100 years ago

There was excitement galore at the Frank Fraizer ranch yesterday as a result of a fire that partly burned 65 sacks of rye in a field that has been harvested. The fire threatened the entire ranch for a time. During the fire fighting Mrs. Frank Fraizer received burns on the neck and arms but though painful her injuries are not serious.

The fire started at noon after a truck carrying men working on the McKay dam had passed over a strawed road. The fire was first discovered on the hill and it was spreading rapidly. The people on the ranch took up the fight against the flames and they were soon aided by a number of men from the construction crew. By aid of wet sacks they finally checked the blaze. The fire reached within 100 yards of the shop and shed near which there was some hay. The barn on the place was also endangered for a time. The field of rye comprising 14 acres had been harvested and the sacks were on the ground. Sixty five of the sacks were burned but the grain was not destroyed. No insurance was carried on the rye and Mr. Fraizer has not yet made an estimate of the loss.

50 years ago

Queen Penny Chapman is reigning over the Wheeler County Fair and Rodeo this weekend in Condon.

Queen Penny is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. I. Chapman. She has lived all her 17 years on the family cattle ranch east of Spray.

In 1970, Queen Penny won a reserve champion award for horse showmanship and a trophy for horse judging at the 4-H fair.

The Wheeler County queen will be a senior at Spray High School this fall where she is active in volleyball and all student affairs. She plans to attend a business school or junior college.

25 years ago

More than 250 firefighters from throughout Oregon and Washington have contained two large grass fires that threatened the city of Pendleton, several rural residences and scorched about 40,000 acres over the weekend.

The Reith-Barnhart fire destroyed a home, an unoccupied building, numerous vehicles and about 5,000 acres as flames jumped across I-84 early Saturday evening near Woodpecker Trucking and swept through industrial and residential areas near Eastern Oregon Regional Airport. Hundreds of motorists on I-84 were stopped Saturday evening due to the blaze.

A second fire, the Coombs Canyon fire, burned about 35,000 acres and nearly reached several structures, although no damage to homes was reported by Pete Wells, Pendleton’s city attorney, who also served as public information officer during the fire. No injuries were reported in either of the blazes.