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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 2016)
LIFESTYLES WEEKEND, JUNE 18-19, 2016 Creedence Clearwater Revisited to headline county fair/3C Crispy chicken sandwich recipe /4C A view of Wallowa Lake can be seen below while riding on the Wallowa Lake Tramway. The lake and above Life at Wallowa Lake offers hiking, encounters with wildlife Story and photos by TAMMY MALGESINI East Oregonian For the past 13 years, Laura Burton has enjoyed a gorgeous view of Wallowa Lake. “We wake up and it’s like we’re on vacation,” the Joseph woman said. “You go to work and then turn down the road and you feel like you just got away again.” Burton and her husband, James, live on the hillside on the lake’s West Moraine. The beauty of living on that side of the lake, Burton said, is the gorgeous sun all day long before it tucks behind the trees in the late afternoon, cooling the outside air. The light, she said, still bounces off the lake. “You’re not missing anything except the heat,” she said. A Jackson County transplant, Burton moved to Wallowa County 22 years ago. She can almost mark the seasons by which critters traipse through her yard or glide across the lake. The tundra swans usher in winter and the golden-mantled chip- munks arrive in late spring, she said. The area around the lake, Burton said is a bird watcher’s paradise. People can see everything from quail, pheasant and red-tailed hawks to ravens, owls and various species of woodpeckers — including the pileated woodpecker. “That’s the big Woody the Wood- pecker guys with the zebra-striped head and red crest,” Burton said. “They are so gorgeous.” Trails and hiking are abundant in the area. The Wallowa Lake Trailhead, located at the south end of the lake, is the gateway to the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon’s largest wilderness area. Several trail options offer day hikes or overnight backpacking trips. The prize includes beautiful vistas, an abundance of wild lowers, high lakes, large meadows and opportunities to hike to the top of several peaks. When visiting the area, Burton encourages people to take a ride on the Wallowa Lake Tramway. For people that aren’t serious hikers, it’s the best way to get a quick overview of the mountains in the area. “It’s a nice trail and not too stren- uous,” she said. “And, you get to see forever in every direction.” A gondola whisks visitors 3,700 feet to the summit of Mt. Howard (an elevation of 8,150 feet). For people not used to the elevation, Burton said it can leave them hufing and pufing. Also at the top of the Tramway is the Summit Grill & Alpine Patio. It features meal service, desserts and beverages. Also, special social hours include live entertainment. Although she hasn’t taken advan- tage of outings offered through the Wallowa Land Trust, Burton said the programs offer opportunities for people to learn more about the area. “We’ve lived here so long, we do our own hikes,” she said. “But for visitors, it provides a chance to learn about a lot of stuff in the area.” LEFT: Laura Burton, left, walks on trails that can be accessed on the summit of Mt. Howard via the Wallowa Lake Tramway. RIGHT: The Wallowa Lake Tramway whisks visitors to the 8,150-foot summit of Mt. Howard. OUT OF THE VAULT ODDS & ENDS School cornerstone reveals disappointing treasure Cyrpus priest punches best man at wedding I NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The best man slapped the groom on the back, which is an old Cypriot wedding custom. The priest punching the best man would be an innovation. But Cyprus police said Monday they are investigating an allegation that this happened at a wedding over the weekend. Police say the victim —the groom’s 22-year-old brother — was taken to a hospital but wasn’t seri- ously hurt and that his family iled a complaint. A family member — speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing — said the priest had initially gestured with a raised hand for the slapping to cease, then punched the brother in the chest and face when the warning went unheeded. The family member told The Associated Press that the wedding unraveled during the ceremony’s Dance of Isaiah, when the priest, holding the Gospel, led the couple around the altar three times. With the backslapping continuing, the n June of 1966, the old Condon High School building was torn down. Verne Shimanek, the man who bought the property on which the school and its gymnasium stood, began the demolition process by tearing out shrubs from the front of the school. And there, hidden under the undergrowth, was a cornerstone. Dave Peterson was the owner of Condon’s only museum, and when he heard that Shimanek had unearthed the cornerstone, he asked if he could have it for his collection. As Shimanek and Peterson were prying at the cornerstone they wondered whether the builders of the school had buried something under the stone for posterity when the school was erected in 1909. The men worked feverishly through their lunch hours trying to pry the stone away. And when it inally came loose, they found a tin box in a crevice behind it. Shimanek hurriedly called city and county oficials for the big reveal. Did the box contain old papers? Was there some kind of historical information hidden in the box? The news quickly spread, and by the time Judge James O. Burns, Mayor Bruce Mercer and ex-sheriff Frank Bennett (who had been present when the box was buried) arrived, quite a crowd had gathered. Excitement was high. Bennett was given the honor of opening the box. But the “oohs” turned to “awws” when a total of $1.32 in coins dating back to 1890 fell out — and little else. Bennett explained that the box was placed behind the cornerstone by members of the Masonic Lodge, who had formed a parade and marched to the site where the stone was laid. They had been told that only metal objects should be put in the box, and for that reason they chose coins, mostly nickels and dimes. One apparently wealthy man had donated a 50-cent piece, a scarcity in those times. Also included in the box was a gold pin or brooch — but nothing in the manner of a traditional time capsule. The man most excited by the inds was Peterson, who quickly gathered up the cornerstone to put on display in his barbershop until he could ind a permanent home for it in his museum. Judge Burns took custody of the tin box and its contents until it could be decided what should be done with it. The old Condon High School was the last public building built of bricks that were made and baked in Gilliam County. ■ Renee Struthers is the Community Records Editor for the East Oregonian. See the complete collection of Out of the Vault columns at eovault. blogspot.com irate priest put the Gospel down and unleashed on the brother. “It’s a tradition that I don’t condone, but that was uncalled for. ... He could have just interrupted the ceremony,” said the family member. He said although the priest hastily abandoned the ceremony after the kerfufle, the couple did receive a marriage certiicate. “The wedding was spoilt after that with many people not showing up for the reception after word spread, but we made the best of it,” the family member said. Bishop of Paphos Georgios backed the priest, whom he hailed as one of the best clerics in his Diocese. He told the state-run Cyprus News Agency that the backslapping custom, dating from Ottoman times, doesn’t beit the island’s Orthodox Christian traditions. The bishop said he had instructed priests to interrupt any ceremony where family or guests didn’t demonstrate the appropriate respect. He added he would investigate the matter.
