History, Feb. 24, 2021 edition

Easily the heaviest snowstorm of the winter put the county under a deep mantle of snow last weekend and in some parts of the valley, the covering was well over 15 inches. From shortly after midnight on Saturday through 9 p.m. on Sunday, snow fell without cessation and downtown, the depth was about 10 inches. On Monday, a sharp thaw set in and got in its work but on Monday evening, a sharp frost put a hard coating on the snow. — Hood River News

Died: The Dalles chamber of commerce; 9:20 o’clock last night, at Hotel Dalles. The deceased is survived by a husky young infant named “The Dalles-Wasco County Chamber of Commerce.” He gives rich promise of carrying on the work of his parent along broad lines. — The Dalles Daily Chronicle

1941 — 80 years ago

Completing 22 years of the show business in Hood River this week, A.S. Kolstad, who has disposed of his interests in the two Hood River theaters, is retiring to his Cascadian ranch, where he will concentrate on poultry production and other ranch activities. Several years ago, Kolstad decided, after a term as mayor of Hood River, that he had a definite yen for the country life and he acquired the former A.L. Anderson home and acreage as a prelude to the development of a special breed of fryer chickens for an exclusive market. — Hood River News

Free transportation from home to polling place will be provided any person on Wednesday, Feb. 26, when the airport and industrial bond issues will be put up to a vote of the people, Herbert A. Vind, chairman of the coordinating committee of the Chamber of Commerce, announced today. — The Dalles Daily Chronicle

1961 — 60 years ago

Cold Storage Closes Early — Duckwall Bros. announced today that closure of the firm’s Odell cold storage for the present season marks one of the earliest closing dates for that operation in several seasons. “We expect to have all our remaining fruit shipped from our downtown plant sometime in March,” says Dick Duckwall, firm manager. “We are now completely sold on Anjous and the only remaining fruit we have in storage unsold is a limited quantity of Red Delicious Extra Fancy grade sizes 138 and larger.” — Hood River News

The Wasco County Grand Jury yesterday submitted recommendations at both the Wasco County and The Dalles City jails. Improved cell lighting was a grand jury recommendation shared by both jails. The grand jury report noted that lighting in the cells was inadequate for reading. An improved book and magazine library was recommended at the county jail, and either a good washing or new paint job was suggested for the city jail walls. — The Dalles Daily Chronicle

1981 — 40 years ago

Construction will start in June on a $320,000 campground at the Wyeth interchange east of Cascade Locks, district ranger Gene Zimmerman of the U.S. Forest Service said this week. Zimmerman said the federally funded campground will have facilities for 14-17 single family parking areas and four group camping areas. Included in the development will be a rest room building, a pressurized water system with standpipes throughout the campsite, fire pits and a trail head. “We went through a long period waiting for the county to give us approval to buy a plot of land adjacent to the 15 acres the Forest Service now owns and had planned to build for some time,” Zimmerman said. — Hood River News

Federal funding of the Columbia Gorge Commissions of Oregon and Washington will end this year, the commission members were told Monday. Jeffrey Breckel, director of commissions, told members they would have to have the states (pay) for more than $160,000 on the current two-year budget. — The Dalles Chronicle

There was no reason to think there was any negligence in this case, said Bingen Police Chief Bill Wang, referring to an accident Jan. 25 involving one of his department’s officers. Wang said he reviewed the accident report submitted bu the sheriff’s deputy responding to the accident involving Rich Cortese. Cortese was responding to another accident on State Route 141 at about 12:20 a.m. when he apparently lost control of his patrol car on the Underwood Cutoff. “The roads were very wet and it’s very easy to lose control,” said Wang. In an instance where there had been negligence, Wang said, a citation would have been given or another action would have been taken. Cortese suffered cuts to the knees, arms, and face and has since returned to duty following the accident. — White Salmon Enterprise

2001 — 20 years ago

Last week, Hood River was placed on notice by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs that a gambling casino is coming to town. Since the timeline for construction of that facility is not yet known, local officials have chosen to take a “wait and see” stance. They believe that there may be very little they can do to stop those plans since the casino will be built on tribal trust land east of the city. The 40-acre parcel has “sovereign nation” status and is exempt by federal law from land use restrictions. — Hood River News

Like rolling thunder, the beat of the “taiko,” or Japanese drums, flows through your body. And with each drum beat, the vibrations washed over students at Colonel Wright Elementary School as they clapped along to the music during a PTA-sponsored performance Tuesday. — The Dalles Chronicle

Columbia High School senior Kenny Bucher became the first wrestler in the three-year history of the CHS program to earn a state medal. Bucher, in his second year of wrestling, placed eighth at the state 2A Mat Classic XIII, held Friday and Saturday in the Tacoma Dome. Columbia’s happy-go-lucky heavyweight lost the match for seventh place —his fifth overall in the tournament — to senior Allen Root of Sultan, on an 8-2 decision. “It’s an honor to be the first to place at state for our school,” said Bucher. “I just wish I had another year. That’d be nice.” — White Salmon Enterprise