SECTION 3. PAGE 14
AS CENTURY CHANGES
Continued from pige 13
first mooting of this kind to
ok place on the llth and 13th
of October and was attended
by about 230 of the old ve
terans of the county. Hep
pner' s citizens covered them
selves with glory ami won the
gratitude of the pioneers by
the munificence and thorou
ghness of their preparations.
They proved that they were
not insensible of the debt due
those sturdy winners of the
west. The homes of the city
were thrown open to the vi
sitors and feelings of wel
come found expression in
many beautiful acts of kind
ly hospitality. A dinner was
served at the opera house
such as would satisfy the
most exacting epicure, and
when all the old folks, the
band, the school teachers and
others had partaken of the
viands to full satisfaction an
interesting program was ren
dered, one important feature
of which was the eloquent ad
dress of Judge S.A. Lowell.
In the evening an amateur
play was presented, the cha
racters being sustained by lo
cal talent. About 9:30 o'
clock the next day the old
folks again assembled at the
opera house and amused each
ottier and the younger peo
ple by the relation of inter
esting reminiscences of early
times and personal experien
ces in the brave days gone by.
"Prizes were awarded as
follows: That for the oldest
man in attendance to Mr. A.
Mallory, 82 last January
(1900); that for the oldest
lady to Mrs. Clarke, mot
her of Mrs. George Swaggart,
aged 91; that for the couple
who have been married the
longest to Mr. and Mrs. A.
Mallory, wedded 58 years
last July; for the resident who
had lived in Morrow County
the longest to William A yers,
Sr. who settled here in 1863.
"The joyousness of the oc
casion was somewhat marred
by a disgraceful street brawl
for which the citizens of Hep
pner were in mr way re
sponsible, and which all of
them heartily deprecate, but
notwithstanding this misfor
tune the reunion was a most
felicitous and profitable one.
It is quite evident that the
younger citizens of Morrow
County will not be among
those who will never achieve
anything worthy of remembr
ance by a remote posterity
because they take no interest
in the achievements of the
fathers and founders of
their section." (Shiach, Pg.
282)
THE NEW
GENERATION
A founder, Jackson Lee
Morrow died on September
22, 1899, leaving one son J.
W. "Billy" Morrow. Wil
liam Penland died at Lexing
ton early in the spring of
1901. Henry Heppner ended
his labors Feb. 16, 1905.
Ellis Minor died that same
year at the age of 73. A
new generation assumed com
mand and a great deal of ex
pansion and building took
place. The impressive
"new" stone courthouse cost
ing Just a little under $22,
000 was erected in 1902. In
1902 the first class from Hep
pner' s four-year high school
graduated and Included: Bes
sie H. Edwards, president;
W.H. Dutton, vice-president;
Grace Hager, secretary; Sa
die McCarty, treasurer, and
Birdie Gilliam, Edna Mal
lory, Cms Mallory, and Ona
Gllliam-who is still a Hep
pner resident.
THE 1903 FLOOD
Sunday evening June 14,
1903 Heppner's worst flood
took over 230 lives and de
stroyed a great part of the
town. It resulted from heavy
rain and large hall which is
said to have piled up two feet
deep. Tremendous walls of
water roared down Balm
Fork, and Willow Creek rol
ling along huge rocks, swe
eping down houses and barns
and fences and the early hay
crop, and pushing all this with
tremendous force through the
town. Heppner's 1146 ci
tizens were caught in many
ways-some families and
parts of some families made
it to the hills. Many won
derful rescues took place,
and many very sad mistakes
which developed into great
tragedies. In per cent of
life lost and of property da
mage the Heppner Flood
is still one of America's
greatest community disas
ters. A comprehensive ac
counting is given by Mr. Fre
nch in Homesteads and Heri
tages from pages 60-75.
This awful flood struck Hep
pner at its height-when it was
as complete and as indepen
dent as possible. Although
its population has gained sin
ce this early century period
the community has not been
able to regain many advanta
ges it offered before 1903.'
POST-FLOOD ACTIVITY
Because there are many
still with us whose memories
are strong, we will only at-
O
L
h im .
HEPPNER'S BIG FLOOD OF 1903. (Courtesy L. Winchester)
tempt to mention some of the
historic highlights between
1903 and the present. There
were good times and bad ti
mes, tankers had problems.
Farming machinery changed
very much. Automobiles ar
rived. Roads were improved.
A Gazette-Times story in
1914 announced that there was
one car for each 64 people
in the country -the highest av
erage in the whole state. The
World War which began in
1914 raised wheat prices to
$2 a bu. and consequently
land prices went from $11
to around $40 per acre. The
Morrow County Creamery
organized and thrived under
manager W. Claude Cox. The
Farmers' Union bought the
Heppner Mill and enlarged
the production of White Star
flour. Poultry production
grew important at lone and
Lexington. Women's suffrage
passed and the newspapers
urged women to register to
vote. By 1919 Heppner Htgh
School had 22 graduates. Cou
nty agents arrived and farm
advise helped build up agri
culture. Banks prospered.
WOMEN'S HAIR
CUTTIN'
and
FIXIN'
Rene 's
Beauty
Shop
Heppner 676-9282
A VERY HOT YEAR
Summer 1918 was Hep
pner's holtest-in fact the town
really went to blazes. On
May 27, a fire started near
the Star Theater which
the fire department was una
ble to squelch being low on
water, equipment and train
ing. It spread to the Reid
rooming house across Gale
St. then crossed Willow St.
to the south where it burned
the city hall, the library, and
the fire department's hose
carts. It swept on south le
veling Robert's skating rink,
Well's garage, several sto
rage buildings behind MainSt.
stores. It then recrossed
Gale St. and burned several
homes along the hill.
On July 4, the really big
fireworks came. A fire start
ed in Patterson & Elder's
barber shop, ran through Lo
uis Pearson's trailor shop
consumed the great Palace
Hotel, shot across May street
to destroy the Star rooms,
the Herald new s office, Vic
Groshen's Frogpond saloon,
and some office buildings. It
also spread east to burn Gil
liam & Bisbee's warehouse
and G.W. Verlott's second
hand store. Then the new
First National Bank building
lost its windows but stood.
It Jumped Main St. and clean
ed out everything in the block
south taking lawyer's offices,
blacksmith shops and minor
buildings on one sideand then
hoped across Main again to
destroy all of the buildings
between August and Cannon
streets except Dr. Me
Murdo's new home.
Heppner's last livery stable,
Willis Stewart's Red Front
went-and the day of horse
transportation ended.
Rebuilding was very diffi
cult as labor was scarce-the
U.S. was at war, men were
away fighting or working, in
war industries; folks at home
had the flu. These fires fi
nally led to a better water
system and a greatly improv
ed fire department.
THE NINETEEN TWENTIES
The war ended, prices were
high, but many citizens were
discontented. The curtain
was falling on the sheep busi
ness and the wheat growers
were hoping for many chan
ges. An early winter freeze
in 1924-25 took nearly all the
wheat in the mid-Columbia
For First Quality
Repair Work, See
Charlie Walker's
Body Shop
Heppner