REGION
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
Pilot Rock
fi lls council
vacancies
New council
approves deal for
dispatch services,
other actions
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Shannon Gruenhagen, marketing and tour coordinator for Heritage Station Museum in Pendleton, empties a butter churn
Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, as Thomas Deibele, 9, looks on during Pioneer Day at the museum.
Churning out learning
Heritage Station Museum hosts Pioneer Day
By BEN LONERGAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — As 9-year-old
Thomas Deibele dutifully turned the
handle on a hand-cranked butter churn
Saturday, Aug. 7, at the Heritage Station
Museum’s Pioneer Day, he peered
through its glass sides and watched the
butter begin to take shape.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the funnest thing
ever,” Thomas said as he continued to
crank the handle.
Trading off occasionally to others
interested, Thomas was on a mission to
create his own butter and smiled wide
as Shannon Gruenhagen, the muse-
um’s marketing and tour coordinator,
scooped out a large hunk of butter from
the churn and split it into small sample
cups for him to take home.
“Just add some salt and give it a
rinse,” she advised.
While butter churning was a favor-
ite activity for Thomas, others crowded
around a washboard, taking turns scrub-
bing rags against the corrugated metal
as their parents looked on with amuse-
ment over their interest in laundry.
“I’m surprised at how much the
kids loved making butter and washing
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Children pan for “gold” Saturday, Aug.
7, 2021, during Pioneer Day at Heritage
Station Museum in Pendleton.
clothes,” Gruenhagen said.
For Gruenhagen, the Aug. 7 event,
which also off ered free admission to
the museum, was an opportunity to get
the local community involved in the
museum and bring the ideas and exhibits
to life. In addition to butter making and
washboard laundry, participants expe-
rienced candle dipping and panning for
gold, as well as getting to explore exhib-
its across the museum property.
“It off ers us a chance to bring fami-
lies into the museum another way,”
Gruenhagen said. “I think it’s been a
really good opportunity.”
She said the museum regularly plans
events to draw in additional visitors and
she already is working on plans for an
expanded light display for the holiday
season, as well as harvest and Hallow-
een events.
“I love getting the kids and families
outside,” she said.
Dressed in uniforms from the Span-
ish-American War, Anthony Bowman,
of Pendleton, and Rich Miller, of Cove,
stood near a replica army camp from
the period. Miller, who said he often
participates in reenactments at Fort
Walla Walla, said he searches through
antique shops and other sales to try and
fi nd the various items in his pack.
“I want to tell people the way that
it was,” Miller said. “So much of our
history is being lost.”
Miller said he got involved in reen-
actments after serving with the Army in
Vietnam. He said the reenactments gave
him an opportunity to share his story
and the realities of war with a younger
generation and connect with fellow
service members.
“I’d like to see more people get
involved with history,” he said. “That
way history stays history.”
PILOT ROCK — The
Pilot Rock City Council is
back up and running.
The council was down
to three members, half of
its full membership, and
met Aug. 3 to elect new
members. Councilors
Raymond Doherty, Paula
Evoniuk and Kody Johnson
fi lled all three vacancies.
“ We a re up a nd
running,” City Recorder
Teri Bacus said.
Jack ie Ca rey and
Robbie Young resigned
from the council at the
July 6 meeting in a dispute
concerning the council’s
consideration of a policy
to allow residents to live
in recreational vehicles on
private property. Prior to
that, Bob Deno resigned
due to health issues.
The city asked for resi-
dents to apply to join the
council, and 10 people
fi lled out the paperwork to
take on the volunteer tasks
of city councilors. The
trio of remaining council
members voted for Tegan
Kaneaster, Derek Turner
and Randy Gawith to join
the ranks. All three on their
application expressed a
similar reason for wanting
to serve.
Gawith wrote he wanted
to join because he wanted
to help however he could.
“I’m very open minded
and would like to help us
have a better city,” he stated
on the document.
Kaneaster stated she
wanted to make a better
future for the community.
And Turner on his applica-
tion wrote, “I love living in
this community and want
to be a part of making it
that much better.”
Kaneaster, Turner and
Gawith also took their
oaths of offi ce at the Aug.
3 meeting.
“Then they got thrown
right into the fi re with city
business,” Bacus said.
T he new cou nci l
elected Doherty as its
president, then voted in
favor of adopting updates
to the “Umatilla County
Multi-Jurisdictional Natu-
ral Hazards Mitigation
Plan,” a requirement for
seeking disaster mitiga-
tion grants under Federal
Emergency Management
Agency programs.
T he cou ncil also
approved the ag ree-
ment between the city
and Umatilla County for
dispatch services at a cost
of $28,532 for the 2021-22
fi scal year. The city pays
that in quarterly install-
ments.
Among other business,
the council tabled a discus-
sion on approving funds for
cleaning up and repairing
Birch Creek. The city has
about $187,000 for capi-
tal improvements in the
economic development
fund and needs $20,000 for
permit fees. Bacus said the
council wants more infor-
mation before making a
decision.
For more information
about Pilot Rock and the
council, including contact
information for council
members, visit www.city-
ofpilotrock.org.
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