Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 1995)
a Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September • 20, 1995 - THREE Rrehls sell R & W Drive-In By April Hilton-Sykes Tom and Helen Riehl will leave a big hole in the com munity after their move to the Portland area. But fortunately, a whole family has moved to Heppner to help fill that gap. The Riehls, longtime owners of the R & W Drive-In in Hepp ner, have sold the restaurant to Alex and Patricia “ P atty" R ystedt from th e Bend- Redmond area. The Rystedts' daughter, Carol Hollis, her husband, Scott, and their children, Brian, 17, Tasha, 11, and Cody, six, have also mov ed to Heppner to help operate the restaurant. The Riehls bought the R & W in 1981 from Rita and Wayne Harris, who had bought the restaurant from his parents. The Riehls m oved from Portland, where Helen had worked for U.S. National Bank off and on for 17 years and Tom worked 17 years for Hyster Company. The Riehl family came to H eppner because they wanted a small community to raise their children, Rick, Bob and T.R., then 14, 13 and seven. In addition to raising their own children, Tom, and Helen feel like they had a part in help ing raise the com m unity's children, because so many of them spent so much time at the . Drive-In, either as customers or as employees. Helen taught m any an entry-level high * school employee. “ It has been t Helen and Tom Riehl a challenge, but far more rewarding than a challenge a majority of the time. I love it when my ex-school kids come in and say 'h i'," says Helen. “ It's like having your own kids grow up and come back to visit. I en jo y ed h elp in g them through their first jobs and see ing them make successes out of their lives." The Riehls made sure that area kids had a chance to be successful-by stressing the im portance of reading. Tom and Helen began a program which offered drive-in treats as incen tives to read. If a child read a certain number of books and completed required reports, that child earned a certifícate for an ice cream, pop or other treat to redeem at the drive-in. The Riehls conducted their Come Share With Us at Willow Creek Baptist Church Bible Study for all ages 2 p.m. Worship Service 3 p.m. Meeting in the 7th Day Adventist Church 560 North Minor Could this little girl be 40 ?? Sept. 22 Happy Birthday From all of us! Roger Britt Septic Service Serving Morrow-Gilliam County & surrounding areas • 24 Hr Service Licensed & Bonded #37316 DEQ approved 676-5096 • Rt. 2 Box 2060 • Heppner, OR Septic tanks pumped, residential & Commercial Your local septic service ‘We appreciate your business, hopefully you appreciate ours ” reading program through the schools for around nine years. Helen also organized a food drive for Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets. Cub Scouts, St. Patrick's youth group members and school athletes helped pick up the food and the Neighborhood Center distributed it. Helen says that she “ stole” many of her ideas from bigger com munities. “ Whatever big com munities could do, we could do b e tte r ," la u g h ed H elen. For seven or eight years Tom and their sons gave area kids a healthy activity by operating a roller skating rink on weekends at the fairgrounds. “ Tom always enjoyed being called the skate m an," says Helen. “ He helped the little girls tie their laces and now they've grown into young ladies." Besides helping kids with their laces, the Riehls lent a sympathetic ear to teenagers who came in the R & W after hours just to sit and talk. The race cars that Rick and Bob built were a big draw to area teens, says Helen. “ Everyone came in. It was a community pro ject." The boys raced their cars in Hermiston at the race track for around three years. A cou ple who were race fans even called on Helen to be a witness at their wedding. The couple had come to Heppner to get married at the Morrow Coun ty Courthouse, but they didn't know anyone in town to act as a witness. They remembered the Riehls from the Hermiston race track and called the drive- in and, of course, Helen came through in a pinch. H unters passing through often got a helping hand at the R & W or found haven at the Riehls' mountain cabin. “ We loaned hunters everything from ketchup bottles to an alarm clock," said Helen. “ We had people sleep in our trailer and our cabin. It's a communi ty w here you can extend yourself. It's never been a regret. There's a bond and a sense of trust and loyalty in Heppner I d o n 't know if you can find anywhere else. I'm really going to miss that part of it." Helen says that her sons have been grateful for the oppor tunities they were able to get in Heppner that they might not have had in a larger communi ty. She said that T.R. especial M orrow County Health District "StoMng to provide County, residents u nth access to a ju## specfrum o¿ quality medica# seMees” Pioneer Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home 564 E. Pioneer Dr. Heppner, OR 97836 676-9133 Pioneer Memorial Clinic Thompson Ave. Heppner, OR 97836 676-5504 Boardman Health Care Center 203 Kincade Rd.. SW Boardman, OR 97818 481-7212 i Morrow County Emergency Medical Services Call 911 L-R: Scott and Carol Hollis and Petty and Alex Rystedt ly commented on his participa tion in sports and leadership activities. “ In large schools you don't always get those oppor tunities," she says. Helen says that her faith is also an important aspect of her life in Heppner. She is a member of St. Patrick's parish and a member of the altar guild. She also chaperoned her church's youth group on a two- week trip to Rome. Other activities she enjoyed in Heppner were walking and those too few escapes to the family's cabin on the edge of Black Mountain. Lately, how ever she has spent most of her weekends in Portland where Tom has worked for the past four or five years at Precision Cast Parts. A big draw of the Portland area is the couple's grandchildren. Rick has two ch ild ren , Tyler, six, and Theresa, one, and Bob has three children, Julianne, five, Laura, three, and David, two. “ We left Portland to raise our kids and now we're going back to Portland to help raise our g randkids," laughed Tom. “ But my heart is in Heppner and it will always be in H epp n er." Tom has eight brothers and sisters in the Portland area and Helen has 10 siblings there. T.R. is in Japan in the Air Force. Helen, 52, says that in addi tion to being available for the grandchildren, she plans to get a job. She adds that since she is moving to Portland, Tom, 51, may be able to devote more time to his tractor business. The Riehls welcome visitors at their home in Portland, 15934 S.E. Clay, phone 252-6350. New owner Patty Rystedt, 53, has had a long career in the restaurant business. Working 17 years at the Tom Tom restaurant, which is similar to a truck stop, in the Bend- Redmond area, Patty knows the cooking end of the business inside and out. Her husband, Alex, 55, worked at a mill and also has some cattle. The Rystedts had been look ing for a restaurant for several months when a friend in Spray told them about the R & W. They liked what they saw and decided to pick up and move. Alex wanted some acreage for his cows, but hasn't been able to find anything in the area. Although he planned to stay at their home until it was sold, he says he may move to Heppner sooner. The R ystedts' daughter, Carol, 35, and son-in-law, Scott G e n u i n e 32, bought a house in Heppner near the courthouse. Their son, Brian, is hom e-schooled. Daughter Tasha is enrolled in the sixth grade at Heppner Elementary and son Cody is in the first grade. The Rystedts have another daughter, Angel, 28, who lives in Portland. The R ystedt fam ily are members of the Christian Life Center. The Rystedts plan some Odd Fellow lodge has steak dinner Dale Horton (left) and Jerry Hollomon By Delpha Jones Willows Odd Fellow lodge held a steak dinner at their hall on Wednesday evening honor ing the State Grand Master of Oregon, Dale Horton and his wife, Pat. Approximately 10 in vited guests attended from Lex ington. Steaks were cooked by Rollie Marshall. Following the dinner, Horton gave a talk on the aspects and works of the O dd Fellow lodges, including the Arthritis Fund; Friendship House; the Living Legacy (planting of trees); eye bank research which finances a chair at the school in New York and the U.N. Pil grimage for Youth. Morrow County has had several win ners in the past from local schools. Locally, help is given w hen needed, such as dinners for bereaved families, baskets for the needy and many other things. Pat Horton was remembered as she had at one time been p resid en t of the Rebekah Lodges of Oregon. Each of the grand masters and presidents have a project each year. This year they are stressing the educational loan fund, the Oregon Eye Program and the Arthritis Foundation. Their flower is the sunflower and there was fun in selling neckties, some with large and C h e v r o l e t "1; Remember when your word was your Bond. - You sealed a deal with a handshake - That's still the way we do business today. COMFORTABLE • TRUSTFULL • HONEST • CARING Pioneer Memorial Home Health Agency “Serving all of Morrow and Gilliam and parts of Wheeler Counties” 564 E. Pioneer Dr., Heppner, OR 97836 676-9133 Boardman Dental Office 300 Dillabaugh St. Boardman, OR 97818 481-9311 'th 0»*'’ Heppner Dental Office 1st Interstate Bank'Bldg. Heppner, OR 97836 676-9118 changes at the R & W. They will be open Mondays and plan to shorten Sunday hours, opening around 1 p.m. They are also opening weekdays at 6 a.m., offering breakfast until 10:30 a.m. Breakfast fare will include bacon, eggs, ham, link sausage, pancakes and French toast. Patty says that if it goes well, they will expand their breakfast menu. The Largest Volume Chevy Truck Dealer in Eastern Oregon SHERRELL CHEVROLET Hermiston, Oregon 1-800-567-6487 New Car Sales Used Car Center 567-6488 567-3919 small sunflowers. The presi dents and grand masters pins are sold to help finance these projects. The Oregon Rebekah presi dent will visit Lexington Oct. 14. The meeting will be held in H eppner as the Lexington lodge needs some repair work. Four lodges will take part in the district meeting. Irene Swanson has visitors John Swanson and his wife, Kathy, from Redding, CA, were w eekend visitors to Heppner to visit his mother, Irene Swanson, and family. Insurance companies are jeopardizing the quality of your health care. Don’t let an insurance company make that choice for you! Support your community pharmacy. Join our protest September 20 at High Noon. We w ill be taking part In a national day o f protest against unfair health in surance practices that are u n de rm in ing the quality o f your pharmacy care. Our lights w ill be turned off at our noon in support o f this protest. ^Munuuj'i Dtuq 217 North Mam H r ) i| m m
