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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 2018)
COFFEE BREAK Saturday, July 28, 2018 East Oregonian Page 5C OUT OF THE VAULT Descendants fulfill Chief Joseph request Youthful misunderstand- ing and misplaced pride caused a lifetime of regret for a man who had the chance to make the final years of Chief Joseph’s life happier. His descendants rectified the error after his death in an attempt to bring together two cultures histor- ically at odds. It began in 1877, when Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Perce had led the U.S. Army a merry chase to within 30 miles of the U.S./ Canada border, where the tribe was attempting to find sanctuary from a govern- ment determined to seques- ter the Nez Perce to a res- ervation in Oklahoma, far from their ancient home- land in the Wallowa Valley in northeast Oregon. The battered tribal band finally surrendered with Chief Joseph’s vow to “fight no more forever.” An aide de camp to the general who finally stopped Chief Joseph’s flight, Charles Erskine Scott Wood, kept a diary through- out the running battle, and came to respect the Nez Perce chief. Wood’s efforts helped bring Chief Joseph and other Nez Perce tribal members back to the Pacific Northwest, though not to their original lands. The two men struck up a friendship and, in 1889, Wood asked if his son Erskine could spend a summer on the reserva- tion near Nespelem, Wash. Erskine was taken in to Joseph’s own teepee, and given the Indian name Yel- Young Chief Joseph low Porcupine. In 1893, at the age of 14, Erskine Wood returned to the reservation for a second summer. His father, want- ing to thank the chief for his generosity, directed Erskine to ask the chief if there was anything he could do to repay him. When Joseph said he wanted a stallion, Erskine was stunned. “I looked on Joseph as such a great man,” Erskine wrote in his diary. “... I revered him so that I though his request for a stallion was too puny — was beneath him. I thought he ought to ask if my father could do anything to repair the great wrongs done him, perhaps get him back a portion of his Wallowa Valley or some- thing like that. ...” The request went unan- swered, and the next year Erskine went off to school, and the stallion was forgot- ten. Then Chief Joseph died, and Erskine was consumed by guilt. “A fine stallion which would have upbred Joseph’s herd of ponies would have been a wonder- ful thing for him,” he wrote. “But just because I exalted him so high, I deprived him of it. ...” When Ken Burns’ 1996 documentary “The West” ended with Wood’s story of a promise unfulfilled, the Wood family was galva- nized into action. Erskine Wood Jr.’s daughter Mary met with representatives of the Nez Perce tribe, and Keith Soy Red Thunder, Chief Joseph’s great-great- grandson, was selected to receive the gift that had been promised, but never given, on behalf of his tribe. The three-year-old Appa- loosa stallion was purchased from a Utah ranch after a nationwide search, financed by $22,000 in donations from the Wood family and their friends. On July 27, 1997, the Wood family and Nez Perce tribal members gathered at Wallowa Lake to commemorate the gift. Tribal member Lucinda Pinkham, who lived near the Lapwai Nez Perce res- ervation in Idaho, said she hoped the gift would bring members from the three Nez Perce reservations together as one people. Bobbi Con- ners, a Nez Perce living on the Umatilla Indian Reserva- tion near Pendleton, echoed her statement. “We’ve had enough that has caused us to be divided,” Conners said. Red Thunder told those gathered that the horse sig- nified more than just a promise fulfilled, but a way to unite “white man and red man.” “We need occasions like this to bring our people together,” he said. ODDS & ENDS DEAR ABBY Teen’s tenuous relationship with dad gets uncomfortable Dear Abby: My dad has father. How do I get him to never really been in the picture. start acting less like a creep and He just pops back in and out more like a father? — Desper- ately Needing Advice whenever he wishes and leaves Dear Desperately Need- when things get too hard. He ing: You may wish for a normal has never had a job or a home relationship with your father, since he walked out on my but from your description, it mother when I was 7. Recently Jeanne never has been. Your father’s he seems to have settled back here in town where my siblings Phillips behavior is extremely inappro- Advice priate. You might be able to get and I live, but for some reason, him to stop “acting like a creep he maintains contact only with and more like a father” by telling him me. I’m 18 and the oldest of three. Since I have finally forgiven him for in plain English to cut it out. If he per- all the pain he’s caused, I sometimes sists, avoid him, and do not feel guilty accept when he invites me out to eat about it. And if your siblings are female, or watch a movie. He doesn’t own a car, so I give him rides when he needs talk to them and warn them about their father’s impulses — if they don’t them. My problem is, he gets very touchy- already know. Hasn’t it occurred to feely. For example, when I’m driving, you that your father contacts only you he’ll put his hand on my thigh. Or when because you are no longer a minor? we’re out together, he’ll hold my hand Dear Abby: My 43-year-old son and say, “Pretend to be my girlfriend.” lives with my husband and me because Of course, I immediately let go of his of medical issues. On weekends he hand. Then he’ll “playfully” hug me stays over at his girlfriend’s house. and force me to be close to him. Occasionally, on weekends he’s not I don’t know how to tell him he here, I’ll invite people over for dinner. makes me feel uncomfortable. I have He says that because he lives here, recently stopped answering his phone he should be told when people are calls, but I feel bad because I would coming to the house. I say because he like a normal relationship with my is not here at the time, and my husband and I own the house, it’s none of his business. Who is right? — Lady Of The House In Illinois Dear Lady: Your son has a point. I see no reason to withhold the infor- mation from him. He is a full-fledged member of the household. If his con- cern is that your guests might go into his room or go through his things, he may want to lock his door when com- pany is coming in his absence. Dear Abby: For the past couple of years, my husband and I have not been happy with the service provided by our dentist. We have been patients of his for years and recently decided to switch to someone else. What would be the best way to approach this? We are unsure how to diplomatically tell him that we won’t be going back to him. We both have upcoming appoint- ments. — Dental Dilemma Dear Dilemma: You do not have to explain why you are leaving unless you want to do the dentist the favor of telling him why. All you need to do is call the receptionist and say you are canceling the appointments. Your new dentist can contact the old one and request your records. You do not have to pick them up and deliver them yourself. DAYS GONE BY 100 Years Ago From the East Oregonian July 28-29, 1918 What might have been a serious wheat fire was discov- ered Sunday evening and extinguished by a member of the O.M.P. The fire evidently started from a spark from a pass- ing O-W. R. & N. train about three miles east of Pendleton. It was discovered by Private C.A. Crabtree, on fire patrol duty, who undertook to whip it out with his blouse and after several minutes of strenuous action in which he reports he even rolled on the burning straw, succeeded in patting it out. When extinguished the fire had burned over a space of 15 to 20 feet square. 50 Years Ago From the East Oregonian July 28-29, 1968 Advancement of Lt. Kenneth Chipman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Chipman, to captaincy, Weapons Assembly Department, U.S. Army, is announced from Oberammergau, Germany, where Capt. Chipman is an instructor. He has been in the service for 3 1/2 years. 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The pageant honoring married women will open with judges’ interviews Friday. Preliminar- ies will begin at 9:15 a.m. Saturday, then finals at 7:15 p.m. in the G. Herbert Smith Auditorium at Willamette Univer- sity, Salem. Booth, 40, and Fjeld, 31, agreed they are most anxious about the interviews. Nine judges (as a panel and individually) will test their knowledge of current events and ask for opinions. Topics may range from warfare in Bosnia to distributing condoms. Swimsuit and evening gown com- petitions also count toward the title race, which involves 11 women this year. Michigan village elects cat — ceremonially — as mayor OMENA, Mich. (AP) — Politics in a small northern Michigan village have gone to the cats and dogs and goats and even chickens. Omena’s newly elected mayor is a feline named Sweet Tart. Dogs Diablo Shapiro and Punkin Ander- son Harder are vice mayor and second vice mayor. An election commit- tee named Harley the goat press secretary while Penny the chicken is special assis- tant for fowl affairs. The seats are ceremo- nial. WPBN-TV reports that the election is a fund- raiser costing $1 per vote and brought in more than $7,000 to the Omena His- torical Society. Candidates have to be animals and live in Omena, which has about 300 human residents and is north of Traverse City. An inauguration and parade were held Satur- day. The newly elected officers will serve three- year terms. D’oh! ‘Simpsons’ writer says show not based in Massachusetts BOSTON (AP) — A veteran writer for “The Simpsons” says the show isn’t based in Oregon or 541-567-0272 2150 N. First St., Hermiston JULY 29 TH - AUG 3 RD $1.00 OFF •Watermelon Heaven Smoothie •Just Carrot Juice Massachusetts despite sev- eral references to the states. 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