OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PUBLIC AUDITORIUM
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Volume 58, Number 21
Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, July 24, 1941
Subscription $2.00 a Year
Lightning Thrills,
Hail Does Damage
In Week-End Storm
Strike in City Freak
ish; Several Crop
Losses Storm Result
At 2:55 last Friday afternoon
a bolt of lightning struck within the
city of Heppner. It was the first
thrill of its kind in many years. The
fire, like liquid, trickled about town,
running playfully into homes, dous
ine lieht and radio bulbs, burning
out refrigerator fuses and doing a
rather remarkable job of stinging a
few persons and otherwise playing
pranks while leaving no serious
damage in its wake.
Main force of the jolt was felt in
the vicinity of the Don Jones and
J. O. Rasmus residences, near where
it burned out transformer fuses. Mr.
and Mrs. Jones probably received
one of the major thrills, as the juice
trickled into the room where they
were sitting, via the telephone. The
telephone line through which it
travelled into the house was later to
be found missing some six feet of
copper core while the insulation was
still intact.
This bolt followed a typical trop
ical storm in Heppner earlier in the
afternoon. The temperature was
hovering near the hundred mark
when all of a sudden rain drops as
big as dollars started descending all
at once from a darkish appearing
though light cloud. It rained for
several minutes and then quit, with
the temperature going right back to
the point it was when the rain start -H
At the courthouse the tempera-
, ture dropped from 97 to 73 during
the rain, but came back to the orig
inal point a few minutes afterward,
reported C. W. Barlow, county clerk.
At the Harold Cohn ranch, an es
timated damage of $2000 was caused
by hail accompanying the storm,
though no hail fell here. The ler
rel Benge ranch reported an esti
mated loss of a bushel an acre from
the same cause.
Lightning which struck at the C.
F. Feldman ranch in the lone sec
tion that afternoon started a fire
which burned 50 acres of wheat A
large grass fire in the north end, in
the vicinity of Kilkenny lakes, was
also thought to have been lightning
caused. It was reported to have
burned over a 10-mile front, and
the reflection which could be seen
from Heppner, caued an alarm to
be sounded that a grain fire was
burning north of Lexington. Of
the many cars attempting to reach
the scene of the blaze from Heppner
and Lexington, only a few got there.
Mayor J. O. Turner took a car
load to with 100 yards of the burn
ing grass, only to get his car stalled
in a sand dune amid a heavy grow
th of sage and thistle, and giving
himself and party a "bad few mo
ments before the retreat was accom
plished. Another large grass fire was start
ed east of Butter creek and below
the Echo junction with the Butter
creek highway, while two other
starts, one at the Wm. Doherty ranch
in Sand Hollow were reported. The
damage was reported to have been
slight.
Pacific Power & Light company s
Wk nower line between lone and
Olex was struck by lightning about
3 o'clock in the afternoon, causing
a blackout of the local district tor
a few minutes.
Probably the most perfect picture
of the storm was recorded on the
voltage chart at the local power of
fice. The jagged red lines which
dashed toward the center of the disc
and back again, veering from the
regular circle of a normal day,
might well have been actual photo
graph of the lightning flashes them
selves. A maze of these up and
down strokes was shown between 3
anH fi o'clock in the afternoon, and
again right after midnight and up
until 3 o'clock Saturday morning.
Queen Kathryn On iSsEZ
Throne, Aug. 15 to 17
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Miss Kathryn Thomson
HER REGAL ATTENDANTS
Miss Colleen Kilkenny
Miss Frances Wilkinson
Miss Rita Robinson
Miss Patricia Emert
Charles and Ruth Notson, Hepp-;
ner missionary folk, will be back in
, i , . rt j 1 i o
ine nome town oaturaay ana oun- ,
!day, July 26 and 27. They belong;
to all of Heppner and all of Hepp-!
ner is invited to share their visit.
On Sunday morning, if they are j
not too weary from their long trek
across the continent, the Notsons
will occupy the pulpit of the Meth-1
odist and Christian churches. Sun-j
day evening a great united service i
will be held in the Methodist church.
The formal service will start at 7:30, 1
but people are invited to come early
and meet the Notsons and visit with
them.
It is a rare privilege for a little
town to have an "ambassador at
large," and Charles is that, says
Mrs. R. C. Young, local minister, in i
making the announement. The mis-
sionary societies of Heppner have
been, sending him gifts for many
years, thus sharing in his great
commission. Now we shall hear of
his work and victories. Every onej
Ls invited to come and meet Charles
and Ruth, and Edward and little.
Marv. All churches are cooperating
in the evening service and we hope
to make it the finest missionary
gathering this town has ever held.
Troy Meredith Dies
In California Fire
Trov Meredith, employe for sev
eral years at Alfalfa Lawn dairy at
Heppner, died about 5 oclocK Sun
day morning from urns received
the night before when the house m
which he was sleeping was burned,
flMwrdins to telecrachic word re
ceived by Mr. and Mrs. John Wight
man, nroorietors of the dairy here.
Meredith and Clyde Gardner naa
left here several weeks before, and
were presumably baching in the
house while working on the federal
dam project near Redding. Gardner
was visitine 'relatives about 15 mlies
frrvm RMine at the time of the
fire. Both boys are natives of Vir
ginia.
Bob Knox Considered
As Idaho U. Coach
Bob Knox, who finished a three
year coaching career in Heppner
this spring, is one of the leading can
didates for the position of boxing
coach at University of Idaho, ac
cording to a news report emanating
from the campus at Moscow this
week.
The renort said Knox is consider
ed to have the best chance because
of more physical education training
and experience. He has both bach
elor's and master's degree from U.
of Oregon, cdupled with special
work at Stanford and New York uni
versity. He held the northwest am
ateur lightweight boxing crown m
! 1927.
Scrap Aluminum Drive
Makes Good Progress
The drive for scrap aluminum in
Morrow county had gained good im
petus by this morning, reported J.
O. Turner, executive secretary of
the local defense council, and it was
expected that much more of the
material would be on hand by the
time the drive closes Saturday night.
Central receiving headquarters is
in the corner room at Heppner ho
tel building, while all warehouses
are receiving. Those who have not
so far made a survey for scrap al
uminum on their premises are urged
by Turner to do so and to bring
the material into a receiving station
by Saturday.
LABOR AGREEMENT SIGNED
Local IWA chaDter and Hennner
Lumber company reached agreement
last week end after several weeks
of negotiating. The contract affect
ed wages and hours.
DRAFTEES VISIT
Arthur Peterson, No. 3 selectee,
and Norman Beryl Grifin, No. 4 se
lectee of Morrow county local board,
have been home on furlough, the
local office reports.
Riding Club Slates
Sunday Jaunt; To
Assist With Rodeo
Officers Named,
Barn Service Starts
For Horse Lovers
Temporarily assuming the name of
Morrow County Riding club until a
later contest may bring forth a more
colorful cognomen, the previously
heralded organization of horsemen
and women got off to a riding start
Sunday afternoon when officers
were elected. A further meeting of
officers and directors Tuesday eve
ning adopted by-laws and regula
tions and made plans for activity,
including all possible help with the
fn,nt.hmrune Rodeo. August 15-16-
17, and a ride next Sunday with in
vitation extended specially to Ro
deo's royal court
Sunday's ride will be to the "Rod
man" cabin a few miles above the
forks of Willow creek. It will start
from Heppner Rodeo grounds at 9
o'clock, and it is expected to reacn
the cabin by noon for a pot-luck
chicken dinner. Public invitation is
extended to participate, and those
intending to join should notify either
Miss Maxine McCurdy or Miss Shir
ley Wilson, two of the committee
members. Transportation for food
will be provided.
With 17 persons signing for mem
ership Sunday afternoon, officers
were chosen as follows: Jim Kistner,
president; Lee Beckner, vice presi
dent; Earle Bryant, secretary-treasurer;
directors, Maxine McCurdy, F.
W. Turner, H. D. McCurdy, Shirley
Wilson.
Tuesday evening it was voted to
retain Frank Tousley as barn man,
the city having given use of the
barns at the Rodeo grounds. Tous
ley, a professional horse trainer, in
arMition to keening the barns clean
and in good condition, and feeding
and watering members horses, wiu
assist members with riding instruc
tion. He will also train his own
horses, following his occupation at
Athena before coming to Heppner.
Grain hay will be furnished horses
of club members who have paid fees
for this purpose.
Qualification for active member
ship was cited as ownership of a
horse. Active membership gives the
privileges of the club along with a
power to vote. Others interested
may take associate memberships
which entitles to all club privileges
except that of voting.' The member
ship fee was set at $3 for an indiv
idul and $5 for a family for one year
Barns cost was set at 30 cents' a
day per horse for members with
horses on the grounds, and 50c a
day per horse for horses kept in
termittently. Regulation was adopted that the
barn man should permit use of no
one's horse except on personal noti
fication from the owner,
Any riding equipment may be us
ed except on show occasions when
the equipment , will be specified by
a committee named for the purpose.
Farm Loan Council
Named for County
A Farm Security Administration
council for Morrow county was this
week approved for Morrow county,
the purpose of which will be to
make the services of the adminis
tration the most possible effective
locallv. announces J. J. Wisrhtman.
council member, who attended a
district FSA st-hool at La Grande
Monday.
Named on the county council were
Mr. Wightman, A. C. Houghton, B.
C. Pinckney, Mrs. Minnie McFar
land, Mrs. Ethel Adams, Robert Ste
phen Thompson, Clifford D. Con
rad and Miss Lucille Vale.
Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Bucknum
have returned to Heppner from
Roseburg where they had been lo
cated for several months.