NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Elgin honors those who died during past 2 years with memorial
Funeral homes in
Union, Umatilla
and Baker counties
helped with
memorial service
stepped forward to assist,” Ferring
said.
The granite bench, which
features polished engraved lettering,
was purchased from La Grande’s
Memorial Monuments. Kevin Love-
land, the owner of Loveland Funeral
Chapel, said granite memorials are
known for holding up well.
“When they are polished they
will last for hundreds of years,” said
Loveland, who officiated as a volun-
teer at the August service.
The polishing of a granite stone’s
engraving is done after the cutting
of the granite. This process, which
includes sanding, preserves the
stone by keeping out water that
would otherwise settle into the pores
of the stone.
Ferring said the memorial is at
an ideal location in Elgin because
the opera house and museum are
popular places for people to visit.
She anticipates that many people
going to the venues will see and use
the bench.
Ferring said volunteers hope to
later make additions to the memo-
rial bench site, such as a display with
the names of those who it honors.
Options being considered include
installing bricks in the ground
around it bearing the names of the
deceased.
The August memorial service
was originally scheduled to be held
at the Elgin Stampede Grounds.
However, the service had to be
moved to Elgin High School
when wildfire crews combating
the Elbow Creek Fire in Wallowa
County had to set up camp there.
The service at EHS was attended
by about 100 people.
By DICK MASON
The Observer
ELGIN — The downtown decor
of Elgin has a new addition, one
which may prove to be as timeless
as the memories of those it honors.
A memorial granite bench was
installed earlier in December on
Main Street between the Elgin
Opera House and the Elgin Museum
to recognize the approximately 75
people in the Elgin area who have
died in 2020 and 2021.
A service in August gave
people a chance to honor family
and friends in the Elgin area who
were not able to hold services
before because of the COVID-19
pandemic, which has prevented
many large gatherings, according
to Lauri Ferring, pastor of the Elgin
Harvesters Nazarene Church, who
helped lead the project.
“They were not allowed the
service their family and friends
clearly needed. We wanted every-
one to have a chance to say good-
bye,” she said.
The new granite bench cost more
than $2,500 and was purchased with
donated funds, many of which were
contributed by local businesses and
the families of loved ones honored
during the August service.
“It was amazing how people
Dick Mason/The Observer
From left, volunteers Kathy Bonney, Risa Hallgarth and Lauri Ferring stand beside the new Elgin memorial
bench on Dec. 13, 2021. The bench, in front of the Elgin Museum, honors those who died during the past two
years. All three women played important roles in getting the memorial bench installed. Bonney is a member
of the Elgin Chamber of Commerce, Hallgarth is the mayor of Elgin and Ferring is pastor of the Elgin Harvesters
Nazarene Church.
“It was truly amazing. People
were in tears and giving each other
hugs,” Loveland said.
The program at the service
listed the names of 31 people
whose families and friends
requested they be honored at the
memorial event. Others in the
Elgin area or with roots in the
community, who had died in 2020
and in the first eight months of
2021, also were honored.
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
FRIDAY
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SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Ferring said the service was
possible in part because of the help
received from four funeral homes
in Union, Umatilla and Baker coun-
ties. The funeral homes sent letters
to families of those in the Elgin area
who died in 2020 and 2021 asking
them if they would like their loved
ones to be recognized at the service.
The funeral homes were Love-
land Funeral Chapel and Crema-
tory, of La Grande; Daniels Knopp
Funeral Cremation and Life Cele-
bration Center, of La Grande,
Munselle-Rhodes Funeral Home, of
Milton-Freewater; and Tami’s Pine
Valley Funeral Home and Crema-
tion Services in Halfway.
Ferring hopes that other towns
will do something similar in the
future because she believes it will
bring people closer together.
“This is a healthy thing for
communities to do,” she said.
Near-record snow falls in Joseph
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
Some sun, then
clouds and cooler
Snow and rain in
the afternoon
42° 34°
44° 30°
Cloudy with a
snow shower
Colder with
periods of snow
Snow or fl urries
possible
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
41° 29°
18° 10°
32° 11°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
45° 36°
46° 31°
45° 31°
24° 15°
36° 16°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
43/40
37/27
43/27
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
43/35
Lewiston
47/38
45/39
Astoria
45/39
Pullman
Yakima 41/31
44/37
42/32
Portland
Hermiston
46/40
The Dalles 45/36
Salem
Corvallis
45/37
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
40/27
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
46/38
40/30
44/28
Ontario
42/34
Caldwell
Burns
37°
23°
41°
28°
70° (1933) -13° (1983)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
46/38
0.00"
1.51"
0.76"
6.58"
4.24"
8.28"
WINDS (in mph)
49/35
42/24
0.00"
1.50"
1.05"
8.88"
12.75"
12.78"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 39/20
47/40
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
42/34
44/34
50°
26°
40°
27°
68° (1933) -15° (1983)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
43/35
Aberdeen
37/28
37/24
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
44/37
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
45/35
Fri.
WSW 8-16
WSW 8-16
SSW 4-8
S 7-14
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
41/26
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:34 a.m.
4:15 p.m.
8:39 p.m.
10:54 a.m.
Last
New
First
Full
Dec 26
Jan 2
Jan 9
Jan 17
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 84° in Del Rio, Texas Low -18° in Celina, Minn.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
JOSEPH — One of the
snowiest days on record in
Joseph occurred last week,
according to data from the
National Weather Service’s
Pendleton office.
While totals of up to 2
feet of snow were reported in
some areas around the town
on Dec. 14, the NWS offi-
cially recorded 14 inches of
snow. It marks not only the
most snow ever recorded on
Dec. 14, but the most anytime
in December and ties for the
second-highest one-day
snowfall amount recorded in
Joseph in at least 128 years,
per data from the NWS.
Only one other day,
according to NWS data,
has seen more snowfall in
Joseph. That was on Jan.
21, 1894, when a whop-
ping 16 inches of snow was
recorded.
Fourteen inches of snow
also fell on March 12, 1906.
It also is the wettest
December day on record in
Joseph, with the 14 inches
of snow translating to 1.04
inches of precipitation.
The previous snowfall
record on Dec. 14 was more
than 100 years ago, when 8
inches of snow fell on Dec.
14, 1915, according to NWS
data. Only one other Decem-
ber day in Joseph has seen at
least 10 inches of snowfall,
when 10 inches came down
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Aaron Murdock shovels snow to clear the alley he and others
use as a driveway in Joseph after it was plowed closed follow-
ing the heavy snowfall during the wee hours of Dec. 14, 2021.
on Dec. 22, 2002.
The last time at least 10
inches of snow fell in Joseph
was more than a decade ago,
when 12 inches came down
on Jan. 28, 2008.
While it would likely take
another large dumping of
snow, December 2021 is also
within striking distance of
being the snowiest on record
in Joseph. NWS data as of
Dec. 20, had 20.3 inches of
snow recorded in the town
this month. The record
for December is 32 inches
more than a century ago in
December 1916. The month
is already well above the
30-year snowfall average of
8.2 inches.
Joseph snowfall records
kept by the NWS date back
to 1893, though the website
does not have snowfall data
for the town from about 1955
to 1995.
While near-record snow
fell in Joseph, other areas of
the county, even if heavily
impacted, did not reach the
snowfall level Joseph did.
Readings taken just south of
Flora showed 5 inches there
on Dec. 14, while 4 inches fell
just south of Lostine and 2.7
inches fell in Wallowa. Over
two days, from Dec. 13-14,
a total of 15.5 fell in Joseph,
11.5 in Flora, 5.5 in Lostine
and 4.9 in Wallowa, accord-
ing to maps.cocorahs.org.
IN BRIEF
Walla Walla fireworks to start
at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve
WALLA WALLA — Earlier this month,
Walla Walla officials asked area residents to
help decide when the city’s New Year’s Eve
fireworks display should begin this year.
The verdict? The pyrotechnics will begin
at 8 p.m. Dec. 31, the city wrote in a press
release.
Fireworks will be launched at Walla Walla
Community College and will last around 15
minutes. The display will be produced by
Western Display and is expected to include
some of the largest fireworks ever launched
in the Walla Walla Valley, the release said.
A total of 869 votes were received by
the city. Of those, 520 were cast for 8 p.m.
(59.83%); 180 were cast for midnight (20.76%);
and 167 were cast for 9 p.m. (19.22%).
The fireworks display was originally sched-
uled for the Fourth of July, but city officials
elected to postpone the event until the end of
the year due to extreme heat and drought condi-
tions effecting the region this summer.
— Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
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