1925 — 100 years ago
During the past eight years the Kilowatt hours of substation electrical output of the Pacific Power & Light Company for Hood River have practically doubled. This information was contained in a statement which was given to this paper during the week by Lewis A. Arthur, of Portland, vice-president and general manager of the power company.
— Hood River News
Wind proved stronger than emergency brakes and blew a heavy touring car 150 feet, to within 10 feet of a building where nearly 100 people were seeking shelter from a dust storm in the Columbia district late yesterday afternoon, according to reports brought back to the city this morning by County Agent Daigh.
So thick was the dust, blown from summer fallowed fields, that traffic on the roads was completely stopped for nearly two hours, carburetors were choked up and at least 12 machines had to be towed from the vicinity of the Columbia Farmers’ Union hall to shelter or service stations. Several cars could not be started at all, owing to the dust.
— The Dalles Chronicle
1945 — 80 years ago
Official authorization from the Civil Aeronautics Administration for the new airport south of Hood River was received here last week and the field is to be used for both student and private flying, as provided for under existing war-time restrictions. This field is sponsored by the Hood River Flight of the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the Army Air Forces, and most of the work has been done by members of this group.
— Hood River News
Additional cigar-shaped log rafts have arrived at the moorage basis above the local port terminal, after passing through the Celilo canal. The logs will be formed into larger rafts here and towed to Portland for milling by the Eastern and Western Lumber company. Loggers now are at work in the company’s holdings northwest of Goldendale.
— The Dalles Chronicle
The first evidence that the spring freshet in the Columbia is now in progress was seen today in the form of driftwood and a murky condition in the river. Unusually warm weather during the last week along the headwaters of the Columbia has started snow melting rapidly. The river level at The Dalles today was 32.3 feet.
— The Dalles Chronicle
Sergeant Nick Surbaugh, White Salmon boy, is thought to have been freed last Friday when Russia’s 1st Ukrainian Army overran the notorious Luckenwalde prison camp, Stalag 3A, south of Berlin, setting free 3000 Americans and countless thousands of Russians, British and other allied soldiers.
Sergeant Surbaugh was taken prisoner by the Germans in Italy about a year and a half ago.
— White Salmon Enterprise
April 30th marked the close of the Used Clothing drive for overseas relief in White Salmon and surrounding communities of Bingen, Husum, Trout Lake, Glenwood, Underwood, etc., and exceeded all expectations of the committee. Total pounds collected and shipped were approximately 8730 pounds. The organizations who assisted in this very worthwhile drive were PTA, American Legion and Auxiliary, Husum’s Woman’s club, Rotary club, Columbia high school and grade school, and Order of the Eastern Star.
— White Salmon Enterprise
1965 — 60 years ago
Snow blanketed the foothills around Hood River on Wednesday morning, and at Parkdale up to two inches covered the ground in spots. Some open spots were bare, and the slushy coating was melting by mid-morning Wednesday. There was no snow on the ground at Hood River. The turn in weather from rain to snow was of no apparent concern to fruit growers, but one said “we would worry if it cleared up and stayed cold.”
— Hood River News
Decline in ground-water supplies spurred Dalles area growers to begin pressing for renewal of pump irrigation plans for more than 5,000 acres of land, a large part of it devoted to fruit production.
Canada Goose, the bird with the wild cry and keen social instincts, is one of the major waterfowl resources of the Columbia Basin. Gees flying in wavering wedges are a common sight east of here each fall as the birds stop en route south from their far-north summering grounds. Geese usually make two flights a day to and from the wheat country where they feed. Hunters seek them in the fields or on the flight paths the geese follow.
— The Dalles Chronicle
An early morning breakfast was held in the Fellowship Hall to launch the Boy Scout drive to raise $900 as our share of the Columbia Gorge District of Boy Scouts. Roy Sumner of The Dalles, our district manager, led the meeting and explained some of the work of the Scouts. The goal is to get people to have a sustaining membership in the Boy Scouts. Anyone who gives ten dollars per man will have a sustaining membership.
— White Salmon Enterprise
1985 — 40 years ago
Rumors of a possible move to close Cascade Locks High School packed the house when the county school board met there last week. Administrators quickly branded it as just that — a rumor — but more than an hour was devoted to the merits and demerits of such a move. More than 70 persons filled the Cascade Locks school library to observe the May 8 meeting, apparently anticipating discussion of the local school situation.
— Hood River News
A June diking district election in Skamania County could be the smallest election in Washington State history, according to the county auditor. Fifteen residents in the Skamania area, which is near the county’s western boundary, signed a petition to form a diking district, which was presented by proponents to the board of county commissioners last fall. The board routed the matter through proper channels, resulting in the special election. At this time, however, it has been determined that only three of the 15 people who signed the petition are eligible to vote.
— White Salmon Enterprise
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