100 Years Ago

From the East Oregonian

Aug. 4, 1920

The biggest jail break in Eastern Oregon’s history came to the most sensational conclusion Saturday with the capture within 12 hours of all five outlaws, Neil Hart, Jim Owens, Jack Rathie, Louis Anderson and Richard Patterson. The business of capturing the five men was one of the largest undertakings in Oregon criminal history, say those who took part. There were 21 sherifffs, special agents, detectives and police from outside Umatilla county, three sets of bloodhounds and a posse which numbered more than 500 citizens. As the prisoners were brought to the court house from which they escaped, large crowds assembled. The attitude of the bystanders was about 90 percent curiosity. There was about 10 percent lynch spirit in the crowd toward the murderers of the beloved Sheriff Til Taylor. Twice Saturday night attempts were made to get the prisoners away from the guards in the sheriff’s office, but without success.

50 Years Ago

From the East Oregonian

Aug. 4, 1970

The Nationals’ Saturday win gave Pendleton its first two wins ever in state Babe Ruth Baseball Tournament action. The Nationals played superb ball Saturday night to drop Jefferson of Portland, but the glory was short-lived. Ontario saw to that. Five Pendleton bobbles, three passed balls and two wild pitches gave the Vandals four unearned runs. That was all Ontario hurler Bill Yraguen needed as he spun a one-hitter at the Nationals, along with the help of some bad-ball swinging by the Pendleton nine. An estimated 1,000 fans jam-packed Bob White Park for both Saturday’s and Sunday’s evening sessions, according to ticket chairman Ellis “Bud” Neal.

25 Years Ago

From the East Oregonian

Aug. 4, 1995

About 5:30 a.m. on what should have been a sleepy summer Sunday, three men discovered a dead body on the side of a Milton-Freewater street. Within minutes, the first of what would quickly become a small army of police officers arrived to secure the crime scene, setting in motion a whirlwind, textbook investigation. Without any known witnesses and with a crime scene that was not brimming with evidence, police from four different agencies working together had identified three suspects and taken them into custody by Monday morning. Although cooperation between departments isn’t unheard of, Umatilla County’s Major Crime Team Agreement among the county’s various police agencies is an especially important ingredient in the safety of those who live in a rural area where police staffs are small, budgets stretched thin, equipment limited and old, and homicide investigations relatively rare.