100 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

July 27, 1924

Annual Picnic Held By Elks Over Week End

Starting in the chill of Saturday evening, with many large campfires blazing invitingly on the extensive lawns of the Heising summer resort, and lasting until late Sunday evening, the Elks’ first annual picnic, held over the week end on the Metolius, was attended by several hundred people from Bend, Prineville, Redmond, and Sisters.

The Heising dance floor was crowded until midnight, and a considerable number of the untired members of the antlered herd continued to use the floor until well into the morning. A feature of the early Sunday morning entertainment, not advertised — was a moonlight serenade, members of Paul Hosmer’s orchestra and unmusical friends making a visit of all tents and other sleeping quarters on the Heising grounds.

Although the majority of the Elks brought picnic lunches, eating them on the grounds, many took their Sunday dinners at the Hansen resort on the upper Metolius. The Elks also served breakfast at Heising’s.

Boy Of Five Years Ascends Bachelor

Only five years of age, Robert Fairfield, son of Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Fairfield of Terrebonne, is believed to hold the record as the most youthful mountain climber in the northwest, having scaled a glacier clad peak, Bachelor butte, Sunday. Robert made the summit, accompanied by a group of relatives, without any difficulty.

The record time made in scaling the butte is one hour and 29 minutes — but this time was not established by Robert. Roy Mitchell, forest service ranger stationed at La Pine, is the holder of this record for the climb from the Century drive road to the butte summit.

Plans Ordered For Pavement

Plans and specifications for improvements, including paving, on Hill street between Franklin and Delaware avenues, were ordered to be prepared by City Engineer Robert B. Gould, at the special meeting of the city council held early Monday evening.

Petitions containing signatures of over 50 per cent of the abutting property holders, asking for this improvement, were presented at the last council meeting. Notices calling for bids on the improvement of Irving street, and Park place between Hill and Division streets, were ordered prepared.

Union Plant Ready Monday

The Prineville station of the union Oil Co., the company’s second in Central Oregon, will start operation on Monday, July 28, it was announced by Con Hall, manager of the Union Oil interests in Bend. The new station will be under the direct management of H. S. Fassett, who will be transferred from Bend, and Ernest Hall will be detailed as office man.

Three tanks have been erected, providing storage for 40,000 gallons of gasoline and 20,000 gallons of kerosene. Four buildings are included in the Prineville plant, and there will be two trucks on duty. Beyond the Crook county seat these trucks will serve a territory 100 miles distant, including the Mitchell country.

75 YEARS AGOFor the week ending

July 27, 1949

New Ski Tow Will Be Built At Hoodoo Bowl

Surveys for a new ski tow at the Hoodoo bowl that will reach to the top of the high rim overlooking the ski lodge have been completed and construction will start in the near future, according to information from Ed Thurston, operator of the winter resort. The survey for the new ski tow was made by John Quiner and son, John, of Eugene, assisted by Jim Britton, also of the university city.

The surveyors made a profile of the hill, and this has been forwarded to the Riblet Tramway Co., of Spokane, Wash., firm that will construct the new tow. Construction is expected to take about three months.

Three tows in use at Hoodoo bowl this past winter will be operated in addition to the new tow. The new tow will be in operation this coming winter.

Unusual Display of Wild Flowers Seen Near Bend

Despite semi-desert conditions, with only 3.52 inches of rain measured in the area in nearly seven months, blooms blanket entire fields just east of Bend.

Nature lovers and photographers made this report today, following a sunset last night that transformed the fields into a sea of red flame that accentuated the green of sagebrush and the brown of surrounding lava rims.

The flowers are the mimulus, member of the figwart family commonly known as “monkey flower” when cultivated. The little herbs have been spreading over the area for the past several years, but local residents say never have the blooms been so abundant.

The largest display of red-blue blooms are on the old Knott field, used as an airport in earlier days. This field can be reached by driving 1.4 miles east over the Central Oregon highway from the Pilot butte road junction. The turn from the highway is to the right. At a point 3.1 miles south on this road, oiled most of the distance, the flowering mimulus can be seen to the left.

It is possible to drive into the acres of flowers but motorists are being asked not to leave the roads that cut through the field. Car wheels tear the little plants out by the roots. Photographers are being advised that color pictures are possible in the morning hours, when the Three Sisters, Broken Top and Bachelor butte form a backdrop for the magenta-hued Knott field.

Pioneer Park Rose Garden Dedicated as Living Memorial

Bend’s Memorial rose garden in Pioneer park was dedicated last night, with members of the Bend Garden club in charge of the impressive ceremony.

Rev. G.R.V. Bolster, who gave the invocation, dedicated the garden to the memory of world war II dead. He expressed the hope that the beauty of the roses would be symbolic of everlasting peace.

Mrs. Stella Nelson, garden club president, made the presentation on behalf of the organization. She said that the garden was started at the suggestion of Mrs. Clifford Rasmusen, who obtained permission from the city commission. Initial purchase for the garden was a gift of two dozen Peace roses, given by the Garden club.

They were planted by Charles Bishop, former city park superintendent, who prepared the ground for the planting, and set out and tended the roses. There are now 148 rose bushes, many new in bloom.

Mayor T.D. Sexton, who accepted the garden on behalf of the city, expressed the gratitude of the people of Bend to the Garden club.

“We hope that this beautiful garden will perpetuate the memory of the boys who gave their all for their country,” he said.

50 YEARS AGOFor the week ending

July 27, 1974

COCC board okays building plan

Directors of Central Oregon Community College last night put their stamp of approval on a 10-year plan for development of the college and directed President Fred Boyle to begin planning immediately for the first phase of a building program.

Given top priority among construction needs were the following academic programs: vocational-technical, science and mathematics, business secretarial, allied health, law enforcement, fine arts and community education.

Also given an “A” priority was an addition to the Student Union building. Prior to adopting the long-range plan, directors were briefed by the district’s architect, Robert Wilmsen, on details of a preliminary outline of construction that included the placing of proposed new construction on a three-dimensional scale model of the campus. Among the new buildings will be a classroom addition to the vocational-technical center. “The recent conversion of one of our two large multipurpose classrooms in the vocational-technical building, to a nursing laboratory,” Boyle said, “will require the construction of new classroom space.”

Also included in the first phase is construction of a theater and a fine arts building that would provide classrooms and laboratories for various art programs. This will free Pence Hall for its original function as a music building. In addition to music, Pence Hall currently is being used for all art programs, drama and social science classes.

The addition to the student union is “badly needed” and will be funded jointly from student fees and college construction funds on a 50-50 basis.

The construction program is based in part on enrollment projections indicating the college will nearly double in size by 1984. The college presently has an enrollment of more than 1,200 full-time students. A conservative estimate by Boyle indicates that in 10 years the enrollment will have climbed to 2,389 full-time students.

Reub Long, Fort Rock’s desert philosopher, dies

Desert philosopher Reuben A “Reub” Long, 76, Fort Rock, died yesterday morning at St. Charles Memorial Hospital of heart failure.

Long, an author, conservationist and horse rancher, was a longtime member of the State Board of Agriculture, Oregon State University Foundation and advisory committee for the Bureau of Land Management.

Along with the late E.R. Jackman, Long co-authored “The Oregon Desert” in 1964. In less than two years, the book went into five editions, with a nationwide sale. In recent years, Long spent his time dealing in horses and speaking to groups. He was to have addressed the Oregon State Bar convention in Bend in September. Long’s doctor, Carter Boggs said today he died of heart failure, severe emphysema and early pneumonia, which led to a fatal heart attack.

25 YEARS AGOFor the week ending

July 27, 1999

Old-timers invited to party

A couple of kids from the old neighborhood are throwing a party, and if you’ve been around long enough, you’re invited.

“Long enough” means you lived in Bend back in the ‘40s or earlier. And the “old neighborhood,” originally labeled the area between the mills and downtown, has grown to include anywhere that was considered Bend back around the time World War II ended. The Pinesprouts — the trio organizing the reunion — don’t mind if you moved away in 1945, and they don’t care where you live now. If you were here back then, they want to see you.

“The primary objective,” said Leonard Peoples, one of the Pinesprouts, “is to recover this history before everyone who remembers it is dead. We’re in our 70s, we figure now’s the time to do it.

Originally, Peoples and his fellow Pinesprouts Eva Rosenauer and Ruth Conklin, decided to track down some of the kids they grew up with. When they were children, all three lived within an easy rock’s throw of the intersection of State and Congress street (both dirt roads back then).

“We were all Shevlin kids,” Conklin said. “Back then, we thought Shevlin was going to buy Brooks.”

As it turned out, Shevlin-Hixon was the first of the two giant mills to fold. It sold out to cross-river competitor Brooks-Scanlon in 1950.

“It seems like a lot of the history of the Shevlin Mill has been lost,” Conklin said. “We want to save some of the mill history.”

Toward that end the threesome put out the reunion call. Working from high school class reunion guest lists, they have so far tracked down 300 people, some right here in Bend and some as far away as Virginia, who qualify as neighborhood old-timers. But, they know they are missing a lot of folks and are trying to fill in the blanks before the party the weekend of August 14.

“Ladies are a real problem,” Peoples said, speaking only of trying to track them down. “I still think of them by their names when I knew them in school.”

And of course, many of the ladies have married. And statistically, a lot of the folks who lived around here back then have died.

Understanding that the group at the party is a last link to the past, the Pinesprouts plan to plop each guest in front of a tape recorder to reminisce.

They are also asking folks to bring any photos, artifacts or documents relating to the houses they grew up in.

“There will be some interesting people for sure,” said Conklin, who has just moved back into the house she grew up in.

“The older folks have a lot more to contribute than most people know.”

“They do,” Peoples agreed. “My dad started working in the woods back then, and he used to walk to work from town, they were cutting so close. When he retired in 1950, they were hauling logs from 104 miles away.”

Eva Rosenauer’s uncle was the first general manager of Shevlin-Hixon. She was born in Bend. “We want to have a little fun together after half a century,” she said. “We’re all going to have to wear nametags with maiden names and such. We haven’t seen each other in ages. We don’t know what we’ll look like.”

They have several activities planned, including a walk through the old neighborhood, a tour of all the new developments in town, a trip through the Historical Society (Peoples and Conklin are volunteers there), dinner at the Shilo Inn and lots of story swapping.