Hermiston History is a regular feature looking back at items making the news in the Hermiston Herald from years past.

Compiled by Shannon Paxton

Hermiston Herald

• Dehydrated potatoes introduced to Russia. Dave Landon of Hermiston, president of Oregon Potato Co., returned from the Russian city of Khabarovsk after donating 10 tons of dehydrated potato flakes to the elderly, disabled veterans and the handicapped. “ Potato flakes make sense for Russians,” he said. “ They can set on the shelf for long periods and their intense cold weather won’t hurt them as freezing enhances their quality.” People of the Russian republic, though poor, were appreciative of the generous gesture by the potato processing plant.

• Hermiston Eagles Lodge scheduled two concerts for new year. The world famous Drifters and Box Tops, were scheduled to play two shows at the lodge. Since the days of their first hit records, both the Drifters and Box Tops have hit the top in record sales with over 30 recordings. Their line up of hits include such numbers as Stand By Me, This Magic Moment, Under The Boardwalk, The Letter and Cry like a Baby.

• Blue Mountain Community College planned to hold a class on eastern Europe during the winter term. The course was schedule to feature Joan Soderstrom of Hermiston who has traveled extensively in the region. The cultures and historic events of the region, which influenced the people of the area were expected to be reviewed.

•The league leading Hermiston Bulldog girls, regained a share of first place in the Intermountain Conference race with an impressive road sweep of Crook County and Mountain View. The team, 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the IMC, was scheduled to visit La Grande before returning home to battle co-leader Pendleton.

• The first baby born in Hermiston in 1967 was Alex Lynn, 7 pounds 10.25 ounces, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Zemke, Hermiston. He was born at 8:23 a.m. Sunday, Jan 1.

• Mrs. McCullough to host Home Extension Unit study meeting: The subject for this meeting will be furniture arrangement and those attending will meet at the CRC and then go by cars to the Fred McCullough home. Leaders for the meeting will be Mrs. McCullough and Mrs. John Walchli. A salad pot luck will be served.

• Switching defenses proved effective in the Bulldog’s basketball bout with the highly-rated Pioneers of Oregon City on Hermiston’s court, as the home crew left the floor with a 68-49 win. Coach George Delap’s hoop squad used a well-handled zone-type defense, built around Hermiston’s height, to throw up a wall of tall bodies and long arms between Oregon City’s backboard-bangers and their interlaced objective. Skip Weitzel led both teams’ twine twangers with 24 points, dropping in 10 from the floor, and 4 out of 5 from the free throw line. Second high scorer for the game was sophomore center, Ron Scott, with 20 points, hitting 4 for 6 charity shots.

• America will need millions of eggs as part of the “defense food” production. Many poultry producers will follow the practice of turning on electric lights in laying houses early in the morning during winter months. The practice compensates for the fewer hours of daylight and gives hens a full day of eating and laying.

• The Hermiston Trading Co. and the Hermiston Food Store have announced a new policy of only one delivery daily, at 10:30 a.m. beginning the first of the year. This step was taken to fall in line in the conserving of vital products such as rubber and gas for national defense.

• For the first time in recent years, little fear is felt that Cold Springs reservoir will not be full when irrigation season rolls around next summer. According to E.D. Martin, manager, the reservoir is over half full at the present time and with the falling snow in the mountains a full reservoir is assured. Irrigation officials are greatly relieved concerning the condition, as it is now possible to shut off the flow in the feed canal during sub-freezing weather, thus avoiding any trouble from frozen ditches and canal gates.

• W.C. Kik farmer residing north Hermiston, broke into the limelight this week by shipping in 205 head of long yearling Herefords from Los Banos, California. Due to U.S. Troop activities, it took a full week to make the shipment here, necessitating four stops for feed and water. Mr. Kik plans to feed the stock for a month or so and then dispose of it. De-horning operations began Wednesday morning in charge of D.D. Follett. The entire herd makes quite a pleasant sight.

• An item in the paper mentioned several local residents who were home for Christmas vacation from college are: Tom Fraser, Gale Felthouse, Bob Jackson, Russel Piersol, Nina Rae McCulley, Cecil and Glenn Warner and Bill Belt from the University of Oregon. From Oregon State is Jim Jackson, Kenneth Bensel, Henry Sommerer and Gilbert Dyer.

• High School Notes: The high school girls basketball team went to Pendleton to play the girls team of that city. Gladys West and Durrell Murchie, who represent the high school in the debating contest, were at Stanfield for the first debate. The high school boys and alumni played basketball at the auditorium. The proceeds from the game amounted to $85.50.

• The Parent-Teacher Association was planning to hold its regular monthly meeting in the high school auditorium. The business session will be largely taken up with the election of officers for the ensuing year. Dr. Wainscott, who was unable to be present at the last meeting, will give a talk on first aid. In addition the program will include several musical numbers.

• A cent is a little thing, but in the aggregate it is mighty. We speak of the “copper cent,” but it is not entirely copper. Its composition is 95 percent copper, 3 percent tin and 2 percent zinc. That alloy is in reality bronze. And the official name of the cent is “bronze.” There used to be a copper cent, but an act discontinuing its coinage was passed in 1857. For seven years (1857-64) we had a nickel cent and up to 1857 a copper half cent.

• Grandmother’s Recipe to Bring Back Color and Lustre to Hair: You can turn gray, faded hair beautifully dark and lustrous almost over night if you’ll get a 50 cent bottle of “Wyeth’s Sage and Sulfur Compound” at any drug store. Millions of bottles of this old famous sage tea recipe, improved by the addition of other ingredients, are sold annually, says a well know druggist here, because it darkens the hair so naturally and evenly that no one can tell it has been applied. Those whose hair is turning gray or becoming faded have a surprise awaiting them, because after one or two applications the gray hair vanishes and your locks become luxuriantly dark and beautiful.