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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2016)
A14 News wallowa.com December 28, 2016 Wallowa County Chieftain Prisoners helped build capitol Christmas train Former prison shop teacher has kept layout together for more than 30 years. By Claire Withycombe Capital Bureau SALEM — The model railroad layout under the main Christmas trees in the Oregon Capitol rotunda every year is the brainchild of the late for- mer Oregon Gov. Vic Atiyeh and, in part, is the handiwork of prisoners. Don Curtis, who taught vocational training, wood- working and cabinetry at Or- egon State Correctional Insti- tution from 1969 to 1999, was fi rst asked to set up trains and a miniature scene to go under the tree in 1984. “We had some very talent- ed men at the institution that really got into the project and did a great job,” Curtis said in a phone interview this week. Many of the miniatures — such as a scale version of the Bush House in Salem — were built by prisoners in the woodworking shop. That, too, was a request from the governor, Curtis said. “Our fi rst layout in 1984 was really sort of modest, and someone asked, I think it was in the paper, someone asked Gov. Atiyeh what he thought New Years Eve Party Saturday, December 31st Live Music w/ Good Question Full Bar Doors Open at 8pm Music 9pm - 2017 Bar Snacks Available HIGHWAY 82, LOSTINE Stay Connected On Facebook of this,” Curtis said. Atiyeh said he liked the layout, but that he couldn’t wait to see models of histor- ic Salem homes the next year, Curtis said. “Guess what we did the next year?” Curtis said. “We made the models of historic Salem homes.” There’s a model of Salem’s Victorian-era Deepwood house, and the railroad station is a replica of the one in Salem around the turn of the century. The structures are built from scratch — no kits in- volved. Curtis also made the natural features. Azalea branches are especially good for making tiny trees, he says. Devoted to making the replicas of historic buildings to scale, Curtis raised some eyebrows when he went up to the bank building in Indepen- dence with a tape measure. He began sizing up the building’s features and, after some inqui- ries from the bank manager, eventually was invited in for a tour. The trains themselves are antique American Flyer mod- els, most of them from the 1950s, Curtis said. Curtis said they chose the American Flyer trains because the company was owned by A.C. Gilbert. Gilbert, a doc- tor who was born in Salem and went on to develop a host of classic children’s toys, is Annual Anniversary Sale 50% OFF STOREWIDE Sale begins: Monday, December 26th ~ 10am Ends Monday, January 2nd ~ 5pm Don’t Miss the Best Sale of the Year! No exchanges or returns Closed New Year’s Day Wallowa Valley Rotary is providing new coats, boots, gloves for those in need: infants, children, adults Stop by today! Open 10am - 5pm daily Uptown Clothing & Accessories in Downtown Joseph 12 S. Main St. • 541-432-9653 Claire Withycombe/EO Media Group The model railroad that runs under the Capitol Christmas tree each year since 1984 was the brainchild of then Gov. Vic Atiyeh. The original layout and many of the scale structures still used were built by inmates at the Oregon State Correctional Institution. the namesake of the Gilbert House Children’s Museum in Salem. There are a number of lo- comotives available for use — if the one that is currently running around the tree “gets tired,” Curtis says, another can take its place. The seasons in the Christ- mas layout have changed over the years, Curtis said. It was a summer scene for a while, EO Media Group Bellingham Herald Cleo the cat has returned home. The 7-month-old Russian blue, gone missing for nearly two weeks after a car crash near Pendleton on Nov. 27 and found in a barn a mile away, is back with her family in Bellingham, Wash. The East Oregonian pub- lished a story on Dec. 14 about the Egan family crashing while moving from Cedar City, Utah, to Bellingham. The four peo- ple in the vehicle weren’t hurt badly, but their dog was killed and Cleo was gone. The Egans didn’t expect to see her again, but Cleo turned eek W e h t f o t n e d Stu Austin Lynn JOSEPH CHARTER SCHOOL Proudly sponsored by Joseph 432-9050 Enterprise 426-4511 Wallowa 886-9151 The Student of the Week is chosen for academic achievement and community involvement. Students are selected by the administrators of their respective schools. The archery/outdoor store recently took on Gomes as a field shooter, a mutually beneficial title that allows Gomes to represent the store at archery tournaments while receiving tips on how to further his career in archery. Proudly Sponsored By: Eastern Oregon’s Full Service Propane Supplier 201 E. Hwy 82, Enterprise 541-426-0320 www.edstaub.com up in the barn of Robin Harris, who called the number on the tag and got in touch with the owners. Harris then brought the cat to Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter and togeth- er with the Egans worked on a plan to get her back to her owners. Pet transport services were too expensive, Amanda Egan told the Bellingham Herald, and it was diffi cult to fi nd someone who was headed even as far as Seattle. A last resort, Egan and Harris de- cided, would be to send her with a shelter board member as far as Portland, which was still farther than the Egans had hoped to drive. The story ran in the EO in hopes that someone would come forward and offer to bring Cleo home. The idea worked. The story caught the eye of the Debbie and Mike Doyle, a Bellingham family who had lived in Pendleton and were making the drive to Boise, Idaho, where their daughter, Kaitlin, had just graduated from Boise State University. The Doyles were one of several families who reached out and offered to take Cleo, but they were the only ones going clear to Bellingham, Harris said. “I guess we’re just softies for cats,” Debbie Doyle said Friday, adding that her family has two of their own. “Plus, we know what it’s like to lose something.” Cleo reunited with the Egans on Sunday, Dec. 18. “I can say it was one of the best Christmas gifts to get at least one of our pets back,” Egan said. “I can’t really de- scribe the feeling because we were very attached to our pets, and we are still incredi- bly sad about losing our dog, but it makes it a little easier to have Cleo back with us.” With gratitude for your support this year we wish you all the best in 2017 Introducing new Nurse Practitioner T HE B OOKLOFT Jennifer Barden Across from the courthouse in Enterprise 107 E. Main • 541.426.3351 always open at www.bookloftoregon.com • booklofteoni.com Jennifer brings 17 years of nursing experience covering the areas of emergency, trauma, oncology, telemedicine, pediatrics and public health. Now, as a nurse practitioner, Jennifer can diagnose illnesses, prescribe medications, take care of your annual physical exams, and help you stay well. Now accepting new patients Schedule your appointment today! 541.426.7900 (next to Wallowa Memorial Hospital) Enterprise, Oregon 97828 Retirement Party Join WC Commissioners for cake and ice cream to celebrate the retirement of Gay Fregulia WC Assessor with 20+ years of service John Lawrence WC Interim Commissioner Mountain View Medical Group 603 Medical Parkway This week’s athlete of the week is Enterprise High School Sophomore Cole Gomes. The 15 year-old archer, who is one of the finest young archers in the country, just received a tip of the hat from Alpine Archery in La Grande. keeps him setting up the min- iatures? “Well, you know, it’s just a real joy to see the reaction of the children when they come to the Capitol building, and not only to see the tree, but they come to see the train and operate the train underneath the tree,” Curtis said. “So that’s sort of an encourage- ment to us.” Cleo reunited with family before Christmas PLEASE CALL MARILYN AT BUILDING HEALTHY FAMILIES TO PLACE REQUEST: 541-426-9411 “So often you find that the students you’re trying to inspire are the ones that end up inspiring you.” The staff and administration at Joseph Charter School would like to congratulate Austin Lynn who is our Most Improved student-of-the-week. Austin is the son of Sean Lynn and Melissa Campbell. He is a freshman this year and has shown great improvement in his work ethic, study skills, and effort. We are all very proud of you and congratulations. Keep up the great work Austin! then winter for about 20 years. But it was hard to keep all of the fake snow clean, so Curtis redid the set to depict autumn. The whole structure sits on plywood boxes and can easily be packed up when the sea- son’s over. Curtis works with Alan Bennett, a train enthusiast from Keizer, to put the scene together every year. After more than 30 years, what We treat you like family 601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org Wallowa Memorial Hospital is an equal opportunity employer and provider. FOR SALE December 29th, 12:00pm Thornton Room at the Court House WALLOWA COUNTY CHIEFTAIN CONTEST Congratulations to MICK COURTNEY Cole Gomes 3 Bed, 1 Bath Home for SALE on Liberty with 10 acres and live stream. Call Today 541-426-4768 H e won this year’s football contest grand prize of $200 And a big tha n k-you to a ll of our 2016 footba ll contest a dvertisers!