Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1961)
IF Km o OS Mi JJU Its no accident tti.it the level the county In !VJ m 2.K75 4 County lluntet and Anglers f fjnn lHli.fi In M irw county fai.l immii: Hie li sj; hf of any county In iln J'.nifK Nithwet. farming U the major Indus try In Mrr' con My , Inflamed by Irnoine fiin (he cttrity' timber roun-e Wheat i the major r;ih crop, balanced in c me ft.-in jn"-t' k- t'i f".(fu a Imii of agricultural ptoj;ram with lrriial--i !( In 1 1 noiUi t-rn ni'l of the county and l"ng county nireninv lia hHjwd pro creive farrnct I it tut M.ible Modern tannin;; mt'i-d mak ing uw 'f improved varieties, mr rU'ld i- Iih Hun tf livestock breeding Mirk. and better farm Ing practice have hrtMvl Mr- row county Imint'fn rmphaMie j their Mog.-tn i.f luing in "the: county of bilsisii-d advantages"! Thi rich far mini: ana Is lo . rated In the ninth t rt r I part f i K.iswni Oregon, nixnit 270 miles Inland from the Pacific Ocean. The county is bounded on lh( north liy over .'HI miles of the Columbia ItiviT. To the caM lies I'matiHa county, (Jrml and Wheeler an south, and the coun ty Ih bounded mi tin1 wed hy Cllliam county. A gently rolling plain lies next to the Columbia River In tin northern Hart of tin county. Ah imi moves south, this nlain leads Up to broad plateau and round ed ridges that m ike up the cen tral section of the county, and further south, they merge with the mora rugged terrain of the Blue Mountains. This rising slope of the county from north to south Is shown hy thp elevations of the towns. Low M)lnt, 250 feet above sea level, is at Boardman In the north. Ir rigan lien at 1!'.)7 feet, Cecil at G19, Morgan at 791. lone at 10SO, laxington at 1 1."V1. Heppner at 1955, and Ilardman at 35W) feet above sea level. The highest point Is Madison Butte. It Is (MM) feet uhovo the sea. Precipitation In the county fol lows the land contour, Increasing from north to south. Average an nual precipitation Is 8.6 Inches In the northern end of the coun ty, Increasing to IS inches In tne forests to the south. Heppner has 13.05 Inches. Temperatures here sire consid ered moderate, and the growing season averages 1C8 days h year. At Heppner, average tempera tures ranee from a high in the 90's in the summer, to lows around zero In the winter. Drainage is supplied by Wil low and Butter creeks, that head In- the Blue Mountains In the south and flow through the coun tv into the Columbia River on the north. These streams, to gcther with Rhea, Hlnton and other streams, provide water for livestock and for irrigation In meadows and valleys along the way. Soils In the county vary from coarse-textured .sands and sandy loams in the north to medium textured silt loams and sllty clay loams in the south. Reflecting the heavier rainfall and higher elevation in the south, the soils become progressively darker with well-developed subsoils. Alluvial bottomland soils oc cur in the stream valleys and vary from light to medium tex ture. Alkali, the plague of the irrigated west, is formed where drainage is poor, but there isn't much of it. Named for J. L. Morrow, an early resident, Morrow county, with 2059 square miles, was split off from Umatilla county by the Oregon legislature February 16, 1885. First industry in the new county was cattle raising, but a few settlers also operated supply stores for early travelers coming over the Oregon Trail. The trail crossed Willow Creek at Cecil, and its ruts can still be seen at I many points. The city of Heppner was nam ed for Henry Heppner, who owned the first store on the site. It was incorporated in 1887, and later became the county seat. Lexington and lone were both incorporated in 1M)3. Lexington was named by the Penland fam ily in memory of their home town of Lexington, Ky. lone was named for lone Wilson, baby daughter of an early settler whose home was part of the townsite. Boardman, incorporat ed in 1927, was named for Sam uel H. Boardman, whose original homestead became the townsite. Nearly 75 per cent of the 1.3V7.70O acres of land in Mor row county is in farms, accord ing to the 1959 U. S. census of agriculture. Of this land. 372.306 is in cropland, 590.497 in pasture land. 15. 327 in other farm land, and 339.630 in land not in farms. The nurrilwr of farms in 1959, was listed at 3st by the census. I down 77 farms from the 1954 'ensus. Average size of farm in r -. IrtUMifd litmt averaging U! tfamr .rerv Mln fit nd around li i r. are found in the ; B. tlv !!!. I inur future hunt i-Uri-me ri..ftii.-in fiid. A ! J iK fl-tdnf Th Columbia do, it u.d for M.llni! and fall i liHrr Slate '.'9II1P ItcfujM. rover idiiep rjetf l'r tx-lwren IM If rivaled wti..n and the wheat of ana In the ni tral M. Cattle rim In' me found mainly In (be in-uilscrn pail of the county, with the rtJiie Mountain In the u!h- east fumi'ditiiiJ ri'iittderablr ram) for livix'-xk a well at t'mlM-r for Die lumlw-r industry. Wheat, alternated with win iner f.illow, U the predominant l)pe id agriculture. AIm.uI !) jcr lent f the u licit in fill planted In 1959. winter wheat wan plant ed on over ll.V) acres, spring wheat n MmhiI 2.VK) ncres. and bin lev on over t5,io acres. In- 1 come to the county from grain 'crops hi 19i) win estimated at ( around V 779 275, ' Livestock m ike up the icond ll.irgtst Houree of farm Inctime, ' amoumln" to $l.90l,7(M) In VMM. ' In the last 10 years, sheep numbcis have dii reasel, all ho lira has liecn offset by more cat tie. During the same iierlod. rattle numbers rose from 2O.5O0 to over .HMN M) in l!M'i0. Other important sources of ag ricultural Income, nccordlnj; to 1960 estimale.H mnile by the coun tv extension ageid. were hay and silaee, $1 .n.'t0.5M); farm timber nrodui'ts. $150. (MM); potatoes and truck crop. Kil.fXiO; dairy. $.VM). 0(M); eggs and poultry, 5!Mi.4.0; and fruit. $25iM). All told, Agricultural initime in Morrow county in 1900 was es timated at 510.C37.77S. A growing total of Irrigated land In the county Is helping to diversify agriculture. In 1959, 283 farms listed 11.011 acres under 1959 irrigation. Largest Irrigated areas are around Boardman and Irrigon in the north. An abundance cf wat or. coupled with a large reserve, allow farmers to raise potatoes melons, fruits, and other truck crops. Hay, however, remains the chief crop of the irrigated farms in the north, and In the creek bottoms of Rhea. Willow, Butter and Hlnton creeks. Timber resources also play a big part In the economic struc ture of Morrow countv. Timber lands cover about 233,500 acres, The Umatilla National Forest, lying in the Blue Mountains in the southeast corner, contains 202,000 acres. Morrow county forests provide much more than Just Income from timber. They protect the watersheds that provide lrriga tion and domestic water for the lands and towns below. And, equally Important, all parts of the forest suitable for Rrazlng about 200,000 acres are under permit to stockmen who have grazing rights established by ownership of land and prior use. Its rangelands and rolling for ests also help turn Morrow coun ty into a sportsman s delight, and the tourist trade has become another source of income. There is excellent deer and elk hunt ing In the Blue Mountains Pheasants are plentiful, and ducks and geese by the thous ands swarm from the Columbia to feed on the irrigated areas and stubble fields. Hunters from all over Oregon visit the county ach year. We, who live here, live right in the middle of a big vacation land. The mountain streams and alley creeks are also noted for their supply of fighting rainbow trout, and fishermen regularly atch their limit. The Morrow liitf 2 2"0 rte, 1 also in the muni) , Stale anl i-ounty highwax rilssa ros the county and facili tate rnot.r Iraxel and trantor tation of ?imW We have ISO tulle of Mate highway on ktate highway 71. 2"i, and 2l)7. U. S Highway 30 skirt the Columbia flivrr on the north, and a net work of county road link the county together. j Several truck line provide i freight transportation. A branch line of the Union Pacific Rail rad reaches 77 mile from Ar lington on the Columbia River to Heppner. Tills branch line tiesi in the county with the main line of the Union Pacific and with large and other navigation fa cilities on he Columbia River. Barge lines have carried an In creasing amount of freight out of Morrow County In recent years. There Is a good airport at Lex ington. Heppner. in the south-central part. Is the principal town and trading center and the county seat. A town of about 17(0 citi zens. Heppner has fine schools, churches, lodges, civic groups, a riding club, golf course and young peoples' organizations that make it an alert and active community. The four other principal towns are Boardman and Irrigon on the Columbia River, and lone and Lexington on the Willow Creek highway. All five towns have standard elementary ahd high schools. School buses provide transpor tation for children thruout the county. Population of Morrow county was estimated ny tne uregon State Board of Health, to be about 4870 In 1955. This is a gain of 500 in 15 years. Morrow County boasts the only hospital In the state with a private airstrip at its back door. This allows emergency cases to be brought In from all over the county. The ultra-modern, 49-bed hospital is fully equipped with modern X-ray facilities, surgery, obstetrics room, and a completely j equipped laboratory. The Morrow County Rodeo has attracted visitors from far and wide for over a quarter of a cen tury. This event held the first part of September, now includes the Morrow County Fair. ! mm ! Gun Club JPopular r Pastime r. t k 4 t ; V. ONE of tha fin ranch in tb ot central part of Morrow county U tho H. C Cam pboll placo. Thi ii tho homo wboro on Larry Campbell oni family lit on tho ranch. (G T Photo) BR I STOWS MARKET FOR THE BEST IN GROCERIES AND MEATS 42 YEARS OF SERVICE I0NE We Get Rid Of Pests BUT WE EXTEND A HEARTY WELCOME TO NEWC0MER5 GET RiDyyj RODENT CONTROL GRAIN FUMIGATION BIN SPRAYING HOUSE FUMIGATING YARD SPRAYING TERMITE WORK BIRD CONTROL Dobyns Pest Control John Jepscn IONE. Phone 8-7180 or 8-7244 Pendleton. Croiview 6 2125 r i it irniV-' ....-- i , -. , - ill THIS PHOTO shows on of tho modern trends In agriculture on Morrow county wheat ranches. Six new grain bins are in construction on tho ranch of H. G. Campbell and son Larry CampbelL Grain Is removed from tho largo bins by Inserting an augur through pipes that go to tho bottom of invested cones underground. Sides are Jut starting to bo formed on tho bins in this photo. (G T Photo) One of the ewral j'puUr jHift t lull 1 tht Morrow (oun ty t!un Club for the clay tar--! ijirti.mrn. It w organised In l'U'.i and crounU Ate located a mile south i f ll. ppniT Jut .ff highway 207. where they have good back ground, roomy t-lulduiusc and two rlix-trie trap Much time, alor and planning bv the memliers ha made It a very iui-cessful nun club. Several amateur have risen to top shooters through their par ticipation In the event here dur ing the past year. Lach spring they enter the Oregon Journal Telegraphic Shoot where most of the gun club In Oregon participate. The club here combined with the IlermiMon and Arlington clubs won the Journal plaque In 1!57 and again In 1!59. Another yearly event is an an nual spring shoot with perpetual purses that have been running for seven years. This shoot brings many trapshooters from the nelgboring gun clubs which this year was held May 14. Also the proceeds from the shoot a year Is donated to a charitable organization. Pity the grouch he's a who has sized himself up got sore about It. guy and Live Better With Today's Biggest Value Dependable PP&L Electricity: On r t -"C, Want help with the housework? Call on Redely Kilowatt! Want music and entertainment? Call on Reddy Kilowatt! Want extra muscles for those jobs around the house? Call on Reddy Kilowatt! For better living, 'round the clock, Reddy Kilowatt is always at your service! Just push a button, flip a switch or turn a dial to enjoy the many comforts and convenience of modern electric living. Morrow County homemakers are putting PP&L electricity to work in more and more ways all the time. Nothing else does so much for so little cost! Be sure you, too, enjoy the full benefits of modern electric living. FOR THE BEST IX ELECTRIC SERVICE, CALL OX REDDY KILOWATT TCIFIC POWER &c LIGHT Phone 27S North Main Street o
