Heppner Gazette-Times. Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 11,2009 - THREE
Pucker up for Heppner’s own “blarney” rock
Wee bit o’.
By Claudia Hughes
‘Tis sure, the rolling
hills of Heppner are turning
green and Leprechauns are
appearing to soak up the
rays. The little “big-headed
people,” as Mayor Les Paus-
tian describes them , are
scurrying hither and yon
to once again prepare for
“A Wee Bit O ’ Ireland in
Heppner, O regon” March
12-15.
T h e I r is h f a m
ily flags are flying on Main
Street. The flags recognize
the family from Ireland who
settled in County Morrow in
the 1800’s, and those who
continue to choose Heppner
over Ireland. One o f those
flags is a Sw eeney flag.
Heppner’s 2009 Irish hon-
oree, Patrick Sweeney and
family, will be recognized
at the traditional K.UMA
Coffee Hour on Saturday
morning, March 14, at the
Elks, and will be leading
the Great Green Parade that
afternoon.
O ther annual Irish
events returning because
“it’s tradition” will be the
Saturday afternoon Ceili
or Ceileigh upstairs at the
Elks from 2-4 p.m. As al
w ays, The Irish Singers,
who have been part o f Hep
pner’s celebration for nearly
30 years, will have front and
center stage with announce
Michael Duffy at the mike.
John Doherty and The Irish
Singers from 2-2:20 p.m.
and 3:30-4 p.m.; Joe Lind
say and Company (Ann and
Luke M urray) from 2:25-
2:45 p.m.; Will Homyak, the
Irish storyteller and musi
cian from 2:50-3 p.m.; and
Dan and Annie Monahan
Schauffler will be sharing
their talent3:05-3:25 p.m.
As the Irish and Irish-for-a-
day audience will tell you,
“ the afternoon turns out
to be a fine foot stompin’,
sentimental, and humorous
jam session, not to mention
Irish reunion.”
All musical enter
tainment is free to the public,
thanks to the generous sup
port o f the Morrow County
Unified Recreation District.
The Saturday evening finale
features choices: storyteller
and musician Will Homyak
and Heppner grown Lindy
Gravelle at the Heppner El
ementary School or the Old
Time Fiddlers at the Morrow
County Fairgrounds.
Visitors are encour
aged to take in the many
festiv ities, both old and
new in downtown Heppner,
including the Sheepdog Tri
als at the Thompson Ranch
on Highway 74. ‘Tis a sport
in itself and tribute to the
early Irish sheepmen. Other
sports would be boxing and
the Motorcross, not to men
tion the eating m arathon
all around town. For a full
schedule o f events, visit
www.heppnerchamber.com;
check out your newspaper;
or call the Heppner Cham
ber at 541-676-5536.
“Heppnerites invite
you to join in the fun, food,
and shenanigans for all ages
and all interests. The com
munity would be thankin’ all
the visitors and ye behind-
the-scenes leprechauns who
keep the celebration going
with new and traditional
events each years. Have a
great green “ Irish w eek
end.”
Tribute Walk to be held Saturday
The Donna Schon-
bachler Tribute and Walk
will beheld March 14begin-
ning with a social hour from
8:30-9:30 a.m. at Heppner
United Methodist Church.
The walk will leave from the
church at 9:30 a.m.
Breakfast treats and
coffee will be provided for
the social hour by various
volunteers.
Schonbachler was
a H eppner Home H ealth
Hospice nurse who worked
th ro u g h o u t M orrow and
Gilliam Counties. She lost
her battle with cancer last
April.
In conjunction with
the social hour and walk, a
Home Health and Hospice
fundraiser is ongoing with
all contributions from this
event to stay in M orrow
County.
T-shirts that were
pre-ordered or ordered on-
line will be at the church.
The t-shirt company is will-
ing to order more if there
is an interest of 12 or more
after Saturday.
The walk is open to
anyone wishing to partici-
pate,
Anyone wishing to
make a donation can do
so to P ioneer M em orial
Home Health and Hospice,
P.O. Box 9, Heppner, OR
97836.
Senior Center Menu
One observer on the
street last Saturday morn
ing opined, “I think it was a
leprechaun! A big one, but a
leprechaun, for sure! He had
red hair, twinkling eyes, a
mischievous smile.”
A nd th e “ le p r e
chaun” did deliver som e
thing that looks like it could
have come straight from
Ireland.
So the observer on
the street’s assessment might
be as good an explanation as
any for the appearance o f the
“blarney” rock between the
post office and Hayden Den
tistry, were it not for some
delving into the mystery.
Further in v estig a
tion has id en tified Ryan
Miller as the gift-giver of
the huge boulder requested
by a representative o f the St.
Patrick's Weekend Commit
tee. This donation by Miller
adds another Irish facsimile
to enhance the atmosphere
o f the celebration and, pos
sibly, to create a wee source
of revenue for the coffers.
“Many o f our visi
tors cannot go to Ireland,
where they might kiss the
Blarney Stone, but now they
can kiss Heppner’s rock with
hopes o f being granted the
gift o f eloquence,” a com
mittee member explained.
“ We hope that everyone
this w eekend will give it
a try and hope everyone
will make a donation to our
fund for this one-of-a-kind
Oregon experience.”
In e x p lain in g the
origin of the term “blarney,”
online sources generally
offer the following: During
the time o f Queen Eliza
i . .?
Everyone is welcome to attend a “Homecom
ing,” a new stage production, on Thursday this week
in Heppner.
This year's Thursday production at the St.
Patrick Parish Hall will begin with dessert served by
the St. Patrick Altar Society at 7 p.m. The one-act
play “ Homecoming” will begin at approximately
7:20 p.m.
This year’s play written by Fr. Gerry Condon
is different from his five previous scripts in that the
action occurs in a contemporary setting. Another new
feature in this year’s production is the plot transition
that reflects co-writer Joe Lindsay’s innovation, a
twist that takes the Heppner Grand Hotel visitors into
another realm.
The stage presentation is free to the public.
Freewill donations will be given to a local, charitable
organization that the cast and crew will select.
Red Hat Rowdies plan trip
to Richland tea garden
^ Muuu|ï D/uuj
NEW ARRIVALS!
s t P at.#
daily!
WEEKEND HOURS
Jared E c k m a n &
T rish a A d a m s
Saturday, May Qth
5 :0 0 p.m.
Ru ays Ranch
ing at the senior center at
9:45 a.m. and will depart
promptly at 10 a.m. to ar
rive in time for the noon
reservation.
The cost for each in
dividual will be $12.95 plus
tax. The tea includes three
tier servers with finger sand
wiches and/or mini quiches,
scones, pastries, desserts,
clotted cream, lemon curd
and large pots of tea.
If the group would
like some time for shop
ping after tea, time will be
scheduled. The bus should
be back in Heppner no later
than 5 p.m.
silver screen have joined
the m illions o f pilgrim s
climbing the steps to kiss
the Blarney Stone and gain
the gift o f eloquence. Its
powers are unquestioned
but its story still creates de
bate. Legends offer at least
four sources for the stone
that is a block o f bluestone
built into the battlements o f
Blarney Castle, about eight
kilometers from Cork.
Once upon a time,
prior to the installation o f
safeguards, the kiss was
performed with real risk to
life and limb, as participants
were grasped by the ankles
and dangled bodily over the
battlements. In the Sherlock
Holmes radio dramatization
“The Adventure o f the Blar
ney Stone” (first broadcast
March 18, 1946) a man at
tempting to kiss the Blarney
Stone falls to his death. Hol
mes’s investigation reveals
Tricycle race to be held Saturday
A tricy cle race is
scheduled as part o f the St.
Patrick's weekend in Hep-
pner All children ages two
through five are encour-
aged to participate in this
free event sponsored by the
Heppner Day Care and Pre-
school board o f directors.
The race w ill be held
on Saturday. It w ill be in the
parking area o f the Bank
Plan to attend the second annual Irish Boxing
Smoker sponsored by Heppner Chamber of Commerce and
UROCK Radio on Friday, March 13, at the Heppner High
School gymnasium, starting at 8 p.m. Doors will open at 7
p.m. Admission is $ 10 for adults through 12 years of age;
$5 for 11 -8 years o f age and free for 7 and under.
There will be a shuttle bus pick-up and drop-off
stop in front o f Heppner Family Foods beginning at 6:45
p.m. and will make return trips until all riders are picked
up.
Hornyak to speak at
Chamber lunch meeting
Will Hornyak will
be the guest speaker at this
w e e k 's C h am b er lunch
meeting. Homyak is one of
the main entertainers for the
Wee Bit O ’ Ireland event.
Lunch will be served
Willow Creek
Park District to
meet
The Willow Creek
Park D istrict will hold a
regular park district meet
ing on March 31 at Heppner
City hall at 5p.m.
look lor labol marked “Warning" and "Danger
Turn Them In!
Saturday May 09.2009 Located at the Nonhead Transfer Station. Boardman
1:00p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Reward for turning in Mercury Thermometers
DEQ
l
- a
o f Eastern Oregon imme-
diately after the 1 p.m. Big
Green Parade. Tricycles w ill
be furnished,
The racers will be
grouped into a tw o-and-
three-year-olds bracket and
into a four-and-five-year-
olds bracket.
Prizes will be award-
ed for the top three places in
each of the brackets.
Second annual Irish Boxing
Smoker... getting ready to rumble
Your Household Hazardous Waste
^Friday & Saturday 7-7
Sunday 10-4
Wedding Tables
beth I, Dermot McCarthy,
the ruler of Blarney Castle,
was required to surrender
his fortress to the Queen as
proof of his loyalty. He said
he would be delighted to do
so, but something always
happened at the last moment
to prevent his surrender. His
excuses became so frequent
and indeed so plausible that
the official who had been
demanding the castle in the
name o f the Queen became
a joke at the Court. Once,
when the eloquent excuses
o f McCarthy were repeat
ed to the Queen, she said,
“Odds bodikins, more Blar
ney talk!” The term Blarney
has thus come to mean the
ability to influence and coax
with fair, clever, flattering
words and soft speech with
out giving offense.
For over 200 years,
world statesm en, literary
giants, and legends o f the
“Homecoming” to be
held Thursday
Hope/Valby/All Saints church members will be
serving lunch on Wednesday, March 18. The menu will
The H eppner Red
include corned beef and cabbage, boiled potatoes, carrots
Hat Rowdies will meet on
and onions, fruit juice, bread and cake.
March 19 at noon at Sweet
Productions for lunch and
a brief meeting. The main
r t f
topic of the meeting is to
finalize the plans for a trip
INC.
to a Richland, WA tea room
217 North Main • Heppner • Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426
for high tea.
Serving Heppner, Lexington & lone
The trip to the Victo
rian Tea Garden is scheduled
for Thursday, April 9. Res
ervations for this trip must
be made ahead o f time by
calling
Sally Walker at 676-
s w e a t s h ir t s & F u n
9 112. There will only be 20
seats available on the bus,
a r r iv , n % r >
t h in g s t o w e a r
so it will be first come, first
serve until April 2.
The bus will be load
ST. M T R IC K ’S
ghamrocK
plants
Ryan Miller of Miller <& Sons donated and delivered rocks to their
locations in Heppner. The “blarney” rock is located between the
Post Office and Hayden Dentistry. The other rocks are located at
the Henry Heppner plaque. -Contributed Photos
this as a murder; the man’s
boots having been surrepti
tiously greased before the
attempt.
In actual fact, ac
cording to an Irish informa
tion website, one day a visi
tor broke from the grasp of
his friends and went hurtling
downward to certain death.
Since that time the stone
has been kissed by another
method. First, the persons
sit w ith their backs towards
the stone and then som e
one sits upon their legs or
firmly holds their feet. Next,
leaning far back and down
ward into the abyss while
grasping the iron rails, the
persons lower themselves
until their heads are even
w ith the stone to be kissed.
(H eppner’s source of Irish
eloquence will be easier to
kiss, either on one's back
on the ground or simply
by standing and bending
down.)
The rew ards from
the kiss are said to be great.
Some people who might
want to kiss the rock this
weekend: those participants
in the Brogue Contest at
the KUMA Coffee Hour on
Saturday morning. Trying
to persuade that “certain
someone” to go on a date?
A kiss of the Rock couldn’t
hurt. Though this is not an
election year, H eppner's
visiting politicians might
benefit from a kiss o f the
rock. The list goes on and
on, and the Weekend Com
mittee hopes that the line of
kissers willing to pucker up
and donate to help keep this
celebration going next year
will go on and on, too.
. safe, digital thermometer!
at noon and he may do his
entertaining during the meal.
The cost for the meal is $9
and will be held at John's
Place on Main Street.
St. Patrick’s Senior
Center Breakfast.
Ham, Scrambled Eggs,
Biscuits & Gravy,
Fruit and Juice
$ 6.00
Saturday, March 14th
7 a.m. *10 a.m.
m
s
’Design
’Set up
’Maintenance
Heppner
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