Yesteryear

100 Years Ago

For the week ending

July 16, 1922

Crane Prairie work begins

Work on digging of a cutoff trench for the foundation of the dam which will convert crane prairie into a storage reservoir for the reclamation of 20,000 acres of land is under way. John Dubuis, resident engineer for the North Canal Co. stated this morning. A camp has been established for 60 men, but some delay is being caused while a car load of equipment is being waited for.

Clearing of the reservoir site will be undertaken next year after the reservoir is given a final test to demonstrate its water holding properties.

Apartment house planned by Innes on Bond

Plans for a two-unit apartment house to be put up by J.S. Innes on Bond Street between Vermont place and Greenwood are now being prepared, it was stated this morning by Innes who hopes to have construction under way before the end of the summer. Only one unit will be built to start, Innes said. Stone or brick construction will be used, each unit to contain two apartments which will have a bedroom, bath, kitchenette, and living room. A court will separate the units.

Cost of the building, which is being planned in response to the growing demand for high class rentable property, has not yet been estimated.

Road will save 15 miles

Location of a new forest road from the Century drive to connect with Odell and Crescent lakes saving more than 15 miles from the present route, is being made by C.A. Lord, surveyor from the Portland district office, and construction work will be under way in a week, it was announced this morning by Forest Supervisor H.L. Plumb, who has been aiding Lord in the fixing of the general location. The new road will be approximately 20 miles long and will cost $10,000. A crew of 12 men will be employed.

The cutoff will start from Lava lakes, and will connect with the present Davis lake road. The season is ow far enough advanced so that cars can drive across Crane Prairie without being mired down, but the new road will provide a route so that even early in the season no detour will be necessary.

Mill will add ten dry kilns

Construction of 10 new dry kilns, making a total battery of 30, was started at The Shevlin-Hixon Company plant here this morning, the improvement, with other changes which it makes necessary, to mean an investment of $50,000.

The new kilns will have a daily capacity of 75,000 feet. Once in use they will make possible the drying of all select lumber without piling in the yards, a method which frequently means that stock may go off grade.

Installation will be made just opposite the present battery of kilns, on the ground now occupied by the storage tracks. New tracks occupying a space 125 feet long, will be built just south of the transfer tracks running from the stacker to the kilns. An electric trolley transfer will be used. It will be Bend’s first trolley car.

75 Years Ago

For the week ending

July 16, 1947

Deschutes Pioneers hold first annual picnic

Old timers of the Bend community, many of whom remember Bend as it was in its village days and others who recall the rangeland era when only a few cabins marked the present site of the city, joined in a reunion attended by approximately 100 persons yesterday evening in Pioneer park. The occasion was the first picnic of the newly organized Deschutes Pioneers associated, headed by Carl A. Johnson as president.

Attendance at the outing greatly exceeded expectations, and committeemen had to make a hurried run to a nearby restaurant for additional coffee and ice cream.

Hollinsheads plan rangeland meal

Mr. and Mrs. Dean Hollinshead will be hosts to the Rim Rock Riders tomorrow morning at an annual buckaroo breakfast, to be served at the Hollinshead ranch just east of town. Riders are being notified that the breakfast will be served from 7 to 9:30, with an informal horse show planned for about 10 a.m.

Razing of Camp Wickiup planned for winter

Razing of Camp Wickiup, 600-man village constructed on the Upper Deschutes in CCC days to house young men from all parts of the United States who assisted in the first work on the Wickiup dam, is planned for the coming winter.

It will be necessary to remove the camp to clear the way for heavier storage in the 1947-48 season. This past season storage was held under the 100,000 acre foot mark, with the camp overlooking the huge man-made lake from its elevation facing the big basin through which the Deschutes river leisurely meandered for long ages.

Eventually, water will spread over the present site of the camp, as storage for North Unit lands is brought up to the 180,000 acre foot mark. To make this maximum storage possible, crews are now constructing “wings” of the dam, one of the longest in the country.

50 Years Ago

For the week ending

July 16, 1972

Heavy rush exhausts bike license supply

Bend police ran out of bicycle licenses late this morning after issuing some 550 in the past two days.

As a result, Police Chief Emil Moen cancelled licensing sessions until an overdue shipment of licenses is received “hopefully, later this week.”

Moen also announced that because of the unexpectedly heavy rush for licenses, he has extended licensing at least through July and has ordered police officers not to issue citations until all bicyclists have had “ample opportunity” to obtain licenses.

“When we resume licensing,” Moen said, “we’ll try to make as many days as possible available, including Saturdays when we’re able to do so.”

Moen said 2,000 licenses have been issued in the current licensing period.

Aerial firefighting costly, but expense seems justified

One of the most expensive U.S. Forest Service operations is also one that probably save taxpayers the most money. The costly air tanker base at the Redmond Air Center is a money-saver in the long run, according to Jim Allen, the center’s manager.

Although it costs hundreds of dollars to air drop a load of retardant on a forest fire, Allen says it is worthwhile because it saves many man-hours of firefighting and timber. During the fire season the Forest Service has a contract with Butler Aircraft, Redmond, which owns three bombers that have been converted into retardant planes. Butler supplies the pilots and the Forest Service supplies the retardant and pays the bill.

That bill is a big one. The Forest Service pays Butler $483 for every hour that it flies its giant B-17 and $380 per hour for flying the two smaller B-26s. That covers the operating cost of the airplanes (fuel, oil, insurance) plus the pilots’ salaries.

When the tankers are called to drop retardant on a fire burning on private, state or Bureau of Land Management land the Forest Service picks up the tab, but is later reimbursed. When the planes fly to a fire in another national forest there is no transfer of funds. The Deschutes National Forest foots the bill.

The Forest Service uses a clear, concentrated liquid called LC. After doing its job to cool a fire it acts as a fertilizer to speed regrowth of the forest.

One gallon is mixed with four gallons of water to form a thick, milkshake-like substance that is pumped into the bombers. It is colored-orange with iron oxide to make it more visible. One gallon of mixed retardant costs the Forest Service 17.5 cents.

Carrying a nine-ton, 1,800-gallon “milkshake,” the huge B-17 can make four 450-gallon drops. The B-26 bombers hold 1,000 gallons and can make two 500-gallon drops. Each drop cost about $83 for the retardant alone.

Flying the large retardant planes into the tight spots where they are needed requires a lot of skill and a measure of courage. Butler’s four pilots are long on both. Aldin “Ladie” Lash says the planes make their drops from about 75 feet above the treetops while flying about 130 miles an hour.

“I really like that kind of flying,” says Lash, who pilots a spray plane outside of the fire season. Although the B-17’s cockpit is an ominous mass of gauges and switches, Lash says it is simple to fly. “It’s just a big four-engine super cub, “ he said.

25 Years Ago

For the week ending

July 16, 1997

Detour eases traffic in Sisters

A temporary bypass to help unclog traffic has been so successful that traffic planners want to try it again for the busy Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show weekend. Saturday, downtown Sisters will play host to an estimated 10,000 people. More than 700 quilts from all over the country will be displayed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the past, the show has caused a traffic headache. But this year, westbound motorists can take a detour around town and keep traffic moving.

The city of Sisters and the Oregon Department of transportation experimented with the alternate route on Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends. The detour appears to be working, and downtown business owners don’t seem to mind that some motorists won’t be passing by their storefronts.

Computerized traffic counters put in place for the past week by Deschutes County bear out heavy use of the alternate route. While the detour was in place, the traffic count on Forest Service Road 100 jumped from 250 vehicles a day to more than 1,400, said Bill Henry, traffic device specialist. “That really makes a difference, especially when you consider a lot of those were semis,” Henry said.

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