100 Years Ago

Aug. 26, 1921

Jesse Brunn, or Jesse Roberts as he is better known, was exonerated from all blame for shooting Louis Ragains early last Sunday morning at Wright’s cabin in the mountains near Starkey Prairie by the coroner’s jury in the verdict brought in this morning at the conclusion of the testimony in the inquest. The verdict finds that “Louis Ragains came to his death as the result of a gunshot wound, the said shot being fired by Jesse Roberts, or Brunn, and we further find that the said shot was so fired by the said Jesse Roberts or Brunn in self-defense.” After hearing the testimony of James Roach and Joseph Cunha Jr., who were the only witnesses examined this morning, it required only a few minutes for the jury to draw up the verdict.

50 Years Ago

Aug. 26, 1971

Quick action by an older sister may well have saved the life of a Pendleton girl. Linda Kay Brown, 13, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charley Brown, was cooking breakfast Monday morning when her blouse caught fire. Linda’s 18-year-old stepsister, Joy, ripped off Linda’s clothes and squelched the fire, according to Brown. Linda is recovering well from first, second and third degree burns. Mr. Brown said she is doing well and is in good spirits but will probably be in Pendleton Community Hospital at least through the week. Joy received minor burns herself. While she was putting out the fire, another sister, 18-year-old Donna, was calling Brown. He and Mrs. Brown had already left for work at Charley Brown Rentals, which they own.

25 Years Ago

Aug. 26, 1996

The King rules Richard Cunningham’s living room. He’s on the wall crooning, back hair slicked into a pompadour. On another wall he’s gyrating on stage in a white jump suit. “There’s stuff on my wall and every place,” said Cunningham, 53, of the Elvis Presley collection that’s grown to fill every corner of his living quarters at Oregon Trail Manor since the early 1970s. Cunningham’s collection has been helped along by his single-minded passion for supporting cerebral palsy. For close to 15 years he’s helped attract thousands of dollars in donations and put on an auction for the birth defect caused by a brain disorder that affects motor skills and speech.