The Observer., April 21, 2020, Page 3, Image 3

COMMUNITY
TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2020
THE OBSERVER — 3A
COMMUNITY Your library card provides online access to thousands of items
Briefs
Support local libraries
on Library Giving Day
LA GRANDE — Believ-
ing that libraries serve as a
cornerstone for our com-
munities, Libraries of Union
County Foundation is part of
a coalition of libraries joining
forces to raise funds through
a Library Giving Day cam-
paign, an online fundraising
event. Patrons and library
lovers are encouraged to
make a gift in support of
their library anytime now
through April 23. To support
Cook Memorial Library, go to
www.cookmemoriallibrary.
org.
Anthony Lakes early
pass sale extended
NORTH POWDER — In
light of Covid-19 events, An-
thony Lakes Mountain Resort
has extended the deadline
for its annual early pass
sale to June 30. Anthony
Lakes sells all-mountain and
Nordic-only season passes.
The early pass sale offers
the lowest rates available all
year. For more information
and to purchase season
passes, go to www.antho-
nylakes.com.
Attention: shed hunters
STARKEY — Opening day
for the Starkey Experimental
Forest and Range has been
postponed. The area will
remain closed to public entry
until further notice to align
with the governor’s “Stay
Home, Save Lives” order
during the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic.
The 25,000-acre Starkey
Experimental Forest and
Range on the Wallowa-Whit-
man National Forest is
popular with the public for
gathering of shed deer and
elk antlers each spring, and
typically a large concentra-
tion of 100 or more people
camp in a small area at the
main gate in anticipation of
the traditional May 1 open-
ing day.
Union County Museum
will open July 4
UNION — The board of di-
rectors of the Union County
Museum Society announced
the season opening event
has been postponed until
Saturday, July 4. Tradition-
ally, the museum opens for
the season on Mother’s Day,
hosting an open house and
taking the opportunity to
highlight new or updated
exhibits. Opening event
hours and details will be
announced in late June.
The delayed opening “will
allow volunteers to clean and
prepare for the season while
practicing social distancing,
in addition to allowing time
for the pandemic to dissipate
and some form of normal
social gatherings to return
to Union County and the
country,” said Nod Palmer,
board president.
The Union County Mu-
seum, at 333 S. Main St. in
Union, is run by volunteers.
Volunteer activities range
from being a host to working
on new projects and nec-
essary tasks. To learn more
about volunteering, contact
Linda Bond at jeffl inda-
bond@gmail.com or call
541-562-5061.
No fi shing at
Morgan Lake
LA GRANDE — To limit
the spread of the COVID-19
virus and to comply with
the Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown’s executive order,
Morgan Lake will remain
closed, which includes no
fi shing. According to the
city of La Grande, the park
gate will remain locked and
restrooms closed. No camp-
ing is allowed.
The annual fi shing derby
at the lake is also canceled
this year.
Reminder of available
assistance from Parks
and Rec
LA GRANDE — The city
of La Grande Parks and Rec-
reation Department issued
a press release to remind
residents the department’s
employees are available to
run errands for elderly indi-
viduals or others unable to
do so themselves during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Send an email about the
details of what is needed
to mckayla.nitz@cityofl a-
grande.org or call 541-962-
1352.
H
ello to all of our
and Union County residents
patrons from the
who do not receive library
staff of Cook
services from another city
Memorial Library. Join us
within the county. Visit
in a new initiative, Say Hi
www.cookmemorialli-
La Grande, by greeting
brary.org and click on the
your neigh-
“Request
bors every
Library
OFF THE
evening at
Card” link.
SHELF
7 p.m., from
Requests
ROSE PEACOCK
a safe dis-
for eCards
tance, of
are gener-
course. See
ally fi lled
www.Facebook.com/Say-
within 24 hours, longer if
HiLaGrande for more.
you apply over the weekend.
The building may be
Include your email address
closed, but your library card or phone number so we can
provides online access to
contact you with your card
thousands of items. If you
number and PIN. If you
don’t have a card, you can
have a regular library card,
apply for an eCard. Online
you do not need an eCard.
registration for a Cook
If you are unable to fi nd
Memorial Library card is
your card or need your PIN,
open only to La Grande
call 541-962-1339 Mon-
day-Friday between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. or email libdi-
rector@cookmemorialli-
brary.org.
Online resources include:
Library2Go (Over-
Drive/Libby): Down-
loadable eBooks and
eAudiobooks.
Hoopla: Thousands of
free streaming movies, TV
shows, music, eBooks, eAu-
diobooks and comics.
Kanopy: Film streaming
service features classic and
world cinema, the Criterion
Collection and more.
Freading: A collection
of eBooks from small and
independent publishers for
all ages. The titles are avail-
able with no holds, no wait.
Freegal: Enjoy up to
three hours of streaming
returns are closed. Patrons
need to keep all library
materials safely in their pos-
session until we reopen.
Any library account that
was suspended for reaching
the fi nes and fees threshold
has temporarily eLibrary
access. The library’s WiFi
(LGPLWiFi) has been
turned on for 24-hour
access. The signal reaches
to the building’s entrances
and the parking lot and does
not require a password.
Find out more on our
Facebook page: Cook
Memorial Library-La
Grande, OR.
About the author
Rose Peacock over-
sees adult services at Cook
Memorial Library, La
Grande.
and Luther and Ellen
Hays; son-in-law, Duke
McClune; grandson, Ryan
Toney; and siblings and
spouses, Les and Nancy
Case, Clarence and Patty
Southard, Sharon Smith,
Joe Stephens, Oliver Hays
and Larry and Beatrice
Shaffer.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the Elgin
Quilting Club in care of
Daniels-Knopp Funeral,
Cremation & Life Celebra-
tion Center, 1502 Seventh
St., La Grande 97850.
OBITUARIES
Beverly G. (Case) Hays
Elgin • 1932-2020
Beverly Grace Hays,
87, of Elgin, died April 14
at her home. Private inter-
ment was held at the Elgin
Cemetery.
Beverly
was born
Oct. 2, 1932,
in Umapine,
to Lucian
Holmes and
Verna Lucele
(Townsend) Case. The
family moved to Elgin,
where Beverly was edu-
cated, graduating with the
class of 1950. On Sept. 2,
1951, she married Clar-
ence E. Hays.
Beverly was a member
of the VFW Auxiliary
and was a 4H teacher.
She enjoyed quilting,
gardening, crocheting,
camping, picking huck-
leberries and spending
time with family. She
was the matriarch of a
Upcoming local
services are
pending due to
efforts to curb the
spread of the
coronavirus.
and sister-in-law, Ben
and Betty Hays of Elgin;
brother and sister-in-law,
Charles and Corky Hays
of Elgin; sister-in-law,
Bertha Stephens of Gran-
geville, Idaho; and 11
grandchildren and 10
great-grandchildren.
She was preceded
in death by her hus-
band, Clarence; parents,
Lucian and Verna Case
large family with many
traditions.
Surviving relatives
include her children and
their spouses, Jerry and
Tammy Hays of Williston,
North Dakota, Dee Dee
McClune of Elgin, Gail
and Eddie Toney of Elgin,
Denise and Don Ludwig
of Elgin and Jennifer
and Rick Smith of Elgin;
brother-in-law, George
Smith of Elgin; brother
Red Cross Drug Store offers
Delivery in Union County
Stay home let
Making sure you are cared for, we always off er delivery to La Grande,
us Deliver your
Union and Elgin or mailed anywhere. Contact us today to make the easy
medicines to you
switch. Let us do our part to keep you safe in this time of uncertainty
“People Who Care”
1123 Adams Ave., La Grande
541-963-5741 redcrossdrugstore.com
306 W North St, Enterprise
(541) 426-7455 olivebranchpharmacy.com
Larry Cates
will be
80 years old
on April 24.
Happy birthday
with love from all of
your family.
PROTECTING our
Residents during this
Pandemic
Starting the
funnest phase
of your life
Meals on Wheels
drivers needed
LA GRANDE — Commu-
nity Connection is in urgent
need of volunteers to be
Meals on Wheels drivers.
For more information, call
Sydney Gleeson at 541-
963-7532, ext. 1104, or stop
by 1504 N. Albany St., La
Grande.
1809 Gekeler Ln.
La Grande
541-963-4700
10106 N. ‘C’ • Island City
541-975-1364
Greta J. Guilinger
Island City
Greta J. Guilinger, 76,
of Island City, died April
18 at a local care facility.
Arrangements are by Love-
land Funeral Chapel &
Crematory.
Wilfred Arthur Hamann
September 3, 1923 - April 2, 2020
The Hamann house is a
very fine house with many
cats, a few dogs, 4 daugh-
ters, seven grandchildren,
and many wonderful
memories. Willie was
preceded in death by his
infant brother Leland, his
parents, Clara and Arthur
Hamann, and his wife
Delpha Morehead Hamann
(12/10/2019).
Willie was born
September 3, 1923 on the
family farm near Island
City where he spent most
of his life. He was a premature baby, so the
doctor placed him in a cardboard boot box on
the wood stove’s open oven door as a way of
helping him begin his life. At age 5, the family
moved to Island City and began a seed clean-
ing and selling business. Fumigating furniture
was also a sideline at the site. Willie attended
Island City School for eight years, before grad-
uating from La Grande High School in 1941.
During his school years, he was active in
a 4-H livestock club, showing at the Union
County Fair and traveling by train with
other club members and their animals in box
cars to the Pacific International Livestock
Exposition (PI) in Portland, Oregon. The
livestock owners were not allowed to ride in
the boxcars with the stock, but that rule was
not always followed. Most of the exhibiters
were never caught riding in the boxcars with
their animals, but if they were, they were set
off the train and had to buy tickets for regular
train rides.
After graduating from high school, Willie
helped his father in the seed business before
enlisting in the Army in February of 1943 in
Spokane, Washington. He served with the
529th Engineers Light Ponton Company in
Patton’s Army.
The company took the Queen Elizabeth
liner to an area near Shenstone and Tamworth,
England. From there, the company landed
on Utah beach three days after the invasion.
Towards the end of the European war, Willie
was in Austria and was assigned hay hauling
duty to the rescued Lipizzaner horses brought
back to the Spanish Riding School’s summer
pastures by General Patton. Willie never told
his horse-loving daughters about this until
they were watching a Disney movie about
it. Willie said the horses he rescued did not
look as good as the ones in the movie. They
were bags of bones much like the survivors
at Dachau, the concentration camp he was at
soon after the war ended, processing survivors
and covering the open pit graves.
Before shipping home, he was a crane
operator in Belgium when he broke two ribs,
incurring his only war injury caused by the
ball falling and wrapping a chain around his
ribs.
After returning home on December
27, 1945, he began farming. He played
City League baseball where he met Delpha
Morehead, building a house in Island City,
and marrying Delpha on December 3, 1950.
Willie’s father Arthur Hamann, Claude Anson,
and Willie started the “Hamann and Anson
An Independent
Insurance Agency
Reed & Associates for
excellent service LOCALLY!
Nicole Cathey
music each day. You can
download three free songs
each week.
MyHeritage: Discover
your roots with this gene-
alogy database and start
growing your family tree
today.
Check out our YouTube
channel, Cook Memorial
Library-La Grande, Oregon,
for Storytime with Alicia,
presenting stories and a
craft. Another new offering
is Miss Carrie Reads.
Our children’s librarian is
recording Bruce Coville’s
series, “Moongobble and
Me,” accessible on our web-
site. Click on “Things to do
When Bored” on our web-
site for links to art projects,
science resources and more.
The library’s book
Ski Shop” in a part of
the seed cleaning ware-
house in Island City. It
was a good winter busi-
ness for these farmers.
This ski shop also had a
satellite store at “Little
Alps Ski Area,” Oregon’s
first ski area east of the
Cascades . The shop’s
big wood stove was a
wintertime gathering
spot for farmers to
catch up on valley gos-
sip and a fun place for
the 4 daughters to walk
to after school. The girls remember re-boxing
ski boots and dusting skis (to this day, none of
the girls like to dust).
Willie began farming in earnest in the
1950’s. He and Delpha bought more land
around the original farm where he was born.
The Eisenhower years were good to farmers
and the 4 daughters were born in that decade.
The girls attended the same Island City School
their father attended and loved their years
there. Willie was an Island City volunteer
fireman and chief in those years, as well as
serving on the Island City School board, then
an independent school district.
In 1963, Willie and Delpha built their
house on the farm and moved in to it during
the flood of ’64, a “flood of the century.”
Willie was 1986 conservation farmer of the
year and was pleased to be recognized. As a
farmer, he was successful in diversifying the
crops he raised. He was not afraid to try new
crops and techniques. He loved his registered
Angus cows (most of the time) and was a
4-H livestock leader for several years when
his daughters were showing Angus cattle and
sheep. The girls made some of their college
money by raising and selling their cattle.
Willie planted mint and he and his son-in-
law Pete Nilsson built a mint still to process
the oil from their mint, and other farmer’s
mint crops, too. Eventually, Willie’s daughter
Becky and son-in-law Pete Nilsson took over
the farming. At some point, Willie retired
after a long and successful run as a farmer. He
truly enjoyed farming and liked nothing more
than driving his tractors and other machinery
on his land. If Willie had not lost most of his
eyesight, he would still be farming.
After he retired, he spent his energy
babying his lawn. He drove his riding mower
keeping the grass trimmed short enough to
putt on (pasture pool he called it), although he
never did. But since he used to caddy at the
country club as a kid, we guess he could have.
In 2019, the farm was designated as a
“Century Farm.” Some of the grandkids had
been helping with the farm for many years and
are running it now. It is in good hands.
We would like to thank daughter Brenda
for taking care of both Mom and Dad in
their twilight years. Thanks also to caregiver
Georgia James and the Heart and Home Hos-
pice employees for their care during the last
months of Dad’s life.
If anyone would like to donate to the local
4-H program or the Oregon Talking Books
Library, it would bring a smile to his face.
Medicare, Auto, Home
insurance and Annuities
Toll Free 1-866-282-1925
www.reed-insurance.net
Kevin Reed