FROM PAGE ONE
A6 — THE OBSERVER
TuESday, JunE 21, 2022
RENOVATIONS
SEEING THE CHANGES
Jeanne and David Williamson are hosting two reno-
vation tours of La Grande’s former Elks Lodge on the
corner of Washington Avenue and Depot Street to
showcase the work that has been done and discuss
future plans for the historic building.
Continued from Page A1
Evermine — the Williamsons’ Port-
land-based custom labeling company that
ships across the U.S. and overseas. Taped
on the floor are the outlines where the com-
pany’s machinery will be installed.
Jeanne Williamson noted that some of
the construction is already completed on the
room that will become the plant floor, with
work still to come — added ceiling height,
new roofing, additional windows, updated
heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
The top floor, which was originally a
ballroom, has also undergone renovations.
The drop ceiling was removed entirely
and the old bar was dismantled. A new fire
suppression system and elevator will be
installed.
While the interior is getting a major
overhaul, much of the exterior will also be
restored to its original architecture.
“We can see how it used to be done, so it
can be restored,” Williamson said.
The current design plans include
rebuilding the front entrance and creating a
new side entrance at basement level. Addi-
tionally, the broken rock face on the ground
SUMMIT
Continued from Page A1
the panel.
Sen. Michael Dembrow,
D-Portland, joked that Levy
“made it impossible not to show
up.” Others laughed, and this is
how the panel discussion went.
Levy, Dembrow, Rep. Greg
Smith, R-Heppner, Sen. Jama
Kayse, D-Portland, Sen. Bill
Hansell, R-Athena, Sen. Lynn
Findley, R-Vale, Rep. Ken
Helm, D-Beaverton, Rep. David
Gomberg, D-Otis, Sen. Janeen
Sollman, D-Hillsboro, Sen. Lew
Frederick, D-Portland, and Sen.
Elizabeth Steiner Hayward,
D-Beaverton, all were on the
panel — up on stage, at the same
time.
The tours will take place on Wednesday, June 22, at
noon and on Tuesday, July 26, at 5 p.m Interested
individuals can sign up to attend by emailing Lor-
raine Ferron at Lorrainef@evermine.com to reserve
a spot.
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Jeanne Williamson gives a tour of the renovations happening at 1124 Washington St., La Grande, on
Friday May 27, 2022. The former Elks Lodge most recently housed the Maridell Center.
level of the exterior will be removed and the
original facade restored.
While the Williamsons are drawing
inspiration from the historic exterior, they
“One side can’t do it on its
own,” said Kayse, chair of the
Senate Committee on Housing
and Development. Kayse stated
we must come together to solve
our shared problems.
Others agreed, with Dembrow
stating we must see one another
as people, beyond the bumper
stickers on our vehicles.
Findley said opposing people
were not enemies, and Frederick
expressed the sentiment that there
are no “good guys” and “bad
guys” in the Legislature. Instead,
there are people with varying
opinions, who all want to improve
the lives of Oregonians.
“People want to do the best
they can,” he said.
Gomberg echoed this state-
ment, as he said members have
differences in party, experi-
ence, geography and more, but
they have an “affection” for one
another.
Legislators, including Hay-
ward and Findley, made a point of
saying they have a duty to repre-
sent the entire state, not just their
own particular district. Also, part
of their job includes reaching out
to people outside their districts,
learning what they can from them
and then returning home to tell
their neighbors.
According to Dembrow, legis-
lators must educate their constitu-
ents on the “bigger picture.”
This education, according to
the Portland Democrat, includes
telling the people of his district
about Hermiston.
Other panelists shared sim-
ilar feelings, adding distant com-
munities, places and people have
CAPSULE
A time capsule of
distinction
The stone marker is
among 35 Meeker set up
along the Oregon Trail
during the three journeys
he made across the United
States to promote efforts to
preserve the overland route.
The stone marker on
Walnut Street may be the
only one Meeker put up that
had a time capsule.
“It is the only marker
that had a time capsule,
according to his diaries,”
SHOWERS
Continued from Page A1
dry or in moderate drought
as of June 14.
Currently the fire danger
ratings in Union County are
low, according to the Blue
Mountain Interagency Dis-
patch Center, and predic-
tive fire risk levels remain
normal throughout the
summer for Northeastern
Oregon, according to the
National Interagency Fire
Center.
However, many of the
surrounding areas have
above normal potential for
significant wildland fires.
In the seasonal outlook, the
potential for significant fires
across the Pacific North-
west is normal in June, with
an elevated risk forecast for
Central Oregon. Moving
Attracting
Oregon Trail fans
Isabella Crowley/ The Observer
These items were collected in 2022 to replace those in a time capsule
contained in an Oregon Trail stone marker on Walnut Street in La
Grande. The 1906 time capsule will be opened on Thursday, June 23.
Allen said.
The time capsule will
be opened with assistance
from the La Grande Parks
and Recreation Depart-
ment, which will be using
a backhoe for the work,
according to Stu Spence, the
department director.
Once the contents of the
time capsule are removed
they will be replaced by
items Allen and Counsel
have collected for a new
time capsule. They will
include an Oregon Trail bro-
chure, a copy of the Over-
land Journal (a quarterly
into July, Southeastern
Oregon and Southeastern
Washington join the ele-
vated risk category. Then in
August, parts of Idaho bor-
dering Northeastern Oregon
also move from normal to
elevated risk.
The summer is also
the burn season in Union
County — a period from
June 15 to Sept. 30 when
controlled burnings are per-
mitted. The Smoke Man-
agement Office oversees
the agricultural burning of
grass seed and cereal crop
fields. Burning is done to
sanitize fields from fungus
diseases and weed contam-
inants. Weather conditions
are evaluated daily and
burns are only permitted
on days with favorable con-
ditions to reduce the likeli-
hood of smoke inundating
the Grande Ronde Valley.
La GRANDE AUTO REPAIR
975-2000
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MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
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Joe Horst
a lot more in common than often
thought. Sollman said she relates
to people in Eastern Oregon
because she, too, comes from
a farming area. Frederick also
shared his farming background.
Hayward said education goes
the other way, too. She said Port-
land is not as bad as the media
says. This was something she
could tell audiences in Eastern
Oregon.
They pointed out that many
decisions aren’t contentious.
Republicans and Democrats actu-
ally find common ground on most
issues, according to panel mem-
bers. They are able to push for-
ward on issues like improving
sewer systems and resolving many
water issues, without partisan
complaints, Gomberg and Helm
said.
Jennifer Boyd.
“I am so excited,” Jen-
nifer Boyd said of her antic-
ipation of the time capsule
opening.
Continued from Page A1
Ronnie Allen, a La Grande
local historian who has done
extensive research on Meek-
er’s stone markers and is a
member of the Oregon-Cali-
fornia Trails Association.
Allen has organized the
time capsule opening event
with major help Dale Coun-
sell, of La Grande, a fellow
local history aficionado.
Counsell said the Oregon
Trail has special meaning to
him because a number of his
relatives came to the North-
west on the Oregon Trail.
are also adding new features, such as a
patio. The new outdoor space will replace
the current entryway and driveway.
The couple declined to comment on how
ACDelcoTSS
publication of the Ore-
gon-California Associa-
tion) plus items that are or
recently have been integral
parts of our daily lives today
including two face masks,
a COVID-19 home test kit,
an iPhone, a $2 bill and a
quarter. Allen said he is not
sure if all of these items will
fit into the time capsule.
Once the new time cap-
sule items are placed in the
stoner marker, it will be
reinstalled in the exact place
it is now, Allen said.
The marker is in the front
yard of the home of Jack and
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much the building cost to purchase or the
amount invested in renovations.
It will take years to achieve the Wil-
liamsons’ vision for the building. The cur-
rent objective is to make the first floor func-
tional to move Evermine to La Grande from
Portland. Construction and renovation work
will continue on the rest of the building.
The couple plan to include three areas
for the community — the ballroom, the
basement and a small portion of the first
floor where Jeanne Williamson would like
to create an espresso bar and small book-
shop dedicated to Oregon history.
“There are so many stories and so much
history written by the people of Oregon that
I want to share,” she said.
The stone marker is easy
to miss but many Oregon
Trail fans have no trouble
finding it after reading about
it in books and online. Jen-
nifer Boyd said that in the
summer five or six people
a week come to her house
asking about the marker.
The Oregon Trail was
close to Meeker’s heart
because he had taken the
route west from Iowa in
1852 when he was a young
Gomberg added, though, that
there is a change happening in
state government. Much turn-
over is taking place, he said. This
means many friendships are lost,
too. And legislators must work
hard to create new relationships;
those connections help to advance
legislation.
Speaking at the end, Smith
expressed confidence in the ability
of new legislators to work with
one another.
Smith praised the intelligence
and integrity of the three major
candidates for governor — Demo-
crat Tina Kotek, unaffiliated Betsy
Johnson and Republican Christine
Drazan — and said he would be
able to work with any of them.
Levy said she would be happy
to invite legislators back for the
next summit.
man. He later settled in what
is now Puyallup, Wash-
ington, and was the town’s
first mayor.
In the 1880s, he made
and lost a fortune growing
and marketing hops. Meeker
then went to Alaska to look
for gold, returned and exper-
imented with dehydrated
foods. He took up writing,
producing at least five books
before he died.
Meeker made his 1906
stop in La Grande while
on an eastbound trip along
the Oregon Trail in an
ox-drawn wagon. He made
a second trip across the trail
by wagon, and still later
retraced portions of it in an
automobile.
At 94, he made the trip
by airplane. He flew over
the trail in a week. His 1852
journey took seven months.
Meeker died in
December 1928, at the age
of 97.
Boyd said a story from
a 1906 edition of The
Observer indicates that
about 600 people attended
the dedication ceremony for
the stone marker on what
is now Walnut Street. She
hopes that a crowd at least
that big will be present for
the June 23 time capsule
opening.
“Ezra Meeker would be
so thrilled to know that part
of the history he kept alive
still excites people,” she said.