Yesteryear: Bend cuts one-sixth of pine lumber manufactured in west; Cars snowballed by youngsters; Central Oregonians report seeing three separate UFOs

Published 12:00 am Sunday, January 7, 2024

By Compiled by the Deschutes County Historical Society

: Yesteryear

100 years ago

For the week ending Jan. 13, 1924

The tunnel, approximately 1,500 feet in length, which will be bored through the high but narrow summit of the Oregon Cascades about half way between Maiden peak and Mount Yoran near the west end of scenic Odell lake, will be part of the Natron cutoff road, frequently referred to as the Eugene-Klamath Falls line, now under construction.

Bend cuts one-sixth of pine lumber manufactured in west

Pine mills in or tributary to Bend sawed about one-sixth of the lumber manufactured by the companies which are members of the Western Pine Manufacturers’ association in 1923, according to figures sent out by the association, which includes practically all pine mills in the northwest. The association produced 1,700,000,000 feet of lumber last year and Central Oregon mills sawed 284,350,000 feet of this amount.

Bend’s increase was 38 per cent, almost twice the average increase throughout the northwest.

Bend young men — at least half dozen of them — are boldly entering a beauty shop once a week and having their hair marcelled. One of those places where until the last week or so only women were seen. Mrs. Curt Muller, Bend’s pioneer beauty specialist, admits that she has that many men customers, and says that the number is increasing.

“Why, men have been getting their hair marcelled ever since marcelling was invented,” says Mrs. Muller. “But not in Bend until just recently.”

“The men come in evenings, after work. I think they have just decided that they want to look just as nice as the women.” Marcelling is simply an attractive way of curling the hair, and it is done with an iron much like a curling iron, but larger.

Ski party planning McKenzie Pass trip

With Windy Point on the McKenzie highway west of Sisters as their destination, a group of ski enthusiasts will leave Bend early Sunday morning for an all day alpine outing. This will be one of the first times an organized group of local people has planned such an outing in this section of Oregon.

“Bring some eats and all your friends. We’ll build a big fire to cook the eats and warm the friends,” said R. N. Buchwalter, local sportsman who is engineering the party. Persons having vacant seats in their cars and persons desiring a ride to the skiing grounds have been requested to leave their names this evening with Buchwalter.

Because of recent snow fall, it may be impossible for automobiles to reach Windy Point, near the lava fields, but members of the ski party will go up the road as far as possible before engaging in the winter sports.

75 years ago

For the week ending Jan. 13, 1949

Cars snowballed by youngsters

Cars passing through the Franklin avenue viaduct on the route of highway 97 are being snowballed by youngsters, police reported today in issuing a warning that such target work may result in an accident, in the underpass. Some of the snowballs have splashed into windshields, unnerving drivers, police have learned.

R.E. Roderick, juvenile officer, and members of the city police force have brought some of the youngsters in for questioning, and the names of others have been obtained, it was reported from the office of H.A. Casiday, Bend police chief.

Snowballs are being thrown at the cars from the sidewalk above the viaduct. Officers have indicated that several near-accidents have already occurred in the underpass as the result of the snowballing. Also, it is reported icy snowballs are resulting in damage to cars.

Cow Canyon job to void sharp curve

Bids to be considered by the state highway commission at its meeting in Portland the first of next week will include one for elimination of a sharp, rocky curve in Cow canyon, on The Dalles-California highway, it was learned today. The job calls for grading, surfacing and oiling of a .61 mile section, in Wasco county.

The proposed work calls for elimination of the rocky curve that has been the scene of several accidents in recent years, about halfway up the canyon and just below the Cow canyon service station. In the past decade, several trucks and a number of cars have been wrecked in the gorge, after leaving the grade on the sharp curve.

Sisters facing loss of entire water supply

Water in Sisters and the nearby Brooks-Scanlon logging camp was rationed today, with the community facing the loss of its entire supply unless a break in the bitterly cold weather occurs in the next 24 hours.

Business in the little town was at a near standstill this afternoon, as crews worked to move a diminished stream of water from Pole creek through a frozen diversion canal to a frozen reservoir. Yesterday, more than 50 persons worked with axes, shovels and bars, in an effort to move water through the ice-choked ditch. The effort was partly successful and the community was receiving a trickle of water today.

Brooks-Scanlon officials in Bend reported today that two carloads of water were hauled by rail yesterday to the Brooks-Scanlon camp, and another carload was sent today. The shortage of water resulted in such low pressure that many hydrants were frozen, and some parts of the town are entirely without water. Residents in these sections are hauling water in buckets from the homes of neighbors whose supply was not cut off.

50 years ago

For the week ending Jan. 13, 1974

Central Oregonians report seeing three separate UFOs

Three separate sightings of unidentified flying objects were reported in Central Oregon over the weekend.

The first reported sighting was made early Sunday morning by Ronald Stone, who lives on the old Culver Highway southwest of Madras.

The second was reported by a Bend woman, Mrs. Judy Bruner, who said she and a high school senior, Connie Zehr, watched a strange metallic object moving across the sky above Bend about 6 p.m. yesterday.

Today’s reported sighting was made by Yvonne Leno, an employee at Kah-Nee-Ta restaurant. The object, she said was shaped “like an upside down teacup” and was “pinkish” in color. She said it hovered over the Kah-Nee-Ta Lodge for about 10 or 15 minutes and then vanished at a rapid speed as a jet plane flew over.

Two other employees at the restaurant also reportedly viewed the phenomena, but thought it was either a cloud or jet plane.

The object Mrs. Bruner said she and Miss. Zehr observed had a blunt nose and looked like half a dirigible. She said they first observed it from an automobile as they were driving south on Wall Street near the old Pilot Butte Inn site.

Mrs. Bruner said she turned west on Newport Avenue and continued to view the object as she drove to the west side of the city. She estimated the length of sighting at about seven minutes. Mrs. Bruner said the object was flying from southeast to northwest.

The object viewed by the Jefferson County man, Stone, reportedly had flashing red and green lights. He said he first sighted it about 2 a.m. He said it remained stationary for about two hours. He awoke two neighbors. One who viewed the object through a rifle scope said it appeared to him to be a craft.

Stone told a reporter the red and green lights would grow alternately bright and dim. He said he thought it might have been a star.

Bend’s weather observer, Phil F. Brogan, was notified of the sightings and suggested that information on such sightings should be relayed to a UFO research institute in Lawndale, California.

25 years ago

For the week ending Jan. 13, 1999

Students make a pitch for history

PRINEVILLE — They appeared before the Crook County Court Wednesday night as outsiders, from — gasp — Deschutes County private school of all places, with a noble proposal nevertheless: Place the prominent, dignified Crook County Courthouse on the National Registry of Historic Places.

In their favor was that among the trio of Sunriver Preparatory School freshmen was a native son, Easton Miller, a Powell Butte resident and descendant of Andrew Lytle, a onetime California miner, Crook County homesteader and vigilante, albeit a rather pacifistic one, according to Miller.

Miller, Joshua Willey and Camille Pandian have done their homework. They proved it in their half-hour presentation.

They noted that the courthouse turns 90 this April, was built of native stone fetched from a quarry near the rimrock viewpoint west of Prineville, and has been and remains a commanding sight.

They sought the county court’s favor in their bid to place the three-story building on the historic places registry, which would open the door to federal funds for restoration. “In my opinion, it’s definitely the most beautiful building in Central Oregon,” Willey said.

For good measure, Willey added that the courthouse possesses so many historical attributes that it “doesn’t do it justice to call it significant.”

The three commissioners mainly are concerned the county would lose control over maintenance projects on the building if the courthouse is placed on the registry. But well-known Powell Butte painter Jennifer Lake Miller, Easton Miller’s mother, said her research has shown that the federal government has become more lenient in allowing local entities retain architectural oversight. “You are in charge of your building, not the federal government,” she said. “You can work with them.”

County Judge Fred Rodgers encouraged the students to proceed although the court will have final say.

The students said their work isn’t a school assignment. “We just felt like this is an important thing to do. We do get extra credit,” Willey conceded, drawing a few chuckles from the court.

If the county court signs off, in March the students will submit an application to the state. If successful they will proceed to the federal level in May. It will be another year from then before they learn whether the application is approved.