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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2019)
COFFEE BREAK Saturday, May 11, 2019 East Oregonian C5 OUT OF THE VAULT Balloon aeronaut fails to wow Independence Day crowds By RENEE STRUTHERS East Oregonian In 1906, in the days before the Pendleton Round-Up, the city’s big- gest to-do of the year was staged on the Fourth of July. A novel acrobatic act was scheduled for the day- long festivities: a balloonist who performed on a trapeze 1,500 feet in the air and then parachuted to safety on the ground. The Fourth of July com- mittee pulled out all the stops for the annual event, scheduling a full day of activities for old and young alike. The event began at 7 a.m. with a cannon blast, followed by a parade at 10 a.m. with prizes for the best decorated wheel, best makeup and best sustained character during the parade, and the ugliest float during an afternoon Plug Ugly parade. Six hours of races and athletic events, dances, and performances by bands from the Pendleton Eagles Lodge, Pilot Rock and Mil- ton ran throughout the day. The local fire department staged hose cart races and other competitions. And a bronco busting contest, held at the city stockyards, boasted $50 prizes for the champion riders. An illuminated parade featuring members of the fraternal organizations from all over the region also offered prizes of$25 for the lodge with the best float, and $15 for the order having the best showing during the parade. But one event was a complete bust: the balloon ascension. Aeronaut Paul, as he styled himself, was unable to get his craft off the ground because the bal- loon would not hold the hot air needed for the ascension. Paul, describing the bal- loon as faulty in shape, made a second attempt at his ascension on July 5 after removing 10 feet from the bottom of the craft. Taking off from the O.R. & N. train depot, he climbed aboard his trapeze with the inten- tion of performing his act before a large crowd that had gathered to watch the performance a few minutes after 8 p.m. In only a few moments, however, it was clear that the balloon again was leak- ing hot air, as the craft began EO file photo An advertisement from the June 30, 1906, East Orego- nian for a balloonist tra- peze act taking part in the annual Fourth of July fes- tivities in Pendleton. to droop. As it passed over the railroad’s roundhouse the balloonist hit the roof with a thud. At the same time, the ropes hit a guy wire and Paul was forced to let go of his swing. After it had passed over the wire he was unable to catch it again, and the balloon sailed away toward the west end of town, where it landed in the back- yard of a house, catching on the chimney as it passed and pulling it down. The balloon crumpled, leaking hot air and smoke out of a tear in the fabric. The owner of the house, John Van Orsdall, presented a bill to the Fourth of July Committee for $16, to pay for the damage to his chim- ney. He also retained the balloon in his possession as security for his loss. On July 15, after secur- ing permission from the Fourth of July Committee to use his confiscated bal- loon, Aeronaut Paul made another attempt, this time launching from the baseball grounds. The balloon, well filled, rose in the air with Paul swinging from his tra- peze for about 50 feet. The craft then began to descend again, and touched down within just a few minutes, to the disappointment of the crowd at the ballfields and the residents watching from the surrounding hills. Frustrated with his fail- ures to achieve a proper ascent, Aeronaut Paul packed up his bags and left town. DAYS GONE BY 100 Years Ago From the East Oregonian May 11-12, 1919 Ned Harsche, John Charles, James Thompson and Nathan Dickson decided to speed up their day of rest yesterday by drinking something with a kick in it. Real liquor being hard to obtain, they found a worthy substitute in some McAllis- ter’s liniment, which, among other things, contains 89.4 per cent alcohol. Straight liniment, applied internally, does not tempt the palate, however, so the men hit on the idea of a few mixed drinks. Ere long they were drinking rheumatism cocktails, liniment highballs and interior varnish fizzes. The combination of liniment and soft drinks brought about the desired effect, and, the party becoming a little too hilari- ous for a quiet Sunday afternoon, Chief of Police Al Roberts sought out the happy quartet in a local lodging house and changed their abode for the night to the city hall. 50 Years Ago From the East Oregonian May 11-12, 1969 Putting things in reverse gained a reserved parking place on the Depot and the Suggester of the Month title for Umatilla Army Depot employe Steven T. Arterburn, 22, an inspector in the General Supply Quality Division. According to esti- mates, the Nebraskan has saved UAD $860 this year through his idea to install a reverse switch on a loading belt in Build- ing 130 so that items undergoing inspection can more easily be “spotted” at various locations on the line. A resident of Hermiston, Steven has been employed at UAD for 3½ years. 25 Years Ago From the East Oregonian May 11-12, 1994 Lots of youth (and lots of adults) were drawn to McKay Park in southwest Pendleton Wednesday evening to experi- ence the unusual sight of a mammoth hot air balloon in town. Subway Sandwiches, sponsors of the balloon, had planned to offer free rides. But because of the threat of thundershow- ers and periodic gusty winds the balloon didn’t leave the ground. But it still succeeded in thrilling the children who got a chance to stand in the balloon basket while the burners roared. The balloon is now on its way to Walla Walla to par- ticipate in the annual Balloon Stampede this weekend. Universal Crossword Edited by David Steinberg May 11, 2019 ACROSS 1 Ecological community 6 Deep voice 11 Butter bit 14 Blend 15 Not cool 16 NYSE debut 17 Jobs that lice are well qualified for? 19 Sharp turn 20 “Antonio” or “Jose” lead-in 21 Tee off 22 Poet Pound 23 Vogue competitor 24 Maze runners 27 Jobs that spiders are well qualified for? 31 Chopped down 32 Tetra- doubled 33 “I’ve got it!” 36 Count (on) 37 Fills a suitcase, say 39 Brought to court 40 S.F. winter clock setting 41 Jessica of “Fantastic Four” 42 Etcher’s fluid 43 Jobs that ants are well qualified for? 48 Squash 50 Golden years investments, briefly 51 Fiery blog post 52 Dame Judi 54 Warhol’s art genre 57 It may be bitter 58 Jobs that termites are well qualified for? 61 Scrape (out) 62 Concave navel 63 Senate staffers 64 ___ es Salaam 65 Retreats for robins 66 Bank caper DOWN 1 Scrooge sounds 2 Creative germ 3 United Arab Emirates neighbor 4 Central: Prefix 5 Yoga class instruction 6 Daredevil’s cord 7 Initial house payment? 8 First name among detectives 9 Knight’s title 10 Photo ___ 11 Pie topping 12 In different places 13 Roman robes 18 Runnin’ Rebels of the NCAA 22 Goof 23 Whirling water 25 Bldg. units 26 Arthur of “Maude” 27 Go through a pipe, in Mario games “A BUG’S LIFE” By Susan Gelfand sudoku answers 28 Past partners 29 Motorized smoothing tool 30 Express counterpart 34 Prince Charles, for Queen Elizabeth 35 Tosses in 37 Ballet bend 38 Deserts 39 Nordstrom rival 41 Work onstage 44 Giants legend Mel 45 Grimaces 46 Ocean predator 47 Very enthusiastic 48 Let loose 49 Sri ___ 53 Polish for printing 54 Foot treatment, briefly 55 Mine outputs 56 Subtle attention-getter 58 Come in first 59 Hydrogen’s atomic no. 60 Compete
