EMERY FLATHERS.
Emery Flathers, who followed farming on section 31, township 10 north, range 36 east, is a representative of one of the old pioneer families of Walla Walla county. From an early period in the development in this section of the state the family has taken an active part in the work of general progress and improvement and is particularly well and favorably known in connection with the agricultural development of this section. Emery Flathers was born on the old homestead farm adjoining the town of Prescott, March 27, 1872, a son of Benjamin F. and Melinda S. (McQuown) Flathers. The father was a native of Louisville, Kentucky, while the mother was a native of Virginia.
Upon the old homestead Emery Flathers was reared and in the schools of Prescott he pursued his education. In 1905 he entered into partnership with his brothers, John and Charles, and for five years they were associated in farming operations. In 1910, however, Emery Flathers withdrew from the firm and since that time has rented his land and lived retired. He owns two hundred acres, constituting a valuable property, and his rental returns to him a very gratifying income.
On December 23, 1908, Mr. Flathers was married to Miss Rae E. Dunlap, a daughter of John K. Dunlap, who has passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Flathers became the parents of two children, a son and a daughter, Howard and Frances. Mrs. Flathers departed this life July 17, 1915, and her death was deeply regretted not only by her immediate family but by many friends.
Mr. Flathers is independent in politics, voting for the men and measures he considers of the best interest of all the people. He keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day but neither seeks nor desires office. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Waitsburg Lodge, No. 16. A. F. & A. M.; Walla Walla Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M., of Walla Walla and Washington Commandery, K. T., also of Walla Walla. He has likewise crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, being a member of El Katif Temple of Spokane. He is a substantial citizen, widely and favorably known by reason of his business ability, his loyalty in citizenship and his personal worth. For forty-five years he has been a resident of Walla Walla county, witnessing its growth and development. He has lived to see its pioneer cabins replaced by commodious and substantial residences, its wild lands converted into productive fields, its hamlets developed into thriving cities, and as the years have gone by he has ever willingly cooperated in any plan or movement for the general good.
ALFRED J. BOLTER.
Alfred J. Bolter is a retired farmer living in Dixie. For a long period he was actively and prominently connected with agricultural interests and acquired several hundred acres of valuable land, from which he derived a very gratifying annual income as a result of the care and labor which he bestowed upon the fields. Moreover, his life record shows what may be accomplished by determined effort and perseverance, for he started out empty-handed and is now the possessor of a very substantial competence which enables him to rest from further labor. He was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in September, 1853, a son of Ziba and Christina Bolter, the former a native of Massachusetts, while the latter was born in the state of New York. They spent their entire lives in the east and there they reared their family of ten children, nine of whom are yet living.
Alfred J. Bolter passed the days of his boyhood and youth in Massachusetts and is indebted to the public school system of that state for the educational opportunities which he enjoyed. In 1875, when a young man of twenty-two years, he came to the west and first settled in Dallas, Oregon, where he remained for three years. In 1878 he removed to Walla Walla county and took up a homestead sixteen miles north of the city of Walla Walla. With characteristic energy he began its development and improvement and occupied that place for ten years, during which time his labors wrought a marked transformation in its appearance. He then disposed of that property and invested in two hundred and eighty acres near Dixie. From time to time he extended the boundaries of his farm until it now comprises seven hundred acres, all of which is improved land and returns to him a most substantial annual income. He continued actively to develop his fields until 1902, when he retired, and since that time he has rented his land, while he is enjoying a well earned rest.
Mr. Bolter was married in 1876 to Miss Elsie A. Crystal, a native of Iowa, and they have become the parents of three children: Madie, the wife of S. M. Jones, now a resident of Spokane; Maud, who is the widow of Burt Roff; and Homer, who is engaged in merchandising in California.