Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 1972)
To the Fa HAROLD A. COHN The Heppner Gazette-Times is very pleased to dedi cate this Centennial edition to all the pioneers whobuiltHep- When the first phone went in, it took little more than a coil of wire, a handful of screws and some brave new ideas to be a telephone company. It still takes new ideas. But with more than 2,000,000 Oregonians now linked with our world wide communications network, telephone service is still growing right along with Oregon. This year we'll be spending ,some $90 million for the specialized tools, sophisticated electronics, new Pioneers pner and Morrow County and to their descendants and to Harold A Conn, the onl) mem ber of founder Henry Hepp ner's family now living in Heppner. After the 1903 flood in which the Pnil Cohn home was des troyed, Henry Heppner pur chased a house on Baltimore St. from George Washington Thompson into which the Phil Cohn family moved. It is now occupied by the LaVerne Van Mirier Jr. family, and Har old Cohn, the Phil Cohn's son, lives in the newer home just beyond it- and claims that with 69 years residence, he is undoubtedly the dean of Baltimore St. Other children of the Phil Culms are a son Henry, living in Nevada, and a daughter Elinor (Mrs. E.A. In 1878 we gave Shank) of West Linn, Or. Young Harold had gone to Boise to visit his grand mother In June 1903 and missed the big flood. SOME COHN HISTORY Harold was born In San Francisco but has been a resident here since he was two weeks old. His paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Heppner Cohn of Boise, was Henry's sister. Her sons, Jerry and Phil, came to join their Uncles Henry Heppner and Henry Blackman soon after the railroad reached Heppner, when the Heppner Blackman store and other properties were so busy. Hir old says Henry Heppner drove in the golden spike when the R.R. was completed to Hepp ner. Harold remembers his dad closing out his uncle's estate after Henry's death in 1905. Later, Phil Cohn was the Morrow County Ford Oregon a ring. construction and talented people we need to provide communications in the Age of Apollo. We're proud to make a growing investment in a growing state. You see, when we gave Oregon that ring 92 years ago, it was just the beginning of a long, long love affiiir. Pacific Motor Co. dealer for many years. HAROLD ENLISTED Harold Cohn went through the grade and high school in Heppner, finishing in the 12-member class of 1912, the last class from the old wooden building up where the hospi tal stands now. He recalls community affairs in the Robert's Opera House, the hall above where Murrays' Drug Store is now. The 1912 high school class play was put on there. Harold attended the Univ. of Oregon and the Univ. of California but did not graduate. Along with five other county lads, he enlisted in Portland in the Navy during World War I-but never was sent to sea. The others who enlisted at that time were Carl Rhea, Hurl Gurdane, Sam Turner, Miles Potter, and Sid Hallock. Northwest Bell RODEOS STARTED L.V. Gentry got the annual rodeos started in 1922 and enlisted Harold Colin toad as announcer. Harold used a megaphone (no mike or am liflers then.) The ranching Gentrys were horse fanciers, and they lived just east of town where the Garnet Bar ratts bouth in 1929. Mr. Cohn married Helen Ames of Ellensburg, Wa. in 1922, and their children are Phil and Sally. In 1905 widow er Cohn married a Yakima widow, Mrs. Clara Flory, who had been with the 1st Nat. Bank of Commerce there for 45 years, and who died 'n 1970. Phil and his father (Harold says one of them is president) own and Phil man ages the Suerior Packing Co. at Ellensburg which is the largest sheep killing altera tion in the northwest. Around 1,000 sheep are killed daily and every part of the ani mals is utilized someway, even the eyes. Sally Cohn, who is visiting her father this summer, has been teach ing along the east coast, must recently in the Brooklynarea of New York City. MEMORIES As Harold Cohn chatted in the shade of a large apri cot tree in the back yard of his home, he recalled many items of interest. "That tree was planted here in 1915 and has produced many tons of apricots." We remarked about the recovery of the old millstone by O.W. Cutsforth, and Harold said "I wonder how many others remember when the Heppner Flouring Mill had an order to put up flour for China, and the sacks arrived with Chinese printing on them." He states that his time in the community spans the per iod from hitching posts to parking meters. Remarking about hitching posts led to the recounting of an early-lay summertime ritual, the daily trips of the horse-drawn sprinkling wagon which wet down the fine dust that rose from Heppner' s dirt streets. A well-known member of the Oregon Wool Growers and the National Wool Grow ers organizations since the 1930' s, Harold Cohn is a very quiet, modest gentleman. He claims he has not contributed a great deal to the commun ity "I've just lived here, for quite a while". CENTENNIAL IDEA The idea of having a Centen nial celebration for Heppner came in a letter to the Ga-zatte-Times in 1971 from James D. 'Domie' Monahan, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Monahan. Domie is an attor ney in Washington, D.C. In his letter he suggested that it was about time for Heppner to have its Centen nial. This alerted the Hepp-ner-Morrow County Chamber of Commerce and other or ganizations here who have ramrodded the event which is being noted all year long by various affairs. To all visitors on this oc casion everyone in Morrow County says a big Welcome.