TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times. Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 19, 2007
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Obituaries
John L. Britt
H eppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U S PS. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
Published weekls and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner,
Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879 Periodical postage paid at Heppner,
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Das id Sy kes.............................................................................................Publisher
Autumn Morgan........................................................................................... Editor
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“Brent’s Team” to participate in
annual Walk to Cure Diabetes
A graveside service
for John L. Britt was held
at 11 a.m. Friday, Septem
ber 14, at the Heppner Ma
sonic Cemetery. A luncheon
follow ed at the M orrow
County Fairgrounds anrd a
bus shuttle was provided
from the fairgrounds to the
cemetery and back.
Mr. B ritt, 69, o f
Heppner died Tuesday, Sep
tember 11, at his home. He
was bom January 15, 1938,
at Fossil, the son o f Clyde
and RJ Younce Britt. He was
raised and attended school
in Fossil.
On February 9, 1970
he married Nella Fackrell at
Winnemueca, Nevada. The
couple lived at Fossil before
moving to Heppner. •
Most o f Mr. Britt’s
life was spent in logging.
He was recognized with
several awards for his log
ging practices. In 1985 the
Oregon Forestry’s Indus
tries Council named him
the Eastern Oregon Opera
tor o f the Year. The award
was based on excellence
in environm ental protec
tion where extra effort was
extended to protect residual
trees, streams and environ
mentally sensitive areas. He
also received awards for his
safety practices.
He was an avid hunt
er and fisherman. During the
summers when not logging
he and his wife spent time
at the Oregon Coast fishing
and relaxing.
He was a member o f
the Heppner Elks Lcidge and
the Willow Creek Baptist
Church.
Survivors include
his wife, Nella Britt o f Hep
pner; sons, Rick Britt o f
Heppner and Rusty Britt
o f Lexington; daughters,
Mindy Britt and Sarah Har
ris both of Heppner; brother,
Robert Britt of Fossil; sister,
Betty Knight o f Portland;
and 13 grandchildren.
M em orial c o n tri
butions may be made to
Pioneer Memorial Hospice,
P.O. Box 9, Heppner, OR
97836 or to the Stable o f
Youth, P.O. Box 884, Hep
pner, OR 97836
Sweeney Mortuary
o f Heppner was in charge
o f arrangements.
Hardman to hold
annual oyster feed
Pictured is the quilt made by Gwen Healy for Brent’s Team
walk for Juvenile Diabetes. -Photo by Sandy Matthews
Brent’s Team is getting ready for the annual “Walk
to Cure Diabetes.” The walk this year will be held Sunday,
September 30 at Oaks Park, located in Portland’s historic
SeWwood District. After the walk, every walker gets a com
plimentary ride bracelet for the Oaks Amusement Park.
This is the sixth year that “Brent's Team” will be
participating in the walk. His team has raised a total of
$33,377.00.
Brent Eckman, a sophomore at Heppner High
School was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 9,
which means he will be insulin-dependent for the rest
o f his life and carries the constant threat o f devastating
complications. Insulin is not a cure, it is merely life sup
port. Brent is active in football, basketball and baseball.
Brent has learned he can do all the same activities as his
friends, however he must always be prepared to treat his
fluctuating blood sugars.
There are three ways you can help make a differ
ence for Brent and everyone living with diabetes: You can
join “Brent’s Team” for the walk. You can register on-line
at ww w.JDRF.org. Be sure to use “Brent’s Team" under the
team name.; You can send a tax-deductible contribution,
made payable to JDRF. Please mail to Brent Eckman, P.O.
Box 463, Lexington, OR 97839.; You can purchase raffle
tickets for a beautiful quilt made by his Grandma Healy.
Tickets are on sale at Heppner TV. The drawing will be
the day o f the walk.
JRDF, the world’s leading nonprofit, nongovern
mental funder o f diabetes research was founded in 1970
by parents o f children w ith Type 1 diabetes. Out o f every
dollar JDRF raises, more than an impressive 85 cents is
channeled directly into diabetes research and education
projects. Thanks in part to JDRF, researchers feel that a
cure is in sight.
With your support. The Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation will continue its mission to find a cure for dia
betes and its complication through the support of research.
With your help, our dream o f a world without diabetes is
within reach.
For more information call, Brent Eckman at 989-
8518 .________________________________________________________
C (¿ o lly -g e e, lo o k a t m e !^
The annual H ard
man Oyster Feed will be
held Saturday, September
29, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30
p.m. The menu consists of
oysters, ham, salmon and
dessert. Advanced tickets
can be purchased for $ 14 for
adults and $7 for children
12 and under. Ticket prices
at the door will be $15 for
adults, $7.50 for children
12 and under, and free for
preschool age children. The
dinner will be prepared and
served by Valby Lutheran
Church.
The Hardman Silent
Auction will begin at 4 p.m.
and will feature something
old and something new.
Hardman is a ghost
town with many o f its old
buildings still intact. The
tow n originated in 1870
and had its first school in
1879, in an area then called
D airyville. Locals in the
community also gave the
town the handle o f “ Red
Dog.” Another town sprang
up a mile away and it was
called “Yaller D og.” The
two communities were unit
ed when David Hardman
applied to have a post office
in 1882. The application was
approved, but it came back
as Hardman, Oregon. Some
residents also referred to the
new town as “Dog Town.”
The two prospered
w ith over 300 resid en ts
and was the main stop over
for the freight line and was
the “Stage” route from The
Dalles to Canyon City. The
town boasted three hotels,
a post office, livery stables,
grocery store and an assort
ment of saloons.
For more informa
tion contact Gene and Kathy
Bolin at 422-0764 or Shirley
Palmer at 676-9730.
Book-Bear & Chair Auction to be held
Friends o f the Heppner Library, along with the
Voc/Ag Department o f the Heppner High School, will be
holding a Book-Bear & Chair auction on September 29 at
6:30 p.m. at the high school.
Starting this week, items can be previewed and pre
bid on. Local merchants in Heppner will be showcasing
the items along with a pre-bid sheet. The chairs have all
been donated and range from bear benches to adult porch
rockers. The bears range from Boyd Bears to some very
expensive Cartier limited edition bears.
Also for auction are several autographed books by
some very famous authors that are to be displayed in the
Artisan Village window at the comer of Main and Willow.
Just a few o f the books are Janet Evanovich (Plum Lovin),
Mary Higgins Clark (I Heard That Song), and Diana
Gabaldon (Lord John and the Private Matter).
For more information or to pre-bid on any o f the
books call Diann Nagel at 676-5522.
Spaghetti feed to benefit JDRF
From Australia to Heppner
Pictured are John and Jackie C rocker from Esperance, Western
Australia with Claudia Hughes.
“Just a phone call
aw ay.” That m ight have
been the thought process
behind a call to the Heppner
Chamber o f Commerce in
1990 from Jackie Crocker
o f B alladonia Station in
West A ustralia. John and
Jackie C rocker had been
to W yom ing w here they
had purchased a H orner
saddle, made in Heppner
in the late 1800’s, and were
researching its history. Clau
dia H ughes, then at the
Chamber, responded with
information found in past
Morrow County Chronicles.
Thus began a seventeen year
off-and-on correspondence
resulting in the September
2007 visit to Heppner and
the Hughes Ranch.
The C rockers left
Esperance, West Australia.,
on September 3, stopped in
Hawaii, San Francisco, and
Weed, enroute to Heppner;
and then on to Nelson B.C,
Montana, Texas, Washing
ton D.C., Nevada, and back
to San Francisco October 13
to return to down under.
W hile in the area,
C rockers stayed in B ut
ter Creek and Ukiah with
Merlin and Claudia Hughes,
toured cattle and tim ber
operations on 4-wheelers,
and spent a morning in the
corrals helping work cattle.
A visit to Heppner included
a tour, the Flood Memorial
on Cem etery Hill, shops,
and Bucknuin’s Bar where
the H orner saddle maker
may have imbibed prior to
the flood when his saddlery
shop was destroyed. Fol
lowing lunch, the Crockers
were escorted to the Mor
row C ounty M useum by
Cliff Green, museum board
member, who gave them
a tour and assisted with
saddle research. In addition
to his saddle collection, John
Crocker has an amazing col
lection o f guns, bugle and
knives, some dating back to
the Civil War. Visits to the
U.S. have been to authen
ticate the collection with
photos, data, signatures,
gravesite visits, etc. (Should
any readers have history to
contribute to the museum
files on the Homer saddle or
have one in their possession,
that information would be
appreciated.)
In P en d leto n , the
C rockers experienced the
Professional Bull Riding,
returned to Hamley’s where
John had ordered a saddle in
1970 and visited the Woolen
Mills. Interestingly enough,
their search for made-in-the
USA products was a bit dif
ficult.
A spaghetti and meatball dinner will be held at lone
School this Friday night from 4:30-6:30 p.m. (or while
supplies last.) Condon Grade School plays lone Middle
School in the afternoon and then the Condon-Wheeler
teams play the high school teams in the evening. Proceeds
from this dinner will benefit JDRF, the Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation.
JDRF is a leader in Type 1 Diabetes research.
Divorces
Beth’s Buddies, the lone team supporting Beth Morter,
-Robin Ann Bred-
will take the proceeds with them to the Walk To Cure
field and H arold Adam
Diabetes on September 30. The cost is $5 per person with
Bredfield filed for divorce
a child's portion available for $3.50. Dinner includes the
on September 10.
main course, salad, bread and a drink.
1 0 % OFF PARTS A N D LABOR
through February, 2008
We also have special financing:
six months no interest, no payments on $1,500 or more of
Case IH parts and service from Sept. 1, 2007 through Dec. 31, 2007
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396 F«r farm M)ulpffl«iL vlilt our »«bait« at »«w men 0 «t
I
Differences and like
nesses are always one of the
jo y s o f m eeting visitors
from another country. Com
monalities were comparing
raising cattle and ranching,
having sons and daughters
o f the same ages, sense of
humor and sharing inter
ests. Water is not in surplus
in W estern A ustralia and
while Oregonians feel it’s
very dry here, the visitors
were continually amazed
at the sources o f water. In
Western Australia, water is
collected in barrels and re
cycled. American ranchers
have pastures where cattle
are rotated for grazing and
Australians have paddocks.
Problems running into deer
with vehicles is common
in eastern Oregon while in
Australia kangaroos require
roo guards on v eh icles.
John Crocker could attest
to the fact that one doesn’t
want to hit a kangaroo on a
motorcycle. While horses
and oxen were once used in
Oregon for farming; camels
were used at the 400,000
acre B alladonia Station.
Southern Oregon has wild
horses, while one sees wild
camels in southern Austra
lia. Proof of this was in the
amazing photos o f oil paint
ings by John's very talented
mother. Some 300 oils tell
the story of the station from
camels hauling wool wag
ons, to insects, to a treasured
cattle dog that appears so
real one could reach out and
touch it.
The Crockers have
moved to Esperance, where
wheat, sheep, cattle, fishing
and forestry provide the
economy. Tourism is mov
ing slowly but the snow-
w hite beaches and aqua
w ater draw visitors. The
Heppner visitors continue
to raise polled Herefords on
400 acres. Jackie works in a
department, finalizing real
estate sales. As Americans
move into fall, it’s spring in
Australia. The Hughes’ are
grateful that responding to
a quest for Heppner saddle
history turned into a friend
ship. The H eppner hosts
wish the Crockers well as
they pursue their hobbies
and adventures and hope
their paths will cross again
one day.
“Four days were not
long enough to learn all we
hoped from our visitors, but
‘no worries,' we had a good
shot at it,” commented the
Hughes. In the meantime,
Claudia says she may be
looking at all specials on air
fare to Australia.
Lexington’s class
o f ’57 to hold
reunion
The Lexington Jack-
rabbit's class o f 1957 will
hold their 50,h class reunion
on Saturday, S eptem ber
22, at 12:30 p.m. at the
Lexington School yard. A
potluck picnic will be held
and all former Jackrabbits
or anyone else interested in
attending is invited.