100 Years Ago

July 24, 1924 — From ‘Local Happenings’

A party of Elks who were on their way to the big picnic at the Metolius last Sunday met a large buck deer in the road near the Metolius river.

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The W.T.C.U. is busy making fancy work to be sold in a booth at the State Fair at Salem this fall. The money is to be used for the children’s farm home at Corvallis. A pleasant afternoon was spent by the members at the home of Mrs. B.A. Kendall Thursday afternoon over their sewing.

75 Years Ago

July 21, 1949 — Adult driving course begins, instructors report no mishaps

The first Redmond adult driving course lesson was held Tuesday night with no mishaps reported. Redmond junior chamber of commerce members are conducting the eight-lesson course on the airbase parking apron under the supervision of Paul Warren of the state traffic safety division.

Nine students, all women, have signed up for the free instruction, but there is still time this week for others to register.

Lessons are held Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 7 p.m. until dark. The student must furnish his own car and arrangements are made for the instructor to pick up and return the student at his home. At the end of four lessons students are to take an examination for beginners’ certificates which will permit them to drive on the highways with a licensed driver. At the end of the course the examination for drivers license will be taken.

Rancher’s wife contracts polio

Mrs. Robert Porfily, wife of a rancher on Upper Crooked river, was stricken with poliomyelitis last week and is now in the Portland Isolation hospital. She was taken there Friday, says her sister, Mrs. Bert Winter of Route 1, Redmond.

Mrs. Porfily, mother of several small children, became ill and thought she was suffering from influenza until the paralysis struck one of her legs.

After being in the isolation hospital two weeks, she will be removed to another hospital for six or eight months’ treatment. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Way of near Redmond, are on vacation at Great Lakes, Minn., and do not know as yet of their daughter’s illness.

50 Years Ago

July 24, 1974 — U.S. National to occupy $680,000 facility soon

Construction is reaching its final phase on U.S. National Bank’s new Redmond branch office.

Monday, Aug. 5, has been set as the opening day for the new facility, according to C.W. Beckett, vice president and manager of the bank’s eastern region, and Kenneth Schimming, branch manager.

Located on S. Sixth St. one block north of the current branch, the new facility will offer enlarged and improved banking for Redmond area residents. The structure will also serve as home for the bank’s eastern region staff, which has responsibility for 25 branches from Pendleton to Lakeview.

The Timber Co. of Hermiston broke ground on the development last fall. Designed by Annand, Boone and Associates, the structure is formed of steel and concrete. The floors will be tiled and carpeted. Ceilings are made of acoustical tile. The entire building is air conditioned.

Local contractors involved in the project have been Cascade Glass, Hennen Plumbing, Farwest Steel Corp., Central Oregon Roofing, Bend Aggregate and Paving and Johnson Electric.

The main floor is devoted primarily to the branch banking operation, with generous space for officers and tellers. A drive-up window and parking for up to 40 cars also has been provided. The second floor will contain regional offices, employee facilities and storage.

As of Aug. 5, the new branch will operate from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays. The drive-up will open at 9 a.m. daily for customer convenience.

Total investment for the new facility, including land, equipment, fixtures and landscaping, will be about $680,000.

Death claims Wayne Morse

U.S. Sen. Wayne Morse, 73, died Monday morning at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland.

Cause of death was listed as kidney and heart failure. He had been hospitalized last Wednesday for pneumonia and later was diagnosed as having a severe urinary tract infection.

Morse was fallen amid a campaign to regain his Senate seat of 24 years from Sen. Bob Packwood. Morse, an outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in Vietnam and a fiercely independent figure on the political scene, had been unseated by Packwood in 1968.

He had planned to ride in the Deschutes County Fair parade next week in Redmond and to attend the Lord’s Acre sale in November at Powell Butte.

The state Democratic Central Committee is expected to choose a candidate to oppose Packwood in the November election when it meets Aug. 11 in Baker. Possible nominees being mentioned include State Sen. president Jason Boe, who was defeated by Morse in the Democratic primary; State Treasurer Jim Redden and former U.S. Congresswoman Edith Green.

25 Years Ago

July 21, 1999 — Brush fires behave despite flashy fuels

While fire danger remains high, local firefighters have had only a few grass and brush fires to contend with in the past week.

In fact, Monday was one of the quietest in the past month for both fires and medical calls, said Redmond Fire Department Division Chief Kent Barnes.

Several small fires kept the Redmond Fire Department busy July 12 and 13. The largest fire burned about 1.5 acres of grass and brush the evening of July 13 on SW Canal Boulevard in the Swalley Road-Hereford Avenue area.

That fire rekindled on July 14 and grew to three acres before firefighters from Bend, Redmond and Crooked River Ranch doused it.

Friday, just before 10 p.m., firefighters extinguished a 20- by 30-foot fire at 379 NW Smith Rock Way, Terrebonne. Illegal fireworks ignited the blaze, Barnes said.

On Saturday afternoon, firefighters extinguished a grass and fence fire at SW 23rd and Timber. That fire was blamed on children playing with a lighter, he said.

While recent weather has been cooler and humidity higher, grass and brush are still extremely dry, Barnes said, and people need to use extreme caution when using fireworks, barbecues and other potential fire starters outdoors.

The ban on outdoor burning remains throughout Central Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Forestry continues to list fire danger in area forests as extreme.