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