Just the other day

Gresham youth serves in hot Mexican war

By sharon nesbit

The Gresham Outlook, Jul 26, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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1916 – A Northwest real estate convention was in Portland 90 years ago and the “real estate men” were to take a trip up the Columbia River Highway in “100 machines loaded to capacity” to visit Multnomah Falls. On their return they planned a parade through Gresham. Gresham residents were advised to assemble at the fountain at the intersection of Main Avenue and Powell Boulevard to give them a hearty welcome. And Gresham had at least one youth, Wilbur Stanley, serving in the war in Mexico. “It is very hot down here,” Stanley wrote, saying that temperatures ranged from 128 to 140 degrees.

1926 – Royal Gelatin came out with fruit flavors 80 years ago. According to a half-page advertisement in The Outlook, 189,000 women asked for it in the first seven weeks. The ad included pictures of gelled cubes with a dollop of whipping cream served in fancy crystal and as molded gels. Jell-O won out in the long run.

1936 – “There is not a vacant house in or near Troutdale and the past week local real estate agents have had to turn away more than a dozen families looking for homes,” The Outlook reported 70 years ago. And in another interesting type of vacancy, the first interment of a Portland person in Gresham’s new Forest Lawn Cemetery was a reason to brag that Gresham was a good place to be dead in. Portlander Florence Hayes was buried in Gresham causing The Outlook’s reporter to observe that “there are many in Portland who have been favorably impressed by the accommodations at the new burial park here.”

1946 – Academy Award winning actor Ray Milland was in Corbett 60 years ago shooting scenes for a film, “The Golden Earrings,” in which the Columbia River Gorge was a stand-in for Germany’s Rhine River Valley. It was 100 degrees, the clouds over the gorge were the wrong kind, and Milland was spending his time sitting under a tree waiting for better weather. Marlene Dietrich was his co-star, but she was not on hand for the Oregon shootings. The Gresham Outlook reporter asked Milland if he liked Oregon’s berries and the actor explained that he was allergic and they made him break out.

1956 – Dogs were racing in the new kennel club facility in Fairview 50 years ago, but no money was bet. The greyhound track was good enough for schooling races, but the actual racing was to take place at Portland Meadows in August.

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