25 YEARS AGO

April 20, 1999

After 40 years, an old cowboy was still casting a shadow over Umatilla.

Standing in front of the Columbia Red Apple Market, this smiling giant was made of plywood and metal. He measured 35 feet tall with a 14-foot shoulder and an 8-foot hat.

The figure was built in the 1950s by Hugh Little, Dan Long and Art Tassie. Long, the store’s butcher, had designed the outline. The cowboy first stood near Umatilla High School as an advertisement for the Save A Lot Market, which later became the Stewart’s Town and Country Market.

In true Old West style, this figure has stood the test of time.

“With the wind they have up there, everyone told me it would blow over in the first wind,” Little said. “There’s been a lot of wind since then, and it’s still up.”

The cowboy survived another element, fire, when the market burned down in 1960. The owners decided to rebuild and move the store east, renaming it the Key Buy Market and then eventually the Columbia Red Apple Market. They also brought along the cowboy, which had become a unique landmark.

“No matter who owns the store, the cowboy stays,” Bill Meade, owner of the Columbia Red Apple Market, said.

50 YEARS AGO

April 18, 1974

Secretary of State Clay Meyers stopped by Hermiston during his campaign for Oregon governor.

The two topics Meyers addressed while in town were gasoline taxes and the repurposing of the U.S. Naval Bombing Range in Boardman.

Ballot Measure No. 2 called for 8% of the gasoline tax revenues dedicated exclusively to the state highway department to be directed to alternative transportation needs. Meyers was in support of the measure, saying it would benefit the whole state and enable cities to tailor the funds to their local needs.

“I’ve been supporting my position on Ballot Measure No. 2 in all areas of the state, unlike some candidates,” he said.

Meyers said he was referring to Sen. Victor Atiyeh, who had endorsed the measure in Beaverton but had changed his stance while speaking in other areas of the state.

In regards to the new use of the bombing range, Meyers said he would support programs and measures that would promote family over corporate farming.

“A land of desert and sagebrush could be turned into a Garden of Eden,” he said.

Although the election was still a while out, the February poll count indicated Meyers was ahead of Atiyeh, his top Republican opponent.

75 YEARS AGO

April 21, 1949

Resurfacing Main Street was one of the main topics of discussion at the latest Hermiston City Council meeting.

Residents along Hermiston’s East Main Street petitioned for the road to be surfaced between Seventh and 10th streets, just east of the Hermiston Livestock Commission sale yards. Eddie Lynch, chairman of the street committee, suggested postponing the matter until property owners had been contacted. Lynch pointed out how recent paving projects had cost property owners $1 per foot, and he reasoned they should determine the level of interest in the project before proceeding.

Along with street paving, the council discussed paying for fireman training. It was decided the city would pay for one training drill during the six-week training period, with the other training going unpaid. The reason for this, Mayor Quiring explained, was that all expenditures were to be kept to a minimum until the year’s budget was approved on July 1.

90 YEARS AGO

April 19, 1934

Renovations and additions were in store for the Umatilla Cooperative Creamery.

Along with a new cold storage plant, a cooling creamery plant had been added to the facility. It was certainly time for an update, as the old cooling room did not have any floor insulation and the lumber had molded and rotted.

The new room adequately addressed such issues, as it was insulated with cork and covered with asphalt and aluminum. In addition, it boasted 50% more floor space than the existing one and had an 8-foot ceiling. The location was also strategic, as its access to the ice plant eliminated the need for unnecessary handling.

Construction had been underway for the past two months and it was scheduled for completion by May 1. As the new refrigeration equipment was being installed during this final stage, the public was invited to come in and inspect it. The project was being supervised by M.G. Headwall, manager of the Umatilla Cooperative Creamery.