The memory of the late Ed Miller, a Union rancher who died in 2008, was recognized at a recent reception at Union Elementary Schools library. The reception featured a display of the approximately 50 books purchased in Millers memory for the library. Union High School student Meredith Matthews, right, is shown with Sue Miller, Eds wife, examining one of the new books. Matthews raised the money for the purchase of the books through the sale of a pig at the 2009 Eastern Oregon Livestock Show.

UNION – Ed Miller will never be forgotten in this community.

The family ties of the late fourth-generation Union rancher are too

strong, his contributions to events like the Eastern Oregon Livestock

Show too numerous.

Miller’s legacy was saluted Wednesday during a reception at Union Elementary School’s library. The event commemorated the donation of about 50 new books in memory of Miller, who died at his home Aug. 19, 2008, at age 64.

Many volumes reflect Miller’s love of the West, ranching and rodeos. Books that can be found within the collection include “Rodeo Clowns” by Paul Kupperberg, “Bull Riding” by Jane and Jessica Kubke, “Cowboy Alphabet” by James Rice and “Twas the Night Before Roundup” written by Nancy Attebury of La Grande and illustrated by Joan Madsen of Enterprise.

Each volume has a bookplate card with a photo of the popular rancher and a statement that the book was donated in his memory.

The book collection is a tribute to an outpouring of support from Miller’s friends and one Meredith Matthews, a Union High School honor student.

Matthews came up with the idea for the project and raised all the money for the purchase of books in Miller’s memory. She did so via the sale of a pig at the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show a year ago.

The hog was set to be sold for about $800. Then the remarkable happened. Word spread that all the money from the sale of the pig would be going for a project to salute Miller’s legacy. Contributions began pouring in, not from people

interested in purchasing the hog, but from those jumping at a chance to help keep Miller’s memory alive. Close to $800 more was donated.

“It was very moving,” said Ed’s wife, Sue Miller, a classroom assistant at Union Elementary who previously was the school’s librarian.

Major donors included Conley Farms owned by Sonny and Mary Jane Johnson of Cove, who purchased the pig; the Miller family; Union Market; Aggies; Airplane Banner Tow; La Grande New Holland; Western Ag Improvement; Lazy H Cattle Co.; Darren and Cheryl Murchison; Quarter Circle R-M and Ranch-N-Home Realty and Meredith Matthews.

Those donating and many others in Union will long remember how Ed Miller was forever quick to help events like the old Catherine Creek Junior Rodeo and the EOLS.

Denny Langford of Union said the hours Miller devoted to the EOLS each year seemed almost infinite. Langford recalled that often he would see Miller, who was the event’s arena director, at the EOLS grounds early in the morning.

“Ed would say, ‘Denny, have you been here all night?’ and I’d say, ‘I have, just about like you.”’

Langford said Miller was an integral part of the community in many other ways.

“He was the kind of guy who was good to be around,” Langford said. “You could always trust and depend on him.”

The close to 50 books donated to the library represent far less than half of the total that will be purchased in Miller’s memory with the $1,600 raised by Matthews. Many of the volumes for the Ed Miller project were purchased from Sunflower Books of La Grande, which provided them at a significant discount.

Books that will be purchased in the future will include popular children’s titles that are the latest additions to a series the Union Elementary Library already has. Sue Miller said a wonderful thing about the new books and those which will be purchased later is that they are all hardcover editions. This will allow them to last much longer.

Matthews, 16, the daughter of Vivian and Jerry Matthews, just completed her sophomore year at UHS. She came up with the idea for the Ed Miller project because she wanted to reach out to Sue Miller. She had gotten to know Miller well while a student at Union Elementary School, said Matthews’ father.

“She felt connected with Sue,” he said.