Pomeroy Washington Downtown National Historic District
Classic Advertisements from the
The H.I.S. Motor
"Howard I. Sawyer, President"
From a March, 1920, issue of the East Washingtonian
H.I.S. MOTOR SOON TO BE MANUFACTURED
Plans Are Now Being Drafted for Standard Automobile Models
The H. I. S. Motor Corporation is advancing rapidly to the point of manufacturing.
"Subscriptions for the first block of stock at $5.00 per share," said Mr. Warner, "are pouring in rapidly before the advance to $10 per share. The first motor was built and demonstrated at Walla Walla before quite a number of Pomeroy people.
"The next step toward manufacturing was to decide on one standard size motor to be built for automobile manufacurers, of which there are six-hundred and eleven in the United States, using an average of over two million motors each year.
"Specifications for this standard model were sent to Prof. H. V. Carpenter at the Washington State College. Prof. Carpenter in a long-distance talk with Walter Robinson said, that Prof. Abies the gas engine expert would have all proportions for the H. I. S. engine figured out and mailed to the H. I. S. Motor Corporation Thursday or Friday of this week.
"Letters of praise and recommendation for the H. I. S. are being received daily," said Mr. Warner, "and it looks like the H. I. S. Motor is going to make good in a big way. managed as it is by men of known business reputation, it should take its place among the big dividend paying industries of the country."
March, 1920
April, 1920
Someone clipped something out of the other side of the page.
May, 1920
These three advertisements are from early in 1920. Feel free to contact me if you know any more about this local product.
In a small snippet in an issue of the East Washingtonian* I happened to see this sad news: (I scanned and saved it as from August, 1922, but the clipping is marked March, 1921.)
Are Witnesses at Trial
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Robinson and Mrs. Jay Carithers have been in Seattle, where they were called as defense witnesses for the retrial of Mrs. Sawyer, charged with shooting her husband, H. I. Sawyer. The trial was indefinitely postponed, however, because of the serious illness of Mrs. Sawyer.
It took several years, but I did find more information on Pomeroy's H.I.S. Motors. It looks like the corporation "blew through" 1.5 Million Dollars in about 4 years, back when a million was a lot of money. Also... while a number of Pomeroy's leading citizens of the time are listed, there is no mention of the eponymous H. I. Sawyer.
Notice to Creditors
In the superior court of the state of Washington in and for the county of Garfield.
Daniel E. Smith, plaintiff vs. H. I. S. Motor Corporation, a corporation, defendant.
Notice is hereby given that the undersigned has been appointed Receiver of the defendant, H. I. S. Motor Corporation, a corporation, and has duly qualified accordingly, and that all persons having claims against the said H. I. S. Mortor Corporation, a corporation, are required to serve such claims duly verified, with the necessary vouchers, upon the undersigned, at 828 Old National bank building, Spokane, Washington, on or before the 30th day of April, 1924, or their claims will be forever barred.
Dated this 3rd day of April, 1924.
E. O. CONNOR,
Receiver of the H. I. S. Motor Corporation.
Then a month later, again from the legal section of the EW classifieds:
NOTICE NO. 2220
In the superior court of the state of Washington in and for the county of Garfield.
Daniel E. Smith, plaintiff, vs. H. I. S. Motor Corporation, a corporation, defendant.
Notice is hereby given, by the undersigned, as Receiver of the H. I. S. Motor Corporation, a corporation, that pursuant to the order of the court heretofore made on the 1st day of May. 1924, a hearing will be had on Tuesday, the 17th day of June, 1924, at the hour of 10 o'clock a. m., in the court room at the court house, in the city of Pomeroy, Garfield county, state of Washington, upon the petition of the Receiver of the H. I. S. Motor Corporation, a corporation, for an order fixing the amount of claims and debts of the H. I. S. Motor Corporation, a corporation, whether an assessment shall be levied on unpaid capital stock of Walter J. Robinson, Roy D. Williams, Fred Tewalt, C. A. McCabe, J. V. Carithers, R. H. Tuttle and Allen Mulkey, and if so assessing said unpaid capital stock and directing collection thereof from said Walter J. Robinson, Roy D. Williams, Fred Tewalt, J. V. Carithers, C. A. McCabe, R. H. Tuttle, and Allen Mulkey in accordance with the petition of the petitioner herein on file with the clerk of the superior court of Garfield county, Washington, to which reference is hereby made for further particulars, and for such other and further relief as the court deems meet, just and equitable to be granted upon said petition, at which time and place all parties interested may appear, object to and resist the granting of said petition according to law.
Dated this 5th day of May, 1924. E. O, CONNOR,
Receiver of H. I. S. Motor Corporation.
Here's the "rest of the story" as told by Ewart Baldwin in his 1989 book, A History of Garfield County
One of the amazing stories of Pomeroy's history came with the arrival of H. I. Sawyer, a young mechanical genius from Walla Walla who had the job as mechanic in one of the local garages. He had developed a one-cylinder motor which was supposedly different enough from conventional automobile motors to warrant attention.
It was decided to incorporate his motor corporation in Pomeroy with Sawyer as Pres., F. M. Robinson as vice-pres., C. A. McCabe, sec.; W. J. Robinson, treas. and W. J. Robinson, Fred Twealt and Otto Ruchert as directors. Stock was sold at $5.00 per share. The March 6th issue warned that the stock would soon go to $10.00 per share and full page ads appeared boosting the stock. Soon a full page ad listing the names of the stockholders appeared and it was a "who's who" of Garfield County residents.
This writer [Ewart Baldwin] is not sure that much stock was sold outside of the county. The plant to manufacture was supposedly to be located in Pomeroy but a strange turn in events changed the outlook.
The May 15, '20 EW has the announcement of the death of H. I. Sawyer who was killed by his wife in Seattle. She was his second wife and she claimed the death was an accident. She fired merely to frighten him. He was born on Dry Creek near Walla Walla and was 32 at the time of his death. He had been in Pomeroy seven years. At her trial, Mrs. Sawyer was convicted of second degree murder, but the verdict was appealed and the writer never found out her ultimate fate. This event did pretty much end the project.
A motor was built according to Sawyer's plans in Seattle and brought to various communities for demonstration. It was demonstrated in Oscar Bartlow's garage to large audiences which attempted to crowd into limited space. The motor evidently performed well enough at an even pace, but there was some doubt that it would have under varying conditions such as steep pitches and starts and stops.