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.
Thousands of dollars of damage in Hawthorne district
On Thanksgiving morning November 26, 2020, at about 1:22 a.m., Portland Police responded to reports of people breaking windows and spraying graffiti on the New Seasons Market in the 4000 block of Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard. Multiple callers reported seeing a group of people, dressed in black clothing, moving west along Southeast Hawthorne breaking out windows as they went.
Police arrived and found a group near Southeast 37th Avenue and Southeast Harrison Street matching the description and carrying evidence connecting them to the vandalism.
Officers canvassed the neighborhood, spoke to witnesses, and found damage to at least ten businesses between Southeast 41st Avenue and Southeast 33rd Avenue along Southeast Hawthorne Street, in both the Sunnyside and Richmond neighborhoods. Some of the damage was sufficient to provide access to the interior of retail stores so officers contacted responsible parties and stood by while contractors or employees boarded up windows. Grocery stores, banks, an auto service center, a package distribution and mailing center, and local business storefronts were damaged.
Officers arrested three adults who were booked into the Multnomah County jail:
- 24-year-old Chester Hester, ten counts of Criminal Mischief I.
- 38-year-old Nicole Noriega, ten counts of Criminal Mischief I.
- 23-year-old Bailey Willack, ten counts of Criminal Mischief I.
Officers found one adult in possession of a semi-automatic pistol. That person was referred out of custody to the district attorney's office for potential weapons charges. One juvenile was detained and referred to the court for crimes related to property damage.
Based on witness statements, it is likely that more people were involved in these crimes and police will try to determine their identity through further investigation.
--Ben Fisher| Post Date: 2020-11-26 15:18:27 | Last Update: 2020-11-28 16:24:11 |
