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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 1966)
HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES. Thursday. Dcmbei 29. 1966 Africa Calling A REPORT FROM THE NEAR EAST By NELS ANDERSON (Written December 11, 1966) Best Wishes tor a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year come from the Anderson family in Africa! It is that time of year al ready and while it doesn't seem "Christmasy" here, the calendar savs it is. It also reminds us that it has been a long time since we have written "Africa Calling" column, and if you will bear with me, I'll relate some of the happenings since I wrote last. I might say this inspiration came from our first Christmas cards from home that have been arriving: lately the first one from the Frank Hamlins with a nice newsy letter from Hazel that we thoroughly enjoyed. After a short month of vaca tion in July and August, visit ing eleven European countries, which we enjoyed much, we returned to the regular "grind" again. My six method -result demonstrations were harvested and exceeded my fondest wish es. I worked hard on them, vis iting the six 90 times in seed ing, cultivating, fertilizing and applying insecticides before har vest." These were all planted in straight rows, unheard of in this country, to be able to cultivate them "with animal-drawn culti- ators. Yields Orer Twice Average Bv proper spacing, cultivation by donkey and horse single sweep cultivators, fertilizing and applying insecticides, my yields were from two to 2' times the normal yields. While average yields of check plots were 1000 to 1200 pounds per acre, mine ranged from a high of 3140 to a low of 2360 pounds per acre. My cooperators, who had no experience with any of the several practices (modern! I I used, were quite impressed with the yield. While they don't know what an acre or an hec tare is, they still know what the yield has been on each field over the years. Now all I have to do is sit back and wait to see how many follow these methods next year! One thing I can say I had a lot better turnout at my dem onstrations here than I ever had in Morrow county. It was not uncommon to have 125 men, women and boys (naked) out to the field each time I came. I think I can compare it to the old thought I always expressed, though, that people come out when a new agent comes to the county to see what he looks like and how he acts. I was the first white man a lot of these peo ple had ever seen. Anyway, ev en though it was real discour aging at times I felt real good at harvest time when the chiefs of each of the villages I work ed in came with gifts ranging from a big sheep buck down to chickens, guinea and eggs. Work Changes ... My work changed abruptly quite soon after returning from Europe when I was put in charge of a young farmers' training center which was sched uled to be built about 25 kil ometers out of Niamey in the Niger River Valley. This proj ect, the second to be built in this country through the coop erative efforts of the Niger gov ernment and USAID, Is aimed at enrolling young unmarried farmers in a practical farming experience at the center. These young farmers come from their farms, staying at the center for one crop season learning to use animals and animal-d r a w n equipment, and otherwise fol lowing improved farming prac tices suitable to their farms. At their "graduation" they are giv en credit to purchase a team of oxen, a tool bar with plow, sweeps and lister type attach ments, yoke and cart which they will use on their ' farms, paying for it in five yearly installments. The first of these training centers has been in operation for almost four years and is auite successful. It is located across country from Niamey and has the Hausa farm boys en rolled, real farmers compared to the Djerma which are the tribe of Western Niger. 200 Acres in Center The training center consists of 200 acres of dryland and ir rigated cropland, about evenly divided. The land was condemn ed by the government and put together from small private fields. Since taking over, I have had an average of 45 laborers at work building fences, dormi tories for the young farmers, kitchen, housing for. the staff, and the digging of a well for a water suddIy. We have pour ed over 1500 reinforced concrete fence Dosts, 50,000 concrete blocks for eight 30x15 foot dor mitories, a kitchen-storeroom, a two apartment county agent's home, a house for six Peace Corps volunteers, put up almost five miles of boundary ana cross fences (woven with two barb wires), etc. and etc. Luckily our 200 acres 'are on the headgate of the mam irri gation canal so we have first use of the water and are free of drainage water problems from the neighbors. The largest field is five acres so we have a lot of "piddling" to do and as soon as possible will rear ranee the whole system to make it more efficient. We have dug main canals, cleaned and de velopod leader and laterals, poured concrete headgates and are now In the process of plow ing, leveling and getting our first crops in. This is a long, slow process by oxen. Must Haul Water We are training oxen and now have six pairs that arc "broke" to pull the plows' sweeps, har rows and the float 1 built for land leveling. We have to haul all our water about 1 mile by oxen cart and two 55 gallon barrels. Originally a well was start ed at "headquarters" but after CO feet of digging and concret ing up through mostly solid rock, it was abandoned. Since August, we have drilled 16 four inch holes and finally f.mnd a ouree of supply about 2tX feet from the buildings. We diil'et' four holes and are pumping from all four holes icach 18 foot deep with a windmill In the center. We have to ptirao it up a 56-foot elevation so will install a second windmill to tko it by steps. We hope soon to have water into the buildings for the stu dents and the three houses we are building for housing the American director, and two Ni gerian counterparts. Our house will be done in a couple more months and we can move out from town. It H a real nicely planned three bedroom ranch style home. Right now I have to go out every morning at 6:30 and don't get home until six or seven at night, but I have a:i "office" set up so I can do a 'ot of my business right there. To Train 65 Per Year The firt 20 of 65 young farm ers we will train each year came on November 1. so we have fin ished our first month of "school." We will eventually have the Co when everything Tets finished, and especially af ter we have a water system. Thev will stay a whole year as we have both irrigated and dry land crops, the irrigation sea son from November through March, and the dryland from May through October. We hope to be ready for the rest of the farmers by the time we start getting our land prepared for the dryland crops, millet sorg hum, peanuts and green ma nure rotations. We have plant ed now broom corn, corn, rice. wheat and manioc. We have an orchard of pineapple, coconuts, dates, cashew nuts, papaya, grapefruit, lemons and limes, as well as gardens for each stu dent. We will spend most of this season just plowing and leveling the rest of the irrigated land. Helping me are six Peace Corps volunteers, five of whom have never seen a farm before coming here. One is an archi tect, one an artist, one a grad- ft ) . ""' 'f -' V--V, is-. v ) it i A K.--: : il Lli..,. '.j.,.,,;.. o-..- J . k..1.....-: . m MRS. NELSON C ANDERSON (center), wifj of Near Eat Foundation agricultural advisor and formeriv of HcDDner. toaether with Mrs. Robert I. Ryan (rlqht), wlio of the U. S. ambauador to Niger, Africa, and hospital attendant (letlt), oto shown at Niamey, Niger, with two native children attired in new kunona type hospital qewns. s.xty ot tne gowns were made ana ao nated to the Niamey hospital by the American Women's group there. Crib sheets and coven were also given to the pediatrics ward. Children wcro extremely pleased with their "robes", probably the first they had ever worn, as moat children of Niger are naked. Although healthy lookinci. both are sutlerincr from nephritis, an lucurable kidney disease, and their "plumpness" is actually a swollen condition from the poison in their systems. Hospital attendants Informed the ladles that both are expected to die in a low waeki. The necklace on the little boy it an African (rood health charm called "grt-grt . In his caso it has not proven lucky. Mrs. Ander son's husband, formerly Morrow county agent. U extension advicor and team leader employed by the tiiat East Foundation, a non-profit or tails ttion devotlna its efforts to "helping people to hclD themselves" overseas. He tells mora about his work in "Africa Calling" appearing on this page. Rockhound Comer By RUBY MILLER Just eleven venrs so a group of rockhound cot touether at the lli'ppner llolei to organize the Morrow County Gem and Mineral Society. Of thut Rroup, only four have remained mem. ber throUKhout: Mr. and Mrs. Walt Kdger, Ceorge Miller and t'aul Miller. At first, Ihe monthly meet ing were held In the hotel, then In John Newmun's garage, and later In the homes of the mem bers. Now. for I lie past ttU yearn, the old library buililliiti has been the meeting place. Walter Kdger was the first president. Sur-edlng him were John Newman. Hubert Wilson, Kandalt Peterson. Kuby Miller iitul Kilnioiul Ciontv. Avery Tay lor has Uh'i elected to serve tills coming year. Kaeh year Ihe flub has had a display boolh at the county f:ilr other displays for the pub lie enjoyment were In Peterson's Jewelers and nt the courthouse. The club has participated nt every Sidewalk llazanr In llopp nor. The club Is working on two projects: 1 saving ami turning In Hetty Crocker coupons which mav be redeemed for Sc each, to he applied to n scholarship fund for any eligible young or sun studying earth science. 2. sax lug and turning In cam elled postage stamps for fund for hungry children. Every year the members gath er nt a Christmas hanmict and exchange rock gifts. This year we met at the Wagon Wheel on Iiecemlier 17 At a short meet ing some unfinished business xv as taken care of, and oltlcers were elected for the coming year. llesides the new president, Avery Taylor, they include Eleanor (Unity, vice president, ami Johanna Taylor, secretary-treasurer. Sheriff Asks Care From Motorists "The tragic death of a seven-year-old school boy In southern Oregon Is a grim reminder to all Oregon motorists to be extra alert for children ttlonu our highways," Morrow County Sheriff C. J. U. limiman snld last week. The youngster was lilt by a truck as he waited In front of his home for the school bus. Sheriff Bauman urged Morrow county residents to caution their children to wait for school bus ses a safe distance from the highway. He reminded driver that children don't drive, so they don't know the dangers Involv ed In Ntoiiplng a car In time to save h lite. "The responsibility Is yours n parents and motorists," said Sheriff Puiiman. "Drive carefully during the holidays," he added. BOWLING BLUE MOUNTAIN Team W Crisp 10 MCCG 3M Idetmann's 3'J Car 31 Central M Mel's 2t Gardner's 22 Pensl 21 High Ind. Game Al hetseh, Art Dvck. Don Ball. 212; High Ind. Scries Art Dvck, Ml; High Team Game Hletmann's, 1011; High Team Series Hletmann's, 21K5. I. 20 22 2H 29 30 34 3H 3'. TYPING PAPKK. Mlnieograpn pawr and other office sup plies for sate at the Gazette Times office. COXS ELECTRIC 1 Motor Rewinding INDUSTRIAL - COMMKRCIAL Penrtli-ton 27B-T7B1 1 I I I ways enjoy seeing the bartering for cattle, donkeys, camels, etc. by the Tuaregs and Bouzas. We want to get out to some other markets while the weather is cool and hope things let up a bit during the holidays for this. The Niger Independence Day Is December 18 and is a real col orful event. Last year it was combined with the Internation al Fair, a 10-day affair, but this year it will be celebrated for the three day week-end. They are having drills and oth er activities every night so I think they have some big exents uate of philosophy, one a trav- I ,tnolr beeves. e!cr, one a Keed college stu dent, one unknown background, the other an Indiana farm boy. I think thev take more of ray time than the 20 students, but they are good workers and try' hard. One is catching on quite well as an oxen trainer, one has taken charge of the orchard garden and goes about with a book of Hardening in his hand all day. The architect is becom Did you get out once to shoot a wild pig. The millet fields were full of them, doing much damage, so got a special per mit to shoot some to protect my millet demonstration. Got a real nice gilt that was the best eat ing pork I have ever tasted. Some of us would like to get after some more, hut the coun try is real gun shy and doesn't allow any hunting except on ing quite a mason and builder, . special occasion. Hope we can two are well diggers and one operates a welder and is a fix it man. So we do all right. Four of the six were trained to dig wells so will be leaving soon after the first of the year when their supplies for well digging get here from the states. Potience Needed I will tiain three extensiu-. agents as we go along and they will have- the main responsibil ity of working with the young farmers. It is a real interesting experience, and if I can just be patient with the slowness of ev erything, I think ft will come out as a fine project. I am look ing forward to putting some of the techniques I learned this summer into practice on the 120 acres of dryland crops we will have next summer. This is the cool season. It is real comfortable all day and get;; chilly at night. I believe the temperature has gone down into the low fifties already some nights. It is hard to get the students out of their warm beds these cold mornings. We have moved into a new house and are enjoying the neighbor hood. It is next to the ambas sador's house and near more Americans. Rick has six or sev en boys his age to play with now so he is happy. The Amer ican community has more than doubled since we came to Nia mey as well as the Peace Corps being a third larger. People come and go so we are now "old timers" with-only-three famil ies here now that were here when we arrived. Go on Giraffe Hunt With the busy schedule of getting the farm center opened, it has been impossible to spend much time doing other things. We enjoyed a Sunday outing a few weeks ago with "Mr. and Mrs. Ambassador" and two oth er couples on a giraffe hunting trip and a picnic. We saw 22 giraffes, the largest ever seen in Niger. Hope our pictures come out good. One old bull looked like he would weigh two tons. We have been to the cam el and livestock market. I al convince some of the powers. that-be that it is necessary for our work. Maybe they will come in and start rooting up my rice so I can have an excuse! Last G-T's Arrive Sept 15 Well, I guess I have rambled on long enough. Hope all of our friends are well and ha.e a good Christmas. We don't get the Gazette-Times too prompt ly. We are now up to Septem ber 15, but hear some of the news from the kids. They all got together for Thanksgiving at Connie's in Milwaukie and seemed to enjoy the visit and getting acquainted with the new additions. Esther can hard ly wait until school is out so she and Rick can get back to see our new granddaughters and catch up on all of her vis iting with friends in Oregon and Washington. By the wav. did you know that: Africa is the world's sec ond largest continent and the only continent that lies in both temperate zones as well as the tropic zone? Africa has the long est river, the Nile, and also the largest desert, the Sahara, of any continent? Africa's Lake Victoria is the world's second largest fresh water lake, and it's tallest mountain, Kiliman jaro, rises 19.56-1 feet above sea level? Africa numbers nearly 320 million people and Nigeria with 56 million has the biggest population of any African coun try? Africa now has more inde pendent nations than any other continent? Africa produces 80 percent of the world's cocoa and 75 percent of its palm oil and palm kernels? Africa ranks as the leading exporter of peanuts and the second largest exporter of oranges and tangerines? Af rica mines over W) percent of the xvorld s diamonds? Quite a country, isn't it? whatever In th) world yotfr j looking for. Boardman News By MART LEC MARLOW Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Dono van and daughter Sharon vl.sit td Sunday In Pendleton at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Bell. Mr. and Mrs. Ilarley Hand and children Cynthia and Ilarley, ' Jr. of Lentervllle, Wash, were Saturday visitors at the home of Mrs. Leo Root. Mr. and Mrs. Truman Messen ger of The Dalles visited Sun day at the home of Mrs. Mes senger's brother-in-law anil sis ter, Mr. and Mrs, Zearl Gilles pie. They also visited with another brother-in-law and sis ter, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Ball. For Fast And Dependable Freight Service With Doily Overnight Scrvico From Portland Including Saturdays SHIP E F, ASTERN WREGON I REIGHT Served By Flatt's Truck Service CALL GENE ORWICK 989-8420 ANYTIME Gazette-Times More Fun, Always... At the TWO Sparkling New in SALEM 112 Rooms 745-785 Comircial SI null: (503) 363-2451 in EUGENE 150 Rooms 215 Cobor M PboM: (503) 342-5111 MOTH MHS HAVl RESTAURANTS WITH 24-HOUR COFFCt SHOPS Happy New Year As we enter into the New Year 1967 . . . May each of us in our own individual way so rededicate our lives that brotherhood of man will become a reality, and that the true meaning of Christmas will be felt everywhere and for all time to come. - ' ft . . . Working Together V. . Sharing Together . . Morrow County Grain Growers, Inc.
