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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2020)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020 THE OBSERVER — 5A BOOK Continued from Page 1A Mayor, often visited Hot Lake and were friends of one of its leaders, physician and surgeon Dr. W.T. Phy. Roth said there is no truth to this story. The Mayo Historical Unit, at Roth’s request, did an extensive review and found nothing indicating the Mayo brothers were ever at Hot Lake or that Phy had any social inter- actions with them. Roth also wrote no evidence was found indicating Phy, who died in 1931, received any medical training at the Mayo Clinic. While Phy never enjoyed the renown of the Mayo brothers, he was a highly regarded physician and sur- geon during the more than 15 years he practiced at Hot Lake and developed a fi rst- class medical facility. “Hot Lake may have been one of the best med- ical centers west of Chicago about a century ago,” Roth said, noting its x-ray equip- ment then was state of the art. The physician, who served as president of the Oregon State Board of Health in the 1920s, had a noteworthy collection of medical books. “Phy’s medical library rivaled that of any professor in a teaching hospital of the Richard Roth/Contributed Photo Historian Richard Roth’s latest book on Hot Lake’s history, “Hot Lake — A Short Story,” aims to shoot down plenty of tall tales about the site. time,” Roth said in his new book. Roth can understand why rumors of Phy’s con- nections to the Mayo Clinic got started because Hot Lake once billed itself in advertisements as the “Mayo Clinic of the West.” Roth said this advertising label can be traced back to 1919 when Fred Lockley, a writer with the old Oregon Journal, visited Hot Lake and produced a series of articles about it. Lockley in one article wrote, “The time is fast approaching when the fame of Hot Lake will be as well known to the those in the West who need sur- gical attention as Roch- ester, Minnesota is through the work done by the Mayo brothers.” More tales, no evidence Hot Lake myths that have no semblance of truth include one involving Wild Bill Hickok, the legendary gunfi ghter and gambler of the Old West. According to at least one website, Hickok visited Hot Lake’s hotel in the 1800s. Roth has taken a deep look at this story and has not found a shred of evi- dence or documentation to support it. Still, he knows it will persist. “Some myths never die!” Roth wrote. Another enduring fable has it that Hot Lake served as a hospital for tubercu- losis patients. This would seem plau- sible because it operated as a health care facility from the early 1900s until the late 1930s, a time when there were many tuber- culosis sanitariums in the United States. Roth, however, is cer- tain Hot Lake was never a tuberculosis hospital. He quotes a promotional bro- chure published in the mid- DOG THEATER Continued from Page 1A Continued from Page 1A antelope, waterfowl, turkey and, eventually, sturgeon. Buck’s investiga- tions help Wolcott deter- mine where poaching sus- pects have — and haven’t — been. “It’s not just to prove guilt, it can prove inno- cence, too,” Wolcott said. Buck once tracked the scent of a hunter that had been accused of tres- passing, but the path Buck found never crossed the property line. Wolcott estimates he and Buck responded to 90 calls last year. Buck helps inves- tigations by spotting clues a human trooper might overlook. For example, at a site reported for illegal hunting activity, beer cans littered the roadside ditch. Buck alerted Wolcott that the most recent beer can still had a fresh scent. Wolcott used the information to investigate nearby camp- grounds and locate the suspect. Poaching is a problem in every state. Dogs have been helping neigh- boring states’ wildlife agencies tackle wildlife crimes. Oregon is the last state in the region to get a canine team in wildlife enforcement. The Oregon Wildlife Foundation, a nonprofi t organization that offers grants for projects that con- serve wildlife and habitat, raised $26,350 to start the OSP Fish and Wildlife K9 Unit Pilot Program. Tim Greseth, executive director of OWF, said most of the grant paid for pur- chasing and training Buck. While OSP pays for the trooper, OWF covers Buck’s expenses through public donations. Despite a successful fi rst year in the fi eld, Buck’s anti-poaching career faces a shortfall of funding. Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the can- cellation of most summer fundraising events, “Buck isn’t doing nearly as much public outreach as we’d anticipated,” Greseth said. OWF has had to cover nearly $600 in veterinary bills. Greseth also said an anonymous donor is inter- ested in giving OSP’s Fish and Wildlife Divi- sion two more dogs, so performers or places for traveling entertainers to stay, offi ces for the- ater staff and facilities for a restaurant. Mammen hopes to have the upper portion of the Putnam Building completed some- time in 2021. Much of the renovated building, which was con- structed in 1911 by Stephen A. Gardinier, who moved to La Grande from New York, is designed to look as it did early in its history. The Putnam Building, like the Liberty Theatre, which closed in 1959, is on the National Register Oregon State Police/Contributed Photo Oregon State Police trooper Josh Wolcott and Buck track down poachers. each regional offi ce would have its own canine team, but OWF will need more public donations to cover the added expenses. Cracking down on poachers In 2019, the Oregon Leg- islature ramped up efforts to reduce poaching with more wildlife troopers, stiffer penalties and a new public awareness campaign. “A big talking point of ours is: poaching steals from all Oregonians,” said Yvonne Shaw, coordinator of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Anti- Poaching Campaign. “Any- time someone kills any animal illegally, not only have they broken the law, but they have stolen an experience from another person.” OSP Fish and Wild- life troopers rely on public reporting to help enforce wildlife laws. They receive some 700 tips each year. Helpful tips are rewarded with cash or hunter preference points, which boost a hunter’s chances to partake in a con- trolled hunt. OSP Capt. Tim Fox said that last year the program rewarded 85 callers a total of 143 hunter preference points and over $20,000 in rewards. “When people go rec- reate, they aren’t looking for poaching, but we get a lot of tips from people out enjoying the wilderness,” Shaw said. La GRANDE AUTO REPAIR 975-2000 www.lagrandeautorepair.com MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE Joe Horst ACDelcoTSS Tribes pass on camping at Hot Lake Roth’s book also con- tains material regarding a minor controversy over whether American Indians once had encampments at Hot Lake. The author said that for years he believed reports indicating the tribes once used the Hot Lake area as a place to treat the sick and wounded. of Historic Places. This means workers have had to conform to National Parks Service standards while doing renovations, Mammen said. Wallpaper in portions of the building is from the old Palomar Club and will remain after the renova- tion. The restaurant and bar operated from 1948- 53, Mammen said. The Palomar Club moved to a new site in La Grande and was renamed the Tropidara and continued operating at least through the 1980s. Mammen is delighted the fi rst-fl oor restoration of the Putnam Building is nearing completion. “It is really exciting to be able to share with the Roth said several 1914 newspaper articles he recently found about Hot Lake gave him reason to reevaluate his initial assumption. They indicate tribes did not have encamp- ments at Hot Lake in part because that would have put them at risk of attack from other tribes. On the other side of the issue, Roth said his father, A.J. Roth, told him that his friend, Jim Kash Kash, a Cayuse-Nez Perce Indian, said all of the Grande Ronde Valley belonged to the Cayuse and a battle was never fought here. Kash Kash, who died in 1951, told Richard Roth’s father when one tribe was using the lake for the ben- efi t of their sick, the other tribes would not attack. Richard Roth is not taking sides on this issue, stating in his latest book it is up to readers to decide. “You be the judge!” wrote Roth, who is a retired health care executive. The second edition of “Hot Lake — A Short Story” is the fourth book Roth has written about Hot Lake. The 46-page book is designed to give readers a quick overview. “It is a snapshot,” Roth said. If you are interested in learning more about the book, call 360-893-3101 or send an email to Roth at randbroth@comcast.net. community a building which has been a part of the community for more than 100 years,” Mammen said. The restoration of the Liberty Theatre, which the Putnam Building will complement, also is in its fi nal stages. “We are confi dent we will have a grand opening in 2021,” said Ashley O’Toole, chair of the Lib- erty Theatre Foundation Board. 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It says the following about Hot Lake’s hospital, then named Hot Lake San- itarium: “The Sanitarium is open for the treatment of all conditions, both med- ical and surgical, except tuberculosis of the lungs or acute infectious diseases.” Roth said a myth that developed after his family sold Hot Lake in 1974 is there was a piano on the third fl oor of its main building that played itself and had been owned by the wife of Confederate general Robert E. Lee. The truth is a local church donated the piano when Hot Lake operated as a nursing home in the 1950s or 1960s. “I was there when the piano was brought in,” Roth said. He also said there is no evidence indicating the piano was ever owned by Lee’s wife, Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee, or that it played itself. 10106 N. ‘C’ • Island City 541-975-1364 Toll Free 1-866-282-1925 Medicare, Auto, Home insurance and Annuities www.reed-insurance.net Kevin Reed
