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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2016)
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 11 Local & Entertainment Bebe’s word search Huntington celebrates 125th birthday BY EILEEN DRIVER Eileen@TheBakerCountyPress.com 2016 is an important year for the City of Huntington. Huntington is celebrating it 125th birthday and looking forward to a future as ex- citing as its past has been. Before it became Hun- tington, Oregon on Febru- ary 18, 1891, Huntington was a gathering place for Indian tribes such as the Shoshone, Paiute, Bannock and Umatilla. A historic marker records that the expedition of Wilson Price Hunt, Captain B.E.L. Bonneville, Natha- nial Wyeth, and Captain John C. Freemont stopped there as did virtually all the Oregon Trail Wagons, including Whitman and Spaulding. Huntington was the place where wagon trains left the Snake River; the tragic site of the Van Ornan Massacre of 1860. Here, two railroads would drive a spike to form a transcontinental railroad in 1884. It was as- sociated with steamboating on the Snake. It was in Huntington that the emerging Union Pacifi c had its roundhouse, and maintained booster engines to match the steep grade up Burnt River—and a shortline that moved northward for ore from the mines. Henry Miller, a German immigrant settled at Hun- tington in 1862 and built a stage station, which was reputed to be large enough to accommodate 20 people at the hotel. The Utah, Idaho and Oregon Stage line stopped at Huntington on its route from Ogden to The Dalles. Miller sold the land to a Mr. Harlan, who in turn sold it to brothers, James M. and John B. Huntington for $2,700, who settled there in 1882 and plotted the town site. Huntington grew. By 1885, it had two gen- eral stores, a blacksmith shop, a hotel and several boarding houses restau- rants and several saloons to serve train crews and mail handlers and others. Huntington became quite lawless at the turn of the century until fi nally Governor West ordered gambling stopped, brothels closed, slot machines re- moved, and saloons closed on Sundays. On June 2, 1935, a $20 ransom bill was tendered in payment of a railway ticket from Huntington, Oregon, to Salt Lake City, Utah. Investigation by FBI agents determined the pur- chaser to be Harmon Metz Waley, the kidnapper of the Weyerhaeuser’s son. This led to his arrest. Huntington has a his- tory of importance to this region and plans to remain so for the next 125 years at least. Huntington is mark- ing this celebration with several events throughout the year. First is a birthday dance being held at Howell’s Cafe and Streamliner Lounge on February 18th with music provided by Big Blue Johnson. The building housing Howell’s Cafe and Streamliner Lounge is Huntington’s only building on the National Historic Register and has survived all the changes Huntington has gone through. Second is a birthday cake competition being held on Saturday, June 11th at the VFW Hall. Those who would like to enter should please contact City Hall for entry forms. The third celebration planned so far is a birthday BBQ potluck to be held in Lion’s Park on Satur- day, September 10th and will include food, fun and lawn games for the whole family. The Littles’ crossword puzzle OTEC delivers $8,400 check This week Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative vis- ited La Grande’s historic Liberty Theatre and pre- sented an $8,400 lighting rebate check to the Liberty Theatre Foundation. “Approximately three years ago, in ongoing sup- port of the Liberty Theatre Foundation’s efforts to restore our iconic Lib- erty sign, OTEC and the Foundation began work- ing together,” said Dale Mammen, president of the Liberty Theatre Founda- tion Board of Directors. “We worked closely with OTEC Energy Program Representative, Nancy Van Sickle, and we were The hopeful the newly con- structed sign would qualify under the energy effi ciency program.” “There are a few differ- ent categories that lighting projects can fall into under OTEC’s energy effi ciency rebate program,” said Van Sickle. “Once we had determined the sign was going to be an exterior new construction, it was one of the simplest rebate calcula- tions I’ve ever done.” Carlson Sign of Bend was contracted to recon- struct the Liberty sign which had originally been affi xed to the building in October 1930. Three days before Thanksgiving, the 20-foot sign was trucked from Bend to La Grande and installed. The sign boasts an American bald eagle at the top with a wing span of nine feet, as well as, 414 1.4 watt LED bulbs esti- mated to save the theatre approximately $2,871.00 annually. “It is always a great thing when OTEC has the oc- casion to partner with our community and commu- nity members to work on lighting effi ciency proj- ects,” said Lara Petitclerc- Stokes, OTEC’s Manager of Communications and Government Affairs. Baker County Press Subscribe Today! Name: Address: City, State, Zip: Email address: Phone: E-Only $29.95/yr. Print (Delivery) $39.95/yr. Print (Mail) $49.95/yr. Inside Baker City City Limits Only Outside Baker City City Limits Only 1. Make check payable to: Black Lyon Publishing, LLC 2. Mail the check with this completed form to: PO Box 567, Baker City, Ore. 97814 To pay by credit card, please visit www.Th eBakerCountyPress.com Across Down 1- Hickory-nut; 6- Spelunking site; 10- He ran from Iran; 14- Fragrant resin; 15- French friends; 16- Domesticated; 17- Gerontology; 19- Battle song; 20- Flu symptom; 21- Mrs. Chaplin; 22- Anesthetized; 23- Part of RSVP; 24- Resembling a tree in size; 26- Familiar with; 28- Tiny; 29- Flight segment; 30- Obi-Wan por- trayer; 33- Myopic; 38- Capable of; 39- Walt Disney’s middle name; 42- Virginal; 47- Finishes; 48- Giddy; 52- Terre Haute sch.; 53- Spring sign; 54- Airline to Israel; 55- ___’acte; 56- German river; 57- Fairy tale meanie; 59- Bald eagle’s rela- tive; 60- Actress Heche; 61- Cubic meter; 62- Spent, as batter- ies; 63- Scottish refusals; 64- Like some seals; 1- Winged horse; 2- Sad poet; 3- Azure; 4- Friendly femme; 5- Actress Vardalos; 6- Chocolate substi- tute; 7- ___ acid; 8- Cleric; 9- Slalom curve; 10- Golf fundamental; 11- To set, like con- crete; 12- French cathedral city; 13- Robust; 18- Mower brand; 22- Wear and tear; 24- Gillette brand; 25- ____ - a -Sketch; 27- Numbered cube; 30- Snake; 31- On; 32- Self-image; 34- Sorry sort; 35- Minister to; 36- Olden times, in olden times; 37- Exhume; 40- Forbidding; 41- Egged on; 42- Went after; 43- Capital of Zimba- bwe; 44- Richards of “Ju- rassic Park”; 45- Hit the roof; 46- Atlanta-based cable channel; 47- Slippery fi sh; 49- Big name in insur- ance; 50- Actress Graff; 51- Scruffs; 55- This, in Tijuana; 57- ___ Clemente; 58- British verb end- ing;