Hermiston History: Hermiston woman becomes a master tour guide 25 years ago

Published 5:04 pm Tuesday, June 21, 2022

25 YEARS AGO

June 24, 1997

With “the patience of a saint,” as tourist Sylvia Gettig described her, Jo Lagerberg quickly became a favorite local tour guide.

Lagerberg lived in Bend for 44 years until moving to Hermiston in 1992. She moved to town with her son, Phil Hamm, who took a job in the area.

Not long after, she received a phone call from the Hermiston Senior Nutritional Center asking for volunteer tour guides.

Having extra time on her hands with retirement, Lagerberg jumped right in.

“It was the best thing that could have happened; it came at a time when I needed something to do. I would rather arrange tours than stay home and stagnate,” she said.

Although Lagerberg had never organized a tour before, she had traveled extensively around the world with her husband, Ted Lagerberg, who died in 1988.

Travel experience would come in handy, as she “knew what I (she) liked and didn’t like about tours.”

Not only did the tourists enjoy Lagerberg’s work, but Lagerberg herself also loved the position, claiming that she had made “more (friends) than I could have met on my own in a million years.”

50 YEARS AGO

June 22, 1972

As Armand O. Larive served as superintendent at Hermiston Schools for nearly 30 years, the Hermiston City Council decided he needed to be honored. A committee was established to head the project.

The group got right to work discussing several suggestions that had been offered, including naming the junior high auditorium, football field, an elementary and high school swimming pool after Larive.

However, they agreed there should be a single large, meaningful memorial designation rather than several smaller ones named after Larive.

There would still be more planning and discussion required, but many people were looking forward to what the committee would come up with to honor the former longtime Hermiston superintendent.

Today, a Hermiston school bears his name.

75 YEARS AGO

June 26, 1947

“The past and the future of our city is wrapped up in fish, and destruction of the salmon run would mean the city we know would cease to exist,” said Astoria Mayor Orval Eaton, regarding the construction and development of dams along Oregon rivers at a recent Federal hearing.

However, Paul J. Raver, the Bonneville Administrator, countered by stating that a full development of dams was crucial to meet the Pacific Northwest’s growing power needs. Raver even predicted the area might face a “brownout” in the winter due to overwhelming power demands.

These conflicting statements highlighted the two-day debate between fishing and power agencies, where over 300 people, including local Indians dressed in colorful native attire, attended.

A 10-year moratorium on new dam projects in the Columbia River below Okanogan and the Snake River below its Salmon River confluence was proposed, to allow time for a salmon protection program.

A decision had not been made official, but numerous fishing representatives were in support of the moratorium suggestion. Many agreed with Eaton, who voiced his fear that, “without the fishing industry, the city would face economic ruin.”

90 YEARS AGO

June 23, 1932

When rumors had spread that the annual Oregon State Fair would be discontinued, a storm of protests began.

The fair, held in Salem, had always received a large attendance and was a favorite summertime event for many.

Unsure of where the rumors originated and anxious to put out the fire of public discontent, a committee of the State Bard of Agriculture submitted plans for the operation of the state fair to the governor.

But that wasn’t the only story that week.

Some Oregonians believed they had discovered a new, resilient potato variety, only to learn that it had already been growing for the past year.

W.H. Zivney, president of the Oregon Potato Growers Association, received the start of the potato seed through County Agent J. J. Inskeep from the Oregon Experiment Station the previous year. Since then, Zivney had been experimentally growing and observing the new variety.

The Katahdin Potato is round and short, with smooth sprouts and shallow divots, and apparently excellent for cooking. In addition, it was found to be resistant to two of the worst potato viruses diseases.