HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES, Thuwdya, June 27, 1963
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HEPPNER
GAZETTE-TIMES
MOBBOW COUNTTS NEWSPAPER
The Heppner Gazette, established March 30. 1883. The Heppner
Times established November 18, 1897. Consolidated February 15,
1912.
WESLEY A. SHERMAN
Editor and Publisher
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HELEN E. SHERMAN
Associate Publisher
NATIONAL EDITORIAL
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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.
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Tolerance in the Land of the Free
Next week the nation once more will observe Independence
Day, in the 187th year since the Declaration of Independence on
July 4, 1776.
". . . We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty
and pursuit of happiness . . ."
Not so many years ago, Independence Day was the time of
great celebration, as it must have been in Heppner. Entire
families gathered to form crowds in most communities across
the land. The day included picnics, old-time games and eloquent
speeches on freedom, all of which were capped with displays of
fireworks.
As we have moved on into more complex living with more
diversions and digressions, however, these Independence Day
celebrations have tended to fade away or have dissipated into
displays of fireworks in some communities, rodeos, log rolling
contests and similar entertainment. The eloquent speeches on
freedom are gone, and this is to be noted with some sadness.
It Is importat to pause occasionally and take stock to think
of the simple virtues of freedom which were so vital in the minds
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence on that un
equalled day of July 4, 1776. The document has been a guide to
this nation's principles through its history, the assurance of
equality for all, embracing cherished rights that are the founda
tion for America's way of life.
The liberty and freedom declared in this document were not
easy to attain and have not been easy to hold. The War of
Independence was fought at its inception, and hundreds of
thousands of Americans have died in ensuing wars to maintain
the sanctity of our democracy and freedom.
As time goes on, the challenge of the Declaration of Inde
pendence becomes Increasingly difficult, and there is ever-present
danger of our losing what our forefathers achieved for us.
One evidence of this is the racial strife in the South, a
national disgrace and a shameful blight on our nation through
out the world. Thousands died in the war between the states
a century ago to free the slaves, but the negroes today are
perhaps in greater turmoil than they were at the time of the
Civil War.
To those living in the North, there has been satisfaction in
thinking that we are in an area manifestly free of the bitterness
that has beset the South. At the same time, the fact that we
are removed from the problem should occasion no smugness here.
For, as Americans, it is our problem, too, and it behooves all in
this nation to be keenly concerned.
Recent severe racial eruptions in the south threaten to
spread into areas which previously have not been involved in
the controversy of segregation vs. integration. Minor Incidents
have flared in the state of Washington and in Portland.
Of all places in this Land of the Free, however, it would
seem that eastern Oregon is among the most free. It is here that
we have the wide open spaces; we have no slums, no tenement
districts; we have no smog; we have room to breath; we have
golden seas of growing grain; we have cool forests interspersed
with tinkling creeks. Drive our highways at dusk and you will
see an occasional deer, or a porcupine lumbering along the
highway shoulder. Cattle graze peacefully on the hillsides, and
ponies frisk about.
This has been an area where neighbor thinks of neighbor; a
person In trouble finds ready sympathy and help. It has always
been so, and was dramatically accented at the time of the flood
60 years ago. There has been little prejudice here. One person
accepts another for what he is and for his merits rather than on
the color of his skin or on his beliefs.
Lust week, however, an incident occurred that was out of
character.
Two anonymous telephone calls were received by a young
woman of Spanish-Filipino nationality who is working as a
domestic on a ranch near Heppner. She 13 a young lady of
excellent background and was hired because she is competent
to do the work. The calls suggested that there is no room for
her here.
Anonymous calls, like anonymous letters, are mean, cruel
and smack of cowardice. Although the feeling expressed by the
caller is in no way an indication of the thinking and character
of our people,, the incident is cause for shame and indignation.
In the past. Heppner and Morrow county have welcomed
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Phone 676-9633
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Heppnet 4 t$
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Chaff and Chatter
Wes Sherman
TO THE EDITOR
MORROW COUNTY'S new school
board rather uncertainly felt
its way into a mass of accumu
lated business at its first meet
ing Tuesday night without a
superintendent to rely on and
with onlv two directors having
any previous experience. One of
them, Ed Dick, was attending
his last meeting. His term ex
pires July 1.
The new board, however
plunged into its work without
hesitation and right away earn
ed Its spurs in the lengthy ses
sion. The directors toiled through
four hours of deliberation, going
until after midnight, and then
went into an executive session
on consideration of a new super
intendent. How long this went
on we don't know because we
retired as of midnight.
Any hopes that the new board
might mean shorter meetings
went fleeting, however, and it
looks as if the "midnight oil"
will be burning for some meet
ings to come.
ONE OF THE highlights of a
very interesting convention of
the Oregon Newspaper Publish
ers association in Coos Bay from
Thursday through Saturday was
a trip to the sand dunes via
"Dunes Scooters" with their big
airplane tires. On this jaunt,
publishers were guests of Pacific
Power and Light Co.
We learned something or tne
national park proposals for the
dunes, and heard arguments on
both sides of the controversy.
Senator Maurine Neuberger's
bill would encompass an area
that extends from Florence clear
to Coos Bay, while another bill
bv Rep. Robert Duncan would
cut off the lower 10 miles of the
area.
Opposition to Sen. Neuberger's
bill comes from residents of
Coos Bay and private interests
who feel that it will encroach on
the industrial area being devel
oped there.
The lower 10 miles includes a
remarkable development that
was brought acout Dy seven
years of research by Pacific
Power Company. Oddly, the
problem of obtaining water for
industrial use has been a big
handicap for development, this
in spite of the fact that one sees
millions of gallons of water in
the bay and in the ocean all
around. Because of the fact that
the water is salt, it cannot be
used for industry.
But PP & L researchers dis
covered that the dunes lap up
millions of gallons of rain water.
It saturates them and extends
down to depths of anyway 100
feet. Estimates are that 30,000,
000 gallons of fresh water could
be pumped from the dunes every
day, and wells now in produc
tion provide 1,500,000 gallons
daily. This took a good bit of
doing for the water-saturated
sand is like thick soup. Special
screens had to be developed to
keep the sand out, but with co
operation of a number of agen
cies, PP & L got the job done.
In the process of its research
the power company brought
Cornelis Biemond of Holland to
help. He heads the Amsterdam
water system which uses dunes
along the North Sea as a fresh
water reservoir.
Biemond dug into the sand a
few feet from the surf of the
Pacific ocean and surprisingly
enough found the water in the
sand sweet and potable. Pressure
from the fresh rain water in the
dunes, seeping towards the sea,
kept the salt water out.
As a result of this research
and development of wells, the
first major industry in the dunes
area came along. It is the big
Menacha paper mill that makes
the inside core of corrugated
paperboard used in shipping
containers.
The mill is a remarkable de
velopment in itself. It was built
on shifting sand that was im
pacted by vibration.
Should the national park be
approved, it is feared that this
industrial area would be lost or
limited, and, of course, would
bring grave concern.
Folks around Coos Bay would
much rather see the southern 10
miles omitted from the dunes
park if it is established. But
even in the north there is stren
uous opposition. Dave Holman,
Florence newspaper publisher
whose town is just above the
DroDosed dunes area, is solidly
against it, saying that it will
"kill" the area, but others are
not quite so strenuously opposed.
It is a little difficult to seei
what can be done with the dunes
to make them more of a recrea
tional area than is now being
done. It takes a "dunes buggy"
to get into them. The kids can
romp in them, but they don't
need miles of dunes for that.
A guy can get a powerful sun
burn in them, ana they are
mighty scenic to look at, but
from our point of ignorance, we
do not yet understand just what
changes a national parK would
make to brine about greater
public use, enjoyment or wel
fare. Should the park absorb the
industrial area, it would seem
to us to do more harm than
good.
WE'VE BEEN to Coos Bay a num
ber of times, but this time was
the first time that we really saw
it, since we had competent
guides who gave us more infor
mation and showed us more
about it. Coos Bay, it was point
ed out, is the biggest lumber
shipping port in the world, send
ing out some 700,000,000 board
feet annually. Yes, sir, it's quite
a place.
Dear Mr. Sherman:
We wish to express our ap
preciation for -all the work
which you did liv giving public
ity to our barbecue and auction
on June 8. The fine newspaper
articles were indicative of your
cooperation in this project. We
extend our sincere thanks for
all your efforts in our behalf.
Sincerely yours,
The United Church of Christ
lone Community Church
By Mrs. Markham Baker
Clerk
citizens of oriental descent and dark skin. Such a one was Ed
Chin, who died recently, but who during his years' of residence
here was highly respected and regarded.
It is well to go on record that we respect fellow citizens for
their worth, and not for their color, and we are sure that the
large majority of our fellow residents feel this way.
The calls were unlawful. An attempt is being made to
determine the identity of the callers, after which they should be
proceeded against as provided by law.
rrhls is the land of the free that provides equality andi
liberty for all, and if it is to be preserved, we must be careful
to guard against incidents such as this. At the same time we
can be grateful and proud that the majority of our people are
tolerant of one another regardless of differing creeds, religions
and nationalities.
There is no "United States nationality." We are all made up
of varying backgrounds, and although each may be proud of
his nationality hodgepodge though it may be he has no right
to criticize that or those of another.
It is expressed in the famous poem on a tablet of the Statue
of Liberty by Emma Lazarus, "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched
refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest
tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" That takes
in all of us.
As Independence Day approaches, and especially this yeir
with the strife in the south, let's think on these things.
Swim Suit
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On Friday and Friday Night
We Are Staying Open
FRIDAY NIGHTS, 6 to 8 p.m.
STOP AND SHOP AT
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233 N. Main
Heppner
Ph. 676-9426
To the Editor: I wish to say,
as Art Crawford said, "Thanks
for the nice manner in which
you treated by 'flood' story . . ."
I thought Mr. Crawford wrote
a very nice story of his boyhood
trip out to see his uncle, John
Spencer, on Rhea Creek.. All the
Crawfords I ever knew were
good writers.
My recollection of Arthur at
the time of the flood and before
was of a small chubby juvenile,
one of a number of very fine
children of Vaughter and Cora
Crawford, whom I knew very
well. I also knew the first Craw
ford arriving in Heppner, al
though I did not know him at
the time. He was the fine old
preacher of the Christian Church
of Heppner. Then the next ones
coming to our town (maybe I
can't remember the exact order
in which they came, but they
were all friends of mine) was
Vaughter, Neil, Garfield and
Otheo. Then there is Gertrude
Parker, sister of the others, also
a good friend.
Knowing Arthur's father as
well as I did, I do not think he
allowed his young son of 10
years to roam the streets of our
famous little city (village, Stew
art Holbrook called it), and I
am sure that Arthur missed
many things that happened be
fore and after the flood during
those tragic days. He said, "As
to the 'fictional' ban on the
Chinese that's a new one on
me . . ." If that Chinese story is
not true, or fictitious, as Arthur
called it, then Heppner itself,
must be a figment of my imagi
nation. I was there when it hap
pened, and the story of the mon
ey found on the table at the jail
when the body of the Chinaman
was found hanging from a light
fixture was carried in the local
Heppner papers, with the com
ments by the county officers as
to why the money was there.
The last person to see the hung
Chinaman was the Chinaman
who visited him in his jail cell a
few hours before he was discov
ered by the jailer. The com
ments made then in the papers
and on the street was that the
visiting Chinese man had paid
the half-witted one the money
to hang himself. That's all I
know about the deal, but any
real old-timer ought to recall
this incident. Glad Arthur had
a good laugh, and long may he
live to have many more. I al
ways say that criticism is good
for the soul, and after all I am
only human and subject to mak
ing mistakes.
Sincerely,
O. M. YEAGER
GRAIN FIRE TIME IS AT HAND!
f5& '
DONT WAIT NEXT WEEK MAY BE TOO LATE!
C. A. RUGGLES AGENCY
P. O. Box 247
Heppner
Ph. 676-9625
COMMUNITY
) BILLBOARD
C -r- J
Coming Events
LEGION MOVIES
Friday, June 28, 8 p.m.
"The Warriers," in color.
Starring Errol Flynn and
Joanne Dru. Story of Black
Knights war between Eng
land and France.
KICK-OFF RODEO DANCE
Saturday, July 13
Fair Pavilion building
Come and welcome the new
queen and her court.
SWIMMING POOL OPEN
Open daily, except Monday.
Afternoons 1 to 4 p.m.
Evenings 6 to 8 p.m.
Sunday afternoon, 1 to 5
p.m.
Season tickets on sale, Hep
pner city hall or at pool.
Check now for swimming
lessons.
SPONSORED AS A PUBLIC
SERVICE BY
C. A. RUGGLES
Insurance Agency
P. O. Box 247 PH. 676-9625
Heppner
Rancher Friends Trust Our Service
HEPPNER FORD IS THEIR FRIEND FOR
SERVICING and OVERHAULING
HARVEST TRUCK!
AND PICKUPS
Our Friendly Advice Is:
Be Ready For Harvest With Trouble-Free
Equipment. Bring Your Rigs In Now To
Be Sure They Are Ready To Go. Don't Be
Hampered By Breakdowns and Mechani
cal Troubles.
We Have The Equipment To Do YOUR Job Right.
Factory-Trained Mechanics Will Put Your Trucks
In Tip-Top Shape
We Trust Our Future To Our Friends
124 N. Main
Heppner
Ph. 676-9152