100 Years Ago

From the East Oregonian

Nov. 21, 1920

Farcical in its very nature but presented and costumed with a finish far superior to the average high school productions, “The Merchant of Venice Up-to-Date” given last night by the Drama Club of Pendleton high school entertained a large audience for two hours. The play was the initial offering of the club this season and produced many laughs. The young actors put a lot of force in their lines and those of the audience familiar with well known lads and lasses in the school were entertained by the frequent reference to them. Teachers also came in for their share of the mention in Shakespeare’s classic parodied, and a vein of wholesome humor throughout formed the vehicle for a high class high school production. Preceding the play, the seniors gave a skit from their forthcoming production which is also of the comedy stamp.

50 Years Ago

From the East Oregonian

Nov. 21, 1970

Corvallis may be number one but Pendleton has to be a darn close second. It was only by the hair on its chinny-chin-chin that Corvallis’ Spartans escaped with a 20-14 state AAA high school football semifinal win over Pendleton’s Buckaroos Friday night. The Spartans took a 20-point halftime spread over the Buckaroos, but the Comeback Kids took command in the second half and stalled the powerful Spartan ground attack. Pendleton was poised to take the lead as the final gun sounded. Had the Bucks had another minute to play — who knows? Corvallis Coach Chuck Solbert told the Bucks after the game, “You sure played a lot better against us than Sunset did.” Sunset, the number one ranked team in the state at the end of the regular season, was wiped out by the number two ranked Spartans in the quarterfinals. Pendleton was unranked.

25 Years Ago

From the East Oregonian

Nov. 21, 1995

Construction worker Jim Taft could barely see the 1936 scrawled on the outside of the copper box. He had to lift it into the sun to make out the date, holding history in his two broad hands. “You could still see the pencil writing,” said Taft, an employee of the construction firm working to renovate the old brick Helen McCune building into a brand-new city hall/library complex. Carved into a cubby hole behind the cornerstone of the landmark building was a time capsule, soldered shut with lead. Placed in the building when it was first constructed as a junior high school, the capsule contained photographs and yellowed East Oregonian clippings. Also inside the box was the official voting tally of the $50,000 bond levy that paid for the school. The score: 568 yes votes, 76 no votes. The total cost of the building, grounds, architect’s fee and equipment was $150,000 — quite a few dollars less than the $2.95 million price tag to remodel it for modern use.