100 Years Ago

July 6, 1921

With a view of having a test suit brought to settle the constitutionality of the grain grading law passed by the last legislature a meeting of the farm bureau will be held this evening. The move is the immediate result of the stand taken by exporters at Portland that the law is not valid because it conflicts with the federal grain standards. The question is a mooted one and local farmers take the position the law should be tested as soon as possible. In the event the law is held unconstitutional, steps will then be taken to have the federal grades changed so as to make them more fair to the farmers.

50 Years Ago

July 6, 1971

John Hays survived a 27-hole playoff with Don Cessnun to win the Lester Hamley Memorial Golf Tournament at the Pendleton Country Club last weekend. Hays and Cessnun finished in a dead heat after the first day’s competition with low net 66s. The pair went into an 18-hole showdown and again wound up at a standoff. Both shot 70s. It was on to a nine-hole playoff and this time Hays survived with a 33½ net to Cessnun’s 35. Robert Kirkpatrick added a little excitement to the tourney himself. He used a nine-iron on the 17th hole for his first hole-in-one.

25 Years Ago

July 6, 1996

Ever wondered exactly what those prickly plants are at the side of the road? What about the wind-ravaged wildflowers that toss their heads on nearby hillsides? Bruce Barnes wanted to know. And now he’s making sure everyone else — from beginning botanists to plant biologists — have a new tool to solve such eco-puzzles. “I knew there had to be an easier way,” says Barnes, 53, a Pendleton clinical social worker with a penchant for plants. On evenings and weekends, Barnes has spent two years compiling on computer every plant species native to the Northwest. It’s a project that would have daunted even the most dedicated green thumb. It took more than 4,000 hours, including entering up to eight million pieces of plant data such as size, shape, flower and a myriad other descriptions. The computer program, named Flora ID Northwest, breaks down the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho into 14 separate regions.