REGION
Friday, September 4, 2015
MILTON-FREEWATER
Last witness to Depot explosion dies at 93
By MARCIA AKES
For the East Oregonian
Milton-Freewater resident
Evelyn Thomas was believed
to be the last living witness
of the explosion at the
Umatilla Ordnance Depot
on March 21, 1944. She died
Wednesday morning at the
age of 93.
Igloo B-1014 contained
264 500-pound conventional
bombs and was completely
destroyed in the accidental
explosion. The blast was
felt as far away as Lewiston,
Idaho. Six civilian workers,
¿ve men and a woman, were
killed in the blast. It was the
only fatal munitions handling
accident in the history of the
Depot.
Thomas, whose maiden
name was Guerrant, was
born on February 6, 1922,
and said she grew up “out in
the sagebrush around Pend-
leton.” She went to work for
the Depot in November 1943
and became one of the base’s
two photographers.
It was World War II and
everyone in the area, who
could, worked at the Depot
handling conventional muni-
tions. They worked in shifts
around the clock packing,
unpacking
and
storing
bombs in over 1,000 huge
underground concrete vaults.
The night of the explo-
sion there was a movie on
base and Thomas had been
Photo contributed by Marcia Akes
Evelyn Thomas, left, receives the VFW lifetime achieve-
ment award from Tina Buzard, Milton-Freewater VFW
auxillary president.
watching the children of
a senior of¿cer. She was
waiting in a car to go home
when 264 bombs lit up
the night. After hitting the
ceiling of the car, she gath-
ered herself and reported for
duty. “I was wide-eyed” she
said in a 2010 interview and
“scared out of my senses,”
and never forgot that horrible
night.
Nobody knew exactly
what had happened but
Thomas and the head photog-
rapher, Jimmy Drake, were
sent to the scene to document
the aftermath of the explo-
sion. Traversing the area was
dif¿cult for Thomas, who
had on high heels and a dress.
When daylight came it
showed a terrible sight. The
crater and rubble were hard
to face for everyone. Taking
pictures of the tragedy was
especially hard for young
Thomas, as just nine months
earlier her husband had died
in an explosion while ¿ghting
in North Africa.
While everyone was
saddened by the igloo acci-
dent, there wasn’t much time
to dwell on it as the country
was at war. “You had a job to
do,” Thomas said.
She eventually became
the post photographer so
Drake could leave for the
war. She recalled sitting in
dark box cars loaded with
bombs, taking pictures of
damage to the packing and
bracing used to secure the
bombs during shipping so
munitions packing could be
improved.
Since they could not use
Àash bulbs, as it might ignite
the bombs, a light meter
was used and it took about
¿ve minutes per picture.
The pictures then had to be
developed and 8x10 glossies
printed. Thomas worked at
the Depot until 1947.
Then she met Wilfred
Joseph Thomas, who had
served in the U.S. Army
during the war. The couple
married in 1948, and after
her husband retired from the
railroad in 1983, they moved
back to his hometown of
Milton-Freewater.
An extensive Army
investigation was unable
to determine what actually
caused the explosion of Igloo
B-1014. Some workers at
the time speculated a bomb
might have been defective,
or may have been dropped
“just right.” The igloos were
designed so if there was an
explosion everything would
be forced up, and it wouldn’t
affect the igloos on the
sides. The engineers’ design
worked Àawlessly.
There’s still a crater at the
location. It’s grown over with
grass now. A stark white cross
marks the site of the blast and
that’s where the Army holds
a annual ceremony to honor
the six people who died.
ENTERPRISE
Festival jams with original musicians
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Labor Day weekend
offerings include a laid-back
music festival in Wallow
County.
In its seventh year,
Juniper Jam, which show-
cases original musicians,
features all genres and
musical styles.
“We want to honor orig-
inal music and singer-song-
writers,” said Janice Carper,
organizer of the event. “All
the musicians are playing
their own original music.”
The Pre-Jam Jam is Friday
at 5 p.m. with Will West &
the Friendly Strangers and 7
p.m. with Run On Sentence
at Terminal Gravity Brewing
Co., 803 S.E. School St.,
Enterprise.
The fun continues Friday
night at 9 p.m. with Dirty
Revival at the OK Theatre,
208 W. Main St., Enterprise.
Admission is $12 or $8
for those with a Juniper
Jam ticket, which can be
purchased at the Pre-Jam
Jam.
The main event kicks
off Saturday from 1-10
p.m. at the Wallowa County
Fairgrounds, 101 S. River
St., Enterprise. Tickets are
$15 in advance or $18 at the
gate. Kids ages 12 and under
are admitted free.
“We increased the age
EO Media Group file photo
Kai Welch sings and plays guitar during the 2014 Juni-
per Jam. This year’s event is Saturday at the Wallowa
County Fairgrounds in Enterprise.
for kids getting in free to
make it more affordable for
families,” Carper said.
Most of the bands, Carper
said, are from the Paci¿c
Northwest. However, the
headline act, Jelly Bread,
hails from Reno.
In keeping with the
tradition of the Wallowa
Valley Music Alliance’s
program Tunesmith Night,
Juniper Jam opens with a
writers-in-the-round
set
by three local songwriters.
The musicians include Joey
Carper, Carolyn Lochert and
Bart Budwig.
The show continues
with two stages, featuring
Mama Doll, Will West &
the Friendly Strangers, The
Blackberry Bushes, Dave
McGraw & Mandy Fer,
Marshall McLean Band, Run
On Sentence, Simon Tucker
and Sorry, Neighbors. After
Jelly Bread’s set, musicians
from the festival will take
the stage for a closing Jam.
The
family-friendly
event includes a kids area
hosted by Safe Harbors. The
activities include bouncy
houses, a bubble machine,
face painting and water
balloons.
Food and beverages by
local restaurants, bistros,
micro-breweries, ranches
and espresso shops will
be available for purchase
throughout the event. In
addition,
Juniper
Jam
features a small collection of
Wallow County art vendors.
“There aren’t a bunch of
vendors, just enough to feed
the crowd and to support
local artists,” Carper said.
For more information,
including a link to buy
tickets in advance, visit
www.juniperjam.com.
———
Contact
Community
Editor Tammy Malgesini at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4539
PENDLETON
Grange to serve last fundraising breakfast Saturday
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
After more than 30 years
serving up an all-you-can-eat
breakfast, the White Eagle
Grange is putting away its
skillets and spatulas.
Gail Wilson said both
volunteers and the number
of people coming to eat have
dwindled over the years.
“Without help, we have
had to cancel too many times
and our numbers attending
doesn’t make it worthwhile
to continue,” she said.
This weekend is the last
regularly scheduled break-
fast. It is Saturday from 6-10
a.m. at 43828 White Eagle
Road, located 11 miles south
of Pendleton off Highway
395 between Pendleton and
Pilot Rock.
The
menu
includes
pancakes, French toast,
bacon pancakes, bacon,
sausage, ham, hash browns,
eggs, ham scrambled, ham
and cheese omelet, biscuits
and gravy, and beverages.
The suggested donation is
$7 for ages 8 and older, $4
for ages 5-7 and free for
4 and under. Donate two
non-perishable food items
and receive a $1 discount.
“I would love to see a big
attendance this Saturday at
our breakfast just to show
that this isn’t a fundraiser
that we need to put to bed,”
Wilson said.
Todd Tennant
Business
Health
Farm
Life
Todd Tennant
541/276-2302 • 800/225-2521
The Stratton Agency
Pendleton / Hermiston • stratton-insurance.com
One Responsible Source Agent
If the grange receives
enough requests, Wilson
said it may offer breakfasts
on special occasions.
The grange raises money
for community projects,
including its Words for
Thirds program. The project
provides dictionaries for
area third graders.
Even though the regular
breakfasts are canceled, the
grange continues to partici-
pate in fundraising activities.
The board recently voted
to start a bingo/game night.
The ¿rst one is Sunday, Sept.
27 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. A
snack bar will be available
to purchase desserts, bever-
ages, popcorn and other
snacks.
Wilson reports despite a
little rain, the grange’s recent
car wash fundraiser was
a success. Another one is
planned for later this month
or early October.
For more information,
contact Gail Wilson at
541-276-3778 or g.wil-
son@q.com.
East Oregonian
Page 3A
BRIEFLY
Police create safe
zone for online
transactions
Educational forum
to discuss service
changes
BOARDMAN — The
Boardman Police Depart-
ment has created a safe
meeting place for strangers
looking to complete online
transactions.
Residents and business
owners who wish to make
exchanges from Facebook,
Craigslist or other sites
can now meet at the online
safe zone at the Boardman
police station, according to
a department press release.
“Online purchases
are very popular, but
completing these transac-
tions can make a person
feel uncomfortable, and
there have been reports
all over the country of
meetings going wrong,”
Chief Rick Stokoe said in
the release. “We hope that
residents take advantage of
the new Online Safe Zone
as a new program aimed at
keeping people safe.”
The location is covered
by security cameras, and
the station is staffed from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays
through Fridays. Of¿cers
can also be called to the
station on the weekends if
they are not responding to a
call for service.
PENDLETON — An
educational forum will be
held in Pendleton to discuss
changes to state and federal
requirements for people
who receive home and
community-based services
through the Department
of Human Services and
Oregon Health Authority.
The forum is targeted
to people 18 years or older
and their service providers.
Forums will be offered to
children’s providers and
guardians later in 2015.
The Pendleton forum
is scheduled for Thursday,
Sept. 10 at the Vert Club
Room, with an afternoon
session from 1-3:30 p.m.
and evening session from
5-7:30 p.m. The same infor-
mation will be presented
in each session. Agency
staff will be available to
answer questions and
offer guidance following a
presentation.
More information is
available at www.oregon.
gov/dhs.
Echo collecting
historical photos
ECHO — The city
of Echo is looking for
historical photos of local
buildings.
City manager Diane
Berry said she decided to
put out a call for photos
after a conversation with
Lloyd Piercy, who said he
was interested in knowing
more about the original
facade of the old Echo
Hotel before starting a
restoration project.
Berry said she had
one grainy copy of an old
East Oregonian photo
showing the hotel in its
early days but would like
more pre-1950 photos of
the building from inside
and out.
“I didn’t know it had an
old balcony until I saw the
photo,” she said.
Berry encouraged
people to bring in pictures
of the hotel and other
architecture around town,
as well as information they
have about the buildings,
such as when the old theater
in city hall closed and what
happened to the historic
street lights and pillars
that used to be outside the
building.
She said the city has a
good collection of photos
from 1907, when it appears
the city paid a professional
photographer to take
promotional pictures of
the town, but not much
between then and the
1950s.
Any contributed photos
and information will be
used on the city website, at
city hall and at the historical
museum.
“It’s a way to make sure
some of these images are
preserved,” she said.
Residents can stop
by city hall to have their
photos scanned and
returned to them or can
email electronic scans to
ecpl@centurytel.net
Training highlights
special education
LA GRANDE —
Understanding the IEP
process, preparing for the
transition to adulthood and
special education rights
are topics to be addressed
during the FACT Special
Education Regional
Conference.
The conference is
Saturday, Sept. 19 from 8
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., which
includes a free lunch, at
Eastern Oregon University,
La Grande. The event is
free for family members
and caregivers. It costs
$25 for professionals.
Professional development
units are available.
To register, contact
503-786-6020 extension
308, 888-988-3228,
registration@factoregon.org
or visit www.factoregon.
org/calendar.
Heritage
commission seeks
grant applications
SALEM — The Oregon
Heritage Commission
is offering grants for
quali¿ed projects for the
conservation, development
and interpretation of
Oregon’s cultural heritage.
Awards typically
range between $5,000
and $20,000. Projects can
include anything related
to Oregon heritage, and
priority will be given to
projects that preserve,
develop or interpret
threatened heritage
resources or heritage
resources of statewide
signi¿cance.
Projects may include
theatrical performances,
collections preservation,
exhibits, oral history
projects, public education
events, organizational
archives projects, ¿lms and
more.
The application deadline
is Wednesday, Sept. 30.
For more information,
contact Kuri Gill at kuri.
gill@oregon.gov, 503-986-
0685 or visit www.
oregonheritage.org.