Howdy Folks!
as printed in the Record Courier in Baker City, Oregon Read the Sumpter Column online here as it is published in the Record Courier! The Sumpter Column is published in the Record Courier appearing on Thursday of the week it is submitted with feature stories of life as it happens in our small town! This column belongs to our Sumpter Residents who may submit items for publication with the deadline on Monday of the week desired for printing. If you have a question regarding content or would like to submit an item to the Sumpter Column, contact Mark at: 541-894-2419. Email: javaman@java-net.biz |
May 8, 2008
Hello Friends......
Temperatures are up, sunshine is out and the Sumpter Valley
Gold Dredge State Park and Dredge both opened May 1 for the season and our new Library, inside the Sumpter Museum, held it's Grand Opening on May 3rd. It would seem that spring has finally arrived as things are happening for brand new season in Sumpter. Kelly Olson Hagwood
Kelly Olson Hagwood, better known to some as Kelly Hagwood, passed away recently of
natural causes. Services were held for Kelly in the old Sumpter Schoolhouse April 21st......... Kelly and her husband, Ben Olsen, moved to Sumpter, and opened the Black Market in 1970. Kelly and Ben are best known as the "folks that put Sumpter on the map" with the very first flea market. The "Thieves Market" started by Kelly, Ben, and other locals, was perhaps the beginning of what has become known as one of the largest flea markets in the Northwest. The surviving family held an estate sale that began on April 28th and ended with a village-wide flea market on Friday and Saturday, May 4th and 5th, in Kelly's memory at 22 Freedom Lane in the Treasure Valley Mobile Village in Ontario, Oregon. If you have questions, call 541-889-6847. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Lung Cancer Association or the charity of choice, in Kelly's name. For more information, please refer to the obituary, which ran last week in this paper. Sumpter Library Grand Opening!
There was standing room only at the Baker County Public Library Sumpter Branch Grand
Opening last Saturday. Baker County Public Library Director, Perry Stokes, was the master of ceremonies for the event. According to Stokes, over 50 people attended the grand opening.... "It was a pleasure to see so much support for the new branch." Said Stokes. Local dignitaries were on hand such as Gary Dielman, President of the Baker County Library District Board. Dielman gave a presentation on the Sumpter Fire of 1917 using historic photos. Dielman is also a volunteer photo archivist and local historian of the area. According to Dielman, there was a listing for a Sumpter library back in 1905 but the actual location in Sumpter is still unknown. Stephen F. Rich, the SVMA President and Sumpter Museum Director, was the obvious choice to cut the ribbon. Rich thanked everyone for attending and read the names of BYCAP Crew members and supervisor, Ben Titus, who have worked on the building for the past three years. "If it weren't for the BYCAP Crew, the museum building wouldn't be ready for this event." Rich said. Rich also thanked Randy and Linda Joseph of Joseph Millworks for donated materials and millwork for the library and museum. Also in attendance was former Baker County Library Director, Aletha Bonebreak, now retired. Before retiring, Bonebreak shared the vision of a Sumpter library with Rich and was instrumental in securing the County Grant, which paid for that vision. Perry Stokes introduced the Sumpter branch librarian, Jerry Ann Dunn, a Sumpter local, to those in attendance. Jerry Ann will be available at the library Thursday-Friday, 11-3 pm and on Wed nights from 5-7 pm. In his opening address, Perry Stokes thanked our many local volunteers for their great support. "It is the great support and volunteerism of Sumpter that will allow the branch to be open beyond what we have funds in the County to pay for." Said Stokes. Official hours of the new Sumpter Library will be Thurs-Fri, 11 to 3 pm and Wed night, 5-7. Depending on volunteer availability, the library will also be open Mon, Tue, and Sun. Please call 894-2253 for details and hours. Refreshments were brought in by local volunteers and enjoyed by all................... You may visit the Baker County Public Library online at: www.bakerlib.org April 24, 2008
Hello Friends...... 
A hearty thanks goes out to everyone who has stopped by
the Sumpter Library in the Sumpter Museum since it has been open! Your support and generous donations of books are greatly appreciated! The Sumpter Library has a little known program available..............the "Adopt a Periodical" program, which provides residents the opportunity to subscribe to a favorite magazine and then donate that subscription to the Sumpter Library so that all visitors may enjoy the subscription. If you are interested call or visit the library on Sat or Sun, 12:00 p.m. to 3 p.m. You may call the Sumpter Library at: (541) 894-2253 or contact Perry Stokes at 523-6419 for more information. The Sumpter Valley Railway!
Everyone enjoys riding the Historic Sumpter Valley Railway. But how many of you know what it
takes to prepare or maintain the steam train for a long season? Scott Hutton, of Baker City, knows for sure as he is responsible for maintaining the engines of the SVRY and doing all the repair work necessary to keep the engines running. Currently, Scott is using a vertical milling machine to clean up the driving boxes that belong to engine number 19 and will then attach a brass plate to the driving boxes. "This is a pretty common service procedure on these engines after grooves get worn into them during service." Said Hutton. Maintaining the SVRY also requires dedicated volunteers and one such volunteer for the past three years has been Dennis Jones, of Bend, Oregon who makes the long drive over to McEwen to help work on the engines. "I have been a railroad man all my life and I don't mind scraping grease or whatever needs to be done on these engines." Said Jones. According to Scott, the number 19 is being made ready for federal inspection on April 30th before it can be used this season out on the rail. The season begins for the SVRY when they give rides to school classes on upcoming field trips next month. The 2008 public season begins on Memorial Day Weekend. In another shop across the McEwen lot, passenger cars are being repaired and rebuilt for the season. Operations Manager Jerry Huck, of Walla Walla, Washington, and SVRY employee, Ken Carlson, of Boise, Idaho, are busy repairing one passenger car while rebuilding and painting another. Jerry has been the Operations Manager for the SVRY since 2000 but has worked with the railway since 1989. Jerry also occasionally fills in as Engineer on the train during the season when needed and has recently joined the Board of Directors. Ken recently became a paid employee last year after he and his son, Casey, have volunteered for the railway for several years. "We do a lot of work in these shops during the winter so riders can enjoy their SVRY experience throughout the season. Said Carlson. If you would like to volunteer or have questions, you may contact Jerry Huck at: (541) 894-2268. For information concerning tickets and reservations, you may call the SVRY toll free at: (866) 894-2268 or: (541) 894-2268. Personnel ask that you please leave a message so they can get back to you. You may visit the SVRY online at: www.svry.com If you have a question or would like to submit an item, please call Mark
at 894-2419 Wed-Fri 9-1 or send an email to: javaman@java-net.biz Join Sumpter Oregon Community Discussions online at our
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