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

100 Years ago

For the week ending

Oct. 13, 1918

Two million men in France

America has reached nearly the two million mark in troop shipments, General March told the correspondents here today. One-million-nine-hundred-thousand Americans are now in Europe and the shipments are being continued.

“This no time to act on the idea that the war is over,” he declared. “The thing to do is to back the government with men and money until victory is certain.”

Boys in France get tobacco

Money for tobacco which was contributed to The Bulletin tobacco fund during the months of July, August and September by its readers has been utilized for this purpose, according to a letter received from Louis J. Hunter, deputy comptroller of the American Red Cross, national headquarters, which reads as follows:

“You will be glad to know that the contributions received in July, August and September from your readers for the purchase of tobacco for the men in the American expeditionary forces in France have been utilized as designated. The war council of the Red Cross has made appropriations for large quantities of pipe tobacco and cigarettes to be sent to our men overseas, and your donations will be applied in this connection. There is surely nothing that adds more to the content and comfort of our soldiers than an ample supply of tobacco, and we assure you that the generosity of the donors is greatly appreciated.”

German armies are routed

LONDON — The greatest victory in military history appears to be approaching. Attacking on nearly a 50-mile front from below St. Quentin to near Douia, the British, French and Americans are reported to have broken through completely on over half of this front.

Through this gap the soldiers of the allied armies are pouring, backed up by the artillery and heavier guns, which are being thrown in behind them.

In front of the allied armies in wild retreat is nearly a half million of Germany’s best soldiers, who seem to be completely routed.

The allies are within two miles of Le Cateau, the great German base, which is but 15 miles from the Belgian Border and 17 miles south of Valenciennes.

The British have begun their great advance eastward from Lens, and already Sallsumines and Nouville have fallen into their hands.

75 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Oct. 13, 1943

Bend’s entire 1940 Oregon football championship team now in service of U.S.

Members of Bend’s state championship football team of 1940, a powerful squad that won the state title by defeating Medford on its home field, 20 to 7, are doing their bit for their country, as are their coaches, Ensign Joe Huston of the U.S. Navy, and Lt. Hank Nielsen of the U.S. Army.

Every member of the Bend team that started against Medford and every substitute has served or is serving his country, in far parts of the world. One member of the Oregon champions of 1940, Bill Eby, halfback, was listed as missing on Bataan. Willard Ferneau, who saw action in Bend’s backfield in the championship game has been a prisoner of the Japanese since the fall of Bataan, as is Jack Chambers, who starred at center in the title game at Medford.

Clarence Cunningham, athletic manager of the Bears was killed this past summer in a flying accident.

Other members of the team are “carrying on”, and, like their coaches of 1940, are ready for action in their greatest game.

Bears of three years ago won their state title following a season in which they met Oregon’s major prep-school elevens, and were selected to play in the state finals. Bend entered the championship series following a hard game with Klamath Falls, won by the Bears 7 to 0, before a crowd of 4,500 highly partisan Pelican fans in Klamath Falls. The battered, tired Bend team then faced Salem and had to be content with a 7 to 7 tie. In its part of the series, Medford piled up imposing scores against big elevens west of the mountains and on Nov. 30, 1940, faced the Bears on the Medford field. All Oregon hailed the Bears following their 20 to 7 victory over the highly rated and powerful Tigers.

Then came the clouds of war, and even before Japan struck at Pearl Harbor, several of the Bears of 1940 were in service. In the following three years, every member of the squad that battled Medford for the state title had entered the services.

This week, members of the Bend High School staff assisted The Bulletin in looking up the records of the Bears of 1940. Here is the starting lineup of the Medford game and some of the positions they are now playing on Uncle Sam’s team.

Gene Gillis, left tackle — U.S. Marine Air Corps, stationed in Memphis Tenn.

Sherman Nicar, left end — U.S. Marine Corps, stationed at Santa Barbara, Calif.

Jack Chambers, center — Japanese prison camp in the Philippines since the fall of Bataan.

Ted Meland, left guard — U.S. Navy, Camp Farragut, Idaho

Bill Murphy, right guard — U.S. Army Air Force cadet, stationed at a base in Tennessee.

Dick Cooper, right tackle — U.S. Army, Camp Abbot.

Tony Klobas, right end — U.S. Army Air Corps.

Pat Metke, quarterback — Navy Aviation Cadet, Westland College, Delaware.

Bill Eby, left half — Saw action on Bataan. Listed as missing.

George Chambers, right half — U.S. Marine Corps, radar student at a base in Chicago.

Captain Jim Byers, fullback — Lieutenant in U.S. Army Air Corps.

Other Bears who saw action in the state title game were Bob Powell, now in the U.S. Army at Camp Abbot; John Anderson, U.S. Army, stationed in Louisiana; Glen Isham, serving with the U.S. Army; Willard Ferneau, backfield star, prisoner of the Japanese at Mukden since the fall of Bataan, and Erwin Morley, serving with the Marines in the South Pacific.

50 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Oct. 13, 1968

Olympics are a dream come true for Bend Greco-Roman wrestling Henk Schenk

There’s no future in turning pro for Henk Schenk — he’s a wrestler.

“Professional wrestling isn’t a sport,” said the Dutch-born U.S. Army enlisted man, “It’s an exhibition.”

“I put in nine years of wrestling to reach this plateau,” said the 6-foot-4 Schenk, “It was the amateurs that made it pay off. Being in the Olympics is a dream come true.”

Schenk was born in Wieringerwaard, Holland, just before V-E day, on April 25, 1945. His parents brought Henk to the United States in 1951, and it was another dream come true for the Schenk family.

They settled in Oregon and turned to dairy farming, the only profession Klass Schenk knew. The family prospered, purchased a motel and now owns a 30-unit trailer court outside of Bend, Oregon.

Young Schenk went to Silverton, Ore. High School. He went out for football and track but his first love was wrestling. Several colleges tried to pin him down with scholarships, with Oregon State getting Schenk.

Schenk failed to make the Olympic grade in free-style wrestling and turned to Greco-Roman. Oregon State teammate Jess Lewis beat out Schenk in the free-style light heavyweight division and insisted Henk try out for the Greco-Roman class.

“It was tough competition,” Shenk recalled. “I had to go through 10 eliminations to make the Olympic team. There was the AAU, the qualifying for the Greco-Roman tournament trials, and, finally, I had to place in the top two in order to receive an invitation to the Olympic Games.

“Next time, and I don’t think 27 would be too old for the next Olympics, I’m going to try out for the new 198 pound category. I weigh 200 pounds, too heavy for the 191 pound class and too light for the 213 pound division.

Schenk completed his junior year of college when he received his draft “greetings” from Uncle Sam. He jumped the gun and enlisted, hoping to secure a favorable branch of service in the Army. He wound up in special services as a physical education instructor and involved with the Fort Lewis, Washington wrestling team.

“I’m thankful for my background in wrestling,” Schenk said. “It actually kept me from going overseas because of wrestling tournaments.”

Central Oregon history recalled

Land locators, High Desert homesteaders, range riders of long ago and stirring days in the pioneer law enforcement community were in the spotlight Tuesday when Alva C. Goodrich, authority on local history, was a speaker before Bend Lions.

Goodrich prefaced his talk with a description of the High Desert in homesteading days when kerosene lights were visible at night in homes from the Millican Valley east to the high country near Riley. Goodrich also mentioned the regions “moonshine era” when fermented juice of grains were converted into potent liquor, in caves, cabins and juniper groves. Anecdotes also touched on days in Bend when guns blazed on streets.

Goodrich had as his topic “Current History — from 1900 to the present.” The final part of the talk was devoted to early day “wagon roads” and land grants, and the Hogg Pass railroad.

25 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Oct. 13, 1993

Don’t spit at the cancer threat (Editorial)

Lenny Dykstra, the tough and talented Philadelphia Phillies center fielder with the nickname “Nails,” is a great baseball player. However, there’s nothing heroic about the big plug of tobacco Dykstra keeps stuffed in his mouth.

Smokeless tobacco is dangerous, but many professional ballplayers use the stuff and set a terrible example for their young fans. Dykstra, in particular, seems almost defined by the wad of chew in his mouth and the stream of juice trickling down his chin.

While millions of Americans are watching Dykstra spit at the threat of cancer as he plays in the National League Championship Series this week, none will still be watching when his lifetime of chewing affects his health in the years to come.

Perhaps CBS ought to balance their nightly coverage of Dykstra digging in at the plate, chewing and spitting, with a quick shot of Rick Bender, a longtime sandlot ballplayer who visited the Phillies clubhouse earlier this year with the U.S. Surgeon General.

Bender has undergone four operations to halt the mouth cancer doctors attributed to his daily use of two cans of snuff during his playing days. He has lost half a jaw, part of his tongue and all but three of his teeth to the cancer. “I have a face you will never forget,” Bender says.

Chewing tobacco is banned in the minor leagues, but big-leaguers are not prevented from their snuff and leafy tobacco.

They say it’s their right, and a part of the long tradition of the game. It’s true that smokeless tobacco has been part of baseball since the game was invented in 1845. Supporters of smokeless tobacco point out that even the great Babe Ruth dipped and chewed.

However, here’s something to remember the next time Lenny Dykstra steps up to the plate, a tough, heroic figure with a wad of tobacco in his mouth: Babe Ruth died of throat cancer in 1948. He was only 53 years old.

Wagon train of ‘93 splits up, too

After 800 miles of crossing deserts, mountains and freeways, a wagon train tracing the old Applegate Trail has split from its leader.

The decision left Jim Dwyer driving a team of horses north and grumbling about dealing with city slickers.

“You got city people and you got country people,” he said as he drove the horses up Roberts Mountain. His wagon was being trucked up the grade.

“We had to deal with a committee of city people who don’t have the foggiest idea what they’re doing. Those guys came for a party.”

Dwyer and five others split off with one wagon and the 19 other members took the other two wagons while they were camped near Canyonville.

Larry Turner, a photographer, said the vote that sent Dwyer packing was inevitable after 800 miles of disagreements and bickering brought on by Dwyer’s abrasive leadership.

“He’s not a leader when it comes to meshing a variety of people together.” Dwyer denied he was thrown out, saying he left on his own.

Turner said some of the party objected to Dwyer’s decision to load wagons on flatbed trailers to truck them across Jackson County to protest the county’s lack of support for the trip.

The Applegate Trail was blazed in 1846 by brothers Lindsey and Jesse Applegate as a spur of the Oregon trail.

While not planned, the split adds historical accuracy to the group’s efforts to re-enact the first trip on the trail which was marked by dissension.

The party split up temporarily near Canyonville.

Both the modern parties still are heading north for Independence, where the trail ends.