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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1950)
Ml F RE district ras m mm Petitions Seek New Protection Service By Elisabeth Sheffield Mail Tribune Special Writer Rogue River, Apr. 14 Petitions are being circulated here for the formation of a rural fire protection district to furnish protec tion to many areas surrounding Rogue River. Under the proposal, taxes in the district would be increased by about four mills. Petitions for the formation of the district have been circulated by members of the Lions club auxiliary, who report they have obtained the signatures of most of the rural residents of the pro posed district, and that the rural residents are anxious for the ad ditional nrotection. Because of the efforts being I made on behalf of the district, it time I would ever drag a cart. u.ar fnlt thai a rPVlPW nf OfEan- Cn ia nnt Uncvf' 1 iroa " ...... - ' i on l . . una,,. -irl tira nrntPfllnn in this area nt rA Caan wouia De in oraer. um from me top 01 rung inuuu- fnnY.Qiinn nt tho riistrirt reallv tn;n it haA hnpn wrpeked. began in 1947. was brought an old Marquette .. i:-n.. I i ti Clmu A quart iruu jar, paiuauy seaan ul-iuub"ir iu """" l:n.j ...ItL nnnxr cut nn tilP Inn ltu mntnr W3! OVemaUled counter ot a nogue mvei giu- us uuuy um ,B j r r cerv store, one fall day in that to running boards, hand rails . i n.J it ii,oe n ni AtKo nnnnrlHlirP Of 8 year ana uea juiiu . " j a u u ---- niece of scratch paper bearing fire truck, and mounted at tne the family." I hose, was the reel from the old A. customer after customer hose cart. Thus equipped, m received change, coins and bills Marquette served throughout were auickly stuffed into the jar. the war ,as the. sole protection Family Burned Out "Some folks up the creek got burned out last night," explained Dave Gelvin, the store keeper. "They lost everything they owned," he fumed, "and we were helpless! There was nothing we could do about it! Absolutely nothing! But there's going, to be something done mighty quick. There's got to be some way fig ured out I tell you its tough to look into a man's face when he has lost all he owned by fire, and you weren't there to help him fight it. Whether he is a friend or an enemy, a customer or not, when he loses it hurts our town. ' He reflected the sentiments of the townspeople, and the "some thing" was done within a very fhort time. Max Miller had for years or ganized fire departments in the state of California before coming to Oregon, and he quickly re organized the little company of volunteer firemen of the city of Rogue River. "In 1912, when Woodville was incorporated and became the City of Rogue River'," First Assistant Chief Gordan Hatch explained, "the city hall was built, and a volunteer fire de partment was organized. The fire equipment purchased then was used for years, it consisted of two hose carts, about a thou sand feet of hose and four ladders." Help Drag Cart ' . "When the old fire bell on top of the city hall rang every one turned out to help. We kids especially always wanted to help drag the hose cart, and the smal ler boys ran shouting after it. Folks would rush from their houses and by yelling back and forth, learn the location of the fire, and run to the scene on foot. It wasn't far to run, because the town was small then. There was a house or two beyond the new school on the road to Wim tr, but Broadway was just a load leading to Dead Horse can yon. Hatch continued. There were only about thirty houses and two hotels, and the depot which stood between the kriAA anH tht town, sauarely in the center of Depot street. We aaoiriEi Hpt ii mt inn nf the com munity by fire. For nine years as tne litue town grew ana uuuuicu ti,-,lar4 in ttita attA IllVlirinllS country homes were constructed along tne Kogue Kiver, 11 ie- tUa nnlv fir fifhlinC! inaiiivi nn- -e "o equipment in a large area of the county. .The inadequate home-made truck, wnose consirucuun imi less then $100 with its crew of volunteers stood guard over the growing town, while buildings Kik half a millinn dollars spread over a ten mile area. They had no protection um Max Miller organized the rural firs ricnartmpnt in 19 4 7. He served as fire chief. Truck Modernised The Marquette hose truck was overhauled, the cart reel removed and the hose folded in place in the truck Dea. inumer truck was equipped for the rural fire service, because the old city owned Marquette must always stand by with its ready crew in case of fire within the city limits. , Construction of the rural fire truck began the donation of a 1 n hlf inn TTnrrl chassis Ulltr niiu a iinn " " - by Rollin Miller. Then followed weeks ot weiaing, painunn aim other work done in the shop of rori tha WpIHpi hv volunteers. as they labored to build an ef ficient tire ligming maaune. Other firemen were busy re modeling the entrance of the city hall. When the truck was finally done, c o m pi e t e with bright red paint, it was carefully eased into place beside the old Marquette. With a scant two feet of space between them they stand today, in the fire hall which was built to house two hose carts. Protect From Fires One of the first major fires to which the new rural firemen were called was a cabin behind the Rogue View inn, and though the cabin was past saving when U nln-m uigc oitran thpv WPTG able to protect the main lodge building ana prevent us uesuu--tion. Similar fires have since oc curred where thousands of dol lars worth of surrounding prop erty was protected though the f:- Iho KllilHinO III in the center ot uepoi sire. ... "' r r " were on the main line oi im " railroad then, and we had a real telephones i to report fires has depot, ana hotels insieaa oi mm- "?-" or courts. On the south side of district. ..i, .. ;, the river there were only five or Our greatest difficulty. Fire bridge and Birdseyes. . . phlli1l nri ,nllinne,i 111 never forget tne last run --- - r n,lv wmlerhc made with that 0 1 a nose ov . . t , cart-. c0a"s Dav p!!?- " To raise funds to do this work 7u" "3?.rni' 2: v WZ - t gave . firem-. d.nc. imw -w. i in iiia man cpnnn a vrm 1 1 nn or fire didnt amount to much. It tne promotion of Bill Recder, was upstairs in the Hilger house. our honorary fire chief, the men I dragged the hose cart up Main t on a eood skjt dressed in street with the help ot two poys, costUmes of the early days. They Dale and Kenny Hatch, nephews wore helmets and carried equip- ot uoraon, ana wnen we gui ment borrowed from the Jack there we were so exhausted we sonville museum. The public rc- aian t nave sirengtn eiiuugn iu sponded generously, attach the hose to the fire hy- Members Sign Note Hi-ant Rntwppn nants nf hrpath "glnr ollfl ,s Knrrnn.nrl I swore that would be the last on a note signed by each mem- HOT DOCTORS ARE BETTER DOC TORS, Hotpitilt art better ho piuli, bccauie of Medical Meeting. The practice of medicine it being eomtjntlr improved through thil interchange of the finding! of re tearch and experience. Lives are being saved by theM constant meefltngi, conferencei, clinics and consultations. Diicus siom from tuch meetings are published in Medical Journals, for further study, and for the infor mation of those unable to attend This urge for improvement that's the ingenuity and BfOfreat of Medicine in America Opportunity and incentive to get to the top, through honest study and hard work. that's America! Attending Medical Meetings st hard work, sandwiched between other duties of a busy Doctor, but conscientious, progressive physi cians coniider it a duty to patients to attend local, state and special clinical meetings For the sake of ketping the level of American health the beet on earth, let's set that politician do not kilt the inctntht for constant Western THRIFT PHAMIACT Medford -sy Tribune Second Section MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 1950 Pages 1-12 Miifl V-w .- ROGUE RIVER FIREMEN HOPE FOR NEW DISTRICT Shown above are volunteer fire men at Rogue River, who have been active in promoting petitions for the formation of a new rural fire protection district in the country near Rogue River. History of the town's fire protection, and plans for the new district, are told in the accompanying article by Klizabcth Sheffield, Mail Tribune Rogue River correspondent, in tne picture, lelt to right seated, are Larry Hatch, r aye blichl, Flores Leyen, Stuart Hatch, second assistant chief; Gardon Hatch, first assistant chief; Fire Chief Dave Gel vin and Roy Milton. Standing are Drivers Sidney Baker and Glen Nourse. (Photo by June Dement). ber of the organization," Gelvin added, "and the money was used to build a dance pavilion in the city park beside the Rogue river. Each Saturday night throughout the . summer, dances are held there to raise funds for the fire department. This summer should see the paying of the last install ments on the note." "We have had some donations, too," said Gelvin, "and everyone has given us their full support, especially the business men of the district. By district, I mean the lower Evans valley, and all up and down highway D9 from the county line to a point about five miles south of the bridge. All this support comes because Rogue River men can not stand idle and see a fellow man lose liis home because it lies a few feet over the city line or across the river. We do our best for everyone within our reach, and what we do is done at our own and the city's expense. We need a rural fire protection district so we will have funds to con tinue to protect our rural neigh bors. They are our neighbors, our friends, and an integral part of the life of our community. In protecting their homes and business buildings we are strengthening the economic structure of the whole area. Added Tax In District Formation of the proposed dis trict would increase by four mills the taxes on property lying with in the district but outside of the city limits. The property own ers within the city limits are al- reany paying for tire protection, and forming of the district would not increase their taxes. Though some of the ranchers were not at home when they called and the wives nrefprrpri leaving the sianine to their hus bands, however they all ex I pressed their approval of the district. Medford Nurses. Plan To Attend Convention At least two Medford women will attend the 16th biennial nursing convention in San Fran cisco May 7 to 12, It was report ed here Saturday. The conven tion is sponsored by the National The committee obtaining sie- nitures includes Georgia Salter, Louise Goosey, Mary Wohgen, Beverly Lilly. Gertrude Shontz. Midge Petrie and Carolyn Gelvin. League of Nursing Education and the National Organization for Public Health Nursing. From here Miss Gertrude Mai loy and Miss Lotus Eaton will attend the conclaves. 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