Yesteryear

Published 12:00 am Sunday, December 27, 2015

Compiled by Don Hoiness from archived copies of The Bulletin at Des Chutes County Historical Society

100 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Dec. 26 1915

T.L. Shevlin dies this morning

Thomas L. Shevlin, president of The Shevlin-Hixon Company, died this morning in Minneapolis. Taken sick on Christmas day, pneumonia developed rapidly, and this morning at 5 o’clock the end came.

Only 32 years old, Mr. Shevlin was one of the commanding figures in the American lumber industry, a position gained since his graduation from college eight years ago. As president of the various Shevlin companies he had lumber interests in various parts of the country, consisting of mills in Ontario, Minnesota, Montana, Idaho and the plant now under construction in Bend, and large timber acreage in many sections.

In Central Oregon, Shevlin companies own over 200,000 acres of pine, including the holdings of the Fremont Land Company, the Deschutes Timber Company and the Rogers timber near Bend, the last two tracts having been acquired this year. To mill this timber a plant is now building in Bend, operation of which is to begin early next year.

According to local officials of The Shevlin-Hixon Company, Mr. Shevlin’s death will cause no change in the immediate plans of the company, or the development of its local timber resources. Construction will proceed and the plant put in operation as soon as possible.

The news of the death of the man who is looked upon as the chief cause of Bend’s present prosperity came as a distinct shock to all who heard it. Mr. Shevlin visited Bend recently for the purpose of inspecting the work at the Shevlin-Hixon plant. To his friends and associates in the company work, although informed of his illness by messages earlier in the week, the news seemed unbelievable.

Since leaving college Mr. Shevlin has made himself felt as a football coach, having been called upon by Yale teams for assistance more than once when the coaches in charge were making failures of the work. Under his last minute instruction Yale once held Harvard to a scoreless tie, a virtual victory, and only this last fall when defeat at the hands of all comers had been Yale’s portion. The “Human dynamo” was able to produce a victory over Princeton, a five to two favorite.

Immediately on leaving college in 1906, Mr. Shevlin came to Bend and with this as his headquarters spent six months in the timber with “Mike” Kelley, an old Shevlin employee. This was his first business experience and according to a close friend, it created in him an interest in this locality which has always placed it foremost in his thought.

On his father’s death in 1912 Mr. Shevlin came into active management of the estate’s large timber interests.

Going into business hard, as he went into a football game and everything else he undertook, he dominated all with whom he came in contact, and yet created in all a feeling of affection and respect for his character and ability.

The will of the late Thomas L. Shevlin, former Yale football star who was also a track star, filed for probate today, leaving the estate of $3,500,000 to the widow and two children.

A large part of the estate is placed in trust until the two children reach the age of 30. The money then will be equally divided between them. Mrs. Shevlin will receive an annual income of $60,000 in addition to money from certain holdings.

75 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Dec. 26, 1940

Germans renew raids of Britain

Waves of German bombers hurtled over Great Britain tonight, breaking the long respite from blitzkrieg tactics with an attack that brought reports of Nazi raiders in almost all sections of the country.

London had a night alarm soon after dusk and a little later there were reports of Nazi warplanes operating over the country at almost all points of the compass.

A little later an East Midlands town reported that raiders were roaring over at a great height at intervals of about a minute, apparently headed farther north.

Other raiding reports came in from a west British town, East Anglia, Wales, a southwest British town, Liverpool, northwest British towns, the Westmidlands and a north England town.

London’s alarm was the first of the day. German planes, singly or in small groups, flew over several parts of England last night but returned to their bases after dropping only a few bombs.

Christmas finds America center of peace and plenty

Christmas 1940 found a large share of the world’s peace, cheer and plenty centered in the United States.

An unofficial truce prevailed in the British-German aerial warfare, and no bombs fell in either country all day, but both London and Berlin were tense as usual. Londoners gathered in air raid cellars to sing Christmas carols and Berlin lifted the wartime restrictions only enough to broadcast Christmas music a few hours at stations that are kept silent most of the time lest they guide British airplanes to the city.

Bethlehem, the holy city, and Rome, the eternal city were blacked out completely Christmas Eve. Most of the worshipers at the Church of the Nativity, supposedly on the site of Christ’s birth, were British soldiers.

In Albania and Africa the war continued with unabated fury, an Italian communique said Italian planes bombed intensively the British advance base in Libya and damaged a British warship off the coast, and that a violent artillery duel proceeded around Bardia.

Greece reported that Italian bombers killed 15 civilians, mostly women and children, at Corfu which, Greeks said, has no military objectives. Greece reported that her troops continued to assail the Italians lines in Albania throughout the holiday. In virtually all of Europe, rationing and penury made Christmas dinners skimpy.

South America celebrated Christmas in summer heat. Balmy weather prevailed over most of the United States, increasing highway traffic and its attendant perils. Over 400 were killed accidentally in this country, mostly in traffic disasters and fires. The toll probably was as large as that claimed by wars in the rest of the world.

President Roosevelt and his family — four generations — spent the day quietly at the White House, where the youngsters hung stockings in the president’s room.

In New York, tens of thousands of unfortunates had free chicken or turkey dinners and there, as in other cities throughout the country, holiday crowds were swelled by soldiers, home on furloughs from training camps.

50 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Dec. 26, 1965

Letter advises group against holding pageant

Bend Pageantarians have been advised against holding a water fete in 1966.

A letter was sent to the group over the weekend by President Robert L. Bristol of the Bend Chamber of Commerce. It followed a meeting Friday of the chamber board at which the question of continuing the pageant was considered.

Although no formal action was taken by the board, Bristol wrote Pageantarians that “based on present indications of membership opinion it would seem that pledged support does not meet the requirements needed to justify the major efforts of a few to make this event successful.”

Bristol added: “It is further recommended that this decision be reconsidered at any future time when it would seem advisable.”

Faithful gather in Bethlehem for observances

The world made ready for Christmas today with song and solitude, laughter and tears and a prayer for peace.

In Viet Nam, the guns were stilled.

In Bethlehem, the faithful watched.

Under the silent stars of Bethlehem, thousands of pilgrims and tourists crowded through the streets for Christmas Eve service. A record number of Israeli Christians were allowed into the Jordanian town. Many hoped to attend a midnight Mass tonight in the Church of the Nativity, built centuries ago over a grotto worshiped by Christians as the place where Jesus was born 2,000 years ago.

A bright tropical sun burned over Saigon as a planned 30-hour truce in the Vietnamese war went into effect. For the first time this week, a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was lifted. The curfew was imposed last Saturday to keep American GIs off the street during a wave of increasing terrorist activity. For many of the GIs, it was their first Christmas away from home.

But for many, Christmas was going to be a day of brightness and hope. With the President seated on a swing, the Johnson family gathered Thursday night on the front porch of their Texas ranch to hear the happy carols of Christmas sung by about 100 choristers.

Across the United States thousands of children had visions of sugar plums while their parents joined the madding crowd in last-minute Christmas shopping.

For a boy named Mike in Oklahoma City, Christmas will be a special surprise. “Santa, I know you will help me,” the lad said in a letter found in a variety store. “My mama said we won’t be having any Christmas this year. … Mama gets money from welfare, but by the time we eat and buy clothes, she don’t have anything left for toys. … We will take anything you bring us.”

25 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Dec. 26, 1990

Cold puts squeeze on area

An Arctic cold front tightened its grip on Central Oregon today, sending overnight temperatures plummeting as far as 20 degrees below zero and causing widespread power outages in the Bend area.

Overnight lows ranged from minus 20 in Sisters to minus five in Prineville, with a minus 9 recorded in Bend and minus 10 in Redmond. And even colder temperatures are on the way, with lows tonight forecasted to be 25 below zero in the La Pine basin.

More than 500 people were left without power Wednesday night. Central Electric Cooperative today reported record high power usage. CEC spokesman Jim Crowell said power demand was eight percent more than the record of 35.34 megawatts set during an extended cold spell in February of 1989.

The peak demand was too much for some of the cooperative’s equipment, and Crowell said outages affected homes in the Crossroads and Tollgate subdivisions.

In addition, a power pole on Nelson Road shattered in the extreme cold, causing outages in the Cimarron City area east of Bend.

“We’ve got crews scattered all over and the calls are coming in like crazy,” Crowell said.

NW stays locked in deep freeze

The arctic cold front that brought snowfall to most of Oregon on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning has locked the state in a deep freeze.

Eastern Oregon temperatures dipped below zero. New record lows were set in Astoria and Eugene.

Strong Northerly winds were expected to send wind chill readings to 30 below zero tonight in western Oregon and 40 to 50 below zero east of the Cascades.