Compiled by Don Hoiness from archived copies of The Bulletin at Deschutes County Historical Society.

100 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Aug. 4, 1918

Army orders are huge ones

The largest single order for bacon and canned meat in the history of the world — 99,560,000 pounds of bacon and 134,000,000 pounds of canned meat — has just been placed by the quartermaster’s department, U.S.A. for the American army overseas.

Louis F. Swift, in commenting on this today, said the order will take the bacon from approximately 1,900,000 hogs and if other work were dropped to produce it would be equivalent to the total bacon production of the five largest Chicago packers for nearly five weeks: however, six months will elapse before delivery is to be completed.

Mr. Swift said:

“At the current prices of the day, last week, when the purchase was made, the packers would pay the live stock producers about $80,000,000 for the necessary hogs and over $50,000,000 for about 900,000 cattle required.

“The cattle will cost us twice as much, and the hogs two and one-half times as much as in the pre-war period. The whole order will be made up before the first of the year, despite the fact that, even before this purchase, one-fourth of the packers’ facilities have been devoted to filling military demands.

“In order to get out the canned goods, the packers will find it necessary to employ night and day shifts of canners. Notwithstanding the fact that the products are being rushed forward thus hurriedly, not a single complaint has been received on meats delivered to the armies abroad. The five packers are now killing about 360,000 hogs weekly to keep abreast of martial and domestic needs.”

Today last one for volunteers

This was the last day for Oregon volunteers under the call of Provost Marshal General Crowder for 303 men to take a technical training course at Benson High School in Portland.

The men must have had a grammar school education to be eligible. From each county will be drafted enough men to fill the quota from that county after the volunteers are counted tonight.

The men will entrain Aug. 15. Only white men and men physically fit will be allowed to volunteer.

75 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Aug. 4, 1943

Italy reported seeking peace

Italian Premier Marshal Pietro Badoglio’s cabinet dissolved the fascist party and sought to stem disorders reported spreading from northern Italy to the southern regions facing an allied invasion after the fall of Sicily.

The fascist organization, created by Benito Mussolini, was the chief target of demonstrators in the northern industrial area, especially at Milan where 30 casualties were reported in violent clashes with local fascist groups holding out against units of the army. The outbreaks, some of which developed into pitched battles, were reportedly led by socialists. Demonstrators waved red flags in some instances.

The cabinet, with Badoglio presiding, ordered dissolution of the party that had ruled Italy for 20 years and also suppressed the fascist special court for defense of the state, the Italian Stefani news agency said.

Dispatches from all neutral listening posts adjacent to Nazi-controlled Europe reported many peace feelers, but for the time being Badoglio appeared to be faced with grave problems in maintaining order in northern Italy. All export of food to Germany has ceased, the newspaper said.

German reaction was reported extremely nervous regarding Italy, but Hitler’s worries were also increased by reports that Hungary was extending tentative peace feelers toward the allies and by reports of precautions by the Spanish government against possible opposition to Gen. Francisco Franco’s regime.

Peace offer extended to Italy

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme allied commander in the Mediterranean, today formally offered to make an immediate and honorable peace with Italy and implied that negotiations already may be in progress.

“Cease at once all assistance to German armed forces in Italy,” he said, in a special message to the Italian people, and the allies will “rid you of the Germans and deliver you from the horrors of war.”

The only remaining obstacle to peace is the “German aggressor who is still on Italian soil,” he said in hinting that the allies were willing to recognize Marshal Pietro Badoglio, the new Italian chief of government, and King Victor Emmanuel III as responsible parties with whom to arrange an armistice.

50 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Aug. 4, 1968

‘68 football season nears

It is hard to believe that the 1968 football season is almost upon us, but it is.

A little less than three weeks from now, a group of football players, obscure through most of the nation but well known in Oregon, will meet in a gridiron encounter that is more than just another game.

The Oregon State Shrine Football game where ‘strong legs run so that weak legs can walk’ will pit the best high school gridiron heroes in the state against each other.

Those who have played or participated in the pageantry and spectacle that is Shrine football are proud to have done so. Bend’s Mike Nehl, whose spectacular punting a year ago was the key factor in State’s 13-7 win over Metro, said following that game, “It is an experience you never forget. I will always look back on the Shrine game as one of my fondest memories.”

Nehl, along with teammate Dean Pollman, must watch from the sidelines this year, but two other Central Oregonians will be in there doing their bit … John Gibbs from Redmond and Pat Korish from Bend.

Pageant to relate story of Prineville’s historical past

The dictionary defines pageant as “an elaborate public spectacle illustrative of the history of a place, often given in dramatic form.” That sums up the nature of the Prineville Centennial Pageant “Thunder on the Ochocos.”

The pageant will present the historical story of Prineville from the beginnings to the present. It will span four generations of local history to depict Prineville’s struggles, triumphs, laughs and heartaches.

A cast of nearly 200 local amateur actors will provide the nucleus for the 4-day extravaganza. The fast moving show will feature cowboys, Indians, trappers, dance-hall girls, soldiers and pioneers, in addition to singing, dancing and comedy acts.

There are no speaking parts in the production, but each segment will be narrated. Highlighting the two-hour play will be a grand finale. The ending has been titled a “Parade of States,” and will include the entire cast, plus a flag presentation from each of the states.

Al and Helen Learman are in charge of the pageant. Jerry Payne is pageant director and Gale Ontko is in charge of compiling historical data.

25 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Aug. 4, 1993

Scientists get wet for closer look at Indian artifacts

Archaeologists donned scuba gear this week to get a close look at Indian artifacts beneath the surface of two Central Oregon lakes.

Only recently, when drought exposed long-submerged artifacts such as dug-out canoes, have forest officials become aware of the kind of cultural resources available for study in local waters.

Evidence collected this week suggests native people were not entirely transient and may have stayed at productive lakes for extended periods.

“Most of our work is done in transitional zones: bays and estuaries,” explained Alison Stenger, the group’s leader and the director of research for the Institute of Archaeological Studies. “Tidal areas are so rich in resources.”

“But freshwater sites also offer good opportunities to learn about past cultures,” she said. The divers have worked extensively in Washington to locate tribal sites flooded earlier this century when dams created island reservoirs.

This week on the Deschutes, both survey sites were at naturally formed lakes, the names and locations of which are kept secret to deter illegal artifact collecting.

The divers also left artifacts where they found them, as tribal leaders prefer. Maps were made of underwater sites and other data were collected to record the finds.

Earlier in the week, the team discovered underwater rocks presumably blackened by cooking fires beside a leech-infected lake that may have been a key source of fish as well as plants harvested for food and fiber. On shore what looked like an ordinary basalt rock was, when turned over, a stone mortar. The team also took a long look at a air of sunken dug-out canoes used for harvesting water lilies, once a staple of tribal diet.

Ranchers reported seeing the canoes floating in the lake as recently as the 1920s, but Indians also are said to have sunk the craft when not in use to keep them hidden and reserved.

Paul Claeyssens, the archaeologist for the Deschutes forest, said he was curious about how wave action affected the wooden canoes over time. While too brittle to remove them from the silt-covered lake bed the boats remain intact.

“It’s very unusual to find them in this good of condition,” said Stenger, adding that the best way to protect marine artifacts is to leave them underwater. “Once on land, the objects not only quickly rust or rot, they loose their cultural identity,” she said.