Pioneer and Conductor P. V. Knaub Passes
A well-known Benton County resident and former Northern Pacific conductor dies at his ranch near Vernita.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
P. V. Knaub, for 12 years a resident of Benton county and widely known in this part of the state, died at his ranch near Vernita March 14. Death was due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Mr. Knaub lingered for three weeks after the first attack. The body was brought to White Bluffs on the train Friday, after services at the residence, and interment will take place in the White Bluffs cemetery Saturday morning. There will be services at the Presbyterian church at 10:30 o’clock by Rev. Mr. Krug. Mr. Knaub was one of the best known of the pioneers of this section and his ranch is one of the landmarks of the districts. Picturesquely situated on the slopes at the foot of the mountains, the place reflected the energy and enterprise of its owners. Attracted by the flowing springs, Mr. Knaub located it as a homestead 12 years ago and his family came west to join him in 1909. Previously he was for many years a passenger conductor on the Northern Pacific. He is survived by his wife and three grown children, two sons and a daughter, and a sister, Miss Anna R. Knaub who made her home with him. Mr. Knaub was 54 years of age and a native of Pennsylvania, of German ancestry.
“Attracted by the flowing springs, Mr. Knaub located it as a homestead 12 years ago.”
Obituaries like this serve as a census of the era's ambition, tracking the movement of people from the Eastern U.S. to homestead the arid slopes of the Columbia River. The mention of his German ancestry and pioneer status captures the specific demographic shift of the period.
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