A6
COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
Heppner’s St. Pats party
continues this weekend
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
VOICES
Getting the nudge I really needed
By ANN DUDLEY
Special to East Oregonian
East Oregonian
HEPPNER — After a
two-year hiatus, Heppner is
gearing up for a second week-
end in a row as part of its Wee
Bit o’ Ireland celebration.
The fun uncorks with
Murray’s Irish Beer and
Wine Festival. It is Friday,
March 18, 7-11 p.m. at the
Gilliam & Bisbee Building,
106 E. May St., Heppner.
Dan Burns 3-D Produc-
tions will crank things up
with a DJ show featuring
music, lights and fog. While
youths are invited to attend,
they must be accompanied by
an adult.
There is a $5 cover charge.
Drink tokens are $5 each,
and food will be available for
purchase from Upper Place
Concessions. For more infor-
mation, call the chamber at
541-676-5536 or visit www.
heppnerchamber.com.
And closing out the book-
end weekends is 8 seconds of
quick action at a time during
the 2022 Coastal Farm &
Ranch Challenge of Cham-
pions Bull Riding. Tour Stop
No. 3 is Saturday, March 19,
I
Dan Burns 3-D Productions/Contributed Photo
Dan Burns 3-D Productions will turn up the music and lights
Friday, March 18, 2022, during Murray’s Irish Beer and Wine
Festival at the Gilliam & Bisbee Building, Heppner.
4 p.m. at the Morrow County
Fairgrounds, 74473 Highway
74, Heppner.
The rodeo event started
more than a decade ago
with a single hometown bull
riding competition in Rose-
burg. It has grown since
2009 to include more than
15 different tour stops across
five states.
Par ticipants include
professional bull riders from
across the country, featuring
PBR and NFR qualifiers and
finalists, top circuit qualifi-
ers/finalists and collegiate
rodeo athletes. In addition,
junior bull riders also enjoy
the opportunity to compete
in a professional venue to
further develop and showcase
their skills.
For more information or
to buy tickets, which are $18
each, go to www.cctbullrid-
ing.com. For questions, call
360-967-2337.
Hermiston students enjoy
big wins at chess tournament
Hermiston Herald
HERMISTON — Herm-
iston students had a big day
at a recent chess tournament,
according to chess club
volunteer Delia Fields.
According to Fields, who
is also the Hermiston School
District librarian, highlights
of the Feb. 26 Region 23
Chess for Success tourna-
ment included excellent play
from a young strategist, as
well as a trio of high schoolers
who took big victories to earn
their way to the state compe-
tition next month in Portland.
Beau Neddo, a second
grader at West Park Elemen-
tary, played well, scoring 4.5
points in the five rounds of
match play to become the top
Region 23 player for grades
kindergarten through fourth
grade.
Baker City had several
students score well, and third
grader Sylvia Rich was the
top player for Region 24, scor-
ing 3.5 points. Baker City had
the winning elementary and
middle school teams. Neddo
will represent Hermiston
elementary youth on April 9
when other individual quali-
fiers from other regions meet
at the Expo Center in Portland
for the statewide competition.
The older local contin-
gency will be three Herm-
iston High School players
who each scored four points
in match play on Feb. 26 to
wind up in a three-way tie for
overall Region 23 grades 9-12
champion.
There is no team option at
the high school level, so the
stakes are high for the play-
ers because usually only one
overall regional champion
gets to advance.
Sophomores Luke Gray
and Elijah Robinson and
junior Pride Shelley will play
at the state contest for two
days, April 8 and 9, because
for the high school division
match play is divided over
two days, three matches on
Friday and two matches on
Saturday.
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
Lions Club digs
in with Mo’s
chowder sales
HERMISTON — For
those with a hankering for
Mo’s Original Seafood &
Chowder, you don’t have to
take a road trip to the coast.
The Hermiston Lions
Club is holding a fundraiser
to make some extra clams.
And through that effort, they
are bringing Mo’s to Herm-
iston. To enjoy some deli-
cious food — and support the
club’s scholarship program
for graduating seniors in
Hermiston, Boardman, Echo,
Ione, Irrigon, Stanfield and
Umatilla — orders must be
placed by March 22.
The Mo’s Clam Chow-
der Base, which provides
five 10-ounce servings ($15/
quart), has a 3-week shelf life
in the refrigerator and can be
frozen for up to three months.
Other menu items include
homemade bread ($6/loaf),
garlic cheese butter ($6/pint)
and marionberry cobbler
($25/8x8 pan).
Mo’s, which got its start
on the bay front in Newport
in 1946, is known for its
mouth-watering clam chow-
der. Just over a decade ago,
they rolled out a fundraising
program of selling its clam
chowder base to help support
efforts of youth programs,
sports teams, schools and
nonprofit organizations. And
when the global pandemic
wreaked havoc on the restau-
rant industry, Mo’s expanded
the project — hitting the road
to make deliveries across the
state and beyond.
To place an order, call
541-567-8301, visit www.
eclubhouse.org/sites/herm-
iston or search the club’s
Facebook page. Orders
will be available for pickup
March 30, 4-6 p.m. in the
parking lot at West Park
Elementary School, 555 S.W.
Seventh St., Hermiston.
American Legion
plans veteran
information event
HERMISTON — Local
veterans have an upcoming
opportunity to learn more
about preparing for their ulti-
mate destination.
Sponsored by Ameri-
can Legion Post and Auxil-
iary Unit 37, “What You
Need to Know Before You
Go” includes such topics as
estate planning and wills,
death benefits for veterans
and mortuary information, as
well as providing health tips.
Professionals will be avail-
able to consult privately with
veterans.
The free event is Saturday,
March 19, 1-5 p.m. at Agape
House, 500 W. Harper Road,
Hermiston. Refreshments
will be provided.
Veterans are encouraged
to bring family members to
assist with gathering intel on
matters of concern. For more
information, call 541-720-
1815 or 541-571-5816.
Former TigerScot
makes Wyoming
Dean’s List
LARAMIE, Wyoming —
The University of Wyoming
announced that Bryce Thul
of Adams was named to the
2021 fall semester academic
Dean’s List Honor Roll.
The former student-athlete
is a 2019 graduate of Athe-
na-Weston High School.
To receive the recognition,
students must earn a GPA of
3.4 or better while enrolled
in a minimum of 12 credit
hours. Founded in 1886, the
school is based in Laramie,
Wyoming. For more infor-
mation, visit www.uwyo.edu.
— EO Media Group
was a shy child, almost
painfully so. But when
I was 10, my mother
came into my room one
Saturday morning and
announced that she thought
it would be a good idea if I
took some acting classes at
the Portland Civic Theater.
The first class started
in half an hour, so I better
get hopping if I was going
to do it. I had to factor in
the 10-minute travel time,
the getting there a few
minutes early time, etc.
That meant there were
only a few minutes left
for me to throw on some
clothes and get in the car.
But before I jumped into
high gear, I had a flash-
back of the last time I was
in a show at the Firehouse
Theater. I was 4, perhaps
5. I don’t remember the
play, but I do recall want-
ing to play the fairy. That
role went to the pretty
girl with long blond hair.
Me? With the pixie cut?
Got the role of alligator
and I had to crawl around
on my belly. I hated it.
I had a feeling that I
didn’t really have a choice
about this offer. I’m not sure
now whether it was my mom
trying to get me out of my
shell or assuaging her love of
acting, theater and movies.
That was the start of eight
years of acting lessons. Oh,
and there was also ballet,
tap and singing lessons on
top of it. Turns out, while
I may not have been very
good at it (I was horrible
at learning lines), a part of
me really loved it. I made
a lifelong friend and am
Facebook friends with a
few of my fellow child-
hood thespians and one
of our acting coaches.
There are a few price-
less moments from that
era of my life that always
come to mind when
reminiscing about it.
In one production, I
played a chorus girl in a
western show. The costume
didn’t allow me to wear a bra
(which I needed). During
a change of costume from
townsperson to chorus girl,
my bra that I had worn as
Townsperson Number One
got caught up in the dress
for Chorus Girl Number
Five. While I was doing
the can-can on stage, I
looked down and saw my
bra flapping along with me.
I danced off stage, yanked
the offending append-
age off and rejoined the
line-up, red-faced with
embarrassment and my
friend and fellow chorus
girl laughing her head off.
I always hated wear-
ing coats as a child, and I
still am prone to not wear-
ing them. In late grammar
school, there was one that I
particularly loathed. It was
blue and made of a material
that produced the sensation
of being steamed alive.
When horsing around
ANYONE CAN WRITE
Nearly 40 years in the business have taught me that read-
ers are bombarded and overwhelmed with facts. What
we long for, though, is meaning and a connection at a
deeper and more universal level.
And that’s why the East Oregonian will be running, from
time to time, stories from students who are in my writing
class, which I’ve been teaching for the past 10 years in
Portland.
I take great satisfaction in helping so-called nonwriters
find and write stories from their lives and experiences.
They walk into my room believing they don’t have what
it takes to be a writer. I remind them if they follow their
hearts, they will discover they are storytellers.
As we all are at our core.
Some of these stories have nothing to do with Pendleton
or Umatilla County. They do, however, have everything to
do with life.
If you are interested in contacting me to tell me your
story, I’d like to hear from you.
Tom Hallman Jr., tbhbook@aol.com
Tom Hallman Jr. is a Pulitzer Prize-winning feature writer for
The Oregonian newspaper. He’s also a writing coach and has
an affinity for Umatilla County.
with some friends after
school, one of the boys got
a hold of my sleeve and
there was a loud ripping
sound. The sleeve was torn
largely from its socket. For
some reason, my mother
decided to repair it using
black electrical tape.
On the outside.
So now, not only was
I wearing a coat I hated,
but a coat ungracefully
patched. Along the way, the
coat disappeared. I had no
idea what had happened to
it. Five years later, I am in
the audience for a produc-
tion of “The Glass Menag-
erie.” The girl playing
Laura entered the stage. (A
girl none of us particularly
cared for. Perhaps we were
jealous she got the coveted
role or maybe because
she was a snotty snob.)
I sank lower in my seat.
“It couldn’t be.” I thought.
But as Laura turned, I saw
the tale-tell electrical tape
patch job. My quiet humilia-
tion and the thought that the
girl who was playing Laura
must never find out that that
had once been my honest-to-
goodness coat. The family
in that play were supposed to
be poor. From the wrong side
of the tracks. The situation
also played out in my head as
to how it had come into the
costume mistress’ hands. I
had most likely left it behind
long ago during a class or
rehearsal. I never claimed
it. The costumer tucked it
away, only to be brought out,
perfect for the role it was in.
And yet, the most
poignant and most signif-
icant of my memories,
is also one of pain and
personal triumph. To set
the scene as it were, I had
gotten a bit mouthy to my
dad. This was in the late
’70s, so think women’s lib.
My father was old-fash-
ioned. Once he sat down
at the table, he wasn’t
getting up until he was
through. That meant that
my mom and I were the
ones who were getting
up when he deemed he
wanted salt, seconds,
a napkin, fill in xyz.
One night I had had
enough and most likely said
he could get up and get it
too, you know, or he could
do more like help with the
dishes. The next night he
came home from work and
announced that I would
no longer be taking acting
classes because my mom
needed help around the
house. My punishment for
speaking up was to have the
thing I loved taken away.
I spent the next year after
school and on weekends
ironing. Ironing sheets, dish
towels, his shirts, T-shirts
and boxers, along with my
own clothes. This was in
addition to having always
helped with the dishes
and other housework as
needed from a young age.
That is, until I got the call.
It was the theater. The direc-
tor of the children’s produc-
tion was calling. Someone
in the cast had broken their
arm and couldn’t perform
that afternoon. Could I
replace her? I would need
to go to the theater that
morning, learn the lines
and blocking and perform
two shows that afternoon.
My fate was in my dad’s
hands. He relented and
let me perform. I knew,
though, that the only reason
why I was permitted to fill
in was because someone
who was an authority, the
director and the head of
the acting school, thought I
was good enough to do it.
So it was that I returned
to the theater after a year’s
hiatus. I was able to take
pride in the fact that I had
been thought of, out of the
blue, to step into a role,
and then complete the run
of the show the follow-
ing two Saturdays.
I learned so much from
those eight years. Most
importantly, I learned about
(and accepted without
question) different life-
styles, personalities, friend-
ship and camaraderie.
Thank you, Mom, for
giving me the nudge I so
desperately needed.
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
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