A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
THREE MINUTES WITH …
COMMUNITY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021
HERMISTON HISTORY
Original Funland Playground opens
SALLY
ANDERSON HANSELL
Attorney at Anderson Hansell PC
When and why did you move to Hermiston?
My family moved to Hermiston when I was about a
year old. I went away for college, and returned in
2000 after law school to practice law with my father,
George Anderson. Soon after, I met my husband and
that’s when I knew I was here to stay.
Where is your favorite place to eat in
Hermiston?
Shiki! Even my two sons love salmon sushi, and my
daughter can eat her weight in rice.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to play with my family, run for fun, read, and
share dinners with friends. I make sure to tell my
children when I have done something fun, because
when my eldest son was in fi rst grade, his “ode to
Mommy” for Mother’s Day was mostly about how
much I like doing laundry. With three children, I do a
lot of laundry!
What surprises you about Hermiston?
Hermiston’s population has increased considerably,
but the number of lawyers has not. When my father,
George Anderson, arrived in 1976, there was about
the same number of lawyers then as there is now.
What was the last book you read?
“All You Can Ever Know” by Nicole Chung. The
author is of Korean descent and was adopted as
an infant and raised in a small Oregon town in the
1980s and ‘90s. It is her memoir of growing up in a
largely white community by loving parents, and then
fi nding her birth family in her late 20s when she was
pregnant with her fi rst child. It is a beautiful book.
What website or app do you use most other
than Facebook?
While I do chores and run by myself, I usually listen
to books on tape through the free Libby app.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
I would love to go to Egypt, see the great pyramids,
ride a camel and eat Egyptian food. I don’t think
that’s in the cards for a long time, though. Traveling
as a family these days is a lot of fun, but it resembles
a National Lampoon’s vacation.
What is the funniest thing that’s ever hap-
pened to you?
There are plenty to choose from, so I will relay one
that my husband particularly loves: I was once pick-
ing wild blackberries and I accidentally got my hair
stuck in the blackberry bush. It took me a while to
escape, and when I did, there was a giant mess of
blackberry vines attached to the top of my head.
My dad, laughing the whole time, cut the vines out
of my hair. It was opening day of bird hunting sea-
son, and I went with my husband (then my fi ancée) to
the farm that evening for a barbecue with the 40-50
people who were bird hunting on the farm that day.
There was a tradition of giving awards at the end of
the day, and I was very surprised when they called
my name for an award. My father-in-law, Ty Hansell,
and Mike Mehren had fashioned blackberry vines
into a crown and, with great pomp and circumstance,
they presented it to me as an award. It was hilarious!
What is one of your goals for the next 12 months?
As one of two new directors of the Hermiston School
Board, my goal for the next 12 months is to help our
community’s kids receive a safe and quality educa-
tion at our schools from exceptional teachers in a
positive and caring environment.
Correction
The June 2 Three Minutes feature misidentifi ed Jeanine
Dilley’s job title with Bella Grace Boutique. She is an arti-
san with the boutique.
Hermiston Herald, File
Children rush into the original Funland Playground during its grand opening on June 9, 1996.
25 YEARS AGO
June 11, 1996
Under the glow of the sun setting
behind the Hermiston Butte, a horde
of small children grew restless.
“We want in. We want in,” they
chanted as the crowd swayed for-
ward and back. A narrow opening in
the low, wooden fence lay directly
ahead of them but their path was
blocked by adults and a paper chain.
It was nearly 8:30 p.m. on the
fi nal day and they had worked for
nearly a year to get to this point.
Now, they just wanted to play.
“There’s so many people we have
to thank for this,” Barry Trapp said
into a microphone.
Some of the children groaned,
knowing what would come next
would be a long “thank you” session.
“But if we thanked them all by
name we’d be here until sunup,”
Trapp said mercifully.
Minutes later, after all of the lead-
ers and coordinators had been rec-
ognized, co-coordinators Trapp and
Kathy Blankenship let open the
fl ood gates.
In a fl ash of childish glee, the
Funland Community Playground
offi cially opened to the public.
More than 100 children surged past
the wooden fence, up the ramp and
under the castle gate.
They ran, screamed, laughed and
stared in amazement at the new toy
they and their parents built.
the Mayes, have died. The Severns’
dog was taken to a veterinarian who,
according to Mrs. Severns, told them
the probable cause of death was
strychnine.
50 YEARS AGO
June 17, 1971
75 YEARS AGO
June 13, 1946
Neighbors of turkey grower Don
DeMoss, disturbed over the “poison-
ing program” he began last week,
say they have sought help through
offi cial channels with no results.
They’re hoping public opinion
will infl uence DeMoss to cease and
desist his poisoning program, since
there appears to be no legal means
to prevent it.
Mrs. Tom Severns and Mrs. John
Mayes, close neighbors of DeMoss,
said they were told it was a matter of
civil action, and no criminal charge
could be made “unless a child is
poisoned.”
DeMoss reportedly stated last
week that dogs had killed over 200
of his turkeys in the two weeks pre-
vious on his ranch, 6 miles northeast
of Hermiston, and that he had served
notice on neighbors that he was plac-
ing strychnine-treated hamburger on
his property.
Since then, one dog, owned by the
Severns, and another, belonging to
Mrs. Bernard Kendall had a
unique surprise early Saturday
morning while out in the yard water-
ing her fl owers. When she looked up,
she found herself gazing into a pair
of the roundest, most beautiful little
eyes she had ever had the opportu-
nity to see. They belonged to a little
India monkey which came to make
a call.
Mrs. Kendall called her daugh-
ter, Patty, and about that time the
visitor made a fl ying leap to the
shoulder of Mrs. Kendall who
stood trembling with fear. When
she again gained her senses, Mrs.
Kendall invited the little caller into
the house and she evidently had not
had breakfast for she made a fl ying
leap onto the table, recently vacated
by the Kendalls. She helped her-
self to a little bit of everything on
the table, including orange juice
and oatmeal, but evidently had not
heard of the bread shortage for she
carefully selected a slice of the pre-
Hermiston Herald, File
Jody Thompson, 5, swings from pipes at the Thompson dairy farm in 1971.
cious loaf, took one taste and threw
it on the fl oor.
The monkey was eventually
returned to owner Robert Keys, who
had received the little creature from
a soldier cousin serving in India.
100 YEARS AGO
June 17, 1921
One of the largest crowds ever
inside the ball fi eld in Hermis-
ton attended the game last Sunday
between Pendleton and Hermiston
for the championship of the county.
The attendance was estimated at
about 600 people.
The game was a stem-winder, the
most interesting game ever played
here, and for a long time it looked
like Hermiston would win, or at least
had a more than an even break to
win, for the score stood 1 to 1 up to
the seventh inning, when the visitors
annexed two more scores and put the
game away on ice, for after that the
local boys simply could not hit Wil-
liams’ fast ones.
The big crowd was universal in
its approval of the game, and those
attending from Pendleton said they
were well repaid for their trip and
mentioned the fact that Hermiston
gave the Bucks their only really tight
game of the season.
BY THE WAY
Family Aquatic Center kicks off season June 12
The Hermiston Family Aquatic Center will kick off
the summer season on Saturday, June 12.
The kick-off weekend will feature public swimming
from 1:10 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. on June 12-13. The pool will
then be closed for staff trainings June 14-18, and the reg-
ular season hours will begin June 19.
Swim lesson registration opens at noon June 10. For
more information visit hermiston.or.us/parksrec/page/
hermiston-family-aquatic-center.
• • •
Food truck pod to get repairs
Hermiston’s food truck pod on the corner of Orchard
Avenue and Third Street will temporarily close for con-
struction starting July 1. Patrick Hunt, owner of South-
ern Twain BBQ, said construction could last six weeks.
The pod was started as a pilot program by the city of
Hermiston in 2019. Participating food truck owners told
the city council that there were other truck owners who
were only interested in joining if there were water and
sewer hookups provided, similar to an RV park.
Construction scheduled for July will add utilities, as
well as additional shade and other improvements.
In a post on Facebook announcing the closure, Hunt
said it has been taking at least a month for people to get
food permits from Umatilla County Public Health, so if
new food trucks do want to join the pod once it reopens,
now would be a good time to submit paperwork.
• • •
Grant will help update fi re stations
Umatilla County Fire District #1 was awarded a
$2.7 million grant from the Seismic Rehabilitation Grant
Program to rehabilitate the district’s stations in Stanfi eld
and on Punkin Center to make them more resilient to
earthquakes.
The Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program is an infra-
structure grant program administered by Business Ore-
gon, with a focus on helping shore up schools and public
safety facilities against earthquake damage.
• • •
Senior meals include beef stroganoff
The Harkenrider Senior Activity Center menu for
Thursday, June 10, is beef stroganoff , veggie and dessert.
The menu for Tuesday, June 15, is taco casserole, fruit
and dessert. For a Meals on Wheels delivery in Hermis-
ton, 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 11:30 a.m. and noon.
The Boardman Senior Center now is providing meal
delivery. Meals are $4 paid upon delivery. Call 541-481-
3257 to order.