It was a pure pleasure doing research for last week’s story on “Napoleon and Samantha,” the Disney movie that was filmed in Grant County and released 50 years ago this month (July 5, 1972, to be precise).

I watched plenty of Disney flicks as a kid (and more later, as a parent), but I had never heard of this one until a few weeks ago, when former Blue Mountain Eagle reporter Cheryl Hoefler came into the office to do some research of her own for a 50th anniversary review of the film in the June 14 edition of GO! Eastern Oregon, our weekly entertainment supplement. 

Inspired by Cheryl’s example, I decided to write a story for the Eagle about the filming of “Napoleon and Samantha” in the summer of 1971. But first, I had to see the movie for myself. I was delighted to discover a copy on DVD at the Grant County Library (thanks to head librarian Chris Ostberg, who always knows exactly what’s in the library and where to find it).

The movie was a treat. Even a recent transplant such as myself was able to recognize a number of the shooting locations, and I scoffed like a native when Michael Douglas’ motorcycle chase scene took him from downtown John Day to deep in the mountains in nothing flat.

An even bigger treat was the response we got when we posted a call to readers on our website and Facebook page. Our thanks to everyone who reached out to share their memories of the movie’s production, from meetings with movie stars or seeing a lion in Canyon City to experiences working as extras, stand-ins or production assistants.

Many of those reminiscences made it into the story in last week’s paper, although, sadly, we didn’t have time or space to include everything. Among the scenes that got left on the cutting-room floor: Leslie Traylor emailed to let us know that her sister, Loralie, had worked for the production company and that her then-future husband had a picture of himself, his dog and the mountain lion from the movie. And Jimmy Kerstein wrote to tell us that his mother, Lorene (known as Rene), worked at Effie’s Cafe and got to meet Will Geer when he brought in a trout he had caught in Canyon Creek and asked her to cook it for him. “I think Mom was star struck,” Kerstein wrote.

If you didn’t get a chance to read it yet, you can find our “Napoleon and Samantha” story here. Last week’s paper also featured stories on department head reactions to Grant County’s budget cuts, an annual fundraiser for Thadd’s Place grieving center, Family Fun Day at the fairgrounds and a hefty grant for the Painted Sky Center for the Arts.

Coming up in this week’s edition, look for stories on local Fourth of July celebrations, some questionable actions by a local governing board, plans to close some National Forest roads to protect elk and the grand reopening of the Dayville Community Hall.

As always, I want to take this opportunity to thank our subscribers for their support. We can’t do this work without you!