OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY PUBLIC A 'J 0 I T 0 R I U ! .1 P 0 ;. T I A -i D , 0 r. E . $3.00 Per Year; Single Copies 10c Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, November 30, 1950 Volume 67, Number 37 mm ppet Christmas Lights To Be Turned On Saturday Evening Santa Writes Kids He Will Stop Here On Way to N. Pole There will be something of in terest for young and old alike Saturday evening when the street decoration lights are turn ed on heralding the holiday sea son. The lights will be turned on at 7 o'clock and at that time the stores will reopen and remain open until 8 or a little later, de pending upon the whim of the crowd. Of particular interest to the kiddies will be the visit of San ta Claus, who has sent word that he will make a stop in Heppner on his way back to the North Pole for a fresh supply of toys and other gifts. Jolly old Saint Nick can't go back on the boys and girls for he has written them a letter which we are permitted to reprint, and it is as follows: Enroute to North Pole Dear Boys and Girls: I hope all you boys and girls have been good these past weeks for the Heppner Chamber of Commerce has asked that I visit you on December 2nd. I don't like to spend my time visiting boys and girls who haven't been good, and, there are so many to visit. I am on my way back to the North Pole to get loaded up with lots of toys and presents, if my pickup holds out that long. It has been hard to get enough toys stored up to have enough for all of you. I plan to be through Heppner at about 7:30 Saturday evening, December 2nd. I wish I could see all of you and I am sa ving up some goodies for you that evening. Be down town in Heppner on Saturday evening, so I can talk to all of you. If you haven't mail ed your letter to me yet, bring it along so I can pick it up. I'll be seeing you. SANTA CLAUS His call will be brief and all the good little boys and girls must be on hand promptly if they wish to see him. Chairman Nels Anderson and his committee still hope to put the mail box to use and will do so if it can be operated without interfering with the regular por tal service. Enough volunteer help turned out Friday evening at the fair pavilion to assemble all of the garland streamers for street dec orations. The decorations were put in place Sunday and by Tuesday the lights were strung. Everything is in readiness -for a gala opening if the weather man will just pull in his horns and give the community a break. o Wheat Committees To Meet December 4 At Court House In preparation for the annual meeting of the Oregon Wheat Growers League, Morrow county wheat growers will meet at Hep pner on December 4 to formulate their recommendations. These will be incorporated into reports of other wheat growing areas and form the basis for committee meetings of each of five groups which will meet at The Dalles December 7, 8 and 9. Morrow county's committee meetings will be started at 10 a. m. Monday and will be held in the county court room. Active committees and chairmen of each are Taxation and Legislation, Henry Peterson; Federal Agricul tural programs and Land Use, Loyd Howton; Wheat Disposal and Market Development, Oscar Peterson; Production and Trans portation, Kenneth Smouse, and Youth Activities, Earl McKinney. Recommendations will reflect the thinking of our farmers in each of the important matters, for the betterment of the wheat farmer. Ed Bell, administrator, Oregon Wheat Commission, who is de voting his time to new markets and uses for wheat, reports that Oregon wheat producers may find thnmcolws in somewhat of a predicament if wheat exports do not pick up soon, lie reports mat the United States is supplying only that part of the world mar ket that can't be supplied by other countries. At present U. S. nrlvic mlllnro nnH pxnnrters can not compete with Canada, Aus tralia nnH Argentine millers and exporters. This may mean that our farmers will need to provide storage for more wheat as the stnnknilf" erows lareer. as it is bound to do at the present rate of production, wnn tnese prop lems facing the wheat farmer, It la Imnnrtant that all take Dart in programs to relieve the situa tion of this commodity. One way of doing tnis is Dy laKing an nnHvn nart in discussion and SU2- rnstlnfr stens to follow, believes N. C. Anderson, Morrow county agent. Farmers win nave me op portunity to do so at these meet ings on December 4. Junior Class Play Set for December 6-7 At Gym-Auditorium All is readiness for presenta tion of the play, "You Can't Take It With You," junior class of Heppner high school offering to the public on the nights of De cember 6 and 7 at the school au ditorium. Tickets were put on sale the first of this week and it is anticipated that the hard work the juniors have been putting in will be amply rewarded. "You Can't Take It With You" is decidedly on the lighter side. It might even be considered a wee bit on the zany side, judging from a paragraph submitted by the juniors: "The junior class play includes comedy, dancing and several incidents which make you think the people are a bit peculiar. In the living room, meals are eaten, snakes collect ed, ballet steps practiced, xylo phones played and printing presses operated." The cast includes Joanne Bothwell as Penelope Syca more; Eleanor Rice as Essie; Sal ly Cohn as Rheba; Mickey Lan ham as Paul Sycamore; Elwayne Bergstrom as Mr. De Pinna; Ken neth Turner as Ed; Allen Hughes as Donald; Donald Blake as Martin Vander-hof; Rieta Graves as Alice; Roy Taylor as Hender son; Jim Smith as Tony Kirby; Albert Burkenbine as Boris Kol enkov; Bernice Huston as Gay Wellington; Jack Yeager as Mr. Kirby; Gary Connor, Keith Con nor and Jim Prock as Three Men, and Nancy Adams as Olga. o School Flag Rites Scouts' Daily Chore Heppner Boy Scouts are as sured of at least one "good scout" turn each day of the school week. With the assistance of Paul War ren, school property custodian, they raise and lower the school flag each day. The Scouts are making a cere mony of the job. The flag cere mony bugle notes are sounded prior to the raising and repeated when the flag is lowered. o 0W6L Convention Lists Impressive Slate of Speakers The 23rd annual convention of the Oregon Wheat Growers League at The Dalles, December 7 to 9 lists an impressive slate of speakers. Highlight of the meet ing will be a speech on "Man made Weather" by Dr. Irving P. Krick, president of the Water Re. sources Development Corporation of Pasadena, California. Dr. Krick is under a rainmaking contract to the wheat farmers of Sherman, Morrow and Gilliam counties. Two other top speakers will be Herb Clutter of Holcomb, Kansas, President of the Nation al Association of Wheat Growers, and F. E. Price, newly appointed dean of agriculture at Oregon State College, speaking on "Ser vicing Oregon Agriculture." The Conservation Man of the Year will be chosen Saturday morning, the last day. The ban quet will be that night. All those who plan to attend should write Eldon Emerson, R. F. D. No. 3, The Dalles, or The Dalles cham ber of commerce for reservations. The sessions will be held in the City Auditorium in The Dalles. The opening address will be made Friday bv President Henry Baker of lone. Other speakers, outlined on the pro gram by the executive committee are Ronald E. Jones, president of the Oregon State Farmers Union; E. Harvey Miller, PMA state chairman, speaking on Oregon's part in the PMA program; b. P. Swenson, dean of agriculture at Washington State College on Why We Should Teach Conser vation"; Dr. O. A. Vogel, USDA agronomist at WSC on "Work' of Milling and Baking Laboratories and Its Relation to Wheat Im provement Work in Oregon;" E. J. Bell, Oregon Wheat Commiss ion administrator telling about the Far East grain mission. A panel discussion on use of fertilizer for soil conservation and wheat production will be led the second day by Arthur S. King, soil conservation special ist at Oregon State college. Com. mittees will meet the first day and the general session will be gin at 10:45 a. m. the second day. Reports of the standing committees will be heard, reso lutions will be presented and new officers and the three-man yoting delegation to the NAWG convention at Dodge City, Kan sas, February 1-3 will be elected. Present officers besides Baker are Don McKinnis, Summerville, vice president; Floyd Root, Was co, second vice-president; Leroy C. Wright, Baker, secretary-treasurer, and Roscoe Roberts, The Dalles, assistant secretary. WE'RE ALREADY SOLD.... Each one of us can easily tell The Shrine auctioneer knows his onions.... The only thing he won't have to sell Is a style that's strictly Runnion's. Stuff Coming In For Shrine Auction At Fair Pavilion - People Displaying Keen Interest In Big Benefit Event If the interest displayed by the people all over the district repre sented in the Morrow County Shrine club is a criterion, the fund for the Shrine hospital for Crippled Children in Portland will receive a big boost here Sat. urday afternoon on the occasion of the first annual Shrine benefit sale. This is the report brought back by Bob Runnion, general chairman of the auction sale, af ter a canvass of the district in which he has driven upwards of 2500 mlies in the last two weeks. "Everything from a tomcat to a locomotive will be on sale," Runnion characteristically re marked. Whether such articles will be offered or not, the fact remains that the people are re sponding generously and Run nion says his only worry is that there may not be buyers enough to take the stuff that will be of feredall of it, that is. Another gratifying condition is the number of checks received in lieu of articles. This side of the sale will mount up to a consider able sum in itself, Runnion says. Many useful items will be on the block. Livestock, poultry, have been pledged. Farm mach inery, an automobile, a truck, eggs, potatoes and other edibles household furniture and a long list of lesser items will be offer ed, but none of it will be given away unless Runnion's voice goes back on him'. At least one brand new item will be offered. Rod Wentworth, down lone way, is, building a steel cattle guard especially for the sale. Donors of cattle who are not equipped to haul the animals need only to contact Floyd Wor den at Eight Mile, Phone Hepp ner 13F13, or Bill Smethurst at Lexington, Phone 4812 and they will see that your stock is picked up. If there is any question in your mind about the need for this sale or at least the pressing need for funds by the Shriners, just re member that 11 crippled children from this jurisdiction have been cared for in the Shrine hospital since 1945. Some of the young sters would not receive this care were it not for the generosity and activity of the Shriners in pro viding it for them. The dancing public is remind- Iss Q lE; Rffflfl m u" ' "::' fa : 5"""" - (HMlAMMtf T iHI mil i i ' ' L iV 1 lam Xv.. :V" 'K' !;.. jfr yv-- Right up to the flower boxes on the second story sills of Union j Pacific's Wallula, Wash., depot will go the water trapped behind McNary dam. Station Agent It. M. Van Slyck shows Assistant Project Engineer Ross Eaton how high the water will even tually be. Before the water swirls into Wallula's streets, the station will be torn down and the town abandoned. Union Pacific Ag Car Attracts Many County Farmers Appearance here of the Union Pacific agricultural car Tuesday and Wednesday attracted much attention, according to officials in charge of the car and N. C. Anderson, Morrow county agri cultural agent. Spotted at the Union Pacific depot in Heppner, educational programs were given Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morn ing, with an attendance of ap proximately 75 for the two days. This was considered satisfactory by those responsible for the pro gram and the improved attend ance was credited to the more fa vorable weather conditions in contrast with the brand of wea ther in force here last winter. With a theme of "grain sanita. tion", the various aspects of keeping grain fit for food from harvest until consumption were discussed by leaders in this field Robert Fletcher, secretary, Pacif ic Northwest Crop Improvement association; Rex Warren, farm crops specialist; Robert Every, extension entomologist, Oregon State college; N. C. Aderson, Morrow county agent. With Geo. L. Penrose, Union Pacific agri cultural agent in charge, taking part in the discussions. Films, "Vandals of the Night" and "Crop Improvement", depict ing rodent control and crop im provement work of state colleges were shown to the group. Farmers commenting on the meetings stated they enjoyed them as the seats are comforta ble, the talks are plainly audible through the car's public address system, and films plainly shown from the car's self-contained pro jection room. The car was taken to Condon Wednesday afternoon. o RETURN FROM ST. LOUIS Mr. and Mrs. Ben Anderson and Miss Esther Bergstrom re turned Wednesday from St. Lou is where they spent two weeks visiting Mr. and Mrs,. Martin Johnson, brother-in-law and sis ter of Mr. Anderson. They were glad to get home, although the trip and visit were both enjoy able. It was cold in Missouri but that part, of the middle west did not feel the force of the storm that gripped so much of the east ern part of the country. o Mrs. Burt Cason and Mrs. Har vey Hogue were over from Lone rock Monday, td that there will be a dance at the fair pavilion after the Christ mas opening. Good music has been retained for the occasion and everybody is assured of get. ting more than the price of ad mission out of it. This map shows the major relocation and construction project currently abuilding. Along the Columbia itself, the job is largely one of moving the track to a higher level; although the water will back up for many miles behind the dam, the lake will not be a relatively wide one since the river in this area is contained by high hills and bluffs. If you are more than 20 feet in height and possess web feet and a water - repellent epidermis you are perfectly free to make your home in Wallula, Wash., five years hence. Or if you have a gondola and a sweet Venetian voice you can cruise literally the streets of that village as in the travelog ues. Or if you have a diving bell you can take the family for a picnic of a Sunday afternoon on the lower slopes of Washington's forlorn Horse Heaven hills. Or if you have a war surplus LCI you can take members of your luncheon club on a most unusual scenic tour westward from Wallula along the present route of U. S. Highways No. 395 and 730 Organization Set Up For March of Dimes Campaign Completion of the organiza tion within the county for the 1951 annual March of Dimes campaign has been announced by Mrs. Joe Hughes, county di rector, who says that every dist rict in the county will have workers by the time the drive swings into action. Jack Edmondson, Heppner, commander of Post No. 87, Am erican Legion, has been named chairman of the chapter which includes Henry Tetz as vice chairman; Merle Becket, treas urer; Mrs. Lucy Rodgers, secre tary; Mrs. Henry Aiken, chair man women's activities, and Mrs. Joe Hughes, director. On the executive committee are Mrs. Rodgers, Charles Rug gles, Sheriff C. J. D. Bauman, Harry Duvall, Miss Margaret Gil- us, ana Leonard Fate. The medical advisory commit tee includes Dr. A. D. McMurdo, Miss Gillis, and Mrs. Clara B. Gertson, and the publicity will be handled by O. G. Crawford and LaVerne Van Marter. Postmasters in each town of the county have been asked to promote the campaign in their respective communities and while only one has responded but it is expected the others will accede to the request. As a preliminary to the open ing of the campaign in Oregon, Basil O'Connor, national director of the March of Dimes, will be guest of honor at a luncheon giv en by Dr. E. T. Hedlund, state director, at 12:15 December 5 in Portland. Mrs. Hughes and Miss Gillis plan to attend the lunch eon. Miss Gillis is personally ac quainted with Mr. O'Connor hav ing worked with him a number of years ago in similar work. With polio on the increase and the value of the dollar going down the March of Dimes organ, izations have their work cut out for them this year, the national organization points out. As an example, $1,171 raised per case of polio in 1945-'46-'47 when there were 50,000 cases, had a purchasing power of $828. For the 1948-'49-'50 period with 100, 000 cases of polio, the $802 per case had a purchasing power of $4bo per case. This includes dU, 000 plus cases in 1950. Purchas ing power is compared to the 1939 dollar value ot 100 cents. Mrs. Hughes reports that some have volunteered to aid with the campaign, notably Mrs. James McRae, Irngon and Mrs. JNorma Gwin of Boardman. portion of the Union Pacific track necessitated by McNary dam, But if such is not the case, then like Union Pacific Rail road you must seek higher ground. When the lake fully forms behind the big McNary dam, now under construction across the Columbia river where it divides Oregon and Washing ton, Wallula will be under 20 feet of water. Although the 8,725-foot long McNary dam itself has grabbed most of the headlines to date, there is no shortage of problems to be grappled with far upstream along the shores of the mighty Columbia. Chief grappler is the Union Pacific Railroad, whose main line to Spokane skirts the south bank of the river northeastward from Umatilla, Ore., site of the dam, More than 1,000 workmen are OBITUARY MINNIE LAURA ALBERT Services were held at 2 o'clock p. m. today at the Phelps Funeral Home chapel for Mrs. Minnie Laura Albert, who passed away at the Pioneer Memorial hospital Tuesday after an illness of five weeks, Elvon L. Tull. vicar of All Saints Memorial church, Epis copal, read the service. Interment was in the Heppner Masonic cem etery beside the grave of her hus band who passed away several years ago. Minnie Laura Hart was born November 24, 1877 at Plymouth. Iowa. She married Frederick Al bert in 1916 at Lena, where he was farming and she was the postmaster. They continued their residence at Lena for a number of years and after disposing of their farm moved to Heppner. Mer nusband's health failing, Mrs. Albert worked at different lobs, continuing after his death and until her health failed. She had long been a member of the Episcopal church. surviving are two daughters. Mrs. John P. Nolan of Mason City Iowa and Mrs. Harriet Stowe of Detroit, Mich.; three sisters, Mrs. Claus Randall, Manly, Iowa; Mrs. Harriet Frederick and Miss Beth Hart of Plymouth, Iowa, and a brother, John W. Hart of Los An geles, Calif. JOSEPH HOWELL Services were held at 1 o'clock p. m. Tuesday for Joseph Howell, wno died suddenly about 3:45 p. m. Saturday in Pendle ton. Rev. J. Palmer Somen con ducted the service at the chapel oi the Pheips Funeral Home and the funeral cortege drove Imme diately to the I. O. O. F. cemetery in Hardman where the body was laid to rest Mr. Howell had come ud from Portland Wednesday and was an overnight guest at Hotel Hepp ner Friday, leaving Saturday afternoon for Pendleton. He en gaged a room in a hotel there and was returning downstairs from taking his traveling gear to the room when he fell. His neck was broken in the fall. "Joe" Howell was a native of Hardman where he was born April 13, 1880. He spent practic ally his entire life in Hardman and vicinity, leaving there last spring for Portland to make his hnmp urirh me rianfrhtor Mrc 'Gladys Corrigall. He was mar ried August 25, 1904 to Maude McDaniel and to this union were born four children, one dying in infancy. Surviving are his child ren, Gladys Corrigall, Portland, Raymond Howell, Heppner, and Roger Howell of California; a brother, Frank Howell of Top, and two sisters, Ida Gunderson, Portland and Tilda Potter, Castle Rock, Wash. EUGENE DOHERTY Services were held at 10 o'clock a. m. today for Eugene Doherty, 67, whose death occurred Novem ber 16 at Fairbanks, Alaska. Fa ther Thomas Cooney read the service at St. Patrick's Catholic church and the body was borne to the Heppner Masonic ceme tery for interment. Mr. Doherty was a native of Ireland where he was born December 31, 1883. He came to Heppner in 1905 and af ter two years here went to Alas ka where he engaged in mining for many years. He made visits here in 1911, 1920, 1948 and 1949. He was naturalized in Alaska in 1914. Prior to his death he had been employed at one of the U. S. airforce stations as a boiler engineer. Surviving are three sisters, Mrs. Catherine Doherty, Hepp ner; Mrs. Margaret Creegan, Ren ton, Wash., and Mrs. Rose Do herty, lone; two brothers, John of lone and Paul in Ireland, and numerous nephews and nieces. currently concerned with the fol lowing: 1. Eventual abandonment on the Spokane main line of the Wallula switching yard, which serves branches to Yakima and Walla Walla. 2. Construction of 25 miles of track and necessary buildings and facilities in a completely new switching yard at Hinkle, Ore., on the main line to Port land. 3. Construction of 17 miles of new track from Hinkle north to Juniper Point on the Columbia. 4. Relocation at a higher level of 25Vi miles of U. P. track which borders the river at an elevation destined to become lake bottom. 5. Rebuild in new locations steel and reinforced concrete bridges spanning the Walla Wal la river, Juniper Canyon and Spring Gulch creek. 6. Raise 8 1-2 feet a steel girder draw bridge 2,672 feet long over the Columbia river. 7. Construction of one new rail road bridge, three highway over passes, two canal bridges and a multiplate culvert pipe under a 67-foot embankment. Construction on the approxi mately $250,000,000 McNary pro ject began in 1947, will be com pleted in 1954 or later. Being built for power, flood control and irrigation, the dam will back water 60 miles up the Solumbla and lu miles up the snake rivers, Heppner Business Houses To Adopt Trade Days Plan 20 or More Sign Up With National Trade Day Assn. Seeking to pep up business, Heppner business concerns to the number of 20 at least, are signing up this week for the ser. vices of the National Trade Day association through the con cern's representative, C. P. Usher. The workings of the plan were explained by Usher at the cham ber of commerce luncheon Mon day noon and interest shown by business men present, mostly representing the retail trades, was sufficient to induce him to remain here and line up a local organization. More details of the plan of operation will be given when the local branch is ready to function. The National Trade Day asso ciation was started in Texas in 1930 and soon spread to Oklaho ma and other nearby states. In the 20 years of its operation it has spread to aH parts of the Union, with branches in some 3600 towns. The plan has proved so successful that some towns, having used it for awhile and abandoned it, have found them selves rushing back to get on the bandwagon, Usher said. It is desirable to have one or more of each type of business in the community represented. Several towns in the Blue Mountain-Columbia river area are using the plan with good re sults, Usher stated. John Day, Milton-Freewater, Pasco, and Prosser were among the places mentioned. Discussion of the Christmas opening program was taken up for a few minutes and it was found that the committee has ev erything well in hand. W. W. Bechdolt and son Adrian were special guests of the cham ber at Monday's luncheon. They were introduced by N. C. Ander son as Morrow county's bid for state conservation man of the year at the forthcoming annual meeting of the Oregon Wheat League at The Dalles. He praised the work done by the Bechdolts which caused them to be chosen as the "Conservation Man of the Year" in Morrow county. Adrian Bechdolt responded and said they appreciated the nice things said about them and admitted that they had worked hard in their efforts to save the topsoil and put their ranch into profit able production but he felt that much credit was due the conser vation service and Tom Wilson and his corps of conservation workers. Wilson, in turn, said he thought the credit had been giv en where it was due and outlined the program followed by the Bechdolts as well as praising them for their cooperative spirit. Several new faces were seen at the luncheon, including Gene Wells of the Heppner Market, John Shoemaker of Heppner Ba kery, Pete McMurtry of Heppner Auto Parts, Wm. Kenagy of the Marshall-Wells store, Mrs. Pearl Carter, representing Claudien's, and Bill Blake ot Wilson s Men s Wear. Exterior Lighting Contest Scheduled Prizes for the homes with the best exterior decorations will ag. ain be offered by the Jay-Cee Ettes. Three judges will be sel ected and the judging will be done December 23 or 24. Those who wish to have their decorat ing considered in this contest may leave their names at Gon ty's Shoe Store any time prior to December 23. Three prizes are offered: first, ten dollars, second, five dollars and third two-fifty. The participation in the con test last year was excellent and it is hoped that this year even more homes will be entered. GOING TO EAST COAST Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Ferguson will leave December 5 for Nor falk, Va. to be with their son-in- law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kelly through the holiday season. They plan to be gone six weeks or longer and during ther laDsence Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Schwarz and son Lenray will oc cupy their residence on Hager street. SCOUTS TO SELL TREES The Future Farmers of Ameri ca having abandoned the prac tice of furnishing Christmas trees to the public of Heppner and vicinity, the Boy Scouts will take over, announces Jack Bai ley, activities chairman for the local troop. The boys will soon be around to accept your orders. They are trying to raise some of the funds needed for carrying on their activities the ensuing year. . o Mr. and Mrs. B. C. Forsyth took advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday to visit their children in Heppner. Mr. Forsythe is princi pal of the high school at Cascade Locks.