100 Years Ago

For week ending April 29, 1923

Evans guilty jury decides in 30 minutes

Deliberating only 30 minutes, Walter Evans circuit court trial jury at 8:30 o’clock Monday night found the boy guilty. The verdict carried a recommendation for leniency. Circuit Judge T. E. J. Duffy will pass sentence on the 19-year-old defendant Wednesday. Two ballots were taken in reaching a unanimous decision.

The convicting jury, the first in the history of Deschutes county to include women, was composed of J.D. Davidson, foreman; Paul Mayette, F.E. Studebaker, Elmer D. Coyner, John A. Scott, Harold Fassett, Carrie D. Manny, May Arnold, Vora Bevans, Dora Carlon, Harriet Vandevert and Clarice Garner. A state law requires that six women sit as jurors in a case where a minor is involved, and with this statement, Judge Duffy commended and thanked the jury, and especially the six women for coming to the service of the state, declaring that the women with the men had shown exceptional patience and courage under severe strain.

Crane Prairie Reservoir holds, 1st winter’s test shows

With 15,000 acre feet of water already stored, the Crane Prairie dam has passed through the winter in good shape and so far the reservoir shows no leaks or other faults, reports John Dubuis, engineer for the North Canal Company, who yesterday drove to within 200 yards of the dam, making the first trip of the year into Crane Prairie.

The dam, being a temporary affair of rock fill construction, allows some water to seep through, but no more than it did in January, Dubuis states. It is expected that 53,000 acre feet will be stored there this spring, the capacity of the reservoir at present.

The dam was built during the fall for the North Canal Co., as a test to determine finally the feasibility of a reservoir at that point. So far the test has been successful. It is planned to store water there for the 20,000 acres of land which the company holds under a Carey act contract.

Brooks-Scanlon Co. gets big Baldwin

A Baldwin locomotive of the latest model arrived in Bend Tuesday for the Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Co. The new addition to the local lumber concern’s railroad equipment, which came from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, weighs 233,000 pounds, including the tender. With the new engine in operation the Brooks-Scanlon company will have five locomotives hauling logs from the woods to its mill.

Minister fishing performs marriage

Rev. J. Randolph Sasnett, well known to Methodist young people of Central Oregon as a popular member of the Suttle Lake institute faculty, is an outdoor man the year round when he can be.

Rev. Sasnett is pastor of a church at Medford, while fishing in a stream near that city Wednesday, he was accosted by Miss Alice Fry of Medford and Lloyd Barber of Oakland, Cal., who requested that he marry them then and there.

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Johnson, motorists, were available as witnesses, so Rev. Sasnett saw no reason why he should not become “a friend in need.”

It was dusk, so Johnson turned the spotlight on Miss Fry and her sweetheart, and Rev. Sasnett, a typical fisherman with a basket of trout over his shoulder and a fishing rod in his hand, performed the unique ceremony.

75 Years AgoFor the week ending

April 29, 1948

Pilot Butte and Colonial Inns sold to Seattle hotel man

The $560,000 sale of the Pilot Butte Inn and Colonial inn here, to Seattle hotel owner William Corbett, was announced in Seattle, Washington today. Corbett, owner of the Claremont hotel and Corbett apartment motel in Seattle said he would take over the property and nearby vacant lots May 1.

He said he planned to renovate the 150-unit Pilot Butte and modernize the 39-unit Colonial. One of the brothers, Frank Corbett, will manage the new Bend properties.

“We think Bend is the logical point for advancement and there is a chance of bigger growth there than any place in the Pacific Northwest,” Corbett said.

The original inn was a noted stopping place at the southern terminus of the dusty stage road from Shaniko. The present Colonial Inn, which now stands some distance north on Wall street from the new Pilot Butte Inn, bore the name of Pilot Butte Inn in the pioneer days of the city. It remained a part of the present inn until construction of the second annex, when it was moved to the site where it now stands.

Homemakers hear address by housing specialist

Mrs. Margaret Tuller, housing specialist from Oregon state college, emphasized the importance of preparedness and careful planning, in home management, when she addressed more than 150 Deschutes county women at the annual homemakers’ day program in the Pilot Butte inn Blue Room.

In a subtle speech that was actually a series of stories, Mrs. Tuller traced the home life of several families of her acquaintance. One homemaker made her home run smoothly because of her accurate and complete system of bookkeeping, she said. Another, although she had eight children, took time for “living” as well as for “housekeeper,” and enriched the youngsters; lives with precious memories.

In giving sketches about the various homemakers, Mrs. Tuller pointed out the importance of housekeeping short cuts, in order to have time for some of the important cultural aspects of family life.

Name of Allen’s Cafe is changed

Yesterday a towering neon sign, featuring the word “Skyline” in staggered letter, was erected over the Skyline steakhouse, formerly Allen’s cafe. The new owners, Omer H. Summers and Alfred L. Schatz, sponsored a contest for re-naming the restaurant, after they assumed management several months ago. The prize-winning name was submitted by Kessler Cannon, Bend.

Summers and Schatz, both world war II veterans, also operate the Skyline Drive-in on highway 97, south of Bend. Both are experienced restauranteurs, and they decided to go into business in Bend because they felt it was a “city with a future.”

Dedication of new warehouse set for Saturday

The Mid-Oregon Farmers Warehouse and Supply Center, under construction since last September, will be dedicated at ceremonies to be held at 2 p.m. afternoon as a part of Mid-Oregon Farmers’ day. Invitations have been mailed to more than 2,600 farm families to spend the day in Bend. The new warehouse, located on East Greenwood avenue, is 80 by 120 feet in size and houses complete facilities for rendering all services to farmers of the area. The two large windows in the front are those of the showroom for farm machinery and equipment, while the smaller windows are those of the offices. The big mill section towers in the rear. Walls of the building are of reinforced concrete, supporting 80-foot timber roof trusses. The roof and mill section are finished with sheet aluminum. Loading docks run the full length of the building on both sides. A large parking lot has been constructed to the east of the building and a big area to the rear of the building is set aside for future developments.

50 Years Ago

For the week ending April 29, 1973

New sign code hopes to make it even better

“Some will be pleased — some won’t ,’ City Commissioner John Stenkamp said of the new sign code he introduced to the Bend Chamber of Commerce.

The proposed code takes a “middle of the road” approach to signs, he said. It won’t allow flashy neon, a la Las Vegas; nor will it require a pristine sign policy, a la Carmel.

The code is the product of the city’s sign committee, of which Stenkamp is chairman. Other members are Bob Thomas and Ralph Moore. Building official Floyd Watson and sign company owner Dick Carlson are technical advisers to the group.

The code divides the city into three sign zones: residential, commercial and high density. The residential zone includes all multiple family zones on the city’s zoning map. Single family residential zoning already restricts signs. The commercial sign area is composed of tourist and limited commercial zones. The high density zone is shown as “C-4” and includes downtown Bend.

The stated purpose of the ordinance is to improve the appearance of the city of Bend. The committee hopes that will be accomplished by limiting the number of signs each business can display and by limiting the amount of light they display. It does not regulate size of signs.

Only one identifying sign will be allowed for each 100 feet of street frontage on each parcel of property in Bend. Flashing arrows cannot be used unless they are an integral part of the sign. No rotating signs may flash. No banners across streets will be allowed. No A-frame signs will be permitted. Signs must be kept in good repair.

In the residential sign zone, home occupation signs and property-for-sale signs still will be allowed. But political yard signs, for instance, would not be allowed.

Light bulbs exceeding 11 watts of illumination are prohibited.

Sign permits have to be obtained from the city building department. When a sign needs repair and has to be taken down and put back up a permit will also be required, with a $5 fee.

Once the city adopts the new ordinance, the county will be approached to adopt it too.

25 Years Ago

For the week ending April 29, 1998

Worrell’s rich life celebrated

The auditorium at Mountain View High School was full Sunday afternoon as family and friends gathered to remember the late Dr. William K. Worrell.

The venue, a high school auditorium, was a fitting place to honor the man who served as superintendent of Bend-LaPine schools from 1982-1988 and was a member of the Bend-LaPine School Board until eight days before his death, Wednesday.

It was a disparate crowd, with misty-eyed teen-agers sharing tissues with octogenarians., but the afternoon mood was one of warm recollection. And that was how Worrell wanted it.

Pastor Tom Campbell-Schmitt, who led the memorial, said, “The family really wanted it to be a celebration of Bills’s life. They wanted it to be a reflection of the way he approached life.”

When told that he had a year to live, Worrell said to his wife, “Connie, we’re going to have a great year.” The day before he died, he sent her roses as he had done every Wednesday since they were married.

Bill’s brother, Tom Worrell, was both poignant and humorous as he remembered his brother. He described him as a “musician who made music on voice, saxophone, accordion and occasionally armpit.” His remarks captured the tenor of the event.

At the reception, Connie Worrell smiled and laughed with those in line as they reminisced about Worrell. He was remembered as a veteran of the Vietnam War, star wrestler, coach, superintendent, businessman, mentor, father, Kennedy Performing Arts Center Award recipient and Deschutes County native.

Compiled by the Deschutes County Historical Society from archived copies of The Bulletin at the Deschutes Historical Museum.