Hostesses for the 1970 Hood River Valley Blossom Day celebration will be these four princesses, whose official function starts with publicizing the annual event. Susan Pegg, left, and RosAnne Merz, second from right, represent Parkdale Grange; Nancy Norton, second from left, and Diane Troxel, represent Pine Grove Grange. Both granges serve public dinners the day of the blossom tour (April 26) and the girls will greet the guests.
Hostesses for the 1970 Hood River Valley Blossom Day celebration will be these four princesses, whose official function starts with publicizing the annual event. Susan Pegg, left, and RosAnne Merz, second from right, represent Parkdale Grange; Nancy Norton, second from left, and Diane Troxel, represent Pine Grove Grange. Both granges serve public dinners the day of the blossom tour (April 26) and the girls will greet the guests.
1910 — 110 years ago One of the largest land sales that has ever taken place at Mosier was consummated Friday when C.A. McCarger purchased the George Sellinger place, for which he paid in the neighborhood of $40,000. The purchase consists of 296 acres of what is considered some of the finest fruitland (sic) in the Mosier district, 100 acres of which is cleared. The place has a house and other improvements on it and is located near the big fruit farm of the East Hood River Fruit Company about a mile east of town. It is probable that Mr. McCarger will cut it up into smaller acreages and sell some of it to the many investors who are buying in this fast-developing district.
1920 — 100 years ago Fruitgrowers of the Upper Valley are now making preparations to handle their increasing crops of fruit in the coming fall. Chas Steinhauser is to have a new apple house of hollow tile and concrete. Its dimensions will be 50x90 feet and it will consist of a basement with two stories above ground level. The basement will be used for storage, the ground floor for packing and the second floor for supplies and to furnish accommodations for help during the season. Rea Babson, another Parkdale rancher, is arranging for extensive additions to his apple house and barn to meet his growing requirements.
1930 — 90 years ago As a result of a decision arrived at by stockholders of the Hood River News on Saturday, this newspaper will occupy a new home on Oak Street. Plans are now being drawn for a modern building, 50x80-feet of reinforced concrete and brick front, to occupy the site on which the laundry now stands, directly opposite the Rialto block. When completed, the interior will furnish the News a home as modern and complete in all respects as that of any upstate newspaper in Oregon.
1940 — 80 years ago With spring has come a strong demand for tracts in Hood River Valley and in recent weeks a number of new people have been here looking over acreage available in hopes of finding what they require. Several completed sales have also been reported by Truman Butler, realtor. The big sale involves the 147-acre tract above the Sunday ranch on Neal Creek, which has been owned for a number of years by Tom Sherrard and J.C. Chapman. The new owner is C.F. Allegre, well-known dairyman of the valley. Sherrard was for many years with the Forest Service and has now retired.
1950 — 70 years ago Above normal stream flows which will produce “excellent to abundant” water supplies for the April-September period were predicted for Hood River County Thursday at the 10th annual northcentral Oregon irrigation water forecast meeting on the basis of mountain snow and soil moisture conditions. Mountain snow cover in the Hood River-Wasco area is now between 150 and 200 percent of normal with more than the usual amount occurring at low elevations.
1960 — 60 years ago School voters in three western Wasco County districts will go to the polls in May to decide the merits of a school reorganization proposal that would merge school districts in Chenowith, Rowena, Petersburg and Mosier areas. The resulting system would create a central high school of some 350 students, according to the plan.
1970 — 50 years ago It was Christmas in March in an unimposing little Hood River store early this week. The store has a green front, its business is booze, and the boom was hardly surprising. Prices went up April 1, so state liquor store manager Pauline Kirkland and her crew had a busy time handling the rush before the price rise went into effect. Increases will range from a nickel a fifth on vodka bottled in Hood River to 15 or 20 cents on domestic whiskeys to 85 cents and more on imported liquor.
1980 — 40 years ago Mount St. Helens became something less than saintly last week when it began a series of eruptions that spewed volcanic ash as far as Hood River’s doorstep. It made itself the center of attention for scientists, news media, worried officials and a curious public. Automobile owners are cautioned that the ash contains sulfur compounds that may produce mild acid reactions and that cartops may be damaged by chemical reaction with metal if the ash is not hosed off with water.
1990 — 30 years ago It was still dark Monday morning when 18 junior high students from Tsuruta, Japan, ended a week’s stay in Hood River. They boarded a school bus and, just as the rising sun greeting them, they headed west to Portland International Airport. It was the seventh visit of a group of young people from Tsuruta to its American sister city, Hood River. And it certainly was one of the best recorded. NHK Television in Japan sent a crew to record every aspect of the visit.
2000 — 20 years ago Seeking ways to maintain emergency services in an era of tighter regulations and shrinking budgets, local fire officials are considering a proposal to consolidate area fire districts and departments. The idea arose as local officials considered how best to utilize the personnel and equipment of the area’s fire service providers, and whether organizing the various departments and districts under a single umbrella can provide efficiencies in operations, training and other areas.
2010 — 10 years ago An Easter weekend storm dropped on the Hood River Valley Friday. Snow collected on the highways in the mid- and upper valley, requiring drivers to put on chains while traveling on Highway 35. “Anywhere past the Odell junction it starts to get slick,” one Hood River County deputy stated at 11:30 a.m. Snow made travel hazardous on the higher elevations above Oak Grove on the west side of the valley.
Compiled by Trisha Walker and Emily Fitzgerald, News staff writers
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