A10
SENIORS & HISTORY
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
OUT OF THE PAST
75 YEARS AGO
50 YEARS AGO
$25,000 savings found in aged
Galena miner’s cabin
Yuletide Verses
A fortune in stocks and bonds and
living on a diet of beans and rice was
the life history of aged John Person,
84, uncovered when he was recently
removed from his cabin home in the
now deserted mining camp of Galena
and placed in the Blue Mountain Gen-
eral Hospital for treatment.
A nephew of the old gentleman
recently went to John’s cabin to see
how he was, and found him lying in a
snow bank near the cabin; reportedly
he had lain there for 24 hours, but
authorities state that he is coming our
of the exposure well. On being moved
from the cabin Mr. Person insisted on
taking a small wooden box with him.
When that was opened it was found to
contain $25,000 in stocks and bonds.
Seemingly John loved that money
more than the comforts of a good home
and good food. A miser and a miser
right.
John, as he is best known in that
isolated section, was born in Sweden,
came to Galena during the gold rush
of the ‘70s. He engaged in mining for
some years, later followed the stock
raising business. He has never married.
He has two nephews, John and George;
the former has been appointed guard-
ian to care for the old gentleman and his
fortune.
Listen, my friends and you shall
hear,
of some “Santa Helpers” without
reindeer,
Those trucks covering miles,
whether cloudy or clear,
Through the midnight hours, when
“our sleep is dear.”
He charges through snowdrifts, and
ice on the road,
The screeching of winds blowing,
the blizzard so cold,
Now, the windshield is freezing,
“Defroster! Take hold!”
“My schedule is slipping, like this
truck, on the road!”
“Now engine! Please dash on!
Please dance on, and prance! — what
a vixen!”
“Oh, come on you Comet and Cupid
— like blixen!”
Heed not his load — 25 thousand
pounds.
‘Tis much more than we usually
carry around.
For this season is Holy. It brings all
such joy.
So, we share it by giving, to honor
“The Boy,”
Whom God sent down to us, His
only Son,
The baby in the manger. The star
still shines down.
— Henrietta Moss
Eagle fi le photo
Bob Crisler, the stage driver to Baker (left), Phil Moss, Pendleton stage driver (center), and Tommy Johnson Jr.
sort out a deluge of Christmas mail at the John Day Post Offi ce in this 1971 photo.
O utlook
SENI
R
Prairie City -- Oh,
the weather outside
is frightful, and the
fire is so delightful,
and since we’ve no
place to go, let it
Rose Coombs
snow! Let it snow!
Let it snow!
We have so much to be thankful for: The wind didn’t cause
any power outages in our neck of the woods, the mail is
getting through and so are the grocery trucks! What else do
we need?
We had a fantastic Christmas dinner on this wintry day,
prepared by Cook Pam. She had help from her daughter-in-
law Pam and Tom and Angie. We wish to acknowledge the
Old West Federal Credit Union for their donation to the
meal today. Every little bit helps, don’tcha know. We had a
huge helping of ham and yams, then a serving of scalloped
potatoes, California blend veggies, deviled eggs, fruited Jell-O
with topping, and a roll. Dessert was strawberry/rhubarb pie
with ice cream! Derrol is in seventh heaven! He just loves
strawberry/rhubarb pie. (Remember, I am not a cook, so
things like this have to come from someplace else!) We had 54
diners who also enjoyed this meal. Merry Christmas to you,
too!
Remember, no meal next week, but we will be back on
Prairie City
Seniors
With only 2
full days left
till Christmas,
remember to be
good to your body
and be safe in all
you do.
the last Wednesday and dessert will be birthday cake. It also
happens to be Derrol’s 83rd birthday. My, my. How time flies
when you’re having fun!
I have good news. Thanks to a friend and Amazon, I now
have a large enough piece of needlepoint canvas to use on the
large project. The last one I did was of the solar eclipse across
the USA. This friend was sure she could find some canvas in
Texas in all the hobby/craft stores. No one had even heard of
it. Yep, we canvas needlepointers are a dying breed. Not sure
how I feel about that!
Am reading a book about the first explorers of the Grand
Canyon in 1869. You think you had a rough day! They started
at Green River, Wyoming, on May 24. Took until Aug. 31 to
get through the unexplored area. Two of the men continued
on downstream to Yuma, and two more rowed all the way
to the ocean. This was truly a last frontier. See how far we’ve
come in 152 years. They had witnessed the golden spike in the
transcontinental railroad. Now we have 3D printers in school
classrooms! But there is still no cure for the common cold ...
Psalms 37:37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for a man of peace. Matt. 26:64 In the future
you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the
Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
Tomorrow will be the Christmas lunch for our senior center.
Shay and Kim are working overtime to make it great for
everyone.
Monday they delivered many frozen and fresh meals to shut-
ins in the area. Thanks to the drivers and the drivers helpers
as well and Shay and Kim. For everyone else who would like
to pick up one or more of these lunches, they should have
been ordered by Monday. If you didn’t order yours already,
give a call and see if there is enough for you.
Prank scam calls are coming around again: mostly to seniors.
Some are even knocking on doors supposedly representing
your grandchildren needing help. Do NOT give the door
knockers or the phone callers ANY information. It has
happened a lot so far and it is never good. In our world
today some folks find so many ways to get people off track so
they will hand over money. Such greed.
Hoping soon to have our center open for in house lunching.
Anticipation is building.
Jesus is the reason for this Christmas season so spread the word
that He came to us, for us. What would we do if He had not
come. I am so thankful He did.
He came to give us NEW life.
Do you see the
beautiful, wonderful,
glorious snow? I
just praise the Lord
Jesus for this blessing
of snow. Yes, it is a
Soo Yukawa
little harder to do
my chores, but I am
still grateful for the snow. I know that the animals are thirstier
when the weather is colder. I don’t get that but ya, it is what
it is. There is one place where my hubby calls it the “Frosty
Forest” when we are driving towards Bend. I think it was at
mile marker 74 or 94? When it snows there, it just looks so
enchanting and beautiful, the snow glistening and sparkling
in the sunlight. Sigh, so blessed to live out here.
Well, our cooks Terry Cade and Carrie Jewell prepared for
us our Christmas lunch on Tuesday, Dec. 14. They made us
ham, scalloped potatoes, dinner rolls, carrots, and chocolate
pudding for our dessert. Yes, we are just absolutely spoiled
by our cooks. A shout of praise and thanks to them, and we
appreciate them so much!
Our volunteers at the table were Jimmy Cole, Kristi
Guimont, and Linda Blakeslee. Jimmy and Kristi checked
in the guests. Linda and Kristi counted up the money. Kristi
made the announcements and led us in the flag salute, and
yours truly prayed the blessing over the meal.
Please make a note on your calendar. Bingo will be on New
Year’s Eve at 4 p.m. They play 10 games, break for a potluck
dinner and continue the other 10 games. I keep forgetting to
go, so hopefully I will remember one of these last Saturdays of
the month to attend.
The free meal ticket was won by Monica Boyer. The Len’s
gift card went to Bob Yukawa. Allen Humphreys was the
lucky winner of the turkey raffle. We had 32 guests dining in
and 37 takeouts, with a total of 69 meals served. We thank
all involved who make our time at the senior center a joy to
attend.
It has been super cold in the morning and I try and
give Belle and Scotty their milk bottle as soon as I can.
Unfortunately, Belle does not think it is early enough. That
bratty goat starts crying really really loudly as soon as the sun
comes up.
Belle and Scotty have a little pen set up right outside the
window of my son. Yup, he comes to me in the morning and
says that the loud, obnoxious bleating of Belle woke him
up. Sometimes, Belle just cries because she wants to eat and
nibble on some fresh grass. Well, there is not any to be found
right now, the silly goat.
My son said that Belle cries and bleats to be let out for grass
so much that she sometimes makes herself hoarse. Scotty
does not complain like his sister. He just quietly nibbles
on his grass/alfalfa hay. There is such a dramatic difference
in personalities, it is amazing. I guess that is how it is with
people, too. Ha.
Jude 1:24-25 Now unto Him who is able to keep you from
falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and
majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
John Day
Seniors
Elise Huskey
Monument
Seniors
BIOSMILE
Family, Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry
165 NW 1st St., John Day
541-575-0363
Open
Monday-Thursday
DrJ@BiosmileDental.com
We offer a wide range of primary
care and medical treatment.
Zachary Bailey, MD • David Hall, MD • Raffaella Betza, MD
Zachary Bailey, MD • Janessa Sickler, DO • Emily Lieuallen, DO
• Janessa
DO • Emily
DO
James Cook,
FNP • Sickler,
Erika Adams,
FNP-C Lieuallen,
• Caitlin MacCoun,
MD
• Nora Jennings,
Healey, FNP
Clark, DNP
Brian
MD • Shawna
Robyn Jennings,
MD
Available Monday - Friday
180 Ford Road, John Day • 541-575-0404
Huffman’s
SELECT
MARKETS
Quality Healthcare ...close to home.
170 Ford Road
John Day
541-575-1311
112 E. 5th
Prairie City
541-820-3341
422 W. Main, 1st floor • John Day
If you have any questions or think you
know of someone who might benefit,
call: 541 575.1648
241 S. Canyon Blvd. John Day • 541-575-0529
T roy Hanson - Funeral Director
S274541-1