Elgin V. Kuykendall was educated in the public schools of Garfield county and has learned many valuable lessons in the school of experience, for he has ever been a close and attentive observer of men and of measures. Determining upon a professional career, he took up the study of law in 1892, pursuing his reading under the preceptorship of Samuel G. Cosgrove of Pomeroy, who was afterward governor of Washington. In 1894 Mr. Kuykendall was admitted to the bar but did not immediately take up the active practice of the profession but continued to give his attention to educational work, in which for some time he had been engaged. He had proven a capable teacher, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge that he had acquired, and in 1894 he was elected county superintendent of schools, in which office he served for one term. During the last year of his incumbency in that position he was appointed to fill out an unexpired term of six months as principal of the Pomeroy high school. In 1897, however, he concentrated his efforts and attention upon the practice of law and in 1898 was elected prosecuting attorney of Garfield county, in which position he served for one term. In 1900 he was elected mayor of Pomeroy and occupied that position for one term, giving to the city a businesslike and progressive administration characterized by needed reforms and measures of public improvement. At the same time he continued in the practice of law independently until February, 1898, when he entered into partnership with Judge Mack F. Gose under the firm name of Gose & Kuykendall, a relationship that existed until the appointment of the senior partner to the supreme bench in 1900. Mr. Kuykendall then practiced alone for two years and in 1911 the present law firm of Kuykendall & McCabe was formed, C. Alexander McCabe being admitted to a partnership that still maintains, the firm occupying now a very prominent position in the legal circles of the state. Their practice is extensive and of an important character and in the conduct thereof Mr. Kuykendall has displayed talent, learning, tact, patience and industry. His legal learning, his analytical mind, the readiness with which he grasps the points in an argument all combine to make him a strong advocate and a wise counselor. In connection with his brothers he has fourteen hundred acres of land held in equity.
In 1896 Mr. Kuykendall was joined in wedlock to Miss Marguerite Scully, a daughter of Matthew Scully, who was one of the pioneer farmers of Asotin county, Washington, and now resides near Twin Falls, Idaho. Mr. and Mrs. Kuykendall have become the parents of four children, as follows: Matthew Lorraine, a student in the Washington State College; Ruth Lenore, who attended the State Normal School at Cheney, Washington, and is now engaged in teaching in Garfield county; Berdina Claire, a high school student at Pomeroy; and Jerome Kenneth, who is attending the graded schools.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Kuykendall are members of the Methodist church and she is president of the Ladies' Aid Society of that church and also president of the Civic Improvement Club of Pomeroy. She is likewise a member of the Red Cross Society.
In his political connection Mr. Kuykendall has always been a stalwart republican and in November, 1916, he was chosen to represent his district in the state senate, where he was made a member of a sub-committee for framing a new probate code. He has been a conspicuous figure in the legislative halls and has served repeatedly as chairman of the state central committee of the republican party, thus taking active part in guiding the destinies of his party in the northwest. While serving as mayor of Pomeroy he was instrumental in establishing the present city park, which the city purchased from Governor Cosgrove. Fraternally he is connected with Garfield Lodge, No. 25, K. P., and has been quite active in the affairs of that organization. He has been a member of the grand judiciary committee of the state for sixteen years, a longer period than that of any other incumbent in the position. He is also identified with the Woodmen of the World. His interests are broad and varied and in relation to the great sociological, economic and political problems of the country he keeps abreast with the best thinking men of the age. He is forceful and his ability and initiative have made him a dynamic power in the public life of southeastern Washington.
J. U. STRAHM.
At a period when the government owned most of the land in Washington and the work of progress and development seemed scarcely begun, J. U. Strahm and his wife came to Walla Walla county and cast in their lot with its pioneer settlers. They here underwent many of the hardships and privations incident to establishing a home on the frontier, but with resolute spirit they met all these and in the course of years came to enjoy the comforts of modern day civilization. Mr. Strahm was born in Switzerland, July 30, 1827, and was but six years of age when brought to America by his parents, the family home being established in Ohio. They afterward removed to Iowa and in 1849 J. U. Strahm removed to California, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast. There he remained for three years, after which he returned to Missouri, where in 1864 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane Farley, a daughter of Harvey and Elizabeth (Bruett) Farley, the former a native of Ohio, while the latter was born in Indiana. The father was killed while serving as a soldier in the Civil war and the mother afterward passed away in Tennessee.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Strahm resolved to try their fortune in the far west and made their way across the country to Walla Walla county, where he took up a homestead near Dixie. There was little to indicate the wonderful changes which were still to occur as the white settlers penetrated into this region and reclaimed its rich resources for the purposes of civilization. The greater part of the land was still unclaimed and uncultivated and the most farsighted could scarcely have dreamed of what the future held in store for this rich district. Mr. Strahm became actively identified with its farming interests and bent his energies to the development of his place, bringing his fields under a high state of cultivation and therefore annually gathering rich harvests.
To Mr. and Mrs. Strahm were born fourteen children, eleven of whom are now living: Ann J., the widow of John Byrd; William H., who is deceased; Elizabeth, the wife of John Glynn; Rosa D., the wife of Tom Hastings; Mary E., the wife of Eldon Buroker; Nora J., the wife of Joel Chitwood; John E.; Nannie V., who is the wife of Alfred Brown; Lucretia R., the wife of Alvin McElvain; Viola, the wife of Fred Wells; Edna, at home; Alma B., the wife of Jene Green; and two who are deceased.
The death of Mr. Strahm occurred February 11, 1895, at which time his remains were interred in the Dixie cemetery. He had been a devoted husband and father and had put forth every possible effort to aid in promoting the welfare and happiness of his family. His widow still occupies the old homestead, having eighty acres in her farm near Dixie, and the careful development and improvement of the property insures to her a substantial annual income.