History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 120

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1138

USA > Washington > Benton County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 120
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 120
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 120

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In 1908 Mr. Amonette was married to Miss Sallie Grant, of Yakima, and they have gained many friends during the period of their residence in this city. Mr. Amonette has a fine ranch on the Yakima reservation, having made judicious invest- ment in that property. He is a member of the Machinsts' Union and is himself an

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expert workman. Since coming to Yakima he has become proprietor of a fine shop and the standard of service there rendered to his patrons is of such high character that his business has steadily and constantly grown and developed. He has equipped his plant with all modern machinery and is able to do any class of repair work, while the integrity of his methods has insured him the goodwill and respect of all with whom he has been brought in contact.

FRED B. PLATH.

Fred B. Plath is an active factor in business circles of Yakima as the secretary and treasurer of the Washington Fruit & Produce Company, with which he has thus been identified since its organization in 1916. His birth occurred in Sleepy Eye, Min- nesota, on the 4th of September, 1881, his parents being Herman and Louise (Lang) Plath, who removed to Yakima, Washington, in the year 1909. Here the mother passed away in 1911, and the father on November 29, 1918, at the venerable age of ninety-one years, less seven days.

Fred B. Plath attended the public schools in the acquirement of an education and following his graduation from the high school entered his father's flour mill in Min- nesota. He was a young man of twenty-eight years when he came with his parents to Yakima in 1909 and here he secured a position as bookeeper in a bank, being thus employed for six months. Subsequently he spent a similar period in the service of the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company, while later he became associated with M. J. Hafener in the wholesale fruit business. In 1916, in connection with M. M. Pike, these two gentlemen organized the Washington Fruit & Produce Company, of which Mr. Plath has since been secretary and treasurer. His efforts have contrib- uted in no small measure to the continued growth and success of the enterprise and he has wou a place among the representative and substantial business men of Yakima.

On the 25th of December, 1917, Mr. Plath was united in marriage to Miss Marg- aret Gale McMechan, of Yakima. In politics he maintains an independent course, supporting men and measures rather than party, while fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America. His many excellent qualities commend him to the confidence and esteem of all who know him and he has gained a gratifying measure of prosperity during the years of his residence in Yakima.

JOHN HENRY MILLER.

John Henry Miller occupies a fine home which stands in the midst of a ranch of seventy acres adjoining the corporation limits of Sunnyside on the north. He comes to Washington from the state of Kansas, but his birth occurred in Waterloo, Iowa, on the 22d of February, 1859. He is a son of Henry and Nancy (Keim) Miller, both of whom were natives of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and removed to Ohio before becoming pioneer settlers of lowa. The father followed farming in the Hawk- eye state to the time of his death, while his widow passed away in Nebraska.

John Henry Miller acquired a public school education in Iowa and when eigh- teen years of age began working for wages, being thus employed in Iowa and Illi- nois. He afterward went to Nebraska, where he carried on farming for three years, and in 1882 he began renting land in Hamilton county, Nebraska, thus carrying on agricultural pursuits for three years. In 1885 he removed to Brown county, Kansas, where he followed farming. until 1901. In that year he came to Sunnyside, Wash- ington, where he had purchased eighty acres of land adjoining the north edge of the town. He has since sold a ten-acre tract. The remainder is all under cultivation and he raises hay, corn, potatoes and sugar beets but now rents most of his land. His attractive residence was built in 1902 and he also has good barns and all modern improvements upon his place, which is lacking in none of the accessories and conven- iences of the model farm of the twentieth century.

On the 7th of December, 1882, Mr. Miller was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary (41)

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Catherine Flickinger, a native of Blackhawk county, Iowa, and a daughter of Jacob Flickinger. To Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been born three children. Mida is the wife of Creighton Atkinson, a carpenter by trade, whom she wedded on the 23d of January, 1907, and by whom she has had four children, namely: Mary Josephine, who was born October 11, 1907; Katherine, whose birth occurred on the 10th of Oc- tober, 1909; Thelma May, born July 11, 1913; and John Henry, who was born March 7, 1917, and died on the 22d of April following. Edna May Miller is a professional nurse of Salt Lake City. Maynard Miler passed away at the age of a year and a half.

Mr. Miller and his family are members of the First Brethren church, in which he is now serving as a trustee. His political allegiance is given to the republican party but he does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business affairs, which have been wisely and carefully directed and bring to him the measure of success that is now his.

CHARLES W. CAMP.

Charles W. Camp has been continuously engaged in the drug business in Yakima for the past thirteen years, his present location being No. 302 West Yakima avenue. He is a western man by birth, training and preference and is characterized by the spirit of enterprise which has been the dominant factor in the development and up- building of this section of the country. His birth occurred in Denver, Colorado, in 1882, his parents being C. L. and Martha Camp. The latter died at the birth of her son Charles. Mr. Camp was afterward married again and in 1890 removed to Seattle, Washington, where he successfully practiced law to the time of his demise, which occurred in 1896.

Charles W. Camp, who was a lad of eight years when he accompanied his father to Seattle, supplemented his early educational training by a course of study in the Seattle Business College. He became identified with the drug business when a youth of seventeen and has since remained in that line of activity. The year 1904 witnessed his arrival in Yakima and in July of the following year he opened a drug store on West Yakima avenue, this being the first establishment of the kind west of the tracks. In 1910 he removed to his present location at No. 302 West Yakima avenue, where he occupies a building twenty-five by one hundred feet and carries an exten- sive general line of drugs and druggists' sundries. His store is attractively appointed and the reliability and integrity of his business methods have won him a constantly increasing patronage, so that well merited prosperity has come to him.

Mr. Camp gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is a member of the Commercial Club. He takes an active interest in everything that has to do with the progress and advancement of the community, his influence being always given on the side of right, reform and improvement. His fraternal relations are with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is popular in both social and business circles of Yakima, where his genuine personal worth is recognized and appreciated by his many friends.

ELMER H. STOUT.

For twenty-two years Elmer H. Stout has been a resident of Washington and he dates his residence in Yakima county from 1898. He was bodn in Galva, Kansas, April 5, 1875, a son of Elijah T. and Martha E. (Bruce) Stout, who were pioneer people of Kansas, where the father established the town of Galva, laying it out on his homestead. In 1885 he removed to Neosho county, Kansas, where he resided for three years and then became a resident of Coffey county Kansas, where he continued to make his home until 1894. Leaving the Sunflower state, he then made his way southward to Houston, Texas, and in 1905 he came to Yakima county, where he rented land. Later he purchased a farm, which he continued to cultivate for a time

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but subsequently retired to Yakima, where his death occurred September 9, 1917. His widow is still living upon a farm near that of our subject.

Elmer H. Stout obtained a public school education and in 1897 he left Texas and removed to the northwest, locating first in Seattle. Afterward he became a resi- dent of Tacoma and in the spring of 1898 made his way to Yakima, where he worked out for about a year. He then took up a homestead on Eureka flats, proved up on the property and after obtaining title thereto sold it. He also did some railway con- tract work on the construction of the North Bank road near Pasco, and was six months in Idaho engaged in railway construction work. In 1908 he took up his abode on a ranch with his father in the Wenas valley and since that time he has given his attention to the development, cultivation and improvement of the place, purchasing his father's interest therein about 1911. He has eighty acres of land, which is devoted to the cultivation of grain and hay. He also raises hogs upon his place and is meeting with success in the various branches of his business. All the improvements upon his place have been made by Mr. Stout, who has similarly equipped the farm upon which the mother and a brother make their home.

On the 1st of January, 1913, Mr. Stout was married to Miss Viola Hile, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of John C. and Mary Catherine (Vought) Hile, both of whom passed away in Pennsylvania. To Mr. and Mrs. Stout have been born two children, Ruth and Kenneth.

Mr. Stout is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. His life has been guided by high and honorable principles and the sterling worth of his character is recognized by all with whom he has come in contact.

MARK M. PIKE.

Mark M. Pike, occupying a prominent position among the leading wholesale fruit dealers of the Yakima valley, is a man of undaunted enterprise, of laudable am- bition and of unfaltering perseverance. He was born in Friendship, New York, February 25, 1867, a son of Mark W. and Hattie E. Pike. In the acquirement of his education he was graduated from a college at Lansing, Michigan, and afterward en- tered the lumber business in northern Michigan. He became an important factor in Michigan wholesale lumber circles, conducting business for a considerable period at Wolverine, that state. In 1900 he made a trip to the northwest to investigate the . country, for he believed that he might enjoy still broader opportunities in this sec- tion. He had for a time been engaged in the wholesale meat business while in Michigan, but in 1906 he disposed of his interests there and came to Yakima. Soon afterward he purchased three ranches and also made large investments in city prop- erty. One of his ranches is situated in the Selah valley and comprises forty acres of land which is devoted to fruit. He also has a ranch of sixteen acres on the Naches, on which he is engaged in fruit raising, and his third ranch is on Nob Hill. In 1911 he organized the firm of Pike & Blood for the conduct of a wholesale fruit business and purchased a large wooden building one hundred by one hundred and eighty feet. This he utilized until 1916, when he moved the building from the ground and erected a fine brick structure one hundred by one hundred and eighty feet and three stories in height. He has storage capacity for two hundred cars and there are rail- way tracks at each end of the building. In 1917 he handled four hundred car loads of fruit and his products are shipped all over the United States under the name of the "Liberty Bell" brand, his posters showing a picture of the old liberty bell. In 1916 the firm of Pike & Blood was dissolved and the business was reorganized under the name of the Washington Fruit & Produce Company, with Mr. Pike as the presi- dent, Fred B. Plath as secretary and treasurer and M. J. Hafener as vice president and manager. While the firm owns some fine fruit ranches, they are also large buy- ers and their business constitutes an excellent market for fruit producers in this section of the state. There were thirty thousand car loads of fruit produced in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana in 1917 and fifteen thousand car loads of this fruit came from the Yakima valley. In addition to his other interests Mr. Pike

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is connected with the Western Meat Company of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and with an oil company in Allegany county, New York, and he has very extensive land holdings in Michigan.

From the age of two years Mr. Pike lived with his maternal grandfather, by whom he was reared. In 1902 he married Margaret Jewell, who was born in Toronto, Canada, and later lived in Sheboygan, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Pike have four chil- dren: Mark, eleven years of age; Ruth, aged nine; Alice, seven; and Donald, four.

Mr. and Mrs. Pike attend the Presbyterian church and they occupy an enviable position in the social circles of Yakima, where the hospitality of their home is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Politicallly Mr. Pike is a democrat and fra- ternally is connected with the Elks Lodge No. 318. He likewise has membership in the Yakima Commercial Club and is much interested in all that has to do with the welfare and progress of the city and the advancement of its commercial and business interests. He made no mistake when he became identified with the wholesale fruit trade. In this he has found a congenial field of labor and one which offers excellent opportunities. In utilizing the chances that have come to him for legitimate success he has steadily worked his way upward and is now at the head of a gratifying and growing business.

JAMES GUY LONGMIRE.

James Guy Longmire is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of excellent land near Selah, which he is carefully and systematically cultivating. He is operating altogether one hundred and sixty acres, for he cultivates forty acres of the old home place. He is one of the native sons of Washington, his birth having occurred in the Wenas valley of Yakima county, on the 6th of November, 1888, his father being David Longmire. His education was acquired in the public schools and when a youth of sixteen years he and his brother George rented the father's farm. Since that time he has been continuously connected with the agricultural development of this region. When he had reached the age of eighteen years he received forty acres of the old homestead as a gift and began farming on his own account. He also rented another part of the old home place and subsequently he bought sixty acres of land, while in 1917 he made an additional purchase of twenty acres, so that he now has one hundred and twenty acres in all. This does not indicate the entire extent of his labors, however, for he also cultivates forty acres of the old homestead and he has an interest in twenty-four hundred acres of pasture land with his brothers. He is a progressive agriculturist and stock raiser, carrying on his work along modern lines of development and improvement. His labors have been productive of excellent results. There now stand as monuments to his effort, enterprise and laudable am- bition an attractive farm residence and substantial barns upon his place. An air of neatness and thrift pervades the ranch and he is successfully engaged in the cultiva- tion of hay and grain and in the raising of sheep.

On January 19, 1916, Mr. Longmire was married to Miss Pearl Hansen, a native of California, and he has one child, Evelyn. He has spent his entire life in this sec- tion of the state and from early youth has been identified with its agricultural devel- opment and interests. His early thorough training well qualified him to undertake farming on his own account when he attained his majority and as the years have passed his enterprise and laudable ambition have brought to him growing success.

DAVID E. LONGMIRE.

The Washington spirit, as the spirit of western energy and enterprise may well be termed, has fallen upon the shoulders of David E. Longmire, who is among the younger successful agriculturists of Yakima county, giving his attention to a valu- able property near Selah. He comes of distinguished pioneer ancestry, his father hav- ing founded the family home in what later became the state of Washington when this

MR. AND MRS. DAVID E. LONGMIRE

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region was yet a wilderness. That pioneer spirit of endurance and patience has come down to David E. Longmire as a valuable inheritance and this he has combined with modern ideas and progressive methods, thus building up within a short period a farming enterprise which may be termed modern. He was horn in Yakima county, November 8, 1883, a son of David Longmire, of whom extended mention is made on other pages of this work.

In the acquirement of his education David E. Longmire attended the public schools. After having prepared for the arduous duties of life he decided to follow the same occupation in which his father had been so successful and so continued upon the same ranch until 1904, when he reached his majority. The independent spirit to do for himself and court fortune on his own account then led him to take over forty acres of the home farm and this he has since cultivated to such good pur- pose that in 1905 he was able to buy another forty acres and still another tract of the same size in 1917, so that he now owns one hundred and twenty acres, all of which is under irrigation. Moreover, in partnership with his two brothers, he holds title to fourteen hundred acres of valuable range land. He gives his attention largely to grain and hay but also raises potatoes and until 1917 gave much of his time to live stock. He has modern and up-to-date buildings upon the property and has in- stituted the most improved farm machinery, thus proving himself a young man who is ever ready to embrace the latest discoveries in regard to twentieth century agri- cultural methods.

On December 11, 1904, Mr. Longmire was united in marriage to Miss Mary Annie Miles, a daughter of John and Annie Miles, who became residents of Yakima county in 1902, coming from Missouri. Both have now passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. Longmire were horn four children, of whom three have passed away. These are Marvin Miles, Stanley Hiram and Clyde Percy. The other member of the fam- ily, a boy, James Manfred, is now about ten months old. Mr. and Mrs. Longmire have ever been interested in the higher things of life and are devoted members of the Christian church. They are well liked among the young people of the valley and have many friends here.

In politics Mr. Longmire is a democrat but has never aspired to office although he keeps in touch with all public matters and is well informed in regard to questions of public policy. He is a likeable young man who readily makes friends and all who know him agree as to his sterling qualities of character. He becomingly carries a family name that has long been honorably connected with the history of develop- ment in the state of Washington.

WILLIAM H. DOOLY.

William H. Dooly, actively engaged in business as a stock buyer in Yakima, was born in Dickinson county, Kansas, on the 8th of April, 1879, a son of J. W. and L. V. (Gardner) Dooly, both of whom were natives of Missouri. The father removed to the Sound country in Washington in 1890 and the following year made his way to Yakima. He later took up a homestead near Prosser, Washington, and afterward lived in the vicinity of Granger, where he was engaged in the hop business, there re- siding until his life's labors were ended in death in the year 1905. His widow passed away in 1907.

William H. Dooly, after acquiring a public school education, turned his attention to the live stock business and for many years was a buyer for the firm of Frye & Company of Seattle, the largest dealers of the northwest. In 1915 he entered busi- ness on his own account as a stock buyer and is now engaged successfully and exten- sively in handling cattle and hogs. His previous experience well qualifies him for this business and he is a recognized authority on stock values. While with the firm of Frye & Company he was connected with the horse business and he also rode the range as a young man. In fact his entire career has brought him into close connec- tion with the live stock interests of the northwest.

In October, 1901, Mr. Dooly was united in marriage to Miss Della E. Dopps, of Granger. Washington, who was born in Norton, Norton county, Kansas. She is a

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daughter of J. H. and Emma (Hasleau) Dopps. Her father came with his children, five in number, to Washington in 1898, traveling all the way from Kansas with horses. His wife had passed away some years previous to this. Mr. and Mrs. Dooly have become the parents of a son, Harold J.

Fraternally Mr. Dooly is connected with the Elks Lodge No. 318 and the Com- mercial Club. His political allegiance is given to the republican party but he has neither time nor inclination for public office as his entire attention is concentrated upon his business affairs and his close application and indefatigable energy are prov- ing potent elements in the attainment of a well deserved success.

CRAWFORD H. GRIFFIN.

Crawford H. Griffin, who since 1915 has resided in the Yakima valley and is now engaged in ranching near Sunnyside, was born in Gibson county, Indiana, March 30, 1880, a son of William H. and Armilda (Lawrence) Griffin, the former a native of Ohio, while the latter was born in Indiana. They became residents of Kansas in 1897 and there the father devoted his attention to the occupation of farming until his life's labors were ended in death. The mother is still a resident of that state.

Crawford H. Griffin acquired a public school educaion and worked upon the home farm until he reached the age of nineteen, being early trained to the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. After leaving home he engaged in the barbering business for eight years. Removing to Nevada, he resided there for several years, after which he engaged in farming for eight years in Virginia. In March, 1915, he arrived in the Yakima valley and bought twenty acres of land a mile north of Sunnyside. He has since purchased an additional twenty acres, so that he now has forty acres on which he is engaged in the raising of hay, corn and potatoes. He has been quite successful in the cultivation of his crops and has developed his ranch into one of the attractive properties of the district.

On the 2d of November, 1903, Mr. Griffin was united in marriage to Miss Emma Lewis, a native of Nevada and a daughter of George and Martha C. Lewis. They now have a son, Lewis, who is fourteen years of age.

Mr. Griffin is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his wife holds membership in the Baptist church. They are hoth people of sterling worth, enjoying the friendship and good will of all who know them. They have resided near Sunnyside for a comparatively brief period but are imbued with the enterprising spirit of the west and are recognized as a valued addition to the citizenship of the community. Mr. Griffin gives his political allegiance to the republican party.

HORACE P. JAMES.

Horace P. James, president of the Yakima Frunt Growers' Association, was born in Weybridge, Vermont, in the year 1855, the width of the continent thus sep- arating him from his birthplace. He is a son of Samuel and Susan (Payne) James, both of whom were representatives of old colonial families. In the maternal line he traces his ancestry back to those who aided in winning independence in the Revolu- tionary war. Samuel James was a farmer by occupation and both he and his wife have passed away.

Horace P. James, reared in the Green Mountain state and guided by the best New England traditions of teaching, made wise use of his time, talents and oppor- tunities in his early life, attending the Middlebury College, from which he was grad- uated, and afterward entering the theological school of Oberlin College, Ohio, con- ducted under the auspices of the Congregational church. He completed his course there by graduation in 1879, and having been ordained to the ministry, secured his first church at Corinth, Vermont, in 1880. There he remained for six years, when in 1886 he accepted a call to the ministry of a church at Cooperstown, North Dakota. where he spent two years. In 1888 he arrived in Colfax, Washington, and was pastor

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of the Congregational church at that place for twelve years. He removed to Yakima in 1900, at which time he assumed pastoral duties in connection with the Congrega- tional church of this city, which he served for six years. In 1906 he became identi- fied with fruit production and shipment, purchasing a fruit ranch four miles west of Yakima. He invested in sixteen acres of wild land and now has ten acres in bearing apple and pear orchards. He was one of the organizers of the Yakima Fruit Grow- ers' Association in 1910 and for the past two years has been its president. This company has a large warehouse and cold storage plant in Yakima and another at Zillah, which is one of the largest in the northwest. These two represent an invest- ment of one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The company likewise has warehouses throughout the valley, including ten besides the two large plants already mentioned, and in the year 1917 the company handled over twelve hundred carloads of fruit, while in 1914 they handled as many as two thousand, two hundred and fifty- three carloads. They are among the largest wholesalers of fruit in the valley and their shipments are made under the brands of Blue Y and Red Y. They employ about one hundred people during the busy season and the business was conducted as a cooperative concern until 1918, when it was reorganized on a stock basis, Mr. James becoming the president, with E. L. Porter as secretary, Austin Woodyard as treasurer and C. H. Hinman as manager. This has been one of the largest and most successful organizations of the kind in the valley and Mr. James has taken a most active and helpful part in building up the fruit industry in this part of the state.

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History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 120

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920 Publication date: 1919 Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke Number of Pages: 1138

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1138