TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE:
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Published weekly by Sykes Publishing, LLC and entered as periodical matter at the
Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage
paid at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-
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David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher
Andrea Di Salvo ............................................................................................ Editor
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Putman graduates
from basic training
Obituaries
Edward Lucius Bates
Edward Lucius Bates,
95, of Condon, OR died
Friday, July 20, 2017 at
Richland, WA. A funeral
service will be held on
Saturday, July 29, at 10:30
a.m. at the Condon Baptist
Church, with concluding
service and burial to fol-
low at the Condon Masonic
Cemetery.
He was born May 26,
1922 near La Grande, OR.
He was the second of five
children born to Laura
and Thomas Bates. Ed’s
childhood was spent on
his family farm in Union
County. After graduation
from Union High School in
1940, Ed moved to Seattle
where he worked at Boeing,
constructing B-17 “Flying
Fortress” bombers. After
the attack on Pearl Harbor
in 1941, his brothers were
drafted and Ed returned
home to help his father run
their farming operation as
well as managing a neigh-
boring dairy. Sadly, his
brother Earnest was killed
in action.
Ed met the love of
his life at a state Grange
meeting in Baker in 1946.
Lorraine Potter, daughter
of Ralph and Anna Potter
of Condon, was attending
Eastern Oregon College at
La Grande at the time. The
two married six months
U.S. Air Force Airman an intensive, eight-week
James C. Putman graduated program that included
training in military
from basic military
discipline and stud-
training at Joint
ies, Air Force core
Base San Antonio-
values, physical
Lackland, San An-
fitness, and basic
tonio, TX.
warfare principles
Putman is the
and skills.
son of Sandra Point-
Airmen who
er and brother of Airman
complete basic
Weston Putman and James C.
training also earn
Kelsi Putman, all Putman
four credits to-
of Lexington. He
ward an associate -Continued from PAGE ONE
is a 2014 graduate
of Heppner Junior/Senior in applied science degree serving the counters, while
through the Community Farra started as dishwasher
High School.
The airman completed College of the Air Force.
and worked her way up.
“It was cook’s day off,
they shifted me to that, and
I was scared to death,” she
says of her sudden introduc-
tion to life as a short-order
cook. “I got a good educa-
All children ages four through sixth grade are invited tion right there.”
to join Heppner Christian Church for vacation Bible
Meanwhile, the family
school July 31 through Aug. 4 from 6:30-8 p.m.
that owned the restaurant
The theme will be Arctic Express from the Answers where Ida worked also
in Genesis curriculum. VBS leaders invite children to owned a house with a spare
“Come and see how God’s Word can be fun, exciting apartment, which Farra and
and rewarding.”
her sister shared, doing odd
Parents and family members are invited to join the jobs around the home as
children Friday evening for a program and barbecue.
part of their rent.
Farra says she stayed in
that restaurant for several
years. When she left, it was
for a man, John Willian
“Bill” Farra. They married
and moved to Payette, ID,
A car wash to benefit local man Mark Schlichting where Bill worked in his
will be held Saturday, Aug. 5, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in father’s shoe shop while Ida
the Les Schwab parking lot in Heppner. Schlichting has kept house.
been hospitalized for a brain infection, for which he has
After a while, looking
had multiple surgeries. Funds from the car wash will go for a better family wage,
to help with his medical bills; an account in his name has the couple moved to Herm-
also been set up at the Bank of Eastern Oregon.
iston, where he worked
for the Umatilla Chemical
Depot. They next moved to
Vancouver, WA, where Bill
The Morrow County Clerk’s office has released the worked in the shipyards.
That was also where their
following report of marriage licenses:
July 20, 2017: -Daniel Contreras Ortega, 28, of son, Jim, was born.
“We lost one child re-
Boardman and Maria Luisa Corona Nava, 45, of Board-
ally
little, so we only raised
man.
one,”
she says.
-Nathaniel Wade Verley, 19, of Irrigon and Kiana
Soon
after, work at the
Blaze Simbahon, 19, of Irrigon.
shipyards stopped.
later on December 15, 1946
at her parents’ home near
Igo, outside of Condon. In
1948 the couple moved to
Condon where they pur-
chased the Cook Estate
east of town. This purchase
fulfilled the Cook Estates’
directive to establish the
perpetual Cook Scholar-
ship fund, which awards
education funding to local
students annually. It was
here, now known as Bates
Ranches, that their fam-
ily grew to include five
children: Wayne, Bruce,
Shirley, Paul and Dale.
Ed was actively in-
volved in his profession
and his community. He
primarily grew wheat, but
also had a cattle operation
throughout the years. He
was actively involved in
the Cattleman’s Associa-
tion and the Oregon Wheat
League and was honored as
Conservation Man of the
Year in 1977. He received
the honor of being the Gil-
liam County Fair Marshal
in 2014. He also served
the region on the board of
directors for the Columbia
Basin Electric Cooperative
for several years.
The foundation and
compass of Ed’s life, how-
ever, was his Christian faith.
In the summer of 1939, Ed
accepted Jesus Christ as his
Lord and Savior at a sum-
mer camp at Wallowa Lake.
He found “the right to be-
come children of God, even
to those who believe in His
name” to be far too wonder-
ful to refuse (John 1:12).
His steadfast dedication
echoed Joshua 12:15, “As
for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord.” For
the Bateses, this meant ac-
tive engagement in the local
church, as well as nightly
family devotions and prayer
as they raised their children,
and visiting grandchildren.
Ed was involved in the
Condon Baptist Church for
nearly 70 years, serving in a
variety of positions includ-
ing teaching, youth minis-
tries and several decades in
leadership.
Ed’s recreational hob-
bies were varied. He en-
joyed spending time with
his family first and fore-
most and his childhood
passion for horses never
faded. His love of private
aviation started in the early
1950s, and grew into com-
munity service in the Civil
Air Patrol doing search and
rescue, among others. Ed
was always happy to serve
the public by flying those in
need in difficult situations.
When Ed began to transfer
ranch operations to his
son Paul, he and Lorraine
began to enjoy a change
in pace, wintering in the
South as “snowbirds” near
Winterhaven, AZ for over
17 years. When home in
Condon, Ed enjoyed watch-
ing the farming operation
continue to thrive from the
comfort of his living room.
He remained active with his
family and the church right
up to the time of his gradu-
ation to heaven.
Ed is preceded in death
by his parents; brothers,
Elmer and Earnest; and
grandson, Thomas Bates.
He is survived by his
wife, Lorraine, and his five
children and their spouses:
Wayne Bates of Condon,
Bruce and wife Debbie
Bates of Burley, ID, Shirley
and husband Al Burrows
of Condon, Paul and wife
Donna Bates of Condon,
and Dale and wife Sher-
ryl Bates of Heppner. His
legacy also lives on in their
12 grandchildren and 30
great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the Condon
Baptist Church, PO Box
451, Condon, OR 97823 for
a hearing impaired support
system.
Sweeney Mortuary of
Condon is in charge of ar-
rangements.
things going on, too. Ida
recalls that when the freight
came in and couldn’t be
delivered because people
lived out of town, it was
kept at their store. “It would
be like a warehouse,” says
Ida. They also had storage
there for oxygen and acety-
lene. Ida also was a member
of the Degree of Honor and
sold insurance.
When Bill died, Ida,
then in her 50s, didn’t close
up shop.
“When my husband
died, then I’m the shoemak-
er,” she says. “I couldn’t do
all of the work but I could
do a lot of it, and I kept it
running.”
In fact, she kept it run-
ning a good long while,
keeping on even after her
son graduated and left for
the Navy. “It hasn’t been
too many years ago (that I
quit),” she says of closing
down the shop.
When asked what some
of the biggest changes are
that she’s seen in her cen-
tury of living, she shrugs
and says, “Everything al-
ways moved along so fast,
I couldn’t pick out any one
thing.” And it seems she
did keep busy. Aside from
helping with the family
business and raising a son,
archives of the Heppner
Gazette-Times are full of
references to Ida Farra’s
public life—pinochle par-
ties, blue ribbons at the
fair for everything from
sewing to canning to flow-
ers, and serving as a Girl
Scout troop leader, to name
a few. Looking back at ac-
complishment and regrets,
she says her life was far
too busy for any one thing
to stand out.
“There was always
something going on that I
belonged to,” says Farra.
“I just picked up and went
with everything we did.”
And now, when asked
to reflect on a century of
time, her response is a shrug
and a wave of the hands.
What’s her secret? How did
she make it this far?
“One day at a time,”
she says.
An open house in Far-
ra’s honor will be held
Aug. 6 from 2-4 p.m. at the
Heppner United Methodist
Church. Those attending
are asked not to bring gifts,
but everyone is welcome.
IDA FARRA
VBS planned at
Christian Church
Car wash planned to
benefit Schlichting
Marriage Licenses
Upcoming Fund-raisers for
MARK
SCHLICHTING
Fundraisers
for Mark Schlichting
Of Of
Markel
Manufacturing
Markel
Manufacturing
SPAGHETTI FEED
SATURDAY, JULY 29TH
HEPPNER ELKS LODGE
Doors Open 4:00pm Dinner: 6:30pm
ADULTS $10.00 - CHILDREN UNDER 10 $5.00
come early and get your Tickets! Penny Boards Raffles
including Chef Camp Pellet Stove, CZ Over and Under
Shot Gun, Ruger AR-15 Rifle
COUPLES GOLF SCRAMBLE
BENEFIT TOURNAMENT
AUGUST 4TH at Willow Creek County Club
NON Members Welcome.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
CAR WASH
AUGUST 5TH at Les Schwab
Tire Center in Heppner
There is also a bank account set
up at Bank of Eastern Oregon in
Mark’s name for donations
Proceeds do to Mark’s medical expenses. Contact
541-377-0196 or 541-571-6575 for more information
“When the shipyards
quit working—nobody has
jobs,” says Farra.
Of course, Bill still
knew the shoe repair trade.
“We read the paper and
found where the Gontys
were selling their shoe re-
pair shop,” Ida says. They
bought the store in Heppner
from Edmond Gonty in
November of 1945. “And
that’s where we stayed…
for 64 years.”
The Farras first set up
shop in the Case building.
In 1946, they bought the
Casebeer lots on the corner
of Main and Baltimore and
constructed a new store
building there.
Also during their time
in Heppner, Bill volun-
teered for the fire depart-
ment. Without the mod-
ern communication gear
firefighters have now, Ida
found herself working the
phones, taking fire calls
and messages for the fire-
fighters.
While Bill died of a
heart attack in December
of 1968 after fighting a fire,
their time working with
the fire department cre-
ated a bond that still runs
strong, most recently shown
through a “substantial” con-
tribution Ida made in 2014
toward the construction of
Heppner’s new fire hall.
The Farras had other
WEDDING TABLES
RACHEL DEVELTER &
CHRISTOPHER BAILEY
AUGUST 26, 2017
CHRIS SYKES &
WELCOME
RACHEL PARM
MERRY
CHANDLER SEPTEMBER 23, 2017
TO THE
COUNTRY STEPHANIE CUTSFORTH &
TAYLOR HODGES
ROSE!
AUGUST 25, 2017
Shared Ministry to
hold worship in the
park
This Sunday, June 30, the Shared Ministry of Hope
Lutheran Church and All Saints Episcopal Church will
hold its annual outdoor worship service at Hager Park
beginning at 10 a.m. Visiting musicians Gary and Rita
Bowne will lead the singing. This service will include all
the elements of a regular Sunday service but in a more
casual format.
After the service, there will be a barbecue and pot-
luck, and those who attend are invited but not required
to bring meat to grill and a dish to share. Everyone is
welcome.
IDA FARRA’S
100TH BIRTHDAY PARTY
AT HEPPNER METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY AUGUST 6TH
2-4 PM OPEN HOUSE
Ida Turns 100 on
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
August 4th
No Gifts Please
217 North Main St., Heppner • Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.