Tfcurs, December 4, 1969
THE IIEPPNBR
GAZETTE-TIMES
LETTERS T0 EDITOR
Heppner. Oregon 87838
Phone 676-9228
MORROW COUNTTS NEWSPAPER
Nov. 29, 19G9
To the Editor:
I read with great interest your
iip(Ii1a rAirnrHino u Klif m A V
The iWWiitMMWOTMiirajW iw VII ..."'iV have been the "first Thanksgiv
11)12.
MEMBERS OF NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSN. AND
OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSN.
CHARLIE & DOROTHY HEARD.
Editors Publisher
Inn" in Morrow County. The on
ly thing that really troubles me
Is the date, 1874, khen Oscar
Clark was said to have taken
up his claim at the mouth of
Clark's Canyon. I was under the
Impression that Clark had tak
en up this claim in 18C3. and
I assumed that Andrew Rean-
ey, who was the areas first
Justice of the Peace, was on
the place in 1874. In Parson's
:..i.rir..i,.n n .t... nn vp 5tnoiA Pnn in ron. MalleH Slnole ""istory of Morrow County
Copies 15 Cents In Advance.; Minimum Billing 60 cents. Publlshe J recall reading that Mrs. Ben
Every Thursday ana tntereu at tne I'ost umce at jicppner, uregon.i w uiuu kiu uy an
Indian named Charley. He was
tried in justice Reaney's court
intil noon Saturday.
ARNOLD RAYMOND,
Plant Foreman
ALICE VANCE
News
Circulation
REGGIE PASCAL
Linotype Operator
DALE COOPER
Pressman
as Second Class Matter.
Office Hours: 8 ajn, to 6 p.m.. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m.
Skiing is Great
Skiing has a lot of things going. It is one of the Individ
ual sports that lends Itself to family fun and fur participants
to enjoy long1 after high school and college. The skier com
petes with himself like the cross country runner, swimmer,
golfer. Just as college Isn t lor everyone, neither w football
or basketball but the need for sheer muscular exertion Is
needed by everyone. Skiing supplies that need in the
healthy outdoors. It develops mental poise, courtesy, and
sense of balance, and many other benefits in these same
widely separated spheres.
Skiing should be THE THING in snow country.
Prophetic Words
Today, the power of taxation Is exhibiting the power of
destruction with a vengeance. Even the fear of so-called tax
reform has a far-reaching impact. One of the reforms sug
gested is removal of the tax-exempt status of the bond ob
ligations of municipalities. The Idea of the "reform" is to
close an alleged loophole through which the wealthy escape
their share of taxes. However, the effect of the threat of
this particular reform has already made Itself felt in the fi
nancial problems of local communities. Comments The Wall
Street Journal: 'The multibillion-dollar market for state and
local bonds is tottering and near collapse. Cities find it in
creasingly expensive, sometimes prohibitively so, to finance
schools and other needed facilities. Communities across the
nation ore raising taxes. In large part, these are the immed
iate, almost overnight, results of a proposal put forth this
year by the men shaping the tax revision legislation."
Yes, the power to tax Is the power to destroy, and the
surest way to unleash tax destruction Is through demands
for greater government spending programs.
a."' i t-vl .-vv I LI J ll
'.VP
JZitik
' v
l it
STEVE PECK attends a Toastmasters banquet with
son In Taiwan.
V
Charles Not
G-T Item Sends Steve Peck
To See Former Heppnerite
Dear Editor:
(Ed. note: Charles Notson
with the Christian & Alliance
in Taiwan Republic of China is
a former Heppner boy. Charles,
Robert, new editor of the Ore
gonlan and two sisters, Mary
Sackett of Salem and Margaret
Mosier of New York, all grew
up in Heppner. Their father was
S. E. Notson, former district at
torney). When I wrote to Dr. MeMur
do (July 15, 18), about his
being featured in the China
Post here In Taiwan, I had no
idea what a pleasant surprise
would come as a result. A few
weeks later a young man in
the uniform of the U. S. Navy
appeared at our bookstore and
announced, "I'm from Lexing
ton, Oregon." It was Stephen.
Peck. The G-T of August 1 had
overtaken him on board the
U.S.S. PIEDMONT, when it was
in port here at Kaohsiung. He
asked the chaplain on the ship
if he knew me and how to get
In contact
You can Imagine what a talk
fest we had. It was amazing
how well he was able to give
me Information about old
friends In Heppner. His descrip
tion of developments in the ar
ea would have done credit to
a promotional man for the
Morrow County Jaycees.
This year the PIEDMONT
again visited Kaohsiung and
we had Stephen to our apart
ment On those occasions Kuth,
my wife, a Georgia girl, would
laugh as we would bid him end
his buddy goodnight and say,
"These Eastern Oregon la ns, no
one else gets to say a thing
when they get going."
When Stephen was still in
port, the local Club of Twist
masters International held a
meeting and had me scheduled
as one of the speakers. It was
ladies night and as an unus-
ual feature each speech was to
be evaluated by the speaker's
wife, someone near of kin, or
a friend. Ruth had a Bible
class that night and, therefore,
suggested that I ask Stephen to
be the evaluator for my speech.
He accepted and did a fine Job.
My subject was, "When the
Bible Was Read in Space."
It was refreshing to see an
American lad so alert to the
opportunities which world travel
in the Navy presents. Stephen
was occupied all the time he
was ashore with getting to
know about the country, the
people, the products, the cus
toms, etc. If more of our young
men had his wholesome outlook
and interest, there wouldn't be
the urgent need for a Christian
Servicemen's Center, such as I
mentioned in my letter to Dr.
McMurdo. The Club photogra
pher caught each of us In ac
tion at the mike and together
at the table. I'm enclosing
three b&w snaps.
Cordially yours,
Charles E. Notson
P.S. If anyone else from Mor
row County visits Kaohsiung in
the armed services or as tour
ists, we should greatly apprec
iate their contacting us. Since
the first of September our book
store is situated in the Land
Bank Building in the heart of
Kaohsiung. The side entrance
opens to the elevators and we're
on the 4th floor. Phone No.
551253. Residence phone no.
232441.
It's true we're busy, but we
dont want to miss anyone from
the home country'- Aside from
the bookstore, the Mission Of
fice, and our own Chapel, we
have numerous calls. For ex
ample Ruth Is Just now leav
ing to go and speak to the la
dies in Wesley Chapel at the
United Methodist Church this
evening. ,
In 1874. It is possible that An
drew Reaney was still living in
the Weston area when this in
cident occurred, and had not
yet moved to the Clark place.
At any rate, there were many
families living along Willow
and Rhea Creeks by 1874.
The first permanent settler i
was John H. Jordan, who built
a log house out of cottonwood
trees near the forks of Willow
and Rhea Creeks in 1859. The
exact location was below the
present Jordan Elevator station
where the double rock cut was
made for the railroad and the
highway.
Your article mentioned a "well
traveled road" from Umatilla
Landing. This road reached
Willow Creek at Jordan's place
where he operated a freight sta
tion for many years. Jones did
not have any neighbors until
1862. At that time T. W. Ayres
settled on Butter Creek, 27 miles
away; the Ayres' place also be
coming a freight station. Jor
dan died in 1900 and was bur
ied in the Penland Cemetery at
Lexington, alongside three of
his sons. One son, Luther Jor
dan, born in 1877, recently pass
ed away in Portland, but left
no son to carry on the name
Jordan.
In 1863 A. J. Breeden settled
on Willow Creek about two miles
above the present site of Lex
ington. Also in 1863, William
Cecil settled on Willow Creek
at the place which bears his
name, and also where the Old
Immigrant Trail crossed the
creek. This site had previously
been used as an encampment
for U. S. soldiers during the
Yakima Indian Wars of 1855.
My records indicate that Oscar
Clark also settled at Clark's
Canyon in 1863, and in 1864 C.
A. Rhea took up a claim along
the creek that came to bear his
name.
The next permanent settlers
on Willow Creek were William
H. Penland and Amanuel C.
Pettys in 1868. Penland soon
became the leading property
holder in Morrow County and
gave over part of his place for
a townsite. He was the founder
of Lexington which was built
in 1885 to give Heppner some
competition as a site for the
courthouse. Mr. Pettys located
above the Jordan place at the
forks of Willow and Rhea
Creeks. Pettys had the first post
office on Willow Creek and dis
tributed mail to the early set
tlers for fifteen years. Mail ad
dressed to Willow Forks, Ore
gon, and later Pettysville, Ore
gon was picked up at The Dal
les for distribution. In 1868 al
so came Jesse J. Adkins who
established a homesite on Rhea
Creek. George Stansbury came
in 1869 to where Heppner is now
located. In 1871 Joseph Mason
settled on Rhea Creek, and
Elisha Sperry took over Cluffs
claim where lone now stands.
The early settlers had to go
either to The Dalles or Umatil
la Landing for provisions. There
probably were no more than 25
families permanently establsih
ed along the creeks in 1872
when J. W. Morrow and Henry
Heppner started a store on
Stansbury's claim, but in the
1870's came the Wrights, the Mi
nors, the Gilliams, the Gays, the
Hayes', and the Kirks to Rhea
Creek. The Rhea Creek area was
settled quite extensively in the
70s, and it being a more na
ural route to the interior, It doe
seem Ironic that all the towns
should spring ud on Willow
Creek.
A post office was establishe
at Heppner in 1873 though the
Heppner townsite was not in
corporated until 1887. There
were approximately 700 people
living in the new city when it
received its charter. Morrow
County came into being by an
act of the State Legislature in
February, 1885, and the famous
county seat fight between Hepp
ner and Lexington took place in
1886. It really was a hot fight
and almost two generations
had to die off before the court
house Issue could be forgotten
and safely tucked away in the
archives of history.
The first fortunes were made
in sheep, and sheep raising con
tinued to be a very profitable
venture for many years to
come. The settlers along the
creeks did have cattle, but cat
tie raising was not as remun
erative as was sheep. In those
days the cattle roamed the hills
and, except for the semiannual
roundups when the calves were
lassoed and branded, little at
tention was paid to them.
By 1880 the bottom lands of
Willow Creek, Rhea Creek, Hin
ton Creek, Balm Fork, and But
ter Creek were pretty well tak
en up, and the influx of settlers
coming in the 1880's took up
homesteads on the hill land,
thus starting the wheat indus
try. The first wheat raisers
were Edward S. Duran and John
B. Carmichael, who in 1882 set
tled the Blackhorse and Swag
gart Butte areas. These pioneers
demonstrated that a large por
tion of the county was more val
uable for wheat raising than for
stock. One of the first settlers
of the Eightmile area was J
W. Becket who arrived there in
1880, and he, too, demonstrated
that wheat could be profitable
produced in that area.
I suppose one could go on
and on in his recounting of
Morrow County history, and one
can never forget the people who
lived there. Depression, cyclone,
fire, and flood have all taken
their toll in Morrow County, but
to those who had the good for
tune to have been born and
reared in that area, there will
always be a Heppner, a Lexing
ton, an lone, and a Hardman.
Respectfully,
Sam G. McMillan
Instructor in History and
Political Science
Mt. Hood Community
College
Doll Dressed
For Drawing
P.S. Since you are new to the
area, and as a matter of intro
duction, let me say that my
family homesteaded in the Lex
ington area in 1886. I was born
and reared in Lexington and
still regard Morrow County as
my home.
Thanksgiving guests at the
Worden homes were Mr. and
Mr. and Mrs. Doss Knighten,
Mrs. John Gernhardt, Portland,
Jeri, Greg, and Sue, from Pendleton.
Women of St. Patrick's Altar
Society have made ten differ
ent outfits for a 17" Toddler
Doll. Outfits go from a knitted
sweater to an Indian costume
with more outfits being made.
The doll sings 10 different
songs by a pull of her ring.
She is displayed in Heppner
TV office window during De
cember until the drawing on
Dec. 20. A donation may win
her. She will be up town on
the street on Saturdays, Dec. 6
and 13.
Doll wardrobe committees are
Joann Robison, Marion Brosnan,
Gwen Healy, Rita Wolff, Micky
Mollahan and Judie Laughlin.
McMurdo Families
Gather in Portland
Dr. and Mrs. Archie McMurdo
spent the Thanksgiving holiday
in Portland with their three sons
and families. The elder McMur
dos hosted a family dinner at
the International Club in the
Hilton Hotel on Thanksgiving
day.
On Saturday, Nov. 29 the old
est granddaughter, Margaret,
(Peggy) was married to Dr.
Walter H. Gould at St. Bartholo
mew's Episcopal Church in Bea
verton. Dr. Gould is a Captain
in the Army medical corps. The
reception was held at the An
chorage.
The McMurdos returned to
Heppner on Sunday.
Holly Rebekah Lodge
Plans Bazaar
Holly Rebekah Lodge has set
Dee. 6 for their annual Christ
mas Bazaar and Food Sale. It
will be held at the McMurtry
Building beginning at 10:30
a.m. and will continue until the
Christmas Goodies are all sold
Mrs. Archie Munkers is general
chairman.
There will be lots of pillow
cases, aprons and other fancy
work, Chirstmas decorations and
holiday foods. Proceeds are us
ed to maintain the IOOF Hall
in Lexington.
CHUCK WAGON
THANK YOU. FOLKS I All of
us here at this little newspa
per would like to say a Big
thank you to everyone for the
many kindnesses we have re
ceived here in Morrow County,
The kind words of encourage
ment are very welcome. We
surely appreciate your bearing
with us during this greenhorn
period while we get acquainted:
it's Just not possible to run a
paper until we do get acquaint
ed. Thank you.
HEPPNER KNIT WITS
The Knit Wits met at the
home of Mrs. Dale Boners for
knitting. The club continued on
their projects. Names were
drawn for Christmas exchange.
The party is planned for Decem
ber 13. Refreshments were serv
ed by Melody Marlatt.
Dee Hedman, reporter
Condon Elks Lodge
No. 1869 Schedule
Annual Celebration
Condon Lodge No. 1S69 will
celebrate their 17th anniversary
by holding Its annual Dec. 13.
Pre registration will begin at
10 a.m. at the Fred V. Greiner
Agency. Officers of Heppner
Lodge No. 358 will conduct the
initiation ceremonies for new
members when lodge convenes
at 4:00 p.m. Special entertain
ment by the Condon High School
choir has been scheduled.
While the Elks are attending
lodge, their ladies will be en
tertained at a champagne tea
at St. John's Parish Hall. A dem
onstration on creating floral
centerpieces will be given by
Mrs. Bob Thayer and the choir
of Wheeler County High will
provide musical numbers.
At 7:00 p.m. a dinner will
be served at Memorial Hall fol
lowed by a dance at the Elks
Temple. The Gilliam County
Jaycees will serve a breakfast at
1:30 p.m. at Memorial Hall.
During the events of the An
nual, the local lodge will be
honored by a visitation of the
Grand Exalted Ruler, Frank
Hise of Corvallis, who was
elected in July at the national
convention of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks of
the U.S.A.
It is expected that other
members of the Grand and
State Lodge will also be pres
ent.
Padbergs
Have Reunion
Here for Thanksgiving with
Mr. and Mrs. Archie Padberg
Sr., were his son Mr. and Mrs.
Archie Padberg, Jr. and family
of Portland, Mrs. Esther Settles
of Vancouver, Wn., and Mrs,
June Meek of Portland.
On Thanksgiving the Archie
Padberg, Srs. and their guests
went to Hermiston for a family
reunion held at the Catholic
Church. There were 30 present
with others coming and going
during the afternoon.
School Lunch Menus
Presented
Through Courtesy of
Heppner Branch
ma
FIRST
NATIONAL
i JoxVi Xv or 0REG0R
I
Heppner Elementary and
High Schools
Monday, December 8 Piz
za, green beans, salad, pie ala
mode, milk.
Tuesday, December 9 Meat
hash with potatoes and gravy,
peas, molded vegeiaDie saiau,
rolls, pudding with topping,
milk.
Wednesday, December 10
Chili, corn bread, lettuce wedge,
applesauce, gingerbread, milk.
Thursday, December 11 Fried
chicken, mashed potatoes and
gravy, beets, irun jen-u, toils,
milk.
Friday, December 12 Toasted
cheese sandwiches, vegetaDie
soup, Waldorf salad, cake, milk.
Angell Baby Dies
At Doernbecker
Timothy Angell died Doc. 1
at Doernbecher Hospital in
Portland. He was born Nov. 15,
1969 at Pioneer Memorial Hos
pital in Heppner. Surviving are
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Larry
Angell, brother, Jimmy, sister,
Bobbette and maternal grand
parents Mr. and Mrs. Floyd
Hutchens all of Heppner and
paternal grandparents Mr. and
Mrs. James Angell of Portland.
Rev. Cutting will conduct
graveside services at 11:00 a.m.
Dec. 4 at Heppner Masonic Cem
etery. To Seattle
Mr. and Mrs. Gene Ferguson
and their grandson, Gene Zin
ter, were gone for Thanksgiving.
The Fergusons went to Seattle
to visit their son and family,
the Dick Fergusons, Rosemary,
Kevin, Brian and Patrick. Gene
stopped off at Boring to visit
his mother, Mrs. James Rounse
fell and Mr. Rounsefell. The
Fergusons visited their daugh
ter and son-in-law as they went
through coming and going to
Seattle when they dropped Gene
off and picking him up.
Mrs. Jessie Faye Morris went
to Corvallis to the home of her
niece and family, Mr. and Mrs.
Tom Hall for Thanksgiving
weekend. She was Joined there
by her brother and sister-in-law,
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Stewart
of Myrtle Point. Also at the Hall
home were Mr. and Mrs. Gary
Cannon and family of Milwau
kie and Mr. and Mrs. Roy Var
gas of Eugene. Mrs. Hall, Mrs.
Cannon and Mrs. Vargas are all
daughters of Mr. and Mrs.
Stewart.
m
r
COMMUNITY
BILLBOARD
Holly Rebekah Lodge
Bazaar Food Sale
Dec. 6
10:30 a.m. until sold out
McMurtry Building, Heppner
SENIOR CITIZENS
Thursday afternoons, 2:00
p.m. Games and Crafts
Heppner Neighborhood Center
EPISCOPAL BAZAAR
Saturday, Dec. 6, 10:00 a.m.
Episcopal Parish Hall '
Luncheon served 11:00 a.m.
till 2:30 p.m.
HEPPNER HIGH
BASKETBALL
Grant Union here Friday,
Dec. 5
Enterprise here Saturday,
Dec. 6
JV games start at 6:00, Var
sity games at 8:00
CHRISTMAS DRAWING
Drawing for bicycles and ra
dios. 4:00 p.m., Dec. 6
IONE DRAMA CLASS
Presents "Twelve Angry Jur
ors"
Dec. 10-11, 7:30 p.m.
lone High School Cafetorium
SPONSORED AS A PUBLIC
SERVICE BY
C. A. RUGGLES
Insurance Agency
O. Box 247 PH. 676-S625
If no answer call Ray Boyce,
676-5384
Heppner
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