Honey Grove, Texas

Honey Grove's First Lesson in Civic Pride

Published in the Honey Grove Signal-Citizen about 1938
Written by H. P. Allen, assisted by W. J. Erwin

In the early 70's there was a newspaper published at Detroit, Mich., (if our memory is correct), by the name of Pomeroy's Democrat, which had a large list at Honey Grove. The editor's true name was M. M. Pomeroy, though commonly called Brick Pomeroy. He was a versatile writer, somewhat after the style of Mark Twain, and he indulged in many jokes. Every Monday he would have in his paper an editorial under the heading of "Our Saturday Night." He had a picture of the interior of his home, which represented a winter evening, with a bright fire in the grate, himself seated at a table writing; his wife sitting on the other side of the table either knitting or sewing, and the little children playing with their dolls and toys; the family cat on a rug before the fire, altogether making a picture of a happy home. In his editorial, Our Saturday Night, he would tell what he had seen, heard or experienced in any way. He could describe almost any emotion that the human heart knows. Finally, he announced in his paper that he intended to visit Texas in a short time and that as Honey Grove now had a railroad he would visit that town. Later he announced his entourage. It included Honey Grove on a certain day. The business men got together and appointed a committee to meet Mr. Pomeroy at the depot and appointed Mr. T. B. Yarbrough to take him around and introduce him to the citizens. There were no sidewalks in town at that time. The east side had only a few buildings and a few loose boards had been lain down lengthwise across ten vacant lots. We were at that time having some heavy summer rains and the Jamestown and other weeds were about three feet high and thick enough to make a shade under them. As Mr. Yarbrough was showing Mr. Pomeroy over the town, they were walking north on the east side and in passing those vacant spaces we noticed Mr. Pomeroy stop a moment looking at a sow and pigs wallowing in the mud and water under the shade of the weeds. He smiled pleasantly and walked on. After going home, there was a nice write-up of Sherman and Bonham, and when Honey Grove was named he had a picture which was a cheap wood cut of the sow and pigs wallowing in the mud and water under the tall weeds on the public square. Some of the citizens laughed over and some got as mad as a wet hen. We think Mr. Pomeroy lost some of his subscribers and Honey Grove learned its first lesson in civic pride.

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