Pomeroy Pioneer Portraits

Ten Years Ago

June 19, 2013

The first office of McGregor Risk Management Services, a limited liability corporation formed almost a year ago by equal partners McGregor Company and Stonebraker McQuary Insurance, opened May 1 in Pomeroy. Office manager Jennie Byington is an insurance veteran in Garfield County, working 15 years as an agent at Obenland & Low Agency. The Pomeroy native also worked as a legal secretary in town and in Lewiston.

US Army Corps of Engineers at Lower Granite Project is coordinating and hosting a multi-agency open water oil spill response training exercise to take place on the Snake River at Lower Granite Project. Training will be provided by Washington Department of Ecology Spill Preparedness and Prevention (oil spill response) team members from Spokane. Participants from emergency response agencies are expected from eight Federal, state, and county agencies including Garfield, Asotin, and Whitman Counties.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

June 17, 1998

After 30 years teaching in Pomeroy School District, Jim and Betsy Manring retired after this school year, he as a math and science teacher at the high school, and she as an elementary teacher and reading instructor. They came to Pomeroy in 1968, after 10 years away from the Inland Northwest. Jim is a Yakima Valley native who graduated from Highland High School in Yakima, and Betsy is from Federal Way. They both hold bachelor's degrees from Washington State University.

Any cemetery in the county might be referred to by several names, based on the name of the nearest geographical features, or by the name of the grantee of the land for the cemetery, or the common name of the area. The cemeteries in Garfield County are: Rigsby or Pataha City; Pataha Flat, also called Union Chapel or Center; Ping Cemetery or Ping Gulch; Cox or Bartels; Offield or Ish Buring Ground, was on the Snake River, moved to Pomeroy before Lower Granite Dam was built; Pataha Valley or Owsley; Kirby or Bethal; Peola; Mayview, or Chapel Hill; Ruark, sometimes called Mayview before 1903, also New Century; Philomathean or Alpowa Ridge; Pomeroy City Cemetery; Catholic Cemetery; IOOF Cemetery.

Fifty Years Ago

June 21, 1973

Experimental spraying of Tussock Moth larvae started last week, according to District Ranger Bruce Egger. Initial spraying was on the plot in the Rose Springs area, and spraying on the Lewis Creek and San Souci plots is slated this week. All three plots, each approximately 500 acres in size, will be sprayed with Pyrethroid. Results of the first spray are as yet unavailable.

Campers, trailers and more campers have been proof to Pomeroy residents for a number of years that the "outside world" thinks summer is here-even if the weather says otherwise. This year is no exception, despite the fact that the gas shortage has made many people think twice before starting long trips. The camper surge has been growing for several weeks, and Monday morning for a time the number of campers using highway 12 in downtown Pomeroy seemed to equal the number of other vehicles using the road.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

June 17, 1948

A knock-down, drag-out eighth race Sunday, which saw the lead jockeys engage in a wild fight, still had the large crowd attending the second annual Pomeroy Downs horse racing meet talking this week. Eight races were run each day in the meet, which was originally slated for May 8-9. Queen Maxine Crawford and princesses Violet Wernecke and Helen Jean Koller led the grand entry march. President Dewey Brown and Manager Alva Ruark, of the Garfield County Fair Board, also participated in the grand entry on Saturday. In the eighth race Sunday, jockeys riding Joker and Toney, the two leading horses, brought the large crowd to its feet when, coming down the stretch, they began bumping each other and beating each other with whips. Tony finished first, Speed second, and Fiddle Dee Dee third, but judges awarded the race to Fiddle Dee Dee.

Pioneer Joe Geiger, who came from Mankato, Minn., in 1877 to Garfield County, received the pioneer chair at the annual picnic of the Garfield County Pioneer Association in the city park Saturday. Mrs. L.T. Christopherson, who was born in Garfield County in 1880, received the lady's chair. Chairs are awarded to the oldest continuous residents of the county, who are members of the association in good standing and who have never been awarded chairs.

One Hundred Years Ago

June 16, 1923

In the fifteenth inning, Sanford, by placing a two-base hit, brought in Spencer, scoring the deciding run between Pomeroy and Dayton at the Dayton Days celebration Friday. The score stood tied at four in the ninth and although both teams were near to scoring, six innings were played before a score was made. The game was started at three and lasted until after 7 o'clock.

Washington State College furnishes a large share of the faculty employed for the Pomeroy high school next year. Superintendent H.M. Ridenour is a graduate of this school and among the new teacher hires are Grace Barmen, mathematics; Ruth Montzheimer, home economics; John Kelly, manual training and Doris Roeder, music, all of whom are from Washington State college.

One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago

June 18, 1898

It is safe to say that the chap who precipitated the fight during the school election last Saturday was impelled wholly by disappointment and a desire to re-instate himself as principal of our schools, after having been turned down by the Board of Education. He took advantage of the slight feeling of opposition to Prof. Benbow, and scoured the town for illegal votes with which to stuff the ballot box. It is well that the people, with their ballots, have put their seal of condemnation upon the disreputable tactics of this Ex-Prof. and his vacillating assistant. Such tactics are the weapons of soreheads and those who are smarting under a personal grievance.

Last Monday's furious rain and hail storm did considerable damage along its path through Pataha Flat and upper Deadman country. In some places rain fell to a depth of 2.5 inches, while in others the accompanying massive hail-stones came with such force and density as to cut down whole fields of growing grain. Some orchards were badly injured, and the growing fruit entirely destroyed. The dark clouds looked ominous enough as they approached the town from the southeast, but the main storm passed a mile to the east, little rain and no hail at all falling in Pomeroy.