1916 — 100 years ago
In order to supply the demand for skilled laborers in the apple harvest, the Association last week conducted a packing school at Parkdale. This was largely attended. This week a similar school is in progress at Van Horn at the Association’s large packing plant.
Next Saturday is the last day to register for the general election, held next month. Up to date County Clerk Shoemaker reports that 2,437 have registered. Of this number, 1538 are men and 901 are women.
1926 — 90 years ago
Don Lampson and Geo. Hams made a trip to Elliott Glacier last Sunday and report good skiing in the canyons near Cloud Cap Inn. There has been considerable snow the past week and with a little more, skiing will be good. The Guide Ski Club will have the Homestead Inn this winter. Wood and supplies have already been put in and everything is ready for the call of winter sports.
Fire Bell Rigs For First Time In Years In Town Nearest To The Mountain
On Tuesday afternoon of this week, the fire bell rang in Parkdale for the first time in years. Response was so prompt that what might, in view of the extreme dryness, have been a disaster, was confined to one shack in the square of Apple Growers Association workers’ residents in the Town Nearest to the Mountain.
At about 4:30 p.m. smoke was noticed emerging from the building occupied by the Flory brothers, and on opening the door a blast of flame swept out. The boys were able to save only a few blankets, which were salvaged by hooks. As no one had been inside the shack for several hours, it was decided that a short circuit in electrical wiring was the cause of the blaze.
Parkdale is again to be congratulated on having a water system with which to cope with an emergency. The fire was held entirely within the building which it originated. The entire contents and all but walls of the shack were completely destroyed.
— October 2, 1936
1936 — 80 years ago
One of the most successful activities undertaken in several years by Hood River Post of the America Legion and its Auxiliary was a swimming project covering the entire Hood River County. In cooperation with the Hood River Chapter of the America Red Cross and other organizations, this project made it possible for 1,105 children of Hood River County to profit from a series of swimming lessons, under three paid expert instructors, assisted by a number of other efficient swimmers. Among the children who learned to swim were 630 boys and 475 girls. From areas outside the City of Hood River, buses and cars traveled from 50 to 55 miles per day. The project covered a period of six weeks.
1946 — 70 years ago
Henry Wooten, the man who picked more than a ton of cherries in one day this summer, proved on Tuesday of this week that he could pick apples better than the best of the competition which he faced in the apple picking contest sponsored by Roy Webster, of Webster Orchards. Wooten, in less than eight hours, picked 201 boxes of apples, estimated at more than four tons of fruit. Also in the running were Lane Potter, of Pocatello, and Cecil Long, of Hood River, with 182 and 187 boxes, respectively. Wooten, who received 12 cents a box, won the $25 daily contest prize, which brought his reward for less than eight hours work to $49.12.
1956 — 60 years ago
For the second year in a row, Wilber C. Anderson, Jr., has been selected as the third ranking high school welder in the nation by the James F. Lincoln arc welding foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. Anderson, who was graduated from Wy’east this spring, constructed another orchard wagon upon which the award was based. He will receive his second $200 award and Wy’east a similar sum. Anderson is now enrolled at Oregon Technical Institute in Klamath Falls.
1966 — 50 years ago
When Roy Webster challenged Dan Hanners to a “Big Pear vs. Big Apple” contest, Hanners had every right to feel confident. His big apples have been the talk of the area for several years. But that confidence was shaken when the showdown came and Webster reminded Hanners that “it takes two to make a pair” and hauled out two giant pears to place on the scale at the same time. Hanners’ big apple barely withstood that challenge when his confidence was further shaken as Webster presented his big surprise for the day — a large fake pear presented by Hood River High School student Charlotte Smith. But just for the record, Hanners’ big apple weighed 2 pounds, 3.5 ounces — not much sort of the total for Webster’s two giant El Dorado pears, which tipped the scales at 2 pounds 7 ounces.
1976 — 40 years ago
Response was anything but favorable to the proposed Urban Growth Boundary at a joint meeting of the city and county planning commissions Sept. 29. Nearly 20 persons testified at the public hearing and only one was in favor of the plan as propsed. The growth plan is designed to guide growth between now and the year 2000 in Hood River County. The county suggested a majority of the growth take place west of Hood River, in the area surrounding Frankton Road. Observers pointed out that current growth trends in the area near Tucker Road were totally ignored by the plan. One testifier asked why growth shouldn’t be planned in the Tucker Road area since sewage lines are already available.
1986 — 30 years ago
A seven-acre site near Tucker Road has been selected for a proposed retirement facility here, and county commissioners adopted a request Monday to accept title to the real property once the arrangements have been completed. Attorney Larry Bowe put the proposal to the commission, explaining that negotiations are well along for property directly west of the Ranch Drive-In and Northwest Auto Parts. Purchase is contingent on necessary zone changes to permit construction of the retirement facility there. While the original bequest from Louise Nex Down directed the estate funds should be used solely for installation — not property purchase — Bowe said the proposal to use interest from the estate had been cleared. It was the intent of Down to establish the residential retirement center for seniors when she bequeathed virtually her whole estate to that purpose. She specified, among other things, that it should be on a site accessible to the Hood River Memorial Hospital and it should be named after her and her husband.
1996 — 20 years ago
Pulitzer Company Newspapers Inc., of St. Louis, Mo., and Eagle Newspapers Inc., Oregon, have signed an “intent to purchase” agreement regarding The Dalles Daily Chronicle. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. When the purchase is completed early next week, the Chronicle will join the Eagle group, which publishes newspapers in 15 communities in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Among Eagle’s newspapers are The Dalles Weekly Reminder, The Hood River News and White Salmon Enterprise.
2006 — 10 years ago
Axe, pick and shovel provided, but volunteers should bring sweat and pride to a selection of the Pacific Crest Trail this weekend near Cascade Locks this month. Garry Hanley, field team project coordinator, oversees a Northwest Service Academy crew from Trout Lake. They have been on the trail all summer in the first year of a pilot program combining AmeriCorps resources, the U.S. Forest Service, and Pacific Crest Trail Association. They began in snow in the Siskiyou Mountains near Ashland and will finish on the Wind River section of the trail near Stevenson. “Any kind of structure that is built like a trail ages over time,” said Mike Dawson, trail maintenance coordinator for the PCTA. “The biggest issue along the trail is water.”
— Compiled by Trisha Walker, news staff writer
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