Local
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Saturday, August 20, 2022
TURNING BACK THE PAGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
August 20, 1972
PENDLETON — Pregame prognosticators hinted that
Saturday’s East-West Shrine game could be a lopsided affair
with the East’s big linemen and star-studded backfi eld. They
were half right: the score was 33-8, the widest point spread
in the classic’s 20-year history, but it was the West deliver-
ing the bludgeoning.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
August 20, 1997
Dallas Grant is looking inside Marge Haynes’ heart, and
he’s pleased with what he sees.
As he watches a small color monitor, Haynes’ mitral valve
fl utters like a small leaf in a gentle wind. The picture is clear
and sharp. What the screen shows means little to the un-
trained eye, but to Grant, who runs the mobile cardiac-vas-
cular lab for Boise’s St. Alphonsus Hospital, it is a window to
the future of medicine.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
August 22, 2012
The discovery of two immobile bats early Monday — one
of them dead — at adjacent homes in Baker City isn’t a huge
concern to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
But it still sounds pretty darned creepy.
Both bats were discovered in the 900 block of D Street in
east Baker City near the freeway.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
August 21, 2021
While parents and others marched through downtown
Baker City on Thursday evening, Aug. 19, protesting the
state mandate that students wear face masks this fall, the
Baker School Board was meeting by Zoom to discuss that
and other COVID-19-related protocols.
The board met just hours after Gov. Kate Brown an-
nounced that teachers and all other school staff, including
volunteers, must be vaccinated by Oct. 18.
Board member Travis Cook said he is concerned about
the possibility of school workers resigning due to the vac-
cine mandate.
“If the governor mandates this, how many teachers,
transportation personnel, food service personnel, are just
going to say ‘we’re done’ and move to Idaho or whatever,”
Cook said.
Superintendent Mark Witty said that is an topic of heated
discussed among school offi cials statewide.
“That’s a real concern,” Witty told the board. “It is here
locally. I’m, again, just preaching for patience so we can ac-
tually understand how this actually is implemented and I am
hopeful that there’s opportunities for those that have cho-
sen not to take the vaccine to be able to continue working.”
The state mandate includes two exemptions to the vacci-
nation requirement: medical and religious.
The medical exemption should be relatively straightfor-
ward, Witty said.
“We anticipate that that would be going in to your medical
health provider and having that discussion with them and
then they’d fi ll out the paperwork and if they believe in their
opinion it’s not safe for you to take the vaccine, then you’d
put that on fi le with the district offi ce,” Witty said.
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Next jackpot: $99 million
SENIOR MENUS
MONDAY (August 22): Spaghetti, mixed vegetables, garlic
bread, green salad, ice cream
TUESDAY (August 23): Ground beef steak, onions and gravy,
mashed potatoes, rolls, carrot-raisin salad, brownies
WEDNESDAY (August 24): Chicken-fried steak, mashed pota-
toes, green beans, rolls, ambrosia, bread pudding
THURSDAY (August 25): Orange glazed chicken, rice, broccoli,
rolls, fruit cup, cinnamon rolls
FRIDAY (August 26): Roasted turkey, stuffi ng with gravy, green
beans, rolls, green salad, apple crisp
MONDAY (August 29): Chicken-fried chicken, mashed pota-
toes, carrots, rolls, green salad, pudding
Public luncheon at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St., from
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $5 donation (60 and older), $7.50
for those under 60.
CONTACT THE HERALD
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Open Monday through Friday
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Telephone: 541-523-3673
ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
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Copyright © 2022
Baker City Herald • bakercityherald.com
North Powder church nears milestone
Community United Methodist Church
has been in same building for 140 years
BY DICK MASON
The Observer
NORTH POWDER — It
may be the most memora-
ble dollar ever spent in North
Powder’s history.
In 1882, Sarah and James
W. Welch sold a block of prop-
erty in North Powder for $1
to the United Methodist and
Episcopal churches, according
to records.
The Methodists and Epis-
copalians built a church on
the block in 1883, which they
shared for four years before
the Methodists assumed full
ownership.
Today, the North Powder
Community United Meth-
odist Church is on the verge
of joining a select group —
churches in Oregon that have
operated in the same building
for at least 140 years.
It is not hard to imagine
what the church looked like
in 1883. The building is filled
with links to its past, including
about three wooden pews be-
lieved to be the same ones the
church first had in the 1880s
and a bell in a tower that con-
gregants still ring with the pull
of a rope before every weekly
Sunday service.
These vestiges to the past
are in a well-maintained
building that looks much like
it did 139 years ago, according
to Jeff Nielsen, a member of
the church’s congregation.
“It is pretty unique. Most
churches this old have at best
been remodeled at least five
times,” he said. “It is an origi-
nal pioneer church. It is pretty
phenomenal.”
The church also has led-
gers filled with the names of
almost all the members of the
church’s congregations dating
back to the 1800s.
“If these walls could talk,
they could tell so much about
the generations of people who
grew up here,” he said.
The North Powder Com-
munity United Methodist
Church has about twice the
square footage it had when it
opened in 1883, according to
Linda Dixon, a member of the
church’s congregation. The
space was added in the 1940s
when an east side addition
was built on. Today, this addi-
tion houses the church’s Sun-
day school program, one tem-
porarily shut down after the
COVID-19 pandemic, and the
community’s food bank.
The food bank, an outreach
of the church, is run with ma-
jor help from Dixon and her
husband, Floyd, who travel to
The names of many of the peo-
ple who have attended the
North Powder Community
United Methodist ChurchChurch
over past 139 years are in a regis-
ter, shown here on Sunday, Aug.
14, 2022.
Island City each month to pick
up food from the Northeast
Oregon Regional Food Bank.
Older is sometimes better
In an ironic twist, operating
the older half of the building is
today less expensive than run-
ning its newer half, since the
older section has no plumb-
ing. This means it does not
need heat to keep water pipes
from freezing, said Joyce Law-
yer, a member of the church’s
congregation for more than
60 years.
The church’s sanctuary is in-
stead reliant on a wood stove
in the winter.
“It can get so hot that it
almost drives people out of
here,’’ Dixon said with a smile.
Messages to remember
A focal point of services in
the sanctuary are Bible-cen-
tered talks given on alter-
nating weeks by Dixon and
Susanne Watson, also a con-
gregation member.
Watson said she feels
blessed to be able to help give
the talks because preparing for
them has been so enriching.
“I have learned so much
more about the Lord and the
Bible,” she said.
The North Powder Com-
munity United Methodist
Church today has a congrega-
tion of fewer than 20 people
— much smaller than what it
once had. Nevertheless,
the church’s future appears
solid because it has a long-run-
ning tradition as a focal point
for community events. This
means that whenever help
is needed to keep the building
operating, people step forward
instantly, many of whom
Photos by Dick Mason/The Observer
Above: The North Powder Community United Methodist church,
shown here on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, was built in 1883. Below: This
is a portion of the sanctuary of the North Powder Community United
Methodist Church as it appeared on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022.
are not members of the
congregation.
“Whenever we need help,
all we have to do is ask,” Dixon
said.
Volunteers who help the
church, but are not members,
include Ted Golden, who
picks up food in Island City
each week and brings it to the
food bank.
The church also hosts com-
munity events, such as the
annual silver tea that has hap-
pened for 102 years, Lawyer
said. Pews are temporarily re-
moved from the sanctuary
to make room for the tea,
which draws at least 50 people
each year.
Another popular event at
the church is its annual Eas-
ter egg hunt, which attracts
about 100 children. This year’s
Easter egg hunt, Dixon said,
was run with several inches of
snow on the ground.
Such events are under the
direction of a congregation
that is remarkably close, Wat-
son said.
“The people who attend are
not just friends and neighbors,
we are more like a family,”
she said.
A family with no shortage
of generosity.
“We want to help as many
people as we can,” Watson
said.
international relations, will be a
junior this year.
Masterson received a
$10,000 scholarship, also from
the P.E.O. Sisterhood, in 2020,
when she first enrolled at
Cottey College.
The private women’s college
was founded in 1884 by Vir-
ginia Alice Cottey.
In 1926 Cottey was invited
to join the P.E.O. Sisterhood
— the initials stand for Philan-
thropic Educational Organi-
zation.
The next year, Cottey do-
nated the college to the Sister-
hood.
Masterson, who grew up
in Baker City, learned about
Cottey College from her aunt,
Jeannette Burgess (her maiden
name is Etchamendy), a Baker
High School graduate who at-
tended Cottey College in the
early 1990s.
The Sisterhood’s Chapter
CJ in Baker City, which was
organized in 1952, is well-ac-
quainted with Cottey College.
Several current or former
Baker County residents are
alumni who were connected
to Cottey College through ei-
ther of the two local chapters,
CJ and AX, P.E.O. member Liz
Burton said in 2020.
The list includes Meredith
Wilson, Julie Wilson, Kim
Wilson Saiki, Kate McKim
Rohner, Josie Stearns, Tanya
O’Neal, Kate Rowan, Annie
Cahill and the late Pat Fessel
and Kathy Rose.
Justice Court warrant): John Marsik
Guthrie Jr., 50, Baker City, 8:17 a.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 17 at the Sheriff’s
Office; cited and released.
Baker City Police
Arrests, citations
PROBATION VIOLATION: Chaz Jordan
Williams, 20, Baker City, 2:05 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 17 in the 1200 block
of Campbell Street; jailed.
Oregon State Police
Accident report
At 1:38 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 18,
Trooper Jonathan Boggs responded
to a single-vehicle crash on Interstate
84, Milepost 304.5 eastbound. A
white Chevrolet Suburban, driven by
Patrick C. Martin, 72, of Creswell, was
entering the freeway via the Exit 304
onramp when it crossed both lanes
and crashed into the concrete center
divider, according to Boggs’ report.
Both Martin and his passenger, Janel
L. Tjaden of Creswell, were taken by
ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Medical
Center-Baker City, where they were
treated and released.
Accident report
At 7:46 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 15, Sr.
Trooper Bradley Duncan responded to
a single-vehicle crash on Highway 86
near Milepost 39, near Richland. The
driver, Myrna J. Clarke, 81, of Sumpter,
was driving west when the setting
sun obstructed her view, according
to Duncan’s report. The Suzuki Vitara
she was driving went off the highway
on a right hand corner and hit a tree.
Both Evans and her passenger, Jantje
Eva Smith, 83, of Sumpter, had minor
injuries and were taken by ambulance
to Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-
Baker City.
Local Briefing
Astronomy event set
for Aug. 26
An introduction to astron-
omy is featured at the next ses-
sion of the Baker Community
Sciences & Arts Lecture Series
on Thursday, Aug. 26. “The
Casual Observer’s Guide to the
Night Sky” will be presented by
Ciera Partyka-Worley and
Casey Howard from Boise
State University. The talk
starts at 6 p.m. in OTEC’s
conference room, 4005 23rd
St. Attendance is free. Topics
include stargazing, astronomy
with a telescope, naked eye
astronomy, the planets and
moon, and a look at Jupiter
and Saturn.
These talks are scheduled
for the last Thursday of the
month. The next topics are:
• The Future of Energy
with OTEC: Sept. 22, 6 p.m.
• Potatoes, Cattle & Tech-
nology — Trends in Eastern
Oregon Ag: Oct. 27
• A Brief History of Art —
Fabulous Facts, Divine Dis-
coveries & Creative Connec-
tions: Nov. 17
Keegan Masterson
receives $6,000
scholarship
P.E.O. Chapter CJ of Baker
City has awarded a $6,000
scholarship to Keegan Mas-
terson, who attends Cottey
College in Nevada, Missouri.
Masterson, who is majoring in
News of Record
DEATHS
Larry Waters: 79, of Joseph, died
Aug. 17, 2022, at a local care center.
His graveside service will be Saturday,
Aug. 27 at 11 a.m. at the Joseph
Cemetery, also known as Prairie Creek
Cemetery. Bollman Funeral Home is in
charge of arrangements.
FUNERALS PENDING
Tom ‘Mac’ Kerns: A celebration of
Mac’s life will take place Saturday, Sept.
3 at 10 a.m. in the Haines Methodist
Church. Donations can be made to
the Eastern Oregon Museum in Haines
through Coles Tribute Center, 1950
Place St., Baker City, OR 97814. To light
a candle in memory of Mac, go to
www.colestributecenter.com.
Frank William Hermann: A
celebration of his life will take place
on Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. at the Harvest
Christian Church, 3720 Birch St.
in Baker City. To leave an online
condolence for Frank’s family, go to
www.grayswestco.com.
Peggy Anna Pittman: Graveside
service will be Saturday, Sept. 10 at
10 a.m. at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Friends are invited to join the family
for a reception afterward at the Baker
City Christian Church, 675 Highway 7.
Memorial contributions can be made
to Smile Train, St. Jude’s Children’s
Hospital or Shriner’s Children’s Hospital
through Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer
Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City,
OR 97814.To light a candle in Peggy’s
memory, or to offer online condolences
to her family, go to www.grayswestco.
com.
POLICE LOG
Baker County Sheriff’s Office
Arrests, citations
CONTEMPT OF COURT (Baker County
Justice Court warrant): Laura Feign
Osterkamp, 58, Baker City, 6:56 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 18 on Union Creek
Road; cited and released.
THIRD-DEGREE THEF T (Baker County
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