1918 — 100 years ago
“Only 18 new cases of influenza in the past eight days have been reported to me,” said Dr. Edgington, the county health officer, to the News Monday evening, “and three more deaths, one a Japanese woman living southwest of town Sunday evening. This makes 20 deaths in all that have been reported since the epidemic started. You must warn the people, though, not to relax their efforts to combat the disease. They must still take every precaution possible, or the epidemic may hang on all winter and continue during the spring and summer.”
Its first season wasn’t a full year, but the county museum recorded a good year for an opener. It closed Nov. 1 to all except groups that have made previous arrangements to visit, and it will remained closed until the first of May.
Its season report listed many groups that have visited the new facility. They include an Oswego student group, May Street second and fifth grades, Mrs. Price’s pre-school groups, two groups of Mid Valley Girl Scouts, the Pine Grove Aloha Club, Hood River Garden Club, hosts and visitors from England, a group from the convalescents center, Newcomers club, PEO Sisterhood, three groups from Beta Sigma Phi and two classes of Mid Valley fourth graders.
Some met at night, necessitating evening opening, and some have come as early as 9:30 a.m.
Assisting with the operation throughout September and October were Wanna Perkins, Ruth Anderson, Athalie Lage, Jane Kelly, Madelon) Edwards, Shirley Pierson, Mace Baldwin, Frieda Barnes, Kathleen Nichols, Marie Marshall, Dorothy Mathison, Leona Schlief, Elburna Diamond, Irma Bowerman, Virginia Baldwin, Helen Battey, Monica Doan, Finner and Walt Isenberg, Sylvia Klahre, Eva Windham, Leita and Larry Gramse, Esther Hukari, Nixon Battey and Merlin Bergum.
— Hood River News, November 23, 1978
1928 — 90 years ago
The PTA and the Women’s Club are sponsoring hot lunches for school children in town this year. The serving of lunches will begin in early December, Mrs. J.D. McLucas again taking charge of the cooking. Those sponsoring these hot lunches are asking for donations of vegetables, which should be left at Coe School. Further information may be obtained by phoning Mrs. J.D. McLucas, phone 5934.
A.C. Loft & Son are this week excavating on the property located at the corner of First and Oak, the site of the new up-to-date gasoline and service station built for the Associated Gasoline Co. Considerable dirt has to be moved before the permanent grade will be reached.
1938 — 80 years ago
Food stores of Hood River this week announced that, from now on and until further notice, they will close at 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and at 7 p.m. Saturday nights. All stores have remained open during the summer and fruit harvest season for the convenience of customers. Operating under the new schedule are: Downtown — Eby’s, Economy Market, Fisher’s Market & Hess Grocery, IGA, Cash & Carry Stores, Vincent & Shank and Star Grocery; Heights — Pennywise, Larsen’s, Cash & Carry, Samuel’s Sanitary Market, and McKey’s Cash Store.
1948 — 70 years ago
Merchants of the two business districts of the city of Hood River decided early this week to resume the long-observed pleasant custom of outside Yuletide decoration of Hood River streets, abandoned in 1941 and during the war and postwar years. The program this year provides of five business blocks downtown and three on the Heights. Hood River Lions and Rotarians are to cooperate, and the Pacific Power & Light Co. and local electricians will be asked to cooperate, as in former years. The American Legion will probably, as in other years, furnish Christmas trees.
1958 — 60 years ago
Hood River’s school reorganization committee headed into its second year of work last week, with a proposal to merge the two school administrations clearly gaining favor with a majority of the members. It was the first reorganization committee session since mid-summer.
The group wasted little time showing its general distrust of the plan for complete school consolidation as outlined in the Spalding, Hummel & Leavitt survey of the school scene in city and county. In general discussion, members produced consistent disagreement with the Spalding plan to make Hood River High a junior high school and send all valley prep students to Wy’east.
1968 — 50 years ago
Port officials here have authorized their engineer to prepare specifications for the $200,000 Phase 2 of a major new boat basin development on the Columbia River. Already in progress is Phase 1, which involves constructing a long dike at the mouth of the Hood River extending into the Columbia.
The second phase will involve most of the “roughing in” of the land surrounding the future pleasure boat basin. A third phase, which hasn’t been programmed, will involve completion of the fill and finishing work on all the facilities.
1978 — 40 years ago
A hastily-called series of town hall meetings, door-to-door canvassing by teachers and a restated resolve by the school board not to close down classes were all part of heightened activities as deadline for a teacher strike grew closer this week.
Teachers called town meetings at Parkdale and Cascade Locks Monday, then set another for Tuesday evening in the Hood River Armory. Both sides have expressed a desire to avert the strike, but since the talks entered the final mediation stage, only the state mediation service can call meetings.
1988 — 30 years ago
What’s happening to Wells Island? That unanswered question continues to draw the concern of the Port of Hood River, which contends that fluctuating water levels created by operation of the Second Powerhouse at Bonneville Dam are eroding the island. Wells island is owned by the Port of Hood River, although the U.S. Forest Service also has an interest in it.
An unanswered question at this point is whether the island is actually washing away or merely being redeposited further south.
1998 — 20 years ago
A longstanding headache for the City of Cascade Locks may be on its way to resolution. Hood River County officials have formally requested an amendment to the boundaries of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area around the city.
The changes are meant to correct mapping flaws that placed several parcels of land outside the designated urban area and under the more restrictive land-use rules of the Scenic Area.
2008 — 10 years ago
Bread, milk, cereal, pasta, cooking oil, rice and beans. These are not the things on a typical Christmas list, but they are the things many families wish for most during the holidays. While some households work on decorating Christmas trees and keeping piles of carefully wrapped presents out of the hands of eager openers until Dec. 25, others in the same neighborhoods struggle to keep their houses warm and their cupboards stocked with even the most basic provisions. This year, the number of people accepting assistance from FISH is up more than 50 percent from last year, which means the food bank has to work even harder to keep the shelves stocked with necessities.
Compiled by Trisha Walker, News staff writer
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