OFF PAGE ONE
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
East Oregonian
A9
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
A portrait of Herb Bork’s unit rests in an album of photos
from his service at Guadalcanal in World War II on Nov.
2, 2021, in Pendleton.
Bork:
Continued from Page A1
“I was very fortunate I didn’t get any scars from it,”
Bork said of his service.
Meanwhile, he wrote letters to nine women back
home. Their correspondence was “good for morale,” he
said, especially while other troops lost contact with their
loved ones. But none of those women were the girl Bork
met in college shortly before his service. The one he’d see
again upon his return home.
Fortune found him once again when he traveled
home on a 45-day furlough. One day, he picked up the
local paper and saw the war was over. He was relieved
he wouldn’t be going back. That day, he recalled going
huckleberry picking with family in the Blue Mountains
near Meacham.
Not long after, Bork was teaching math at a school in
Granger, Washington, when he met a fellow teacher. Her
name was Nadene.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
People sample leather tools Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at the Pendleton Convention Center during the Pendleton Leather Show.
Leather:
Continued from Page A1
Leaving for a new home
Shaw was going to run last year’s event
for the fi rst time, but then the pandemic
hit and canceled nearly all events. She said
she was glad to have had an extra year to
prepare.
“They were all very, very pleased,”
Shaw said of the exhibitors
They included Salzman, of Hermann
Oaks. He joined the 141-year-old company
to learn its age-old tanning techniques, a
style of leather work known to few world-
wide, and which he describes as creating a
“canvas for the artisans.” It’s a rare practice
because it takes between a month to two
months and costs hundreds of dollars. Now,
he travels around for the company, educat-
ing customers about their techniques.
Only a few exhibits away, at GRS Tools.
an artist used a high-tech system that
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
looked somewhat like a microscope. It was Sample stampings sit alongside leather working tools Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at the
essentially an air-assisted jack hammer that Pendleton Leather Show in the Pendleton Convention Center.
engraves designs into metal. The company
ships such products to countries world-
wide, including Russia and China.
“It’s one of the most interesting jobs
I’ve ever had,” said Chelsey Kessler, a sales
representative.
Kessler said she enjoyed the family
atmosphere that surrounds the leather
industry.
“This whole show is a great atmo-
sphere,” Kessler said.
It’s that family atmosphere that brought
the Sam Farring’s family to the leather
show. A retired mechanic from Prineville,
he came to the event to spend time with
them and support his sons, who are inter-
ested in leathermaking.
Terry and Cindy Morgan, a couple
from Prosser, Washington, who have been
to the leather show multiple times, said
every time they attend, they see people
they’ve met over the years through horses
and ranching. They, too, said they appre-
ciate how the event brings out Pendleton’s
culture and history.
“I’m so glad they keep doing this,” said
Cindy Morgan, who purchased materials to
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
make a new pair of chaps. “This is central Leather tools glisten Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at the Pendleton Leather Show at the
to our livelihood.”
Pendleton Convention Center.
Students:
Continued from Page A1
Making things is fun, she
said, but she does not expect
to use this skill in her career.
For her, like her sister, this
work is mostly a hobby.
Anderholm is one of four
girls, 32 students total, in
her CAD class, she said. She
added that she is the only girl
in her construction class, but
it did not bother her.
“I’m usually put in a situa-
tion where I’m the only girl,”
she said. “I grew up with it,
so I guess I’m used to it.”
She added, “I know my
stuff ,” so she said she believes
people do not treat her diff er-
ently than they do her male
classmates. Still, she said, she
would like to see more girls
in the programs with her. As
with her sister, who brought
her into this fi eld, she said she
hopes to bring other people
into it.
Working alongside her,
Hannah Melville, 18-year-
old senior, said she also is
fi ne with being one of the
few female students in her
classes.
“It’s a little sad,” she said,
shrugging, “but what can you
do?”
She first became inter-
ested in engineering when
she was in middle school. She
learned robotics, then, from
John Fisher, HHS teacher.
She wants to be a mechan-
ical/aerospace engineer, she
said.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old
sophomore Kaleb LaBarge
was demonstrating virtual
reality technology. This
equipment, which simulated
welding, is used for begin-
ning teaching or for when
a student is unprepared to
practice with actual welding
in the school’s shop.
LaBarge’s history with
welding began with his dad,
who gave him his earliest
lessons. He has helped make
a ramp, a smoker trailer and
parts for other school proj-
ects. This work may help him
Last week, Bork sat in his cluttered living room,
preparing to move out after more than 50 years in his
Pendleton home.
Piles of his belongings filled the room — photo
albums, books, clocks, holiday decorations. In one stack,
a book called “Health Secrets for Seniors” sat below a
book entitled “Say No To Nursing Homes.”
His phone rang It’s a customer he seems to know well.
Sorry to hear about your wife, the customer said. Nadene
Bork died in January, two weeks after suff ering a stroke
during breakfast. She was 98.
The customer’s wife also recently died. The two speak
briefl y about losing their loved ones. The conversation
stalls. They move on and talk about Bork’s business. They
bid each other well. Bork hung up and returned to fl ipping
through his photo albums.
When Nadene died, Bork said he found solace and
support through church. He met with a group of about 30
congregants, encouraging each other through their grief.
“You appreciate that, and you hope nobody goes
through those things alone,” he said.
Now, Bork is moving out to live with his son in Benton,
Washington. His family doesn’t want him living alone,
he said. Living there without Nadene, he said he notices
the empty chairs and empty tables.
Behind him is a career as a teacher, school adminis-
trator, leather worker and businessman.
“You hate to see it go,” Bork said. “We had a good life
here in Pendleton.”
Still, Bork said he’s looking forward to being around
his family, including his two great grandsons, just 5 and
7 years old.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
World War II veteran Herb Bork holds a stack of letters
he received while stationed at Guadalcanal on Nov. 2,
2021, in the living room of his Pendleton home. The let-
ters, he said, were mostly written by girls from home.
in his intended career, mill-
wright.
“I like building and work-
ing with stuff ,” he said.
Tom Spoo, principal, said
he was happy to invite parents
and students into Hermiston
High to see “things they have
never seen before.” Some of
these things, which are avail-
able to his students, are not
offered at some colleges,
Spoo said.
The principal boasted of
his school, discussing the
nationally recognized FFA
program, welding technol-
ogy, Hispanic outreach and
more. This work was on
display at the conference.
He said he believed people
in attendance would gain a
new respect for the school
and its students.
“They’re doing great
things,” he said.
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Malin Tovey, a senior at Hermiston High School, takes a blood pressure Wednesday, Nov. 3,
2021, during a career technical education night at the high school. Tovey, who has taken the
schools health care classes for several years, wants to pursue a career as a health teacher.
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