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!
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Serving Morrow-Gilliam County
& surrounding areas
• 24 Hr Service
Licensed & Bonded
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Septic tanks pumped, residential & Commercial
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‘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