##(June 1, 1981) A two-person construction crew added an artistic touch to the exterior of Gallery Theatre last week with the installation of sidewalk bricks. Rather than cement, the bricks are carefully placed together, then sand was spread over them and vibrated down between the narrow cracks. It provides a smoother surface, the crew explained.

##(June 2, 1961) Crowd at the Newberg Boat Races mills around two of the boats that competed in the 13th annual running Tuesday afternoon on the Willamette River. More than 1000 spectators lined the banks of the Willamette to view the colorful races.

##(June 2, 1956) Roswell Rossner, McMinnville Fire assistant chief, checks a cable from a winch while loading a mobile pump onto a state highway department truck for transportation to flood-threatened areas in Portland. The pump, capable of pumping 1500 gallons of water a minute, is part of civilian defense equipment stored at the McMinnville airport and maintained by the fire department.

##(June 5, 1956) This old piano soon will be a modern instrument after remodeling at the Severson Music company, 337 N. Davis Street. Selmer Severson, who opened the store recently, dismantles the piano in preparation to the remodeling and reconditioning. The new McMinnville business will handle new and used pianos and other musical instruments. Future plans call for music instructions and a record and sheet music department. Severson has served as piano tuner here for nearly ten years and is a former music teacher.

##(June 4, 1956) A new machine for computing payrolls of pickers at the Alderman Farms is explained to Donna Conn by Jesse Payne, office manager at Alderman’s. The machine, described as five adding machines in one, will be used in conjunction with an automatic check writer which enters amount, date and signature on a check in one operation and gives totals on the entire payroll. Many hand processes will be eliminated by use of the machine.

##(June 4, 1976) Sixth graders in Sybil Seward’s class at Dayton Grade School worked secretly on their bicentennial project as a surprise gift to the school. Project was a “Betsy Ross” flag. The 13 stars were hand sewn by students to the 3’x5’ flag. Students used the password “needles and pins” to enter the room when students were sewing. The 27 students involved held a bake sale to finance materials. Flag now hangs in the entry hall of the grade school.

##(June 1, 1981) Preliminary construction has started on the site of the new Chemeketa Community College center at Hill Road and Second Street. (In the background is the new location of the Church of the Nazarene.) The Chemeketa board on Friday approved a $318,212 bid from L.D. Mattson of Salem for remodeling of the two modular buildings that will be moved to the location this summer, and related construction. R&R Excavating has done most of the site work, according to a Chemeketa spokesman.

##(June 1, 1956) First harvest of the strawberry crop passes over moving belts as nimble fingers sort berries during processing at Alderman Farms frozen foods. After sorting, the berries are mixed with sugar and placed into containers by machines for freezing.

##(June 5, 1956) Glen Darroch, Portland Associated Oil Co. employee and McMinnville Chamber of Commerce speaker Monday, makes balls of rubber from petrochemicals as part of a forum luncheon program portraying products from the “magic barrel” that we gain from oil. He displayed dozens of products now vital parts of American life which come from the petrochemical industry and forecast a multitude of changes in our future living through products from petroleum.

Vintage N-R/Memory Lane: June 5, 2026

A look back at Yamhill County news

10 Years Ago

• Roy Whitman, retired co-ag teacher and FFA advisor at Willamina High School, recalled what would happen when students put three welders to use simultaneously in the old shop. “The breakers would blow,” he said. Whitman joined other members of the community Friday for an open house designed to show off the school’s new multi-purpose vo-ag facilities.

“I haven’t seen anything like this offered to high school students,” said Kurt Neville, who joined Willamina staff from Central High in Independence when Whitman retired. The facility was funded partly through a $2 million bond issue approved in May 2014, as well as a $391,000 CTE Revitalization Grant awarded by the state.

• The Michael King Smith Foundation’s court-appointed bankruptcy trustee has filed notice to sell the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum’s space hall, water park and chapel, along with a future hotel site, two farm tracts and nine aircraft, for $10.9 million. Unlike a previous offer, this one has the museum’s enthusiastic support. The bid is from Falls Event Center LLC, owned by businessman Steve Down.

25 Years Ago

• The Evergreen Aviation Museum on Three Mile Lane may symbolize different things to different people, but on Wednesday it officially became one thing to everyone: open for business. Thousands of visitors spilled through the doors in the morning after an outdoor ceremony featuring patriotic speeches and a deafening flyover by two F-15 fighter planes.

“You really can’t imagine how big it is until you get up underneath it,” said 70-year-old airplane aficionado Cliff Halvorson about the main attraction, the HK-1 Flying Boat. “It’s unbelievable. It’s like flying a cruise ship.”

Eric and Edith Batel of McMinnville brought their kids, Jamie and Andrew, to opening day. They’ve been waiting a long time for this, he said. “My dad’s a private pilot, and I’ve been reading about this since it was in Long Beach,” Eric said. “We followed it when it came up here and kept up with the web page. It’s one of the reasons we moved here.

With a capacity crowd Wednesday, Jerry and Eveland were lucky to find a parking place for their motorhome, which bears California plates. They were among hundreds of out-of-staters who signed the guest book with addresses such as Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and even Germany.

50 Years Ago

• Community theater is alive and well in McMinnville. One year after Gallery Players of Oregon moved into its own downtown building and began year-round operation, the organization is "healthy but struggling," according to president Frank Nelson. Costs are growing, but Gallery is operating in the black, as it has since its inception in 1968. It previously operated only during summer in Linfield College’s Renshaw Hall.

Converting the building to a workable theatre in six days was "the first miracle," said Nelson, a Linfield philosophy professor.

Gallery presented nine productions this year. Total attendance was 5,338, an average of 493 per play. "Out long range goal is 1,000 people per play and 1,500 for musicals," Nelson said. He estimated participation tripled as 218 people acted or worked in other capacities on the shows.

• Rehearsals for McMinnville’s first community marching band will begin Tuesday in the high school band room. Under the direction of high school teacher Gavin Lewis, the band will begin preparing for the July 4th Bicentennial Parade in downtown McMinnville.