A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
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THREE MINUTES WITH …
COMMUNITY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2021
HERMISTON HISTORY
Nalley’s Potato Chip Plant burns
DARIAN LINDSEY
Lash tech and permanent makeup
artist, waitress at Nookie’s
and assistant softball coach
at Hermiston High School
When and why did you move to Hermiston?
I moved to Hermiston last year when I fi nished
school and softball in Portland. My boyfriend is
from here and when we were doing long distance I
visited here a few times and liked the area. I’m orig-
inally from Pendleton so it’s not a huge change by
any means.
Where is your favorite place to eat in
Hermiston?
My favorite place to eat in Hermiston is probably
Nookie’s or Ixtapa.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to do some sort of physical activity just to stay
active, like the gym or hiking or going on a walk
with my pup Avery. But she doesn’t usually make it
too far because she’s a chubby little thing.
What surprises you about Hermiston?
I guess one thing that surprises me about Hermis-
ton is the rate that it’s growing. So many people have
been moving here lately it’s insane.
What was the last book you read?
The last book that I read was “Lovely Bones” by
Alice Sebold, but I didn’t end up fi nishing it, which
shows why I don’t read much because I get side-
tracked easily.
What website or app do you use most other
than Facebook?
I probably use Tik Tok the most out of all of my apps.
I don’t post, but I can literally get stuck on there for
hours, it’s crazy!
If you could travel anywhere, where would you
go?
If I could travel anywhere it would either be some-
where on the Oregon Coast or Iceland, because
there are some really beautiful places there that I
want to visit, along with seeing the northern lights.
What is the funniest thing that’s ever hap-
pened to you?
I can’t be sure what the funniest thing that’s ever
happened to me is, I’m sure it’s something embar-
rassing that happened to me. One memory I can
think of is when I was playing softball at Port-
land State and we were getting announced to go
out on the fi eld, and I managed to bust my ankle
while high-fi ving my teammates and it was on TV
and everything at the time and I hurt it so bad that I
couldn’t play on it for a while and ended having ter-
rible bruising and the rehab for it sucked. So yeah,
it wasn’t even doing anything cool, it was just while
getting announced before a game.
What is one of your goals for the next 12
months?
Two of my goals for the next 12 months is to grow
my business and get confi dent in my craft, while also
getting to know the girls that I’m going to be coach-
ing with Amy (Stone) and gaining their respect to
the point that they can trust me and trust that I know
what I’m doing.
Hermiston Herald, File
Hermiston residents attend a kickoff banquet for the Bazaar of Values in 1971.
25 YEARS AGO
July 9, 1996
Firefi ghters were on the scene for
over 14 hours Wednesday, putting
out — and keeping out — a fi re that
destroyed the processing building
of the Nalley’s Potato Chip Plant.
The plant, in operation barely
a week, caught fi re at 5 a.m.
Wednesday.
Hermiston Fire Marshal Pat
Ward said the Hermiston Fire
Department got the call around
5:30 a.m. Wednesday. Ward said the
fi re had died suffi ciently by 3 p.m.,
although some fi refi ghters remained
on the scene until 7:30 p.m.
The massive fi re caused the
building’s roof to collapse.
“It was a big fi re,” said Ward.
“When we got there it hadn’t gone
through the roof yet.”
The roof of the metal building
was one reason it took fi refi ghters
until the evening to put the fi re out
entirely.
“The tin roof falls, making it
harder to get the to smoldering
underneath,” he said.
Hermiston Herald, File
Firefi ghters work to put out a fi re that gutted the Nalley’s Chip plant in
Hermiston in 1996.
50 YEARS AGO
July 8, 1971
John Walchli, Hermiston potato
grower and one of fi ve Ore-
gon members serving on the Ore-
gon-California potato marketing
committee, said this week that a
check with his broker indicated that
the potato market has strengthened
somewhat in the past few days.
The California potato harvest, he
said, is running several weeks late.
“Their crop is usually all on the
market by July 4,” he said. “With all
of those California potatoes hitting
the market late, it’s bound to aff ect
prices.”
He said the price for No. 1 pota-
toes F.O.B. in California is around
$40 a ton.
75 YEARS AGO
July 4, 1946
The new Umatilla dial telephone
exchange will be placed in operation
by the Pacifi c Telephone and Tele-
graph company Wednesday, July 10,
according to B.F. Pickett, district
manager for the company.
Telephone crews are busy install-
ing telephones for the some 80 cus-
tomers who initially will be con-
nected with the new exchange, and
Western Electric company installers
are putting the fi nal touches on the
new dial central offi ce.
“Present plans are to make the
cut-over, as telephone people call it,
about 11 a.m. on Wednesday,” Pick-
ett said.
The placing in operation of the
new Umatilla telephone exchange
Hermiston Herald, File
Marvin Mills, left, Stanfi eld Mayor Tom McCann and Stanfi eld Volunteer Fire
Department Chief Jim Whelan judge a pie eating contest in Stanfi eld in 1996.
will signalize the completion of an
$80,000 project for the Umatilla
area. A new one-story brick and
frame building, located on Seventh
street between I and J, was built to
house the new dial central offi ce.
100 YEARS AGO
July 8, 1921
Farm women are more and more
taking advantage of opportunities
not open to city women, to earn
their own spending money in the
various enterprises possible to con-
duct on the farm. Ways of doing this
are taught by the home demonstra-
tion agents, whose special duty it
is to establish helpful contact with
families in their respective districts.
Some of the stories told by the home
demonstration agents in their reports
to the United States Department of
Agriculture are very human recitals.
There probably is no busier
woman than a certain Mrs. Vallen-
tine, living on a farm in Jackson
County, Ark. Mrs. Vallentine raised
2 acres of garlic in 1918, 8 acres
in 1919, and 10 acres in 1920. She
sells the buttons, or roots, for plant-
ing and the tops, or sets, for season-
ing to the chili factories.
2) The Old Fashioned Fourth of
July celebration is giving way to rec-
reational parties and picnics such as
Hermiston folks enjoyed this year.
The local lodge of Odd Fellows
and Rebekahs and friends held a big
picnic on the river at which over
150 were present. In the forenoon
a short snappy program held the
attention of the crowd until dinner
was announced. Northing was lack-
ing, from fried chicken and pick-
les to ice cream and cake, and many
laments were heard that capacities
were limited.
BY THE WAY
Gas prices continue to rise across the state
Oregon gas prices have risen 5.1 cents per gallon in the
past week, averaging $3.61 per gallon as of Tuesday, July
6, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 1,307 stations
in Oregon. Gas prices in Oregon are 23 cents per gallon
higher than a month ago and stand $1.05 more per gallon
than a year ago. Prices in Hermiston are about $3.47
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest
station in Oregon is priced at $3.23 while the most expen-
sive is $4.39, a diff erence of $1.16. The national average
price of gasoline is unchanged in the last week, averag-
ing $3.12. The national average is up 7.9 cents per gallon
from a month ago.
• • •
Run, bounce, jump, dive and slide through Hermis-
ton’s fi rst Infl atable 5K Fun Run.
The event features infl atable obstacle courses, slip ‘n’
slides, agility nets and more. People are invited to con-
quer the infl atables with their family, friends and team-
mates while making epic memories.
Bouncin’ Bins Infl atable 5k Fun Run & Color Wars is
Saturday, July 10, from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Butte Park,
1245 N.W. Seventh St., Hermiston. All ages are welcome.
To register, go to bit.ly/hermistonrecreation and click
on “Special Events.” The cost for individuals is $25 each
or teams of up to six people for $100. Children under 4
are free with a registered adult.
Participants will be assigned into starting waves with
their group/family. Be sure to check your time slot and
arrive at least 30 minutes early.
Also, volunteers are needed to help along the route.
Those who give of their time can run the course for free.
Sign-up to volunteer on the registration page.
The color wars off er a sort of glorifi ed pillow fi ght
with powdered color. Participants are invited to go at it
and make a mess.
If you still want to play after the race, family fun fea-
tures bounce houses, laser tag, a dunk tank and more. The
pay-for-play entertainment wristbands will be available
for unlimited play for $20 each.
For more information, contact Hermiston Parks &
Recreation at 541-667-5018 or parksandrec@hermiston.
or.us.
• • •
Trying to fi ll some positions at a business? The UEC
Business Resource Center has a webinar to provide
guidance on navigating through the hiring process. Learn
more about some of the current factors.
• • •
The Harkenrider Senior Activity Center menu for
Thursday, July 8, is meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy,
veggie and dessert. The menu for Tuesday, July 13, is
three tacos, refried beans and fruit.
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 11:30 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.