Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 1956)
L I BFARY U OF 0 NEW STUD MILL IN OPERATION mtttt I- pper rate& D 0 V: THE UNITED STUDS, INC. mill which is now operating at site of former Blake mill on Hinton creek. On the left is the main saw and head rig end the hooded equipment, right, is the scrag mill which slabs the small logs. The slabbed timber in the foreground moves on to a multiple-cut saw which will cut up to 8 2x4's at a time. I ' "S " ... .., "( , ,i rf A LOAD OF LOGS, is being dumped and will be stacked in the cold deck, a small part of which is shown in the right foreground. The main mill in the background got into limited operation last week, but it is expected that it will take some time yet to work all the bugs out of the operation. The plant cuts only 2x4's 8 feet in length. NEW SITE This fall the United Stud mill will be moved to this site now being prepared just west of Heppner. In the center of the leveled tract can be seen the mill pond adjacent to which the mill will be built. The equipment to the right of the pond is part of the planer which will be housed in a steel building. (GT Photos) MANY IMPROVEMENTS MADE TO FAIR AND RODEO GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS Many new improvements have been completed at the Morrow county fair and rodeo " grounds during recent weeks and build ings and grounds are in top shape, it was revealed last week at a meeting of the fair board. Permanent chutes of welded pipe set in concrete have been in stalled on the rodeo grounds with individual partitions made for cows and calves which is expected to give smoother operation of rodeo stock. The fair pavilion kitchen has been rewired for new electric ranges which will be in- Ullman Calls For Realistic Farm Plan Al Ullman, Democratic candr date for Congress, spoke before a group of local supporters here Saturday night. Chairman of the meeting was Al Lamb who in his introduction of Ullman pointed out that, "In Baker county, the home of both Al Ullman and the present Con gressman Sam Coon, Al Ullman received over one thousand more votes than Coon, in a district where their neighbors know them best." Ullman said, "My campaign this year will be based on the issues of greatest interest to the people of Eastern Oregon. Among them, the need for a realistic farm prograf and a river de velopment plan which will make the water and power resources of the Columbia basin available at rates which will encourage the full development of the North west." "The basic question for voters to decide this November" Ullman said, "is whether they wish to continue in office an administration which according to former secretary of interior Douglas McKay is 'here in the saddle as an administration rep resenting business and industry', or rather to choose Democratic of fice holders who have tradition ally represented the interests of the farmer, the wage earner, and the small businessman. lift, -'Ql stalled for cooking demonstra tions prior to the opening of the fair August 30 An agreement was reached be tween the board, county court and the Heppner school district for the removal of dirt lrom hill property of the fair grounds to the new school property. A meet ing with school officials is plan ned to work out a more efficient use of fair grounds, buildings field and a new livestock barn may be built jointly on the north side of Hinton creek following a request from L. L. Robbins, vo cation agriculture instructor for permission to house FFA livestock projects in fair buildings. Board members include W. E, Hughes, chairman; Charles Carl son and Willard Jones, Irrigon. R. B. Ferguson is manager. Summer Weather Finally Hits County The weather finally decided to smile on Morrowcounty this week and as he turned loose some sunshine the unofficial temperature at Heppner rose to 91 degrees by Wednesday after noon. Farmers were pleased as the warming trend was needed to ripen crops, as were 4-H youngs ters who are attending summer camp at Herren creek and Uma tilla forest employees now at guard school at Tupper guard station. Last year both groups wallowed through much mud and rain to "enjoy" their smumer outing. The warm break came Saturday and the" mercury has climbed at least into fhe 80's every day since. RHEA CREEK GRANGE TO HONOR BABBS The Rhea Creek grange will honor Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Babb on Sunday July 1 with a potluck dinner at 5:00 p. m. Cards will follow the dinner and all grangers and friends are invited. Copies 10 Cents Forest Guards In Training Session At Tupper Station About 60 Umatilla national forest firemen, district assist ants, rangers and instructors gathered Monday evening at Tupper guard station, 35 miles southeast of Heppner, for the eighth annual guard training school The intensive course in fire prevention and suppression will last for four days, then look outs and other crews will be as signed to their summer positions. The school is being conducted by John Kucera, Pendleton, Uma tilla National forest fire control off jeer. He is being assisted by district rangers and other forest officials. The men attending the school are from six districts in the Uma tilla forest,- Pomeroy and Walla Walla in Washington; Pendleton Ukiah, Dale and Heppner dis tricts in Oregon. During the past year the new mess hall, kitchen and general meeting building, started last year at the Tupper guard sta tion site, has been completed and is being used by the crew. Becausa of the short time the men are stationed at Tupper, they are being housed in tents. All phases of fire fighting and forest work are covered in the four-day class sessions and one of the instructors at Tuesday's classes was Charles Rector, Uma tilla national forest supervisor. The Tupper station has been set up as a permanent location for the annual school. County's Crop Prospects Bright Morrow county farmers have prospects of harvesting one of the best grain crops in recent years with wheat expected to produce 8t least 25 bushels to the acre on an average and barley to go from 30 to 35 bushels, barring un favorable weather conditions be tween now and harvest, N. C. Anderson, county agent has re vealed. The soil bank program has set an average of 22.2 bushels for the 1956 crop which is slightly above the long term average for the county. Last year the county average was only about 20 bus hels. As is usual, most of this year's wheat was seeded last fall. Some spring seeding was forced by the dry fall and early freezing wea ther, but in many instances the spring wheat will compare quite favorably with fall wheat. Mois ture conditions last fall and this spring h"ave been the best in several years with well over one inch of rain having fallen so far this June. Barley has not been grown ex tensively in the county in the past, but this year's crop is ex ceptional and in many cases looks even better than does the wheat. Last year's barley crop averaged only about 20 bushels to the acre. Harvesting of barley is expect ed to start by July 10 in the north end of the county with-"Wheat to follow within a short time' if the weather remains good. o Former Resident Dies in Idaho Word was received here early this week of the death of Fred Elder, 69, a former barber In Heppner and Lexington. He passed away Sunday at his home in Wallace, Idaho. Mr. Elder left Morrow county in about 1920 after having lived here for several years. He was a member of the Heppner Masonic lodge. Funeral services were held on Wednesday with burial in a Wallace cemetery. o Gale Street Curb, Paving Completed Curbing and paving of the one block of Gale street between Wil low and Center streets was com pleted Wednesday by Leslie Harris Pendleton paving contrac tor. The block is the first major street improvement project un dertaken by residents in some time. Another block of the un named street connecting Water street and the Seventh Day Ad ventist church may be improved later this year as residents of the street recently petitioned the council to have the work done. Early News Copy Asked For Next Week The Gazette Times again asks its news correspondents and ad vertisers to get copy in to the paper at least one day early next week due to the Fourth of July holiday on Wednesday. The paper will be published at ..the regular time Thursday, but to give employees the holiday off, the early deadline will be established. lone Voters to Decide Special School Tax Levy A school election on a special levy of two mills to niisc $0,934. 96 will be held In the lone school district on Wednesday. July 11. The election will be held in the school cafetorium from 2 to 8 p. m. The money raised by the spe cial one-year levy is to be used to blacktop the playground area and for rearranging of class rooms in the school building. The election will be similar to the one recently held in Hepp ner d:strict to provide capital out lay funds eliminated from the district's budget by the rural school board. o Local Woman's Story In Reader's Digest Mrs. Gloria Vitello Tyson, of Heppner, is the recent recipient of a $100 check from The Reader's Digest for an anecdote submitted to the magazines department "Life in These United States." Mrs. Tyson's contribution will appear in the forthcoming July issue. 'A r Li. MISS JUDY COLUNS Heppner Girl Named Delegate to National FHA Convention Miss Judy Collins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Collins of Heppner, will be one of 29 Ore gon delegates to the 1956 nation al convention of Future Home makers of America, July 2 to 6 at the Conrad Hilton hotel In Chi cago. A junior at Heppner high school, she has been an FHA member since 1953 and has ser ved as chapter recreation leader, parliamentarian and president. Chapter adviser is Mrs. Homer Hager. FHA is the national organi zation of pupils studying home making in junior and senior high schools in the U. S. and terri tories. Any student who has taken or is taking homemaklng may belong and membership to tals nearly 500,000. Judy will be one of 2,000 FHA members at tending the national meeting, i Convention sessions will be geared to helping FHA'ers recog nize opportunities and accept re sponsibilities related to improv ing home, school and community life. FHA is sponsored by the Ameri can home economics association and the U. S. office of education. Cooperating groups are the home economics sections of the Ameri can Vocational association and the National Education associa tion. Judy's other school activities include being majorette for the high school band, Girls Athletic association and she is a member of the Rainbow Girls. Her trip is being financed by the Oregon as sociation of Future Homemakers of America and the following Heppner organizations: high school student body, chamber of commerce, P-TA, Willows Lodge I. O. O. F., Soroptimist club, Ma sonic and Elks lodges and the American Legion. Mr. and Mrs. Homer Hager left Monday for a weeks vacation in Portland. Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, June Grassman Award Goes to Wagenblast ; ,'--V f 9L WXhsitU ; .-I GRASSMAN OF THE YEAR, Alrin Wagenblast with two of his ranch hands, sons John, 9 and Steve. 7. The award winner farms Lex ington ranch on which many improvements have been made in recent years. See adjoining story. (Wilson Photo) Transforming a depleted, over grazed ranch into fields of high producing postures and irriga ted hayland has won for Alvin Wagenblast, Lexington, the "grassman of the year" title for Morrow county, it was announced Tuesday night at a meeting of the county Farm Bureau. Taking over a 50(1 acre ranch just north of Lexington In 1919, Wagenblast has increased the livestock carrying capacity of his paxtur? and range land from 12 cows and calves to 150 head without injury to the soil or vegetative cover over the seven yiar pentd ci his owr.ort.iiip. During the past five years Wagenblast has seeded 45 acres of permanent irrigated pas- lone, Hermiston Plan Observances lone will be the only Morrow county community to hold a Fourth of July celebration, though a neighboring Umatilla county town, Hermiston has announced plans for ,a day-long celebra tion. The two affairs "will not con flict, as the lone American Le gion post has announced plans for a big free fireworks displayj on Tuesday night, July 3 to be followed by a dance at the lone Legion hall. The Hermiston celebration will be hold all day Wednesday with a varied program scheduled well into the evening. Motorcycle races, fireworks, picnics and street dances are on the pro gram, members of the Hermis ton chamber of commerce, spon sors, revealed. No general observance of the holiday is planned in Heppner, though all city, county, state and federal offices and most business will be closed on Wednesday. County Democrats Plan Organizational Meeting Friday An organizational meeting of the Morrow county Democratic central committee will be held at the Newt O'Harra home in Lex ington at 8 p. m. Friday, June 29, it was announced this week. Election of a county chairman, vice-chairman, secretary and treasurer will be the first order of business. Following will be a general discussion of issues and plans for the coming campaign. The public is invited. o Heppner Girl Gets Girls' State Office At the recent meeting of Girls' State at Willamette University, Salem, Meredith Thomson was elected to the House of Represen tatives and appointed county re porter of the Nationalist party. Mrs. James Thomson and Ber nice drove to Salem and attend ed the candle lighting ceremony at Girls' State. Meredith returned to Heppner with them. 28, 1956 .V - '" tures, 75 acres of dry land grass, has 18 acres of irrigated bottom land prepared for seeding and an additional 75 acres of hill land in summer fallow for seed ing next year. Eventually he plans to seed 195 acres of wheat land to grass and continue seed ing on his dry land hillsides wherever .practical. Grasses used in separate fields of vernal, talent and ladak alfalfas are alta fescue, intermediate wheatgrass and akaroa orchard grass for his irrigated pastures. On dry land seedings nomad al falfa, crested wheat and bulbous bluetfrasa is seetled. For the first time this year Wagenblast figure he will have a surplus of hay for marketing from his pastures that produced eight tons per acre last year and show signs of higher yields this season. A regular system of weeding, clipping, fertilizing, ir rigating by sprinkler and ditch and rotation grazing is followed by Wagenblast in his pasture management. By deferring dry land grazing six months out of the year, grasses are gradually coming back to economic pro duction. The entire property is cross fenced for rotational grazing. Beginning his beef herd by trading labor for livestock, Wagenblast by 1953 was able to purchase 10 head of purebred llerefords. At present he has 113 cows, yearlings and calves and this fall by selling the last of the culls expects to have a complete ly purebred herd. His livestock program includes vaccinating, spraying and culling. Machinery, added gradually, Is kept In top condition for all farm work. Wagenblast, who came here from The Dalles, is married and has two sons, John, 9, and Steve, 7, whom he gives credit for real assistance on the ranch, elimi nating the need for hired help during haying and harvest. This year he is master of the county Pomona Grange and the Lexing ton Grange. He is a member of the Morrow County Livestock as sociation and the Oregon Wheat Growers League, A cooperator with the Heppner Soil Conservation district since 1950, Wagenblast stated he val ued technical assistance from Tom Wilson of the soil conser vation service and N. C. Anderson county extension agent. He will compete with other county win ners for state grass title in the "Grass is Gold" contest spon sored by the Portland chambet of commerce and locally by the Farm Bureau. Hot Weather Stops Burning in Heppner Heppner fire chief C. A. Rug gles reminded residents this week that with the coming of "fire weather" city ordinances specify that no permits for out side burning of trash can be issued. Ruggles urged residents to take particular care with inflammables and pointed out that the heavy grass crop this year will make grass fires extremely dangerous after a few more days of hot weather. 73rd Year, Number 16 Acreage Reserve Agreements Now Available From ASC The Morrow county ASC office now has copies of the soil bank acreage reserve agreements available for farmers wishing to participate in the program, ac cording to Norman Nelson, chair man of the county agricultural stablization and conservation committee. Farmers can get full informa tion on terms and conditions of paiticipation in the acreage re serve, which is the first part of the program to get under way this year. "Growers interested in taking part in the acreage reserve have until July 20 to sign soil bank agreements designating the acre age of wheat which they wish to include under the reserve," Nel son stated. "But a farmer who has already planted his wheat crop and who wants to plow or cut it in order to reduce the acreage below the allotment will not have much time before the deadline for al- justing his acreage. In Mor row county the deadline is June 30 for fields below 2,000 feet ele vation and July 25 for areas above 2,000 feet." The agreement should be signed before the far mer does anything with his acre age, it was said. A wheat grower who wishes to participate in the acreage re serve this year, Nelson explained, first must have complied with the wheat allotment set for his farm. If he can meet this condi tion, he then has three or four op portunities for earning payments on the 1956 crop. Such a farmer may earn pay ments either by underplanting, by crop loss through weather conditions or other natural causes, or by plowing or cutting a portion of the crop to reduce the acreage below the allotment. Payments will be $1.21 per bus hel, based on either the normal or .the. appraised yield, wording to the method of qualifying. Payments for underplanting winter wheat, seeded last fall may be made only if the farmer underplanted his allotment be cause of adverse weather condi tions. The rate for this practice Is $1 per acre. Irrigon Man Cleared On Morals Charge The rape charge filed last week against James J. McRae of Irrigon in justice of the peace Gus Fisher's court has been drop pod, it was revealed this week. The complaining witness ap peared before the court prior to a hearing and requested that the complaint be dismissed and dis charged. McRae had been brought be fore Fisher last week and charged with attacking a minor girl, but the complaining witness failed to appear at a preliminary hearing set for June 25 and the case wa9 ordered dismissed by judge Fis her. First Half Building Permits Climb Building permits issued by the City of Heppner during the first six months of 1956 total $81,000, almost equal to those Issued for the entire year of 1955. Of the total amount $73,700 was for new construction and the largest permit issued was for the construction of a 16 unit motel estimated to cost $27,000. The remainder was for residential buildings. Repairing and remodeling per mits total $7,300. During 1955 new construction permits amount ed to $71,000 and repair work and remodeling totaled $16,725. Not included in the 1955 figures however was $258,000 for the con struction of the new Heppner grade school because the city code does not require school dis tricts or government agencies to obtain building permits. - PICNIC CANCELLED The Catholic parish picnic pre viously scheduled for. Sunday, July 1 has been postponed until a later date, it was announced today. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Bedford have as guests at their home, his mother, Mrs. Beatrice Bedford, his sister-in-law, Mrs. C. H. Bed ford and daughter Barbara Bed ford, all of Portland.
