100 Years Ago

July 29, 1921

Besides being the oldest town in Umatilla County, Umatilla has another distinction that belongs here, and no sister town in the broad expanse of the county can take it away from her or hope to compete with her. This distinction is the best bathing beach in the Northwest. Only recently has the beach been capitalized for what it is worth, but now it is growing so rapidly in popularity that it promises to become one of the best places in the county to spend a pleasant holiday. The beach is not a long one, but it is sand, and the slope is gradual, and those two conditions are very necessary. Then the business men here have helped Mother Nature by anchoring a heavy scow just off the beach. There is a swing suspended from the top of the scow, and two springboards for those who enjoy diving.

50 Years Ago

July 29, 1971

The 100,000-acre Boardman Industrial Park under lease to the Boeing Co. has several plus factors that would be required for its use as a space shuttle base, but a major minus on the site is its northern location comparison to other sites. On this score, sites closer to the equator would have an advantage, it was pointed out by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration team here Wednesday. Four of the six-member site inspection team from NASA and the Air Force spoke to Morrow County public officials and staff members of the Oregon Economic Development Division. It was significant in the Boardman meeting that the only visible “pitch” made to bring the space shuttle base to Boardman came from Gov. Tom McCall’s office and the economic development division.

25 Years Ago

July 29, 1996

It’s back home. After 86 years in Portland, a basalt boulder that may be as many as 15,000 years old has been returned to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. A 60-ton crane from Shockman Brothers of Hermiston was used to place the 10-ton rock in its final resting place Saturday morning. It’s now in the center of the Warriors Memorial adjacent to the tribal offices in Mission. The Wallula Stone is covered with petroglyphs. The CTUIR claimed the stone under the 1990 federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which allows tribes to reclaim ancient artifacts that belonged to their ancestors. According to the tribal elders who examined the petroglyph in 1916, the stone was instrumental in promoting sacred rituals and served as a landmark for a gathering place of Columbia River tribes.