100 years ago — 1921

Fred H. Patterson, about 45 years old, is in St. Anthony Hospital, and Mrs. Ella Alexander, his common law wife, is in the city jail as a result of a shooting scrape this morning which resulted in the man acquiring two bullets from a .38 caliber Colt’s Special revolver at the hands of the woman. Jealousy and fear are the two reasons given by the woman for her action in shooting Patterson when she presented herself at the police station and surrendered this morning at 7:30 o’clock. Four shots were fired. The two shots which took effect both struck Patterson from behind, one catching him in the left elbow and the other in the left side of his body. That she had to shoot him or he would have killed her was the statement Mrs. Alexander made. Patterson’s side of the story conflicts with the reason given by Mrs. Alexander for the shooting. He said he was preparing to leave to go to work, and the next thing he was aware of was the report of the revolver shots and the sting of the lead.

50 years ago — 1971

The students at Blue Mountain Community College no longer believe in Santa Claus but they do like the feeling of Christmas. So they plan to share it with lonely people on Christmas Eve. The occasion will be a dinner in the student union at 6 p.m. A program will follow. The guests will be men and women who live in furnished rooms and tiny apartments and have no families with whom to share the holiday. Tim Mabry, president of the BMCC students, said the idea caught fire and grew. “We’re up to 200 people now,” he said. Faculty members as well as students have become involved. Students will provide transportation for their guests. “We have a selfish motive,” Mabry said. “Maybe we will feel Christmasy again.”

25 years ago — 1996

The results are in — Pendleton’s children have selected their favorite toys of the year. The Children’s Museum of Eastern Oregon sponsored the contest for favorite toys of 1996. Local merchants donated toys to be tested by kids whose interest ranged from the imaginary to the more concrete. Favorite among ages 0-4 were the Piglet and Tigger puppets. Second runner-up was the Brio Train set. The ages 5-7 group and the 8-10 group were unified in their choice of an electronic listening game called the Brain Bash. A listening game for 5-10 years olds? “That surprised me too,” said Childrens’ Museum volunteer Jan Peterson-Terjeson.

“But it is competitive and I think they really enjoy the competition.” Jenga, a block-building and dismantling game, was second runner-up for both groups.