NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Pandemic has hurt La Grande’s Liberty Theatre restoration
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Two
years ago, Ashley O’Toole,
chair of the Liberty Theatre
Foundation’s board, saw a
light burning brightly on the
near horizon.
O’Toole believed resto-
ration of the Liberty Theatre,
which started about a decade
ago, would be complete by
the end of 2020. Almost all
of the funding needed to
complete the project was in
place and a building contrac-
tor and subcontractors were
set to complete work.
Then the coronavirus
pandemic hit.
The pandemic stalled
completion of much of the
venue’s restoration work,
creating supply chain issues
that made it much more diffi-
cult to get the necessary
supplies and materials.
What has really made the
situation worse is the price of
many materials skyrocketed
due to inflation.
“Some materials cost four
or five times more than they
did before the pandemic,”
O’Toole said.
This perfect storm of
circumstances means the
Liberty renovation proj-
ect is set back considerably.
O’Toole said if the resto-
ration is to be completed
this year, the project must
raise $600,000.
Dick Mason/The Observer
Ashley O’Toole, chair of the Liberty Theatre Foundation’s board, checks on the ongoing renovation of La Grande’s historic
venue on March 7, 2022.
“Had it not been for the
pandemic and the price
increases, the theater would
be open now,” he said.
Unfortunately, that is not
the case, which is why a capi-
tal campaign is being orga-
nized for the final phase of
restoration for the Liberty
Theatre. O’Toole said the
Forecast for Pendleton Area
| Go to AccuWeather.com
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
A.M. rain, then a
shower or two
Breezy in the a.m.;
partly sunny
A shower in the
afternoon
Cloudy most of the
time
Rain and drizzle
possible
56° 37°
54° 33°
62° 40°
62° 32°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
58° 38°
61° 40°
51° 32°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
58° 40°
64° 42°
OREGON FORECAST
59° 34°
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
51/43
49/35
59/33
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
56/41
Lewiston
64/43
53/43
Astoria
51/41
Pullman
Yakima 58/36
51/39
57/40
Portland
Hermiston
55/43
The Dalles 62/40
Salem
Corvallis
54/39
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
49/35
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
56/42
52/34
51/31
Ontario
61/34
Caldwell
Burns
60°
43°
59°
33°
79° (1934) 10° (1944)
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
54/41
Trace
0.62"
0.34"
1.68"
1.65"
2.34"
WINDS (in mph)
58/33
54/26
0.02"
0.64"
0.57"
3.08"
3.06"
3.26"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 47/29
55/42
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
56/37
58/42
59°
40°
56°
35°
80° (1934) 11° (1906)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
51/39
Aberdeen
51/34
55/37
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
51/42
Today
Wed.
Boardman WSW 10-20
Pendleton
W 10-20
Medford
61/37
WSW 8-16
W 8-16
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
52/24
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:08 a.m.
7:01 p.m.
4:12 p.m.
6:29 a.m.
Full
Last
New
First
Mar 17
Mar 24
Mar 31
Apr 8
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 88° in Cotulla, Texas Low -9° in Crane Lake, Minn.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
objective of the campaign is to
raise $350,000 in private dona-
tions and $250,000 in state and
private grants by July 1.
“If we can close the fund-
ing gap by then, the theater
will be open this year,”
O’Toole said.
T he h istor ic venue
was built around 1910 and
first named The Arcade.
It became known as the
Liberty Theatre about 1930
after being remodeled. It
then operated through 1959.
The theater was closed from
public view for about the next
50 years before the renova-
tion project started.
Major work completed
during the past six months
includes the restoration of the
theater’s more than 100-year-
old chandelier. The chande-
lier, which cost $10,000,
features 42 lights.
The framework for a ticket
booth also has been installed
between a pair of double twin
doors, exactly where it was
located in 1930.
“We are recreating the
classic vaudeville entrance,”
O’Toole said.
Other work still under-
way includes major plumb-
ing, electrical and ventilation
and heating projects. O’Toole
said workers have accom-
plished more the past six
months than during any other
periods during restoration of
the venue.
“It is exciting to see us
reaching major milestones
frequently,” he said.
Although much work
remains to be done, O’Toole
is excited about the strides
that have been made recently.
“I am having to use my
imagination less and less to
visualize what it will look
like,” he said.
Baker Heritage Museum gearing
up for an anticipated busier 2022
By LISA BRITTON
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — Tour
groups are starting to call
the Baker Heritage Museum
— something that hasn’t
happened much in the past
two years.
Lynn Weems, who started
as director of the museum in
December 2021, anticipates
this coming summer to be a
bit more normal — closer to
pre-pandemic attendance.
The museum, at 2480
Grove St., Baker City, just
east of Geiser-Pollman Park,
opens for the season April 8.
Hours will be 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Monday through
Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m.
Sunday.
Admission is $9 adults
(13 and older), $8 seniors, $5
ages 6-12, and free for ages 5
and younger.
For $16, visitors can tour
both the museum and the
Adler House, which is open
Memorial Day weekend
through Labor Day weekend,
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays.
Admission to just the
Adler House is the same as
the museum rates.
The National Historic
Oregon Trail Interpretive
Center is setting up a pres-
ence at the museum while
the center on Flagstaff Hill is
closed for renovation.
The Interpretive Center,
which will unveil exhibits
in May, will have displays
in the Leo Adler Room on
the first floor, and occupy
about a third of the ballroom
upstairs — including a full-
size wagon.
‘Extraordinary
Women’ exhibit
The exhibit “Extraor-
dinary Women of Baker
County” continues this
season. Weems said they
decided to extend it for a
year longer than originally
planned. A display about the
Chinese presence in Baker
County will open in 2023.
Weems said the “Extraor-
dinary Women” display has
been redesigned and updated.
“We added some things,”
she said.
For example, the section
dedicated to Phyllis Badgley
now features several of her
original pressed flower cards.
Another addition came
when Weems received a
phone call from a woman
who wanted to donate a
friendship quilt made by
members of the Baker City
Methodist Church that
includes 130 stitched names.
“One of them happened to
be Myrtle Lee,” Weems said.
Lee, who became super-
intendent of Baker schools
in 1943, is included in the
exhibit. The quilt is on
display near her section.
Other featured females
include Johanna Packwood,
who arrived in Auburn as a
schoolteacher in 1862, and
Nellie McCarty, who partic-
ipated in four bank robberies
between 1891 and 1892 with
the McCarty Gang.
Volunteer support
The museum is supported
by the Friends of the Baker
Heritage Museum, a volun-
teer group that raises money
for exhibits, maintenance and
other needs.
Weems said volunteers
are also needed for daily
activities inside the museum.
“We have jobs for every-
one,” she said.
Anyone interested in
getting involved can call the
museum at 541-523-9308.
Updates on events are
posted on the Facebook page,
or check these websites:
www.bakerheritagemuseum.
com or www.friendsofbaker-
heritagemuseum.com.
IN BRIEF
Plane lands in Ladd Canyon
after power failure
LA GRANDE — The pilot of a small
plane made an emergency landing Thurs-
day, March 10, on the southeast edge of Ladd
Canyon on Interstate 84.
Portland pilot Brian Moentenich, 74, made
the landing after his plane lost power at an
altitude of 8,000 feet, according to Lt. Daniel
Conner of the Oregon State Police. The plane
landed safely at about 2 p.m. in the west-
bound lanes of I-84 about 14 miles southeast
of La Grande.
“He had to land between semis,” Conner said.
Some truck drivers, Conner said, pulled
their vehicles off to the side of the freeway to
allow the plane space to land.
Soon after landing, an aircraft mechanic
was brought in to repair the engine. Once the
mechanic’s work was completed the pilot and
his passenger, Elizabeth-Anne Hall, 68, of Port-
land, took off from the same stretch of freeway.
The Oregon Department of Transportation
slowed traffic on the interstate to create space
for the plane to taxi, Conner said.
Hall and Moentenich were not injured, and
Conner said they were appreciative of the help
they were receiving from OSP and the ODOT.
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