A6
COLUMNS & HISTORY
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
GRANT COUNTY SENIORS
Monument
Seniors
Soo Yukawa
For our first opening meal
at the Monument Senior Cen-
ter since the lockdown that
lasted more than a year and a
half, we had about 18 people
show up and 39 takeouts. Our
cooks were Terry Cade and
Christy Howell. They pre-
pared for us tater tot casse-
role, bread, corn and peanut
butter cookies. We thank our
cooks tremendously for their
efforts.
The volunteers at the table
were Kristi Guimont, Jimmy
Cole and Sylvia Cockrell.
Kristi and Jimmy filled out
the paperwork and counted
up the money. Sylvia wrote
down info and checked in the
guests. Bob Cockrell poured
the drinks for the patrons.
Bodean Anderson made the
announcements and prayed
the blessing over the meal.
Max Breeding was the
winner of the free lunch
ticket, and Mac McKinnen
won the Len’s Drug gift card.
We thank all our volunteers
and those who support our
senior center.
Hope everyone is excited
about our center reopen-
ing and that we never take
for granted the freedoms that
we have meeting freely with
friends and neighbors to enjoy
a meal together or any other
gathering for that matter.
I did not go the lunch that
day but opted for the takeout.
I was extremely tired from
the previous week of driving
to and fro to John Day three
days in a row and then haul-
ing and moving hay the next
two days after that. I was one
pooped out person, and I kind
of slept a lot that day. The
weekend was busy too so I
just plain needed rest.
So, I have some visiting
mini donkeys at our place. We
are helping out a friend who
needed help to board her mini
donkeys for awhile. They are
funny. The first day after they
arrived, I led them over to a
greener pasture and they fol-
lowed me around a bit. They
have been here for a week,
and my friend came over to
visit them. They ran away!
Maybe they thought she was
going to take them back home
(they were in a pen) and did
not want to leave? They were
hilarious. I think they finally
realized that she just wanted
to give them a treat.
The mini donkeys are
keeping to themselves and
not really hanging out with
my goats. I guess I wouldn’t
blame them; my goats stink.
The goats look really nice and
fat. I am definitely going to
have to try and butcher a cou-
ple of the wether goats and try
the meat. Those goats don’t
have names so I have no emo-
tional attachment to them.
I am going to have to bring
in the three female goats that
have been hanging out with
the males. They look pretty
big and pregnant. If my timing
estimation is correct, I will
be expecting kids in Septem-
ber. Oh boy, I know Bonnie
is going to most likely have
triplets again. I am going to
have to mentally prepare for
bottle feeding a baby goat,
or maybe not, I think I have
a plan.
Psalms 81:1 “Sing aloud
unto God our strength: Make
a joyful noise unto the God of
Jacob.”
Prairie City
Seniors
Rose Coombs
Wow! What a meal we
enjoyed! It is called “hobo din-
ner” and is made this way: In
a small loaf pan place potato
rounds, carrots, onions and a big
hunk of hamburger. Cover and
bake. And talk about hearty por-
tions! Whew. Then there was a
roll and muffin to go with it, plus
a fruit salad with marshmallows
and real whipped cream. Oh my
goodness! Kudos to cooks Pam
and Laura for this repast. What
will they come up with next?
Stay tuned.
Ginger, Gwynne and Carlos
took care of the home deliver-
ies, and Pam and Carla got the
bags to our drive-in custom-
ers. Remember that some of
the containers are recyclable so
don’t forget to bring them back
or have them ready for the deliv-
ery drivers to return for you.
One new family today was
son No. 1 who is spending a
week of his vacation with us
in Grant County. So I gave him
and his family a tour of the new
construction that son No. 2 has
accomplished in the ol’ hall. He
related to his children what he
remembered about the building
when there really was a “pool
room” back there. If you wanted
to play in the winter time, first
you had to build a fire in the
old wood stove, which entailed
going down to the basement and
hauling up firewood first. And
with these 12-foot ceilings, it
took awhile for the warmth to
get down to table level. Ah, the
good old days.
Then said son helped us
assemble and erect one of those
spiffy corner shower caddies.
After I had bought the item, I
read the directions and deter-
mined that it would take an
engineer to get it installed. That
was on June 5. Bert got it taken
care of exactly two months later.
Hooray and PTL! (He really is
an engineer — in the manufac-
ture of ink cartridges for print-
ers.) So now maybe we won’t be
knocking the shampoo off the
tub edges. That makes an awful
clatter!
The contractor said that he
would be prepping the build-
ing in earnest next week. One
of our diners is so excited about
the new siding, she can hardly
wait for it to be done. She’s not
the only one! The best part is not
having to think about painting
— for a long, long, long time!
In the process, we’ve gotten
one new interior and four new
new exterior doors that are up
to code, put swinging hinges on
the two doors into the main din-
ing hall, removed the door to
the old stairwell (that is no lon-
ger there) and filled in the lower
stairwell access opening to the
basement. So there are no funny
projections to deal with when
the new siding gets put on. Hur-
ray! When all the prep work is
done, the siding should go on
speedily. And the building will
go up in “grade” in fire resis-
tance due to metal roofing and
siding. Whooppee!
So what have you been up
to? Not much during the heat,
I suspect. Hopefully the fair
week won’t be too hot so people
can get out and view the exhib-
its and parade. Congratulations
to our Prairie City native on
her grand marshal-ship. (Now
there’s a good word!) Have a
roaring good time, y’all!
Psalm 145:7 “They will cel-
ebrate Your abundant good-
ness and joyfully sing of your
righteousness.”
OUT OF THE PAST
75 years ago
Betty Welch chosen Queen
of County Fair
A very important announce-
ment has just been released for
all the “Fair” minded people in
that the Committee has selected
Miss Betty Welch as the Queen
of the 1946 Grant County Fair.
Miss Welch, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. J. D. Welch of John
Day, is a graduate of Grant
Union High School. Betty is 18
years old and anticipates attend-
ing Oregon State College this
fall. For the past several years
she has owned her own horse,
which she cares for herself. Miss
Welch has shown a great deal of
interest in horse back riding and
is a charter member of the Grant
County Riding Club.
There are to be four atten-
dants to the Queen to be chosen
from other parts of the county,
announcements of which will
be in a later issue of this paper.
50 years ago
‘Huey’ goes to work
This large helicopter, a Bell
205-A, is the same ship as the
“Huey” used as a gun ship in
Vietnam. It is powered by a
15,000 horsepower jet engine,
which enables it to carry heavy
loads at fairly high speeds. The
“Huey” took men and supplies
to the Cabin Creek Fire last
week 3 miles south of Aldrich
Mountain in about 30 min-
utes. It would have taken the
crew over three hours to drive
and walk to the same spot. In
another quick trip it took a four-
man crew to a small clearing
near Eagle Creek and returned
to John Day in 27 minutes.
County fair competition
A
s a high achiever, I’ve earned a shelf full of
county fair ribbons and awards.
In my dreams.
Actually, my winnings consist of a participant
badge signifying I’d shown up.
I was a late-comer to county fairs. When I was
in high school, a farm woman asked me when I was
going to the fair. I’d never been to one
before.
With my parents’ consent, the
woman took me and my brothers to
the fair. Wow! What excitement! The
fair food! The livestock barn! The
handcrafts! The baked goods! The art-
work! I never knew our county folks
Jean Ann
possessed such talents and skills. Our
Moultrie
parents brought us back to the fair
another day — and they were hooked also. The fair
became an annual family excursion.
Through the years, I considered submitting an entry
for judging.
At one time, a younger brother raised homing
pigeons. He gave me and the other brother each a
pigeon to raise. On test day, my two brothers and I fas-
tened cages to our bicycles, tucked our pigeons inside
and peddled into the country. We parked, took out
our birds and tossed them into the air. My brothers’
pigeons circled and headed out. My pigeon kept cir-
cling as though he was in a holding pattern at the air-
port. We jumped on our bikes and pedaled like crazy
for home. My brothers’ pigeons beat us home. My
pigeon didn’t show up until the next day. He looked as
if he’d stopped off to party with friends living under a
bridge. He fluttered down to the pigeon coop dishev-
eled and definitely not blue-ribbon material.
In time, our children enjoyed county fairs and
achieved success with their entries. Still, I remained
reluctant to enter, until one summer when vaca-
tion plans changed and I was off work before the fair
started. I resolved to enter the county fair competition.
I started with fruit, having long admired the beauty
of bottled peaches. After a sweaty afternoon in the
kitchen, I realized my sliced peaches turned out look-
ing as though they’d been hacked with a hand ax. On
to my “no-fail” cookies. I slid the cookie sheet into
the oven where the measured clumps of goodness pro-
ceeded to puddle into a pond of
cookie dough.
My mistake — I’d uttered the words “county fair
entry” out loud. At which point, the tomatoes dropped
off the vines, now brown and mushy as bugs tunneled
through them. Grasshoppers and earwigs hung out
near the Oriental lilies waiting for the buffet of blos-
soms to open. Potatoes turned knobby like deactivated
hand grenades.
I heeded advice to “be creative.” I creatively tried
to dehydrate lettuce. There was no spot for edible
entries that look like green lint.
County fair competition for me, I’ve discovered,
is as much about learning as winning or not winning.
I developed a deeper appreciation for the work of
others.
I’m off to the fair. The food! The livestock barn!
The handcrafts! And what I don’t accomplish now, I’ll
work on for next year.
Jean Ann Moultrie is a Grant County writer. Her
painting was judged a “G” by friends, which meant it
was appropriate to hang in a garage.
MT. VERNON
PRESBYTERIAN
Community Church
SUNDAY SERVICE..............9 am
SUNDAY SERVICE ...........9 am
Redeemer
Lutheran Church
Come Worship with us at
541-932-4800
EVERYONE WELCOME
627 SE Hillcrest, John Day
1 st Sunday Worship/Communion ..................10am
3 rd Sunday Worship/Communion/Potluck ...4:30pm
2 nd , 4 th & 5 th Sunday Worship .........................10am
Sunday Bible Study .....................................8:45am
For information: 541-575-2348
FIRST CHRISTIAN
CHURCH
Grace Chapel (EMC )
154 E. Williams St.
Prairie City, Oregon
541 820-4437
2 Corinthians 5:17
Every Sunday in the L.C.
Community Center
Pastor Robert Perkins
Contact Pastor Ed Studtmann at
541-421-3888 • Begins at 4:00pm
Sunday School (all ages)
9:30-10:30
Sunday Worship
10:45-12:00
John Day Valley
Mennonite
Church
Meeting every Sunday
at Mt. Vernon Grange Hall
Sunday School ...............................9:30 a.m.
Sunday Morning Worship ............10:50 a.m.
Pastor Leland Smucker
Everyone Welcome • 541-932-2861
(Corner of Second & Allen)
JOHN DAY
UNITED
METHODIST
CHURCH
Sunday Worship • 9AM
(541) 575-1326
johndayUMC@gmail.com
126 NW Canton, John Day
Food Pantry Friday 3-4PM
Like us on Facebook!
24/7 Inspirational Christian
Broadcasting
Tune into KSPL 98.1 FM
For more information,
call 541 620-0340
CHURCH OF THE
NAZARENE
Sunday School .......................... 9:30 am
Sunday Worship Service......... 10:45 am
Sunday Evening Service ...........6:00 pm
Children & Teen Activities
SMALL GROUPS CALL FOR MORE INFO
Weekdays: Sonshine Christian School
Pastor Randy Johnson
521 E. Main • John Day • 541-575-1895
www.johndaynazarene.com
St. Thomas
Episcopal
Church
Join us on Facebook
live Sunday 10am
Like us on Facebook!
Sunday School ..................... 9:45 am
Sunday Worship ...................... 11 am
Fox Community Church ............. 3 pm
Sunday Evening Bible Talk ......... 6 pm
Saturday Men’s Study ............... 6 pm
59357 Hwy 26 Mt. Vernon
Full Gospel- Come Grow With Us
Celebration of Worship
541-575-1202 Church
311 NE Dayton St, John Day
Pastor Al Altnow
Midweek Service
Cornerstone
Christian
Fellowship
139 N.E. D AYTON S TREET , J OHN D AY
541-575-2180
Sunday Worship Service 10 am
Sunday Youth Group 3 pm
Thursday Celebrate Recovery 6 pm
Pastor Levi Manitsas
cornerstonejohnday@gmail.com
ccfjd.org
Sundays 5:30pm
Youth: 0-6th Grade
Thursdays 6:30pm
Youth: 0-6th Grade
Jr./Sr. High
Youth Connection
Wednesdays at 6:30pm
Overcomer’s Outreach
Mondays at 6pm at
LWCC
A Christ-Centered, 12-Step
Recovery Support Group
Pastor Sharon Miller
541-932-4910
www.livingwordcc.com
S255708-1