WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A17
WATERMELON
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY MARK MORGAN
Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann À nished second in the seed-
spitting contest to Councilor Doug Primmer, out distancing Portland
Mayor Charlie Hales, Commissioner Dan Saltzman.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY MARK MORGAN
ERIC MORTENSON/EO MEDIA GROUP
Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann exults after spitting a watermelon seed more than 300 inches at the melon and potato giveaway
in downtown Portland on Friday. Drotzmann À nished second to Hermiston City Councilor Doug Primmer.
State Rep. Greg Smith and Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann
help hand out bags of potatoes Friday, July 31, in Pioneer
Courthouse Square in Portland. Smith and Drotzmann were part
of the Eastern Oregon contingent passing out produce from
local growers, including Hermiston watermelons.
Return to tradition
Hermiston contingent takes over
Portland’s living room for a sweet
summer goodwill mission
By ERIC MORTENSON
EO Media Group
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY MARK MORGAN
Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann, former Hermiston Mayor Frank Harkenrider, former
Portland Mayor Bud Clark and Portland Mayor Charlie Hales gather for a group photo at
Pioneer Courthouse Square. Harkenrider and Clark started the tradition of handing out
Hermiston melons in 1991 and Drotzmann and Hales helped bring it back this year.
ERIC MORTENSON/EO MEDIA GROUP
Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann oversees a watermelon and potato giveaway Friday
in downtown Portland. The city renewed the exchange – and a seed spitting contest that
Hermiston won – as a goodwill gesture to urban consumers.
PORTLAND – Jokes and seed spitting
contest aside, there was a polite edge to
Hermiston’s renewed tradition of hand-
ing out free watermelons and potatoes in
downtown Portland.
This time, Hermiston’s growers and
civic leaders stood in Portland’s Pioneer
Square as representatives of Eastern Ore-
gon’s biggest and fastest growing city and
one of the state’s agricultural powerhous-
es.
As a line formed for the giveaway Fri-
day, Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann
acknowledged the two cities vary great-
ly in scale – Portland has about 570,000
more people – but said they share issues
such as public safety, livability, transpor-
tation and water.
“Those are all common things, regard-
less of size,” he said.
Drotzmann said he hoped the event re-
minded Portland residents of Hermiston’s
agricultural prowess. Umatilla County
ranks second in the state, behind Marion
County, with about $500 million in annual
gross farm and ranch sales. The region is
best known for Hermiston watermelons,
but grows a wide variety of irrigated veg-
etables as well.
“We provide the fruit and vegetables
you pick up in the grocery store every
day,” Drotzmann said.
In his remarks to the crowd at Pioneer
Square, Drotzmann said the eastern side of
the state gladly extends its hand to Port-
land.
“We know when Portland is successful,
all of Oregon is successful,” he said.
The watermelon delivery and accompa-
nying melon seed spitting contest began in
1991 with a friendship between longtime
Hermiston mayor and councilor Frank
Harkenrider and colorful Portland Mayor
Bud Clark.
The event ran for 17 years then faded,
but was renewed this year by civic leaders
and the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce.
Harkenrider and Clark attended Friday’s
renewal, and Harkenrider admitted the city
slicker bested him at seed spitting. “He got
me all the time,” he said with a laugh.
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales said the
exchange “was a good idea then and is a
good idea now.”
“This is what good neighbors do for
each other,” Hales said, “they share their
bounty.”
Hales presented Drotzmann with a tie
embossed with a depiction of Portland’s
new Tilikum Crossing bridge, which
opens in September and will carry light-
rail trains and bikes over the Willamette
River, but not cars and trucks.
The melons and potatoes, donated by
Walchli Farms, Bellinger Farms and Bud-
Rich Potato Inc., disappeared in about 20
minutes as a long line of pleased Portland-
ers took advantage.
For the record, Hermiston swept the
seed spitting contest. City Councilor
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than 300 inches. Hales showed he was no
slouch with a 296-inch launch, and Port-
land City Commissioner Dan Saltzman
managed to spit one 126 inches.
Primmer indicated the city boys didn’t
have a chance against people who grew up
in watermelon country.
“You live in Hermiston, you get into
competition when you’ve got brothers,”
he said.
ERIC MORTENSON/EO MEDIA GROUP
State Rep. Greg Smith of Heppner (left) and Hermiston City Manager Byron Smith (right) happily hand out free watermelons to Portlanders Friday during a renewed a goodwill exchange of some of
Eastern Oregon’s best-known crops in Oregon’s biggest city and export gateway.