and parts of Europe this summer. It is a performing tour for musically superior students in which membership in the choir is limited to 200.

Seventy Five Years Ago

May 27, 1948

Pomeroy is fortunate in losing only a small number of its school faculty this year. Clint Wiswall, who plans to begin farming operations of his own; Miss Rhea Gray, who is hoping to locate in a larger place, and Wilber Miller, who has been hired to take charge of the commercial department at Pasco high school, constitute the losses. This loss will be distinctly felt, however, two of the vacancies have already been filled. Dick Brown of Newport has been hired to replace Mr. Wiswall and Mrs. Eleanor Long of Walla Walla has been hired to replace Mr. Miller.

The increasing number of cold storage locker plants with their slaughtering facilities is going to make the rural areas less and less dependent upon the packing houses for meats. Locally killed meat stored in the locker plants is available at all times and provides a constant yearly supply of good meat uninterrupted by strikes in the packing house and on the railroad. In some localities hundreds of farmers who formerly bought all their fresh meat from the local butcher now depend altogether on the locker plant for it.

One Hundred Years Ago

May 26, 1923

It is hereby ordered by this board that from and after June 1, 1923, all telephone wires following the Pataha creek road, from the city limits of the City of Pomeroy, Washington, as far as the foot of the McKeirnan grade or on any part of such road or distance, shall be carried on a single line of poles. Such line of poles must be maintained in good condition and in such condition as never to become a danger to the traveling public. All persons interested in the lines affected by this order will take notice-Ed Malone, Chairman of the Board. The above order will be found on the commissioners' minutes in the auditor's office-F.A. De Vleming, County Auditor.

Perry Young, the Peola storekeeper was in Pomeroy Wednesday, and reported preparations steadily progressing for the celebration at that place. "We are giving this celebration mainly as a benefit for some families who could not leave home to go anywhere else," Mr. Young said.

One Hundred and Twenty-Five Years Ago

May 28, 1898

What may be done in this section of country with sheep is plainly shown by the success of the Flerschinger Bros., who bought one thousand ewes last October of G.D. Gibson. They paid $2005 for the herd, have lost only 7 head of the original band, and have an increase of 126 per cent in this year's lamb crop. Counting the value of their wool slip, together with increase, the Flerschingers have easily made $3000 by this dead, which was consummated less than seven months ago.

In reply to the question "how is wheat to-day," M.H. Houser, of the Pomeroy Mills, said this morning: "Wheat is off. The spurt of the past few weeks was chiefly due to the general speculative excitement of the Unites States, brought on by the war and encouraged by the keen demand for wheat on the continent, and the strong statistical figures put forth. The demand from the continent for anything but near-by wheat was brought up with a jerk, caused by the present high price, and the excellent crop prospects throughout Europe and especially in France, which country was doing most of the high bidding for our wheat."