Enterprise, Oregon
134th Year, No. 35
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
NAVY WIFE RECEIVES
SURPRISE GIFT
Desiree Nash given
car show raffle proceeds
By Bill Bradshaw
Wallowa County Chieftain
C
hristmas giving was on the
minds of all present Friday,
Dec. 6, when Navy wife
Desiree Nash was presented
with an unexpected gift of
$820 as the beneficiary of this year’s
Main Street Show and Shine.
“This was a huge surprise,” Nash
said. “It’s absolutely amazing.”
The mother of four children, ages
4 to 12, is the wife of Navy Chief
Joshua Nash, a rescue swimmer sta-
tioned in San Diego. She said her hus-
band won’t make it home for Christ-
mas, but he’s retiring in February after
20 years’ service.
Joshua Nash, who grew up in the
area, brought his bride here before
they married and said, “This is where
I’m going to end up; this is where I’m
going to retire,” his wife said he told
her.
Originally from San Diego, Desiree
Nash has been overwhelmed by the
welcome she has received in the Enter-
prise area.
“This community has been so
uplifting,” the homemaker said. “It’s a
huge blessing.”
Bob Rush, who presented the Show
and Shine ticket proceeds to Desiree
Nash, said this is the fourth year the
proceeds have gone out to a deserv-
ing person or group. He said that
when he got involved, he put forth
the idea of selling raffle tickets at the
Show and Shine in August – put on
by Main Street Motors – and award-
ing half to the winner of the drawing
and the other half to a person or group
selected. Previous beneficiaries have
been Meals on Wheels – twice – and
Divide Camp. The Show and Shine
was the brainchild of Doug Crow at
Main Street Motors and Dick Stangel
of Stangel Industries. NAPA/Thomp-
son Auto Parts, the Enterprise Elks
and Greater Enterprise Main Street
(GEMS) are other key sponsors of the
car show.
This year, when asked who he
wanted to be the recipient, Rush said,
“I wanted it to go to a military family.”
He said with the help of others, the
Nashes were identified and selected –
but it was kept top secret until Friday.
The car show raffle ticket sales
raised $1,640 this year. Rush noted
that an error in communication had the
supersized check Nash received for
$810, but she actually received $820.
Rush was in charge of selling the
tickets, but he didn’t do it alone. He
got parental permission for 12-year-
old Danny Follett and 11-year-old
Wyatt Sutter to help.
“Those two kids did absolutely
wonderful,” Rush said, adding that
they’ve already volunteered to help
sell tickets next year.
Bill Bradshaw
Ingrid Maly, 14 months old, was fascinated
by all the sights and sounds – and the taste of
the vendors’ cards, said her mom, at Friday’s
Wallowa County Christmas Bazaar and Craft
Show at the Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise.
Upper Valley
bazaars draw
plenty of
shoppers
Vendors have out
their wares galore
By Bill Bradshaw
Wallowa County Chieftain
Photos by Ellen Morris Bishop
U.S. Navy wife Desiree Nash smiles in astonished gratitude upon opening a
Christmas card with a gift of $820 in cash from Main Street Motors and the Show
and Shine car show. Her four-year-old daughter, River, thinks it’s pretty cool, too.
From left, Navy wife Desiree Nash holding 4-year-old daughter River, Bob Rush
and Danny Follett. Rush, Follett and Wyatt Sutter sold raffle tickets at this year’s
Main Street Show and Shine in August to raise $1,640, half of which was presented
to Nash on Friday, Dec. 6, on behalf of her military family. Rush noted that an error
in communication had the supersized check made out for $810 but she actually
received $820 in cash.
Holiday gifts galore were on sale recently
at bazaars all over Wallowa County, and
nowhere more abundant than in the offer-
ings in Enterprise and Joseph. They supplied
everything from locally made arts and crafts
to food, soaps, knitted and crocheted goods
and even hand-tanned deer hides.
Bazaars got started the weekend after
Thanksgiving and really heated up this past
weekend.
In Enterprise, the Veterans of Foreign
Wars post had 22 tables set up each of Fri-
day, Dec. 6, and Saturday, Dec. 7, while
also offering breakfast and lunch. Proceeds
from the tables – totaling $440 – was split
between the VFW and its Auxiliary, accord-
ing to Sandy Kessler. Proceeds from the
breakfast and lunch sold during the day also
went to the VFW and Auxiliary relief funds
to help veterans.
One particularly noteworthy display was
that of Mountain Men Medical, where Tyson
Botts showed a variety of cutlery, many with
handles made from antlers. Another display
offered a variety of homemade soaps.
Down the street at the Cloverleaf Hall
was the Wallowa County Christmas Bazaar
and Craft Show, also both days.
Annika Maly was wandering the floor
with her 14-month-old daughter, Ingrid, who
was fascinated at all the sights, sounds – and
tastes.
“She loves it,” Annika said. “We’ve got-
ten a lot of Christmas presents and she’s eat-
ing the vendors’ cards.”
Maryanne Spence had a display of wool
items made from the sheep she raises just
See Bazaars, Page A7
Winterfest adds holiday cheer to Enterprise
Parade, other activities
brighten foggy night
By Bill Bradshaw
Wallowa County Chieftain
It was a dark and foggy night – but
it was brightened with an array of col-
orful, holiday lights Saturday, Dec. 7,
as the 2019 Enterprise Winterfest Cel-
ebration lit up the town.
Winterfest events started with the
opening of downtown stores but really
got going when members of the local
International Order of Oddfellows
lodge lighted about 11 burn barrels
along Main Street, with the idea that
Winterfest-goers could keep warm –
particularly later in the evening when
the mercury dropped. They even said
old copies of the Chieftain came in
handy to light the barrels.
“It’s perfect for this kind of thing,”
Oddfellow Jeff Greene said.
As the day progressed and the bar-
rels warmed up, Santa Central opened at
2 p.m. at the OK Theatre. There, kids –
and teens – got to sit on Santa Claus’ lap,
tell him what they wanted for Christ-
mas and get their pictures taken with the
jolly red-suited character, aka Donavon
Shaw, a former Enterprise police chief.
One girl, 7-year-old Gabriella Pat-
terson, said she gave Santa a pretty tall
order.
“I told him I want a hoverboard,”
she said, adding that her 11-year-old
brother, Luke, was more realistic just
asking for a set of Legos.
See Winterfest, Page A7
Bill Bradshaw
Main Street Motors’ float bearing Santa Claus and all the trappings of the
North Pole, including Christmas trees, reindeer and snowmen, won first
place in the float competition during the Enterprise Winterfest Parade
downtown Saturday, Dec. 7.