Portuguese specialists inspect potato storage 75 years ago

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, July 31, 2025

100 Years Ago

Aug. 6, 1925 — Issue missing…

75 Years Ago

Aug. 3, 1950 — Portuguese Specialists Inspect Central Oregon Potato Storage

Dr. J. G. M. Chaves, Lisbon, and J. D. Amaral, Povra d Varzim, Portugal, authorized by their government to make a study of U. S. potato storage facilities, were in Redmond Tuesday to inspect central Oregon spud storage plants.

Chaves, representing the Portugese ministry of economics, and Amaral, representing the National Fruit board of Portugal, were accompanied by Professor M. G. Cropsey, OSC storage specialist.

Ben Davidson, administrator for the Oregon Potato commission, arranged and conducted the tour, which included inspection trips to commercial plants and farm storage houses.

Cropsey, an outstanding authority on potato storage problems, visited Portugal at the request of the Portugese government some years ago in an advisory capacity.

Portugal’s commercial potato growing area corresponds roughly, in size, with central Oregon’s. However, according to the visitors, modern storage facilities are non-existent. Growers still use the ancient pit method and each year lose a percentage of their crops, and profits, due to inadequate storage equipment.

The Portugese government proposes to design and operate a cooperative storage program, whereby farmers would store their crop in government warehouses, receive a percentage of the price at time of storing and the remainder at time of sale. Gross take would be liable to government deductions for storehouse operation and maintenance.

Chaves and Amaral were especially interested in the Central Oregon Potato Growers association, Davidson said. They examined it thoroughly and obtained copies of the association’s by-laws, rules and operating procedures.

Primarily, Davidson said, the Portugese wanted information on construction, operation and maintenance of modern potato storage plants. Though the type of spud grown in Portugal is characteristically different from American types, the foreign specialist asserted that American storage plants would be practical.

Bus to Be Named City of Redmond

Trailways Honor for Town Announces

Pacific Trailways will name one of its new diesel motor coaches “City of Redmond,” J. R. Roberts announced at Tuesday’s chamber of commerce luncheon.

Roberts recently pointed out to William Niskanen, Trailways official, that other towns had been honored by having busses bear their name and that Redmond, so far, had been overlooked.

Niskanen assured Roberts one of the new diesel busses, to be delivered soon, will bear the name of Redmond, and that it will be dedicated whenever the chamber wishes the ceremony to take place.

Tentative plans are to have the dedication at the Deschutes county fair parade Saturday morning, August 19.

P. M. Houk, reporting on Central Oregon chamber of commerce meeting last week, told of discussion regarding the large amounts of hay shipped out of central Oregon and sold elsewhere. The chamber is investigating the situation, believing the hay is worth more if kept here and fed to beef and dairy cattle.

Dr. Charles A. Dudley, president, appointed the agricultural committee to study the situation.

Houk also told of the blood bank project and announced a schedule is to be set up for this area.

Representatives of the Crooked River Round-Up association will be in Redmond next Tuesday, August 8, to advertise the show at Prineville the following weekend. The contingent will parade in downtown Redmond, it was announced.

Help Needed To Clean Up Fairgrounds

Town Asked to Come With Working Tools Sunday Morning

Clean-up day will be held at the Deschutes county fairgrounds next Sunday.

Everyone in town who is willing to help get ready for the fair is asked to show up with a pick, shovel, rake, hammer or saw — or with all those implements of toil.

Fair Association Chairman Mike Lynch and Manager Carl Galloway point out that labor is short, and that volunteer workers are badly needed.

Civic groups have been contacted and indications are there will be a number of helpers.

The clean-up day will start at 8 o’clock in the morning and will last as long as the workers do.

The Buckaroo Breakfast club, headed by George Murphy, will have hot coffee on tap, and ice cream and doughnuts will be furnished.

Volunteers Wanted 

“We need all the volunteers we can get,” Lynch said, “if the grounds and buildings are to be put in first-class shape for the 31st show, only two weeks away.”

Dr. Charles A. Dudley, chamber president, urged all business men to turn out when he announced the clean-up at Tuesday’s chamber of commerce luncheon in Redmond hotel banquet room.

Dances Arranged

Fair dances are to be held this year at Redmond grange hall, with the Jaycees as sponsors, Galloway has announced.

The Warm Springs orchestra will play both Friday and Saturday nights August 18 and 19, and jitney dancing will be in order, just like old times.

This is the first time in several years that the popular fair dances have been staged.

50 Years Ago

Aug. 6, 1975 — Widened toll-free phoning lies in limbo ‘til study completion

Oregon Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will consider the feasibility and popularity of extending telephone service in Central Oregon to a greater toll-free calling area.

Offering the extended area service at an increased rate to users on an optional basis will be considered by PUC for its financial feasibility. PUC will get a reading on the possible popularity of the proposal by securing statistics from United Telephone Service on toll call traffic patterns in the area.

The preparatory action was promised by PUC representatives Al Jasso and Jock Brown at Monday night’s informal meeting at Powell Butte School attended by about 20 persons, most of them Powell Butte, farmers and ranchers.

The meeting was a result of a petition circulated last April by the Powell Butte Farmers’ Club and signed by some 3,000 to 4,000 Central Oregon residents.

The farmers and ranchers in the Powell Butte area “cannot conduct business in an efficient manner” as a result of the system as it now operates, according to Rod Johnson, secretary of the club. In several cases you can’t call your neighbor across the street without a long-distance charge being tacked on,” according to another Powell Butte resident. Several comments from the audience were stimulated when United Telephone Co, division manager Bill Dufner cited an estimated $13 per month extra charge on all telephones in the affected area, should the extended area service be instituted.

Jim Wampler of Powell Butte called the figure “a ridiculous estimate,” stating that 10 years ago when similar talks were being held with PUC, a $1 per phone added charge was the estimated per-unit increase. He said per-home toll call averages were too low then, which was the only reason that extended service was not allowed the Powell Butte area at that time.

In the coming months, PUC will again gather statistics on numbers of toll calls per telephone being made to various Central Oregon points. Dependent on those findings, several possible actions could be instituted.

The most extensive would be to expand the toll-free calling area to the Central Oregon Community College district. This is also the most expensive plan. Dufner admitted that it was under this hike estimate plan that his $13 rate was reached.

Less expensive alternatives include a “piggy-back” system, whereby Redmond would be tied with Prineville, Culver with Redmond, Sisters with Bend, etc. Under this option, a total toll-free tie-up of the area would not be necessary.

The third alternative discussed was to install a Redmond-Prineville line which would solve Powell Butte’s immediate problem. Powell Butte resident Jim McClay summed up the feelings of the group regarding the third plan of action when he said, “We’ll take as much as we can get.”

Nick Rachor of Powell Butte responded, “It, at least, east, would help. It’d be a big step forward.”

Rachor earlier had related the problem of the Powell Butte School having to make extensive toll calls and suffer a “considerable” monthly phone bill due to its designation as a Redmond listing. “We were refused every time we asked for a Prineville phone,” said Rachor, a 10-year member of the Crook County School Board.

Being in “conflicting areas” within the Bell system was the reason cited by Dufner as causing the school’s problem. PUC’s Jasso commented later that a foreign exchange hookup might solve the school’s problem.

“It might work for the school,” said Wampler who has a foreign exchange hookup at his home, “but very few of us can afford the added cost ($35-$40 per month) and even can get it.” Proximity to a special line is required for the connection.

As there is presently a moratorium on extending area service by the public utilities commissioner, a supportive vote would be required within the affected areas in order to have it lifted. For this reason, Jasso advised the gathering to “forget the larger is where the communities,” such as Bend, as that negative votes would “pile up.”

Before the meeting adjourned, Dufner attempted to sum up his company’s viewpoint on the matter. “We’re looking at it (extended area service) with an open mind,” said Dufner, “but we must consider the other segment of our customers-the non-toll callers and those on a fixed income.” The latter, he said, don’t want and couldn’t afford the extended service.

To this, Johnson responded, “That’s not our worry … let them take their phone out.” Dufner then cautioned the farmer’s club secretary that if too many customers were to do just that, the added cost would have to be transferred to remaining users.

Additional rate charges being tacked onto large numbers of customers, who would not benefit from the extended service, is what PUC wants to avoid, according to Jasso.

In similar past cases, he said, a larger community, such as Bend, would be included in extended area service without benefit of public vote.

With the added toll-free range the larger city would gradually increase its toll use to the outlying areas and a resultant rate increase would then have to be charged to residents of the unpolled larger community.

“We certainly will get back to you, though,” said Jasso, after PUC completes its study of the situation.

Employment, food stamp census here

Helen McMillan, Terrebonne, will conduct a survey of employment and unemployment in this area during mid-August, announces John E. Tharaldson, director of the Bureau of Census regional office, Seattle.

In addition to the usual questions on current employment, the August survey will have additional questions about the use of food stamps in 1975.

The survey is conducted monthly by the bureau for the US Department of Labor in a scientifically designed sample of about 60,000 households throughout the entire United States. The employment and unemployment statistics which are based on results of this survey are used to provide a continuing measure of the economic health of the nation.

The June survey indicated that unemployment declined in June, and employment was about unchanged.

The unemployment rate dropped 8.6 per cent in June from 9.2 per cent in May. Total employment remained steady at 84.8 million. Since last September total employment has fallen by nearly 2 million.

Facts supplied by individuals participating in the survey are kept strictly confidential by law.

25 Years Ago

Aug. 2, 2000 — Issue missing…