100 Years Ago

Oct. 28, 1921

No, the smoke curling up from the Blue Mountains does not come from a forest fire. It comes from a number of tourists who were caught on the bad stretch of road between Pendleton and La Grande by the present break in the weather and they are floundering in the mud with every make of car known to the automotive industry. The smoke is very blue in appearance and might be caused by streams of profanity as the wheels spin in the mud and the car sinks deeper and deeper. Reports from the mountain state that quite a camp was established last evening by the travelers who could not turn a wheel to help themselves out of the mud.

50 Years Ago

Oct. 28, 1971

Construction is expected to begin immediately on the development of 3,000 acres of Utah and Idaho Sugar Co. land across the Columbia River from Umatilla. The initial project calls for delivering Columbia River water to the southeast corner of the 50,000 acres which U & I acquired this year from the Prior Land Co., Yakima, Wash. The U & I development is being hailed by community leaders as a boost to the Umatilla economy. The close proximity of the project is expected to mean that Umatilla area labor and services will be used. A pumping station will be built on the river with a penstock capable of pumping 600,000 gallons per minute. Amfac, which has a large farm development operating immediately west of Paterson, will be transporting potato crop into the Hermiston area to be processed at the Lamb-Weston plant that is due for construction after the first of the year.

25 Years Ago

Oct. 28, 1996

Pendleton’s largest retail store opened Saturday with a nearly full parking lot and stuffed aisles bulging with all manner of merchandise as eager shoppers got their first peek at the new Wal-Mart. The 101,000-square-foot store showed its cornucopia approach to retail, with a wide variety of departments, an in-house McDonald’s restaurant and a Tire & Lube Express. Dozens of blue-smocked employees darted among the store’s aisles on what is known as a “soft opening” day. The store, which plans a grand opening Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting, was seemingly stocked with as many employees as it was with wall-to-wall tires, fishing poles, socks and coffee pots. “I’ve never seen a store this big before,” said David Culimore, 16. “Anything you’re looking for, you could probably get here.”