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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 1956)
:;-Page 8 Section 1 I f , . 1iJ'u 'JT'' B NOVEMBER 7 Democrats provided the biggest news on the . MVM9BSikU . . . 1 ,,. , " AUGUST 10 Opening of the completed Baldock Freeway to : Portland was major highway newt locally of 1956. The four-lane ' route cut driving time to Portland by several minutes. Free- Death Politics, Industry, Weather, Sex Figured In Year's Top Stories By VICTOR B. FRYER ' Capital Journal Writer ' When the wiry old man with the scythe slips off into history at midnight Tuesday, he Will leave behind him one of the biggest news years in Salem's history. Politics, Industry, weather, death, violence and sex all figured in the top stories of the year as adjudged by a vote of the Capital Journal news staff. More than one of them fig ured in some stories and many stories often fitted in more than one category. The biggest story of the year was unanimously acceded lo be he sudden, surprising death of Gov. Paul Patterson with all the political ramifications it brought. ' Divergence of Opinion There was a divergence of opinion on the other nine of the top ten stories ot the year but ranking of the stories according to the preference given by each newsman gave a composite view for the staff. Voting on the stories was based on the local impact of the story alone. Thus some politi cal stories were not considered as they occurred on the state level, although, of course, they were of considerable importance here in the stnto eanital as well as in the rest of (he state. When Gov. Patterson suddenly succumbed to a heart attack on that night of Jan. 31, politics was running a comparatively normal news course on the Salem and Oregon scene. Politics In Turmoil He had only three days earlier announced that he would run for the U.S. Senator's position against incumbent Wayne Morse and po litical prognosticators were pre dicting a spirited campaign be tween one of Oregon's best-loved governors and the you're-eithcr-far-him-or-aguinst-him senator. His death threw the political situation into a turmoil. Not only was there to be a fall battle for tie senatorship but. as it turned there was to be a ding-dong battle for the Republican senatori al nomination in the primary. In addition the chair vacated h y death needed to be filled by elec tion. McKuy Stepped In Douglas McKay, former govern or and at that time secretary of , the interior, stepped into t h e 1 aim has hern released from the breech (apparently with a gentle. 1 hospital and is living with rela nudge from President Kiscnhnwcri .lives. and announced that he would run for Morse's nost. But not before Vi Ih i. a i "nvn'"" usv. A nine-man committee ih7 1 Z. , appointed by Mayor llohert W lute 1 intermediate prison on Cottage wimt'h-T'the'to't:'"'1 "bm" "" " """ b,",,,nn bn"' ,h $15 m""n m,i1' the nomination, which McKay wot only to lose to Morse in the gen eral election. ' Other ramifications of the death! were the dime of U.S. Hep. Waller Nnrblad for the governorship and his lost-moment change of mind to run neain for his old oflice. Gov. Klmo Smith, in office by virtue of his presidency of I h e senate putting him first in line of succession, was given a clear field for the Republican nomina tion. He lost in the General elec tion to a comparatively unknown radio station operator and state senator from Gearhart. Robert D. Holmes. Also of strong local interest was me civcuuii ui iimuc maut-i as Marion county's first woman dis trict attorney and the election of the county's first democrat-c rep resentative to the-stale Irgislaure for more than 20 years. Woodburn Race Second Second in voting for the big stories of 1956 was Ihe announce ment that the air force would build a new air base near Wood burn north of Salem. -The story started with an an nouncement that Woodburn was one of a number of sites being considered in the northwest for a new base. Then the number of sites considered was narrowed down to two or three and in May, the final selection was announced. The story continued with t h c opposition of farmers and others in the area to giving up their land and the difficulties in con gress of appropriating the money for construction. It will be a con- of Patterson Rated Year's Biggest Top Ten Stories 1. Death of Patterson 2. Woodburn Air Hnsc 3. Howarth llnmc Blast 4. Industrial Expansion 5. Street and Highway construction 6. Wealher 7. Kdtiralion 8. Gas outage and natural gas 9. Dlptherla deaths and Imm it nidations 10. New water main tinuing story as the money is al located to buy the land and the construction of buildings and run ways for the several million dollar base takes place in the coming months and years. llouarlh lll.isl Third When Dennis Howarth struck a match to light a cigarette on No vember 21, he unwittingly created story No. 3 of the year as his bouse disintegrated about him, his wife and their live-year-old daugh ter. Deeann. City bowling plant by local inter- For the spark of the match set csts: the announced SI million ex off an accumulnlinn of gas that pansion of the Marion hotel. blew the roof off his home and j smashed the walls flat, llnwarlh and his wile are slill hospitalized graph to. and Portland das and Kes jn the city; the closing, finish (riini the severe burns they suf-i Coke Co.. the latter coupled witli;mB an( reopening of the Salcm- lercu in me iiiasi out are well on their wav to recovery. Dec The blast also set off an in- ligation ty city mticiais as to y0-9 ; 7vs r 7 r i 1 1, .OH i i hum l a, 77-v. '; 1- f mm TmmM -irJmnj ' JANUARY 31 l.nsl picture taken of Gov. Paul Patterson, taken at Lrbnnon Jaycre annual awards banquet, Jan. 30, 1956, by Mike Forbes, Capital Journal Valrff ktljA OK' IHX1W tftwttnM way opening headed news of giant Fcdenil-stale highway con struction program which will provide new roadways throughout the state. recommended new procedures In installing and connecting gas ap pliance. In the Howarth blast, the cause wns Delievcu lo ne gas leaking from an ancient gas line that had not been used for several years prior to the installation of a new furnace the day before the explosion. Industry Tied Together A series of related incidents were lied together under the title of industrial and business cxpan sion to become the No. 4 story of interest during the year, news men felt. In the industrial and business package were such events as the opening of the new American Can Co. plant to supply the second lnrgest food processing area in the nation with the containers for holding its products; the opening of the Dutch Maid oleomargarine plant; purchase of land lor new building and expansion by such firms as Curlcy's dairy. Credit Bureaus Inc. and Western Paper Converting Co.: the announcement of such new firms coming to Sa lem to build new plants as State Farm Mutual lnsrance Co. and the Plymouth Cordage Co.: the building ol the new $270,000 Cherry Heavy expansion of facilities by the Pacific telephone and Tele-1 ithe hnnmng of natural gas to the Willamette valley, added to the story. The city and state joined in the story with the announcement of or completion of such projects as a Mi.000 trunk sewer for east Sa- lem. location of the $4 8 million lo his ricutfi. U M h Uailllnm II. Olits. Lebanon Key .Man . W .ttj tajl VIWJJI a.nJM'.iw im, t to. jruwuDcJ, ,". ' v. ' m. .-. JULY 4 Huge crowds linked first big Independence Day celebration In years, Willamette River Days. Flashy speedboats, pretty girls and fireworks drew thou hospital at Wilsonvillc and a $335, 000 medium security building at MacLaren school at Woodburn. Street Projects Voted Tying in closely in reader in terest, the newsmen voted, was the street and highway projects completed or announced. The widening of 12th street, with its new railroad barriers and signals and the protective curbins along the tracks; the widening and re surfacing of Market street and Fairgrounds road; plans for simil arly improving D street; replace- nu-nt of four principal street brid- Portland freeway; Highway 99 im- prcvcinents south of the city, in eluding the announced freeway to Kllgene; the Itickreall-Dolph Corn er cut-off on the highway lo the coast; and a number of county road projects, including a cut-off near Silverton on the proposed new Cascade route all were part of story No. 5. THE CAPITAL JOURNAL NOVEMBER 7 Democrats provided the biggest news on the political front during 1956. Robert D. Holmes, above, Astoria radio station manager, swept into the governor's chair on a tide of Democratic votes that saw the state house of representatives also go Democratic. Sen. Wayne Morse won a thumping victory over Doug McKay In the hotly-contested senatorial campaign. Ihe river banks for Salem's And The Rains Came Weather, particularly including a rain-soaked winter and its ac companying problems, was story No. 6. When New Year's day arrived, old Jupc Pluvius had al ready poured 2D inches of liquid onto the valley and he continued mercilessly during January with another 12'i inches as compared to a normal 5'i for the month. By January 19, rainfall from Septem ber 1 had already exceeded the normal rainfall for (he entire year. It slacked up somewhat af- ter that with only about 2i inches (ailing during the remainder of the month. The heavy rain posed many problems. Streets often were flood ed when storm drains couldn't caery away the water. Homes that had had no problem before sud denly found themselves with flood ed basements. The heavily built- up suburban areas suddenly found , that the water-soaked ground could - Jl l. to Unr of the bijc local piaoposrd 40 million dollar nir JBHrV of Fairfield, whose r t .ui-' sands of people to the Willamette river banks to view the event. Selection of a queen and her court were highlights of the celebration. not carry oft the drainage from their septic tanks. Some wells be came contaminated and fears of possible epidemics were heard. Also heard were cries to har rassed city, county and state au thorities to "do something" about the problem. Sewage and water districts were discussed and eventually the Koizcr and Four Corncrs areas approved new wa ter districts. The weather continued in the news with cold and snow in Feb ruary and March, soaring temper atures in July I including 10i on July 19 for the second highest rc- cor'ded mark in Salem weather bureau history), a balmy "Indian summer fall and considerably below normal rainfalj this fall and winter. Junior Highs Approved Hot, dry weather in September resulted in a tindcr-dry condition that blew up in a series of brush fires in the F.agle Crest and Brush College area of Polk county stories of 19.6 was news of the base near Woe-dburn. Mrs. B. rX farm will apparently bewinV tfart NOVEMBER 21 Gas explosion that demolish- were seriously ed Dennis Howarth home in east Salem pro recovering. Home was inspected by Mayor's com vided the year's biggest fire-explosion news in mittee h determine blast cause. Salem. Howarth, his wife and daughter Deann and grass and farm fires in Mari on county. Several hundred acres of brush and a similar amount of farm land including a number of buildings were burned over in the first week of the month. Education, and particularly the voter-approved construction of two new junior nigh schools, was named No. 7 among the year's stories. Sites were selected north and south for the two schools, plans were drawn and the voters ap proved the $2,900,000 bond ' issue with the hope that the schools would be in operation by next fall. Too high bids that necessi tated paring down size and costs of the schools set construction back several months and school officials began making plans to stagger classes to accommodate all students in present facilities next year. Resignation of Dr. Walter Sny der as superintendent of Salem schools was regretfully accepted by school officials in March and SF.PTEMRKR IS Million dollar America! Ca nmpany plant north of Salem was major lnlus" driwlonmant lo talrin In MVif. rxant st" vd priltfUB!r i, tnJj-u!r w wtxr Salem, Oregon, Monday, December 31, 1956 Local appointment of his assistant Charles Schmidt was another part of the school news. Gas Makes News Gas' manufactured and natur al made news during the year. Enough news to be voted No. 8 in the balloting. Thousands of Willamette valley residents shivered at home or went visiting during the week starting February 25 when- fire destroyed the gas generators at the- Portland Gas and Coke plant in Portland, shutting off all piped gas to the valley. The generators were restored within a few days and hundreds of workers Imported from other areas went door to door to purge gas lines and re store service to customers. Natural gas got into the local news when a- new line from Colo rado brought it to this area. Crews laid new mains and lines over the valley area as residents became more gas-conscious and sales of gas appliances jumped. Illness and death and fear of an epidemic claimed top head lines last February to be named No. 9 in the poll. ' Mrs. Violet Fry, a Housemother at the Oregon blind school, died in Portland of diptheria. Two days later Christine Artiano, 7, a student at the school died here of the same disease. Health of ficers quickly began plans to com bat any further spread of the dread disease and immunization scrum was flown in. Plenty of Water Hundreds of persons flocked to public health agencies and to pri vate doctors to get immunization shots, but when no further cases of the fatal illness appeared, the demand quickly died down and the incident became history. Approval of the voters for the construction of a new water main from Stayton island to Salem to double the amount of water avail able here was voted No. 10 in the list of top stories for 1956. There was considerable interest in the stnry as it grew through the placing on the ballot by the city council, approval by the voters, planning and engineering for the $3,750,000 project, on which con struction will start in 1957. You, Too, Can Choose There were many other top stories during the year that easily could have been named in the top ten by many the selection de pending on whether one's taste in news ran to the sudden, violent sensational or to stories that the long run more directly involved the average individual. Below is a list of stories that pie Hon ! fc, Mucus. burned In the blast but arc Story were considered in the balloting. The reader is invited to judge for himself and select his own choice of top ten stories of the year. His choice is as good as that of any one else. A proposed city of Salem He' 'Ills in the suburban area south ol Sa lem aroused considerable interest recently and the flames have not yet completely died out. The escape of four desperate convicts from the Linn county jail on September 7 after overpower ing the jailer and his family and stealing a car made headlines for many days. The body of one was later pulled from the Willamette river near Salem while one was captured on the Oregon coast and one in Los Angeles two months later. One is still at large. Grand jury investigations into graft charges in state institutions, teen-age drinking and sex parties in Silverton and obscene literature on county newsstands made in teresting reading. Indictments for several persons were returned In the latter two hearings. Sotne Die Violently A Navy reserve facility plan that crashed amidst several south Salem homes after it caught fira and the pilot bailed out occurred on August 18. A two-car crash on the Salem by-pass killed and burned a Cen tral Point woman and fatally in jured a Lebanon man April 7. It was one of several multiple-fatality accidents in tis area during the year. A Dallas husband was sentenced to life in prison after murdering his wife and a Lebanon mother was committed to the state prison after brutally killing her two young daughters. Big news for the children were the construction of a new youth wing on the YMCA, the annual Salem Soap Box Derby ( which saw Kent Lindon crowned champ ion) and a parade of huge balloon animals that drew the biggest pa rade crowd in Salem history. The first annual Willamette Riv vcr Days saw Neva Seems crowned queen amid 2. variety of activities from boat races and a buffalo barbecue to a picnic and games. The Buell grange won $5,000 sec ond prize in a national commun ity service contest for its work on a local park. There were other stories record ed for the readers in the issues of the 1956 Capital Journal. After this quick rehash of the top ones by the staff, it turns its collective efforts towards an even better year in 1957 in complete, com prehensive coverage of all the news for Its thousands of loyal readers. twm)(l to tn v marivr put aown hr air force toogium o 0 o o ::v5.;-?'C-'4V'--' -.-'p.. CO o