A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
THREE MINUTES WITH …
COMMUNITY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021
HERMISTON HISTORY
Creamery makes fi rst cheese in Umatilla County
ELIZABETH
DOHERTY
Hermiston FFA student
When and why did you move to Hermiston?
I moved to Hermiston when I was 3 months old. I
was born in Mesa, Arizona, but my parents decided
to move to Hermiston so that we could be closer to
family.
Where is your favorite place to eat in
Hermiston?
My family doesn’t eat out very often, but when we do
we typically eat at Shiki or La Laguna.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
What is spare time? If I have any, I play tennis, play
the trumpet and piano, or hike with friends.
What surprises you about Hermiston?
Hermiston is a town of hidden beauty. While its
scenery may not be as eye catching as Western Ore-
gon, Eastern Oregon can be just as stunning if you
know where to look.
What was the last book you read?
The last book I read was “The Kite Runner” by
Khaled Hosseini and I’m currently reading “One
Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn.
What website or app do you use most other
than Facebook?
The app I use most is Amazon Music. I have devel-
oped pretty epic ‘80s pop and ‘90s country playlists.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you
go?
I studied for a half year in Mexico and I would love
to go back and revisit friends and places.
What is the funniest thing that’s ever hap-
pened to you?
Sometimes life on the farm can be messy. I learned
this lesson while trying to push cows through the
chute. The next thing I knew I was covered in ...
recycled grass. And I mean covered, head to toe.
I had been warned about walking too closely to a
horse’s or cow’s rear end because they kick; but after
that day I learned to respect the splatter zone, too.
What is one of your goals for the next 12
months?
Last year I qualifi ed for the FFA National Conven-
tion but it was canceled because of COVID. My goal
this year is to qualify again and be able to go back
with my fellow FFA members to get to know people
from all over the country.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest accomplishment is winning the Oregon
state creed speaking competition and representing
our state in two national FFA speaking competitions.
I was very uncomfortable with public speaking when
I started, but with some great coaching from my FFA
advisors and FFA alumni I grew in confi dence and
skill. It’s a great example of how wonderful Hermis-
ton’s agricultural community is.
Hermiston Herald, File
Hermiston City Manager Ed Brookshier, Mayor Frank Harkenrider, Ed Frite and Don Armstrong examine a new barbecue
grill installed at the Hermiston Community Center in 1996.
25 YEARS AGO
April 2, 1996
Repair work for the Hermiston
School District’s swimming pool is
on the agenda for tonight’s school
board meeting. Bids for the repair
work were supposed to be opened
last month but new revenue projec-
tions prompted Superintendent Jer
Pratton to postpone new spending.
The revenue projections showed
the district losing nearly $1 million
for the current year and the same for
the next year. Pratton told the board
at last month’s meeting that district
offi cials needed extra time to exam-
ine the projections before they were
ready to move forward with the pool
repair.
The Hermiston swimming pool is
suff ering from disrepair. Leaks under
the decking create problems all sum-
mer and result in large annual repair
bills. District offi cials had originally
planned on a major overhaul of the
pool for this spring.
Hermiston Herald, File
Peter Rabbit poses with (left to right) Steven Dwalb, Steven Shaw, Brynnen
Manning and Brian Dwalb at an Easter activity at Hermiston First United
Methodist Church in 1996.
50 YEARS AGO
April 1, 1971
The Umatilla Speedway opened the
1971 season with good weather, many
cars and a big, responsive crowd.
The Hobby Class put on a real
exciting show in spite of a few cars
that developed troubles and couldn’t
compete.
Harvey Abkin of Kennewick,
Wash., turned the Hobby Class fast
time and won the trophy dash. Pat
Johnston of Hermiston won the slow
heat, Ron McKinstry of Heppner
won the fast heat, and Steve Dick-
man of Richland, Wash., won the
main event. The Figure Eights were
fewer in number than last year but
still gave the crowd plenty of thrills
with collisions and roll-overs.
75 YEARS AGO
April 4, 1946
For the fi rst time, cheese is being
made in Umatilla County and the
fi rm which holds this honor is the
Umatilla Cooperative Creamery in
Hermiston.
Don Cornwell of the Wallowa
County at Enterprise and Ed McCabe
of the dairy cooperative association
in Portland are here this week to get
the new operation started and help
the local men learn the technique of
cheese making.
The process starts with raw milk
being piped into a 1,000 gallon tank
and from there it goes through the
pasteurizer, into a fi lter and back
through the pasteurizer. It is then
piped into a stainless steel tank which
will hold 10,000 pounds of milk, and
the rest of the process takes place in
this tank, which has steam heated
Hermiston Herald, File
Thad White plays Jesus, fl anked by Roman guards played by Bob Weems, left,
and Rodney Lee in The Country Church’s production of “He is Risen” showing at
Hermiston High School in 1996.
walls. The entire processing time
from raw milk stage to completed
cheese takes approximately four and
a half hours. The fi rst day the cream-
ery turned out 30 “trips” or about
750 pounds of cheese.
100 YEARS AGO
April 1, 1921
Mr. C.P. Adams who lives a half
mile south of town was sitting com-
fortably in his home Monday eve-
ning when some “music in the air”
roused him from his reverie. It was
the boys of the school band who had
come to celebrate with him the sixty
fi rst anniversary of his birth.
The boys were given a hearty wel-
come by Mr. and Mrs. Adams and
after a number of selections by the
band, ice cream, cake and lemonade
made their appearance to which the
boys did ample justice, as a bunch of
boys know so well how to do.
Mr. Adams is a musician of many
years experience, having played in
some of the best bands in the coun-
try years ago, and to show his appre-
ciation of the work the boys are
doing, he gave them a check which
enrichened the treasury by $10.
2) Next Friday, April 8th is
Clean-Up Day. Are you ready?
Clean-Up Day this year is going
to be diff erent from any clean-up we
have ever had, and when the squads
of workers get through the city is
going to look like new. All are com-
ing prepared with overalls and work-
ing tools to make good.
The good ladies of the Commu-
nity Club will have a nice hot lunch
for the busy workers, and the stores
will only have one man in each store.
This is done for the benefi t of any
customers who may not know that it
is Clean-Up Day.
BY THE WAY
Free trees available for Arbor Day; drive-thru event is Saturday
The City of Hermiston Parks and Recreation and
Hermiston Rotary Club are teaming up to donate 1,500
trees to the community for the the 35th annual Arbor
Day Tree Giveaway.
Trees will be available at a drive-thru giveaway on
Saturday, April 3, in the Smitty’s Ace Hardware park-
ing lot, 1845 N. First St.
The event starts at 9 a.m. and will last until all 1,500
trees are gone.
There is no limit on the number of free trees per
household, but the news release states that participants
are asked to “only take as many as they can comfort-
ably plant.”
People are also asked to have their order ready when
they arrive. An attendant will take their order and then
have someone bring the trees to their vehicle.
Available tree species are red maple, river birch,
red osier dogwood, Washington hawthorn, Callery
pear, little leaf linden, Japanese Zelkova and giant
sequoia.
• • •
Stanfi eld breakfasts return April 3
The monthly community breakfast at the Stanfi eld
Community Center returns Saturday, April 3, from
7-10 a.m. at 225 W. Roosevelt.
With an à la carte menu, people can pick and choose
what they would like to eat. Rose Emerson said the aver-
age cost for a breakfast meal is $7.
The breakfast will be held the fi rst Saturday of
each month. For more information, contact Emer-
son at remerson1206@gmail.com or call the center at
541-449-1332.
• • •
Scam calls increasing, police say
Local police departments are warning of a new wave
of scam calls locally that are targeting residents. Callers
falsely claim to have kidnapped a relative and demand
ransom money, often playing sounds of screaming and
crying in the background of the call.
Phone scammers also commonly pose as banks, police
departments, the Internal Revenue Service, the Social
Security offi ce, landlords or utility companies in order
to trick people into handing over money, passwords or
fi nancial information, such as their bank account number.
• • •
Senior meals include pork loin
The Harkenrider Senior Activity Center menu for
Thursday, April 1, is Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes,
green beans and dessert. The menu for Tuesday, April 6,
is pork loin, scalloped potatoes, veggie and dessert.
For a Meals on Wheels delivery in Hermiston, call
541-567-3582 before 10 a.m. to place an order. To pick
up a meal from the center at 255 N.E. Second St., call
the same number before 11 a.m. Meals are $4 and can be
picked up between 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
The Boardman Senior Center is now providing meal
delivery. Meals are $4 paid upon delivery. Call 541-481-
3257 to order.