Vintage N-R/Memory Lane: Feb. 20, 2026

A look back at Yamhill County news

##(Feb. 17, 1961) Examining new victory bell at Dayton High School are (left to right) Judy Francis, student body president; Harold Myers, Jan McManimie and John Leffel, school agriculture instructor. The old bell reportedly was brought around Cape Horn in 1888. It was obtained from the old grade school in Dayton that is now the American Legion hall.

##(Feb. 17, 1971) Pete Whittlesey, owner of Midway Volkswagen, 1049 North 99W, local authorized Volkswagen dealer in McMinnville since 1961, will hold Anniversary Open House at the dealership on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 18, 19 and 20. A feature of the Open House is a “Grub-In-A-Bug” contest. This consists of a 1971 Volkswagen sedan filled with groceries. People may submit entries, guessing the total dollar value of the groceries. The winner of this contest will receive all of the groceries in the Volkswagen.

##(Feb. 17, 1961) Mac-O-Rama coupon book-sales get underway by McMinnville High School students as Chuck Colvin, chairman of the McMinnville Chamber of Commerce Retail Merchants committee, hands first book to Kevin McGillivray, student body president. Scheduled is individual and class competition among students for sales of the “bargain books,” which offer hundreds of dollars in bargains in McMinnville stores during the Mac-O-Rama promotions event, due March 16-17-18. Others (left to right) are Rex Haynie, budget committee chairman; Doug Koch, sophomore class president; Gary Eborall, junior class president; Mike Keller, senior class president; A. T. “Pete” Beall, chamber manager; and Bill Rutherford, co-chairman of the event. Competition among the students and classes will continue for three weeks.

##(Feb. 17, 1961) Beauty operators Margaret King, Mary Jean Gamroth, June O’Neil and Maxine McBride Monday spent their time at a rest home in McMinnville doing the hair of home residents. The project, done as a service, was a part of the observance of National Beauty Salon Week.

## (Feb. 18, 1976) Tom “Terrific” Hayes (pictured) set an unofficial world’s record by leaping four trucks on his tricycle, while Marlene McPherson guided her three-wheeler to victory in the finals at the first tricycle races ever held in McMinnville last Friday at The Hatchery.

##(Feb. 17, 1971) Preparing decorations this week for the Mardi Gras party Saturday night, which will benefit the Big Brothers program in Yamhill County, are (l-r) Barbara Winkler, hostess; Betty Kay Compton, who made the flower decorations; and Virginia Rossman, food chairman. Invitations have been sent out to over 175 people in the county for the event, to be held Saturday, Feb. 20, at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Albert Winkler in McMinnville

##n Yard are slowly coming down. Slowly, but surely, old, dirty, and often faded advertising signs are coming down, making way for new and shiny bright versions. As new advertisers buy space, an old sign disappears. Many of the advertiser’s signs hanging around the dimly lit auction arena are as old as the building itself -— some 35 years.

##(Feb. 20, 1971) Chicken and noodles go together so the McMinnville Soroptimist Club members make a chicken and noodle dinner an annual affair as a means of raising funds for sponsoring an American Field Service foreign student. Liliana Fricker, AFS student from Argentina, is shown the art of noodle cooking by Marsha Wright, a daughter of her American family. Melissa Birch, who lived in Paraguay during July and August of last year, watches the process.

##(Feb. 16, 1966) Cobb Incorporated, McMinnville’s newest industry, is now in full production at its site on Lafayette Avenue, The plant, which employs 12 persons, is hatching an average of 35,000 chicks per week to be shipped to almost every country in the world.

##(Feb. 18, 1976) A customer at Yamhill Valley Foods serves herself from bins containing flour and grains. The nonprofit food cooperative at Third and Galloway streets in McMinnville depends on volunteer labor from its own customers to maintain the store and order supplies. Coop members benefit from a discount, and membership is open to everyone.

10 Years Ago

-- The McMinnville City Council has eliminated “ending homelessness” as a goal for the coming year, instead opting to focus on fostering more affordable housing, considering the latter more realistic and attainable.

But their choice doesn’t go far enough for downtown merchants. They are stepping up pressure for relief from what they term “behavioral issues” among some of the local homeless who either reside downtown or hang out there. In years past, nuisance issues have been attributed almost exclusively to a number of local youths. But merchants say there’s been a shift as downtown churches have increasingly begun catering to the local homeless population.

Inquiries to half a dozen downtown businesses elicited a variety of responses, ranging from experiencing no problems to thinking of calling it quits.

-- A large audience showed up Thursday to hear Yamhill County Commissioners deliberate on the testimony submitted for and against expansion of McMinnville’s Riverbend Landfill, under remand from the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. But audience members left disappointed when the commissioners, without comment, voted unanimously for expansion, then closed the hearing. The approval remanded for re-hearing came from a 2-1 vote, with Commissioner Allen Springer dissenting. He explained his dissenting vote then, but did not elaborate on his Thursday change of heart on the proposal.

25 Years Ago

-- Rex Hill Vineyard and Winery’s 1998 Pinot Noir, crafted by winemaker Lynn Penner-Ash, has been selected to accompany the entrée at the first official White House dinner hosted by President George W. Bush. It is the fourth time a Rex Hill wine has made an appearance at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Rex Hill products were served three times during the Clinton years.

-- Stanley Buck, looking more like a big kid at heart than a city councilor, dribbled a basketball around the newly reopened Tina Miller Teen Club in Willamina. “It’s a feeling of accomplishment,” Buck said of the club that was closed for two years. Fire Marshal Don Mills ordered the doors closed in December 1998, calling it “a disaster waiting to happen” because of inadequate safety standards. With the help of volunteer labor and donated materials, improvements were made that allowed the club to reopen late last year.

50 Years Ago

-- The New York Times article read: “Michael and Denise Tobey’s Champion Ernie’s Jack Flash From Yamhill, Oregon, Was Named Best Airedale.”

The Tobeys raise Airedales at a kennel three miles north of Yamhill, and now find themselves in the possession of what they call “a child prodigy” — a dog that at 19 months old is ranked top of its breed in the Northwest and fast is working its way up to the top position in the nation. Ernie Jack Flash, nicknamed Josh, won best of his breed at the Golden Gate Dog Show in San Francisco a few weeks ago, and last week won best of breed at an all-Airedale show in New York City. He rounded out the week by capturing the spot of top male Airedale at Westminster, probably the most prestigious dog show in the world.

-- With a grand opening set for Saturday, Feb. 21, Yamhill County Women’s Resource Center has its roots in discussion held in open meetings last year. Over potluck, a common bond surfaced: Feelings of isolation, both in their jobs and in their homes; isolation that is accentuated by the fact that the county is largely rural.

Located in the basement of First Baptist Church in McMinnville, the center’s goal is to find better ways to live as women and seek solutions to many problems unique to women.