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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (July 11, 1918)
Public Auditorium Gazette IMES VOL. S3, NO. 13. HEPPNER, ORKUOX, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1918. SUBSCRIPTION, 12.00 PER; SCAR GITYWILLHAVEBET- IEI Backed Up by CitiswnH of the Town, the City Council WU1 Orw der New Fire Truck. Being extremely agitated over the matter of the recent fire losses in the city, a meeting was called at the Star Theater on Saturday evening last to consider the matter of additional fire protection for Heppner. W. B. Barratt was chosen chair man of the meeting and J. J. Nys sec retary. A motion was made by W. P. Ma honey that a committee of five be appointed to examine into fire condi tions, the extension of fire limits, and the placing of new hydrants, and to make report thereon to the city coun cil. This motion carried and M. D. Clark, E. M. Shutt, 8. E. Notson, M. L. Case and Chas. Thomson were ap pointed. By motion of S. E. Notson, Mike Curran was added to this com mittee. Upon motion of W. A. Richardson, the committee was instructed to re port to the city council the advisabil ity of appointing a fire chief for the city. Meeting then adjourned. A special meeting of the city coun cil was called on Wednesday even ing to hear the report of the above committee. This meeting was also attended by Capt. Geo. W. Stokes, deputy fire marshal, who presented his report on conditions as he found them upon his survey of the city two weeks ago. After hearing the reading of these two reports and some discussion from the committee and members of the council, It was unanlmouly agreed to adopt the recommendations made, and to at once order an auto fire truck and 400 feet of new hose. The truck will cost between $3000 and $3500 and will be fully equipped to c"" hone, ladders, etc., as well as having two 40-gallon chemical tanks. 1. iu character of machine is highly recommended by Capt. Stokes who has been a member of the Portland lire department for the past thirteen years. From the report of the committee It was learned that Mike Curran had been temporarily appointed fire chief. The Cornell confirms his appointment and It will be officially made at the regular meeting of the council on Monday evelng next and his salary fixed. Mr. Curran is well qualified for the position as lie served many years In this capacity In The Dalles and Is credited with having made one of the best volunteer fire departments that city ever had. He is enthusias tic In the work and promises that Heppner will not be long in having an organized force of fire fighters. The new fire fighting apparatus should be on the ground at Heppner within a very few days. SERVICE RAG DEDICATED A beautiful service was held at the Christian church on Sunday even ing last In honor of the men in the Army and Navy, from the homes of the church, or who were members of the congregation. The Service Flag, prepared and presented to the church by the ladles of the C. W. B. M. con tained 26 stars, and the presentation speech was made by Mrs. Gertrude Parker. There was a roll call by E. U. Huston, to which responses were made by the parents and relatives and friends present, giving a brief account of the men In the service, where located and just what branch of the service they were engaged in. The flag contained one yellow star, in memory of Harper Stewart, enlist ed In the navy and who died of pneu monia at Mare Island, Calif., a short time after his enlistment. The en tire program was very Impressive and was worthy of the attention of a much larger audience than was present. CARD OF THANKS. To the good trends, neighbors and citlzeus of Heppner: I take this op portunity of extending my thanks and appreciation for the kindness and consideration tendered Mrs. Wilkius during my absence and the Bevere trial she had to undergo In the loss of our property by the fire. Our loss in property has been heavy; this we can eventually forget, but your kindness and neighborly assistance to my fam ily shall never be forgotten. J. L. WILKINS. ! TO THE PUBLIC. Having lost all my books In the fire, I am not able to make out my accounts. I will trust to those who are owing me to come to my assis tance at this time and settle their bills. It will be greatly apreciated M. L. CANTWELL, mmm REUNION HELD BY Prepare AIho to Entertain Boys oi Way to Camp Lewis. , Portland, Oregon, July 8, 1918. Heppner Gazette-Times: The annual picnic and reunion of the Morrow County folk, took place in Laurelhurst Park on Saturday, July 6, 1918. Word having been passed about that twelve of the Mor row County boys who were enlisted for the army and on their way to can tonments, were to pass through the city that evening, it was decided to meet these boys at the train with ma chines and entertain them at lunch. The ladles prepared the tables and machines were dispatched to the train but we were disappointed as the train was late and the boys had to go on at once. Lunches were put up and the girls went down to bid them God speed. After lunch, our president, R. V. Hynd, gave us some warm words of greeting, followed by short talks by several of our good citizens. Mr. Mahoney told us of his experience as a soldier in the last war and how the reception given him at departure had cheered and stayed with him and urg ed us to do our best in this respect for our boys.' Mr. W. L. Mallory recommended to us how to make "Democracy safe for the world" by being and living as true men to each other. N. C. Marls said that "Happiness had departed. War and Its horrors had made us sober and thoughtful; each shake of the hand, as it were, had a heartache and through the smile there shines a tear. Sorrow has a deep hold on our souls, but there rises up undaunted courage and faith to take the sorrow by the hand walk by the side of that other self Love and Duty till we reach the good Reward which shall be the eternal brotherhood of man." A solo by Miss Marion Ashley, "Keep the Home Fires Burning," with friends joining in the chorus was sung, also "The Long, Long Trail" was sung with much feeling;, -. Mrs. J. N. Brown talked on "Old Friends" which made us feel as one family. Arthur Minor told of his boyhood days and how he made a trip to Um atilla Landing for supplies with his brother Oscar, and after he had Bpent all his money for candy,. a pig had eaten all their grub and he had to go hungry. We feel as you feel, as ev eryone feels, that that pig should have tittd a medal for beating Art to it in turning a trick. We were pleased to have Mrs. Mar garet Eniersor. and daughter of Ver mont with us. . Our good friends, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Becket, have our sympathy In the loss of their two sons since we last met. Also Mrs. Albert Slocum and family In their recent loss of husband and father. MrB. Swinburne has al so gone from us this past year. We Joined In the Old Glory song, 'Star Spangled Banner" as the even ing shades fell. The following persons were pre sent and offer sympathy to the "home folks" in their recent losses by fire. Mrs. Mollle Andrews, E. H. An drews, Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Howard, Wm. Warren, Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Ma honey, Mr. and Mrs. Geo. D. Hors man, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Becket, Miss Mary Becket, Mrs. Delia Hallock, Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Minor, Miss Blanche Minor, Mr. and Mrs. Ellis Minor, Mrs. J. N. and Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Brown, V. Z. Brown, Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Mal lory, Augustus Mallory, Mr. and Mrs. N. C. Maris, Ralph Marls, Mrs. S. P. Garrigues, Mr. and Mrs. John Hayes, Mrs. Dan Horner, Miss Nellie Horner, Mrs. Margaret Emerson and daughter, Mrs. Frank Roberts, Miss Anne Roberts, Mr. and Mrs. E. D. Rood, Mr. and Mrs. A. Walker, Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Hynd, Miss Gladys Hayes, Miss Lola Hayes, Miss Vlette Hayes, Miss Marjorie Clark, Mrs. Da vid Smith, Miss Georgia Shipley, Mr. and Mrs. E. F. Day, Mr. and Mrs. Harry. E. Warren, Miss Winifred Warren, r, M. Garrigues. HELEN M. WARREN Secretary. TO MY PATRONS. Having had my place of business wiped out In the recent fire, I have decided to leave Heppner. All those who are owing me will please settle their accounts promptly as I need the money to clean up my accounts. Thanking you for all past favors. LOUIS PEARSON EAT rOTATOES RM5 SAVE.- HEPPNER'S SEGOND FIRE WITHIN MONTH DOES DAMAGE TO Disastrous as was the fire of a. few weeks ago in Heppner, when, a num.- her of residences, public building , , , , . , and business houses were wiped out, it was only a beginning compared to what hit us on the afternoon of July 4th, when the little city was practic- ally deserted and there was not enough men,, women and children left to' fight a boa fire About 4 o'clock fire was discover ed breaking through the roof of the Patterson. & Elder barber shop ad- j jacem to tne norm aide of the Palace hotel, and being fanned by a strong wind it was soon whipped into a big blaze, rapidly spreading to the- Pear son tailor shopi, a wooden building just north, and then, into the. hotel building, being able to reach the in side through windows that were open on the second and third floors, as well as through openings leading into the sample rooms and barber shop. In an incredibly short time the en tire upper stories of the hotel were a mass of flames. The alarm had been sounded but a very few minutes and a hose cart was hurried; up and the water turned on hut the flames could not be reached. Mrs. Wilklns, in charge of the hotel during the ab sence of her husband, J.. L. Wilkins, soon realized the building was doom ed and she rushed to the upper stories and roused all: guests, la the house. These all escaped but had no time to take anything: with, them Mrs. Wilkins, her salt,, oa going, to the stairway found her exit cat off by the flames and rushed to the Are escape on the south side ot the building get ting out In safety. She received a cut on the chin as she struck the coping In her drop from the fire es cape to the sidewalk, but the injury was not serious. The flames very soon burst out the south side of the hotel and readied the .row of wooden buildings just across on May street. When the fire got into this block ft appeared cer tain that the entire sooth end of town was doomed. The hotel also threat ened the First National Bank build ing on the opposite corner of Main and May streets and It was only by the hardest kind of work this struc ture was saved. Had this caught there would have been little hope of saving that side of the street at least as far as the Masonic building. The fire kept on spreading through the May street block, taking every thing before It, and also to' the east of the hotel, cleaning out the second hand sore ot G. W. Verdot and the big implement warehouses of Gilliam & Bisbee and It was here kept from going any further to the north. From the May street block the fire pushed on, crossing Main street and cleaning out the Natter buildings, the McNamee corner and the Star Berw- ery building, occupied by the Morrow- County Chapter of the Red Cross, from this to the old Mountain House and the row of residences as far south as the power house and every thing in the block between August and Cannon streets to the power house, with the exception ot the resi dence of Dr. A. D. McMurdo. The wood yard of Heppner Light & Water Co. was fired and some 600 cords of wnnil ennsumnd. Her the fire was hpirt after hard work A valient fight was put up to savei1"! building, loss J50u; no insur- the property of the Light & Water Co., and aside from the loss of their big supply of fuel no damage was done to that Immediate portion of the plant. They were heavy losers, however, in the loss ot wire and poles. Coming at the time It did, when the town was so thoroughly desert ed by all those who could get away to various points in the mountains and at the lone celebration, has led a great many to think that the fire was of Incendiary origin. While it has not been definitely settled as to this, and perhaps never will be, the prevailing opinion now Is that the fire originated from some careless act on the part of parties who were In the rear of the barber shop not long before the fire broke out. The fire Is a hard blow to Heppner at this time. The loss would not be covered by $200,000, and the pro portion of Insurance Is very light, perhaps not exceeding in the total, $70,000. Owing to the high insur ance rates many had failed to pro vide this sort ot protection and their loss falls heavily. We are informed that Mr. Wilkins had but $12,000 insurance at the time on the Palace hotel nronertv. and this will no to the mortgagee, thus leaving him. wlthout anything to fall back on. Victor Groshens had no insurance at all on bis property and puts his EXTENT OF $110! loss- at $3000. Many other smaller losses can be mentioned. Our friend P,f"80- ,of th,e "eppner Herald, lost ail, both in printing office and house- noId effects. Wlllig stewart, of the Red Front Livery Barn, saved some harness- and vehicles and got the horses u out bnt ta lo08er t0 th - iciu. ui iuw uuiuung as ne carrwa o Insurance. Two horses perished with the barn. These belonged to outside parties' and after being driven from the barn they turned back into the flames. There were numerous small ffhfManta fn mfmantlnn with V M and goma glignt Kcldmta tnat mih be mentioned but nothing serious oe curred, which was indeed very for tunate in all the excitement Incident to .flighting the fire and getting oat household, effects and valuables. The water held out well and there was at all times a good fire fighting supply on hand. As stated in the be ginning, a great many people were out of town when the fire started, and this of course made it hard to get necessary work done. Hurry-up calls. wer sent out in all directions, j and it was not long before on toes were rolling in from the mountain camps up Willow creek, from Par kers Mill and from Lexington and lone. But most of these arrived too late to be of real assistance. Besides, much. oC tbe fire fighting apparatus was- found to be in bad condition,: nosztes were missing and hose was! coupled so tight in many instances! that it required two men to get the knuekles broken, and all tbe while the fire was eating up the homes and business houses in that section of the ctty. ! Much property was removed from the buildings in the May street block across the street to the Natter side walk and later - caught fire and burned, and thus it waa in numerous places, it being hard to get the house hold goods out of reach of tb lames. Two men carried out the HOft-pomd plafe? piano from Oscar B orgs' res idence' and then pushed it wmmm-mm-enty-fiv feet up the sidewalk when the flames became so hot they bad to abandon the job and the instru ment burned up. Several hose carts and hundreds of feet of hose were destroyed, and it was generally a hot time in the old town. The list of sufferers follows: Louis Pearson, tailor shop and most of contents. All tools and a large stock of goods destroyed with many suits of clothes about ready for delivery. His loss is around $2000 $1000 insurance. Crow & McAtee, real estate and in surance. Office fixtures, $250. Patterson & Elder, barber shop, total loss. $2500, with some insur ance. Woodson & Sweek, law office; all contents destroyed. Loss $5000, with $2500 insurance. Besides the firm's loss, numerous abstracts were des troyed which Mr. Woodson estimates In the aggregate at $1500. Their safe contained many valuable papers and just what condition these are in will be revealed when the safe is opened. The Palace hotel, the property of J. L. Wilkins and wife and Creston Maddock. valued at $30,000. A to tal loss of building and contents. In surance $12,000. The barber shop building wa owned by them also, and tllere was small insurance on this. 1 Mike Curran, billiard parlors In ,ance G. W. Verdot, second hand dealer. building and all contents. His loss of building and stock is $1500. Small insurance on building goes to Wm. Plels, mortgagee. Gilliam & Bisbee, two large ware houses filled with machinery and Im plements. Loss $25,000 with insur ance of $13,000. This loss is serious owing to the large quantity of farm machinery and extras destroyed Large shipments had been but re cently received and stored. Vic Groshens, five buildings on cor ner of Main and May streets. His loss was complete as he carried no in surance. Buildings and contents ar ound $5000. The P. O. Borg estate bad two buildings In this block, one of which was occupied by Mrs. L. G. Herren nilllnery. Loss of buildings, $2000, covered by $700 insurance. Mrs. Herren's loss is $2500. Andy Hayes had rooms in the Borg building also and lost all his personal effects. Was covered by $200 insurance. Mrs. Ida M. Warnock, building un occupied, loss $1500. Eliza Ayers estate, building occu pied by Heppner Herald, also Star Lodging House and small residence In the rear. Loss ot buildings ap- proximately $4000, with some fasar- ( Continued on Page 8. 10NERE0 GR03S HAD The celebration at lone on the Fourth passed off in a very pleasant manner.' It was carried out under the direction of the lone Red Cross Chapter and no preparation had been made for a spread-eagle affair. The attendance was good, quite a number going down from Heppner, and-the program featured many interesting events. The address in the forenoon by J. T. Brewer of Portland, was perhaps the leading feature. Mr. Brewer delivered the address at the celebration at lone a year ago, and felt highly complimented In being called to officiate In this capacity again this year. It was a speech full ot patriotism and good sense; the slacker and pro-German got hia with out any mincing of words, and we are sure that all who heard Mr. Brewer could understand fullv what hp meant. Dinner was served in the basement ot the Christian church by the Red Cross, and supper also, and wnen all events had been Dulled off and the results counted up, the Red Crofls waa ahead almost $800. Hav ing to leave early in the afternoon, our representative did not get a de tailed report on the program, and the receipts were perhaps cut a little short by large numbers ot the people rushing up to Heppner when they received word of the big fire. The Red Crass ladies naturally feel proud the results, however, and annrecl- ate the splendid crowd their efforts brong&i together. CAfiD OF THANKS. We wish to extend to the neoDle of Heppner our most sincere thanks and appreciation, who worked so hand ta save our property, many of whom endangered, their own lives while working towards that end. We also extend ocr heartfelt sympathy to those who suffered losses by the fire. DR. AND MB&. A. D. McMURDO LULU H., HAG ER Woodum M Sweek. Open for Business. Although they suffered the entire ot their XuroUare and fixtures, snd a splendid library, Messrs. Wood son & Sweek, attorneys, are smiling, and they are now open tor business agaan in the Masonic building just across the street from the telephone office. These gentlemen had one of the bast lav libraries in Eastern Ore- son, besides all their office equipment was modern and up-to-date, but this all b inned just as well as though it had been of different nature. They will gradually rehabilitate their offi ces, 1ut at great deal they possessed can never be restored, and a large number of valuable papers, abstracts. etc. -vereeansumed in tha flames that licked up the Palace hotel in such a very few minutes. ENJOYED THEIR VISIT HERE Mr. and Mrs. Henry Blackmail de parted Monday for Portland and ex pect to spend about a month in that city before going on to San Francisco. Mr., and Mrs. Blaekman enjoyed a very pleasant visit among their friends and relatives in Heppner during the past three weeks, and ex pect that they will return here at re gular intervals in the future. The one distressing feature of their so journ in Heppner, was the witness ing of the disastrous fire on the Fourth. Having been so long identi fied with the community, Mr. and Mrs. Blackntan feel very, keenly this Wow, and thelT sympathy goes out to the sufferers, many of whom wero old time friends of theirs. Mr. Blackman informs us that all the interests, they have In the world, outside of their boys, are located at Heppner. This place is home to them and they have a lot of faith in the fu ture of the city. This lias been man ifested oy the purchasing of an addi tional interest In the Henry Heppner estate. "While here, Mr. Blucknian took oier a number of shares in the estate belonging to heirs living at a di.tnce and he stated to this paper that it was their intention o purchase more. It Is gratifying to have people who made their money in Heppner In the years gone by, still show their faith In the town by keeping that money at work here, and this is what Mr. Blackman Is doing. Further more, he is supporting our quotas in the Red Cross, Liberty Loan, W. S. S. and other war activities. Mr. Black- man states that so long as he lives he will call Heppner home. III iifl DOWNPOUR OF HI DOES SOI Oil A Miniature flood PawM-g Through Heppner Tuesday Evening. Following a long continued spell of hot and dry weather, Heppner was visited by a terrific downpour of rain on Tuesday afternoon, and our citi zens were treated to a miniature flood which lasted for some thirty or forty minutes. The storm gathered about three o'clock and seemed to center right about town and the main portion of the rainfall was on either side of Stansbury canyon and extended from about a mile and a half south of town and then across the hills into Black- horse. A lot of water ran off the hills In to the little creek at the bottom of Stansbury canyon and this was swel led into a good sized stream by the time it struck the south side of town. The W. E. Mikesell place was hit first and here much damage was done to fencing and gardens and his well was filled up, the pump being washed out and carried off. H. D. Mikesell also had a lot ot fencing carried off and his nice young orchard was damaged by hav ing a number of choice trees broken down and washed out. No water got into the house though it reached the windows on the south side. Andy Cook was hit pretty hard, his big chicken house being rather badly dislocated and a number of chickens carried to a watery grave. His or chard and garden also were damaged as well as a portion of the fencing. The Stephens place and the Baird place were not much damaged, being so situated that the water drained oS pretty well, and this was largely true of the other residences ot the Albina district. Several bridges along the creek were taken out. The bridge near the J. J. Adkins residence was washed down to the corner of Mrs. Bartholo mew's place on Chase street, where it lodged against the big trees and helped turn the water away frcm the residence. By the time the waters reached the bridge near the Farns worth barn It had gained such pro portions that that structure was put up on edge and carried away. This threw a large force ot water towards the home of Mrs. McDaid and her floors were flooded; leaving a deposit of several inches of mud. A lot of rubbish was also piled' up around the office and main building of the Hepp ner Light & Water Co., as well as a deposit of mud' on the' floor of the engine roonii No other apparent damage was done here and the wa ters passed on, taking out the bridge at the upper etui; ot Chase street and carrying it on to the main channel of Willow creek. At this point the water was largely diverted down Chase street,, doing but little damage to the property along the street. Where the water broke through a number of lawns and gardens were swept over aud some fencing and wooden shtewatks carried out and wooden, sidewalks carried out and this constitutes the material damage don!?. A bridge was taken out l i front ot the residence of Mrs Etuilii Kelley. Mrs. Mary Bartholomew seems to have been the worst hit of any of the residents along this street, and yet the water did not get Into the house. Numerous cellars and basements about town were filed with water while the store ot Gilliam & Bisbee received a deposit of several inches of mud that came In through the rear end of the building. They have been busy since cleaning the place out and getting the mud out of a large number of ranges and other stoves that were standing on the floors. So far as we have been able to learn, there was no very serious dam age done to any of the places along the creek. Ralph lieuge has suffer ed pretty much by the deposit of a lot of rock and debris on his alfalfa from the water coming down Dutton can yon, and Alex. Cornett had some dam age done to small buildings In the way of the water coming down the draw back of his place. A lot of water fell in the Black horse section and this made a pretty good sized flood at Lexington, but no damage is reported. The rain has freshened up the at mosphere and cooled the temperature to a considerable extent as well as making a lot of dirty streets and back yard3. This latter, of course will be all fixed up in a few days, and we trust that our little city will be spared any more excitement of this order for all time to come.