Hermiston herald., February 14, 2015, Image 16

A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2015
FROM PAGE A1
BOOKS:
continued from page A1
ing skills.”
Frink said fourth-grade
teacher Erin Andreason
initially posed the idea of
a living wax museum after
hearing about it through
Storyline, a teaching meth-
od used in the past where
students are encouraged
to come up with their own
CRAWFORDS:
continued from page A1
this week.
LOCAL
BEGINNINGS
Delmer and Francine
Crawford grew up in
Ione together and were
acquaintances for many
years. The two actually
didn’t start dating until
after Delmer Crawford
came back from serving
in the Navy in World War
II.
He served from 1944
to 1946 and was in Oki-
nawa, Japan, when the
government signed the
papers signifying that the
war was over.
Almost
immediately
after returning home to
Ione, Crawford joined his
family at a local dance the
community hosted reg-
ularly each week. Upon
entering the room, he
met eyes with his broth-
er, who reconnected him
with Francine.
“That was the first
time I had seen her in a
couple of years,” he said,
smiling. “She had grown
up a whole bunch.”
As months went by, the
two started meeting more
frequently, and Crawford
formally started courting
Francine. Delmer Craw-
ford said he would pick
her up, and they would go
to the local themed com-
munity dances. Then, on
April 22, 1949, the couple
took their relationship to
the next level by marry-
ing.
“We decided that was
what we ought to do,”
Delmer Crawford said.
A LONG LIFE
TOGETHER
After getting married,
the Crawfords changed
career paths a couple of
times. At first, Delmer
Crawford was work-
ing for a farmer in a job
that paid about $250 per
month while Francine
was a banker’s secretary
at First National Bank in
Heppner, making $100 a
month.
“I thought that was a
lot of money back then,”
Francine Crawford said.
A few years later,
Delmer Crawford took a
job for the county road
department in Heppner,
followed by positions
at two grain companies.
Crawford then worked for
a time at a family farm
means of examining what is
being studied.
“What is great about this
is it is fun and educational,”
Frink said. “Each student
reads four books or more
and then picked their favor-
ite character from one of
the books they read. They
came up with a speech and
presented that speech with
one prop.”
Andreason said what is
great about the activity is
that it allows the students to
portray their favorite char-
acters in a low-stress envi-
ronment.
“It is a culminating ac-
tivity to share what they
have learned,” she said.
Of the students present-
ing Thursday, many said
they picked their characters
because they felt a person-
al connection with them.
Fourth-grader Lilly Men-
doza said she chose char-
acter Savannah Drysdale
from “Swindle” because
she worked with animals.
“I am an animal lover,
and she is a dog whisper-
er,” she said. “I found to
have something in com-
mon with her.”
Arceo said he chose
his character because of
shared personality traits
and physical appearance.
“I really loved the mov-
ie and the book,” he said.
“In the movie, he has the
same color of skin I have
… I also act a lot like him.
Our personalities are simi-
lar. He’s adventurous, and
I am adventurous, too.
He’s also a little bossy like
me.”
Smalley said, by watch-
ing their peers portray
characters from the Battle
of the Books selections,
she hopes other students
will become motivated to
read some of those books,
helping them become bet-
ter readers and inspiring
in them a love for reading
they will pursue outside of
school.
She said she thought
Thursday’s event was a
nice start.
“It is quite a popular
attraction,” Smalley said.
“Normally libraries ar-
en’t this noisy, but, in this
case, it is OK.”
when he and Francine de-
cided to move to Hermis-
ton.
“Shell Oil had a bulk
plant in Hermiston,” he
said. “I ended up buying
the owner out and took
the business over on May
1, 1961. I operated that
for 27 and a half years.”
During that time, the
Crawfords raised three
daughters, Marlene, Ani-
ta and Cyndee. Delmer
said raising their family,
as well as their undying
faith, were crucial in hav-
ing such a successful re-
lationship.
“Francine was a Sun-
day school teacher for a
long time,” he said. “We
always attended church
on Sunday. That helps
you hang in there and get
along.”
Delmer’s career with
Shell also allowed the
couple to travel, taking a
trip together nearly every
year as a reward for doing
so well in sales. The cou-
ple visited Hawaii mul-
tiple times, Mexico and
they even won a trip that
took them around Europe.
The couple also took
cruises, including through
the Panama Canal and to
Alaska, although Fran-
cine enjoyed the cruises
more than her husband.
“On one of them,
Delmer said he was going
to jump over board he was
so tired of it, but we had
fun with them,” Francine
Crawford said laughing.
One of their favorite
memories together comes
from when they took a
cruise from Florida to
visit multiple locations,
she said. While on the
cruise, couples put to-
gether a routine, and, af-
ter dinner, they competed
to determine who had the
best show. The Crawfords
and a few other couples
performed a routine as
“cowboys and Indians,”
where they sang songs
and hooped and hollered.
“By golly, we won it,”
Delmer Crawford said.
Francine said the oc-
casion was more enjoy-
able than they could have
imagined.
“We had a ball,” she
said.
HARDSHIPS AND
TRIALS
Both have also battled
health conditions. Delmer
said he has had both hips
replaced and a pace mak-
er installed. Francine had
a stroke about 10 years
ago and has had a knee
replacement. The cou-
ple, however, haven’t
let health problems keep
them apart.
The Crawfords said an-
other thing that has made
their relationship so suc-
cessful is they have always
worked together as part-
ners in all aspects of life.
While Delmer worked
at Shell, Francine was
his lead bookkeeper. The
couple also made all of
their decisions togeth-
er throughout their more
than 65 years of marriage.
“I don’t know how to
explain it,” Delmer said.
“We just worked together
on everything.”
Even though their mar-
riage has lasted longer
than most, the Crawfords
said their relationship
hasn’t been without its
trials.
The Crawfords lost
their daughter, Cyndee, to
cancer several years ago.
“It is a wound that will
never heal,” Delmer said.
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CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Hermiston couple Delmer and
Francine Crawford pose for
a photo at an Elks function
several years ago. The cou-
ple are celebrating their 65th
Valentine’s Day together as a
married couple today.
MAEGAN MURRAY PHOTO
Hermiston resident Francine Crawford decorates a tree for
each holiday. She recently set it up with a Valentine’s Day
theme. This year for the holiday, she and her husband, Delmer,
will spend their 65th Valentine’s Day together as a married
couple.
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