25 YEARS AGO

March 23, 1999

Civilians and inmates worked together to clean up trash along the Umatilla River.

After leasing 40 acres of riverfront land from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Umatilla School District started cleaning it up. The district hired a crew, which included 10 minimum-security prisoners from Two Rivers Correctional Institution, to pick up litter.

The Umatilla prison required all of its inmates to work 40 hours a week. In addition to meeting that quota, some voluntarily logged extra hours to help clean up the area.

During a two-week period, the inmate crew had collected more than 70 cubic yards — equaling three dumpster loads — of junk, including tires, ovens, refrigerators, shopping carts and chairs.

“I was amazed at how hard those prisoners worked,” Guy Jager, the Child Nutrition director at the Umatilla School District, said.

This activity not only provided the inmates with work but also an opportunity to prove themselves. Albert Washington said he and his fellow inmates hoped people saw them doing this work.

“We’re not all thugs,” he said. “People do change.”

50 YEARS AGO

March 21, 1974

Upon visiting the Umatilla Army Depot, Maj. Gen. Homer D. Smith had nothing but good remarks.

Smith was the Army’s deputy commanding general for all military logistics support, which included the 20 supply depots located across the United States. At the time, he was on an inspection tour of the western bases in Utah, Colorado, California and Washington.

During Smith’s visit, Louis D’Avanzo, chief of the support services division at the base, expressed his hope for greater utilization of the depot.

“We’ve got the facilities here to handle anything,” he said. “We have good weather for outdoor storage and we’re only using 62% of our warehouse space at the present.”

Smith said he was not yet certain of any additional uses for the depot, but he agreed the climate was prime for storage. He said the Army might consider the depot when reviewing its plans for automobile storage. All in all, it was very clear that Smith was impressed with the depot.

“This is a great physical facility and the people here know what they are doing,” he said.

75 YEARS AGO

March 24, 1949

In just its first year offering speech instruction, Hermiston High School sent five students to the state speech contest.

The district speech tournament was held in Pendleton and featured teams from Mac-Hi, Ukiah, Irrigon, Pendleton and Hermiston. Hermiston’s Darell Doering and Barbara Doughtery won first place, with Doering’s original speech, “Human Energy,” and Dougherty’s debate on the topic, “How May We Combat Juvenile Delinquency in the United States.”

Bob Kendell, Alberta Larson and Dorothy Sturm each earned second for Hermiston. Kendell presented an extemporaneous speech on “Internal Threats to American Freedom,” while Larson gave an after-dinner speech and Sturm competed in the humorous reading division.

Hermiston also claimed four third-place titles with Carol Stiller’s panel discussion, Kendall’s poetry reading, Larson’s impromptu speech and Doering’s radio speaking.

Elated by this triumphant district competition, the five Hermiston students looked forward to April 8-9 for the state meet.

90 YEARS AGO

March 22, 1934

The Stanfield senior class provided a night of entertainment with its “Singing Mask Ensemble.”

Presented in the high school auditorium on the evening of March 16, this production kicked off with several popular monologues chosen by Katherine Olday. Olday then joined Mildred Peregrine to perform dramatic skits, with “Moth Balls” being the main feature. For this one-act play, LaVonne Walk brought the cast to a total of three.

Not only did these Stanfield seniors know how to act but they also knew how to play music. Accompanying the dramas were Esther Fredreckson on the violin, cellist Helen Fredreckson and Jane Gibson on the piano.

Those who attended the show, lasting just under two hours, said it was one of the most outstanding drama and music programs in the community.