The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 1020 JOHN L. BARNEY. John L. Barney, the manager and one of the founders and owners of the Yakima Cash Store, was born in Boulder county, Colorado, June 8, 1877. His parents, W. H. and Aurilla E. (Gray) Barney, are still living in that state, where the father has long conducted business as a steam engineer. The son, John L. Barney, was a pupil in the public schools of Colorado but put aside his textbooks when a youth of fifteen in order to make his initial start in the business world. He accepted a clerkship in a store and has since been identified with mercantile interests. For some time he was employed by T. M. Callahan, of Longmont, Colorado, and in 1903 he was associated with Mr. Callahan in opening a mercantile establishment at Montpelier, Idaho, which he conducted for six years. On the expiration of that period he came to Yakima and in 1909 the Yakima Cash Store was established by Mr. Barney and Mr. Callahan at No. 417 West Yakima avenue. The store is fifty by seventy feet and an excellent line of dry goods and ladies' ready-to-wear clothing, as well as men's clothing and shoes, is carried, in fact they handle everything in men's furnishings. This is the leading west side store and Mr. Barney is the manager. Since the Yakima establishment has been placed upon a profitable basis they have exerted their efforts in other fields, opening stores at Pasco, at Roslyn and at Cle Elum, these being three branches of the Yakima establishment. Mr. Barney attends to the buying for all four stores, which constitute a part of a chain of twenty-eight stores over Washington, Idaho and Colorado. In 1901 Mr. Barney was married to Miss Eva B. Wagner, of Seymour, Iowa. Fraternally he is a well known Mason, holding membership in Yakima Lodge, No. 24, F. & A. M.; Yakima Chapter, No. 21, 21, R A. M.; and Yakima Commandery, No. 13, K. T. His wife attends the Presbyterian church. Mr. Barney is a member of the Commercial Club and in politics is an independent republican. He is not ambitious to hold office but cooperates in progressive movements that have to do with the welfare and upbuilding of the city and state in which he makes his home. The major part of his time and attention is concentrated upon his business affairs and from a humble clerkship he has risen to a place of distinction in commercial circles of the northwest. The thoroughness with which he mastered his duties in his youthful days has remained one of the strong elements in his progress as the years have passed by. He has acquainted himself with every phase of the buying as well as the selling end of the business and has ever recognized the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement. He has therefore done everything possible to please those who have given him their trade and his business has grown constantly year by year He has always held to high standards of commercial activity and he now ranks with the leading, merchants of the Yakima valley. ******************************** Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in January 2008 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.