Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2015)
4 A The First Amendment Letters to the Editor: C ongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com Press Releases: PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25 • 2015 1 2 5 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y F L A S H B A C K 1890 ❙ T T HE W EST F LORENCE T IMES T HE S IUSLAW O AR T HE S IUSLAW N EWS S IUSLAW N EWS ❙ 2015 his year marks Siuslaw News’ quasquicentennial, our 125th anniversary, a remarkable achievement for any business in a small community like Florence. To commemorate this milestone, throughout the year we’ll feature some of the town’s history as origi- nally published in the newspaper, including historic articles and photos from more than a century ago. Sergeant Wisdom writes interesting letter to home O RIGINALLY P UBLISHED F EB . 23, 1945 Mr. and Mrs. Omar Wisdom of Cheshire have received the following very interesting letter from their son, Sgt. Selwin D. Wisdom, who went overseas early in September with the Timber Wolf division. He landed in France, going on to Belgium, Holland, and was in Lucherburg, Germany early in January. Selwin was a native son of Glenada, being born and reared here, leaving Siuslaw High School after his freshman year when his family moved to Cheshire and he entered Junction City High School. He also attended University of Oregon. *** Dear Folks: Stolberg is the city where we first saw action in Germany. We tried three times to take it and were driven back. The fourth day we moved in. The Jerries had moved out and left it. The reason we had trouble was because we had to attack across a deep draw then up to high ground and their observation on us was too good. This was where I got the scratch for which I was awarded the Purple Heart. In the Inde River crossing, my machine gun squad and one squad of riflemen were the first ones across. We had to go over and cover another company while they crossed. This was the first time I led my squad into action. It turned out to be a fairly easy job but we were scared. We are in Lucherberg now and have been for sometime. I imagine we will be here for quite awhile yet. When we got here the company we covered crossing T HE S IUSLAW O AR , V OL . 17, N O . 39 the Inde River had about 10 percent of the town and Jerry had the rest. It didn’t take long to get rid of them though and we are still here. We have troops in front of us now but we can see the Roer and we don’t have anybody on the other side. We haven’t been bothered for some time now and I don’t think we will be. It will be a rough job to drive us out of here. There is danger, sure, but when I stop and think, I don’t believe it is any more dangerous than driving down the road on the Fourth of July back home. Where we really had it rough was in Holland, where we lived in mud all the time. Here the physical hardship is almost nothing and that is what counts most. We get plenty of good food, plenty of sleep as a rule, and the mail service is regular. What more can a person ask except to go home? A funny thing happened a few minutes ago. I have never run into anyone from the University of Oregon since I have been in the army. I came into my room and there were some observers from the artillery outfit here getting warm by the stove. We started talking about football and I happened to mention that I was from Oregon. There was a lieutenant sitting beside me that left the U of O the same year I entered. I didn’t know him but it was good to talk to someone from the U of O anyway. It turned out there was another fellow in the room that had been in Oregon 15 years before coming into the army. We had quite a talk. NEIGHBORS Hawaiian adventure — Part VI B OB J ACKSON N EIGHBORHOOD C ORRESPONDENT For the Siuslaw News I n the journal kept aboard the Mariposa ocean liner, I had noted that when we came on deck on the morning of Nov. 3, 1977, there had been some cloud cover, but the sun was breaking through, and the sea, compared to the previous day, was relatively calm — and we were both feeling great. At the breakfast buffet by the pool, we were again fascinated by the sight of those giant albatross soaring and dipping into the troughs of the waves behind our stern. Although it had been 35 years since I had first seen them in the wartime in the Aleutian Islands, my bewilderment was still the same: how could they stay aloft; even overtake the ship, without ever flapping their wings? I have since discovered that studies have been made in the interim years that even deepen the mystery sur- rounding these remarkable birds. Somehow they are able to utilize a strange force called dynamic soaring, that defies logic. Reaching a max speed of 67 mph, they can fly thou- sands of miles without ever flapping those wings that can span nearly 12 feet. They eat fish and squid, and drink seawater, the salt is filtered out from a drip-tube in the nose. They don’t breed until around 10 years of age (probably more than you really wanted to know). One day, out here in mid-ocean, a little dark-colored bird, no bigger than a clenched fist, appeared at the pool buffet nonchalantly salvaging crumbs from under the tables. How did he get way out here? Suddenly, with a flick of his tiny wings, he was gone! Our stateroom was small but very comfortable, with a large porthole, which allowed a view of the sky and the ocean — a constant reminder that we were almost certainly in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Two bunks made up into divans in the daytime, there was a writing desk, end tables, coffee table and more closet and drawer space than we would ever need. We had a shower and lavatory, plus a built-in radio, music system and a telephone, whereby we could call our room steward for bottled liquor or food at any hour of the day or night. Every morning just before we got out of bed, two ship’s papers (one for each of us) were shoved under our door. They listed all the scheduled activities for the day, plus the dis- tance we had traveled in the preced- ing day, how far out we were, how fast we were going, etc. National news received via radio also was included. We listened to the acceptance speech of president-elect Jimmy Carter that morning. It seemed we were in a detached world of our own out there, for no one we had talked to seemed to care one way or the other. We were informed that there were 254 passengers on board and 261 crew to keep us happy. That is a ratio of better than one crew for each pas- senger. We were pampered indeed! More to come. LETTERS Thank you I have decided to not seek re-election to the Port of Siuslaw commission. For anyone interested in serving, the filing deadline for this office is March 19. District candidate filing forms are available online at http://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Documents/SEL190.pdf. Thank you for allowing me to serve. It has been my honor and privilege. Bill Fleenor Port of Siuslaw Commissioner Higher taxes Well, you all wanted it, you all voted for it, now you’re going to get higher taxes. Aren’t your taxes high enough already? I sup- pose not. You keep voting for higher taxes. This carbon tax is nothing but a get-rich scheme for the wealthy. The money collected will go to those who can afford electric cars in the form of subsidies to those who buy them. USPS# 497-660 Meanwhile, we pay at the pump for higher cost to the wealthy. Is that not what those on the left say about the those on the right? More proof that the left does not really care about us and the Vernon James Selby Florence Copyright 2015 © Siuslaw News Publisher, ext. 327 General Manager, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Advertising Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Lane County, 1 yr manual pay, $71; 1 yr auto pay, $62.10. 10-wks manual $18; 10-wks auto, $15.42. Out of Lane County, 1 yr manual $84.75; 1 yr auto, $80.95; 10-wks manual, $21.35; 10-wks auto, $20.05. Out of State, $120; Out of U.S., $200. MAIL includes E-EDITION E-EDITION RATE (ONE YEAR): Anywhere, $60.30 Website and E-Edition: www.thesiuslawnews.com WHERE TO WRITE Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: The Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439. Phone (541) 997-3441 (See extension numbers below). FAX (541) 997-7979. John Bartlett Jenna Bartlett Ryan Cronk Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry economy of this state. Pres. Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, OR 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603 541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us
