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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 2019)
REGION Tuesday, March 5, 2019 East Oregonian A3 Students share award-winning stories of Eastern Oregon Helix students present short films on Pendleton, Baker county history WATCH THEM To view the full films, visit Kubishta’s classroom website at https://mrkspages.weebly.com/ documentary-archive.html. By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Eastern Oregon’s history as a lawless frontier is no secret, but some Helix students spent last year digging into some of the less- er-known stories of the area. Griswold High School seniors Hannah Christman, Arianna Krol, Drew Nelson and Colton Reyn- olds took to Prodigal Son Brew- ery to present the short films they had made based on their research. Nelson and Reynolds shared a film about the Copperfield Affair, a conflict in Baker County where the tiny town of Copperfield refused to enact Prohibition, resulting in the state declaring martial law in the town. Christman and Krol pre- sented a piece on famed Pendle- ton madam Stella Darby, and her impact on Pendleton’s economy and culture. Nelson said he first heard about the Copperfield Affair when his history teacher, Lorin Kubishta, briefly mentioned it during a les- son. But Nelson wanted to know more about the incident that led to the declaration of martial law in a tiny Eastern Oregon town. He decided to make it the focus of his project. “Mr. K said, ‘You’re not going Photo contributed by Lorin Kubishta Drew Nelson, left, and Colton Reynolds pose with their medals after the statewide National History Day competition. to find any sources,’ and we said we would,” Nelson said. He and Reynolds found a lot of infor- mation through the Baker Heri- tage Museum, the Oregon Histor- ical Society, and old newspaper articles. Christman said for all of them, the most difficult part of the proj- ect was finding secondary sources, especially on the internet. “I think both of our groups kind of hit a dead end, and it took look- ing into local sources like newspa- pers, or talking to people locally who knew about the subject,” she said. “We had very limited sec- ondary sources.” Krol said there was a lot of information they wanted to include, but couldn’t. “We had to condense every- thing down to 10 minutes,” she said. Reynolds said the projects took them about two months to com- plete. Two other Helix students, who worked individually to create documentaries, also went to the national competition. “A lot of kids don’t care about history, but they do care about sto- ries,” said Kubishta. “NHD allows them to chose a small slice of his- tory and really dive into it, and see, this is what history is — the story of people just like you.” The students finished their proj- ects last year, and competed in the National History Day. After going through the school-wide and state competitions, the students were selected to go to nationals and give their presentations in College Park, Maryland. Nelson and Reynolds’ proj- ect was titled “West is Send- ing an Army: The Copperfield Affair.” When Oregon passed a law in the early 1900s allowing local governments to enact Pro- hibition independently, Baker County soon did so. But Copper- field, a tiny outpost on the Snake River, ignored the rule, thinking they were too remote for anyone to care. They continued operating almost a dozen saloons and broth- els undetected for 10 years, until Gov. Oswald West demanded that the town shut down its saloons. When they refused to do so, West sent his secretary, a woman named Fern Hobbs, to Copperfield to get them to comply. She immediately held a meeting and ordered the mayor and all city councilors to resign. When they didn’t, martial law was declared in the town, the mayor and all the city councilors were arrested, and all the weapons in the town were collected. Alco- hol and gambling equipment were rounded up to be disposed of. Copperfield’s former mayor and councilors filed a suit against the governor, saying their civil rights were violated. The state excused them for violating prohibition law, but said the saloons had to remain closed. The closure of the saloons tanked the town’s economy, and it soon became a ghost town. The aggressive approach to prohibition was a preview for the fight many towns across America would see in the coming years. Christman and Krol’s project was “Admired Yet Illegal: The Closing of the Cozy Rooms.” It looked at the life of Stella Darby, a well-known madam in Pendle- ton from the 1920s to the 1960s. Despite several attempts to shut her down and laws banning prosti- tution, Darby maintained her busi- ness for 40 years. Darby became an integral part of the community, supporting many charitable organizations. According to the documentary, Darby hated prostitution, and sup- ported her workers in every way she could, providing an education for them, feeding them and cloth- ing them well, and trying to help them get out of the life they were in. The film included interviews with locals, including Brooke Armstrong, director of the Pend- leton Underground, and longtime Pendleton resident Dorys Grover. “Stella is part of our history,” Grover said at the end of the film. “You can’t kill history.” Pendleton woman held in North Carolina jail faces 61 counts of grave vandalism East Oregonian and the Associated Press Contirbuted photo by Rolf Leirvik Emergency personnel prepare to transfer a patient from a ground ambulance to an air ambulance at Hermiston Mu- nicipal Airport last week. Street crew keeps air ambulances moving East Oregonian The Hermiston street department’s diligence at the Hermiston Municipal Airport has been a boon for medical transports. Rolf Leirvik, airport manager, said city staff have worked hard to clear ice and snow off the run- way and taxiway during bad weather, allowing Life Flight planes to take off and land. While most people think of air ambulances as helicopters, Leirvik said small planes can nav- igate many weather con- ditions helicopters can’t. Last week, he said, there were two transports that flew seriously injured or ill patients out of the airport when a helicopter wouldn’t have been able to make it. Without the work of city staff and airport staff, Leirvik said, there wouldn’t have been a place for the airplanes to land or the ambulance to come out to the plane. The ground had to be especially clear between the ambulance and plane for emergency workers to roll the patient’s stretcher smoothly between transports. “The city put an awful lot of effort in, and we put a lot of effort in,” he said. Dawn Renee Phillips, of Pendleton, is in a North Carolina jail on 61 counts of desecrating grave sites. The charges are felonies. The sheriff’s office of Graham County, North Car- olina, on its Facebook page reported officers on Sat- urday responded to a call of vandalism at the Lone Oak Cemetery at the Bap- tist church near Lake San- teetlah in western North Carolina. “Upon arrival and speak- ing with the reporting party, it was found that approxi- mately 60 headstones had been overturned,” accord- ing to the sheriff’s office, which offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of any- one “responsible for this LENT EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE GRETA (R) 4:40 7:00 9:20 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (PG) 7:20 4:50 9:50 ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL (PG13) 4:00 6:40 9:30 ISN’T IT ROMANTIC (PG13) 4:20 9:40 GREEN BOOK (PG13) 6:50 * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 three convictions for traf- fic violations going back to 2013. The most recent was in 2018 for driving unin- sured. She got a $200 fine for the offense. Phillips, who had a Ken- tucky driver’s license, appeared Monday before a judge. She remains in the jail there in lieu of a $125,000 bond. Working Together to be a Healthier Community Today and is is MARCH Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Starting March 8th Dinner served from 5pm to 7pm @ the St. Anthony Blue Mountain Café With an emphasis on screening and prevention, the colorectal cancer survival rate has increased in the last 20 years. It’s also important that you xe aware of the symptoms of the disease and share what you’re experiencing with a healthcare professional. Don’t feel emxarrassed. Your life may depend on it and your loved ones will xe so happy you spoke up! Cedar Wrapped Salmon $7.50 Adults $7.00 Seniors & Children 3/4-5 3/6 • 12 PM Sheriff’s Lt. James Hyde said investigators caught a break in the case when a woman at a nearby rest area took a photo of the suspect’s car. That led to Phillip’s arrest. Pendleton police Chief Stuart Roberts said local law enforcement have dealt with Phillip’s driving. State court records show she has F riday M eals Served with a baked potato and vegetable of the day Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie despicable act.” Footage from church surveillance cameras showed “what appears to be a female subject that overturned headstones,” the sheriff’s office posted. The suspect had two dogs with her as well and left the cemetery in a white, older model, four-door Pontiac car. Clam Chowder Bread Bowl $4.25 – Single Cup $1.50 Pizza Bar with Lent Friendly Options 2801 St. Anthony Way Pendleton, OR 97801 WWW.SAHPENDLETON.ORG Join us at these locations for refreshments and an informative discussion about colorectal cancer, plus instruction on how to use an at-home screening kit Irrigon Medical Clinic ǟǭǾǯǴ˃ˆ̙ˆǼ˭ˈǼ Pioneer Memorial Clinic, Heppner .BSDIQQ Ione Community Clinic, Ione .BSDIBQ Have Questions? Please call: 541-922-2623 HealthyMC.org
