2A — THE OBSERVER
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019
LOCAL
Search
continues
for missing
Haines man
D AILY
P LANNER
TODAY
Today is Wednesday, Oct.
2, the 275th day of 2019.
There are 90 days left in the
year.
By Jayson Jacoby
EO Media Group
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On Oct. 2, 1967, Thurgood
Marshall was sworn as an
associate justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court as the court
opened its new term.
ON THIS DATE
In 1919, President
Woodrow Wilson suffered a
serious stroke at the White
House that left him para-
lyzed on his left side.
In 1944, German troops
crushed the two-month-old
Warsaw Uprising, during
which a quarter of a million
people had been killed.
In 1970, one of two char-
tered twin-engine planes
fl ying the Wichita State
University football team to
Utah crashed into a moun-
tain near Silver Plume,
Colorado, killing 31 of the 40
people on board.
In 1971, the music pro-
gram “Soul Train” made its
debut in national syndication.
In 1984, Richard W. Miller
became the fi rst FBI agent
to be arrested and charged
with espionage. (Miller was
tried three times; he was
sentenced to 20 years in
prison, but was released
after nine years.)
In 2002, the Washington,
D.C.-area sniper attacks be-
gan, setting off a frantic man-
hunt lasting three weeks.
(John Allen Muhammad and
Lee Boyd Malvo were fi nally
arrested for killing 10 people
and wounding three others;
Muhammad was executed in
2009; Malvo was sentenced
to life in prison.)
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $3 million
1-17-18-27-35-48
Mega Millions: $50 million
10-17-39-42-59-3-x2
Powerball: $60 million
15-23-34-51-55-4-x2
Win for Life: Sept. 30
11-17-61-68
Pick 4: Oct. 1
• 1 p.m.: 6-3-1-5
• 4 p.m.: 1-3-9-8
• 7 p.m.: 6-2-7-2
• 10 p.m.: 7-3-5-1
Pick 4: Sept. 30
• 1 p.m.: 2-5-2-1
• 4 p.m.: 3-1-3-7
• 7 p.m.: 0-8-3-1
• 10 p.m.: 7-6-5-8
NEWSPAPER LATE?
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liver your Observer in a timely
manner. Occasionally condi-
tions exist that make delivery
more diffi cult.
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route, delivery should be
before 5:30 p.m. If you do not
receive your paper by 5:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday, please
call 541-963-3161 by 6 p.m.
If your delivery is by
motor carrier, delivery
should be by 6 p.m. For calls
after 6, please call 541-975-
1690, leave your name,
address and phone number.
Your paper will be delivered
the next business day.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“There’s one way to fi nd
out if a man is honest — ask
him. If he says ‘yes’ you
know he is a crook.”
— Groucho Marx
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Walla Walla farmer Jeff Schulke holds up a pumpkin in the patch prior to harvest on Sept. 27. Schulke and his
family use the pumpkin patch as a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House in memory of their late son Cooper,
who died in October 2002.
Pumpkin patch
fundraiser honors late son
■ Walla Walla farm family raises funds for Ronald McDonald House in memory of son
By Matthew Weaver
EO Media Group
WALLA WALLA, Wash-
ington — A Washington
farm family every year
raises money for a charity
that helps rural families in
need of a place to stay when
their child is in the hospital.
For the last 12 years,
farmer Jeff Schulke and his
family have grown a pump-
kin patch to raise funds for
Ronald McDonald House in
memory of their son Cooper,
who died in 2002. He was
7-1/2 years old.
“He was just a great little
kid. He was very sociable, he
went into every room and
talked to everybody,” Jeff
Schulke said. “He was a
really happy little guy.”
In August 2000, at age 5,
Cooper developed a brain
tumor that affected his vi-
sion and balance. The fam-
ily drove him to Seattle for
surgery. They spent three
weeks there, eventually
fi nding housing through
the local Ronald McDonald
House.
After surgery, the fam-
ily took Cooper home. He
entered kindergarten, but
in the spring of 2001, the
tumor returned. He had
two more surgeries, and the
family stayed at the Ronald
McDonald House for a total
of four months.
In 2002, the tumor
returned again, and Cooper
lost his battle.
In his memory, each
year Schulke and his wife,
Kara, son, Campbell, now
19, and daughter, Emer-
son, 14, invite people to
help harvest 3 to 4 acres
of pumpkins and then sell
the crop, donating the pro-
ceeds to Ronald McDonald
House.
“Everyone loves picking
pumpkins,” Schulke said.
“It’s the discovery in the
patch. You fi nd a big one
or a little one or a whole
bunch of weird-looking
ones.”
The patch boasts 27 vari-
eties of pumpkins, including
orange, blue, pink, white,
tall and skinny.
Schulke and his family
then set up a “pumpkin
patch” at their house in
Walla Walla. Members of
the public show up, make a
donation and take home a
pumpkin.
“We’ll have up to 8,000
pounds of pumpkins leave
our driveway in a day or a
weekend,” he said.
They also deliver
pumpkins to various area
locations, including a Walla
Walla coffeeshop, a meat
shop and garden center in
Waitsburg and a feed store
in the Tri-Cities.
All proceeds go to Ronald
McDonald House.
After Cooper passed
away, the family wanted to
do something to benefi t the
organization.
“You just had to do
something during that fall
time of year when (Cooper)
passed away,” Schulke said.
“It gives you focus and a
way to channel all of that
energy.”
Schulke’s mother and
nephews originally grew
miniature pumpkins. The
family discovered a patch
of “unintended” pumpkins.
Son Campbell got the idea
to do a pumpkin patch as
their fundraiser.
They aim to raise $15,000
this year. The most they’ve
raised is a little more than
$18,000.
Schulke asks people to
make additional monetary
donations directly to their
local Ronald McDonald
House.
“We’re not looking to
make our donation go any
bigger,” he said.
The organization serves
mostly rural residents who
live outside major metro-
politan areas, where special-
ized treatment is available,
he said.
“You go there, your life
is in a wreck ... and you’re
going to be there three
months, what do you do?
FAMILY
OWNED
You live two and a half
hours away, you can’t com-
mute, you’ve got to be right
there,” he said. “You have to
live someplace. It is defi -
nitely geared toward us who
live in the rural areas.”
The family plans to
continue the pumpkin patch
every year.
When Cooper fi rst got
sick, Schulke said, the fam-
ily tried to handle it all on
their own.
“We thought people were
giving pity, but it’s grace,” he
said. “They’re being gra-
cious. You defi nitely learn to
receive charity. So now we’re
teaching people how to be
charitable.”
Searchers are navigating
a section of the steep and
snowy Wallowa Mountains
for the fourth straight day
looking for signs of a Haines
man who went missing
while hunting deer over the
weekend.
The search for Andrew
Dean “Andy” Dennis, 60, is
focused on the area around
Crater Lake, near East Eagle
Creek about 32 air miles
northeast of Baker City.
Ground crews are working
along with two helicopters in
the quest to fi nd Dennis, who
relatives say is very familiar
with that area.
Dennis’ niece, Candy
Sturm, said he has hunted in
the area frequently, and has
also done guided tours.
The search started Sunday
after relatives told police that
Dennis had failed to return
from a hunting trip to the
East Eagle Creek area.
Searchers found his vehicle
at the East Eagle trailhead.
On Monday a pair of
helicopters, one from the
National Guard and one
from Baker Aircraft, ferried
searchers to the Crater Lake
area, which is reached by a
steep 6-mile trail that starts
near East Eagle Creek.
In a statement sent to the
Baker City Herald, Dennis’
wife, Patty, expressed her
appreciation for “Sheriff Ash
and Chuck and Cid Christ-
man for all they have done,
they are truly amazing.”
Dennis is a white male,
5-foot-5 and 170 pounds, with
light brown hair, blue eyes,
and a beard and mustache.
He was known to be wearing
a camoufl age baseball cap
and possibly a tan coat.
Anyone with information
about Dennis’ location should
call the Baker County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce at 541-523-6415.
Saturday, Oct. 5
Grand opening for The Other guys,
Saturday - noon to six.
Mark your
Calendar
12-3 KUBQ will be live onsite broadcasting, ribbon
cutting at 3pm, Wasteland Kings 3-6, Hines Meat
with sausage dogs and pulled pork, and
lots of big giveaways.
www.VisitUnionCounty.org
541-786-8984
Alliance Self Storage
2105 E L Ave., La Grande • allianceselfstorage123@gmail.com
215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440
northwestfurnitureandmattress.com
Exploring Wild Headwaters
A Study of Stream Networks, Geology, and
Transpiration in the River of No Return Wilderness
www.CountrysideSheds.com
Thursday,
Oct 3rdtpmt
3rd • 7pm • FREE!
FREE!
Friday, Oct
STORAGE
BUILDINGS
John Whiting, MS
Geosciences, Idaho State University
(541) 663-0246
Locally owned and operated
for over 24 years
RENT to
OWN
and
90 Days Same
as Cash
John’s research to improve understanding of remote mountain watershed
hydrology took place in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in 2014
and 2015. Based out of the University of Idaho’s Taylor Wilderness Research
Station on Big Creek, John bushwhacked up small headwater streams and
determined water use of Douglas-fir trees. The collaborative effort between
Idaho State University geologists and the Taylor Ranch crew sheds light on the
question of what happens to snowmelt and rainwater in the rugged
Salmon River Mountains.
Physicians Mutual Insurance Company
Call for your FREE Information Kit!
Get help paying dental bills and
keep more money in your pocket.
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us for complete details about this insurance solicitation. This specific offer is not available in CO, NY; call 1-800-969-
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AW19-1037B
6209
See our display lot at NEW LOCATION!
10505 N. McAlister Road
(Corner of Hwy 82 & N. McAlister Rd.)
Natural History Discovery Center
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