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About La Grande observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1959-1968 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1959)
304th Issue 63rd Yaar Pacific Northwest , Rocked By Mighty Oyakess 16 Dead Din Yellowstone Airea Flaming Gasoline Engulfs Firemen; 44 In Hospitals TIDAL WAVE OF FLAMES KNOCKS rVlEN TO GROUND KANSAS Cm', Kan. (UPI) At least 44 firemen were injured, several critically, today when they were engulfed Ly flaming gasoline from an exploding storage tank at a service and bulk station. Knocked over by a tidal wave of flame, five of the vic tims staggered to their feet, their clothing ablaze, and ran from the flames. Spectators, police and other firemen tackled them and rolled them on Mrwii'Mw ZELDA SAARSHALL Observer Correspondent Mrs. Marshall New Observer Writer At Cove Z"lda Marshall is the new cor respondent for the Observer in the Cove area. Mrs. Marshall has lived in Cove all her life and graduated from Cove high school. She has one daughter, Maria Anne, 34. tier husband is a truck driver at Mt. Emily. Mrs. Marshall has asked that people bring news to her home which is located in back of the Cove Baptist church. Farmers Urged To Fill Spray Rigs With Water "If all the farmers will fill Iheir spray rigs with water i and keep them handy in case of fire, it will greatly reduce the work of the local rural fire depart ments," Gene Stockhoff said to day. Stockhoff, president of the Un ion County Farm Bureau, empha sized the part a spray rig can nlav in hclpinE to contain the fire before the fire truck arrives and for mopping up operations after the blaze is brought under control. "With a fire practically every dav and in each of the rural fire protection districts, we cannot be too careful." he said. BABY DELIVERED Large Section Of Manhattan Paralyzed By Power Failure NEW YORK (UPH The worst power failure in New York City history paralyzed a vast area of upper Manhattan for up to 13 hours Monday and early today, leaving half a million residents sweltering during the most intense heat wave of the season. The power failure, resulting from peak use of air conditioners and fans, occurred at 2A9 p.m. e.d.t. Monday when seven cables of the Consolidated Edison Co. burned out on the West Side, knocking out electrical service in the area. The company in turn decided to shut off the remain LA GRANDE the ground to extinguish the flames. One fireman, apparently crazed for a moment, shouted at spec tators to "come on and help me get these crisp guys out of there. In addition to the 44 taken to hospitals, police said several oth ers were treated atnhe scene. A Roman Catholic 'priest said he administered the church s fi nal rites to five victims, two of whom he believed "were dead or dying." but police officials said no fatalities had been reported. All available firemen from both Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., were battling the flam ing gasoline for nearly two hours when the first of a series of ex plosions occurred. .A stream of flaming fluid was hurled into a group of firemen pouring streams of water on the flames which at times shot 100 feet into the air. The firemen were knocked over. Spectators about a block away rushed in to help police and am bulance drivers assisted the in jured. Earlier,- at least 18 firemen were stricken with heat prostra tion while battling the fire. Firemen were pouring nine streams of water and one of foam on the four 1.800-gallon tanks when the series of explosions be gan. Los Angels Is Assured Of Convention LOS ANGELES (UPI) Los Angeles, bowing to the will of Democratic National Chairman Paul Butler, is assured the party's national convention next July. Cost: An estimated 150.000 ($100. 000 more than the original $350 ooo bid. Surrender of program rev enues amounting to about $150. 000. Acceptance of 1.500 convention tickets instead of the sought after 5,000. And possible lasting bitter feelings within party ranks. Los Angeles' retention of the convention .was announced late Monday after an emergency meet ing between Butler and civic and party leaders. The announcement came only eight hours before Butler's ulti matum to throw open bids to other cities for the convention if his terms were not met. BY FLASHLIGHT ing 13 cables of the network, sit uated in the East Side, because, officials said, they would not have been able to handle the load alone. To have le.'t them on. Con Ed officials explained could have touched off a power shortage that might have lasted months instead of only hours. Twelve hospitals in the area, forced to use auxiliary power, cancelled all but emergency op erations. One hospital was forced to tansfer 200 units of blood plasma to an unaffected hospital. In an other, a 7-year-old boy was about to undergo an appendectomy when LOVESICK YOUTH CARRIES TORCH' OROVILLE, Calif. (UPI) A lovesick high school student his been takm into custody because he "carried a torch" for hit irl friend's lather. Sheriff Larry Gillick said the 17-year-old youth from Cico, Calif., admitted that the father wouldn't allow him to date the young girl so he set fire to the father's house on Aug. 1 and then attempted to burn his car on Aug. 7. Motorists Marooned By Flood NEEDLES. Calif. (UPI) Four railroad section hands were miss-1 ing today and hundreds of mo torists marooned by a desert cloudbarst that flushed out high ways and bridges east and west of this Colorado River community. Six members of a Santa Fe Railway road crew dispatched to check a rail washout 15 miles north of here Monday night were swept away by waves 10 to 15 feet high that overturned their truck. Two of the men, identified by a railway dispatcher as track foreman George Ashmore and Geronimo Rodriguez, later were found and taken to Needles Mu nicipal Hospital. Extent of their injuries was not released but a hospital spokesman said they were getting along "just fine." Santa,, Fe said the missing men were Charles Sanchez. Francis K. Yazzie, Ben Elthe, and Fred Atne. The dispatcher said the missing men possibly were drowned in the swirling floodwaters that flashed down desert canyons. Search crews began looking for the men at dawn. Trains Are Rerouted East and westbound trains of the Santa Fe system were re routed around the stricken area because of bridge washouts and weakened structures. An inch of rain fell in the area during the cloudburst. Police said Highways 66 and 95 on both sides of the Colorado River were blocked and would re main closed for up to 12 hours while detours around the dam aged bridges .were made. . The cloudburst struck an area surrounding Highway 66 between Kingman, Ariz., and Essex, Calif. Highway 95 connects Needles with Las Vegas. Yellowstone Park Personnel Moved WASHINGTON (UPI The Na tional Park Service said today all park personnel has been evacu ated from headquarters buildings at Yellowstone National Park to avoid the dangers of any more earthquakes. Director Conrad Wirth said Lon Garrison. Yellowstone superin tendent, ordered the evacuation. "My headquarters now are in a tent," Garrison informed Wirth by telephone. Garrfson" said' fVat "as far as we know now," none of the more than 8.000 visitors in the park Monday night was injured by the quakes. the power went off. He was trans ferred to another hospital. At another hospital a baby was delivered by flashlight. There was a heavy run on can dles and flashlights. One dealer reported he sold 1,500 candles in two hours. Other dealers were charging five cents for candles that usually sell for a penny. Thousands of extra policemen were rushed into the affected area, which includes several high-crime rate neighborhoods in the West Side, to prevent looting Monday night. The police saturation proved effective. LA GRANDE, OREGON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 1959 ''eW-ii'C'j i GONNA STAY LONG, KIDS? Although Ray Roe, seven, left, and Virgil Reeder, nine, have their Oregon road map out and look as though they are just starting out on a long journey, they real--ty aren't going far. They confessed that they were just ."playing like we wore going on a trip." Ray, who was clutching his dog "Peanuts Roe" tightly added that their jaunt would be to his house which is about a block and a half away. (Observer) Ike Orders Labor Secretary To Release Facts Of Strike WASHINGTON (UPI) Presi dent Eisenhower ordered Secre tary of Labor James P. Mitchell today to make public steel strike statistics in hopes of settling the 34-day old walkout. Mitchell told newsmen after a 45-minute meeting with the Pres ident that publication of the facts and figures was "not intended as intervention." He said, however, it was hoped that the move might speed up a settlement. The secretary, who had been serving as a one-man fact find ing board for the President, said he would present the statistics to Faubus Asked To Help Block Federal Order LITTLE ROCK. Ark. (UPI' Gov. Orval Faubus was under pressure today to use "all of the forces at your command" to op pose a federal court order for de segregation of a school district 42 miles south of Little Rock. A petition was being circulated in the Dollar ay School District, situated outside of Pine Bluff, asking Faubus for "relief from the illegal federal court orders and injunction', ordering the de segregation Sept. 8. A spokesman for the group behind the petition said it would be presented to the governor next week. Federal Judge Axel J. Beck of Elk Point, S.D., Monday rejected a motion that the integration of three Negro students be post poned. Historical Society Sets Meet At Cove The annual picnic of the Un ion County Historical Society will be held next Sunday, August 23. at the Ascension Grounds at Cove. There will be a picnic dinner it one o'clock. All members should bring their own table ser vice. Coffee and a cold drink will be furnished by the Society. Din ner will be followed by a pro gram which will include s talk by Rev. C. A. Kopp and a report by the president, Bemal Hug on his recent trip to Independ ence to attend the homecoming of the Centennial Wagon Train. OBSERVER -tAw. 'V 'Aw. -IN. Jb ",-.-" newsmen in a press conference Wednesday. Eisenhower drove here from the summer White House at Gettys burg to get Mitchell's up-to-date report on the steel strike and to confer with New York Gov. Nel son Rockefeller. His busy morn ing schedule also included a meet ing with the National Security Council and a personal chat with Paul G. Hoffman, former foreign aid chief. Mitchell said the administration mJL CSW U'C'' H MILES OF BOOKS Donna Smith, clerk at the EOC book store, chficks-in another stack of new books for fall term studies. The books begin coming in around August 1. Then they are checked-in and priced. Regis tration at EOC will be Sept. 20. (Observer Photo) L . r if - ft . 5 li'.;y,i. -. ,1:. hopes publication of the "back ground statistics" in the steel strike will encourage both sides "to bargain a little harder and reach a settlement." Mitchell said it would he "for the public to judge-' whether the material favored the steel indus try or the striking L'niled Steel workers Union. He said the 'statistics relate to wages, prices, productivity and profits. He declined to amplify in advance of releasing the report. 1. lli-.J A. . . Ll TOLL MAY REACH 75 IN QUAKE AREA WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. (UPI) A series of mighty earthquakes smashed into southern Montana near Yellowstone Park Monday night and early today and a reported 16 persons were killed. Montana Highway Patrolman Robert Spears said there could be 25 dead in the main slide and the toll "could go even higher." Mayor Charles Bower, of Ennis, a community about 50 miles downstream from llebgen dam.told United Press he thought the death toll would be between 50 and 75. Six persons were reported in jured at Rainbow Point near Heb gen Lake. The quakes brought an 8.000 foot mountain tumbling down, threatened to shatter a dam on the Madison Hiver and endan gered upwards of 150 campers in the river valley. Helicopters from the western states, some carrying para-medics, were sent to the scene. The park is located mostly in Wyo ming and also extends into Mon tana and Idaho. 'Copter pilots were expected to try to lift to safety the campers marooned downstream below Heb gen Dam and trapped by the 200 to 300-foot slide that closed off the only avenue to safety from the box canyon. Reports On Fatalities Four of the reported dead were members of the Purley Bennett family of Couer d'Alene, Idaho, buried when the quake split the mountain and triggered the main slide seven miles downstream. Another couple nearby also were killed. The Montana Civil Defense headquarters said it had been in formed by Idaho State Police that eight dead had been found in Reynolds Pass n the-south fork of the Madison River in Eastern Idaho. Two more unidentified persons were killed in a rock slide at Cliff Lake. 12 miles west of Hebgen Lake! The first quake hit at 11:39 p.m p.d.t. Monday with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale. The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 measured 8.25. The temblor was felt through out the northwest but hit hardest near the juncture of Montana, Sm EARTHQUAKE On Page S Old Faithful Still Spouts MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. (UPI) Old Faithful Geyser one of the top attractions of Yel lowstone National Park, was roped off as a safety measure to day in wake of a series of earth quakes. Wyoming rangers said the geyser was "still spouting normally." Frightened tourists took shelter throughout the park as the area's famous bears hid in the woods as tremors continued. The office of Park Superinten dent Lemuel Garrison said small tremors were still being felt at headquarters here. Authorities were directing all visitors off the roads. Park officials expressed con cern that the quakes might plug Old Faithful Geyser or that steam would start spouting in other sec tions of the park. "It is still spouting normally," was the report from Garrison's office. Paramedics Are Flying To Aid Quake Victims HAMILTON AFB. Calif. (UPI Four paramedics left Hamilton Air Force base north of San Francisco today to fly to West Yellowstone, Mont., to aid quake victims. Mission Commander Capt. An drew S. Champion of Novato. Calif., said he would try to land his twin engine Albatross in the area. He said the paramedics would parachute in, if necessary. Baker Man Tells Loss Of Batch of Home Brew BAKER (UPI)- One local resi dent reported "damage" Monday nignt when an earthquake was felt in this area. The resident, unidentified, called a local radio station and reported his lost. His entire batch of "nearly ready home brew" was spoiled when the vibration stirred up sedi ment in each of the capped bottles. WEATHER Mostly sunny today and Wednesday; high 70-76; low tonight 30-36 with local frost. Prico 5 Cants La Grande Is Shaken By Tremor By VIRGINIA ANDERSON Observer Staff Writer Several La Granders felt waves of the earthquake which shattered southern Muntana killing 16 people last night. Rumbles of the quake hit La Grande about 10:30 p.m. Citizens reported varied reac tions to the "shift" the earth took last night. A few people reported that they felt nothing, but most of the people contacted said that they felt something "strange" last night. Mrs. A. M. Lee who lives at 703 O Avenue said that her daugh ter Heloise had just made a trip up from Palo Alto. Calif., to visit them. They were standing in the living room talking when Heloise felt the quake and leaned against the door, Mrs. Lee said. ' Her daughter thought that it was prob ably a case of "rubberlegs" after the long drive, but when she found out that it was an earthquake Heloise said she thought this . would be "trie last, place in the world that they'd have an earth quake," Mrs. Lee reported. Look For Prowler Another couple thought that the tremor was a prowler on the front porch. They have a glass mailbox and it sounded as though someone had leaned against it. They went outside and looked around check ing for a prowler's footprints and when they found nothing, the couple came back into the house. A short while later they heard the earthquake report on TV. Mrs. Carl Webster said that she has Venetian blinds all over her home and they all shook. Mrs. Webster's son was upstairs and when the windows and walls shook he thought someone was "coming right up the wall." "All the neigh bors lights came on," Mrs. Webster said. "It's such a funny sensation that you don't realize for a while what it is." One woman ran upstairs and then down to the basement search ing for a prowler that she had mistaken for the earthquake. An English girl, Betty Barnett, who was traveling through La Grande with a group of young sters stayed at a local motel last night and she said that all of them felt the quake. Quake Rocks Car Four youths who attended the drive-in movie last night felt the tremor. When the earthquake hit the car began to shake. The driver of the car turned to the boys in the back seat and demanded that they, "stop shaking the car." The boys denied that they were the cuipnts. City Police said that there have been no damage reports turned In to their office. Arlington Burial For 'Bull' Halsey WASHINGTON (UPI) Fleet Adm. William F. (Bull) Halsey will be buried with full military honors Thursday at Arlington Na tional Cemetery, final retting place for the nation'i heroes. . Halsey. 76, died in his sleep Sunday during a vacation of Fish ers Island off the Connecticut shore. The Navy said that the body of the famed World War II fleet commander would be flown from Fisher Island to nearby Anacoe tia. Md., Naval Air Station Wednesday. The body will tie In state far the Bethlehem Chapel of the Washington Cathedral from noon Wednesday until noon Thursday, with final funeral cervices con ducted at Arlington. The late Secretary of State John Foster Dulles was the last national figure to b buried with full honors at Arlington.