Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 1929)
i i X 1 TftGE'ETOIrT AIRPORT 1$ Cost of Project to Date Is " $114,000 Local Airport J One of Finest On Coast Aviation School to Open ,v During January. With tho flint mull flight taking phico October 2, 1929 witnessed the completion of Medford's new municipal airport, a 1 110.000 bnml Isiiuo for which was voted April 2 hy a niujorlty of nearly 1 3 to one. The completion of Ihn field Is the realization of one' of Medford's ifondcst.' uthbltluns nnd insures the position of tho eiiy us the loader of .'aviation In : the" state. ' j'Thc Medford chamber of com liic'ree, acting with the city counell In the early part of I 928, uppulmod 87 committee for; tho locution of nn adequate airport for iMudford. Tho committee worked with the United States Department of Com merce, .tlje - avlutlon department, I the' United Slates army and the air ' transport linos operating through ' tho valley, nnd finally unanimous- ' ly decided on a slta three miles i from the center of Medford north on the Ulddlc road. It has In the neighborhood of 2110 acres and Is not surrounded by obstructions. I' A milo- of tho . Owen-Oregon j.umlirr company railroad tracks arc on uno side of the site, easily accessible to Medford. -.;' lUdlo Ktallon KsinblUlied . In the latter part of 102)1 the government also ' announced that Medford had been selected as lto for a high powered radio sta tion, which wan completed in 1329 olpiiK the Outer Lnkn blghwiiy not far from the air field.. Tho station Ih under the direction of It. A. Martin', and. , has constant 24-hour service. ' it (mis constructed at an Itpproxlmato cost of $75,000. . . f To date, . thtf airport, tho con struction qf yiilch was directed by (lie; airport icuiji'nilttoo of tho city cwunu.ll, .colhposed . of J, O. Grey, Chairman! E. M, ' Wilson, Hobert Hammond and .Muyor A. W. Pipes, bah cost; the'clly $114,000, with raollCBlly, an .(terns of construc tion completed. Tho cost Included tfie VI'istnUutlon . of a . 2,560,000 4-'VHep.ower. alrplun'o boa co n, lilch ;wa' to Jiuvo been distillled jy rlic 'Kovcrnmont.' ' ' ';' "-Haturar Is llna'iihrcl ' The beacon Is located on the roof v'of the 'administration and hangar.'' btllldlpgi housing adminis tration 'offices, the United mutes leather lid local haadquurtors of the Pacific Air Transport com pany; V1' .1 . ', 'The. building Is 110 feet wide and . ISO feet lung, has u cement floor ami 'Is sufficiently :';irgd to house 16 small shlpt nnd four lmrto cabin planes. It ' Includes repair shops, waiting rooms, n room destined to ho a restaurant JV. building for the pilot's quarters COMPLETED 4s the last to have been completed Ssnd provides quurtors for nlr mall pilots who fly north and south out of .Medford. ' Hove nil nil companies liave also completed tho construc tion of service station facilities at the port and have tho stations so Arranged to serve airplanes with but little trouble, i . Water IMihxI to TIcM f Water from Medford's new mil lion dollur system hss nlso hern frlprd to tho airport and lias been in use for several months. Klro hydranta have also been placed conrnlonlly about the hangar building. - f The airport runway has been completely graveled and a drain ago system, engineered by City Kngineer l-'rcd Kcheffel, eliminates tho question of surplus water on tho field, milking landing an easy matter at any time of the year. -.At the old Harbor Field at the fairgrounds, it hud been a common occurrence ' for ships to become Hired In hO mud and breauso of Jhnt, one : passenger line begun to irjrtke ' lis;, landing - In northern Vallfornltt.t but It expected-to re aimio ItH schedule hero In a short ,tne. r-'r ,; . ". Hall Is KiiMi-liitfiuli-iii , Si'cley.'ljiill, local repieseiitutlve of tbe.l'aciflc Air Transport com lin,ny. Is field superintendent and 'H on coiisluut duty at the airport. Mr. Hull ,ls southern Oregon's avia tion pioneer, and with Floyd Hart, Ovor ten years ago brought the first home omjiuU airplane to Med ford. ' , ,t During thofpuKt year, tho gov rriimcnl bus completed the Instul latlon u( alrplana beacons through aoutliorn, Oregon and northern 'California and has several located Jn, Jueksoa county to aid pilots citg'u'gcd In night flying, which so far, has not been done often. Iteg olar night flying with 'niall Is ex liectaiV -to .beglp next spring or . stiirimor. ' The beacons can be seen ,- fou IG, or 20. miles nnd together ' with radio range beacons, one of which Is to bo Installed here this year, arc expected to imikc night alylngiH'f iti'atrrrly safe In south rJhOrcion. ; I , f I AtfctlotfklHibl lo (H t t Aliw aviation school, Under the dlroctlon qf Major Gilbert lMier. aon, well known army flier who baa spent 311,000 hours in tho air, la to bo opened this month at the airport. The school will accept students desiring to learn flying or h "mechanical end of aviation. Major Krkaraon has two planes far student (Iters and for the past year bod liven located at ttpringfleld, aeor Kugene. Ho will replace the Copper King Flying Hervlce. which had bran located here since Isat sUmmer1 under tha direction, of W. J. lirawYnf oftkland, ; t'nllf. 1 ' ' ( (. u ; i ; First Air Mail Leaving Medford's $120,000 Airport Just Completed o'' Boeing Hornet 40 B-4 plane, In foreground taking on heavy consignment of air mail, October 2, for Initial take-off from new airport. Hangar and administration buildings, nearlng completion, are seen in background. Fifteen thousand pieces of mall were dispatched, bear ing special cancellation stamps and publicity on the modern aviation facilities of Medford. KCX Airways Radio Station Now Broadcasting Data to Planes n terlor of KCX; In fron tof Mr. microphone. In the foreground is code communication between airway Mr. Martin are those of voice transmitter,- At right, one of the two high ting antenna for sending voice messages. Wire at left Is lejd-in to station from tower. Wire on night is antenna between towers. Station building. At left of building are short Aviation Hum ii IiIk fnllutt hip lit Kouthrrn Oregon and the next your Ih vxpcrti'tl lu wit now nrvonil on tlumliiHtH punihiiHo Iholr own lilsinrN. krrptnp; I hnn ut (h nlr l"rt for tiKf whon lnnlrrl. W. II. rptiilv luivn t hift nIiIii iiiiiI ! n rltiir ! fiivui'.'thlri weather inako iniiny ItitiK trlp.s Islllnu uviatui'H art' miincMiuiM at the airport anil It wuh only IttNt nmnth that ho many hhlpH iinivrtl lhal tho laiKo haiiKar wuh unatilc tn provide ample Hpm'o. Three Hlitps were ftn-eed to hit Het outHlile. Several nf the plane wore owned privately while ; the remainder were the property J Q of riylim eunymnloM, operadiiK u 1 ; nnd down the I'aeifle eoaHl. . j Uvvy lltsuls onimlitiH' Tho faet that the ronNtrui'linn ' of the ah pi i t will be kept within i the SlL'U.tttto liund Imhiio Is gratify- ! Inu lo Hie people nf Medrird Who ; voted the lond Imkuo by wueh la rue ' majtrlty. The ueeimipllrdinienl of I keipliiK the eoitHtruetlnn to Hiieh J fllture I'eflectM eiedit on the airport I eoininlttee, heatled by Mr. (irey. who has praetleally lived with the; pnijeet, ul timet oven forKettliiK his own biiflnes atfali'M In payhiK (Ittentlon to the eonntruetlon of the port. City Knclueer Kred Seheffel, In ehHi-Ko if tlie netual eonwlrue thm, wan hi eoiiHtant rtwiperutlon with .Mr. (irey. Shortly after the betid lfue wan voted, developments eame ImlU-at-ItiK the airport eioild not be eon Htnieted within the bond Issue, but elty offlelalH held mimcr ferem-en. etiltltiir down oil expenseH here and there, suvltm etmsldi-r able money and easily eumliiK within the limits uf Ihn Issoe. Medford now lias a l iana A air port and Is uno of very few cltleH on the Purine coast that Ik ho nee OKntned. Us porta Is considered better than those maintained by HPVeral lamer coaM rtllen nnd plaee Medford on the aviation map. hii effective lnHtrumiit and It n evidence in northern California Jnniiw tho tiun. nmv bioked upon nn bein thejnnd southern Oreson, and 1 he M hM PHIS, Tenn (t'.IV) Will mouthpiece or the whole territory ; iteve that tho tlmo Is not for din Moore, arrested for attraney. Wr represent by virtue of the fa-'i tnnt when we shall ,ee many of pnwil iapt. Jie ole In the bull ; '(letlliiH out. Will?" .ked Cob-. I en, .tin Kettlnic mil. replied j will. A few intmiten later waa ordered to rearrest Will Cole Wh ! had escaped from the court room. t;KlUIAKTThe chamber of Commerce adopted a resolution askltiK a survey be made to estab lish it direct rotne to ctatsnp benchea. MEnFOKI) MATL Martin is the receiving sets and .he short wave transmitter used for stations. Large panels back of towers which support the transmit wave antenna poles. PREDICT BIG 1930 SEASON FOR E. Gates, President North California-Southern Ore gon Development Asso ciation Optimistic Over F ut u rei Co-operative Spirit Is Big Factor. Hy I-:, tiulr esldeitt Northern California-- 1 Pi Houl hern Orcmm Development AHHoelaflon. ) At till time of tlie year wlun most biiNlnesK hoiies are taklnc Invenlitry. 1 think U in n Kood Idea that we who are engaged in com mercial oiKanljition and develop ment Wnrk -slmuld also lake tint" to review what has been dune in l he past and determine whetie" pulley adopted U ueh an will product dividends for the Tut ore. In reviewing the aetlviiles uf th, Northern California. -Southern Ort Kon Pevelopioriit attsoelation dur tn the past year, I cannot he'.p but feel that the work that h:is been no far covered ha Riven us a solid foundation upon which our consummated program will event ually be built. e have made our orwvnUation , that we have bren able t brlry about a coalescence of the com-! munltleN of the MM Pacific em- ; plre to better prttmote those thlnHj which are so necessary to nuar-j antee a continuance of develop-' ment and rmrea In northern t'allfornla and southern Oregon. Our program to develop the mln era). Umber, and nvrlcullurat sources nf the region we serve and to provlds adequate ami cheaper NEAR 10 TRinUNE,HrET)FORD, f -H S 1 tMsMtiKM, iaMJy .F If J ' I s I transportation for same has tho aP pruval of the lending oil cpmpan It's of the country, as well as innr.. of the larger Interests up and down t lie l'i nfir eoant, nnd It 1m very con- Kiatifyins to u that thee cents have taken o prominent a part In helplnu u work out tho many problems with which we have been Confronted laterly. An cnruuiaKlnt; spirit of enthu- nt,m fr uur prouram U stronuiy tho. thtmiN fur wbleh wn liHvn en striving become established facts. Cooperation llrlmrs SuntM There Is one thtnir certain and ln.vl i. our activities can con-1 tlnue to fulfill their useful pur j paeH and maintain their effective-i nesa if we receive the same me-i . ' ore of coooeiatlon In 1!'30 as haiwe have never heretofore eiber ,ot,n accorded us hi tho year I)B.m, ORKOOX, TUESDAY, J The efforts which were exerted I In bring about the two appropriu- I tlons which have already been given to Crescent I'lty harbur. and thls- project Is tho main objectlv of our program, have produced ro fults far k renter than were ttntlcl pated. InuolnK tonnage through Crescent City harbor showed an hicreaftc of 14.11 per cent In 19LS over 192 7 , nnd stiKar. cannnl poods, and many other commodi ties and food stuffs have been laid tlow In southern Oregon pointy, through truck connection with the port, at n considerable savlnp over existing frelBht rates hy othw mcan.1 if transportation. The publleily we havo procured has, to a urcnt extent, been r-J-sponsible for Crescent City harbor, oven In lt present uncompletej state, justifying its existence throUKh the increased Inftolns coro tnerce, nnd during the year ahed we shall redouble our efforts In order that It niny he enlarRcd tn lernilt the entry of tho ship cf deeper draft which we feel will play such an Important part In tho derelopment of our natural re Hources. Tramporlnthiii Crying Neotl Mlnlnjj and timber Interests hav repeatedly told Ms that the devel opment of our resources Is re tarded throunh lack of trunspo. tatlon and It is tho pledged duty of our organisation. In order that we shall protect and promote the territory we servo, to do very thlnK possible In order that ade quate and cheap transportation be provided au that our resources mav be developed profitably. There never was a time when the outlook was brliihter In north rn California and southern 0"i- iron than at present, and It Is my 'most sincere hope that before the nd of the present year, the NorV rn California-Southern Oregon Dp velopment association will be n- strumental 1.. assisting to hrlmc about an era of prosperity such a lanced, I look forward to 1530 with con- 'HKCKMUKR fll. 1920. Seely V. Hall In Charge of New Airport 8EELY V. HALL Superintendent of Medford's new Airport Men Active In Building New; Airport JOSEPH O. GREY Chairman of the Medford Airport Committee which handled the fi nances and supervised the con struction of the airport. FRED SCHEFFEL City Superintendent whose staff did much of the Bedford airport construction work. fldenco and optimism and believe that we are about to pass a niPo stono which will, In the years to comr, -be recorded as one of the most important In the history if our much favored section the Mid-Pacific Empire. 1929 Revenue County Clerks Office Higher Another indtt'atlun that Jack son county is prosperous is tho In crease shown In the revenue uf the county clerk's office fjtr 1929. be' Ing $20,402.10 as compared to $15,710.40 for the previous year. This year's tutal was only up to December 1. There have been sewrul heavy m oln t h s, which eclipsed all previous records. Th increase Is also dlie lu a small way lo higher filing fees, as nu thorl7.ed by the last stnto legis lature. Knp 192H there were 650 mar riage licenses Issued, a big Incrcuse over 1928 which hnd 600. A Inrg' pcrccni'tnge of the applicants came from California, whero a law makes It necessary for persons contemplating nintrlmonv to pub lish their Intentions for three days in a newspaper. The number of divorces filed during 1929 also re vealed an increase over 192S. which had 8". The year Just com pleted hnd 11 il, not Including pnrt qf December, latches White Knpnw. t'UOWN POINT. Ind., Dee. 28. (l"P A whlto sparrow captured by Henry W. Homeler. Ross town ship farmer. Is being exhlbit-d here. He caught the bird after two years offort. Homeler says it has mingled with other sps-r-rows ni the farm nnd except for Us color was the futme as the oth ers of Its kind. ' Transmissions of "picturegrams" or tetephotn. has lieen Inaugura ted between Sydney nnd Melbourne. ' ) SWUM J u r 1 it" l -4 Many Aviation Records Were Broken in 1929; Blind Flying First Demonstrated lly Juaepli JI. llalrd United l'ress Aviation Editor WASHINUTO.N, Uec. 30. (HI'). Although extremely busy . ex changing Its BiiaiiKk'd circus ward rube for the frock-coat of biB business, avlutlon found time dur ing 1928 for u few halr-rulsliiB stunts. While bunkers huuled out their gold bags to build airplune fac tories and Uncle Sam spent mil lions lighting und mapping the nutlun's sky-roads, aviation's stel lar performers were devising now cxplults. Two planes spanned the Atlantic from west to cast during the year. Tho Graf Zeppolin, setting a new mark for llghter-thun-alr ships, encircled Mother Earth's ample waist. And a young Navy flier went higher In an airplane than anyone ever had. Early January found two Army pilots, Jlujor Carl Spatz and Cant. Ira C. Eaker. in tho monoplane "Question Mark." Aloft over I.os Angeles, they were trying to re main longer In the air than any man before them.- When, on Jan uary 7, they alighted at Los An geles airport they had been up 150 hours, 40 minutos, and 15 sec onds. During its sojourn of near ly a week In the air. their plane, powered by three Wright Whirl winds, was refueled 36 times. The War department, hailed their feat as a proof that refueling was feas ible. Souoek'g Record . The aviation world, in Its moro spectacular phases, was fairly quiet until May 8. Then, on a clear spring day, Lieut. Apollo Soucek. USN, hopped In his Wright Appache plane at Anacos tla Naval Air station to rise high from the earth. His little ship, equipped with a super-charger, became a mere speck high above the I'otomne. When, one hour and 24 minutes later, Soucek again touched earth. Ills barograph registered more than 40,000 feet. Bureau of Stand ards test showed a true reading of 39.140 feet a world's altitude record. Later, on Muy 26, thousands of Washington officials stood along tho banks of the Potomac as an even two dozen planes rose to con tend for the Curtlss Marine Tro phy. Skimming low over the riv er. Lieut. W. a. Tomllnson. U8N, flying a Curtfss Hawk, crossed the line, victorious. His average speed was 162.52 miles per hour. ' What record was set by Lt. Apollo Soucek? How many planes success fully flew tho Atlantic from west to east during the year? Who made the first demon stration of "blind flying?" These and other questions arc answered in this review of trends in developments In avi ation during 1929. Summer came, and on June 13, the Yellow Bird, a llornurd mono plane powered by a 12-cylinder Hispana-Suiza, took off from Old Orchard, Me., for Lo Bourget 'Field, Paris. In her cock-pit were three Europeans Jean Assolant, Hone Lcfevre nnd Armento Lottl, Jr. There. was also an American stowaway, young Scherber. After covering 3,128 miles they arrived at Camillas, Spain, their fuel ex hausted. Lnto June saw tho continental United States crossed and recross cd in -.44 hours, 3 minutes nnd J seconds. Copt. Frank Hawks, fly ing a Lockheed Vega, flew from Ftooaevelt Kleld, New York, to Los Angeles and returned while only two suns set. On July 8 Kotlgcr Q. Williams nnd Louis A. Yancey took off from Old Orchard, Me., In their Pelanca monoplane, "Pathfinder' for the "Eternal City." Taking a straight path across tho Atlantic, they landed nt Santnnder, Spain, ami, refueling there, proccoded to Homo. Remarked Yancey on his return: "It was infernally dull." Alr-ltall Itouu-a ltailroads and airplanes com bined on July 8 to open a fust, steady travel routo across the con tinent. Charles A. Lindbergh on that dnte took off from tho west const to open the route established by the Transcontinental Air Trans port. Atchison, Topeka. and Santa Kc and tho Pennsylvania Itsilroad. On the a,ihcr cml of the line the Pennsylvania's "Airway Limited", started Its westward Journey from! New York City. Two hnrd-bolled hombrcs,' as they described themselves, came to earth at Lambert Field. St.! Louis, on July 30 after remaining In the nlr 420 hours. 21 minutes nnd 30 seconds, thus breaking the previous endurnnro record by 1731 hours, 37 minutes . Their names were Dale Jackson and Forrest O Brine and their ship was a Cur-tlss-chullenger. During their flight of 23,000 miles, far enough to encircle the globe at the equator, they com pleted 48 contacts to obtain gaso line. Between them was divided $31,225 In prize money. Their record still stands. The (Iraf Zeppelin, most fumous of dirigibles, took off from herl Frledrlchshafcn Ijangar July on I her second successful flight to America. In October. 1928. she! crossed and recrossed the Atlantic! but had been balked In a second attempt enrllcr this year. Itonud-the-Worlil Onlr Arriving at takehurst, N J., on August 4. the big ship remained here four days. On August 8 her commander. Dr. Hugo Kckencr. lifted her nose tn the alp and pointed tt eastward for a globs enrlrellng tour. With a crew nf 41 and 30 passengers aboard, she traveled fleetly across tlio Atlun. tic In the record time of 05 hours und 24 minutes. On August 12 she left Friedrlch. shufen und, sailing eastward rounded the world, arriving at Lakehurst 21 days, 7 hours and 34 minutes after she left there carlic; in the month. During Its trip th., air giant maintained an uveragt speed of 50 miles per hour. Scientific research achieved an other victory at Mitchell Field, New York, on Soptomber 24 when Lieut. James. H. Doollttle, L'SA. sitting in a completely covered cock-pit, rose from the field, cir cled around several . times, and landed again guided solely by In- ful demonstration of "blind fly ing." Commercial air lino operators, Jubilant, foresaw the day when fogs would see their terror for pilots operating by Instruments ulone. Doollttlc's feat was ac complished with aid of an arti ficial horizon, a direction finding radio and an unusually sensitive altimeter. It Is predicted these instruments soon will be standard equipment on high-priced com mercial planes. Ijugetit Dirigible ' Work on the world's largest dirigible begun at Akron, Ohio, November. 7 when Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, USN, drove a golden rivet in tho master ring of the Navy's ZU8-4. With . gas capacity of 6,600,000 cubic feet und a length of 785 feet, she, and her sister ship, the ZRS-6, will far surpass the Graf Zeppelin, the present queen of the air. Both Navy ships will carry five flirhtimr nlancs to nrotect them from attack. These planes jwllt, be stored in . marsupial . pouches' from which they may take off." letter, they may be retrieved by. a spcciul hooking apparatus the Navy has perfected. Each Zeppe lin will be further protected by' 10 machino guns. . They will have n speed of 7,2.8 knots and a cruising range 10. 5!0 miles. The ZRS-4 was to be completed within 18 months from November 7 and the. ZUS-5 Ki months after the first ship. ' Couquercr of two polos, Comdr. Richard E. Byrd, on November 29. sniled over the South Polo' In his Ford trl-motored plane after tak ing off from his Little America. Antiirtlcia base. Ho and his com panions spent 18 hours ' and 39 minutes aloft over the cold barren wastes at the ''bottom . of the world." He was the first man to reach the South Polo by airplane. Year's Statistics - Other accomplishments of ' 'tho year Included tho completion of the first all metal dirigible, the Navy's S5MO-2 and the successful testimr of "Meohaviator." a device for keeping planes on their true course whilo pilots rest. Whllo aviation's - heroes and heroines were performing their stunts, drills und brass-saws were whirring busily in a hundred air plane factories. Commercial pilots were winding their dally cpurs" across the country, and thousands of young men were learning to bo successful pilots. ' Commerce Department statistics showed at the end of tho last fls. cat year, Juno 30, there were 32 air lines carrying express, 47 car rying mall, and 61 carrying pas sengers. 4- ON NEW YEARS By .lohn M. Ttii'tyn United l'ress Staff Correspondent PHILADELPHIA As New Year's day draws near, millions of careful stitches, miles and miles of feathers and frills and count less glided slurs arc being used In fashluning pageantry's garb for tho most colorful spcctaclo of the year the mummer's parade. King Monus will rule supreme, a merry monarch to be feted roy ally. Little time now remains and nimble fingers all over the city arc making the needles fly in or der to have tho costumes ready In time. Locked doors, shuded windows, hurrylngs nnd scurrylngs arc only portents of the great spirit of secrecy that pervades as rival New Year Clubs proceed with final preparations. In stables and barns, gnrages and cellars, in . small homes nnd largo homos, tho shoot ers and their families aro at work. And on New Year's day there will emerge from these surround ings the great capes and costumes more spectacular . and dazzling than ever before. . . Under the guiding eye of II Bnrt McHugh. director of tho fes tival, who expects tho best dlsplsv ever seen here, the pageant will unwind Its brightly pnlnted troll splashed with silver and gold, red and blue, scarlet and green, to turn Broad street Into a kaleido scope of color. Fifteen or more rlubs will march this year, all eager to win the prises which total $25,000. Nearly 15.000 men will fall In line nnd their costumes must be his torically as well as traditionally correct, McHugh announced. IXJl'DON. Tenn (U. P.) Un deterred by a huge bridgl over head, the Ioudon ferry, started tn 1794 continues Its trips across the Tennessee river here. It'a rates are chenper than the bridge toll.