A2
RECORDS
Wallowa County Chieftain
WHAT’S HAPPENING
SEE THE EXPANDED ONLINE CALENDAR AT
EASTERNOREGONEVENTS.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7
ENTERPRISE LIBRARY:
Open for appointment vis-
its. Call 541-426-3906, email
enterpl@eoni.com, or mes-
sage us through Facebook
for your appointment. Masks
covering mouth and nose
are required.
WINE GLASS PAINTING
CLASS: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. each
Wednesday through Aug.
11. Josephy Center for Arts
& Culture in Joseph. Instruc-
tor Pamela Beach will lead
the free, in-person class to
teach artistic friends and
neighbors to help paint wine
glasses. The glasses are then
given to those who pur-
chase opening-night tickets
for the Wallowa Valley Festi-
val of the Arts. Wine glasses,
glass paints and brushes
are all provided. No experi-
ence is necessary. Masks are
required. A maximum of six
people is allowed in each
class. Walk-ins are welcome.
FRIDAY, APRIL 9
D.A.R. MEETING: Daugh-
ters of the American Revolu-
tion will have an in-person
meeting at noon at Den-
ny’s Restaurant in La Grande.
Health safety precautions
will be followed, including
face masks.
SATURDAY, APRIL 10
TUNESMITH
NIGHT:
Music begins at 7 p.m. A live
stream showcase of original
music presented by Wallowa
Valley Music Alliance and
features songwriters Belinda
Bowler, Bill Davie and Larry
Murante. https://wvmusical-
liance.org/.
SATURDAY, APRIL 10-17
WALLOWA
VALLEY
YOUTH ARTS FESTIVAL:
Noon to 5 p.m. Josephy Cen-
ter for Arts and Culture in
Joseph. Youths in grades
K-12 are invited to show
one piece of personal art-
work in this annual exhibit.
The event features a display
of artwork, many awards rib-
bons, hands-on activities
and musical performances
by area youths. An online
entry form can be down-
loaded from the Josephy
Center website at josephy.
org. For more information,
contact Megan at the Jose-
phy Center by email at coor-
dinator@josephy.or or by
phone at 541-432-0505.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14
KINDERGARTEN
ROUND-UP
AT
WAL-
LOWA
ELEMENTARY:
6:30-7:30 p.m.
Kindergar-
ten room, Wallowa Elemen-
tary School. Parents need to
bring birth certifi cate, Social
Security number (voluntary)
and immunization records.
Child must be 5 years old on
or before Sept. 1, 2021.
Dam constructed at foot of Wallowa Lake
April 7, 1921
In their eff orts to get
greater use from the water
falls in the form of snow and
rain in the high mountains,
associated ditch companies
have constructed a dam at
the foot of Wallowa lake.
This will raise the level of
the lake nearly 18 feet, and
hence will submerge some
of the low lands at the head,
including part of that owned
by Prof. Anderson of Walla
Walla. The ditch compa-
nies started condemnation
proceedings before erecting
the new dam, and the case
is now on trial in the federal
court.
H.D. “Doc” Tallman has
disposed of his interest in the
Pioneer barber shop to T.H.
Branshaw of La Grande.
“Doc” is one of the popular
barbers of the town and has
many good friends and cus-
tomers who are sorry to see
him leave.
Newlyweds Mr. and Mrs.
Roy Hogan, who have gone
to housekeeping on West
Greenwood street, were
given an aluminum shower
by their friends. Some nice
aluminum ware was pre-
sented to the couple.
75 YEARS AGO
April 4, 1946
Early homesteader Har-
vey Ernest Whitmore was
Norman Nathan Werst
With heavy hearts, the family of Norman
Nathan Werst learned their beloved husband,
father, grandfather and great-grandfather had
passed away on Sunday, March 28th, 2021 in
Enterprise, Oregon. He was 97 years old.
Norman was born on December 20th, 1923 at
the home ranch in Wallowa, Oregon. He was the
youngest of four children born to George F. Werst
and Elma Greenwood. He was a brother to Vern
Werst, Juanita Silver, and Raymond Werst.
Norman graduated from Wallowa High School
in 1942. After graduation, he started working with his father on the home
ranch. He was deferred from the army to stay on the farm as the Wersts
already had a son in the service. On June 20, 1943 he married the love of his
life, Amy Lou Brätt. Together, they led a life of milking cows, raising hogs,
running a dairy, and raising beef. When they retired in 1993, Norman and Amy
Lou traveled in the United States, Australia, and Europe.
During his life, Norman belonged to the Elks, the Eagles, and the Indepen-
dent Order of Odd Fellows. He was on the Planning Commission, Production
Credit Association, Wallowa Cemetery Board, and was recognized as Cattle-
man of the Year.
Norman is survived by his wife of 77 years; son Mark and wife Connie,
grandsons Ray and Ty; son Kevin and wife Kim, granddaughter Haley; sister-
in-law LaVerne Werst; two great-grandsons, one great-granddaughter, and
many more nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Norman is preceded in death by his siblings, his baby son Timothy Patrick
and grandson Jason Werst.
The Werst family may hold a memorial at a later date.
Gene K. Boyd
Gene K. Boyd, 91 passed away on February 19,
2021. He was born in Wallowa, Oregon to Lora and
Frank Boyd. His early years he worked on the family
dairy farm in Enterprise, Oregon. He was a member
of the high school band and played the drums at
local musical events. Gene attended Washington
State College after graduating from Enterprise High
School in 1951. He met his future wife, Charlene at
college. They married in 1953 and were married for
67 years. He served in Washington State College’s
ROTC program and was commissioned a Lieutenant
after graduation. Gene was stationed state side during the Korean War at
Camp Desert Rock in Nevada.
After the war Gene went to work for Phillips Petroleum Company in sales
and marketing for fifteen years. In 1971 Gene and Charlene purchased Coeur
d Alene Service Station Equipment. The business continues today, run by a
second generation of Boyd’s.
Gene enjoyed watching his grand children in sports, musicals and 4-H.
He was especially proud to see his children grow up to be successful adults.
Gene and Charlene traveled extensively in an RV across the United
States and Canada during their retirement. He could strike up a conversation
with anyone and enjoyed learning where people came from, their fami-
lies, and careers. He especially enjoyed visiting with WWII veterans and his
“coffee buddies”.
He was a member of Panhandle Kiwanis for 30 years and was involved
with the planning and construction of the wooden play structure in CDA
city park, plus many other Kiwanis projects. Railroad history, geology of the
northwest and photography were passions of his. We are grateful to have
had a father with a sense of humor, integrity, and purpose that carried him
throughout his life. We will miss you.
The family would like to thank the staff at Advance Healthcare in Coeur
d’Alene and Garden Plaza in Post Falls for their care of Gene. A special thank you
to Keri McMahon Reynolds and Shannon Reynolds for their support and love to
Gene and Charlene. Gene was preceded in death by his sisters, Pauline,
Frances and Roberta. Gene is survived by his wife Charlene, children Lori
(Larry) Holstein, Don (Connie) Boyd, Linda (Dave) Robinson, Jon (Maree) Boyd,
Paul (Sandra) Boyd and Phil (Shelly) Boyd. Grandchildren, Andrea, Wylie,
Chet, Erich, Rachael, Kelsy, Emily, Hannah. Nephew, John Beardsley and niece
DruAnn White.
Services will be held at Prairie Creek Cemetery, Joseph, Oregon this
summer. Luncheon to follow.
portable kidney machine.
There is a collection box at
M. Crow store and everyone
is urged to cooperate in this
very worthwhile project.
Kenneth, Roberta and
Max Moffi t went to Portland
on Friday to pick up a forty
passenger General Motors
Co. coach.
100 YEARS AGO
FOR THE RECORD
December 20, 1923 – March 28, 2021
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
MARCH 29
5:26 a.m. — Trees reported
down and across Highway 3.
9:55 a.m. — Information of
suspicious person.
10:09 a.m. — Traffi c com-
plaint in Troy.
10:49 a.m. — Traffi c com-
plaint in rural Lostine.
11:35 a.m. — La Grande
Police Department arrested
Lee Michael Fox, 29, of Enter-
prise, on a Wallowa County
warrant for failure to comply
with the terms of release. Orig-
inal charge: off ensive littering.
1:25 p.m. — Theft of diesel
reported in Enterprise.
3:02 p.m. — Telephonic
harassment reported in rural
Joseph.
6:43 p.m. — Traffi c com-
plaint in rural Wallowa.
10:43 p.m. — 911 for
domestic dispute in Enterprise.
MARCH 30
9:27 a.m. — Road hazard in
Enterprise.
9:34 a.m. — Public assist in
Enterprise.
11:08 a.m. — Theft report
in rural Joseph.
11:14 a.m. — Wallowa
County Community Cor-
rections issued an order of
arrest and detention for Zach-
ery Ryan Chase Smith, 25, of
Enterprise, for probation vio-
25 YEARS AGO
April 4, 1996
born February 1872 in Iowa
and came to Union County
with his parents in 1879.
The family moved to what
was later to become Wal-
lowa County, in 1881. He
later took a homestead in
the Leap country where
he raised fi ne Clydesdale
horses for many years. He
passed away in Enterprise
on March 30, 1946.
As an especially virulent
type of small pox has been
brought to this country ships
from foreign countries, the
Oregon state board of health
has ordered mass vaccina-
tions. Free vaccine has been
sent to Dr. Kettle, county
health offi cer, and is avail-
able to adults at his offi ce
any day. School children
will be vaccinated at their
schools and pre-school chil-
dren are to go to their family
physicians.
Twenty Rocky Mountain
Bighorn sheep have found
a new home in Wallowa
county. They were released
at the mouth of Short Creek,
above Hells Canyon dam.
Large bands of bighorns
roamed the county at one
time. However, none have
been seen here for many
years. The specie which was
transplanted here from Can-
ada is the same specie which
is native to the county.
Several
organizations
in the county are collect-
ing Betty Crocker coupons
toward the acquisition of a
A 44-year-old woman,
Faith Shob, died in a fi re that
broke out at the Alpine Vil-
lage apartments located on
Residence Street in Enter-
prise. It was the fi rst fi re
related fatality in Enterprise
in more than 30 years. The
cause of the fi re was a can of
cigarette butts which ignited
the carpet in Shob’s second
story apartment.
Developer Arnold J.
Frederick still intends to
break ground this spring on
a $15 million motel-con-
dominium-convention cen-
ter-retirement home com-
plex on view property east
of the USFS buildings over-
looking Enterprise.
Aneliese Johnson and
Diane McFetridge, both
juniors at EHS, were among
the top placers in the 4th
Annual Top Gun Challenge
Individual Shooting Tour-
nament and 3-Point Contest
held last weekend at Enter-
prise High.
lation. Original charge: sec-
ond-degree theft.
11:46 a.m. — 911 call with
suspicious circumstances in
Enterprise.
12:14 p.m. — Wallowa
County Community Correc-
tions issued an order of arrest
and detention for Patrick
Angelo Maroney, 62, of Enter-
prise, for probation violation.
Original charge was weapons
use.
3:38 p.m. — Dog running
at large reported in Wallowa.
6:47 p.m. — Lost wallet
reported in Enterprise.
10:13 p.m. — 911 call for
public assist in Enterprise.
MARCH 31
10:53 a.m. — Report of
vandalism in Wallowa.
11:47 a.m. — Restraining
order violation in Enterprise.
12:06 p.m.
—
Scam
reported in Enterprise.
2:23 p.m. — Traffi c com-
plaint in Joseph.
4:32 p.m. — 911 report of
grass fi re in rural Enterprise.
5:46 p.m. — Suspicious
person reported in Enterprise.
Unfounded.
5:52 p.m. — Theft reported
in Joseph.
6:07 p.m. — 911 distur-
bance reported in Joseph.
6:26 p.m. — Wallowa
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce arrested
Michael Anthony Alexis, 52, of
Wallowa, for a nationwide fel-
ony warrant issued by Wash-
ington County, Utah, for four
counts aggravated sex abuse
of a child. He was transported
to the Umatilla County Jail.
7:38 p.m. — 911 call report-
ing a single motor vehicle
crash on Highway 82 in rural
Lostine. Referred to the Ore-
gon State Police.
7:50 p.m. — Report of
injured deer in Enterprise.
7:52 p.m. — Hit and run
reported in Troy.
9:01 p.m. — 911 welfare
check requested on male sub-
ject walking on Highway 3 in
rural Enterprise.
10:04 p.m. — Report of dis-
abled vehicle on Highway 82
in rural Enterprise.
APRIL 1
8:29 a.m. — Traffi c com-
plaint in Enterprise.
9:31 a.m. — Report of a
dog bite in Enterprise.
10:30 a.m. — 911 report of
scam/fraud call in Joseph.
10:34 a.m. — Public assist
in Enterprise.
10:37 a.m. — Extra patrol
request in rural Joseph.
10:52 a.m. — 911 report of
grass fi re in rural Enterprise.
11:47 a.m. — Report of lost
cell phone in rural Enterprise.
11:49 a.m. — 911 reporting
a vehicle fi re in Joseph.
12:39 p.m. — Report of hit
and run in Enterprise.
1:14 p.m. — Request for
welfare check in Joseph.
1:47 p.m. — 911 report of
fi re in rural Joseph.
4:43 p.m. — Scam call
reported in Imnaha.
5:10 p.m. — 911 reporting
a fi re in Joseph.
6:21 p.m. — Injured deer
in Wallowa.
7:07 p.m. — Report of theft
in rural Enterprise.
9:36 p.m. — Suspicious per-
son reported in rural Wallowa.
APRIL 2
1:11 a.m. — 911 report of
traffi c complaint in Joseph.
11:31 a.m. — Suspicious
person in Joseph.
12:35 p.m. — The Wal-
lowa County Sheriff ’s Offi ce
arrested
Patrick
Angelo
Maroney, 62, of Enterprise, on
a Wallowa County Community
Corrections order of arrest and
detention for probation viola-
tion. Original charge weapons
use. Maroney was transported
to the Umatilla County Jail and
lodged.
12:40 p.m. — The Wal-
lowa County Sheriff ’s Offi ce
arrested
Stephen
Henry
Slingluff , 34, of Imnaha, for
third-degree theft and proba-
tion violation with an original
charge of coercion. Slingluff
was transported to the Uma-
tilla County Jail and lodged.
2:16 p.m. — Agency assist
in the Troy area.
2:50 p.m. — 911 for a grass
fi re in rural Lostine.
3:56 p.m. — Animal com-
plaint in Wallowa.
7:11 p.m. — Report of pos-
sible restraining order viola-
tion in Enterprise.
8:01 p.m. — Driving com-
plaint in rural Wallowa.
8:18 p.m. — Noise com-
plaint in rural Enterprise.
8:33 p.m. — Noise com-
plain in rural Enterprise.
10:26 p.m. — Noise com-
plaint in Wallowa.
11:53 p.m. — Animal com-
plaint in Lostine.
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
The stage team of Wm. Childers is shown 4 miles above Troy
in the middle of several feet of snow in this photo from 1920.
Bret David Bridges
November 22, 1973 – March 2, 2021
Bret was perceptive and compassionate, de-
voted to his three nieces and one nephew, and
protective of his parents during this pandemic. He
regularly participated in Sunday evening basket-
ball and was a prominent member of at least two
online gaming communities.
He was born in Joliet with mixed ethnicity, be-
ing Latino on his father’s side and Caucasian on his
mother’s. Upon birth, his biological mother offered
her baby for adoption. The adoption agency, upon
learning of the Hispanic ancestry in our family,
suggested he would be a good match for us, and so it was that Bret joined
our family at the age of two months - the eldest of what would later become
three children.
Bret grew up in Central New York, graduating from Fayetteville-
Manlius High School and then enrolling in Hamilton College in Clinton, New York,
from which he graduated Cum Laude. After college, he left his New York
family to join a high school friend in California. Several years later, he moved
to Colorado to be close to his sister’s family. In Colorado, he worked for IBM
in their call center help desk. When a job transfer took his sister and her
family to California, his parents extended an offer to Bret to join them in
Wallowa County, which he accepted. Soon after arriving, he obtained his
position in the Sheriff’s department as a 911 dispatcher, a good fit for him,
given his previous experience with IBM in Colorado. Early in his training as
a 911 dispatcher, he was sent to the Police Academy in Salem, Oregon for a
two-week course from which, upon graduation, he received the Carol Fagan
Award for the best class performance.
Bret died from infection by the corona virus at age 47. The raw corona
virus statistics for the United States (now 30 million cases and 550 thousand
deaths) are too large to be comprehended, but dividing the number of cas-
es by the number of deaths shows that for every 55 cases there has been a
death. This makes obvious the fact that the spread of the virus has enormous
devastating consequences. Though none of the available defenses against
spread of the virus (hand washing, social distancing, wearing masks, not even
vaccination) are perfect, they remain our only options for saving families from
the loss of their loved ones.
Bret is survived by his sister and brother, his nieces and nephew, and
his parents, who will miss him dearly. Donations in his honor may be made
to Wallowa Valley Health Care Foundation or Wallowa County Humane
Society. At some future time there will be a private family gathering to
disperse Bret’s ashes.
50 YEARS AGO
April 8, 1971
Weather Forecast
Courtesy of Weather Underground • wunderground.com
High Low
Conditions
Apr. 8
47
26
partly cloudy
Apr. 9
59
31
sunny
Apr. 10
48
27
partly cloudy
Apr. 11
55
27
sunny
Apr. 12
59
32
sunny
Apr. 13
60
34
partly cloudy
Apr. 14
61
35
partly cloudy
Phases of the moon
Apr. 11
Apr. 19
Apr. 28
May 3
New Moon
1st Quarter
Full Moon
Last Quarter
WALLOWA COUNTY SUNRISE & SUNSET APRIL 8 – 14
(from the U.S. Naval Observatory)
THUR
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
TUES
WED
6:14
7:28
6:12
7:29
6:10
7:30
6:08
7:31
6:06
7:33
6:05
7:34
6:03
7:35