The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 857 JOSEPH A. THORNDYKE. Joseph N. Thorndyke, a well known orchardist of Zillah and equally well known in musical circles, was born in Ontario, Canada, October 22, 1885, a son of Joseph and Frances (Calvert) Thorndyke, who were likewise natives of Ontario, where the father devoted his life to farming. He has now passed away, but the mother survives and resides in New York city. Joseph A. Thorndyke had the advantages of a public school education and on starting out in business life learned the printer's trade, which he followed for eight years in Canada and the United States. In 1908 he arrived in Zillah, Washington, and was employed on the fruit ranch of his uncle near the town. In 1911 he bought twenty-three acres of land two miles northeast of Buena, upon which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made. It was covered with the native growth of sagebrush and with characteristic energy Mr. Thorndyke began the development of the property, which he has since planted to apples and pears, converting the place into valuable orchards. He is most systematic and thorough in the care of his trees, which annually produce large crops that find a ready sale on the market. He like\vise has fifteen acres adjoining which he has planted to apples and pears, so that his orchards altogether cover thirty-eight acres and his position is acknowledged that of one of the foremost orchardists of his section. His place is called Home o' Dreams Ranch. Mr. Thorndyke has long figured prominently in musical circles in his section of the county. He has for many years been connected with brass hands, playing all kinds of musical instruments, and in the summer of 1910 he organized the Zillah Concert Band of twenty-one pieces, which has played all over this part of the state. He likewise formed the Thorndyke Orchestra, which renders excellent music for dances. In this Mr. Thorndyke plays the violin and his wife the piano. Loving music as he does, he makes it, however, a side issue, for his chief attention is given to his ranching operations. On the 23d of December, 1909, Mr. Thorndyke was united in marriage to Miss Alice Schauweker, a native of Meadville, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Frank and Alice (Kemble) Schauweker. Her father, who was the owner of a large tannery, removed from the Keystone state to Cleveland, Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life and where the mother still makes her home. Mrs. Thorndyke is a graduate of the Cleveland Kindergarten Training School and also taught in that institution for several years. She is likewise a skilled musician and has become well known in that connection. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children, twins, Roger and Maurine, who were born on the 21st of March, 1918. Thus in brief is given the history of Joseph A. Thorndyke, whose activity and ambition have brought him into the new and growing west with a recognition of its opportunities and advantages, whereby he has gained a place among the representative and valued citizens of Yakima county. ******************************** Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in January 2008 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.