100 years ago

For the week ending

Feb. 10, 1924

Ex-president honored here

Observance of the half holiday proclaimed by Governor Walter M. Pierce for the state and by Mayor R. H. Fox for Bend, for this afternoon in honor of Woodrow Wilson, was generally observed throughout the city. Business houses closed, most of them for the two hours from 1 to 3 o’clock, others throughout the afternoon. The postoffice, banks and county offices were closed. All schools of the city were dismissed for the afternoon. Pupils in some of the schools were required to write essays on Wilson’s life.

Special memorial services in tribute to the memory of Woodrow Wilson will be held in the local Presbyterian church.

Want college located here

Bend will probably make a bid for Linfield college, which will be moved from McMinnville to some other city in the state. The matter of inviting the college board of control to consider Bend was taken up today when the Bend commercial club board of directors met in the Pilot Butte Inn. A committee of Linfield college alumni in this city will be appointed by the president of the commercial club to consider the matter of extending an invitation to the college authorities.

Licensing of dogs will be required

There are altogether too many dogs in Bend, Chief of Police Peter Hanson has decided. Hereafter they must show cause for existence, and the only cause which will be recognized by the city of Bend will be a round brass tag issued to the purchaser of every dog license.

Chief Hanson doesn’t propose to enforce the order personally, but has retained the services of Ed Egbert, who will begin his work Thursday as dog catcher. All untagged dogs will be taken up, and as the pound will accommodate a relatively small number of dogs, the captives will remain alive for only a short time, unless the owners claim their pets, pay the impounding charge, and also the license fee.

Madras threatened by flames

Fire which for a time threatened to wipe out the entire town of Madras, county seat of Jefferson, was checked toward dawn when a change of wind enabled the volunteer firemen to prevent the spread of the flames. Destruction of the Madras flour mill, where the fire originated, could not be prevented, however. The plant owned by Douglas hood of this city, and by the Drexel estate was uninsured and the loss will run possibly to $40,000.

The cause of the fire is not known, but it is generally supposed that someone had been occupying one of the outbuildings at the plant, and that carelessness in dropping a match or cigarette may have been the beginning of the conflagration. The mill had not been in operation for the last 18 months and a few months ago the insurance lapsed.

The fire was discovered about 5 o’clock, and in a brief time fifty men worked furiously to prevent its spread. The water supply proved entirely inadequate for hose work, and the fight was carried on with chemicals and buckets. It is believed volunteer fire fighters saved the town.

75 Years Ago

For the week ending

Feb. 10, 1949

Hogg Pass slide blocks highway

A slide at Hogg rock about 10 a.m. today closed both the North and South Santiam highways to motorists and this afternoon all travel was being detoured over other Cascade passes.

Included in vehicles stopped at the east approach to the Santiam area this morning was the bus carrying the Bend high school Lava Bears and junior varsity basketball teams to Eugene for games tonight. The bus with the 18 players was stopped at Suttle lake. A check was made by Russ Acheson, coach, to determine whether the Willamette pass was open. The check indicated the southern pass was in good winter shape and the bus backtracked to Bend at noon. Players had hurried lunches here, then headed south.

PUD mulling Oregon dam construction

Action to be taken by the Central Oregon public utility district in developing power on the Deschutes river, or in working with groups that will provide the required power will be delayed until the fate of house bill No. 131, now before the state legislature is known.

The decision was reached at a meeting of directors of the Central Oregon PUD last night in Redmond. The bill on which future action by the PUD hinges is that which would bar the construction of dams on the Deschutes river. The bill was introduced by fishing interests, following the announcement for the construction by private interests of a $12,000,000 dam at the Pelton site in the deep Deschutes gorge west of Madras.

The Central Oregon PUD will oppose house bill No. 131 to the utmost, and will send a delegation to Salem tomorrow to represent the district at the public hearing on the bill. Directors of PUD said they do not feel that the construction of a dam or dams on the Deschutes will be harmful to fishing, and pointed to rivers in Europe, that provide much better fishing than American streams. It was revealed that the Central Oregon PUD has already considered a system of canals that would provide passageway for the migration of fish. Also stressed was the need of additional power in Central Oregon, if the area is to keep pace with the rest of the Pacific northwest.

Bloody trail left by local burglar

A burglar who marked his trail with blood entered two Bend business houses last night and for his efforts obtained $65 in silver from one place and about $3 worth of stamps from the other.

Heaviest loser in the night raid was the Aune Feed store on Bond street, with Boise Aune, operator, reporting that $65 was missing this morning. The prowler shattered a rear window, using a scale weight, entered a small utility room, then went to the cash register, which he apparently knew how to operate. Blood was found on the window, where the glass had been broken.

The other business reporting a burglary was the Claypool Furniture Co., on Wall street. Entry was gained by breaking glass on a rear door. The prowler apparently then reached in and unfastened a latch. Contents of the cash register were ransacked, but only stamps were missed. Blood was found on the till and a check, and also the rear window. In 1948, the Claypool building was entered and some $600 in goods taken.

50 Years Ago

For the week ending

Feb. 10, 1974

New dam going up

Brooks-Scanlon, Inc., is replacing the 58-year-old dam on the Deschutes River at its Bend plant’s log storage area. The new dam is being constructed just behind the old dam. The old structure — made of wood — is no longer reliable, company officials said. The new $250,000 dam is expected to be completed in mid-April.

Redmond’s Harvest Foods weighs with an old scale

A new health food store has opened here. Sue Priel, a former dental hygienist, and Dan Baldwin, a mason, formed a partnership and opened Harvest Natural Foods at S.W. Deschutes Ave., last week.

The new business occupies the former home of the Opportunity Center of Central Oregon’s thrift shop. Ms. Priel, 27, is managing the store while Baldwin, 24, continues his work as a mason.

After they applied a coat of paint to the exterior and refinished the interior the small, 340 square foot, store seems almost new. The fresh, outdoorsy smell of pine fills the room from the rough-cut boards used to cover interior walls and build shelves for the merchandise.

Lining those shelves is a wide variety of items. Among them are vitamins, minerals and other food supplements, spices, candies, fruits, cosmetics, flours, grains, seeds, nuts, herb teas and a sprinkling of books about natural foods and dieting.

“We have a little bit of everything,” Ms. Priel said.

Perhaps the store’s biggest attraction, however, is the old scale Ms. Priel uses to weigh flour, grain and other items. She said it was given to her by her grandparents, who once used it in a Vancouver, Wash., store. Its numerous rust spots show its age.

Although the scale was patented in 1895, Ms. Priel says this particular one probably was not made until after 1900.

It may be about 70 years old, but it’s just as good now as it was then, according to a weights and measures inspector who recently checked it.

The new store will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

25 Years Ago

For the week ending

Feb. 10, 1999

‘New Drake Park’ awaits land

The Bend Metro Park and Recreation District is closing in on a deal with Old Mill District developer Bill Smith that could turn 20-plus acres of prime riverfront land into a new Drake Park for the 21st century.

The imminent deal will ensure open space, not homes or other development, in the scenic Deschutes River canyon area. But it will change only the players, not resolve a debate over controversial plans for a new road and bridge along the spot where thousands of logs used to sit beside the Brooks-Scanlon sawmill.

The city council decided months ago to acquire enough of the riverfront property for a two-lane road and possible bridge.

The park district and city have begun discussing how a road might wind through the site, similar to the curves of Riverside Boulevard beside Drake Park.

But no one is certain when such a road or bridge might be built or how they would be paid for.

The park board was briefed Tuesday night on plans to swap three undeveloped and surplus park district parcels totaling more than 300 acres for the Smith property. The planned acquisition is primarily on the east bank of the river but includes a small piece on the west side, below Colorado Avenue and Disk Drive.

Appraisals on the property involved should be finished this week, said Carrie Whitaker, park district executive director.

The log deck is worth more than the park district land, but Whitaker said Smith “has a set of proposals to close the funding gap.” She would not divulge details, pending a final agreement.

The proposal drew a hearty endorsement from a member of the homeowners association board in Wood River Village, just south of the log deck parcel. “It (borders on) one of the last natural habitats within the Bend city limits,” said Keith Scott. “Most of us would like to keep the riverfront area without a two- or four-lane road.” Whitaker said the city will decide if a bridge is needed. But the deal would mean the city, if and when it proceeds, would negotiate with the district, rather than a private party. “It could be one to three years before the city is ready to start buying right of way,” she said.

Whitaker said the park site likely would be developed similarly to other river parks, with much green space and a trail extending south from the mixed-use Old Mill District.