It was during this time that he acquired the nickname "Brick". According to one account, after he had displayed skill in writing an article, another editor said that someone that could write so well was "a perfect brick" (i.e., a good fellow). According to another account, a journalist in the eastern United States had written a series of articles about celebrities called "charcoal sketches," and Pomeroy imitated these in a more extravagant manner, describing Wisconsin personalities and dubbing his articles "brick-dust sketches."
