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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2022)
C4 THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2022 YESTERYEAR Log cabin builder Luther Metke still going strong at 87 in 1972 100 YEARS AGO For the week ending August 27, 1922 Flower show is biggest in Bend history The largest exhibit of flow- ers ever gathered together in Bend is being viewed today in the rooms below the Masonic hall, where the annual flower show is being conducted un- der the auspices of the Wom- an’s Civic league. Including the tables of collections compet- ing for the Emblem club and Commercial club cups, and the collections of four variet- ies of the same color, there are 390 separate exhibits, seven less than last year; but of the collections there are many more than in past years, and the variety and excellence is superior. Over one hundred peo- ple were waiting outside the building while the judging was completed eager to enter and inspect the displays. A silver tea was held this afternoon in the balcony over the flower show room, for the benefit of the civic league. Feminine trend on skyline trail seen Chocolate and chewing gum wrappers now litter the Skyline trail where formerly tobacco cans and discarded “wheat straw” books pre- dominated, according to F.V. Horton, grazing examiner for the forest service, who today ended a horseback tour over the Cascades from Crescent to Odell lake, on range ap- praisal work, accompanied by H.E. Vincent, formerly deputy supervisor here but now in a similar position with the Cas- cade forest, with headquarters at Eugene. In other words, says Hor- ton, the Skyline trail is be- ing used more and more by parties composed largely of women. It is in good shape, and travelers on foot and horseback are frequent. Range conditions are good, says Horton, as a result of a great amount of rain. Deer are plentiful. New Brooks-scanlon mill announced Construction of a new saw mill which will result in dou- bling the capacity of its local plant will be begun by the Brooks-Scanlon Lumber com- pany as soon as the details can be worked out. Building plans were under discussion in con- ferences held here recently participated by President D.F. Brooks, Vice president M.J. Scanlon, and General Man- ager H.K. Brooks. The new mill is to be lo- cated on high ground on the river about a quarter of a mile up stream from the present mill. Until engineers have come in to prepare final plans the exact details of the new mill will not be available. It will be in all essential respects a duplicate of the present mill though larger. It is also possi- ble that three band saws will be installed instead of two. Besides the bands the equip- ment will consist of a re-saw, an edger and a trimmer. In ad- dition, as at the present mill, there will be a special edger for re-manufacturing lumber where, by so doing , the grade can be raised. The machinery will be supplied by the Dia- mond Iron Works, of Minne- apolis. 75 YEARS AGO For the week ending August 27, 1947 Daly petition is filed with city recorder John Daly, owner of the D-D club and the first person to announce his candidacy in the seven-man city commis- sion election October 7, yes- terday filed his petition with City recorder Simerville. The petition contained 348 names. Petitions are now on file with Simerville for Daly, E.L. Nielsen, Hans Slagsvold, Ar- thur A Rixe, Newell H. Clapp, YESTERYEAR Compiled by the Deschutes County Historical Society from archived copies of The Bulletin. These are excerpts. Visit our website for more: bendbulletin.com/lifestyle Earl C. Kiel, Leo Bishop, Clif- ford V. Goodwin, Dean G. Raymond, and Clifton W. Hutchins, all candidates for the commission. Horse replaces auto for veteran James Revell, Bend, Wake island captive of the Japa- nese, can’t go motoring like the rest of the folks when va- cation time comes around, so he got a horse and is now on his way to the Oregon coast, accompanied by his mother, Cynthia Revell, 68. They are making the Bend to-coast trip via horse and trailer, and safely reached Eugene this past week end, by way of the Willamette pass. Revell bought a horse af- ter poor vision, caused by beri-beri and pellagra suf- fered while a prisoner of the Japanese, made it impossible for him to get a driver’s li- cense. Drawing the trailer to the coast is “Big Jim,” a sturdy horse. The trailer was hand- made and is equipped with studio couch, air mattresses, butane gas stove, a portable ra- dio, a water barrel and a load of hay and oats for “Big Jim.” The trailer, painted a bright red, moved over the Willa- mette pass without incident. County fair is scheduled Sept. 19 to 21 The 1947 Deschutes county fair is just three weeks distant. Such was the notation made by M.A. Lynch, Deschutes county fair association chair- man, as plans were outlined for a show which for the first time since pre-war days will have open class exhibits and entries, with community ex- hibits again to fill an entire section of the agriculture building. The county fair this year will be on September 19, 20, and 21 with the first day to be devoted entirely to 4-H and F.F. A. exhibits. The entire grounds will be open that day, Friday, without charge. Five major events in ad- dition to races and novelty features, will be presented at the rodeo this year. The ma- jor events will include bronc riding, bareback riding, bull- dogging, calf roping and bull riding. In addition there will be pony express races, a F.F. A race and novelty races. In preparation for De- schutes county’s first “big time” fair since pre-war days, the arena and stands are now being put int shape. Addi- tional reserved seats will be provided this year. 50 YEARS AGO For the week ending August 27, 1972 Log cabin builder Luther Metke still going strong at 87 Luther Metke may be old (“I’m only 87,” he says), but he’s still doing what he did at the turn of the century- build- ing log cabins. “My grandson wanted to learn how to build a log cabin,” Metke says of his lat- est project. “So we started in the fall of last year.” The small cabin he and his grandson are building is across a field from Camp Sherman, his home. “I was lazy with this one,” he said, pointing to a corner of the new cabin. “I didn’t notch the ends of those logs.” He usually carves out the bottom of each log so that the corners mesh. But Metke isn’t lazy. He built the large log house he now lives in plus two other neighborhood homes. In his earlier years, Metke helped build the Harper Bridge across the Deschutes, just south of Sunriver, and helped survey and clear the right-of-way for the Santiam Highway from Hog Rock to Lost Lake. He finished his two-story log home in 1962. A friend helped him cut the logs, but Metke built the house himself, “I piddled around for a year. Didn’t have nobody chasin’ me,” he explained. “But I built the one next door in a little more than a month.” “There ain’t much to it.” he said of his building ventures. “I built log cabins back in Minnesota before teh turn of the century when I was just 15 years old.” Metke says the logs for a cabin should be cut about a year before use to allow them to season and shrink. He never uses nails, but cuts the bottom of each log so it fits on top of another. To hoist the logs for his present home, Metke used a boom slung over a tree, but he says that ordinarily he rolls the logs up on skids, towing them with a car or truck. He uses oakum, a tarred rope, to seal the cabin from the inside. “Sometimes you have to be strong in the back and weak in the mind to build one,” he said. Metke can still lay claim to a strong back. The small log cabin is evidence. But on top of that, he does a good deal of thinking. He began writ- ing poetry 11 years ago with a rhyme for his granddaughter’s graduation. “Right now I have little things I want to do to make the world better. As long as you’re living for yourself, you get old awful fast. You look in the mirror and think “Hell’s fire, what have you got to crow about?’ There’s nothin’ there. You’ve got to be doing some- thing for somebody else — that’s the only way you’ll feel like living.” Metke got up from his rock- ing chair, put on a heavy coat and searched the living room for several minutes. “That’s one thing about gettin’ old,” he said. “You forget so dang many things.” He finally found several letters and started out the door toward the mailbox. 25 YEARS AGO For the week ending August 27, 1997 Library groundwork done Demolition work is finished and construction has started on Bend’s new $7.95 million library, due for completion a year from now. But it will be two or three weeks before foundations are poured and the walls start going up. The first step for Kirby Nagelhout Construction is to blast and drill four 30-foot- deep drywell holes for drain- age of the site, said George Goshert, Deschutes County project manager. Goshert had a pleasant sur- prise when he picked up the building permit this week across Wall Street at City Hall. He was prepared to pay about $120,000 in develop- ment fees, but a new formula used to determine street charges lowered that cost by about $45,000. “We’ll put it in the contin- gency fund,” Goshert said. “If we don’t use it while we go through construction, it can be used for furnishings or equipment.” The city also, as is custom- ary, waived about $10,000 in building permit and engineer- ing fees for the county. The two governments have a long-standing policy of such mutual “trading of service,” said Deborah McMahon, city development services director. No unpleasant surprises emerged during demolition of the old Bend National Guard armory and Pacific Power headquarters, Goshert said. SIZZLING SUMMER SALE Hot Prices on Cool Furniture and Mattresses SALE ENDS August 31st FREE DELIVERY & SPECIAL FINANCING AVAILABLE* *Subject to credit approval. See store for details 2071 S. Hwy 97, Redmond 541-548-2066 • www.wilsonsofredmond.net • 63485 N. Hwy 97, Bend 541-330-5084
