Yesteryear: Fire Destroys Barber Shop at La Pine

Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 17, 2023

100 years ago

For the week ending

Sept. 23, 1923

Fire destroys barber shop at La Pine

Fire late Saturday night completely destroyed the barber shop and pool hall at La Pine, the property of Harry Cavanaugh. The Rose restaurant, next door, was saved by volunteer fire fighters who left a dance which was being held in the town. The fire is believed to have been caused by an oil heater in a bathroom.

Mrs. Hill, proprietor of a restaurant several rods away from the barber shop building, discovered the fire, noticing the smoke issuing from the bathroom window. Armed with a fire extinguisher, she entered through the window, but was unable to extinguish the blaze.

Casualties included a canary bird and a dog belonging to the H. Davis family, who were occupying the building. Davis has been conducting the barber shop recently. Mrs. Davis mourned the loss of a cat up to this morning, when the pet was found.

Post offers city cannon

An offer to place the cannon which belongs to Percy A. Stevens Post No. 4. American Legion, in the improved part of the city park will be made, it was decided by the post at last night’s meeting. The cannon has stood at the front of the gymnasium building for two years, since being received from the quartermaster’s department of the army. But since the legion has given up active management of the building it was decided to approach the city officials with an offer to mount the piece in the park. The place at which it shall be mounted is to be left to the city officers and the actual placing of the cannon will be a part of the Armistice day observance. Legionaries in uniform will escort the gun on its journey to the park, and ceremonies incident to its mounting will be arranged.

Bend children give milk for orphan relief

Approximately 500 children gathered in front of the Capitol theater this morning at 10’o clock, holding high above their heads cans of condensed milk while an impatient photographer, superintendent G.W. Ager, Rev. J. L Webster and J. J. Handsaker pleaded with them to remain still while the picture was being taken.

But the pleas of the Near East relief director, Handsaker, the photographer and superintendent were little heeded. The youngsters in the front row of the group lined up on Wall street near the front of the theater were motionless, but the hands holding the cans of milk aloft in the rear of the group were waving back and forth like so many reeds moved by the wind.

After the children had entered the theater, the cans of condensed milk donated by the local youngsters to the Near East relief were stacked in pyramids and photographed. A placard bearing the message “From the schools of Bend to the children of the near east,” was included in the picture.

75 years ago

For the week ending

Sept. 23, 1948

James R. Benham, pioneer of Central Oregon, dies

James Benham, 82, pioneer of Central Oregon who settled in the Prineville country in early days and filled on land in the upper Deschutes basin in 1885, died this morning at the St. Charles hospital. He was the victim of infirmities of old age.

Mr. Benham attended Bend’s first school in 1881. Benham falls, on the upper Deschutes river, was named for the pioneer. He moved from Prineville to what is now Deschutes county in 1879, and was the county’s second oldest resident, so far as known.

In his later years, Mr. Benham devoted considerable time to wood working, and made violins from juniper wood. He played one of these violins at the winter meeting of the Deschutes Pioneers’ picnic in Bend. So far as known, Mr. Benham has no relatives in the Bend country. Funeral plans have not been made.

50 years ago

For the week ending

Sept. 23, 1973

Tom Hodgert’s steak is a little bit different

They came, they saw, and most bought some, Tom Hodgert said of his first day operating Bend’s first horsemeat market. Horse steaks, roasts and ground horsemeat in particular got off to a fast start, after the market opened at noon Monday.

“The majority bought a steak or a couple of pounds of hamberger. We haven’t had a single complaint. We’ve had quite a few repeaters,” Hodgert said.

His white-enameled display case yesterday contained rib, T-bone, New York strip and spencer steaks, rolled roasts, soup bones, short ribs, tenderloin steaks, stew meat and cube steak, among other cuts of horse.

The roasts were larded with beef fat, and the cuts suitable for broiling each had a pat of butter on them, so they won’t dry out in cooking, since horsemeat has far less fat than beef.

The pure ground horsemeat is sold at 80 cents a pound. With 10 per cent beef fat added it costs 70 cents a pound, and with 20 percent beef fat it goes for 60 cents a pound.

Hodgert has posted on a wall of the shop, part of Rich’s Market at 535 S. Third St., a sign comparing his prices with those for the same cuts of beef.

Hamburger, he said, averages “Maybe 98 cents a pound” locally. His sign indicated his prices average about 45 cent below those for beef.

Next week, Hodgert said, “we’ll be getting in horse bologna, sausage, wieners, salami and Polish sausage.”

“A lot of people came in and looked in the case, and asked ‘is this horsemeat, or is this beef? One woman came in and bought some, and siad with the saving, she’d be able to get her hair fixed once a week, and her husband would never know,” Hodgert said.

Karen Hodgert, co-owner of the meat market with her husband, asked a couple who were staring into the case if she could help them. “No, but we’re damn’ sure looking- there’s enough difference in price, we can see that.”

Hodgert said the high price of hay- which he, as a horseraiser, expects to go to $120 a ton this winter-has caused many raisers to sell horses to slaughterhouses. This will help to improve the breed, Hodgert said.

“A lot of them are ill-proportioned, ugly-headed, jug-headed old mares. Horses for the last 20 years have been nothing but a tax write-off,” he said.

Hodgert said the evenings, between 6 and 8 pm., seem to be his busiest time, “after supper, when people are out sight-seeing.” He said many of his sales have occurred when women, curous about his advertising outside, come in groups. “It’s sort of an ‘I’ll go in if you’ll go in’ thing,” he said.

25 years ago

For the week ending

Sept. 23 1998

Archaeology opens a window to region’s past

Educators trying a hands-on approach to turning kids on to archaeology gave a group of students a chance to get their hands dirty Friday.

About 30 fifth-graders from Bear Creek Elementary got a chance to dig up some ancient history during a trip to the Lava Lands Visitor Center in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Students watched flintknapper Steve Allely of Sisters make arrowheads out of obsidian glass, then hiked about a half mile to a working archaeological dig site, where several archaeologists with the Deschutes National Forest are researching campsites and hunting camps.

The kids helped dig at the sites, sift the soil and pick out pieces of rock that may be flakes from arrowheads.

The activities were the kickoff of Oregon Archaeology Week in Central Oregon and were presented by the Deschutes National Forest and the Archaeological Society of Central Oregon.

The purpose of the week-long event is to make people aware of Central Oregon’s archaeology both for enjoyment and to protect the resources.

“There are lot of archaeological sites which are endangered because of population increases, unauthorized digging and intentional or unintentional vandalism,” said Mollie Jurgenson, an event volunteer. “We’re trying to teach respect for the sites.”

The ancient history of Central Oregon is unique, according to Deschutes National Forest archaeologist, Paul G. Claeyssens, and ties in closely with the Lava Lands area. The lava beds mark the overlap of two cultural areas, he said, the salmon-fishing tribes and the desert tribes.

“Tribes or bands specialized in different resources, which were used for trade goods,” Claeyssens said. “In Central Oregon, the main resource was obsidian, or natural glass, which was used to make arrowheads or spear points. Local tribes traded it to people on the coast for salmon, or to plains tribes for buffalo robes and meat.”

Huntington Road was originally a hunting trail, Claeyssens said, and the area along Highway 97 was a traditional migration route.

The history and associated activities apparently appealed to the students.

“You can have lots of fun trying to find rocks,” said fifth-grader Meada Doyle. “Flintknapping is really cool!”

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