University of Oregon
Lib»a 17
Eugene, Ore. 97403
Nyssa Gate City Journal
69th Year, 31st Issue
The Sugar City
Nyssa, Oregon
Thunderegg Capital
Thursday, July 31, 1975
15’ Per Copy
Sudden, Severe Wind Storm
Causes Extensive Damage
THE
GOLF
CLUBHOUSE
ROOF
LEFT
A sudden, severe wind
*torm tore through Treasure
Valley about 2:30 Tuesday
afternoon, toppling tree* and
causing heavy damage in the
Ontario. Fruitland. Payette
areas.
The storm formed south­
west of Nyssa, and almost
before people could shut
window* in stores, homes
and cars, it hit with wind
gusts up to HO mile* an hour,
and steady winds of 60 miles
per hour for half an hour.
About one-quarter inch of
rain fell in that 30 minutes.
The center of the storm
went through the Cairo area,
hitting the Ontario Golf
Course and Airport, and
npping through the cities of
Ontario, Fruitland and Pa­
yette. Only minor damage
was suffered in Nyssa,
consisting mostly of uprooted
trees and some crop damage.
HERE —
Losses are estimated to run
into several million dollars,
and exact figures will not be
available for several davs
until damage to crops is
assessed Malheur County
Judge Roy Hirai said Tues­
day night he would ask
Oregon Governor Bob Straub
to declare the Ontario vicinity
a disaster area after 24 area
government agency heads
met to discuss the damage
Power was out in Ontano.
and by 5:30 p.m. that city
was out of water. Idaho
Power officials said that a
three-mile stretch of 69,000
volt power line was pulled
down between Ontano and
Nyssa. Dale Adams. Nyssa
district manager for Idaho
Power, said Wednesday mor­
ning that all his crews from
Nyssa and Parma are helping
with the damage at Ontario.
Plans Take Shape
For "Thunderegg Days"
AND WAS DEPOSITED HERE. In the path of the Turtdiy Morm. this area and the Ontario Airport suffered damage.
Wagon Train Rolls East,
Will •4 e In Nyssa Today
th Henn Schneider
It'» been * hundred vean
since the last of the big
wagon trains rumbled across
desert. mountain and praine.
and the trail* were hot and
dusty.
Better road* and more
paving have changed a lot of
that, but by modem stan­
dard* of comfort,the Burn
centennial wagon trek is still
a mighty tough gnnd. The
wagon* under the guidance
of Ken Wilcox.
wagon
master, broiled in the blis­
tering sun during the journey
down out of the Blue
Mountains into
Farewell
Bend
After setting up camp and
starting the evening's pro­
gram. the train was buffeted
bv sudden winds, then pelted
by a cold, driving rain. On
July 29, the trek over the
rough terrain to Tub Springs
began in the early morning
light.
Bv late afternoon the skies
blackened and again a severe
deluge struck the train in full
force. High w ind* and sheets
of water whipped the tired
travelers, but like their
original forebearers the rain
failed to dampen their spirits.
"I really enjoyed that rain.
I'll take all of that I can get"
said Lee Grimes, one of
Idaho's official w agon drivers.
Kay Bullington, another Ida
ho driver averred the water
fell good after the scorching
day.
Earl Flick. Oregon State
coordinator, and Lola Bowen
busied themselves with the
caravan's schedules, allow­
ing more time here and
cutting time there.
Wagon Master Ken Wilcoa
his brick red tan ever con­
spicuous among other darkly
HERBERT E. BERGAM retired this week after sixteen
years with the Nyssa Post Office. He started work as a
clerk carrier in August. 1959.
He was born in Tacoma. Washington and moved to Nyssa
in 1942 from Sidney, Montana where he had been in
construction and farming. He worked on the Fort Peck dam in
Montan* from 1935 to 1930. and helped build the Umatilla
Ordinance Depot before moving to Nyssa.
Herb and his wife Alive live at 626 North 2nd Street and
have five son* and one daughter. Their oldest son. Donald,
manages a seed plant in Salinas, California, lurelie is a
teacher in Bakersfield. Calif. Ramon is with the Oregon
State Police, and is stationed in Ontario. Marlene is at
McFarland. California where both she and her husband are
teachers. James works for the Atomic Energy Commission in
Richland. Washington. Roger is a counselor in the Salinas,
California schools.
Herb's hobbies include rock hunting, gardening, stamp
collecting, wood carving and carpentry, all of which he plans
to continue after retirement, plus some traveling to visit the
children and grandchildren.
tanned men and women,
worked with Earl on the route
from Vale to Nyssa. They
deleted a noon stop on Lytle
Boulevard and substituted
two water stops along the
route instead.
"At three and a half miles
an hour, we'll make Nyssa for
lunch on Thursday," Wilcox
said.
Arrangements have been
made through Mel Munn to
provide a rest area at the
Grade School where the train
will rest for an hour and a
half. Water will be provided
from two large tubs spon­
sored by Nyssa Co-op with
twenty-five gallons of lemon­
ade donated by the Nyssa
Chamber of Commerce
Dave Thompson. Idaho
State coordinator, reported
Lt. Governor Evans, with a
party of four would visit
Nyssa's First National Bank
to await the entry into Idaho
by the Train on July 31.
Bruce and Fred Childs are
arranging a Stage Coach for
Nyssa Council President Geo­
rge Coffman and Chamber
President Jake Fischer, to
escort Lt Governor Evans to
the campsite and then across
the Snake River. On the
Idaho side a Sheriff's posse
and a large contingent of
Idahoans will await with the
Lt. Governor to welcome the
wagon train into Idaho.
The public is invited to
visit the wagon train at their
campsite at the grade school
but are requested not to park
on Main Street or Adrian
Boulevard near the school.
Close to 75 people are
already in the cortege which
will make parking difficult.
The arrival and departure
time is tentatively between
noon and 2 p.m. Thursday.
Auxiliary Plans
Farewell For
Christensens
The Malheur Memorial
Hospital Auxiliary will host a
farewell open house for Mr.
and Mrs. Gale Christensen
on Sunday. August 3. in the
nursing home lounge at the
hospital from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Everyone is invited to
attend.
Council Holds
Special Session
The Nyssa City Council
met in special session Tues­
day evening to review and
update the city garbage ordi­
nance.
However, due to
unavoidable absences of th­
ree council members, the
review was tabled until all
members are present.
The Council did grant
permission to the Amalga
mated Sugar Co. to connect
their fire alarm system to the
City of Nyssa's 24-hour rural
dispatch service. They were
previously obtaining the ser­
vice from Ontario.
Following a discussion on
swimming pool policy, the
Council directed City Mana
ger. Henry Schneider and
Pool Manager. Vem Lords to
prepare the swimming sche­
dules for the Nvssa pool.
Operational hours of the
City Parks were brought to
the attention of the Council
by Police Chief Alvin Allen
City Manager Schneider was
advised to prepare interim
park schedules at this time.
by Lake Puett
One rockhound is already
in Nyssa, awaiting Thunder­
egg Days festivities which
will begin August 6.
Jack Ray a Concord.
California nick hobbyist is an
early camper with his trailer
parked in the yard of his
fnend. Emil Wohlcke. Jack at
83. will probably be the
oldest "tailgrter” in Nyssa
this year.
Jack has visited Nyssa for
Thunderegg Days for the
past six years. He says that
he. like Emil, has a vardful of
rocks in California and shares
the immense love for the
hobby and its uses.
Most rockhounds, espe­
cially tailgaters. follow a
design of rockhunting, trad­
ing and processing. Stones
which appear .as simply
rough rocks are a delight to
rocklovers when they can be
cut and polished to reveal
gems. The joys of the
discovered secrets inside are
part of what make rock­
hounds emphatic gem lovers
and Thunderegg Days an
exciting gathering. The other
part of the excitement is a dig
itself.
This year a countless and
unestimated number of gem
seekers will converge upon
Nyssa to dig the mysterious
geode*, for which this area is
famous. Registration on Au­
gust 6. will provide campers
from all over the United
States with free camping
spots at South City Park.
On August 7, the first tour
will begin at 7 a.m. to the
Succor Creek Thunderegg
Beds. A barbecue, sponsored
by the Nyssa Lions Club, will
be held that evening.
Other tours, to Jamieson
Bog. August 8. and Grave­
yard Point. August 9. are
designed to transport rock­
hounds to hunting sites for a
day of digging. All
tour
group* will leave South Park
at 7 a.m.
Nyssa FFA First In
Livestock Judging Contest
The FFA Chapters of
Malheur County met at the
Fairgrounds recently for their
Livestock Judging Contest.
Some ISO boys and girls, all
members of Future Farmers
of America, participated in
the competition from Nyssa.
Vale. Ontario and Adrian.
Top Team for the county
was Nyssa, with Ontario
WEATHER
Min.
Prec.
Date Max.
60
Julv 23 94
61
Julv 24 99
62
Ju lx 2S 99
64
Julv 26 98
63
Julv 27 102
64
Julv 28 9’
66
Julv 29 86
53
.26
Julv 30
Owvhee reservoir
7-3Ó-75 652.020 Acre Feet
7-30-74 538,250 Acre Feet
second, Vale third and
Adrian fourth.
All teams participated in
the judging of Hereford
heifers with Vale first;
Guernsey heifers with On­
tario first; market lambs and
ram judging with Nyssa
taking the honors. In other
contests Ontario took first in
the Meets; Nyssa first in
Market Steers; and Vale first
in Holstein Cows.
The Top Ten High Indi­
viduals were Joel Hiatt. Vale;
Carl Simpson. Nyssa, Marvin
Mos lev. Nyssa. Carl Norton.
Ontario; Jim Schram. Onta­
rio; Arlene Botts. Ontario;
Cindy Allen. Ontario; Mark
Goodell, Nvssa; Charles Sims
of Nyssa; and Bruce Goodell.
Nyssa.
Instructors for the chapters
arc Joe Witty of Adnan; Al
McGrath of Vale; Dave Witty
of Ontario and Deryl Leggett.
Nyssa.
In the evening of August 8.
there will be an ice cream
social at South Park, spon­
sored by the United Metho­
dist Church. A local gospel
singing group. The Son
Shiners, will perform and it
has been suggested that
those wishing to spend the
evening in the park bnng
their own lawn chairs.
Among other festivities
planned for that week, is a
watermelon feed, sponsored
by the Junior Chamber of
Commerce.
Reflecting on the gaieties
of Thunderegg Days. Emil
Wohlcke. chairman of the
planning committee, noted
that Nyssa residents should
become acquainted with the
visiting rockhounds, who will
be camped here. "They are
some of the friendliest people
you'll meet,” he said.
Only a few individuals
suffered damage in Nyssa,
Adam* said.
Telephone lines were down
between Ontario and Nyssa
on Highway 201, but Mai
heur Home Telephone Com­
pany kept some lines open at
all time*. The highway,
Arcadia and Clark Boule­
vards were closed for some
time between the two cities.
The wind ripped the roof
off of the club house at the
Ontario golf course, and
deposited it on the lawn.
Four hangers were demo­
lished at the Ontano airport,
and more than 12 planes
were destroyed or severely
damaged One wall of the
Gavway Bowl at Fruitland
was tom out. One hanger at
the Payette airport was
destroyed, and three planes
were damaged.
Ray Novotny. County Ex­
tension Agent, said that
onions in fields throughout
the area were broken down,
and sugar beets were flat­
tened. "How they will
recover, we'll just have to
wait and see. but it's not
THUNDEREGG DAYS SCHEDULE
Wednesday. August 6:
9:00 a.m. • Registration and assignment to trailer spaces
at South City Park on South Fifth Street. Nyssa.
Thursday. August 7:
7:00a.m. - Tour to Succor Creek. leaving from South Park
7:00 p.m. • Barbecue at South Park sponsored by Nyssa
Lions Club.
Friday, August 8:
7:00 a.m. • Tour to Jamieson Bog. leaving from South
Park
7:00 p.m. - Ice cream and cake social held on school
grounds, sponsored by United Methodist Church
Saturday, August 9:
7:00 a.m. - Tour to Graveyard Point, leaving from South
Park
’’ 00 p.m. - Watermelon feed, sponsored by Junior
Chamber of Commerce
Thursday—Saturday:
Free Rock and Hobbies Exhibit at the Old Gym. under the
direction of the Treasure Valley Rock and Gem Club. 10
a.m. ■ 10 p.m.
Sunday - Rock exhibit. 10:00 a.m. • 5:00 p.m.
JACK RAY AND EMIL WOHLCKE enjoy
a bit of leisure time in front of Jack's
camper-trailer. Jack, from Concord. Cali­
Sen. Packwood
Plans Visit
Bob Packwood. Oregon
State Senator, will be visiting
Ontario and the Malheur
Counts Fair. August 13 and
14.
Packwood will be honored
at a breakfast sponsored by
the Ontario Optimist Club on
the 14th.
Ron McKone.
President of Optimist, said
the breakfast is a no-host
affair and is open to the
public. McKone said Pack
wood will speak at the
breakfast and then open the
discussion to the group. He
will have a number of
comments to make concer­
ning recent legislation and
events in Washington. D. C.
While in the area. Pack-
wood plans to visit the
Malheur County Fair the
afternoon of the 13. He will
leave for Baker following the
breakfast on the 14th.
On behalf of the Optimists
McKone extended an invita­
tion to all
interested
individuals to attend the
breakfast which will be held
at 7 a.m. in the Moore Hotel
Dining Room.
good." he said. The hop
fields of Neil Venturacci just
west of Cairo were very
seriously damaged. Novotny
said.
Roofs throughout the val­
ley suffered damage, with
the larger storage sheds and
commercial buildings taking
the brunt of the damage. In
the Cairo area, aluminum
and metal roofing was strung
out through the onion and
potato fields for distance* up
to a half-mile.
Miraculously, there were
no reports of serious injuries.
An 8-vear old boy was blown
into the path of a car in
Payette, sustaining cuts and
bruises, and was taken to the
Weiser hospital for treatment
Old timers said that this
was the worst storm in their
memory, topping off what
most people think is the most
unusual spring and summer
in memory. Wednesday mor­
ning people were cleaning up
the mess, thankful that there
were no deaths or venous
injuries, and that damage
was not any worse than it
was.
fornia. is an early rockhound in Nvssa for
Thunderegg Days. Emil is chairman of this
year’s event.
Fair Chairmen Are
County Volunteers
All areas of Malheur
County will be represented
by volunteers at the Malheur
County Fair. August 13 thru
the 16. Chairmen for the
various divisions in Open
Class. 4-H and FFA are re­
presentative of the entire
county.
Scottie Pavne of Vale will
serve as General Livestock
Superintendent; Elaine Rus­
sell of Vale w ill coordinate all
Textile exhibits in the Main
Exhibit Hall.
The Art and Photography
entries will be under the
supervision of Mrs. Helen
Wasson of Ontario; and the
Handcraft* section will be
under the direction of Mrs.
Ila Mae Mills. Ontario. Steve
Pierev of Adrian will be
chairman of the Land Pro­
ducts Division. This division
which includes all vegetable,
fruit, grain and hay exhibits
will also be housed in the
Main Exhibit Hall.
Also
displayed in the north end of
the Main Exhibit Hall will be
the Flower* division which
will be registered by mem­
bers of the ANK Garden Club
In the 4-H Division, Ge­
neral Supenntendents will be
Carol Knothe and Rott Mob­
lev, County
Extension
Agents. Assisting them will
be Allen Baltzor of Jordan
Valley as Beef Superinten­
dent; Dan Gabiola and John
Schram. Ontario, who will
handle all sheep entries at
the Fair; Dallas Chaney of
Adrian who will serves as
Swine Superintendent; Chu­
ck Farley of Oregon Slope on
Dairy ; llaz Sanderson of Vale
for Horse; and Mrs. Penny
Ankrum of Ontario who will
be superintendent for the
Poultry and Rabbit Bam.
The 4 H Dog Show, as well
as the Open Class Dog
Contest will be under the
supervision of Jim Atherton
of Ontario.
Joe Witty of Adrian will be
the FFA Superintendent as­
sisted by Al McGrath of Vale,
Deryle Leggett of Nyssa and
Dave Witty of Ontario.