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

100 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Aug. 25, 1918

Rainbow ready to distribute

Two hundred and forty thousand rainbow trout hatched from eggs taken from Odell and Crescent lakes are now ready for distribution from the hatchery here. Twenty-five thousand were taken to East Lake on Wednesday and Thursday of this week by Fred Shintaffer, and Mr. Lynes, supervisor of the hatchery, has stated that as soon as fish cans are procurable the remainder of the hatch is to be distributed in the various lakes and streams in this district. Fifty thousand of them will be released in Odell and Crescent lakes, 35,000 to 40,000 in the Metolius and possibly 100,000 liberated in the Deschutes.

Million and half men over

General Conway Peyton March, chief of staff, today told the members of the senate military committee that the total number of Americans now in Europe, or en route, was 1,450,000. It is the hope of the department to have 3,300,000 overseas by the first of June, 1919, he declared. Improved facilities have again increased the speed of troop shipments, which was somewhat slackened for a short time through lack of vessels.

He stated to the correspondents this morning that a number of high officers, including several major generals, were being returned to the United States for a short rest because of the heavy strain occasioned by the severe fighting of the past several weeks, and issued a warning that heavy casualties must be expected.

All young men must register

Every young man in the United States who has passed his 21st birthday since registration day for 21-year-old men last June 5 must register for the draft on Saturday, August 24.

By proclamation of President Wilson, just issued, this call includes citizens as well as non-citizens. The only men of the age specified who will not have to register are those already in the military or naval service.

This call should not be confused with the big registration day, to be held some time in September for registration of all men between the ages of 18 and 45 years.

No excuse will be accepted for failure to register. The time remaining before registration day is so very short that every man who comes within the call should arrange his affairs now so he can go to the registration place on August 24 and register.

Failure to register is punishable by imprisonment up to one year, and followed by induction into the service.

Even sickness will be no excuse for failing to register.

75 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Aug. 25, 1943

Allied forces seize Kiska, find Japanese gone

Canadian and American troops have occupied Kiska, last Japanese stronghold in the Aleutians, without meeting opposition from the enemy, it was announced today in a joint statement by President Roosevelt and Premier W.L. Mackenzie King. The Japanese garrison apparently evacuated the island under cover of fog, it was said.

The landing was supported by surface vessels.

“It is evident that the position of the Japanese troops became untenable because of the occupation of Attu, the harassment of enemy supply lines and the recent bombings and bombardments of Kiska by air and surface craft,” the joint statement said.

The Japanese had at least 10,000 men on the positions they now have abandoned.

Woman will coach east grid team

State College, Pennsylvania. Football’s first feminine coach brushed all strictly academic matters from her blond head today as she prepared to return to her alma mater for an intensive brush up course in the finer points of the game as practiced by Penn State’s Lions.

Accepting Coach Bob Higgins’ offer to instruct her during the Lions’ pre-season drill sessions, Miss Pauline Rugh — Bell township high school’s answer to the football coaching problem — expects to arrive here Thursday or Friday to make an intensive study of the Higgins system, which follows the Warner style of play.

She was advised by coach Higgins to lose no time in getting started because — as he expressed it — “this football is a pretty complex game.”

Blade of mower not best seat for Johnny Ball

Eight-year-old Peter, the mechanical genius in the family of Rev. and Mrs. Francis Ball, today had nearly solved the transportation problem — except for a few minor details.

Placing a board across the width of his coaster wagon, Peter rigged up his own neighborhood streetcar. Five of his pals found seats — two on the wagon and three on the crossbeam. But his five-year-old kid brother, Johnny, wanted a ride too.

So Peter fastened the lawn mower permitting the bladed roller to serve as a chair for Johnny.

A few stitches took care of little John’s sliced posterior, but what happened to Peter’s posterior when his dad caught him is not for print.

Rev. Francis H. Ball, father of the boys, was formerly Pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bend.

50 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Aug. 25, 1968

Rattlesnakes not as serious a threat as tourists think

“We’d like to stay here a few days, but how serious is this snake situation?”

That’s a question alarmed tourists have been asking at Central Oregon tourist centers this summer

“Sure there are rattlesnakes in Central Oregon. Our men cover a 20-mile stretch of this river and we are not experiencing an unusual amount of rattlers this summer. In fact only two or three have been spotted in the entire Pelton and Round Butte projects this whole year,” Vic Bacon, Portland General Electric project engineer, said.

Oscar Lange, Madras river guide, has already taken over 50 parties on fishing trips this year. The boat trips originate at Warm Springs and go downstream to the lower Deschutes where there are no access roads.

We’ve seen exactly two rattlers this year,” Lange said. “I had 11 men in an area some people would call ‘snake heaven’ for two days and nights recently, and no one in the party even heard a snake. And remember, this is part of the river where rock slides and cliffs crowd in on the water.”

The Pacific Rattlesnake, common to the Northwest, is cold blooded, like all snakes. It usually hunts the small rodents it feeds on at night, then seeks the warmth of rocks during the day. This accounts for the fact that a good many of the snakes sighted are dead on roads and highways where they chose to sun themselves.

Rattlesnakes are not easily provoked and will usually try to escape, or if cornered, to frighten an intruder by rattling and puffing themselves out as much as possible.

An old-timer in Central Oregon summed it up this way. “I don’t know why tourists keep asking about rattlesnakes. You can go for years without seeing a rattler in these parts, and you know, I ain’t been chased by one yet.”

Ashes of Fort Rock fire pinpoint ancient occupation

The ashes of a fire built several thousands of years ago in Central Oregon have enabled University of Oregon archaeologists to pinpoint the second oldest known date of human occupation in North America and help solve the mystery of when men first moved across the Bring Strait and south to the New World.

The university announced today that Dr. Luther Cressman and Stephen F. Bedwell have discovered from radio-carbon dating of the ashes that the Fort Rock Lake Basin was inhabited some 13,600 years ago — at least 4,000 years earlier than anyone had been able to determine before.

The story began 30 years ago when Dr. Cressman discovered 75 Indian sandals while digging in Fort Rock Cave. The sandals were dated at around 9,000 years and until now were the oldest evidence of human occupation in the area. The sandals remain the oldest directly dated artifact in the New World.

25 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Aug. 25, 1993

Bend girl takes first at Hershey national meet

HERSHEY, Pennsylvania — Kimberly Regnier of Bend became a national champion Saturday. Regnier, who will be a fifth-grader at Buckingham Elementary this fall, placed first in the girls 9-10 50 meter dash at the Hershey National Final Track and Field Meet.

The 10-year-old won with a time of 8.03 — well off her personal-best mark of 7.32, but fast enough to lead the field on a hot and muggy day at Hershey Field.

Two other Central Oregon athletes, Susie Waterman of Bend and Daniel Kemp of Sisters, placed fourth in their respective events.

Waterman, 12, missed a third place trophy by a quarter of an inch in the girls’ 11-12 standing long jump, leaping a personal-best 7 feet, 7 3/4 inches.

Kemp, 14, was fourth in the boys’ 13-14 1,600 meter race. He, too, set a personal record, clocking a time of 4 minutes, 39.88 seconds. Kemp missed third place by 0.05 seconds in the event which was won by Julian Callender of Norwich Conn., with a time of 4:33.87.

The annual Hershey meet brings together qualifiers from around the United States for competition in the standing long jump, softball throw and a variety of running events.

Public has had say on parkway (editorial)

Circuit Judge Thomas Mosgrove’s decision to void the Sept. 21 election on the Bend Parkway was simply an appropriate reading of the law, not the “funeral of democracy” described by parkway foes.

It is ludicrous to argue that Bend-area citizens have not had their say in the long, slow process to develop a plan to deal with traffic congestion on U.S. Highway 97. A Citizens Advisory Commission spent months poring over alternatives before settling on what evolved into the parkway. There were numerous public hearings, a formal environmental impact statement with a mechanism for a public appeal. And, finally, there was a public election on the question of whether the community would be better off with the parkway or an east side bypass. That vote was decisive.

Those bellowing that democracy has been denied are unable to accept that they are on the losing side in what has been a democratic process. Many of them were not heavily involved in the 1990 election. Perhaps they did not fully understand the size and scope of the parkway. Some were not living in the community then. Their frustration is understandable, but doesn’t change the fact that the planning for the parkway has been fair and democratic.

The parkway is not a perfect project. It does seem too expensive. It will dramatically change the appearance of some areas of Bend. However, it is the best alternative the Highway Division and a majority of the citizens of Bend have come up with for solving the community’s traffic congestion, a problem that should be obvious to all this busy summer.