Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (May 26, 1923)
Ha OREGON TRAIL EDITION LA GRANDE ; SECTION NO. 2 VOLUME XXVI MUMUUIl OP ASSOCIATED MIKSS LA GRANDE, OREGON. SATURDAY, MAY 26, 1923. MICMIIiat OF ASSOCIATED I'ltliSS NUMBER 198 LA GRANDE, CETY OF PAY MOLLS '; ' 1 a I. . . ! R A II RflAn Facts and Figures That Tell Briefly of La Grande A Hfc. A. MBlL- 1 1,1 1 " 1 ' . 1 SUPPORT OF U GRANDE Is the general public inclined to forget that no country can develop without a railroad? Yes, it is true in a general sense, and yet La Grande as a community realizes fully that the Oregon Washington Railroad and Navi gation company is positively the backbone, the main support, the one good reason for La Grande's existence as the fine little city she is today. True, there are many other industries here, but the O.-W., with its division point, with its shops, with its of fices, forms the great pillar upon which this entire community rests. The Grande Rondg valley, rich as it is, would still be a valley of a few cattlemen and traders had not the builders of the transcontinental railroad chosen this route for the great steei highway which has connected the entire middle and eastern portion of the nation with the Pacific Northwest. Had the ivuitA hppn flinspn through Cen tral Oregon Union county would not today lie rated as one of , Oregon's best counties and real estate values would have never . risen above the price of grazing land. . " Prior to the time in the 80's when the first train whistled in to this valley primitive condi tions existed, to be sure, and the people were compelled to live more within themselves those who were here. It was in those days that Joe Wood, the veteran stage driver, was envied by ev ery red-blooded man because of his remarkable skill in handling his stage over the lilue Moun tains, where trails were scarce and well marked roads were un known. It was in those days that such men as Joseph Grim mett freighted in the supplies from Umatilla landing needed by the people. No htory of tlio lilue Mountain:! would lie complete without mrnl'on of tliono men, who physically stronc braved storms, Indians and other hardships to care for tho needs of the . (Continued on 1'aBO Seven) LA GRANDE,, the county seat of Union county, division hcadquartera for the sec ond division of the O.-W. R. Si N. Co., is lo cated at a strategic point in the Grande . Ronde valley, famed far and wide as one of the most beautiful and fertile valleys in the great Northwest. , , La Grande, in addition to being on the trans continental line of the Union Pacific and a division point, is the point from which the branch line of the O.-W. R. & N. Co. runs to Joseph, and is easily the railroad center of Eastern Oregon. La Grande is on the Old Oregon Trail, made famous as the route followed by the pioneers who came to the Oregon Country during the great movement westward. Transformed from a. road of hardshins, the Old Oregon Trail is now one of - the most famous highways of the nation. La Grande is the source of another modern highway that extends to Wallowa county, the Switzerland of America. The popuation of La Grande totals 8,000. La Grande was incoi-porated February 25, 1885. . La Grande has a commission form of govern ment. Three commissioners are elected, who in turn elect a city manager, who has the direct man agement of all municipal affaire. F. B. Hayes is city manager. The elevation of La Grande is 2782 feet. The total tax valuation (80 per cent, of actual . valuation) is $4,749,050.00. , . . - The bonded indebtedness of tho city is $160,000.00. La Grande has-pcr capita tax of $8.80. La Grande has a paid fire department which is one of the most efficient in Oregon. The total fire loss for La Grande in 1921 was only $7,165.20. The deposits of La Grande banks total $2,715,730.11. La Grande banks have resources amounting to $3,449,478.49. Savings deposits total $1,151,709.65. La Grande has 1800 dwellings. Ninety per cent, of LaGrande dwellings are served by electricity """" La Grande is served by one of the most mod ern and efficient telephone systems in the 1 United States. . ; , The number of telephones used totals 1800. . La Grande has a mean annual temperature of 48.6 degrees. . ' ' La Grande has a mean maximum temperature of 60.2 degrees. The average seasonal rainfall in La Grande is 20 inches. La Grande has 933 residents who' pay income tax ' La Grande has three grade schools and one parochial school. - La Grande has 2111 school children. The enrollment in the La Grande high school is 427. , The value of La Grande school property is $402,314.00. Ninety-five per cent, of the population of East ern Oregon reside within a radius of 100 miles of La Grande. La Grande has twelve miles of paved streets. Paving projects under way for La Grande for 1923 will mean an expenditure of $200,000.00. La Grande has 30 miles of concrete walks. La Grande has a modern city park, adjoining which is a comfortable auto camp ground. The La Grande auto camp ground will undergo extensive improvements during the present year. La Grande has a modem hospital, sufficient in size to accomodate 50 patients, and which is self-supporting. La Grande has nine church buildings. La Grande has 12 fraternal organizations. La Grande has three theatres. ' The La Grande high school is equipped with a spacious auditorium and modern stage. The first mayor of La Grande was Judge C. II. Finn. , . La Grande is the home of Oregon's present Governor, Walter M. Pierce. La Grande is the home of two modern iron foundries and machine shops. Two box shook factories, utilizing 15,000,000 feet of lumber annually, are located in La Grande. There are 355 men employed regularly in the O.-W. machine shops. La Grande is the home of 128 railroad engineers. La 'Grande is the home of 1G2 . railroad firemen. La Grande is the home of 127 brakemen. La Grande is the home of 45 conductoi-s. La Grande is the home'of 33 railroad yardmen. The O.-W. R. & N. Co., through its division of ficcs- in La Grande, expends annually $79,707.52 for materials this does not include cost of coal. La Grande has a modern daily newspaper and one weekly newspaper. The Neighborhood Club, tho principal woman's organization of the city, is one of the most active in Oregon. La Grande has three commercial printing establishments. La Grande has a band of 30 pieces, which has been selected to provide music for the Oregon ' State Fair at Salem this year. La Grande has an excellent library, housed in a modern fireproof structure, and with 7351 volumes on the shelves. Two large sawmills are located in La Grande, the annual output being 80,000,000 feet. . The payrolls of the sawmills located in and adjacent to La Grande total $150,000.00 a month. There are 45 teachers employed in the grades of La Grande public schools. There are 15 instructors employed in the La Grande high school, including the superintendent. La Grande is the principal convention city of Eastern Oregon. - La Grande is the home of two excellent or chestras and many other excellent musical or ganizations. The largest, most modern meat packing plant ' in Oregon, outside of Portland, is located in La Grande. La Grande is the home of four wholesale 5il plants. La Grande has a municipally owned water sys tem supplying pure mountain water. The receipts from the municipally-owned water system of La Grande totalled $44,013.08 in 1922. On January 1, 1923, La Grande had improve ment bonds outstanding to the amount of $77, 209.00. Since that date $15,000.00 of the amount have been called in. La Grande's building permits totalled tho mag nificent sum of $370, 200.00 for the period ending May 22, 1923. , The monthly payroll of the O.-W. R. & N. Co., in La Grande is $200,000.00. The second division of the O.-W. R. & N with headquarters in La Grande, has received 18 new locomotives, costing $1,515,000, since January 1, During the past three years approximately $840,000 have been spent for ballasting the rond bed of the O.-W, R. & N. Co. in Union and linker counties. The O.-W. R. & N. Co. is expending $586,000.00 for new rails for the second division. Tho entire division is covered with 90 and 100 pound rails. The O.-W. R. & N. Co. is spending $110,000.00 for buildings and the extension of passing tracks in Union and Baker counties. The engines employed by tho O.-W. R. & N. Co. out of La Grande consume 32,102 tons of coal monthly, costing $197,492.88. Tho expenditures for yearly maintenance on the second division of the O.-W. R. & N. Co. totals $1,600,000.00. The total number of men employed in La Grande by the O.-W. R. & N. Co. is 1122. La Grande has 12 modern garages and automo bile repair shops. La Garnde is the home of nino automobile dealers. La Grande has a strong Y. M. C. A. housed in a modern building. La Grande has an excellent lighting system and is Union countyhcadquarters for the Eaat ein Oregon Light & Power Co. . La Grande has a modern silver fox fnrr.i. The O.-W. R. & N. Co. maintains p.n excellent club house for its La Grande employes. La Grande is the wholesale center of East ern Oregon. La Grande is located only a few miles from tho famous Hot Lake Sanatorium. The La Grande city commission is composed ; of. Sherwood Williams, II. S. Brownton and C. J. Black. The school board of District No. 1, comprising La Grande, is composed of C. J. Black, chairman ; J. E. Reynolds, A. T. Hill, C. R. Eberhard and J. A. Russell. The payroll of the two leading industries of La Grande total $350,000.00 a month. La Grande is not a boom town its growth has been gradual and permanent. La Grande ranks fifth in the state of Oregon for the number of children attending school. La Grande will continue to grow and prosper because of its strategic location, wealth of re sources and aggressive citizenry. PIT ROLLS OF CITY REACH "Where the nimble money is, there, my boy, is the place to pitch thy tent for business," was once an admonition given by the - down-east Yankee to his son wheij ho went out into the world for himself. ' ! Nimble money in those days had somewhat a different mean ing to that of today, for today the most active dollar is the dol lar circulated in the pay roll town. .. Thus it is, La Grande can he'; rated as a business community, . where tho dollar is nimble and jumps about from one to anoth er, paying obligations and buy ing supplies, ' f f The pay rolls of the city were " for a good many years confined . to the O.-W, railroad, but now i there are other institutions ; which, while not anyways near equalling tho transportation line in amount, nevertheless add : greatly to the city's volume of : business. , Railroad Operations Large Taking the Second Division of . the O.-W., which extends from Reith on the west to Huntington on the east, it can truly be said that the bulk of the expendi tures find their way into La ; Grande. ... The average monthly pay roll on .the second division is $324,-, 351.28. The average expense oh this division for material, not includ ing coal, is $79,707.52 per month. The monthly coal bill for loav ; motives on the second division is ' $11)7,492.88. The total number of railroad : empjoyes within .the limits of I Union county alone is as follows: ; Enginemon, 128; firemen, 162; ': conductors, 45; brakemen, 127; yardmen, 33; offico and station men, 119; shop men, 355; road- : way men, 153; making a total -of 1122. ' ' V New EnidncH Purchased. This year the O.-W. has received 1 and put in service fifteen new leco- ' motives of wliut is known a, the : "2-10-2" clas. Each woiRhs 358,-J (Continued ml 1'bro Eluht) Scenes Obtained in the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company Yards in La Grande - . : . -h ' r . ' 1 1 . FT" safety, u m 4 The above presents an excellent view o f the extensive railroad yards cf the O.-W. R. & N. Co. The photograph, by Harley Richardson, was taken from a viaduct and portrays effectively something of La Granda's importance in the railroad world. y " 1 :; 1 1 11 - i . . . .ii-i ixjrj.uM " iit . 7 V 3f&7 -ium' Showing one of the monster Mallets in use on the second division of the O.-W. II. & N. Co., the picture being snapped in the. yards of La Grande. The Mallet engines are among the largest in the world and are used in drawing" long trains over the moun tain grades.
