Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 1972)
Reids MHiGoin' Concern Mr, and Mrs. James Reid, Martin, the twins, Clarence and Clara, and AJonzo and grandfather Alonzo Roberts came to Heppner April 1901 from Bradley, S.D.They ship ped their household goods and 10 head of cattle by train. Fresh from the blizzards of South Dakota they thrilled to the many fruit trees blossom ing in Heppner. They first stayed in the Heppner Hotel that stood where Lois Reid Winchester now lives. It was swept away by the big flood. Another son, Arthur, was already in Oregon at Joseph. Another son, Robert, and his wife came from Fargo, N.D. Robert was killed in 1902 during construction of the mill. The next year James bought a sawmill in Hood River and moved it near Looking Around Cont. from page 8 Royal Rands, the F.F. Kli tzx, Jack Gorham, and the Buster Rands. Though the first unit opened in June 1916, little development took place until after the second open ing in March 1917. About 40 families came at that time. PROJECT PIONEERS The first to file on this project was C.H. Dillabaugh, others coming in were Paul 3!llllllllllllllllllllllllltllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllll ( Cal's Cafe ( and Lounge The Very Best I in Service and Food I ( Our Lounge is Just Open, to Serve YOU Better 1 For Orders To Go I Call 676-5015 Heppner iiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifti Thorn Creek. Later it burned and the mill was rebuilt on Thorn Creek. The mill pond and smoke stack now on the ground are visible remnants of the once very prosperous mill. About 1910 Martin and Arthur bought the mill. James Reid built the house in which Clara Reid Gertson now lives and Mr. and Mrs. Reid moved to town. The mill continued to flour ish on the site until it was sold and the new owners moved it out. While Martin and Arthur had the mill they bought the lumberyard which stood where the old hotel had been in Heppner. The apartment house which recently burned was the original barn where they kept the horses for the lumberyard. the County and Frank Partlow, Charles Nizer, R.C. Mitchell, Geo rge Mitchell, RobertandAlex Wilson, W.A. Price, Joe Cur ran, Tom Hendricks, H. Ca son, A. P. Ayers, J.J. Wes ton, R. Wasmer, Frank Otto, 1. Skoubo, Leslie Packard, John L. Jenkins, J.R. John son, the Attebury Brothers, W.H. Mefford, M.C. Mar shall, Jess Lower, John Brice, Ira Berger, W.W. Arthur Reid on the wheel horse and Martin Reid stand ing by the wagon. The wagons Bechdolt, Gratton (Hi) Hoff man, Charles Hango, O.B.Ol son, Ray Brown, Ralph Hum phrey, Earl and Frank Cram er, Adolf Skoubo, Mrs. Sam Shell, Paul M. Smith, Mrs. Gladys Gibbon, Nick Faler, W.O. King, L.V. Root. The roads on the project have been named for many of these early settlers. BOARDMAN TOWNSITE It was in 1916 that Sam Boardman sold 40 acres to the Boardman townsite com pany, and E.P. Dodd of Her miston , organizer of the com pany, platted the town, which existed until it was relocated with the building of the John Day Dam down stream. O.H. Warner and C.G. Blayden were first residents of the townsite. An interesting early resident was Ferdinand Emberger who erected a wa ter tank and the city water works and is remembered as the little man who pedaled up and down the river panning a little gold It was on one of these trips that he was hit by a car on the highway and killed, (His early water tank was greatly overtaxed and collapssd.) Mrs. Sam Boardman start ed the first Sunday School with an attendance of 5. When attendance reached 13, they began to meet in the little school housethe community church was built in 1917. The first school house was previously used at Castle Rock and was moved to the new townsite as a temporary school building. The first telephones came in 1919; the cemetery was built; the rail road built a depot in 1922 (now relocated and the re sidence of the Rupert Ken nedys.) A very significant organization, the Greenfield Grange was chartered with 70 members in April 1919; it has been followed by other clubs and lodges. HIGHLIGHTS OF "OLD" BOARDMAN Leo Root built a movie hou se there about 1925. Three churches were built on land donated by E.P. Dodd. A golf course opened in 1925 and flourished for some time. Ditch Riders have been in charge of the irrigation pro ject; the first two were CP. Stanyen and Dan Ran sier (who came in 1919 and rode ditches for 28 years until he died in 1947.) - - - are loaded with lumber from Reid's Mill on Thorn Creek to be sold at the lumber yard in A North Morrow County Fair which was an annual event since 1921 gained new buildings in 1952 and was la ter consolidated with the Cou nty Fair at Heppner which the area has strongly support ed and has always contribu ted one member to the Mor row County Fair Board. A fine city park was de veloped in the center of town by local individuals and by community groups aided by Navy men and the Air Force Wives Club. World War II brought Boardman an Air Force Bise and the bombing range later used by the Navy. THE BROOM FACTORY A newsstory of 1931 tells about a little-remembered Boardman industry. "Board man's independent broom fac tory using project grown corn is proving highly successful said C.G. Blayden, Justice of Peace of that city, on a visit to Heppner yesterday. Mr.L, Schnitzer, a broom manufac turer with 30 years exper ience in all leading broom corn centers of the country, is managing the pl ant, and with two assistants is turning out from 10 to 15 dozen brooms a day. Demand for the brooms has been good, L. E. Dick Distributor of Petroleum Products Serving South Morrow County Since 1933 Featuring: Standard Oil Products and Dick's Chevron Heating Service Norge Appliances Zenith Television ( Heppner Phone 676-9633 Heppner. Arthur and Martin were Clara Reid Gertson's brothers and Martin Reid is Lois Reid Winchester's father. and providing production of corn is sufficient to justify, the factory will be permanent. This year about 50 percent of Boardman' s corn has been contracted for before the lo cal plant was started. Mr. Schnitzer was reported as saying that the quality of Boardman corn was the best he had encountered any where." FULL CIRCLE In 1967 Boardman .was re located almost a mile south on higher ground, and the old town was soon covered with backwaters of the John Day Dam. All the town's buildings and even its cemetery were moved, and the town was built anew with federal money. Presently the Boeing Co. has many employees there working on developments for the land they lease, and much interest centers on this area. Now the excitement in these northern acres, along a major interstate highway, a busy national railroad, and the bargeladen river is a full circle completing iself. A real population growth seems logical there-so accessible by land, water and air. as Si
