Yesteryears
1924 — 100 years ago
While frost damage may have cut down the tonnage of strawberries this season, it did not prevent berries from being shipped a week earlier than the first of the season in 1923, which, in itself, was earlier than normal. The first shipment of strawberries this year was made on Saturday, when five crates were sent to Spokane by the Apple Growers Association. Last year, between May 16 and 19, 21 crates of berries were dispatched from Hood River. With the prevailing hot spell indications are that the berries will develop and ripen very rapidly and the crop may be handled very rapidly this year. — Hood River News
A group of boys and girls of the Court Street school will give a short minstrel comedy at the Empress theater Saturday night to express the appreciation of the school for kindness shown by J. H. Stiles during the past year.
There are three silhouettes which will be popular this season for evening wear. Firstly, there is the slender, tubular frock which is even used in sheer chiffons as well as heavier materials. ... The second silhouette is the billowy one with the skirt trimmed with row after row of flounces or layer afer layer of tulle. Soft, pastel shades are invariably used for such frocks, and yellow, rose, amethist and pink are particularly attractive for dancing and their simple, youthful lines make them becoming to almost everyone ...
The people of the civilian class generally know little of the advantages of being offered a ‘man-o’-warsman” in the United States navy today, especially of its educational value as compared with the navy of olden days, in the opinion of Chief Petty Officers G. L. Troyer, on recruiting duty in The Dalles for a few days. — The Dalles Chronicle
Several local people are going into the fish business. S.F. Wnuk (sic) in North White Salmon will put in fish in the dam on his ranch, as also will C.L. Colburn on his Husum ranch. A.B. Rosenstiel and B.C. Hamilton are building a series of dams on the Hamilton ranch between Laurel and Trout Lake to propagate trout. This should be good news to local anglers, who should in the future always bring home a good catch. — White Salmon Enterprise
1944 — 80 years ago
Ernest Sires, of Stanfield, well known in Hood River valley as one of the dependable bee men who has, for the past 15 years, supplied bees to fruit growers for pollination of cherry and pear blossoms, this week predicted that he and other apiarists need about one more experience such as they have had the past spring to force them to a conclusion to stay away from Hood River valley, at least until such time as all growers are willing to give them a decent break and help them prevent the serious losses they have sustained the past few weeks. Because one or two growers decided to apply lead sprays while many stands of bees were in neighbors’ orchards, bees were killed wholesale, and the loss run into many hundreds of dollars. — Hood River News
All enlistments for the navy in Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam and Hood River counties must be made through The Dalles navy recruiting station, according to orders received recently by Chief Quartermaster Robert Fallon, in charge of the local office. ... The quota for May has been filled, Fallon said.
Last minute election returns, trickling in from throughout the state, brought no upsets today in the already reported results of Friday’s primaries.
Senator Guy Cordon had piled up a vote of 64,568 against ex-Governor Charles A. Sprague’s 59,631 to compete with Willis Mahoney— unopposesd as democratic nominee— in the November general election. — The Dalles Chronicle
Fire which destroyed the brooder house on the Earl B. Knutson ranch in the Trout Lake valley at 2 o’clock yesterday morning resulted in the loss of between 800 and 1000 young turkeys. Fire was thought to have started from the overheated coal burner in the brooder. The family had been in Portland and returned home a few hours later. — White Salmon Enterprise
1964 — 60 years ago
Water content of the snow pack in Hood River and Wasco counties is now 133 per cent of the May 1 average, and a little over three times last year’s May 1 amounts, state conservationist T. P. Helseth reports. Clear Lake now holds, 2,300 acre feet, and last year held 5,600 acre feet on May 1. Helseth says that this storage is low, but with good snow pack still remaining in the watershed, it should improve when temperatures increase.
Cool weather delayed stream flow in this area during April. The Hood River near the city of Hood River flowed 75 per cent of average for the month and 79 per cent for October 1-May 1. — Hood River News
Robert Walton, 28, of ... Hood River, was taken here Sunday afternoon by a hunting companion after he shot himself in the leg with a .22 autoloading pistol while hunting jackrabbits near Boardman.
Ballots in the campaign to select the man employe and woman employe who are “friendliest and most courteous” arrived in increasing volume today .... Anyone may vote to give recognition to those who help make The Dalles a friendly and cooperative city through their service in retail and service establishments. — The Dalles Chronicle
1984 — 40 years ago
A man known only as “Jim” made off with an estimated $128 and a 1984 Datsun pickup belonging to Glenn Spaulding, early Sunday morning. As of early this week authorities were still searching for the suspect and the missing vehicle. Spaulding reported Sunday at about 4:50 a.m. that about an hour earlier the suspect left his house, apparently taking the money and his pickup. Spaulding had picked up the suspect hitchhiking Saturday night on interstate 84, according to the police report, and the suspect spent part of the night with Spaulding. At about 4 a.m. Sunday, not long after the two had retied for the night, Spaulding said he heard some noises but did not think the suspect was leaving. Shortly before 5 a.m. Spaulding reportedly noticed his vehicle was gone, and some money was also missing from the house. — Hood River News
The Downtown Development project is turning into a million dollar baby, says John Manley, project director. Since The Dalles was selected as a Main Street City last summer, 26 renovation and building improvement projects have been done for a total of $380,000. On the drawing board for this summer are 21 other projects which will cost $1 million, he estimated.
Mill Creek Grange members will meet May 22 to plan for the annual strawberry festival on June 2. — The Dalles Chronicle
The 1983 fourth annual report of crime offenses, arrests and law enforcement officers assaulted or killed throughout the state was recently released by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs … According to the index, the total number of crime offenses committed in Klickitat County between 1982 and 1983 has risen from 282 to 337. There is no yearly comparison for the Bingen Police Department. — White Salmon Enterprise
2004 — 20 years ago
Almost 40 percent of Hood River County’s registered voters had returned 4,182 ballots by Friday morning. That number falls below the 50 percent needed to qualify the Local Option Tax Levey for passage. According to Lee Shissller, elections supervisor, the proposal for about $1.3 million in school funding for each of the three years will fail if at least half of the county’s 10,400 registered voters do not weigh in. Two local political races could be decided next Tuesday if one candidate garners 50 percent or more of the total cotes cast. — Hood River News
Heavy January snows notwithstanding, snowpack is a bit lower than average this year in The Dalles watershed, but not enough to cause alarm, according to a city official.
The availability and use of the Thermal Imaging program may have helped Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue crews avoid a tragic fire last week.
The state Department of Ecology has cited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for more than 33 oil spills at nine dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers over the past five years.
Look for more improvements at The Dalles Boat Basin this winter as the Port of The Dalles upgrades the boat launch with the help of a $84,925 grant from the Oregon Marine Board. — The Dalles Chronicle
Most of last week’s Wednesday night meeting of the White Salmon City Council dealt with one issue: How to resolve questions about what the city should include on its official Web site (sic). The discussion came in the wake of a controversy that developed when Skyline Hospital questioned why Mid-Columbia Medical Center, a hospital in The Dalles, was included on the City of White Salmon’s Web page. — White Salmon Enterprise
Global Headlines
1924
World Fliers Held Up By High Winds
Raising German Fleet From Watery Grave At Scapa Flow
Germany Is Facing New Red Outbreak
1944
Allies Battering Gustav Line; French Gain 7 Miles
Chinese Launch Offensive; Old Burma Road Goal
Russian Troops Massing for Huge Summer Offensive
German Radio Broadcasts Concede That Invasion May Penetrate Europe
1964
McNamara Sees ‘Long War’ In Viet Nam
More U.S. Bombers To Viet Nam
Laotian Truce Government Falls
1984
Englishman survives bear attack, ice; treks to Pole
Kidnap victims said released
Russians deploying missiles
2004
Cubans decry US measures
Chinese sentence US dissident
Mideast violence escalating
Ghandi party wins in India
Commented