2
HEPPNEH GAZETTE
IIMMMMIMM MHItMllltll
GAZETTE-TIMES
MOBROW COUNTY'S NEWSPAPER
PHONE 676-9228
The Heppner Gazette, established March 30. 1883. The Heppner
Times established November 18, 1897. Consolidated February 15,
1912.
WESLEY A. SHERMAN HELEN E. SHERMAN
Editor and Publisher Associate Publisher
niwsfami
ruiiiiNitt
aIiooatiom
Subscription Rates: Morrow and Grant Counties, $4.00 Year; Else
where $4.50 Year. Single Copy 10 Cents. Published Every Thursday
and Entered at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon, as Second
Class Matter.
OFFICE HOURS: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Achievements of the Chamber
One would think that if any organization would blow its
own horn, the Chamber of Commerce would. But the Heppner
Morrow County Chamber of Commerce has been a little back
ward about extolling Its own virtues and probably a great many
persons in the area do not realize the amount of good that it
does.
Fred Gimbcl, president last year, reported on the 1962
activities at the recent annual banquet, and this Is reprinted
in this issue as a record of accomplishment that the reader
can evaluate for himself.
But we feel that the former president, perhaps because
he was the leader during that year, painted a pretty modest
picture of the work of the organization.
He told of some of its work on legislation that would be of
benefit to this area, some of which has been successfully culm
inated. He mentioned some of its sponsorship and assistance
of youth groups, some of the merchants' promotions, some of
the contests sponsored for community betterment, the Cham
ber's work with the rodeo, its part in urging the Highway Com
mission to improve highways in this area, and the work being
done towards development of the Willow Creek project.
These were among highlights of last year, but the work
of the organization extends much farther. It answered hundreds
of letters of inquiry about Morrow county, many of which
were from school children but also many from adults in all
parts of the country; it provided street decorations for Christmas
in Heppner; it published and distributed a brochure advertising
the entire county; it devoted considerable time and effort to
wards advancement of recreational facilities in the county; it
cooperated with farmers on various programs and again joined
the ASCS office and the county agent's office in sponsorship
of the Farm banquet. These are a few things that come to mind
spontaneously. There are many more. In fact, there have been
very few things of community-wide interest of a civic or service
nature in which the Chamber has not had a hand. It has Just
finished paying for the field light bonds at the rodeo grounds
after making a substantial payment last year.
It isn't uncommon to hear someone say, "The Chamber of
Commerce doesn't do anything." But the record speaks for itself,
as shown in ex-Prcstdent Gimbel's summary, plus a great deal
more.
If the Chamber were non-existent, the public would realize
what a void it would leave. Often it is taken for granted, and
often it is the subject of cynicism, but the Heppner-Morrow
County Chamber of Commerce is a very active organization
that has fine regular attendance) and interest.
Virtually every member serves on some committee and
most share in some of the work: throughout the year.
It deserves the community's highest commendation and
support. And President Gimbel, who did such a good job last
year, deserves a belated pat on the back, too.
Beware of the Gyp Artists
It seems as if the gyp artists are getting more and more
brazen, and they always seem to be able to find a gullible
victim.
The Itemizer-Observer in Dallas recently reported a case
where an elderly woman was bilked out of $1000 bv some men
who represented themselves as pest control experts.
Fortunately we haven't heard of similar cases in this area,
but this is spring season, and there will be those in our county
ripe for the picking when some of these bunco birds come
around.
There are rackets in connection with the building trades
where transient peddlers come in and offer to install siding,
roofing or insulation at outlandish prices. They get the home
owners to sign contracts before they realize what they are
signing, only to discover later that the prices are exorbitant.
We remember a case years ago in Dallas when the paper pub
lished a story warning of such rackets. A home owner had
just signed a contract but noticed the story. She went to the
district attorney and got $750 refunded.
Another similar racket is from outfits who install home
fire warning systems. They instill fear into the hearts of parents
by showing gruesome movies of burning homes, and then get
the residents to sign contracts for systems that cost far beyond
their value.
Not all visiting concerns are racketeers, of course. Some
come to perforin services at going rates. But these concerns will
give references and are open in their dealings.
But in view of the fact that gyp artists are at work else
where in the state, it Is a good time to sound a warning here.
A good plan is to contact your local outlet first. If it's pest
control, check with our reliable local firms first (and we have
some good ones); If It's something to do with roofing, siding
or insulation, go to your local builder's supply house for advice
and recommendation. These people will play fair and give you
honest help. They plan to stay here for a long time they don't
hit and run.
If someone wants to sign you up for a fire alarm system
at a high price, contact Fire Chief Charles Ruggles before you
sign. He can give some good pointers to advise you.
To realize how some of these gyp artists operate, read this
pathetic true tale from Dallas as reported by Editor Earle
Richardson there:
Three men came to the door of the home of an elderly
woman and stated they were from Oregon State Pest Control
and had come to make a termite inspection. She assumed they
were connected with the State (if Oregon on official business,
WHERE TO GO
FOR BETTER CAR SERVICE
FOR ONE STOP SERVICE
TAKE YOUR CAR TO
Wayne's Chevron
STATION
At Heppner Ford
Open Daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturdays 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- TIMES. Thursday. May 23, 1963!
HEPPNER
NATIONAL EDITORIAL
lASRbCMTItfN
V W U
SnnnBiiiinia
Tin in iinni ill
Chaff and
Wes
EVEN IF we didn't catch an oc
casional glimpse of a big
league game on TV, we would
know that baseball season has
come with the warm weather
because of the time we've had
to spend batting flies In the liv
ing room.
THE FACT that the following
tale is somewhat vague and
hazy in detail makes it none
theless true. Some of the infor
mation may not be quite ac
curate because the principals in
volved apparently made every
effort to keep it hushed up.
We stumbled on to it quite
innocently. Happened to see a
photo showing some big bones
protruding from the ground, and
inquired of Gar Swanson and
Nels Anderson, who happened to
be together at the time, just
what the story was.
The red of their faces, upon
hearing the question, was caused
from no sunburn, which is un
derstandable, as you will see.
They were reluctant, but we
pried a few succinct bits of in
formation from them.
Seems that Gar was doing
some excavating work in a gully
on his wheat ranch last fall,
and he unearthed these big
bones. Somehow Nels Anderson
got in on the act, and they care
fully uncovered them, like true
paleontologists.
It was quite obvious to them
that they were from some ex
tinct species, probably in the
dinosaur family. After they re
moved the soil carefully from
around the bones, they took the
picture and carefully extracted
some to send ,in for classifi
cation and identification.
When the report came back, it
identified the bones as belong
ing to a large, solid-hoofed herb
iverous mammal, all right
Equus caballus more common
ly known as "horse."
THPT MOMENT nf truth has ar-
rived again for high school
con nrc Afrpr rniflrninfT rneir
middle names caretuiiy irom
schoolmates for years, they go
on the record on their high
school diplomas, and generally
are read right out loud at grad
uation. We notice that the full names
are listed on the lone commence
ment nrncrnms. hut someone
has been a little more merciful
n the Heppner system. .
OHrtlv enniiph. sometimes it
is the first name that is dis
guised, since the youngster dis
cards some proud family selec
tion and assumes me mioaie
name as the lesser of two evils.
It is nuite a nararlnx how Dar-
ents can select a name in which
thmr tnkfl nrirle. onlv to have a
growing child criticize his name
unlocked the hook on her screen, and they came in.
One of them was a medium tall blonde man, another a
shorter man with a pronounced cleft chin, the other a darker
man with black mustache and black hair. They had driven
up in a red pickup with white canopy.
While the cleft chin man talked with her, the other two
went upstairs and inspected the attic. Later they had come up
and told her they had found evidence of wood beetles and it
would be necessary to use poison gas on them. Then they moved
the truck to the side of the house and while the cleft chin man
remained in the house and talked, one or both of the other
men crawled under the house. The entire procedure took about
45 minutes, she estimated.
She asked them what she owed them and they said $1000!
Not $10, not $100 but $1000. The woman, who is 76 years old
and has lived alone in her modest home since her husband
died almost five years ago, was bowled over. But her thoughts
centered more on how she was going to pay their bill (all three
were in the house at the time and while they didn't threaten,
she was apprehensive). She had $60 in her purse, she told
them, and they said she could pay the rest in installments.
In the meantime she decided to go to the savings and loan office
and draw the money needed out of her savings. At first they
were going to take her, but decided not to, so she called the
taxi. She remarked something about her dilemma on the way
down, but said nothing at the savings and loan office. She
drew $910 and cashed it, took the taxi back to her home and
paid the men the money.
One of the men gave her a simple receipt on a form she
provided. The blond man signed the receipt for $1000 which he
made out in his own handwriting, "Clarence Chatman." He
did not use a firm name. The trio left immediately.
The transaction continued to worry the woman, but at least
it was over. Two days later she read the story in the May 2
issue of the Itemizer-Observer which warned of the activities of
salesmen for aluminum siding, asbestos siding, foundation
repair and termite exterminators. She called the police but the
information she had to offer was substantially what is given
above. The three men were long gone and she had not received
a firm name, identification card or anything but the name,
"Clarence Chatman."
These gyppo artists are considerably more malicious and
heartless than the termites.
After May 27
We Will Be Located At
234 N. Main St.
Our New Phone Number
Will Be
676-9123
Heppner Auto Parts
Chatter
Sherman
with disdain. But that's the way
the old space capsule orbits.
We think it only fitting and
nrnnpp that nnr irAiintr mpn flnrt
ladies face up to this moment
of truth at the time of grad
uation and allow their names to
be heralded in all their splendor.
While a name like "Percival"
rnnlrt wpll hrinor titters from the
lips, for Instance, it might have
tne highest connotation in an
other family whose great-great
grandfather Percival was in the
battle of Bull Run.
In running the story of com
mencement this week, we've
tried to compromise. In the
front page story, we record the
names as thev aDDear on the
programs (although Heppner
didn't use middle names). On
the identification of the pictures
in the second section, we have
tried to use the names of the
grads as they are generally
known.
WHEN THE office door opened
early Tuesday, and a graying
man ctpnnprf irmirle with a
smile on his lips, we greeted
him with, "It can t ne true.
But it was true. The visitor
was Ben Maxwell of Salem,
writer for the Capital Journal,
Salem, and Oregon Journal, Port
land, for many years. He's a
fellow who has particularly spec
ialized on historical articles, and
he has developed quite a his
torical library.
He wasn't in the office 30 sec
onds before he spotted the book
let, "Yesteryears of Morrow,"
published by the home exten
sion units, and had his dollar
out to pay for a copy. In years
past, we have had many occas
ions to collaborate with Ben on
various stories, but never ex
pected to see him here.
Over a cup of coffee at the
Wagon Wheel he and Mrs. Max
well told us that they were on
their way back from Alturas,
Calif., arid Reno. Nev., where
they went to see an unprece
dented display of historical cars.
They went through the Basque
country at Jordan Valley and
landed in the midst of their Cen
tennial celebration. They decid
ed to do a storv on towns they
visited that had "rock" in
them Fort Rock, Arock, Pilot
Rock, and now were headed for
Lonerock.
Thou hnvo visited HODDner
several times before and Ben has
done articles on Hardman ano
other parts of Morrow county.
He is now semi-retired but still
rluhhlne in historical articles and
writes a column for the Capital
Journal.
In Ben's mind is a storehouse
of Oregon history that few could
equal.
It was good to nave mm orou
in.
1962 Chamber Activities Reviewed
(Editor's note: The follow
ing is a report of the Cham
ber of Commerce activities for
the year 1962 as presented by
Fred Gimbel, president dur
ing that year, at the recent
annual banquet of the Heppner-Morrow
County Chamber.
It is reprinted to give the pub
lic an insight to some of the
work being done by the organ
ization to promote this area
and work for its betterment.
Heppner-Morrow County
Chamber of Commerce activities
for 1962 started with the Cham
ber working on proposed ambu
lance laws. Private ambulance
operators were supporting reg
ulations that would have made
it practically impossible for com
munity hospitals, such as ours,
to operate an ambulance. With
support from our Chamber and
other civic groups throughout
the state, regulations were ap
proved enabling communities,
such as Heppner, to continue
their ambulance services at reas
onable cost to the patrons.
In February, due to consider
able local interest in forest fires
during the 1961 fire season, the
Chamber sponsored a meeting
with the U. S. Forest Service,
Oregon State Dept. of Forestry
and local people to discuss fire
procedures in an attempt to min
imize fire losses within the
Heppner area.
During 1962, the Chamber
voted to sponsor the Boy Scout
Troop No. 86. The troop started
with five boys and at the present
time has 12 boys actively work
ing in the troop. Bob Dobbs is
scoutmaster, and he has been
doing a fine job. Other youth
activities sponsored by the
Chamber Included sending Dick
Struckmeier to the Forest Ser
vice Summer Range Manage
ment camp, co-sponsoring with
the school annual foot ball
awards banquet, and by a do
nation from the Chamber, assis
ted three local boys to attend
the National FFA convention at
Kansas City.
The annual banquet was held
on March 19, with 70 members
and guests present. Ken Stan
hope, Supt. of Umatilla County
Schools, was the s princ i p a 1
speaker. The Farm-City banquet,
co-sponsored by the boil con
servation Dis t r i c t and the
Chamber was held on Novem
ber 11 to recognize the Farmer
of the Year. Elmer Palmer and
Sons won the award for 1962.
The merchants comm i 1 1 e e
sponsored two programs during
the year, the Salute to Spring
and the Christmas Opening. The
Salute to Spring featured a
Queen and her Court and a style
show, which was held on Main
street and provided entertain
ment for a good-sized crowd that
came to Heppner to shop and en
joy the festivities. The Christ
mas Opening was handled by
Sold
Seat
AT
Jack's Chevron Station
HEPPNER. OREGON
STARTING AT 8 A.M.
THIS ADVERTISEMENT SPONSORED BY
Heppner Branch
i L i
local merchants with window
displays and store window con
tests. Randall Peterson, chair
man for these two promotions,
did an outstanding job in pro
moting local sales for business
in Heppner.
A spring clean-up contest was
sponsored in April and Emil
Groshens won the first prize. The
Christmas lighting contest, with
Avon Melby as chairman, was
expanded and greatly improved
over the previous year's con
tests. Awards were given for
both indoor and outdoor light
ing. Under the direction of Randall
Peterson, Orville Cutsforth and
Jim Farley, the Chamber pre
sented one of the best rodeo pa
rades Heppner. has had in many
years. Elma Harshman, chair
man of the merchants commit
tee, did na outstanding job in
soliciting contributions for pa
rade prizes. A total of $475 was
awarded to the various winners
in the parade. Elmer Schmidt
rode herd on the ticket takers,
a chore he has performed ably
for a number of years. After the
parade, the Old-Timers picnic
was held at the Courthouse. Co
chairmen Ralph Richards and
Oscar Peterson provided the
lunch for the rodeo courts, rid
ing groups and Morrow County
Old Timers. Practically every
chamber member was called on
to work in one capacity or an
other during the rodeo and it
was with this willing response
from the membership that we
were able to present the 1962
Rodeo Parade.
Last year, as in previous
years, several meetings in
Salem with the Oregon State
Highway Commission were at
tended by Chamber members
and county court officials. This
project, along with promoting
parks and the Willow Creek
dam, has kept the members of
the Development comm i 1 1 e e
quite busy during the year. In
connection with promoting Mor
row county, a meeting with Gov
ernor Mark Hatfield was attend
ed by Chamber members and
other interested county leaders
to discuss the Boardman project
and Morrow county Highway
problems.
Through the efforts of the De
velopment committee and the
County Court, the Willow Creek
dam project has progressed to
its present step. Several public
meetings were held and consid
erable leg work was done by
Oliver Creswick to inform the
residents in the area of the
vnrintw nenprts of the nroiect.
The Irrigation feature, without
a doubt, was tne least under
stood aspect, and it was only
thrniiph manv nersonal contacts
and meetings with the irrigators
tnat a lavorame percentage oi
the irrigators made the project
fpacihlo TTarlv in 1Q.fvl the Corns
of Engineers held a formal pub
and Installed
At Cost
All Day
SATURDAY
MAY 25
Sponsored
ons Lions Clu
FIRST
NATIONAL
BANK OF OREGON
lic meeting in Heppner and with
a favorable recommendation by
local interests, approved the
project. The next step will be
the hearing with the Rivers and
Harbors Congress in Washing
ton, D. C. This meeting wiU be
attended by Judge Oscar Pet
erson, Oliver Creswick and
possibly Mayor Al Lamb.
Mrs. Oma Cox returned Sun
day evening from Walla Walla,
Wh., where she had attended
funeral services of her uncle,
Henry S. Perry on Saturday af
ternoon. She had gone earlier
in the week to help care for
her uncle during his illness.
COMMUNITY
) BILLBOARD
Coming Events
LEGION MOVIES
Friday, May 24, 8:00 p.m.
"Dondi," starring Patti
Page and David Corey.
Plus cartoons.
HIGH SCHOOL
BACCALAUREATE
Sunday evening, May 26, 8:00
p.m.
Old High school gym.
Rev. Melvin Dixon, speaker.
Public is invited.
RAINBOW INSTALLATION
Heppner Masonic hall.
Friday evening, May 24, 7:00
p.m. Parents, relatives and
friends invited.
CIVIC LEAGUE RUMMAGE
SALE
Friday, Saturday, May 24-25
Old Bakery Building
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
All proceeds to help support
the Heppner kindergarten.
PIONEER MEMORIAL
DAY PICNIC
Thursday, May 30, Registra
tion starts at 11:00 a.m.
Potluck dinner, noon, at
Fair Pavilion.
SPONSORED AS A PUBLIC
SERVICE BY
C. A. RUGGLES
Insurance Agency
P. O. Box 247 PH. 676-9625
Heppner
ts
By The