This week in history: August 14, 2024

1924 — 100 years ago

Alva E. Sherrill, who is on the House ranch, has a Barred Rock hen which laid two eggs in one day. The first was a big one and Gorge Poe was juggling with it when it broke. Inside was the usual yolk and white and also another perfect egg enclosed in a shell. Alva recognizes that this is about the time of year for the biggest pumpkin, egg and sea serpent, but he sticks to the story just the same. — Hood River News

Asking personal damages in the sum of $25,000, D. A. Maxwell has entered a claim in the circuit court here against the Standard Oil company and E. R. Groce, as the result of an automobile accident on the Columbia River highway east of The Dalles, November 30, 1923. — The Dalles Chronicle

Fire destroyed the new home of Mr. and Mrs. P. Proper in this city last Saturday, just a few minutes after noon. Mr. Proper, who was working in the garden, noticed the smoke issuing out of the kitchen and running to the house broke into the kitchen which was a mass of flames. Only a small amount of their furniture was saved. The local fire department and a number of residents answered the fire alarm but the fire had gained much headway that their efforts could only be put to saving nearby buildings.

Sparks at one time started a fire under the A. H. Jewett barn which was soon extinguished. Mr. Proper carried insurance on the house, but the loss will nevertheless be quite large.

Mr. Proper has already started the foundation for a new house on a new location nearer the main road. — White Salmon Enterprise

1944 — 80 years ago

The latest on the Selective Service draft plants came this week from Major-General Lewis B. Hershey, who was in Portland, and who said: “We will just about clean out the physically fit under 26 years old, not use the 36 to 29’s unless necessary and not those over if they are working. Hershey advocates one year’s compulsory military training as a way to eliminate men found unfit for active service, of which there were four millions in this war. — Hood River News

City police officers early this morning frustrated what apparently was an attempt to rob Langdon’s tavern, at the west city limits, and exchanged shots with two youthful marauders before they escaped in the darkness. — The Dalles Chronicle

The fishing boat Unga docked again at The Dalles port last night and took a cargo of 100 tons of ice, manufactured by the Stadelman Ice company. The boat went down river early today, bound for Newport, where the ice will be used in the refrigeration of fish caught by ocean trollers. The Unga made its initial trip to The Dalles several weeks ago, in an experimental run. The loss through evaporation was so low that a second trip was found feasible. A shortage of ice in centers that usually supply the coast fishing industry resulted in the decision to send the Unga up the Columbia river to The Dalles. — The Dalles Chronicle

1964 — 60 years ago

Skies were clear, and the crowds came early and stayed late. More important, there were more exhibitors and larger crowds than ever before. “We figured attendance at 8,600,” said fair manager Jerry Routson. “That’s 1,100 more than last year’s record attendance. The count was an “extremely conservative” estimate in Routson’s judgment because there was no way to count those too young to pay admission. “Almost all the concessionaires has a good increase” the fair manager recounted. “Rides increased a third over last year, and that’s good. — Hood River News

Judges for the beard contest of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, to end at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Wasco County Fair at a point near the office on the fairgrounds in Tygh Valley adjacent to the entrance, will be three of the area’s loveliest girls. All bearded men are asked to appear at the fair’s office by 4 p.m. and pay a fee of 50 cents to qualify for the judging, it was announced by Vic Peterson, secretary of the fair board, working in cooperation with the Jaycees in the contest. — The Dalles Chronicle

Pastor Perry A. Parks has come from Condon where he has been pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. He replaces Pastor Ed Eigenberg who has been transferred to Coos Bay. Mr. Parks’ district includes the White Salmon-Bingen area, the Trout Lake area, and the Glenwood area. The Parks family will live in the parsonage at 70 Center St., in White Salmon. He is a graduate of Walla Walla College and took his seminary training at Andrews University. He pastorates have been Spokane, Yakima, and Condon. His wife Gloria is a registered nurse and took her training at Hinsdale Sanitarium, Chicago. They have two children. — White Salmon Enterprise

1984 — 40 years ago

Civil Air Patrol units from throughout Oregon gathered for a simulated emergency exercise here Saturday, and found themselves involved in a real emergency not on the charts. Forty Civil Air Patrol members, a dozen planes and ground crew teams met here Saturday morning to hone their emergency skill on a simulated problem directed by Maj. Joe Wampler aided by a local crew of seven. During the briefing, the CAP members were introduced to their target early. After a review of safety procedures and other preparatory measures, Wampler read the announcement: A plane had set out from John Day bound for Hood River, and it was overdue. The task was to located the craft, and to direct ground crews to the location. To complicate the procedure, a person not connected with the group was given the task of placing the simulated crash, so no one involved knew where it was. — Hood River News

The Senate Appropriations Committee has adopted an amendment by Sen. Mark Hatfield, R-Ore., to provided up to $8.5 million to buy up to 700 undeveloped acres in the Columbia River Gorge. — The Dalles Chronicle

The former editor of The Rajneesh Times acknowledge in Multnomah County Circuit Court Monday that she authorized a letter to appear in the newspaper in 1983 that a former Antelope resident says defamed her. Ma Prem Isabel took the stand in a $1 million defamation suit filed against Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers by a former Antelope resident and admitted she authorized the printing of the letter. — The Dalles Chronicle

2004 — 20 years ago

It was supposed to be below the radar. A few hours off from meticulously-planned days and the constant watch of the media. But by Wednesday morning a billboard on I-84 was welcoming Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts to Hood River and the Secret Service was meeting with local law enforcement and Port of Hood River officials in preparation for a visit Saturday by Kerry who, amid the flurry of trying to become the leader of the most powerful nation on earth, just wanted to go windsurfing. As of press time Friday, details of Kerry’s visit to Hood River were sketchy — purposely so, no doubt, since it was not intended as an official campaign stop and Kerry would make no official public appearances. But officials from Kerry’s national campaign came to town on Tuesday, followed by the Secret Service. — Hood River News

Construction of a nurse training/health sciences facility and building repairs in The Dalles, together with property acquisition of classrooms in Hood River, provide the focal point of an $18,5 million bond measure Columbia Gorge Community College will place before voters this November. — The Dalles Chronicle

The U.S. Army recently awarded Capt. Erin Stewart, daughter of Randy and Susan Stewart, the military’s Bronze Star medal for “exceptional performance of duty” as the acting Division Transport Officer with the First Armored Division in Iraq. — The Dalles Chronicle