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About The Athena press. (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942 | View Entire Issue (April 20, 1928)
Entered at the Post Office at Athena, Oregon, aa Second-Cleas Mail Matter VOLUME 49. ATHENA, UMATILLA COUNTY, OREGON, FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL 20, 1928 NUMBER 16 THE FIRST NATIONAL IT TAKES WEe BANK Directors Make Transfer . Subject To Approval of Stockholders. .-(By CLARK WCOD) ' Weston, April 19. The Farmers Bank of Weston has been taken over and is now being conducted by the First National Bank of Athena. Thi present officers of the Weston bank, Lance Kellough, ca'shier, and C. L. Pinkerton, assistant cashier, continue m charge for the time being. The ae-reement was reached by the boards of the two institutions after several weeks of negotiation. Several offers are understood to have been received bv the local bank, which went to the Athena purchaser be cause of the best bid a premium 01 $2500. Athena is only three miles from Weston. Under, its seal the Athena bank has guaranteed' the Weston bank's deposits pending confirmation of the deal by the latter's stockholders, who will meet April 23. As the Virst National Bank of Athena is known to be among the strongest country banks in the state, depos itors felt that they were fully pro tected, and the transfer., was un marked by the . slightest flurry. The purchasing bank takes oVer the deposits and part of the loans. The prediction is made that when the remaining assets have been liquidated the stockholders of the local bank will have received dollar for dollar on their holdings. The merger is said to be in line with the bartk consolidation move ment which is the order of the day. It is understood to have been the wish of F. S. LeGrow, cashier of the Athena bank, to establish a branch at Weston to replace the Farmers' bank. He was prevented from do ing this under banking law,' which now forbids the location of branch banks in towns of Weston's popula tion. That the Athena bank has been entirely fair to the Weston com munity in the matter is the general feeling here. . The Weston bank's problem re sulted from deposits too small in volume to render its operation prof itable. The deposits were further reduced of late because of unfavor able spring weather which has de layed for weeks the movement of seed! potatoes. The bank, too, has sustained heavy losses from bad loans since its organization in 1891. These are estimated . at $150,000. ' Stockholders have ' received no dividends on their holdings for years. Their . increasing dissatisfaction, to gether with the dwindling of the de posits, finally led to the recent action of the directors. A local movement is on foot to save the bank for WeBton, if possi ble. This is headed by a committee from the Weston Commercial as sociation consisting of C. W. Avery, chairman; Nelson -H. Jones, Joe Key, John Banister, W. A.' Barnes, Marvin Price and Otis Adams. : A mass meeting was held Monday night at Memorial hall at which the situation was fully explained by several speakers. The committee's plan is to have the action of the directors voted down at the stockholders' meeting April 23 Options have been se cured on' more than sufficient stock for this purpose, but the options will not be exercised unless the bank's deposits are materially increased, as to attempt to continue under present conditions is believed by every one to be futile. . The sum of $50,000 in new deposits is mentioned, and ar earnest effort to secure it is now in progress. The committee argues that Wes ton is a rich and substantial agri cultural community, fully able to support a strong and profitable bank if many of its people who now carry their deposits out of town will put them in the local institution. The movement may succeed, as Weston folk are much exercised over the loss of an institution which . has always been a valuable factor in community progress end pays a large share of the city and school taxes. A cheer less picture is visualized as to what the future Weston will be without a bank, and the business people are indicating particular concern. Death of Mrs. King. Mrs. John King, a former resident of this city, and a recent visitor at the C. T. Smith home, died at Cald well, Idaho, Wednesday of last week, after a short illness. Mr. and Mrs. King and family until recently lived in the Willamette valley, and while on their way. to Caldwell, to make their home, stopped in Athena to vis it ' relatives. j Adams Won Sunday Game By Nip and : Tuck Playing, 5 to 4 Adams and Athena "Big Six" league teams put up a corking good ball game on the local lot Sunday, considering the amount of practice the players have had and the early stage of the season. Both pitchers, . Banister for Athena and Morrison for Adams went the route of nine innings. Both held in the pinches, when hits meant runs, except in the fifth when Morrison was touched up for three hitsrwhkh netted three runs, and Adams got to Banister in the sixth for five bingles, one good for 3 bases when it went in to the creek with two on. With both teams settled and play ing stellar ball the first three innings were scoreless. In the fourth K.. Hodgen scored for Adams when he singled, stole second and came home on the throwin of Lieuallen's long fly to Harden. . Morrison scored for Adams in the ninth, and in Athena's half Toole singled, was advanced to second ' on Shick's single and came home on Geissel's hit after Harden had fan ned and Miller flew out to K. Hodgen. Athena's rally died when Harris flew out to Crawford, leaving Shick and Geissel on the sacks. Geissel led in the hitting, getting three in five times up, and Shick got two hits. Lee Banister played a whang of a game at short, got a couple of hits and pulled off three assists without a bobble. For Adams the two Hodgens and Wallan came through in the lead with two hits each. McPherrin and Parr both caught in snappy,, heady style, and the three errors of the game, for early season playing shows that the players were up on their toes. Athena and Adams fans are more than pleased with the grade of ball given them in the startoff in the "Big Six," and look forward to a big revival of interest in amateur base- ball in this section. Score by Innings: Adams 0 0 010 3 0 0 15 10 1 Athena. 00 0 3000014 8 2 Batteries Morrison and Parr; Banister and McPherrin. Errors, Shick 2 O. Lieuallen. Two base hit, K. Hodgen. Struck out by Banister 10, Morrison 7.. Base on balls, Morrison 1, Banister 2. Left on bases Athena, 7, Adams 2. Earned runs, Athena 4, Adams 3. Umpire, Liesinger. Other Games At Helix, 3, Milton-Freewater 4; at Weston, 1, Pendleton Eagles, 7. Where they play next Sunday, April 22: Helix at Athena; Milton Freewater at Weston; Eagles at Adams. - County Dairy Herds Are Free From Tuberculosis Umatilla County dairy cattle have been found by Government inspect ion to be very largely' free from Tuberculosis. According to report just received from the County Agent at Pendleton, who has assisted in the testing, there have been 861 head of cattle on 106 farms subjected to the Tuberculosis test since Dec. 1st. 1927. Of this entire lot 4 head were condemned as being tubercular .and 4 were held as doubtful. - Testing of cattle for Tuberculosis has been one of the County Agent projects in Umatilla county for several years, with the result that diseased animals have been very largely eliminated from the county. Dr. W. E. Thistlewaite, representa tive of the Bureau of Animal Hus bandry of the United States Depart ment of Agriculture, has been mak ing the tests and he reports a very favorable condition in Umatilla county. Valley Fruit Safe Reports from the ... Milton-Free water district and other points in the Walla Walla valley point to safety of the fruit crop from frost damage. The weather, it is reported, has been too cold lately to advance fruit stage to a point where frost would injure it materially. At the present time the outlook for the cherry crop is good, though it is early enough for this crop to be damaged by frost. Apple and prune prospects are good at this time. A Good Diamond Since working on the local base ball diamond the Athena team has one of the fastest infields on the Big Six" circuit, bar none. In the first place the diamond was thoroughly remade. A heavily weighted disc was used in cutting the soil well below the grass roots. This was followed by a drag, which level ed it smooth, and the rains did the rest. Paid For Speeding Apprehended by traffic officer Lieuallen, Henry Koepke, Jr., ap peared in Judge Richards' - court Monday and paid a fine of $15 for speeding. University Oriental Graduates Are Wed ls?? til A v n x4r- JV i . " i ' I I i fr a t Hi PsJ think you better save your vekyision cent read that l UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, Eu gene. A romance originating on the campus of the University of Oregon last year is now resulting in the marriage of Miss Szwa Leung ' and Hung Fai Chung, two young Chinese, it is learned by their friends here. The two young people were students here last year, and graduated with the senior class last June. Word of the wedding has been re ceived by Mrs; Charlotte E. Donnelly, director of student employment on the campus. Miss Leung lived at the home of Mrs. Donnelly while here. The mar riage ceremony started some time ago, according to the letter, and the Chinese ceremony will be followed to please the parents. Miss'Leung came to the University of Oregon from Mills College,, and while here majored in economics? Mr, Chung completed four years here as a majoi in the sckool of business administration. He has entered foreign exchange bank ing work in Hongkong, where the young people will make their home. . Raising the Walls On Water Manholes The city is increasing the height of the concrete walls above the man holes at the intake of the municipal gravity water system. Joe Crowley with his mixing machine, assisted by John Hoey and Lawrence Sharp, is doing the concrete work. The height of the manhole walls will be increased three feet, to in sure against future flood overflow, which to a great extent is said to be the cause of muddy water flowing into the reservoir and city mains. Fences will also- be constructed around each manhole. iThe flow of water from the ssprings into the gravity system has long been suf ficient to keep the reservoir running over in addition to furnishing a full supply for domestic use. I Third Robbery For the third time in two weeks, thieves visited the E, A. Dudley place and stole two tires and the generator from a Fora" roadster. On two previous occasions chickens were stolen at the Dudley farm home. In enumerating the visits of chicken thieves last week, the Press did not mention that chickens had been sto!en at the Martin place on the West Side. - Mashed His Finger While assisting in loading a tree on a truck, Curtis Duffield, high school boy, suffered a badly mashed finger. The fore finger of the right hand was caught between the tree and the bed of the truck. Dr. ;3harp dressed the injured digit. Prominent Couple Wed The marriage of a prominent couple took place at the Church of the Re deemer in Pendleton Saturday eve ning, when Miss Edna Murphy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Murphy of that city, became the bride of Dr. George Hoffman of La Grande. CO TRAGI NG Dedicated to Nationally" Your Vision Week.? jApnl22-28. Joseph N. Scott Will Become Candidate for Joint Representative Joseph N. Scott present joint representative for Umatilla and Mor row counties has filed as a demo cratic ; candidate in the primary election for that office. Mr. Scott, - a resident of Pendle ton, and a prominent farmer of the Athena district, will be opposed for the office by Roy Ritner, whom Mr, Scott defeated two years ago. In a letter to The Press, Mr. Scott give& notice of his candidacy as follows: "I have decided to become a candi date for reelection to my present position in the Oregon Legislature, that of Joint Representative for Umatilla and Morrow counties. I in tend to file as a candidate in the Primary election of May 18th for the Democratic nomination for that office. Between now and the November election I shall as far as reasonably possible make known my record in the 1927 session to the voters of Umatilla and Morrow counties. My actions in the legislature are a mat ter of public record and if the voters of this district approve that record I shall be glad to serve as their representative again. I feel that the experience gained in the 1927 session will be very helpful to me in my work in case I am reelected. I am a native of Umatilla county and have farming interests in both ' Umatilla and Morrow counties." "JOSEPH N. SCOTT" O. M. Richmond and Joe Lewis Pass On Two former residents of the Atho- na-Weston district died and were buried at Walla Walla this week. O. M. Richmond, age 68, was sud denly taken by death Monday nigthat 10:20 o'clock at the home pf his daughter, Mrs. E. L. Blomgren, near State Line. Mr. Richmond was a well known pioneer of the Pacific Northwest, having moved to Wes ton from Illinois in 1880 where ha became engaged in the farming busi ness on a large scale. He continued to, farm in Oregon where he had holdings near Helix and Weston, un til 1913, when he went to Walla Wal la, where he has Bince resided. He purchased land in Walla Walla county, but for the past 13 years has lived retired. Funeral services were held at Walla Walla, yesterday. Joseph A. Lewis, who in an early day resided at Weston, and later en gaged in farming near Helix, died at his home in Walla Walla, Monday, following a surgical operation. His funeral was held Wednesday, inter ment taking place in Mountain View cemetery, Walla Walla. All Hazing Condemned Hazing in all forms and "rough- house" initiations have been con demned at the University of Oregon, in a resolution adopted by the inter- fraternity council composed of mem bers from all organizations. The mat ters now being referred to separate men's houses for final consideration. The resolution is in line with the policy adopted by the national inter fraternity council recently. Ships Pup To Montana Jim Chaffin who is employed on the Marion Hansell farm, this week shipped a cross English-Australian Shepherd pup, purchased from Henry Miller of Athena, to his brother, John Chaffin, at Corvallis, Montana. Wet Weather Stops Plow Farming operations were interfer ed with by wet weather this week. Plowing and late seeding was stop ped by a heavy rain Monday night, followed by intermittent showers. Pledged to Kappa Sigma Dale Stephens, Athena freshman at University of Oregon has been pledg ed to Kappa Sigma fraternity. Dale is a graduate of Athena high school clan of '27. "Brother Josiah" the . : . . High School flay Auditorim" Tonight Tonight at the High School audi torium the annual school play, "Brother Josiah," a comedy in three acts, will be presented. The cast; under direction ' of Miss Mildred Bateman has been under rehearsal for some time. Announcement is made that a week prior to presentation of the play, on account of illness Roy DeFreece, who had an important role, was compel led to drop out, and his part was given to Ray Johnston. Following is the cast of characters: Josiah Armstrong Clifford Wood Wellington Armstrong....Weldon Bell Benjamin Butler Armstorng Ray Johnston Henry Newcomb.... George Gross Hiram Penstroke .....Eldon Myrick James : Curtis Duffield Mrs. Wellington Armstrong Jessiedeane Dudley Jemmimy Marguerite Moore Gladys Armstrong Ethel Pittman Edith Le Blanc Alberta Charlton Extras in Act I Dorothy Geissel, Marjone Wilson, Helen Hansell, George Fambrun, Oral Michener, and Walter Huffman. .Music furnished by Athena Orches tra consisting of Mrs. Lawrence Pinkerton, Lawrence Pinkerton, Frtd Kershaw, Lawrence Lieuallen, Harold Frederick, Roe Eager, Kohler Betts and Lee A. Meyer. The story of the play is as fol lows: While the Armstrongs, an aristocratic family of New York, are giving a fashionable lawn party, Mr. and Miss LeBlanc, friends of theirs, arrive from the West. In the midst of the party Wellington Arm strong's country brother, the "Broth er Josiah" of the play, and family ar rive and their antics completely break up the lawn party. Mr. Le Blanc reveals his secret to cheat Josiah, to Edith, his daughter. Josiah soon discovers his brother's disdain for him. Edith tries her best to initiate Benjamin into the ways of "our set." Josiah returns good for evil by paying his brother's debts, Mr. LeBlanc. The victory of "Broth er Josiah" at , the end of the play is complete. Construction Work Begins Construction work on the swim ming pool commenced Tuesday, when Contractor . McLeod arrived from Walla Walla, and put a force of men at work making the forms to receive the concrete. Most of the material is on the ground and construction work will be rushed to completion Smoothing up the excavation work was completed Wednesday by local men who donated their services. "Yanks" Are Winning While maybe not so much of a player himself, "Lefty" Kretzer carries a horseshoe when it comes to picking the "Yank's" as being a win ning team in the American league. The spurt the "Yanks" are making at the start of the season is giving "Lefty" a lot to talk about, and we know a couple of fellers in town who are foe slump to strike his New York team. And then oh, boy. - To Build Grain Elevator The Farmers Mutual Warehouse company of Helix has made a con tract with the Hickok Construction company of Minneapolis, ; Minn., for the building of a cribbed grain le vator at Helix, F. E. Engdahl an nounced today. The elevator will have a capacity of 133,000 bushels and will be completed before harvest. Potato Seed Requirements With the increasing importance of the seed grading in the potato in dustry,' rules for the benefit of both the growers and users of certified and standard seed potatoes have been prepared, and will be followed by Weston potato growers. Petty Thief Takes Money A petty thief entered the office of the local telephone exchange and stole eight dollars, which Miss Hilda Dickenxon, chief operator had placed in a drawer. No clew to the thief. FOR F. C. Sloan In Campaign to Line Up Acreage Here For Product. F. G. Sloan, representing the Idaho-Washington Seed Company has been in the Athena-Weston dis trict for several days lining up acre age under contract for bean growing on summer fallow land on a large scale. Mr. Sloan has been assisted by ( three men in securing acreage here and it is understood they have been reasonably successful in listing crop production for the present season. i A number of local wheat growers, including Barney Foster, a portion of whose holdings were in beans last year, have signedi up, reports Mr. Sloan. So far a very favorable sentiment has been encountered ac cording to Mr. Sloan. Some of the farmers realize that by growing a crop on summer fallow land and hav ing the crop contracted for before sale is a great advantage. A dual purpose is served: the killing of weeds in next year's wheat land and a profit is made from the land while the weeds are being' destroyed. In commenting on the plan as pre sented in the Walla Walla alley, the Walla Walla Union says; "It was found after a survey that more than 40,000 acres of summer fallow land suitable for this purpose was avail able. Consulting with his company Mr. Sloan found approximately 30, 000 acres could be used during the next season. "With a market established most of the farmers consider this an op portunity to not only increase their . earnings but also to increase the fertility of their land by the growing of the leguminous crops. ''"" "The plan was presented to the Agricultural committee of the Cham ber of Commerce and was endorsed by the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce. "After the first year it will be possible to increase the acreage grown in this district if the first year's crop is found to be profitable and satisfactory. When the maxi mum acreage is reached it will bring nearly one million dollars to the growers in the valley annually, Mr. Sloan said. "Bean production in this section is nf ontirolv npw. according to a state- 1 ' V - - 7 . ment appearing in the Governmental Bulletin, number yU7, wnicn siaies, "Ropna Viavfi also been crown in a somewhat limited way in the district around Weston, Oregon tor more tmn 20 vears. The production of field beans in this territory is there fore past the experimental stage. "In Government Bulletin number 1509 ia found the following state ment: "Thousands of acres now ly-ino- irlln ai summer fallow land are well adapted to bean growing, and at slight additional expense wun r.aftiViil1v tJin Rnmfl enuinment they can be made to produce a profitable crop." Experiments have snown tnui about as good cereal crop can be grown after beans as after summer fallow and leaves the soil in excel lent condition for planting winter t. Beans are usually harvest ed in ample, time to permit fall seed- "In addition to the material pre sented in the different governrnont bulletins, Leonard llegnauer, fou KrwiHlmt-. of Washington State Col lege, who has made a special study of soil requirements in ine inianu TrYinirn rornnf.1v announced that he believed the growing of peas and beans on the sidehill land woum noi nnlv aAA cn-ent.lv to the soil's fertility but would also prevent soil washing. Water erosion is one ot the greatest problems, according to Mr. Ilegnauer, facing the farmers of this district. A solution to the situation would he welcome, he stated, but one that will offer the farmer a profit is doubly welcome." Miss Ringel Takes Annual Iield Trip Oregon State College. Elsa Ring el of Athena, senior in homo economics, was one of a party of home economic students which visit ed Portland on the annual field trip. Junior and senior girls are given an opportunity to study practical phases of their vocations at first hand on these trips. The party stopped at Oregon City Woolen Mills and Willamette Paper Mills. They visited- various packing companies, markets and establishments in Portland and in spected the dining car service of one of th railroads.