La Grande evening observer., July 13, 1934, Image 29

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LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER, LA GRANDE, OREGON
Page Seven
DON RUCKMAN RODE AWAY FROM CITY ON FIRST TRAIN
He And His Mother,
Mrs. T. M, Ruckman,
Rode E&st to Iowa.
Several people now living In La
Grande and the valley rode on that
first passenger train that arrived
In July, 1864, but Don Ruckman
has a somewhat different expe
rience to relay. You ace, he rode
out on the first passenger train 1
T. M, Ruckman,' one of the ear
ly pioneers of the Grande Ronde
valley and who homesteaded near
Alicel long before the arrival of
the railroad, had heard his wife
remark that she would like to go
back to Iowa to see her relatives.
Bo, he decided that when the first
train left La Grande, he would
let her make the trip. He told
Mrs. Ruckman of his plan for her
trip, and she was delighted, and
immediately began making some
plans herself.
iSo back in July, 1884, the Ruck
mans had more than usual inter
est in that first passenger train
Into the Grande Ronde valley. Mrs.
Ruckman and Don, her sou, were
on the train when It left this city.
Don was about six or seven years
old then, but he still remembers
the occasion vividly. "I recall the
large smokestacks, and the engine
n particular," he said.
Don also remembers that they
had quite a bit of trouble on their
return trip, later In the year, be
cause of snow. The main diffi
culty was in the Rocky mountains,
where snow was battled by ordi
nary snowplows there were no ro
taries then and it was necessary
lor them to stop over sevearl times
en route home. "They would take
10 or 12 engines in clearing the
track," he said. "We were a month
getting home." At that time there
was no snow yet In the Blue
mountains to cause them any
trouble, so after going through the
Rockies thpy made fairly fast time
es time was reckoned in those
days.
PIONEER RUCKMAN HOME
RED HEADS
WILL APPEAR
IN PARADE
One of the "colorul" floats in
the parade July 20 during the
jSemi-Centennlal U. P. celebration
here, will be a collection of La
Grande boys who hove the reddest
hair and the most freckles. The
youngsters who qualify for the
Iloat will each receive 25 cents
and in addition the boy who has
the reddest hair and the most
freckles In the group will receive
ft dollar.
Fiery-topped, speckled faced
youngsters are urged to apply at
the chamber of commerce for per
mission to ride on the float.
HISTORICAL SOCIKTY ACTIVE
The Union County Historical
Boclety, recently organized, has
done some remarkable work the
last year in discovering and clas
sifying not only historical sites
end relics In this section, but also
in preparing in orderly fashion
much of the pioneer history of
Union county.
Till Is ii picture of ,Uie T. M. Kuckniui) pioneer home, ueiw
Allicl. Tin? wing at Hie right was ihe original dwelling place
built In J8T2 on the old homestead. Tlie addition was con
structed in IKS!), Dan HucKuuui, his son, remembers. The
Itucknums were among (lie first settlers 111 the Alicel suction
of the (irnnde Konde,
ERECT MONUMENT TO
PIONEERS OF VALLEY
The first monument to be erect
ed to the memory of pioneers In
this valley will be dedicated next
Sunday, July 15, at 2:30 o'clock
and the public Is given an urgent
Invitation to be present for the ex
ercises. This monument which commem
orates the arrival of the pioneers
who spent the first winter here,
has been erected by the Francis
Brown Auxiliary to the Sons and
Daughters of Union County Pio
neer association and the .Union
County Historical association, on
the hill Just entering Mt. Glen,
and in front of the old Horner
place. ' i
Thp stone rests on 18 feet of
ground which was donated for the
purpose by Mj-. and Mrs. J. C.
Brlggs, the present owners! of this
place which carries so much his
torical significance.
A program quite in keeping
with such a project is In the pro
cess of preparation. The dedica
tory proper will be by the oldest
daughter of the pioneer Ben
Brown, Mrs. Esther Brown Ells
worth, of La Grande, and their
WKAIt AN' ENGINEER CAP
If you haven't already pur
chased an engineer cap from the
Seml-Centennlal - Union Pacific
celebration committee representa
tives, and a souvenir button, there
is yet time. These two articles,
typical of thq celebration, will
make a distinctive portion of your
collection of souvenirs after they
serve their purpose before and
during the Jubilee.
WMMKR FALLOW WHEAT AREA
In Eastern Oregon Is the great
summer fallow wheat area of the
state, with farms ranging upwards
to 5000 acres.
Then as Now
"Quality
Shoes at
Economy
Prices"
at
BURNETT
SHOE STORE
116 Depot ,St.
Above is pic-
t u r e a the f v
of their day, f Jj "
at the right, I J
the newest I -. y
shoefea- y I
tured at J
Burnetts. ( ..jf fcrzd
great-great-granddaughter, Miss
Marcille Conley, of Mountain
Springs. Two speakers have been
secured, the Hon. Dunham Wrlghtr
of Medical Springs, and Congress
man Walter Pierce.
The site of the memorial is
about three miles north of La
Grande on the Mt. Glen market
road. Being so easy of access, the
sponsoring organizations are ex
pecting a very large crowd of town
and valley folks present for the
imposing ceremonies.
A CAPPELLA CHOIR WILL
SING AT PAGEANT JULY 21
The La Grande A Cappella choir
will be one of the features at the
Semi-centennial U. P. celebration
pageant Saturday afternoon, July
21, at the La Grande stadium. Un
der the direction of Andrew Loney
Jr.; the choir will sing two qf its
numbers which have been so well
received by La Grande audiences.
Mr. Loney, who is studying at the
University of Washington sununer
school, will make a special trip to
La Grande for this occasion.
It has been announced that
choir members will meet at the
High scuool for rewearsals on
Tuesday .evening, July 17, at 7:30
p. m, A second rehearsal will be
hold after Mr. Loney reaches the
city on Friday evening at 7:3,0 in
tho High school music room. All
the members of the choir are ex
pected to be present at these re
hearsals. Great interest has been shown
in the A Cappella choir numbers,
since the La Grande organization,
formed during the last year, is the
only one of its kind in the north
west. It has appeared beforo tho
public here in concert and has won
tho highest praise not only of Its
audience but of Its critics as woll.
The choir was started here by
Mi'. Lonoy, after he returned from
a summer spent) in the mid-west,
where he took special work in this
type of music. La Grande- High
school also boasts of a fine A Cap
pella choir.
PIONEER HOT
SPRINGS NOW
BIG RESORT
A pioneer hot spring, .developed
and 'modernized now stands forth
as one of the most famous health
resorts In the Pacific northwest
tho Hot Lake Sanatorium, located
at Hot Lake, Ore., Just nine miles
east of La Grande on the Old Ore
gon Trail highway and the U. P.
main line.
Said to be one cf the hottest de
veloped mineral springs In the
world, It was used by pioneers and
the Indians long before the day of
the railroad, and its beneficial
qualities soon became widely
known. Since this fact was first
thoroughly realized, an attempt
has been made to make the
springs more available to visitors,
which has culminated today in
tho present scientific health re
eort, managed by L. F. Allen. In
addition the sanatorium has most
comfortable hotel accommodations
with dining room service. It also
has complete diagnostic equip
ment, modern laboratory and hos
pital facilities, and has attained
national recognition as a health
resort.
LA (lltANI)E IS UON'OltKD
In deciding to accept this city's
invitation for the annual Western
Union Meeting of the Brotherhood
of Locomotive Engineers, the or
ganization greatly honored La
Grande, since it will be the first
time in history any of-these largo
meetings have been held In a city
of less than 100,000 population.
Till III AM MOUNTAIN ICKGION
Tho Blue mountain region of
Eastern Oregon includes Wheeler,
Grant, Baker, Union, Wallowa,
Malheur and Harney counties.
In the Days When
The crackers, pickles, butter, prunes and everything; else smacked
N of the coal oil flavor off friend grocer's hands ... the same knife
that parted the cheese., also sliced the bacon and bologna and did
service in a score of other ways without a visit to the cleaners
. . . the dust of the street gathered thick over the apple barrel
and the dried peach basket . . . and we all lived and populations
grew . . . but ...
Now
JIow much improved, how much better everything really is and
tastes. Cleanliness and sanitation has added much to the real
goodness and value of the foods we buy at market . . . original
flavors and goodness are retained by modern process and care
fully sealed cans or packages. Human hands have touched little
or not at all in the progress of the foods to your table . . . per
haps it costs a little morethan then . . . but what increased value
and certain health protection for your money.
YOU'LL LIKE TO TRADE TODAY AT
THE CLEAN MODERN STORES OP THE
GRANDE RONDE MEAT CO.
Wholesale and Retail
3 Stores
Main Store and Office, 1116 Adams
Hoover Grocery, 1312 Adams
Fir Stree Mkt., 408 No. Fir
32 Years of Continuous Service to Patrons
of La Grande and the Grande Ronde Valley