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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2019)
A6 HISTORY Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, January 2, 2019 OUT OF THE PAST 75 years ago Susanville miner burns to his death in his cabin Mrs. Genevieve Saling, stage driver between Austin and Susanville, in the north- eastern part of Grant County, grabbed her mail sacks and rushed to Austin Tuesday morning, where she called County Judge Jess Allen and informed him that the cabin in which Adrian Matteson lived near Susanville was almost destroyed by fire; that no trace could be found of the miner; that citizens feared that the old man had perished in the flames. Telephone communications from Susan- ville were temporarily out. Within an hour, however, communications were had with Mrs. Gertie O’Rorke, postmaster of the mining town, who reported that the charred remains of Mr. Mat- teson were discovered in the coals of the burned cabin. Coroner J. Carl Driskill, accompanied by Slim Cur- tis, county road master, went to the scene and the remains were brought to the Driskill Mortuary, John Day. Grave- side funeral services will be held at the Canyon City cem- etery, Sunday at 2:30 p.m., Rev. Ernest H. Brown officiating. Coroner Driskill states that investigation revealed that the elderly miner’s death was accidental. The origin of the fire will probably never be known but the supposi- tion of citizens of the Susan- ville community is that the old gentleman kindled a fire in his cook stove and that a defective stove pipe or fall- ing coals from the stove set fire to the cabin. His body was found in the corner of the room opposite the door. Mr. Matteson was born on August 12, 1873, in Hep- pner, Oregon, being 70 years of age at the time of his death. A brother, Elmer, resides in Monument and another brother, Harley, lives in Hep- pner. He is also survived by three sisters, Miss Eva Mat- teson of Boring, Oregon, Mrs. Estella Mulvaney of Seattle, Wash., and Mrs. Silva Casin of Heppner, Oregon. 50 years ago Stork fails to arrive As of press time today, the first baby of 1969 for Grant County has not arrived. The Blue Mountain Hos- pital reported this morning that there is no indication that the stork would arrive in Grant County today. Sev- eral stork flights are tenta- tively scheduled, but no defi- nite times are available. The winner of the 21st annual Grant County Stork Derby will claim a variety of prizes from 16 merchants who are offering merchandise prizes or gift certificates. The contest is open to any parents who have lived in the county for six or more months. 25 years ago County and OTEC flip the switch on energy efficiency The county last week agreed to team with Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative in an energy conservation proj- ect planned on an element in a $45,000 renovation project slated for the courthouse. Under the Implementation Incentive Agreement signed last week, the county will receive $8,104 from OTEC to revamp the courthouse light- O utlook ing fixtures. John Stearns, customer relation’s representative with the Grant County OTEC office, told county court members last week that the funds are available through the Energy Smart Program created by the Bonneville Power Administration. He said the BPA program is used for lighting efficiency, insulation and other conser- vation projects in commercial buildings. Stearns said the underly- ing philosophy of the BPA is that it is less expensive to make money available for energy conservation projects rather than spending money to construct more dams and power plants to meet increased energy needs. 10 years ago Firemen’s Ball raises money while having fun A New Year’s Eve Fire- men’s Ball rang in 2009 at the Mt. Vernon Community Hall last week and helped raise money for emergency equip- ment the department needs. The wish list included pumps, saws, radios, and wildland fireman clothing — a necessity for fighting wil- derness fires the district faces in the summer months. Fire Chief Bill Cearns says the Mt. Vernon Fire Depart- ment, established in 1948, currently has a good core of 10-12 volunteers, but more are always needed. “It takes a commit- ment from someone to go to school,” he said. Currently a Firefighter I class is being held in John Day and in February a train- ing will be held in Long Creek. In the spring, Grant/Har- ney Training Association will offer training for entry lev- el-volunteers with weekend classes held in Long Creek and Hines. This training is required for firefighters to enter a house fire. Cearns says the big- gest fire-starter problems for houses he sees are wood- stoves and candles. Then in the summertime their biggest fire “nemesis” is burn bar- rels and people burning when they shouldn’t be. “Lightning is another one,” he said. “We get quite a few of them — more than other districts in our area.” One of the department’s stations holds five wildland pickups and the ambulance. Another station on Wid- ows Creek has a structure engine, one wildland engine and one tender (a water tank truck). The new station has three structure engines, one medium rescue, a tender and a portable Self-contained Breathing Apparatus com- pressor and fill station within a trailer — this fills the air tanks the firefights use to breathe when they are sur- rounded by smoke. The Fire Defense Board, which includes all the Grant County fire chiefs, Oregon Department of Forestry and the Malheur National For- est, owns the SCBA station and it’s placed in Mt. Vernon because of its central loca- tion, Cearns says. On Dec. 31, any wor- ries about fires were put on hold while about 100 people attended the Firemen’s Ball, held at the community hall where renovations were com- pleted last summer. Cearns hopes to see the Ball become an annual event. SENI R This was quite a combination of days: last meal of the year, Christmas dinner, and December birthday recognition. There was Rose Coombs only one name on the sign-up sheet for a chance to win the $10 gift certificate donated by Huffman’s Select Market for the birthday this month: Fran Bunch. And it couldn’t have gone to a nicer lady! There were lots of other items to give away, too. The Food Bank brought over lots of apples, plums and potatoes. Then Lloyds Twice Upon a Time brought in some boxes of Hummel-like figurines to give away. Thank you so much for these items. Then there was the final time to bid on the silent auction items. I got a handmade afghan to put in the car. Even has its own bag; what a deal! Drew Harmer led the flag salute and Tom Roark asked the blessing. Larry and Carlos made the home deliveries; there were 61 names on the book. Prairie City Seniors These holidays have sure come quickly this year! I hope you are better prepared than I am, but we’ll have good family time, good food and maybe a game or two. Our furnace Nicky Essex went out a week ago, but our friends from Baker helped us make it work, over the phone, until they could get here Thursday! On Monday, Dec. 17, those wonderful guys from Step Forward made all of the home deliveries from Canyon City, to John Day and Mt. Vernon! Delivering 30 regular meals and 36 frozen meals; you have sure been a lifeline to many this year. Thank you!! The folks from First Christian Church provided table service, with Roberta Dowse opening the time by leading our salute to the flag. The drawings went on, but I missed most of it, trying to close out the 3rd successful silent auction. Linda Stoltz has really given so many neat wreaths and Christmas decorations each time we’ve had a meal; she is a gem here and keeps our center beautifully decorated at all times. Dale Stennett gave the devotional blessing on our meal and we had 24 diners who enjoyed chili verde with toppings, flour tortillas, a green salad and cinnamon streusel coffee cake for dessert. Reminder: Tai Chi forms will begin again on Monday the Jan. 7. They will be held before lunch on Thursdays, 10:15 to 10:45 a.m.; bingo is played after lunch on Thursdays. On Thursday, Dec. 20, our service was provided by The Methodist Church and Ye Olde Thrift Shop; Sherri Feiger, Dolores Belden, Nancy John Day Seniors We all had a good ol’ time for our meal on Dec. 18. Our cooks, Terry Cade and Teawna Jewell, made us some chicken enchiladas with Spanish Soo Yukawa rice, fresh green salad, and a fruit cocktail followed by chocolate cake; the meal was very satisfying and filling. We thank our cooks for their preparation and hard work. That was our last meal for the year of 2018. Our greeters at the table were Jimmy Cole, Kristi Guimont, Jeannie Strange, Bodean Andersen, and Judy Harris. Jimmy was collecting and counting the money, Kristi and Jeannie were checking the guests in and handing out the free raffle tickets, Judy led us in the flag salute and made the announcements, and yours truly prayed the blessing over the meal. There was a free raffle going on that Jeannie Strange had prepared. All guests who came to the lunch received tickets for a chance to win prizes. The winner of some tools was Bill Nichols, Dorothy Jordan won and chose a Christmas gift basket, yours truly won the beautiful Christmas wreath, my favorite color: red. We thank Jeannie for all her creative ideas and her generosity. That’s part of what makes our town special, people giving of themselves and their support. There was also a turkey raffle. The tickets were $5 for six tickets or $1 each. The lucky winner of the turkey went to Jeannie Strange; she deserved it. The winner of the Len’s Drug gift card was Dorothy Jordan. The free Monument Seniors So which table got to go first today? Who else but the Wise Men! And what did our cooks serve? Baked ham, potatoes au gratin, green bean casserole, a veggie tray with carrots, celery, pickles, olives and beets, a roll and all kinds of pies and other desserts (I assume, since we weren’t there). We got to partake of the meal on Thursday and our dessert in the take-out boxes was a jelly topped cookie; very tasty. Krystin and Lorna had a full load from the Blue Mountain Care Center: Mary Crawford, Virginia Miller, Charlene Dean, Marilyn Randall and Gordon Sindt. There was no meal on Dec. 26, but we will be back on Jan. 2. Had to make a run to Bend on Wednesday, so that’s why we missed the meal. Upshot was that no surgery is indicated soon. Hallelujah! We can have these senior columns. Luke 2:38-40 “{Anna}…gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.” Elliott, Isa Larkin, Louise Nelson and Katy Smith. Nancy led the flag salute and Sherri gave her very thought provoking devotion and prayers. Thanks again to Linda, more drawings and gifts. Vivian Rookstool won the Valley View meal, Jeanette Julsrud won the Chester’s Thriftway gift card and Dusty Harris won the special $15 gift from Chester’s Thriftway. Our Senior Center Christmas Dinner was sponsored by Tootie Cernazanu in memory of Jim. The menu included cranberry glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, fresh oven roasted Brussel sprouts, with sweet cranberries, onions and bacon topped with honey balsamic sauce, homemade dinner rolls and fresh relish trays; our dessert was a chocolate cheesecake! Along with your choice of drinks with eggnog added for the holidays. Shay, Michelle, Veanne, Linda and Anne worked tirelessly to present a wonderful celebration meal! It was a very busy full house. In addition to the 96-seated guests, 42 regular meals plus 40 frozen meals were delivered by Chet and Jeannie Day and the Step Forward group. (The center was closed Monday, Dec. 24, so the extra frozen meals covered those). One of our regular members, Margie Conlee, took a very bad fall and we ask for your thoughts and prayers for her. Our many guests included Jason Walker, Vickie Stolle, Pam and Everett King, and Paul and Michele Dieker (Michele is Kay Trafton’s daughter). From Valley View, Kim, Randa, Chuck, Georgine, Helen, Lois, Norma, Betty and daughter Pam, Shirley, Nancy and Ben! If I failed to include you, please forgive me! 1 John 4:9 NIV “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.” meal tickets were won by Doug Sweek and Bob Yukawa. There were 45 guests on the books and 16 takeouts. We had Dick Wanous and his friend Sharon from Spray join us for lunch. Betty Richards is back home and is still recovering; we are glad to have her back. Bruce Strange is also back from the hospital from a bout of pneumonia and is recovering at home. We pray for all our friends having health issues for a full recovery. There is bingo going on for Saturday, Dec. 29. The games will start at 6 p.m. and break for a potluck dinner after 10 games and then we will play another 10 games; I might try my hand at it again. There’s some snow on the ground in parts of Monument, PTL! We also got some rain; we are supposed to have snow and rain in the forecast this week. I am praying that the Lord continues to bless our little valley with more moisture. We as a family are having a very low-key Christmas this year. I gotta go and dig out the Christmas movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life” and watch it with my family. We are going to try and make some cookies too. Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. May the Lord bless your families with His peace and joy. Our hope comes from the Savior Jesus who came to us as a helpless babe. He came to set us free from our sins. What a glorious gift from our heavenly Father! Luke 1:76-77 “And thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: For thou shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins.” 91932