Go to:
Blog Main Page
Homepage (Welcome to Pullman)
Hi Ladies and Gents! The 2nd Edition of The Pullmanic - Promoting Pullman! came out on September 18th and can be found right here in PDF format. I have been struggling for ways to promote it and the site in general better, and it was just this past week when I finally understood what people mean by "the power of Facebook groups!" The initial launch of The City of Pullman Portal website and the first Pullmanic newsletter was a huge success (to a very small group of select people) amongst family and close friends when I got the site and newsletter off the ground while under lockdown here in China last Spring; however, I guess the "novelty" had already worn off by the time we got to Round II, as I received far less feedback from family and close friends regarding the newly released 2nd Edition of the newsletter that came out last week.
So, feeling awkward, nervous, and exhilarated, I took the plunge and made my very first ever promotional type of post in a public Facebook group! I recently joined a Facebook group called Remember Pullman When..... (link opens in a new window). It's a group all about Pullman "back in the day." There are many fun people in the group of all ages with interesting stories to tell. So...I said a little prayer and posted the link to the 2nd Edition of The Pullmanic along with a picture of the cover page and an introductory story about who I was and how I am connected to Pullman (which wound up talking a lot about my Paternal Grandfather, as he is "the one" who connected our family to Pullman in the first place).
That move, my friends (posting in that Facebook group), was a HUGE success! Wow! I was truly both honored and flustered when suddenly more than 100 people had liked the post, several people had shared it, and numerous people had left comments on the post talking about their own Pullman stories and encouraging me with the website and newsletter publication.
Here is the post (below) that I posted in the Remember Pullman When.....group. Enjoy!
Hello Fellow Pullmanites,
My name is Andreas Gross. In many regards, I'm just a regular dude with a long-time family connection to Pullman like many of us in this group have. My Paternal Grandfather, Ken Gross, R.I.P., brought his family to Pullman in 1956, moving into a beautiful World War I vintage home (which no longer exists) which he and his wife - my Grandmother, Molly Gross, R.I.P. - had recently purchased on the corner of Oak and Opal Streets on College Hill. As my Dad recalls of his childhood, their family moved in on Halloween of 1956.
As the story goes, my Grandfather had purchased the house from, to quote my Dad, "the meanest man in Pullman" (at the time). This man in question was a postal worker at the Old Pullman Post Office (when it was still a post office back in the day) who, as the story continues, sold my Grandfather the house on College Hill then moved up North and (intentionally) "disappeared in the Canadian wilderness awaiting Armageddon."
Ken Gross made his career with the federal government after World War II, working as a USDA Extension Agent stationed out of WSU's (then WSC's) Cooperative Ag Extension facilities in Pullman. He was one of a lucky handful who was part of the cohort of ag workers (staff, faculty, cooperative extension agents, and other internal and external players) at WSU who worked at WSU in the late 1950s and through the Green Revolution of the 1960s who really "beefed up" and built the WSU Ag Extension Service and College of Agriculture into what it is today.
He was one of the lucky few who participated in the original Pakistan Wheat Project back in the 1960s (as well as the 20-year follow up in the 80s) that studied and helped develop for widespread commercial, world-wide use the then-newly-developed-now-legendary game changer: the famous "Mexi-Pak 65" strain of wheat.
Who am I? I am his Grandson, Andreas Gross, and I run a website all about Pullman, Washington, one of the unquestionable greatest places on Earth. The website is called "The City of Pullman Portal." www.cityofpullmanportal.com. This is a relatively new site which I just created last Spring, but I actively keep it updated (although I have a pretty demanding day job and a family to take care of, so I cannot update it as much as I want to all the time!).
I publish a semi-annual newsletter associated with the website called "The Pullmanic." The 2nd Edition of the "The Pullmanic" was just published last week. You can download it off the website in PDF format here:
You can also find previous editions (so far there is only one) on the site as well. Did you like the introductory story about my late Grandfather in this post? You can read more about his former house on College Hill and what now stands there today in the 1st Edition of "The Pullmanic" on the website.
Most importantly, if you like the newsletters and the website, please feel free to share them freely and openly with those you know!
May peace prevail on Earth,
-Andreas, webmaster of The City of Pullman Portal
