A2
RECORDS
Wallowa County Chieftain
Steep vertical gondola opens for fi rst full year
OUT OF THE PAST
en’s Clubs for District VIII
which covers most of East-
ern Oregon.
100 YEARS AGO
25 YEARS AGO
May 20, 1920
As a result of the great
sunfl ower campaign con-
ducted by the farm bureau,
Wallowa county has been
advertised more widely than
any other county in Oregon.
Articles on the movement
have appeared recently in
such representative agricul-
tural journals as the Breed-
er’s Gazette, Hoard’s Dairy-
man, the Oregon Farmer and
others, and the County Gen-
tleman will have a column or
more on the same subject in
an early issue.
Two trials were given
last week to the new elec-
tric siren fi re alarm which
has been set up on the roof
of the I. O. O. F. hall. It was
sounded in the day time and
then, without any previous
warning, was turned on Sat-
urday night about 11 o’clock.
While the volume of sounds
is not great, it demonstrated
that it will be heard in nearly
every house and will rouse
the town quickly.
A brick warehouse is to
be erected at one by Keltner
& Skaggs on the fi rm’s land
across the alley south from
its store. The structure will
have a frontage of 55 feet
and will go the full depth of
the lot, 120 feet. It will be of
suffi ciently heavy construc-
tion to carry a second story
if this is desired later. The
building will cover half of
the quarter block.
75 YEARS AGO
May 16, 1946
A good buying crowd
attended the John J. Peters
auction sale held Tuesday at
Flora. The top mile cow with
May 16, 1996
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
This photo from a May 1971 edition of the Chieftain shows
members of the Wallowa High School Class of 1936 who
were identifi ed by readers of the newspaper. In the picture
are, from left, front row: Laura Trump, Myrtle Weaver, Helen
Mead, Betty Jane Dement, Ruth Tulley, Bonnie Conner.
Second row: Joan Bales, Rachel Johnson, Cora Sasser,
Virginia Nell Royster, Florence Fordice, Roberta Johnson.
Third row: Dorothy Larm, Marcella Slaughter, Mae Couch,
Leonard Lively, Superintendent Roy Conklin. Fourth row:
Alfred (Dick) Evans, Jesse Sarrett, Arthur Running, Glenn
Southwick, Ross Southwick, Ross Womack. Not pictured in
the class of 26 graduates were Stephen Joplin, Vera Joplin,
Clayton Sutphin and Aura Todd.
calf sold for $137. Another
cow and calf sold for $136
and a third brought $121.
Grade Hereford bulls from
14 to 17 months old sold for
$82, $58, and $56. Heifers
sold for around $50. A 1400-
pound work mare brought
$15. Top price for wheat was
$1.45 a bushel. A gasoline
Maytag washing machine
sold for $14, an extremely
low price.
Kermit Victor pleaded
guilty on Monday before
Circuit Judge R. J. Green to a
charge of assault and battery
and was sentenced to one
year in the county jail. He
was paroled from ten months
of this sentence upon condi-
tion that he way the doctor
and hospital bills incurred
by Ed Johnson, whom he
was charged with assaulting,
and that he refrain from the
use of intoxicating liquor.
Death Notice
Anna L. Surber of Hermiston, Oregon, born
October 21, 1948 in Waltham, Massachusetts died
on May 7, 2021 in Hermiston, Oregon at the age
of 72. Graveside funeral service will be held on
Thursday, May 13, 2021 at 1:00 PM at the
Enterprise Cemetery, Enterprise, Oregon.
Please share memories of Anna with her family at
burnsmortuaryhermiston.com
Burns Mortuary of Hermiston, Oregon is in care of arrangements.
Reta Mae (Witherrite) Snyder
September 27, 1929 - May 14, 2021
Reta Mae (Witherrite) Snyder, age 91, died on
May 14, 2021 at the Wildflower Lodge in La Grande,
Oregon.
Reta, born Sept. 27, 1929, to Lyal & Sylvia
(Whitman) Witherrite. She was born at home in
Enterprise, Oregon. Moving to the Imnaha River
homestead when Reta was in 2nd grade. In the fall
of 1947, she was introduced to Tom Snyder they
married May 27, 1948. She worked for her board
and graduated high school from Walla Walla High
School 2 hours after they were wed. They lived in
Wallowa County on the Snyder Ranch on Rye Ridge near Paradise, Oregon.
There is where they had their four children, Jack, Jean, Terry, and Nancy. In
1963 they moved to Kettle Falls, WA where they were involved in a family busi-
ness: Singers Junction Café, service station, and motel. Reta always had big
gardens and worked hard at keeping the family fed. We always had plenty of
home canned vegetables and fruit. Reta made western shirts for Tom and the
boys and many clothes for the girls also. In 1964 Tom went to work for ASARCO
mining Co. Then 1971 Tom was transferred to the Black Cloud mine in Lead-
ville, CO, still with ASARCO. They resided in Buena Vista, CO out in the country
were Reta could have a garden and Tom could have horses. Tom was trans-
ferred back into the beautiful northwest with the mining company and they
moved to Troy, MT in 1981, where Reta had a huge garden, fruit trees, large
yard and lots of flower beds. They both worked hard to make this a beautiful
place. Tom retired, and they moved to Wallowa, OR in 1997. She was a member
of the Methodist Church in Troy, and in Wallowa, OR then the Christian Life
Center in Elgin and then Enterprise Christian Church in Enterprise when she
moved to the Alpine House in Joseph, OR. Church was a big part of her life.
Reta bought property and built a home in Elgin, OR after Tom’s death in
2002. Living in Elgin until 2013 when she moved to the assisted living, Alpine
House, in Joseph, OR. Then moved to the Wildflower Lodge in La Grande, OR in
February of 2021 to the memory care unit.
Reta is survived by her sons: Jack Snyder of Joseph OR, Terry Snyder of
(Paradise) OR, daughters: Jean (Gary) Sublie of Deer Park WA, Nancy (John)
Rolfsrud of Keene ND; eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren
and one great-great-grandchild. Brothers: Weldon (Barbara) Witherrite of En-
terprise OR, Jerald (Lou) Witherrite of Imnaha OR, and Orson (Pam) Witherrite
of Kennewick WA; brother-in-law William “Bill” or Bud (Rita) Snyder of Corval-
lis OR and numerous nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Tom Snyder; parents Lyal & Sylvia
Witherrite; sisters, Dorene (Earl) Wattenburger, JoAnn (Fred) Haslam/Banks;
brothers, Lyal Jr. (Clare), Norman (Fern), Terrel (Alice) Witherrite. mother &
father-in-law, Jeff and Ruby (Graham) Snyder; brother-in-law, Frank (Marge)
Snyder; sister-in-laws, Myrna Witherrite, Lillian (Joe) Beach; daughter-in-law,
Jody (Foster) Snyder; great-grand daughter, Auburn Schaefer.
Funeral Services will be held at Merchant Funeral Home, Clarkston, WA
on May 22, 2021 at 2pm, with burial services at the Vineland Cemetery,
Clarkston, WA following the Funerals service. At Reta’s request there will be
a private viewing for family before her service. Please mask up to attend the
service.
In Lieu of flowers, if desired you may send donations to the Vineland
Cemetery, Clarkston WA or to the Enterprise Cemetery, Enterprise, OR for main-
tenance. Please designate your preference.
Appreciation and thank you goes out to our family and friends as well
as all the staff at Assisted Living, Alpine House, Joseph, OR and the same to
Wildflower Lodge, La Grande, OR for all the care Reta got in her last leg of life.
As well as Heart ‘n Home Hospice, La Grande, OR for all their tender and loving
care in her last days.
The doctor and hospital bills
amount to $681.
50 YEARS AGO
May 20, 1971
The steepest vertical rise
4-passenger gondola in the
United States plans to open
for business on Friday, May
28, for the fi rst full year’s
operation. The ride to the top
of Mt. Howard takes 15 min-
utes each direction. A spec-
tacular view is aff orded the
passenger as the Wallowa
Mountains are easily iden-
tifi ed and unlimited view
of the surrounding valley is
extended below.
The Wallowa County
Junior Woman’s Club held
their annual installation of
offi cers at the Chief Joseph
Hotel May 17. The mem-
bers of the club enjoyed a
buff et dinner which was fol-
lowed by a short business
meeting. Sandi Blanchard
of Enterprise was named
the most Outstanding Mem-
ber of the Year. She received
this award for her active par-
ticipation in all club activ-
ities. She is also third vice
president of Junior Wom-
A La Grande man killed
himself Monday morning
at the Williamson Camp-
ground about 10 miles up the
Lostine River. Kyle Wynn
Neustel, who had his 37th
birthday three days before
his death, was found dead
in his 1973 Chevrolet Nova
with the engine still running
by Undersheriff Ron Jett. At
11:43 a.m. Jett left to drive
up the Lostine River after
a report came in from the
La Grande Police Depart-
ment that Neustel might be
suicidal and in the area. A
fl ex hose dryer vent hose
was running from the car’s
exhaust pipe into the rear
right window of the car, Jett
said.
The Joseph and Enter-
prise High School girls
track teams qualifi ed a host
of athletes for the upcom-
ing OSAA/U.S. Bank Class
2A fi nals in District 8 com-
petition at Vale last Satur-
day. Enterprise got a tre-
mendous performance from
Shannon Ables enroute to its
104-point, third place team
fi nish. The junior was the
champion in the 100 meter
dash with a 12.52 and in the
200 with a 26.40 … Ane-
liese Johnson also was a big
winner for the Savages, ram-
bling to a 5:25.45 champi-
onship in the 1,500 and a
2:32.54 winning time in the
800. Her Sister Andrea was
no slouch, blowing away the
competition in the competi-
tion with a 1:02.54 time in
the 400. … The John Rob-
erts-coached Joseph Eagles,
fourth in the team standings
with 82 points, qualifi ed for
state in fi ve events. Criss
Collier led the way, win-
ning the javelin event with
a 111-8 toss, placing second
in the shot put with a 32-2
eff ort, and taking second
in the discus with a 102-0
performance.
CORRECTION
An article in the May
12 edition of the Chieftain
didn’t specify which fi re dis-
trict three individuals were
running in during the district
elections. Bob Young, Dave
Hurley and Greg Johnson
all ran for another term with
the Wallowa Lake Rural
Fire District.
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Summer meal
program begins
next month
By ANN BLOOM
For the Wallowa County
Chieftain
Children in Wallowa
County will not go hungry
this summer just because
school is out. Building
Healthy Families and the
Summer Meal Program will
see that every child who
wants one has a lunch.
The federal summer
meal program begins June
14 at three sites — the east
side of Evans Park in Wal-
lowa, Enterprise Park and
by the free library at the
Joseph United Method-
ist Church parking lot in
Joseph. The program runs
four days a week, Mon-
day through Thursday, until
Aug. 5. Between 105 and
115 meals are served each
week. The program is open
to all children under age 18
regardless of income.
The program is spon-
sored by Building Healthy
Families. Susan Polumsky,
the agency’s USDA Food
Program coordinator, said
the process would follow
the same system as last year
— grab and go.
She explained that the
meals are put in contain-
ers and then into a sack
and people come to one
of the sites from noon to
12:30 p.m. to pick up a
meal and then leave.
“This controls the exact
amount. There is no waste.
Left over meals are given
to families that have food
needs, “she said.
She said she antici-
pates a return to eating in
the park next year instead
of grab and go meals. Also
included in the grab and
go lunches is a curricu-
lum activity or some other
information for the child or
the family.
Prior to the pandemic,
the summer meal program
was still held in the parks,
but children could sit down
to eat their meal. Meals
were premeasured, and a
child had to take everything
that was off ered.
“The USDA food pro-
gram requires that each
child receive a bal-
anced, nutritious meal that
includes servings of meat,
grain, fruit and milk,” she
said. Also, meals could not
be taken off premise due
to food safety concerns. If
a child did not want some-
thing, they could place one
item on a “share table” —
for example, a piece of
fruit or a carton of milk for
someone else to take.
Last year, Building
Healthy Families spent over
$9,000 on food to serve
3,088 meals to 3,052 chil-
dren. Meals they would not
have received otherwise.
“Families really depend
on these meals,” said
Polumsky.
Lunches can either be
hot or cold. Menu items
include hamburgers, turkey
cheese sandwiches or tacos.
Sides may include grapes,
watermelon, grape toma-
toes or broccoli and milk.
Polumsky said she asked
one little boy if there was
anything he especially
liked about the lunches.
“He said, ‘I like every-
thing that you serve,’” she
said.
A press release sup-
plied by Building Healthy
Families stated that during
the school year, nation-
ally, more than 22 mil-
lion children receive free
and reduced-price break-
fasts and lunches through
the School Breakfast and
National School Lunch
Program. Then, when
school is out for the sum-
mer, many children no lon-
ger have access to even that
one nutritious meal during
the day.
Research has shown that
a lack of drop in nutritious
meals during the summer
months may set up a cycle
for poor school perfor-
mance once school begins,
stated the press release.
Flyers will be going to
schools in the next sev-
eral weeks advertising the
program. If anyone needs
more information or would
like to support the sum-
mer meal program with a
donation, they can contact
Building Healthy Families
at 541-426-9411.
Death Notice
Rita M. Snyder, age 91, of La Grande, OR
died at Wildflower Lodge Assisted Living in
La Grande on Friday, May 14, 2021.
Arrangements are being handled by
Merchant Funeral Home in Clarkston,
Washington.
Obituaries
The staff at the WC
Chieftain recognizes
your family's loss at
this time of grieving.
We are here to help
convey your message
of loss and to share
with others, the life
lived by your passing
loved ones.
To submit your obituary
call Jennifer Cooney at
541-805-9630 or email
jcooney@wallowa.com
$125 for up to 400 words and
$8.66 per column inch after that.
Includeds color photo of your
loved one with a border
and realted graphic.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
SEE THE EXPANDED ONLINE CALENDAR AT
EASTERNOREGONEVENTS.COM
ONGOING
A.A. online meetings ore-
gonaadistrict29.org.
Building Healthy Families
541-426-9411.
Community Connection
541-426-3840.
Enterprise Public Library
541-426-3906.
Fishtrap 541-426-3623.
Hurricane Creek Grange
541-605-8233.
Josephy Center for Arts
and Culture 541-432-0505.
Wallowa Public Library
541-886-4265.
W a l l o w o l o g y
541-263-1663.
Weather Forecast
Courtesy of Weather Underground • wunderground.com
High Low
Conditions
May 20
50
33
showers
May 21
47
33
showers
May 22
50
33
showers
May 23
60
36
cloudy
May 24
67
40
partly cloudy
May 25
69
42
thunderstorms
May 26
68
41
showers
Phases of the moon
May 26
June 02
June 10
June 17
Full Moon
Last Quarter
New Moon
1st Quarter
WALLOWA COUNTY SUNRISE & SUNSET MAY 20-26
(from the U.S. Naval Observatory)
THUR
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
TUES
WED
5:12
8:20
5:11
8:21
5:10
8:22
5:09
8:23
5:08
8:24
5:07
8:25
5:07
8:26