Sun screens developed by Milton-Freewater orchardist Ken Hart shade Fuji apple trees from sunburn damage in this photo that appeared in the East Oregonian Oct. 8, 2022.

100 years ago

Pendleton will be unable to send a 10-man team of golfers to the tournament which will be played at La Grande tomorrow and Sunday, according to the belief expressed by a member of the local golf club today.

A number of the best players in Pendleton will be unable to make the trip, and without their services it was found that a team with any chance to make a good showing could not be selected.

Walla Walla, Boise, Baker, La Grande and Pendleton were invited to participate in the tourney. Last year Pendleton sent a team to the neighboring city, and plans were made to repeat again this year, but the necessary players to make up a team found it impossible to get away.

50 years ago

Umatilla County Health Officer Dr. C. E. Sappington said today he expects an outbreak of measles in the winter and spring and urged parents to immunize their children.

He said the county health department will conduct a series of immunization clinics for measles, rubella, polio, diphtheria and tetanus.

The immunizations will be free to all first graders and kindergartners, Dr. Sappington said.

He expects an outbreak of measles during the winter and spring because the last immunization clinics against them were conducted here in 1968.

25 years ago

Call him Mr. Undercover Orchardist. Ken Hart was the first Fuji farmer in the Northwest to install a protective sun screen to protect his apples from sunburn damage.

He also built his own business selling shade cloth and installing it for orchardists throughout the region. Hart no longer deals in shade cloth and admits he doesn’t expect to see many shade cloth systems in the near future.

But there’s no doubt in his mind that raising apples under shade cloth makes for better farming — if you can squeeze about $6,000 an acre expense into the budget. Should some prices soar again, growers of high value, sun sensitive apples such as the Fuji will consider the shading option again, he said.

Hart tried covering 12 acres of Fujis by trellised A-frames. He used two different shade cloth systems. The first system he put up is VJ cloth of close-knit monofilament. “They’re 10-feet panels on the 14-foot spacing,” he explained. “This system gives you 70 percent cover.”