Ten Years Ago
September 7, 2011
The record-breaking harvest of 2011 is bringing sights to grain elevators that haven’t been seen in recent memory. Last week, a wheat pile was started behind the Green Berry elevators. Warehouse foreman Larry Bunch said the last time this was done was probably in the 1970s. For the first time in more than a dozen years the “868” elevator in the southeast corner of the facility was cleaned and prepped for storage.
Twenty-Five Years Ago
September 11, 1996
Dye Seed Ranch staff, grass seed producer, local business people and other community members are preparing for a Department of Ecology hearing on the statewide ban on grass field burning.
Murals to be painted on the Armstrong property adjacent to Berglund’s Food City will involve an old-fashioned drugstore and a mercantile establishment.
Fifty Years Ago
September 9, 1971
Controversy erupted at City Council over a denied exemption in zoning laws concerning establishment of a trailer plaza off of Highway 12 west of Pomeroy, and accusations that the city had never fulfilled several agreements made in the past.
Pacific Northwest Old Time Fiddlers and Nez Perce Indian dancers have been added to entertainment at the Garfield County Fair.
Amateur log-rolling contests will be held at the fair for anyone, young or old, willing to try their hand—or rather feet.
Enrollment at the Pomeroy schools is 818, approximately the same as last year. Supt. Jesse Bender said 381 grade school, 137 junior high and 300 high school students were enrolled through Tuesday.
Seventy-Five Years Ago
September 9, 1946
The fairgrounds are completed and a large part of the rodeo stock is on the grounds. Everyone who has a horse, including boys and girls, are invited to ride in the grand entry, as well as the parade Saturday. Several events have been added to the rodeo program for local cowboys, including an amateur roping contest, a cow horse contest to give the aspirants a chance to prove how good their cow ponies are, and a stake race. A novelty event will be a foot race for cowboys who must run the race in their cowboy boots.
The public and parochial schools report a school enrollment of 493 students. Of this number 440 are registered in the various grades in the public school system and 53 at Holy Rosary school.
One Hundred Years Ago
September 10, 1921
The snowstorm Sunday scored a record in Garfield County, according to the U.S. weather station. In Pomeroy no holes were visible in the carpet of white. On Pataha flat, according to reports, there were from two to three inches, at the timber’s edge eight inches and back in the mountains 12 inches.
Impressive services were held over the body of Thomas Jackson Graham, following the arrival of the train last Friday. At the station, J.C. Raupach in charge of the pallbearers, and Edward Buchet leading the firing squad, drew their men up and removed the coffin from the train and placed it in the hearse. The procession of automobiles from the city to the grave practically covered the entire mile. Rev. F.N. Morton offered a prayer, the military salute was fired by the squad, and taps were sounded by Ray Williamson.
One Hundred Twenty-Five Years Ago
September 12, 1896
Hamlin’s Wizard Oil Company open a week’s engagement in the opera house next Monday night, Sept. 14. They carry a fine Male Quartette of vocalists, a good company of Specialty Artists, and a funny little man only 40 inches high, who does a wonderful acrobatic act. Every part of their program is clean and refined so ladies and children may attend with the assurance that they will not see or hear anything that would offend the most sensitive eye or ear. Be sure and see them. Admission is only 15¢.
The heavy rain that fell last week, did some damage to grain in Peola. Headers all stopped.
Editor Wheeler, of the Waitsburg Times, who has been camping out at Wallowa Lake, gets off the following in the last issue of his paper: “On Sunday night we stopped with a farmer who was in the midst of harvest. He kindly permitted us to pull out straw from a stack on which to make our beds. During the night the hands came straggling in, and occasionally a harvester would attempt to get into bed with us, thinking we were of the harvest crew. Once a man was right into our bed, and right between me and my wife, before I knew it. After that, and till daylight, I stood guard with a shotgun. There is a limit to a man’s patience.”