Page 6, THE GAZETTE-TIMES, Heppner, OR, Thursday, Jan. 13, 1977
ASC committeemen named
Danish immigrants
Live out the
original American
dream
By LAVON STARR
Anna Christensen and Ingvard Skoubo
came to the United States from Northern
Denmark in 1917. They had known each other
there and came together as traveling compan
ions. "I had no intentions of marrying him," Anna
remembers. "I was just coming for five years,
get rich and go home."
While 18-year-old Anna remained in Port
land with hopes of great riches, Skoubo
journeyed to Hermiston to join his two brothers
who had preceded him. He homesteaded 40
acres next to Sam Boardman's land. "We were
very good friends with Sam Boardman in later
years," said Anna with a smile. "We bought part
of our ranch from him."
Two years after arriving in Portland, her
fortune not yet acquired, Anna and Ingvard
were married. The young Skoubo couple
homesteaded their land as a result of the Oregon
Land and Water Company promotion. The
company was mapping out land as an irrigation
district and many Midwest and immigrant
residents were attracted as a result.
When the company went broke and
dissolved in 1915, the hearty young couple
remained because their land, located on the
banks of the Columbia, was "good land," said
Anna. Irrigation was not such a hardship for
them. Their acre of fruit trees would be
producing its first crop in the spring.
Unfortunately, winter produced a 32 degree
below zero freeze that split the bark on then
trees and destroyed the orchard.
During their first year of marriage in 1919,
the Skoubos built a four-room home out of
lumber from the Boardman lumber mill. They
furnished it with furniture brought in by rail
from Portland to the Boardman depot. "I had a
real nice cook stove," said Anna. They bought
their supplies from the three Boardman stores.
Neighbors came to the rescue and helped
raise another dwelling. This house was a
one-room affair with a one-sided sloping roof. Its
predecessor had met government instructions of
a two-sided sloping roof and the 12-by-16 ft.
minimum dimension with a stove pipe.
The following year, while Anna was in
Portland having her first child, the four-room
house burned to the ground. No one really
knows how it got started. But it was suspected
to have had something to do with heating up a
pail of water.
The governmental instructions came with
the Homestead Act that allowed homesteaders
to claim 40 acres of land with payment of $100.
The understanding was to improve the land and
in five years if you could "prove up" the claim
the homesteader would receive the deed.
"A garden was the first thing you put in,"
said the cheery Danish-American. "We grew
everything, still do." Canning was the result for
most of the garden produce though some of it,
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Results of the Dec. 6 election
of ASC county committeemen
for 1977 were announced today
by Thomas E. Currin, Chair
man of the Agricultural Stabil
ization and Conservation
(ASC) committee.
Newly named to committee
posts in the mail balloting
were: Thomas G. Martin,
Lexington area wheat grower,
committee member; Ellis
Pettyjohn, Eightmile area
wheat grower, first alternate;
Blair Philippi, Boardman
area cattleman, second alter
nate.
Currin said farmer commit
tees are in charge of local
administration of national
farm programs. At least one
committee member and two
alternates are elected each
year. The farmer receiving
the largest number of votes is
elected to a three year term;
second largest, a two year
term, if the position is vacant;
third largest, a one year term
if the position is vacant; and
fourth and fifth largest, one
year terms as alternates.
The entire membership of
the 1977 Morrow County ASC
Committee is as follows:
Thomas E. Currin, Chairman;
Kenneth E. Nelson, Vice
chairman; Thomas G. Martin,
Member; Harold E. Kerr,
Extension Agent-Ex-officio
Member; Ellis Pettyjohn,
First Alternate; Blair Philip
pi, Second Alternate.
Currin said all participants
in ASCS programs will be
given equal consideration
without regard to race, color,
sex, creed or national origin.
Anna Warren
carrots, parsnips and beets, could stay in the
ground through the winter. "We didn't dry
anything, we didn't know how. I had to teach
myself to can when I got here. We didn't do that
in the old country."
"I just wish girls today would have to start
the way we did. Then they would really
appreciate living," said the industrious pioneer.
People would haul water from town in a barrel
they purchased for 50 cents from a European
man who pumped it from the Boardman well.
They rose with the sun. "You had to if you were
going to get your work done," Anna said.
The homestead families enjoyed each other,
gathering often for social activities. "We were
all in the same boat, all the same age - mostly
young with little money," stated Anna. The
grange was a central point of socializing. But the
school and the non-denominational community
church, the same organization serving Board
man today, also served duo social roles.
Anna surrounds herself with house plants
today. She believes her first one probably came
from a neighbor woman during her early
Boardman days. "We were always trading
things," she recalled.
In 1951, Ingvard Skoubo died. In the late
1950's, the land he and Anna had worked with
their family was covered with the flood waters
of the John Day Dam project. "We had known
for some time that the land would be flooded
over," said Anna. "But the land we're on now, 31
acres added in the 1930's, is what we had always
used for pasture. The good land is that part
under water down there."
Chub Warren and Anna Skoubo were
married in 1958. Chub was born and raised on
Butter Creek south of Boardman, a pioneer son.
They are continuing to farm.
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Bring in the new year with
these gifts from First Federal
Savings. They are a beautiful and
practical way to celebrate 1977.
All you have to do to get these
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exciting premiums is open a
savings account, or add to an
existing account. Here's what
you can take home:
a. With a deposit of $100.00
this versatile Crescent tongue
and groove utility plier.
b. The Fieldcrest-St. Moritz
blanket is being offered as a
premium for a deposit of
$500.00.
. And, the Northwood, a luxuri
ous 100 pure wool blanket
is offered under two plans:
with a $1 ,000.00 deposit plus
$15.00, or with a $5,000.00
deposit plus $10.00. Either
way, this quality blanket,
made of SUPERWASH wool
(yes, it's fully machine wash
able end machine dryable)
could be keeping your new
year warm and comfortable.
Gifts for you, from us. And
the best gift of all is the high
. ' interest rates we offer on our
y' various savings plans. So, if one
of your resolutions for 1977 is to
save more money . . . save with
us. It's a bright idea for the
bright new year.
First Federal Savings
AN 0 lOtN ASSOCIATION OF PEN-01CTON
Heppner Branch Center & Main
Pendleton, Milton-Freewater, Hermiston and Boardman
Community sets
singspiration
Ceramic shop
opens Monday
(Continued from Page 3)
calendar school year.
Her classes, starting Monday, will be both day and night.
The day classes will be on Wednesday and Thursday from
10-3 p.m. The night classes will run from Monday through
Thursday from 7-10 p.m.
She said about 40 women and one man were readying for
the start of the classes.
Although the classes will take up much of her time, Alice
invites people to come by the shop and browse and learn.
She started on the ceramic kick in 1962 after attending a
class taught by Dee Gribble, now Justice of the Peace for
Morrow County.
When Mrs. Gribble chose to close her ceramic shop in
1964, Alice bought most of the supplies for $185. That's when
the old bunkhouse got a thorough cleaning and was
converted to its present use. Since then, another room has
been added just for mold pouring.
Ceramics quickly became a family hobby for the
five-member Majeske family. Now, all the children have
moved on, but Alice says they still enjoy the hobby and work
in the shop when they visit.
While many teachers use the three month summer layoff
for a vacation, it still means work for Alice Majeske. She
puts up her ceramic knives and turns off the kiln and steps in
front of the fire.
She takes over as cook for harvest crews and as a truck
driver on the 800 acre Majeske wheat and cattle ranch.
But when fall rolls around, the door to the bunkhouse is
open again.
Ashtrays are the most common object, Alice says. But also
popular are lamps, vases, mugs, jewelry, and various
figures.
The shop houses a complete store of supplies, including
paints and glazes, and all kinds of workable objects.
In 1961, Merrill Womach
was flying alone enroute to
Spokane, Wash., to spend
Thanksgiving Day with his
wife and children. His twin
engine airplane was forced
down in a snow storm in
Beaver Marsh, Ore. The next
morning, he took off on the
slushy runway. Two hundred
feet above the trees, both
engines quit. He tried to get
back to the airport, but the
plane fell short by 50 yards
and crashed in the timber. The
explosion of 108 gallons of high
test aviation fuel was heard
miles away.
Critically burned, Womach
crawled to a nearby road
where he was picked up and
put in the back seat of a car
and hurried to a hospital in
Klamath Falls, Ore. Amazing
ly, he sang all the way.
Through more than fifty
operations and months of sur
gery, Merrill faced many
complications, critical illnes
ses and impending death. Two
blood clots passed through his
heart and into his lungs and it
was only after his family
heard him sing after surgery
that they knew he had sur
vived. With a voice range that
covers more than four oc
taves, Merrill Womach has
thrilled countless audiences
with a radiance that causes
listeners to forget the scars
and focus attention upon a
MEETING NOTICE
Thursday, Jan. 13,
there will be a Creative
Arts no-host lunch at the
West of Willow. All
those who are interested
are. asked to attend.
beautiful man whose rise from
the ashes is an inspiration to
all who get to know him.
The filmed true story of
Merrill Womach is the latest
release of Gospel Films, Inc.,
of Muskegon, Mich. It will be
shown in Heppner Sunday
evening, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m.,
during the Community Sing
spiration, which will be held
this month in the Seventh-day
Adventist Church. Everyone
is cordially invited to attend.
Trackers to
take steps
The 4-H Two Tracker Club
now has a total of 15 members
enrolled. A business meeting
in November was followed by
a Christmas party early in
December. Fourteen mem
bers went to the Pioneer
Memorial Hospital to sing
Christmas Carols and give
favors to the elderly people in
the nursing home. Afterward,
club members met at the
annex building, which was
decorated for their Christmas
party. Refreshments, games,
and an exchange of gifts were
enjoyed.
During Christmas vacation,
seven members met with their
leader at the annex building to
make horse blankets.
January activities include
the horse workshop on the
eighth. A business meeting
will be held later in the month.
Also, high school-age 4-H
members have an opportunity
to go on a 3 day trip, Feb. 4-7,
to see both colleges at W.S.C.
anu U. of I.
Sylvia Ladd, Reporter
Summit
Sliced bacon
Full cut
1 lb. pkg
89
Round steak $1.19
lb.
Rump roast $1 .09
lb.
Oranges
Yellow
Onions
Tomatoes
15
lb.
39,1
Nestles
Quik 2 ibs.
Bounce 6o ct. $2.79
$1.69
Oreos
King size
Tide
Nestles
Soup time
Nalley's
Mustard
19 02.
1 6 oz.
S & W
Tuna fish
Schilling
Oregano i 25 oz.
99
$2.19
49
49
59
69
Darigold
Butter , lb
Stereo Inst.
Bouillon
$1.09
39
2'A oz.
Prices effective
Thur., Frl., Sat., Jon. 13. 14, 15
Central
Market
676-9614
676-9288
47A