COMMUNITY CORNER
TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2020
THE OBSERVER — 3A
‘Embrace the Unknown’ is Art Center East’s fi rst virtual exhibit
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Art
Center East opened its fi rst
virtual exhibit, “Embrace
the Unknown,” on June 5.
It features a collec-
tion of fl uid acrylic paint-
ings by local artist The-
resa Henderson. Photos of
the paintings in the exhibit
and an interview with the
artist are viewable online
at the center’s website,
www.artcentereast.org.
“My fl uid art deals with
the fours Cs: color, com-
position, contrast and cre-
ativity,” Henderson said
in a statement about her
pieces. “My work has been
infl uenced by the colorful
places I’ve experienced
in my travels. Fluid art is
my gateway to creativity,
experimentation and the
soul.”
In the interview with
Henderson posted on the
gallery page, the artist
addresses the inspiration
for the pieces and the pro-
cess of creating them.
The type of fl uid acrylic
painting Henderson does
involves pouring paint
onto a canvas and letting
it fl ow freely. Techniques
and tools are used to shape
the patterns within the
paintings as desired.
“Every time I do a pour
it is like embracing the
unknown,” Henderson
said. “While you have
some control, you also
have to go with the paint.
So, it takes lots and lots
of practice, and trust, and
the giving up of control in
order to achieve a painting
you like and maybe
someone else will love.”
Fifty percent of the art
sales will be donated to
the center’s youth schol-
arship fund. Henderson
would like to help those
who may not have access
to artistic and creative
outlets.
“Our children have
some art in school and
some of them don’t have
the opportunity and don’t
have the supplies, and I
always want to nurture
that,” Henderson said. “I
just want children to have
the opportunity to exper-
iment and grow through
classes they can take at
Art Center East.”
The virtual exhibit will
remain on display until
Aug. 8.
Photo contributed by Art Center East
Local artist Theresa Henderson’s piece, “Star Burst,” is on
display as part of Art Center East’s virtual gallery exhibit,
now open on the center’s website.
Polio vaccine’s arrival in La Grande 65 years ago met with suspicion
Local nurse Gertrude Fennimore helps
convince public of vaccine safety

By Dick Mason
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A
vaccine for the deadly new
coronavirus, according to
many infectious disease
experts, should be avail-
able to the public within
two years, fi nally ending
a global pandemic. The
delivery of the fi rst coro-
navirus vaccine in Union
County likely will be a
well-publicized event, just
as the historic arrival of
the Salk polio vaccine was
65 years ago.
Polio vaccine was fi rst
delivered here May 1,
1955, on a West Coast
Airlines plane at about
8:20 p.m. The delivery
made headlines for near
miraculous and dark
reasons.
Many perceived the
vaccine as a silver bullet,
with the potential of
making one of the most
feared diseases a horror
of the past. Unfortunately,
the vaccine arrived in La
Grande right after a mas-
sive initial nationwide
inoculation program had
tragically gotten off to
a nightmarish start. The
reason — least one phar-
maceutical company pro-
duced a bad batch of
vaccine.
The defective vac-
cine was injected into
200,000 children, causing
40,000 of them to get
polio, 200 of whom suf-
fered paralysis and 10 of
whom died, according to
a March 2006 article in
the Journal of the Royal
Society of Medicine. This
total included three chil-
dren in Oregon and two
in Idaho, according to an
article in the May 4, 1955,
Observer, then the La
Grande Evening Observer.
The news of these con-
tracting polio from the
vaccine alarmed Union
County parents, causing
20 who had signed up
their children for the shots
to withdraw their sons
and daughters, according
to the May 6, 1955,
Observer.
The number pulling out
their children may have
been greater had it not
been for Gertrude Fen-
nimore, a Union County
public health nurse,
who emphasized in an
Observer interview the
vaccine La Grande had
received was produced by
Parke-Davis, a Detroit-
based pharmaceutical
company not responsible
for the defective vaccine.
The Salk vaccine pro-
gram launched in the
United States in the mid-
1950s called for a killed
strain of the polio virus to
be inoculated in children.
Some initial batches of the
Salk vaccine contained a
strain of the polio virus
that was not completely
dead, causing many people
to get the dreaded disease.
Those receiving
the Salk vaccine had
to receive two shots,
the second one about a
week after the fi rst. This
requirement created con-
cern among local health
offi cials because some
children were getting
out of school for summer
vacation and it was feared
it would be diffi cult to get
them to a clinic for the
second shot.
“There would be no
point in giving children
the initial inoculation if
we couldn’t give them the
second,” Dr. W. J. Kubler,
OBITUARIES
Bett y E. (Newton) Morse 4, 1947, Betty and Lenny
1928-2020 • La Grande
Betty Evangeline Morse,
92, of La Grande, died June
11 as a result of an acci-
dent in her garden. Inter-
ment will be at Valley
View Cemetery in New-
berg with a private family
graveside ser-
vice. Arrange-
ments by Dan-
iels-Knopp
Funeral, Cre-
mation & Life
Celebration
Center in La Grande.
Betty was born March
16, 1928, in McMinnville,
one of 12 children born to
William Wallace and Amy
Elizabeth (Doney) Newton.
She graduated from New-
berg High School with the
class of 1946.
Betty worked as a sec-
retary to the city attorney
of Newberg. Her desk was
next to a window in the city
hall near where Leonard
“Lenny” Morse was
pumping gas at the Flying
A gas station. After much
smiling and many greetings
he fi nally got the courage to
ask for a date, and on April
were married in Stevenson,
Washington. In Lenny’s
words: “Love is grand!”
Betty did fl oral design
and had a custom cake busi-
ness for several years with
Leonard, but mostly she
was a homemaker, wife,
mother, grandmother and
good friend. During the
years she lived on a farm
in Newberg, she tended
sheep, raised chickens and
peafowl, grew Christmas
and fruit trees and hosted
VBS kids in the summer.
In 1992, Betty and Leonard
moved to La Grande from
Woodburn Senior Estates.
Betty and Leonard
belonged to the Chris-
tian Church in New-
berg and Valley Fellow-
ship in La Grande. Betty
also belonged to the Union
County Historical Society,
Grande Ronde Bird Club
and a women’s Bible study
group.
She enjoyed gardening,
growing many varieties
of vegetables and fl owers
every summer. She also
enjoyed fi shing for trout and
steelhead and had always
Upcoming
local services
June 20 — EVA
BENNETT: 2 p.m. grave-
side service; Island City
Cemetery.
June 25 — LEROY POE:
4 p.m. celebration of
life, Summerville Baptist
Church.
—Calendar
courtesy of Loveland
Funeral Chapel,
La Grande
hoped to fi sh for salmon.
An accomplished quilter,
Betty made a quilt for each
of her grandchildren. She
also made numerous baby
quilts, knitted hundreds of
hats for those in need and
sewed dresses for needy
little girls around the world.
Surviving relatives
include her husband of
73 years, Leonard of La
Grande; daughter, Wendy
Schmidt of La Grande;
daughter and son-in-law,
Becky and Willie Noll
of Summerville; and fi ve
grandchildren and 13
great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in
death by her parents; sib-
lings, Robert, Daniel, Wil-
liam, Alonzo, Edwin,
Richard, Samuel, John,
Adria, Joy and Rose; son,
David Morse; grandson,
Jedidiah Morse; and son-
in-law, Lester Schmidt.
Online condolences may
be left at www.danielsk-
nopp.com.
Carrel R. Hurst
11:07 a.m. — La Grande po-
lice received a report of animal
neglect on the 1000 block of
Frontier Court.
11:12 a.m. — La Grande
police responded to a complaint
about vandalism on the 400
block of 20th Street. An offi cer
took a report.
2:38 p.m. — A caller reported
someone left two small children
in a vehicle in the business
parking lot at 2212 Island Ave.
An offi cer responded and coun-
seled the driver.
6:47 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the busi-
ness parking lot again, this
time for an intoxicated driver.
People at the scene told offi -
cers the person in question
was the passenger of the
vehicle and getting a ride
home. That was after liquor
store customers stopped the
man from driving.
9:16 p.m. — La Grande police
responded to the 600 block of
12th Street for a dog bite victim,
and an offi cer took a report.
SATURDAY
12:28 a.m. — A caller report-
ed a loud party on the 2200
block of Fir Street, La Grande.
Police responded and talked
to the homeowners about the
noise level.
10:18 a.m. — La Grande
police responded to the 1900
block of N Avenue on a report of
a domestic disturbance. Offi cers
trespassed one person from the
residence.
4:34 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the 2300
block of Island Avenue, La
Grande, on a report of an
assault. Police arrested William
Ellen Hernandez, 52, of La
Grande, on accusations of
second-degree trespass, sec-
ond-degree mischief, harass-
ment, interfering with making
a report and fi rst-degree theft.
5:28 p.m. — The Union Coun-
ty Sheriff’s Offi ce responded
to the 500 block of North Gale
Street, Union, for a dog bite
victim. A deputy took a report.
11:39 p.m. — A caller report-
ed a fi ght on the 200 block of
Depot Street, La Grande. Police
arrived and found no fi ghting.
SUNDAY
1:07 a.m. — La Grande police
received a report of injured
livestock on the 600 block of
16th Street.
12:50 p.m. — A caller report-
ed a dog on the loose on the
2200 block of Cove Avenue,
La Grande. Police warned the
istent in the United States.
Polio claimed less than
a half a dozen lives in
Union County in the early
1950s, according to an
article in the March 31,
1997, Observer.
The late Dr. Treve
Lumsden, a longtime La
Grande physician who
started a medical practice
here in 1951, said the lack
of outbreaks might have
been attributable to several
factors, including limited
travel by area residents.
This reduced the likeli-
hood of people picking up
the virus outside the area
and bringing it here, he
told The Observer in 1997.
Lumsden, who died in
2004 at age 78, said the
development of a vac-
cine surprised some in the
medical community.
“Many of us thought it
would be a curse we would
have to live with forever,”
he said.
Sign up now for Wallowa’s
Fourth of July parade
WALLOWA — Sig-
nups are available for
anyone wanting to partic-
ipate in Wallowa’s Fourth
of July parade, set to take
place at 11 a.m. on the
nation’s birthday.
A signup sheet for
anyone who wants to
take part in the event,
which is being run by
a citizen’s committee,
is available at Goeb-
el’s gas station and Ram
Auto and True Value
Hardware in Wallowa,
according to Terri Barn-
hart, a member of the
parade committee.
The parade won’t
have a theme or a grand
marshal, as it was only
recently given approval
to proceed.
Entries of all kinds are
welcome, Barnhart said,
including antique cars
or tractors, horse riders,
entries from resources
entitles, log trucks and
more.
For more informa-
tion, contact Barnhart at
541-263-2188.
Summerville
Carrel R. Hurst, 84, of
Summerville, died June
12, 2020 at his home.
Arrangements are by Love-
land Funeral Chapel &
Crematory.
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John Driessen
Elgin
John Driessen, 76, of
Elgin, died June 13 at his
home. Arrangements are by
Loveland Funeral Chapel &
Crematory.
PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT
FRIDAY
a Union County part-time
health offi cer, told The
Observer in its May 7,
1955, edition.
Yet about 700 fi rst- and
second-graders in Union
County were successfully
vaccinated against polio.
The vaccine was given to
fi rst- and second-graders
because they were particu-
larly vulnerable to polio.
The release of the
polio vaccine came at a
time when the incidence
of polio was alarmingly
high. An average of at
least 15,000 people in the
United States suffered
paralysis as a result of
polio each year in the early
and mid-1950s, according
to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Pre-
vention website. Fortu-
nately by the 1960s, due
to the vaccine, the average
number of cases fell to less
than 100 a year. Today the
disease is virtually nonex-
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dog’s owner for allowing a dog
at large.
3:43 p.m. — A La Grande call-
er asked for police to respond to
an assault on the 1500 block of
Adams Avenue. Offi cers arrived
and trespassed one person
from the property.
6:05 p.m. — The Union
County Sheriff’s Offi ce arrested
Dustin John Mathis, 28, of
Elgin, on accusations of three
counts of reckless endanger-
ing, one each of misdemeanor
reckless driving, misdemeanor
fourth-degree assault, misde-
meanor and felony fl eeing and
hit-and-run involving a person,
plus violating probation.
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