HISTORY
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
A13
OUT OF THE PAST
10 Years ago
Award time
Several elementary stu-
dents at Prairie City School
received either student of
the month certificates or aca-
demic achievement awards
for the first quarter of 2009-
2010, during an assembly in
early November: front row,
from left, Dorran Wilson,
Tiler Voigt, Rilee Emmel,
Peyton Neault, Katie Hire,
Paige Gerry, Seth Moore,
Haley Pfefferkorn and Dylan
Propeck; back row, Sierra
Dahlen, Marnie Woodbury,
Brianna Zweygardt, Cyn-
thia Griego, Kody Propeck,
Klay McGill and Megan
Camarena.
25 Years Ago
Area Wood Carver
Blends imagination, Skill
The next time you look at
a log before you chop it up
or throw it into the fire, think
of what shape it could take
with a little imagination and
skill.
A John Day resident,
Dave Ellis, is putting a child-
hood hobby of wood work-
ing into a profession this
holiday season. “I’ve carved
since I was a little kid,” said
Ellis, who had a display set
up inside the entrance of
the John Day Mini Mall. “It
takes a good eye, because
you can’t put the wood back
once it’s out.”
Ellis, who has lived in
John Day for three years,
started his new business two
months ago after buying a
specialized chainsaw with
a carving blade and some
hand tools, such as files, a
blow torch and wire brushes.
“I haven’t sold much,”
explained Ellis, who wants
to build up his stock so he
File photo
From Dec. 23, 2009: Several elementary students at Prairie
City School received either student of the month certifi-
cates or academic achievement awards for the first quarter
of 2009-2010, during an assembly in early November: front
row, from left, Dorran Wilson, Tiler Voigt, Rilee Emmel, Pey-
ton Neault, Katie Hire, Paige Gerry, Seth Moore, Haley Pfef-
ferkorn and Dylan Propeck; back row, Sierra Dahlen, Marnie
Woodbury, Brianna Zweygardt, Cynthia Griego, Kody Pro-
peck, Klay McGill and Megan Camarena.
can take a load of his carv-
ings to the coast and try to
sell them there. People seem
to like them, though, so I’m
not too worried.”
He finished a large Indian
carving recently for a man
in Prairie City who donated
the wood to him. Ellis gets
a lot of his ideas from ency-
clopedias, pictures and even
his memory, as he points to
a carving he did of a Viking
head piece that was dug up
in Europe he remembered.
Other carvings include
humpback, pygmie and
sperm whales, a cobra, a
dragon, and the heads sim-
ilar to those found on Eas-
ter Island and in the South
Pacific.
He added that he tries
not to do what most peo-
ple do, which include totem
poles, bears and eagles. “I
try to do a variety of things,”
said Ellis. “I’m not stick-
ing exclusively to using the
chainsaw either. I figure if it
looks nice who cares how I
did it.”
The wood he has
been using for his carv-
ings includes ponderosa
pine, Douglas fir and white
fir. “I’m testing different
woods.” explained Ellis.
“Most are Douglas fir. It
chisels the best. The white
fir is too soft. and it pulls
quicker when cut with a saw
and you can’t give it as good
of a finish.”
The wood he uses is only
up to 3 feet long, so his carv-
ings are limited in size until
he’s able to get his hands on
some larger lumber. “When
I cut wood, the Forest Ser-
vice won’t let me take more
than a 3-foot piece at a
File photo
From 1994: A John Day resident, Dave Ellis, is putting a childhood hobby of wood working
into a profession this holiday season.
time,” said Ellis. “I have a
guy in Mt. Vernon who may
give me some juniper to do
some totem poles.”
Ellis said he may go to
Alaska, since they have
more galleries up there for
carvings such as his due to
tourism. Another option is
the Oregon Coast, where he
has some friends that can
help out. “I’ll just see how
it goes,” he explained. “For
the past two months I’ve
been spending most of my
time ironing out some prob-
lems such as technique and
using the tools.”
Prices range on the pieces
from under $100 to over
$500, and Ellis added that as
soon as he’s able to get some
larger pieces of wood the
prices may go up to $1,000
or more. So after an unsuc-
cessful shot at computer
drafting in the career world,
the John Day resident has
dedicated that his art skill
with wood may prove to be
his future calling instead.
“I really enjoyed doing
it,” said Ellis, “and there’s
not many jobs these days
you can have fun at and be
self-employed.”
75 Years Ago
Santa Claus Is Coming
to Town
Santa Claus is coming
to John Day at 4 o’clock,
Christmas Eve, and will be
master of ceremonies at the
outdoor community Christ-
mas tree festivities, spon-
sored by the Chamber of
Commerce. The jolly old
fellow will have a piece of
candy and nuts for every
child in the community. All
of the children and the moth-
ers and dads, too, should
be on hand to welcome St.
Nick.
CONSERVATION TECHNICIAN
Merry
Christmas
Grant Soil & Water Conservation District, based in John Day,
OR is seeking to fill a Conservation Technician Position. This
position provides labor, technical and programmatic services
to support the successful implementation of District Programs.
Qualified candidates require field and technical skills, have the
ability to work independently and as part of a team as well as
possess strong oral and written communication abilities. Salary:
$45-$55K DOE, Plus Benefits. For a complete
job description and application, please visit
www.grantswcd.net or contact Kyle Sullivan
541-575-0135 ext. 111, sullivank@ortelco.net.
Application Deadline is January 17, 2020.
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From the Staff and Management at
Malheur Lumber Company & Restoration Fuels
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THE JUNIPER ARTS COUNCIL / GRANT
COUNTY CULTURAL COALITION IS SEEKING
GRANT PROPOSALS FOR OREGON
CULTURAL TRUST GRANT AWARDS
The coalition has $6,300 from the Oregon Cultural
Trust to distribute in Grant County to organizations
for projects relating to culture and / or heritage.
Applications are available from Karin Barntish,
131 W. Main Street, John Day, Oregon, or call
Kris Beal at (541)932-4892 for more information
or an application.
Wishing you the Peace and Joy of
the Christmas Season. Best
wishes for 20
r 20 from your friends
at Eastern Oregon Realty.
Jerry, Michal, Lindsey, Traci,
Deann and Jo.
Grant applications will be accepted until
February 5, 2020 5 P.M.
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From Doug and the crew at
Ferguson Surveying &
Engineering,
Wishing you an
Old-fashioned
Country Christmas.
We appreciate your business & support.
Lori Hickerson, Principal Broker, GRI
Office: 541-575-2617
ljh@ortelco.net
May your
holidays
be merry and bright!
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Sally Knowles, Broker, GRI
Office: 541-932-4493
sknowles@ortelco.net
Babette Larson, Broker, GRI
Office: 541-987-2363
ddwr@ortelco.net
www.dukewarnerrealtyofeasternoregon.com
Your professional Real Estate choice in Grant County
Members of RMLS & COARMLS • www.rmls.com or www.coarmls.com
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