1917 — 100 years ago
Hood River is soon to have a new moving picture theater — modern and up to date in all its appurtenances. Arthur Kolstad, proprietor of the Electric and Gem theaters, announced this week that he will erect a new building on the lot occupied by the Electric. The new theater will have a seating capacity of 500. The theater will be named The Liberty and the present Electric will produce its last show on Jan. 1.
An unexpected thrill was added to the Armistice Day celebration at the new high school field last Friday, when the parachute, used by H. Groves in jumping from a Bell airplane, ripped when it commenced to open and the bag failed to fill until the jumper was within 300 feet of the ground.
At a height of about 1,000 feet, Groves dropped from the fuselage of the plane. All went well until he released the cord, when a sharp report was heard and a long rent reaching from the edge nearly to the top of the bag, opened up. By this time, Goves was rapidly gaining speed, and while the bag appeared to be catching the air, it failed to materially check his speed. Finally, Groves made desperate efforts to pull in the shrouds around the rent and was so successful that, when the parachute was about 200 feet from the ground, the sound part of the parachute commenced to fill and retained sufficient air to materially check Groves’ speed. Groves landed in the Paradise orchard, clear of the trees, and hit the ground so hard that for several minutes he was unable to rise.
A number of people went to the assistance of Groves, and Dr. Sifton rendered first aid. He found that Groves was suffering from shock and a few minutes later he was able to walk unaided to the bleachers of the high school, where he received a bit ovation. It was subsequently learned that the parachute was of the old type and Groves had been recently warned not to use it on account of the poor condition of the fabric.
— Hood River News, November 18, 1927
1927 — 90 years ago
Quite a number of business and professional men of Hood River, who are occupied at more or less sedentary tasks, are finding considerable enjoyment in batting around the volley ball (sic) back and forth over the high net at the old high school gymnasium every Thursday evening. This game is just what the individual player makes it. He can enjoy either violent or light exercise, depending upon how actively he throws himself into the game. Most of the boys are soft and perspire like they would in a Turkish bath, and everybody feels fine after the evening’s fun. The game is becoming more and more popular. It is hoped that enough men will be interested to keep the game going through the winter months.
1937 — 80 years ago
Some of those residents who have been daily watching Leonard & Slates equipment at work on the sewer outfall project, north of the railroad depot, are not merely killing time, for they have heard the story, often repeated in recent years, that about $1,800 was buried by its owner in one of the mounds in the jungles and are wondering whether this treasure will be unearthed as excavating proceeds. Whether or not there is any truth to the story has never been ascertained, but up to the present, the excavator has not found the right mound — if there is any right mound.
1947 — 70 years ago
Sweden’s first carload of American pears was shipped out of Portland when the Swedish Johnson liner Suecia loaded an order of fruit from Duckwall Brothers of Hood River. The Swedish vessel is expected to arrive at Gothenburg by December 17, in time for Christmas sales.
Residents of the Mid-Columbia who are interested in the partial eclipse of the sun Wednesday morning had an excellent opportunity to study the phenomena, for nearly clear skies prevailed during the two-hour period of progress of the partial eclipse, which covered about 25 percent of the sun’s surface as visible here.
1957 — 60 years ago
Winter unemployment started its annual rise this month, as the impact of the completed pear and apple harvest began to make itself felt in auxiliary activities in Hood River County. According to a monthly summary released by Boyd Jackson at the State Employment office here, most valley warehouses and canneries have reduced workforces sharply since the first of the month. Both lumber and construction activity is still holding firm, the real pinch for jobs is not expected to begin until late December. Increased retail activity, built around Christmas business, will provide some relief, particularly for females able to do sales work. Mr. Jackson reports that the peak of unemployment may be expected in February, with only tree pruning serving as a major agricultural job outlet.
1967 — 50 years ago
Name gathering has already started for this year’s annual Christmas basket distribution, according to Mrs. Vada Scott, who is coordinating the campaign for the Mid-Columbia Community Action Council. “We’re putting out the notice now for anyone who knows a family which needs a Christmas basket to contact us early,” she said. The central organization compiles a list of names and distributes them to various civic organizations which make up and deliver baskets this year. The centralization program is a means of avoiding a former problem that saw some families receive several baskets, while others went without.
1977 — 40 years ago
A new little theater building at Hood River Valley High School, after facing delays because of slow shipments, has a new completion date of Jan. 1, according to Charles Bowe, principal. Originally, the building was due for completion by the end of November. Delays, most recently the late shipment of insulation, have caused revisions of the schedule. He said the drama department will schedule a full program of productions for the new theater, the first to be staged about mid-January. Plans are now to sell advance season tickets for the high school drama performances.
1987 — 30 years ago
Final steps were taken Monday following Oregon law to establish a park and recreation district in Hood River County. Action by the Hood River County Board of Commissioners provides the structure, but only the structure, to develop a district designed to resolve longstanding problems relating to the present municipal swimming pool here. But as Commissioner Jack Mills observed, while the motivating force in forming the district is the swimming pool, such an organization would broaden its scope at some later time as the title of the new unit implies.
1997 — 20 years ago
The month of November in the Hood River Valley, so far at least, has been virtually arid compared to the same time last year. According to gauges at the Mid-Columbia Experiment Station, which has monitored precipitation and weather in the Hood River Valley since 1884, just .68 inches of rain has fallen so far during November. By contrast, in November 1996 a total of 7.92 inches of precipitation fell in the valley, making it the second wettest month on record.
2007 — 10 years ago
A roomful of people interested in improving food security for Hood River County threw out pleas left and right at a Nov. 7 planning session at the Rockford Grange Hall. The 25-plus participants were there as part of a new project being administered by the Gorge Grown Food Network. The intent of the community project is about an adequate food supply for Hood River County and not so much about food safety concerns in the main media. Maintaining and increasing the number of farmers’ markets throughout the county was mentioned more than once.
— Compiled by Trisha Walker, News staff writer
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