Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 1940)
REGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY UBL1C AUDITORIUM PORTLAND. ORE. Volume 57, Number 20 Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, July 18, 1940 Subscription $2.00 a Year Varied Program Considered for Heppner Rodeo Intense Advertising Campaign Planned in Coming Weeks Heppner's 1940 Rodeo will lack nothing in the way of advertising if plans discussed at a meeting of the chamber of commerce last night are fullv carried out. The discus sion also included more features for the three days and all signs point to a bigger and better show. Efforts will be directed toward arousing a more definite community interest in the show by conducting an intensive advertising campaign from now until August 16. Aside from the usual printed advertising, arrangements are being made with theaters of several neighboring towns to run trailer films telling about the Heppner show. An effort will be made to get car owners to carry signs featuring rodeo acts, and it was suggested that dates of the show printed in bright letters on automobile tires would attract the attention of countless potential tick et buyers. Several junket trips are under consideration whereby a carload or more of chamber of commerce del egates will visit neighboring organ izations and spread good cheer ac companied by a generous amount of Rodeo advertising. A dress up week, the last week before and including the Rodeo, will be declared in which all business men and citizens will be imoresesd with the propriety of cowboy attire To enforce this civic duty the fire department will be asked to take charge . A cowbov breakfast has been edd ed to the program. Lee Beckner and Jim Kistner will likely de m charge of this new event, which will be free to the public at 50 cents a plate. It is planned to make tnis the onening event of the show, serv ing to start at 6 o'clock Friday morning, August 16. Another event mentioned is a free street dance Some of the merchants sggested other street amusements in the form of chicken and pig races. These items may be worked out in the next week or so. The general nlan is to have more entertainment going on in town during the hours when the cowboys are not doing their stutff. Mrs. Frank Gilliam Passes at City Home Mrs. Frank Gilliam, 75, early Mor row county pioneer, passed away at 7:10 o'clock a. m. today at the family residence in west Heppner. She had been ill, about two weeks following a fall on July 3 and while her con dition was serious her death was an unexpected shock to the family. Arrangements are being made for fEneral services Saturday afternoon at the Methodist church, of which she was long a member. The Eastern Star service will be used. Clinton Gilliam is expected to; ar rive in Heppner this evening from his home in California, having been summoned yesterday. BUILDING BOWLING ALLEY H. J. Strecker. a recent arriva from Denver, Colo., has leased the former J. C. Penney Co. store room and is putting in a bowling alley. The substructure for the alleys is nearly completed and finishing work has been held up pending arrival of the maple finishing lumber from an eastern point. He expects to be ready for opening the new amuse ment center in about ten days. Estrayed Dappled gray horse, 5 years old, weight 1100 to 1200 lbs. Notify Fred Hoskins, lone. 20-22p. THUNDER STORM STRAFES COUNTY Electrical Disturbance Fails to Produce Expected Rain; Forest Escapes Fire Threat Charging over the hills and val- leys of the county like a squadron of modern bombing planes, an an gry storm cloud unleashed an attack of wicked forked lightning and cannon-cracker thunder Tuesday after noon, providing 15 or 20 tense mo ments for the populace but failing to bring more than a light shower of rain over Heppner and imme diate vicinity. What appeared to be a heavy shower to the south of town veered off to the northeast, and no reports have been received showing that there was heavy rain at any point in this region. The electrical display was one of the most brilliant seen here in re cent years. Heat energy, stored up from days of excessive warm wea ther, was burned up at a rapid rate as the wicked tongues of lightning took their wayward course across the heavens. Two hits were scored in this vicinity, it was reported, one in the Frank S. Parker pasture west of town and the other in the Bar- ratt pasture northeast of town. A small herd of cattle grazing near the top of the hill where the lightning hit in the Barratt pasture quickly sought refuge at a lower elevation. Forest lookouts in the Heppner! division of the Umatila National lor- est reported everything clear Wed nerday morning. There was a light shower in the mountains and this would have a tendency to check an immediate outbreak, according to Ranger Fred Wehmeyer, who said that fires have been known to break out many hours after an electrical storm had passed over. Alexander Cornett Called by Death Memorial services for Alexander Cornett. aged 78 years and 1U months, were held from the Case Mortuary chapel Sunday afternoon, Rev. James Wilkins of the Method ist church officiating. Interment was in the Masonic cemetery. T5om at Elk Creek Virginia, Sept. 12, 1861, Mr. Cornett attained man hood in his native state, leaving there at the age of 21 for the west. He located first in Nebraska, later moving on to Montana and after spending a few years in that state came to Oregon, finding employment in Morrow conty. In 1905 he mar ried Mrs. Kate Johnson, who oper ated a stock ranch on Little Butter creek. A few years later they dis posed of the ranch property and purchased them a home m Heppner. Mrs. Cornett died in 1918. Mr. Cornett at various times serv ed on the city council and as justice of the peace; Surviving are two stepsons, James Johnson of Range and Felix Johnson of Long Creek; one half-brother, Tom Cornett and a half-sister, Jen nie Randy, and a nephew, Alex Green, of Heppner. Coyote Captured on Herder's Porch Trappers who set long trap lines might be interested in a new meth od of catching coyotes, for instance, the use of kitchen utensils. Such a capture was made last Thursday evening by Roy Rector, herder for Ralph Thompson, when a half grown coyote invaded the back yard of the Thompson cabin on Camas prairie and attempted to steal a piece of meat from a pup. Hearing a commotion on the back porch, Rector stepped out to see what was causing it. To his surprise there was the coyote struggling with the pup over a piece of meat. Rector seized a wash tub and imprisoned the unbidden guest. The 'animal was given to Foster Collins, who brought it to town and made a present of it to County Agent C D Conrad. SHE WILL RULE O'ER 1940 RODEO Queen Marjorie 1 1 When the dancing at Rhea Creek grange hall was halted at 11 o'clock last Saturday night, the. suspense and speculation over, who was to rule the 1940 Heppner Rodeo was relieved with the announcement that Miss Marjorie Parker of Heppner had been selected as queen. At the same time the four attendants were named, each representing a participating grange. These inclde Betty Lou Lindsay, Willows grange; Dorris Scott, Lexington; Patricia Daly, Lena, and Phyllis Jane Pollock, Rhea Creek. Ihe 1940 queen is a talented young lady, graduate of Heppner high school, an accomplished musician and a horsewoman of ability. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mfs. Frank E. Parker of Heppner. Logging Crew Sets Up Camp in Timber John Zornes and a crew of about ten men moved in last week and have set up camp in the Bridal Veil timber holdings on Johnson creek. The crew is composed mostly of truckers who will move the more than 500,000 feet of logs decked at the camp to the mill below town. It is expected that this will require about two weeks. Zornes says that on or about Aug ust 1 logging operations will start in earnest and there will be a con-, siderably larger crew in camp, in cluding fallers and skidders. The new Heppner Lumber com pany mill is sawing up logs left fol lowing the fire which destroyed the original mill last fall. Some 250,000 feet of timber was decked or scat tered about the pond and this was found to be in good condition when sawing started last Thursday. Life-Saving Course Will Start Monday Starting Monday. July 22, life- saving classes will be held at the Heppner municipal tank, coached bv Harold Buhman. instructor, and under sponsorship of the American Red Cross. Junior classes will be conducted from 9:30 to 10:30 a. m. and senior classes from 10:30 to 11:30 a.' m. daily for two weeks, Buhman announces. Compulsory attendance is requir ed to qualify for certification at the end of the course. Ben Carpenter, field representa tive of trie Red Cross life-saving division, will be here a few days be fore the first of August. Apricots for sale or trade for grain. Fred Roach, Boardman, Ca son place. 20-21p Next Queen Dance at Willows Grange Queen Marjorie II and her royal court will honor Willows grange with their presence Saturday eve ning, July 20, on the occasion of the second queen's dance of the series of five to be held prior to the an nual Heppner Rodeo, August 1G-17- 18. The schedule of dances, beginning with the dance at Rhea Creek grange hall last Saturday, the one at lone this Saturday, includes Lexington grange hall Saturday evening, July 27, Lena grange hall August 3 and the final dance at the fair pavilion in Heppner August 10. The queen and her attendants were taken to Pendleton last Thurs day and outfitted with cowgirl re galia which will be much in evidence from now ntil the final day of the Rodeo. - . SAMS-MEDLOCK Dorothy Mae Sams and George Lovd Medlock were married Satur day, Justice of the Peace J. O. Ha- ger performing the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Mrs. Paul ine Robbs of Heppner, who with Mrs. Cecile Medlock, witnessed the ceremony. HEALTH ASSN. MEETING SET A meeting of the Morrow County Health association has been called for 8 o'clock p. m., Friday at the office of J. O. Turner. All interested in this important work have been extended an urgent invitation to at tend. MAKING RANGE SURVEY Clifton Wendl, grazing examiner for the national forest service, and a party of seven men will make a range survey of the reserve south of Heppner. The work at this time will complete the survey of the John Day breaks. Bombing Field Locale Settled, Says Major Gates Morrow County Site Most Logical Found in 3-State Quest Morrow county will be the site of an aerial bombing field if the re commendation forwarded to the war department by Major John C. Gates is accepted. This was the informa tion given out by the major on the nwasion of two visits to Heppner this week and judging from news- - paper accounts emanating from Ar lington and published in some state papers actual bombing practice may begin almost any day. "The Morrow county site is the only one in three states that comes near filling the requirements of the air division and it is the one getting my recommendation," Major Gates told a group of busness men at a luncheon meeting Friday. He re peated the statement to a larger group in a public meeting at the court house Tuesday evening. . The Friday luncheon was attend ed by Major Gates and Gus Carlson of Arlington who were in Heppner checking over properties, affected in the proposed bombing field project. It gave Heppner business men an opportunity to meet the major, who, up to the last week, has conducted most of the affairs attendant upon acauiring the field at Arlington or elsewhere. Arrangements were made at this meeting for a general meet ing Tuesday evening to which the major was invited to speak. He wel comed the opportunity to met more of the people directly affected. In his brief talk the major stressed the importance of national defense and said it was not the purpose of the army or any other government al agency to impose hardship on any district. However, to got possession of the tract at an early date it may be necessary to institute condemna tion proceedings. Getting around to the matter of an air base, the speaker stud that he has nothing to do with selection of such sites but suggested a possibil ity of developing a base in connec tion with the bombing field. That is something to be worked out later and the major was not inclined to "stick his neck out" too far. J. O. Turner was chairman of the meeting and outlined Morrow coun ty's position relative to the bomb ing field. He assured Major Gates and the delegation of Arlington business men who accompanied hiin, that Morrow county citizens are in accord with the governments de fense program and stand' ready ,o support it even in the face of con siderable sacrifice. ' . P. W. Mahonev. speaking as an attorney and as a sheepman, gave the stockman's point of view, urging that ample remuneration be given to those who face loss throgh loca tion of the bombing field on their grazing areas. Judge Bert Johnson gave a brief resume of the bombing field deal and defended the court's action in refusing to deal until something concrete has been offered. He clos ed his remarks with a plea that Morrow county be given first con sideration in the event an air base is established in eastern Oregon. Following the talks the ranchers and grazing lessees present consult ed with Major Gates about their holdings, some of them expressing a willingness to negotiate immedi ately. REBUILDING ROAD A forest road crew under the supervision of Winston Abel is re building a section of the forest road between Ukiah and the Ellis ranger station.