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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 8, 1955)
TWELVE MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Sunday, May t, I95S System of 'Guilds' Develops in Camp White Handicraft Pursuits, Preparations Made for Annual Hobby Showing Br SID HOLLINGSWORTH Camp White The 4,old world" tradition of crafts and guilds dominates the activity in arts, crafts and hobbies of members at Camp White. Approximately 100 men at various times are engaged in some craft or lucrative pursuit. While the program comes under supervision of the medical and special services division of the Veterans Administration domicil iary, the natural inclination of the men to form "guilds" for congeniality arid mutual assist ance, is noticeable. These include woodworking, copper and leather work, weaving, painting and gem work, and flower making. Classes for Beginners As in any well organized craft system, there are schools for be ginners. These have been estab lished with volunteer instructors in art, novelties, flower making and lapidary. ' "Smoky" Hines is the general supervisor in arts and crafts where the new members start in. He is adept at a number of skills and helps the men to get started. He represents the mem bers in their problems and gripes. "Bud" Ash, a trained therapist, is in charge. He maintains order and provides the tools, machin ery and materials as well as the place to work. There are rules that must be followed both in arts and crafts and in the Hobby shop, and 'each "guild" assists in acquainting new men with the code, as well as the diffi culties encountered in master ing a craft. Have Typewriters The writing guild has - now been provided with typewriters, and a place to use them, in the arts and crafts building. They also have the editorial offices of Dominews as a place to congre gate, and hash over the merits of any particular writing style or achievement. There has never been a time when artists have been lacking at Camp White. Some of them have had exceptional talent for painting, sketching, or other ac tivities calling for artistic ability. A class has been meeting each week to receive instruction from Vola Tolman, a member of the Southern ' Oregon Society of Artists. There was an exhibition of their work at the Medford Art Center during April. Flower Making Another class allied with art has been that of flower making. The corsages made by this group appear real in every respect but fragrance. Mrs. Audrey Sims, Medford, for some time conduct ed this class.' Now Asa Kimball, one of the experts among the Home members, has volunteered to give instructions to those in terested in this kind of creative work. The poppy making, gen erally during the winter months, is a preliminary step in the more advanced flower making art. When any member feels he has mastered a craft, he is en titled to move over to the Hobby shop, a plaee set apart for men Mother's Day PINNERS Free Flowers RALPH'S MILL CAFE NO. PACIFIC HI WAY CENTRAL POINT I 11 WEAVING AMONG MANY CAMP CRAFTS The weavers shown at their looms are only two of some 100 or more members of Camp White who are devoted to various' arts and crafts, developed at the Veterans Administra tion domiciliary for the benefit of the resi dents there. Culmination of the years work in the arts and crafts department, and the hobby shop, is the annual hobby show which this White Rock club, and was put on year will be May 22 in the theater building. The public is invited to inspect the wide varieties of handiwork, which include every thing from mats and weaving to woodwork and metal craftsmanship. The "guild"-like groups which have grown up among the Camp White craftsmen are described in the accom panying article , by the Mail Tribune's Camp White correspondent. f who are capable of doing their work without supervision. This section is divided into depart ments for wood working, leather craft, copper work and a number of other crafts. Other Specialties . '' R. S. Van Loan, who has been a tailor for 40 years, has a shop where he is kept busy with work supplied by the members. Guy Vinson, whose hobby is "star gazing" through his improvised observatory, also does expert watch repairing. He is the unof ficial time keeper of the camp. Joe Ferrier has a radio shop where he follows an interest he had back on the ranch. ' He has taken several radios, apart and has put them back in perfect con dition. Sign lettering, chair repairing as a major project for members with nothing else to do, pho tography, and other crafts and skills have adherents and prac titioners in the organization of guilds under sponsorship of the VA. As in all work of this nature, there are differences to iron out and disagreements, as well as misunderstandings with the man agement to reconcile. But these pastimes and activities are un covered as long as the rules are followed. " . " ' . Individual Qualities There is an individual quality in all that these men do, and their hobbies are sustaining them at this stage in their lives. Some of the experiences of this work ing group, and something about the personalities themselves, are worth recording. v One of the first pieces of equip ment donated to Camp White, for the use of members pursuing hobbies and crafts, was a lapi dary outfit. Suitable for grind ing and polishing the many gem stones found in the agate desert, it was furnished by the Roxy Ann club of Mefiford. The interest in gems resulted in the formation of the Camp Eaton's Dinner House -. . .. 812 Crater lake Avtnue TAKE MOTHER OUT FOR; DINNER! Open 1 :00 p.m. TODAY Serving Delicious Mother's Day Dinners a paying basis by Leland Green and Hans Sorenson, with their lapidary and gem shop, where rings, brooches, ear pendants and numerous other items, were made by these experts. Still Runs Shop Green still runs the shop and continues to handle odd jobs for the members. He has been a consistent winner at Hobby fairs with his fine ' collection of fin ished and semi-finished speci mens of stones found in this part of the country. Another 'old timer" among the professional craftsmen ' is Deane Stewart. Deane is an artist to his finger tips, which he also uses, on occasion, to play the piano. He has a stall in the . Hobby shop where he works with sheet copper, to bring out embossed figures, scenes and effects. This special art he has developed profitably, as one of the disabled company determined to . overcome " their handicaps. Stewart comes from Seattle. His son is an artist with one of the leading advertising agencies there. Deane will no doubt dis play one of his Eisenhower por traits in copper at the Hobby Fair this' month. lie has made a feature of this effort lately. His work adorns the walls of several service organizations and clubs in Medford. Youngest Member George W. Lord is probably the youngest : member of the Home. It is certain that he, is the sole representative of the youngest war at' Camp White. He was badly shattered when he arrived while the Korean conflict was in full swing. He stayed.f or weeks beside his bed and refused to talk to. anyone other than the doctor. .One day, Dn Schulz, then chief medical ' officer, began to tell him about arts and crafts and what the men were making over there. s - "I can't do anything like that," Lord argued. "What makes you . think you can't? I'm putting you on detail there; now let's go over and find something you'd like to do." That was the beginning of on of the most remarkable transfor mations of .interest and develop ment of skill in spite of handicap that has been made at Camp White or elsewhere. Tries His Hand . Lord watched the men work ing at weaving small mats and thought he would try that. - He made several nice looking ones and showed them around. Every one was amazed that he had done so well. "I think I could operate one of those looms,"' he told Recrea tion Director Franklin Girard one day, having become fascia ated by the manner in which rags and pieces of silk and cloth of different colors form a pattern when completed that becomes a marketable article. George tried his hand at weav ing at a loom and after learning the craft, decided to go in busi ness for himself. He bought his own loom and went into partner ship in the Hobby Shop, where the team turns out numerous salable and attractive rugs. John Sharp has an interesting story, if he can be persuaded to tell it.- But being- a newspaper man, he . prefers telling stories about what other people do. Tries Crafts Sharp wanted to do something in craftsmanship as a hobby. For a while he tried designing sport coats, being somewhat adept with a needle and scissors. His flair for design led him to try another medium myrtlewood whjch was being fashioned into lamps, novelties and articles of furni ture. .-: Sharp hs been turning out smart? pieces in wood for a num ber of years, now. He invented a magazine racK mat is con venient and useful as well as ornamental. T .... xie is now specializing in novelty lamps for desk or bed room, equipped with electric clocks and other modern conven iences and attachments. He has put them up for sale and has invested rather heavily in time, effort and money to make them works of art which they, are Only Old Training It is quite an achievement for a newspaperman to become cabinet maker, and Sharp claims he had nothing more than man ual training at grade school to fall back on when he turned to tooling and finishing his wood work. All of his creations he designs himself. f Sharp comes from Salt Lake City, where he did most of his newspaper work on the Salt Lake Tribune. His great-grandfather and grandfather, under contract, constructed the first two railroads in Utah, and the tunnel work of the Union Pacific railroad. Perhaps his . talent traces to this source. ; Incidentally, Sharp is one member of the armed forces who was with the 91st Division at Camp White during the last war. At present, the various groups and members are busy putting the finishing touches on some of their recent efforts to exhibit in the Hobby fair, to be held Sun day, May 22, in the theater build ing. . This event is one to which they look forward during the year, when the opportunity to gain recognition for their work is afforded. The fair was sched uled for April 17, but due to the epidemic of flu at camp, the show was postponed. Elaborate Preparations Elaborate preparations .were made to publicize the fair throughout the valley, and the committee in charge has been able t ogive extra attention to the promotion of interest in the interim. . Cliff Howard of the Elks is general chairman, with Bud Ash, of Special Services, as coordin ator of arrangements. . Austia Barneburg is chairman of the awards committee; Helen Lusk is chairman of publicity; Char lotte Lehman, refreshments com mittee; Thelma Williams, recep tion committee, and Frieda Law rence, decorations. The three judges were selected i.''. 1 ..! . JCD9 o o'hr mil m Wsk ti m i g" BUYS SNO-CAT FOR TIMBERLINE Shown above, center, is Richard Kohnstamn, who recently started operation of Timberline lodge, on Mt. Hood. Kohnstamn has pur chased a Sno-Cat, oversnow vehicle, for use at the lodger from Tucker Sno-Cat company, Medford. With him are J. Morris Tucker, manager of Tucker Sno-Cat, left and E. M. Tucker, president, right. They are pictured with one of the oversnow vehicles. a Hey Folksl Ifs MOTHER'S DAY and TONITE WE'LL TREAT MOM! O O On Scr n at 9:40 p.m. Q Q Q O O O ' "O On Screen at 7:50 A 1 1:40 p.m. Q Q O O 1 i W Alan tADD SSfS zO -AvJ" """BALL -0 Van HEFLIN "ST R jSSrSnj M Jean ARTHUR i ttjv AlMJ o Sno-Cat Purchased For Timberline Use Richard Kohnstamn, new op erator of Timberline lodge on Mt. Hood, has purchased a Sno Cat and trailer from Tucker Sno Cat comDanv. Medford. accord- f rom' nearby schools, and include ing to E. M- Tucker, president. Don McGovern, art teacher at The Sno-Cat, a Model 443 with Eagle Point High; Verne Voss, a 115 horsepower Chrysler en shop instructor at Medford Jun- gine and a four-pontoon double ior High, and O. J. Wilder, art , drive mechanism, will be used Fuel represents about 40 per cent of the costs of operating a tractor. World's production of nickla in 1954 reached a high record of 390,000,000 pounds. teacher at Southern Oregon col lege, Ashland. A special room has been set aside where the exhibitors can establish stalls for the sale of their articles. This will permit each exhibit at the Fair to re main intact. In the past, many of the best items have been sold before the public, which is in vited to the Fair, have had an opportunity to view the display. , Another feature this year will be the hobby exhibit of person nel, which, however, will not be eligible for prizes. Air View of Valley Attractive to Flier Tourists and visitors to the Rogue valley have been attract ed here in a number of different ways, but the Chamber of Com merce last week reported a new one. The chamber received a letter from a serviceman, who said: "Recently I had the pleasure of flying over your city and the surrounding area on a flight to Salem. I- was very impressed with the beauty and expanse of the country, and particularly the abundant streams and rivers which appear to provide excell ent fishing and recreation." He asked for folders and in formation on fishing, points of interest and accomodations, and added that he, his wife, and their 16 year old son' plan to vacation here. to transport ' skiers to Palmer snow field, on Mt Hood.' The .old ski tows will be out of commission while Kohn stamn's new concern is refur bishing them. The Sno-Cat can be used to haul as many .as 35 or 40 people, and the trailer will carry 10. Kohnstamn also is erecting a $100,000 chair lift which will have a capacity of 900 skiers per hour. Local Lions Speak At Jacksonville Jacksonville Larry Neeley and Leland Knox, members jof Medford Lions club, were guest speakers at the seventh anniver sary dinner of the Jacksonville Lions club at the high school here Thursday night. . About 45 members and their wives attended the dinner, which was served by the Jack sonville Parent-Teacher associa tion. Neeley spoke on Lionism and what it means to the community and the club itself, and Knox spoke on finances of the Lions International. Other Medford guests included Willard Buch anan and Eston Humphrey. The club announced that more than $134 was turned over the Band Boosters club for pur chase of uniforms for the Jack sonville High school band. The amount was raised at a Lions carnival recently. ' Despite Lack of Rainfall, Fruit Growers Welcoming Warm, Sunshiny Weather The Dance of The Year! Medford Musicians Ansad OIHJIEKflEIFIITP Monday. May 9-9 p.m.-1 a.m. . AT THE DREAMLAND DANCE HALL 2 Bands Will Play For Your Dancing Pleasure DREAMLAND'S REGULAR 6-PIECE ORCHESTRA ... Rose Cash, Leader Will Start Playinr at p.m. '.. THE ZEPHYRS-16 PIECE DANCE BAND John Drysdale, Leader, Ernie Hood, Music Manager and Ar ranger Will star playinr at 10:30 will play until 1 ajo. John Drysdala Master of CeranioniM Men $1.00 Ladias and Children fr -. Bring Your Family and. Enjoy an Evening of Variety - Despite the fact that rainfall has been below normal in the valley this year, most fruit growers; of the area are glad to see the current spell of warm, sunny weather, . Don Berry, county horticultural agent, said yesterday. . He stated that, the warm weather is "very welcome" be cause it shortens the blossom period, which is a susceptible time for blight in the orchards. As long as days are warm and dry there is also less likelihood of scab infections, Berry pointed out. . I , . , When daytime .temperatures are high, it is normally not ne cessary to heat orchards at night,, Berry reported. Temper atures are not likely to fall to the danger point when they go as high as 72 degrees in the day, he said. He added, however, that there have been exceptional occasions : when temperatures reached 76 in the daytime and dropped to freezing level at night. Most fruits of the area, ac cording to Berry, have . just passed the stage of full bloom. Most varieties of pears ' and peaches and apricots are in this HARRY JAM US ; AND HIS ; K Mosie (Mers featuring Jilla Webb lob Mario - Juan Tizol Willi Smith Buddy Hayes KLAMATH FALLS ARMORY TUES., MAY 10 category. Bosc pear trees, ap ples and sweet Cherries general ly' now are in full bloonv M X MM ML on OTHER'S DnV AT BEAUTIFUL A Real Compliment To Mom and the Kids! BRING THE FAMILY Children Are Most Welcome 'Enjoy the Fine Music of Vie McFarland At the Hammond Phone Gold Hill 5-9230 for Reservations OPEN AT 1 SUNDAY - CLOSED WEDNESDAY . ' .. ." ". . In Southern Oregon It's a TRADITION " for Mother to . En joy. Dinner at MOM D MOTHER'S : DINNER SERVED STARTING JOE NEWMAN at the Piano Playing All Your Favorite Selections FOR RESERVATIONS L Phone NOrmandy 4-2513 ESIft - DAY i?' 3 P.M. . A. r X " with Jk P.Ue. v v x 1lJ2Z New, a Cartoon
