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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2015)
A8 News wallowa.com July 29, 2015 Wallowa County Chieftain Steve Tool/Chieftain These antique farm implements and more inside the building are waiting for those who enjoy a trip back in time. Erl McLaughlin, owner/proprietor of Sunrise Iron LLC is holding an open exhibition of his collection on Aug. 1 at 65708 Sunrise Road in rural Enterprise. Annual tractor show approaching By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Winters can get long if you’re a farmer who doesn’t watch a lot of television. To alleviate the boredom, local wheat rancher, Erl McLaugh- lin, took up a hobby that turned into more than a hobby. Mc- Laughlin collects and restores antique tractors and other farm equipment, which he calls Sun- rise Iron LLC. Being the type of man who likes sharing his ¿nds and works with the world, Mc- Laughlin is holding the 20th annual open viewing of his collection, as well as a num- ber of his artworks in the form of wagon wheel tables, litho- graphs on Aug. 1 at his ranch located at 65708 Sunrise Road just outside of Enterprise. McLaughlin recently added a 100 X 40-foot addition to the previous 120 X 40-foot facili- ty in addition to his showcase building to keep up with newly restored works of art. “I’ve been collecting this stuff since about 1983, just for the sheer fun of it. I don’t have any livestock, and winters are long in Enterprise. I’m trying to widen my horizons with new items, so families with a wide variety of interests can visit,” McLaughlin said. Along with tractors and farm equipment, the facility holds such antique items as clothes wringers, wood cook stoves, a door knob collection and even a restored vintage chuck wagon that looks stout enough to hitch up a team of horses and hit the trail. When McLaughlin buys a piece with restoration in mind, he restores it to like-new ap- pearance as well as working condition. Although many of the tractors are in the neigh- borhood of 100 years old, all but one are in operating condi- tion. “I’ve tried to paint them all original colors and apply original decals. In fact, all Moffit Tours 1-800-533-5222 or 541-569-2495 moffittours@gmail.com P O Box 156 Lostine, OR 97857 **Since 1948** my horse-drawn stuff is also in working condition,” Mc- Laughlin said. The oldest tractor in the collection is a 1915 Model 10- 20 Case, one of only two left in existence. Some of the horse- drawn equipment dates back to the Civil War era while the newest piece of equipment is a 1936 tractor. His favorite piece is the one he’s working on now. “You’ve really got to like this stuff, including the dirty work to get something present- able, which can take from 50 to 500 hours. Pretty near ev- ery piece on the equipment is either broke, gone or needs at- tention,” McLaughlin said. He isn’t afraid to put in some travel time to get a desired piece, trav- eling as far as Saskatchewan, Canada, to obtain a John Deere tractor. McLaughlin isn’t even sure how many pieces he has in his collection although he numbers the collection in his showcase facility at over 100. “I’ve got Continued from Page A1 Rule said she was fascinat- 4 Days & 3 Nights Sept 16 - 19 Nov 11 - 14 $139.00 ppdo $164.00 single 4 Days & 3 Nights Aug 12 - 15 Oct 14 - 17 $139.00 ppdo $164.00 single Pickup locations: Lostine, Elgin, Imbler, La Grande, Union, North Powder, Baker City, Ontario Includes: Trans, 3 Nights Lodging, 3 Breakfasts, & $10 Gaming “Call for pickup schedule and reservations” (Must be 21 years of age) Non smoking and Non alcohol Luxury Coach more than that at other facilities elsewhere in the county,” Mc- Laughlin said. “I encourage people to come visit all days of the year, but for one-on-one time, don’t come on tour days. That’s how I learn things and get ideas for new projects,” McLaughlin said. RULE: True-crime writer with ties to area dies “Stockmen’s Casino/Hotel - Elko, Nv.” “Model T Casino/Hotel - Winnemucca, Nv.” Steve Tool/Chieftain This old M.Rumley Co. tractor must have done its share of work back in the day. The patent for this tractor was recorded in 1887. This tractor and other items are available for viewing at Sunrise Iron LLC on Sunrise Road just outside of Enterprise. 301 W. Main, Enterprise • 541.426.3177 BIRTH A daughter, Hendrix Ellen Pace, was born July 13, 2015 in Walla Walla to David and Brooke Pace of Enterprise. Grandparents are Doris and Scott Noland, Lyle and Heidi Follett and Debbie and Swede (deceased) Pace. Great-grandparents are Jack and Dorothy Pace, Dallas Eckstein and Norma Follett. ed by killers’ lives, going back to their childhood to ¿nd clues about why they did what they did. After attending numerous workshops on crime topics from DNA to arson, local law enforcement, the FBI and the Justice Department started turning to Rule for her exper- tise on serial murders. She aided the Green Riv- er Task Force as that group sought another Seattle-area serial killer, passing along tips that her readers shared. She wrote a book about the case, “Green River, Running Red.” Rule is known to Wallowa County residents as the crime writer who penned the 2003 best-seller “Heart Full of Lies,” an investigation of the 201 East Hwy 82 Enterprise, OR 97828 541.426.0320 FALL it IS When comes COMING! to your home GET YOUR or business, the Safe FILLS! Way PROPANE is 1 the Best Way! Aug thru Sept 30 541.426.0320 Call NOW for information about Energysaver® Direct Vent Wall Furnaces. Adobe Lightroom Workshop with Dan Thornton – August 3 and 4 Art Photography Basics with Kendrick Moholt Workshop – August 7 Refresh and Refine Your Photography with Karyl Kolb August 14 -16 Call or Register online at www.josephy.org 2000 killing of Chris Northon by his wife Liysa while the couple was on a camping trip in the area. Liysa Northon pleaded guilty in July 2001, in En- terprise, to ¿rst-degree man- slaughter and asserted that she was a victim of domestic abuse and acted in self-defense when she killed her husband. She was sentenced to 12 years in the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville. When Rule’s book came out, Liysa Northon sued Rule for defamation. The case was dismissed. In 2011, the story caught ¿re again when Rick Swart, the former owner/editor/pub- lisher of The Wallowa County Chieftain, published a story in the Seattle Weekly magazine in which he criticized Rule’s version of the story, saying the book “better describes the au- thor than her subject.” Swart’s account went on to detail nu- merous incidents of assault as reported by Northon. The Seattle Weekly didn’t back off the story, but printed an editor’s comment making numerous corrections, after discovering Swart was in love with Liysa Northon. Never- theless, Rule sued the Weekly, its editor Caleb Hannan and Rick Swart for defamation. In February 2014, a King Coun- ty Superior Court judge dis- missed Rule’s suit, agreeing with the defense that it violat- ed Washington’s Anti-SLAPP law, which protects individu- als from “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” — suits that essentially si- lence critics and penalize free speech in the public arena. In May 2015 the Wash- ington (state) Supreme Court struck down the state’s an- ti-SLAPP law, however, and in June a three-judge panel in Washington’s Court of Ap- peals remanded Rule’s defa- mation case to trial court for further proceedings. Swart and Northon mar- ried while Northon was still in prison two months after the publication of Swart’s 2011 story. Northon was paroled in 2012 and joined Swart and her children in Eagle Creek in Clackamas County. Rule was born in 1931 in Lowell, Michigan, to a schoolteacher and a football, basketball and track coach. They moved around a lot when she was a kid, traveling from Michigan, to Pennsyl- vania, Oregon and California because of her father’s coach- ing career. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in creative writ- ing, with minors in psycholo- gy, criminology and penology. In April, prosecutors ¿led charges against two of her sons, alleging they took thou- sands of dollars from her.