I thought this might be an interesting feature, to look back on previous years in Bend history, at least as reported in The Bulletin (or other sources if I find them). I added “120 Years Ago” to the usual lineup you’d see because otherwise 100 years ago only gets us to 1922, but since Bend itself officially incorporated in 1905, there’s some early history there that could be interesting too.

(Yes, the previous post on browsing historic newspapers online spun out of this one.)

I don’t know if this will become a regular thing; let’s see how it goes (it takes some time to pull together).

120 Years Ago (1902)

From the Crook County Journal of July 10, 1902:

A couple of pieces of local resident news:

• Ovid Riley came in from his ranch on the Deschutes Tuesday and reports everything moving along smoothly over that way.
• John Sizemore (sic), one of the pioneer residents of this interior country, now residing on the Deschutes in the vicinity of Bend post office, was a visitor at the county seat the first of the week.

At the time, the Bend area was generally used interchangeably with “on the Deschutes.”

The Journal published Timber Land Act notices for William H. Staats and his wife Emma Staats of Bend, for the purchases of lots designated at the “sw¼ sw¼, e½ sw¼ and se¼ nw¼ Section 3, Township 25 south, Range 10 east” and “se¼ ne¼, e½ sw¼ Section 4, and nw¼ sw¼ Section 3 Township 25 south, Range 10 east” respectively.

William Staats (along with Sisemore) was one of the earliest pioneers to the Bend-area region of Crook County, with a homestead/ranch located roughly where Bend’s Drake Park is today. Here’s a bit about him that I cribbed from Bend Beer:

[John] Sisemore’s Ranch competed with William Staats’ own frontier outpost as a stopping point for travelers through the region; Staats’ homestead was located only about a mile down the river (approximately where Drake Park is located today) and in addition to lodging, offered up fresh vegetables in the summer thanks to Staats’ irrigated garden. The two also competed over the name and post office of the region: Sisemore established the first post office in 1886 under the name of “Bend”… which lasted until 1899, when Staats successfully applied to become postmaster—and changed the name to the one he favored, “Deschutes.” This post office lasted until 1906 though relatively few people actually referred to the area under that name (and the “Bend” post office itself was re-established in 1904).

Some background on the Timber Land Act notices:

The region’s early newspapers were full of these types of land notices, because the Timber and Stone Act of 1878, which allowed the United States to sell western timberland that was “unfit for farming” in 160-acre parcels for $2.50 per acre, provided for the publication of these applications to purchase these lands. This requirement to publish essentially funded the local papers in their early years, and page after page of land notice applications make up the bulk of the content.

Other Bend residents with notices included Temperance O. Harshman, Henry W. Reed, John R. Brock, Jackie S. Brock, Charles L. Brock, Eva Poindexter, and Ora Poindexter.

100 Years Ago (1922)

During the early years of The Bend Bulletin, the paper started out as a weekly before becoming a daily; there was a period in which there was an additional weekly issue released which recapped many of the week’s stories along with some other features.

This week in 1922 had its share of morbid news stories, including:

• Mill Employee is Trapped in Shavings Bin (July 10, 1922, front page); Ernest Fulton suffocated in the fuel house at the Brooks-Scanlon mill when tons of wet wood shavings dumped on him.
• Albert Keller committed suicide (July 11, 1922); the 68-year-old was going blind and despondent.
• Carpenter Wounds Self With Hatchet (July 15, 1922). At least he lived.

Creepy, right?

It wasn’t all bad and morbid news, however. Work on the Crane Prairie Reservoir was begun; a new road from Century Drive connecting to Odell and Crescent lakes was announced, which was expected to shorten the previous route by 15 miles; and a small blurb on the front page of the July 11 edition announced that Father Luke Sheehan of the St. Francis Catholic Church (and whose name you might recognize today as part of McMenamins’ property) left to visit his home country of Ireland.

The paper also started a “Pioneers and Pioneer Life in Bend and Central Oregon” series, with some interesting articles on early residents of the area. The first in the July 13 weekly edition was on John Y. Todd, one of the first Bend pioneers. The second on Saturday, July 15 explored who first, er, explored Central Oregon.

75 Years Ago (1947)

The news seems a bit more prosaic from this era, with more focus on national and international news on the front page, though of course I’m focusing on local stories.

Deschutes Pioneers Hold First Annual Picnic With More Than 100 Old-Timers Attending (July 10, 1947)

The turnout of the “old-timers” exceeded expectations, so that the organizers had to make a restaurant run for additional coffee and ice cream. Sounds like they met and picnicked in what is now Pioneer Park.

Crops Damaged By Heavy Hail In Tumalo Area (July 11)

Blanketing fields with six inches of hail in places and causing considerable damage to crops, a fierce electric storm swept over the Tumalo community yesterday afternoon. Hardest hit farms were those of J.R. Cowan, James Whitlock and Ted Becker, with Whitlock’s raspberry patch, one of the largest in the area, ruined as berries were stripped from bushes.

Same issue: Dynamite Truck Is Hit By Car

A truck carrying dynamite and detonators was involved in a traffic accident in Bend early this morning, with a hit-and-run motorist operating the second machine, according to information on file in the local police station.

It didn’t explode, but who hits a truck full of dynamite and then flees the scene?

Tourist Season Is Best In History Of Bend; Visitors From California Numerous (July 14)

Bearing out predictions made early in the season, Bend is experiencing its best tourist season in history, with some places of business that cater to travelers declaring that the influx of tourists is nearly twice as heavy as it was last year.

Estimates of 1947 tourist travel are partly based on data from restaurants and auto courts—and, it is pointed out, there are more restaurants and motels in Bend this year than in former years. State police report heavy travel over the interior highways, at at Crater lake national park, with Bend as its north gateway, attendance figures are at all time highs.

50 Years Ago (1972)

Final B-S checks received by strikers (July 11, 1972)

A federal mediator was unable to end a 14-day strike against the Brooks-Scanlon mill by 415 of its workers; they had just received their final paychecks from before going on strike, which was cause for some concern. Between the lack of payroll and the mill not operating, one union official estimated a loss to the local economy of about $50,000 every two weeks.

Are commissioners padding land sale expenses? (July 11)

This is some juicy stuff, investigating if the Deschutes County commissioners, led by G.W. McCann, were essentially stealing money earmarked to schools and cities from the revenue of county land sales. They did this by padding the expenses of administering county lands—which sounds super shady in any year—and dumping the extra money into the county general fund. Some good quotes to pull:

Deschutes County commissioners have left themselves wide open for charges that they have padded land sales expenses by not substantiating the costs of overseeing county lands.

Commissioners claim it cost over $180,000 to administer county lands in 1971 and 1972.

The more the commissioners deduct from the land sale account for sale expenses, the less the cities, schools, hospital and fire district receive as their share of the land sale “take.”

And:

Oregon statutes give the county the option of taking 10 per cent of the land sale fund for expenses or figuring its expenses and deducting them. The county has chosen to estimate its expenditures, which have averaged about 57 per cent of receipts during the last three years.

Last week, commissioners decided to tap 50 per cent off the top for expenses to the general fund as a sort of standard deduction, beginning next year.

I have to wonder, were the commissioners back then able to withdraw from the general fund for any personal or similar “expenses”? McCann avoiding giving any real costs of these expenses by claiming it was too “darn hard to do” so went with the super high estimates instead. And then this section is just wild (emphasis mine):

The actual costs, as compiled in a list by McCann, totaled $100,920. Yet almost $143,000 was transferred into the general fund. When asked about the discrepancy, McCann was at first hard-pressed for an answer. After checking the records, he reported back.

“We had a deficit in the general fund due to excessive court costs on all the murders we had that year. We took it (money to make up the deficit) from what sources we had.”

Ummm. Apparently there were several murder trials in 1970-71.

Forest Service to complete planting blackened Airstrip Burn this summer (July 14)

A small lake-marked basin northwest of Suttle Lake may take a little heat off Central Oregon wilderness areas in years to come — after its burn heals.

This summer the Forest Service will be planting the last 235 acres in a 2,400-acre Deschutes National Forest restoration project following an August, 1967, fire in the area.

25 Years Ago (1997)

Unfortunately, online archives for The Bulletin that I can find end in 1994, but as it happens, The Source Weekly launched on July 11, 1997. The Source had some retrospective details in its 2017 20th anniversary issue:

The “Deschutes Source” launched its first issue with a bang on July 11, 1997.

Highlights of the inaugural 20 pages included a feature on the Bend Summer Festival, a favorable review of the India Palace Restaurant (then located on Division St.), new writing from author Kent Anderson, and a preview of the Cascade Cycling Classic.

A note from Editor Aaron Switzer outlined the Source’s mission, “to become the community’s center for dialogue and a clearinghouse for local artists, writers, and concerned individuals to leave an impression of their personal Central Oregon. Our mission is to give the region a publication that reflects the growing diversity and uniqueness of the area.” Switzer, who now sits in the publisher’s chair, also offered some prophetic words:

“…Central Oregon has become a regional medical and recreational hub, traffic on Highway 97 and in downtown Bend has never been so congested, and Bend’s retail centers are abounding. It’s clear that Central Oregon has been discovered. The time for an independent weekly newspaper belonging to the city and region is long overdue.”

Ten Years Ago (2012)

Bend carmaker receives grant (July 10, 2012)

A Bend electric carmaker will receive more than $10,000 in grant money from an Oregon nonprofit to show its vehicles at trade shows across the region.

Venus Motors Co., which builds and markets electric vehicles, will receive the funds, according to a news release issued Monday from Drive Oregon, the Portland nonprofit that is allocating the money.

Is Venus Motors still around?

State tightens fire restrictions (July 11): Relevant topic for any fire season.

In light of high wildfire danger, the Oregon Department of Forestry will tighten public fire prevention restrictions in the Central Oregon District.

Starting today, smoking is prohibited while traveling in forested areas, except in vehicles and on improved roads. Open fires are prohibited, including campfires, charcoal fires and cooking fires except in designated areas. Portable cooking stoves are allowed. Chainsaw use is prohibited between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. in and near forested lands. Chainsaw use is permitted at all other hours if users have appropriate firefighting equipment on hand. Fire watch is required at least one hour following the use of each saw.

Balloon man rides again (July 15). You read that right. This is the lawn chair balloonist.

On Saturday, lawn chair balloonist Kent Couch, of Bend, took to the skies once more, this time accompanied by Iraqi adventurer Fareed Lafta — but their plans to float to Montana were thwarted by bad weather.

Brasada Ranch committed fraud (July 15).

The Crook County Circuit Court has ruled that Brasada Ranch committed fraud by selling lakeview properties without having water rights to a lake that eventually went dry.

As a result, the Brasada Ranch Development company and its former owners, Jeld-Wen, have been ordered to pay more than $2.5 million in damages to four parties who purchased homes before the lake disappeared.

I don’t actually remember this?

Forest Service Okays Bridge Creek Water Project (July 12)

Despite the controversy over this, the pipeline did get built, and the project began in early 2014.

In local beer news, Sunriver Brewing (the original pub in Sunriver) opened its doors during this week in 2012.

Five Years Ago (2017)

Feel good story! Four baby swans hatch at Sunriver Nature Center (July 10, 2017):

For several weeks, staffers at the Sunriver Nature Center eagerly waited for two trumpeter swans to hatch. By the Fourth of July, one had hatched and they expected to come to work the next day to see the other.

But Wednesday morning brought the shock of the summer: Four white, fuzzy heads peaking out from their mother’s nest.

Staffers believe the first baby swan started hatching late Monday night, and the others hatched throughout the day Tuesday — the Fourth of July. A fifth egg was spotted in the nest Wednesday, but is likely infertile, according to the staff.

Having four baby swans, called cygnets, is unexpected after a difficult breeding season for the resident swan couple, Chuck and Gracie.

Good grief, but The Bulletin had a lot of local wildfire stories that week on July 11:

• Some containment in Sheridan Fire west of Sunriver
• Arson suspected in several recent fires
• Forest roads to reopen near Sheridan Fire
• Fire on Tumalo Mountain held to an acre
• Fire on Pine Mountain 60 percent contained

Spoken Moto celebrates one year in Bend (July 13). Just a note about the coffee house/taphouse/food cart pod down by the Box Factory, which is still going strong.

Saving The Grain (July 12): The Source has an interesting profile on local entrepreneur Sarah Pool researching and developing a product from spent grain from the beer brewing process.

The group asked Pool if she was interested in turning the saved grain from beer, a sustainable, plant-based fiber and protein source, into something good, something beneficial for the mass market. She did some research and decided it was a no-brainer to pursue the project. She said, “Beer is already the coolest thing, let’s turn it into something even cooler.”

Now what to do with it?
Pool’s first thought was to turn it into a superfood smoothie. After a bunch of prototypes she brought the smoothie to chefs she knew in New York and Portland. The feedback wasn’t great. They complained about the product being too thick and having a weird, grainy texture. Pool went back to the drawing board and produced hundreds of prototypes before discovering the final product: barley milk. Her next step was to start a company that would produce her new product.

This concept became Take Two Foods, now based in Portland. I mostly use almond milk these days so I’m definitely curious about barley milk as a more sustainable alternative!

And of course in local beer news, The Ale Apothecary released its 200th brew at its taproom on July 13.