On this day, May 5, 1903, James Beard, US culinary expert, author (Delights & Prejudices), was born in Portland, Ore.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing Mrs. Elsie Mitchell, the pregnant wife of a minister, and five children after they attempted to drag it out the woods in Lakeview, Oregon. The balloon was armed, and exploded soon after they began tampering with it. They became the 1st and only known American civilians to be killed in the continental US during World War II.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, Bly minister Archie Mitchell, his pregnant wife Elsie, and five children from Mitchell's Sunday school class were on a Saturday morning picnic. Thirteen miles northeast of Bly, or about sixty miles northeast of Klamath Falls, Mitchell parked the car, and Elsie and the children headed to Leonard Creek. Mitchell later remembered: "As I got out of the car to bring the lunch, the others were not far away and called to me they had found something that looked like a balloon. I heard of Japanese balloons so I shouted a warning not to touch it. But just then there was a big explosion. I ran up there--and they were all dead." It was a Japanese balloon bomb. They were 70 feet tall with a 33-foot diameter paper canopy connected to the main device by shroud lines. Balloons inflated with hydrogen followed the jet stream at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
Told deputies he was lost
Clackamas County Sheriff deputies stopped a man driving a stolen backhoe after the suspect was spotted driving it on the wrong side of the road.
Shortly after midnight on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, an Oregon State Police trooper reported spotting a backhoe driving in the area of I-205 and Hwy. 213 in Clackamas County. The trooper initiated a traffic stop. However, the backhoe turned up the wrong way on the on-ramp from Hwy. 213; by the time the trooper looped back around, the backhoe had disappeared.
Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Patrol deputies began searching for the backhoe. Around 12:40 a.m., a resident reported seeing the backhoe near Holly Lane and Redland Road.
A CCSO deputy spotted the backhoe shortly after 1 a.m., driving on S. Fischers Mill Road. The backhoe was straddling the double yellow line at times, driving on the wrong side of the road, at speeds estimated at 10-20 mph.
The deputy initiated a traffic stop just west of Hattan Road. Because the backhoe had refused to stop for OSP troopers earlier that night, the deputy called for backup.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The suspect driver was identified as Mitchell Ray Johnston, 39, of Aloha. His driver's license was felony revoked. He initially told deputies he was "lost," but soon admitted he'd stolen the backhoe from a lot at 141st and TV Highway in Beaverton.
Johnston had driven the backhoe nearly 30 miles from its original location -- on a slow-moving route from TV Highway to Highway 217 to I-5 to I-205 -- before being spotted by the state trooper.
The owners of the backhoe responded to the scene to retrieve their stolen construction equipment.
Mitchell Johnston was arrested on charges including Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle and Driving While Suspended. His bail was set at $50,000.
--Bruce Armstrong| Post Date: 2021-11-23 21:15:27 | Last Update: 2021-11-23 21:30:05 |
