Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 5, 1955)
TO ITRTEElf MTOFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Sunday, June 5, 1955 be sported by good eyei In the brightening dawn. Mercury sets well toward the northwest an hour after the -sun and is now a very inconspicuous object. Red Mars sets in about the same place half an hour later and is also hard to spot. Jupiter is still very bright well up in the west by the time the sky is dark. Saturn is somewhat east of due south. For the position of the bright er fixed stars, let us observe about 9 p.m. standard time. White Spica is at a medium height in the south. Not far south of the aenrrh, orange Are turus stands at the foot of a large figure of a kite. Bright Regulus, at the end of the han dle of the heavenly Sickle, is high in the west. In the west-northwest, the Twins stand side by side at a considerable distance above the horizon. White Castor is to the right of his orange and slightly brighter brother, Pol lux. Much brighter than either, yellow Capella glitters low in the north - northwest. Capella strongly resembles our own sun in color and temperature. Turning to the eastern half of the sky, we find four prom inent stars. High in the east northeast Vega sparkles bright ly. Note two nearby faint stars which form a little triangle with Vega. The left one of these is a double-double star telescopical ly. Excellent eyes can sometimes detect its elongated appearance. The least optical aid even small opera glasses will easily divide it into two distinct stars. Each of these is a close double with much higher powers. A little lower and farther north than Vega, we find Deneb at the head of the Northern Cross. This large cross now lies on its side with Deneb at the northern end. The other stars are fairly dim, but easily out line the figure. About due east and only a little above the horizon is Altair, the principal star of the Eagle. Two dimmer stars stand beside Altair, one above and one below. Fairly low in the south-southeast, red Antares flashes among the dimmer stars of the splendid constellation, the Scorpion. . Sky for June cation the sun occupied six months earlier. So Luna is now in the winter position of old Sol. The gorgeous planet Venus, which since the first of the year has been so splendid in the eastern dawn, is now too near the sun for observation in a dark sky. However, as this planet rises in the east-northeast an hour before sunrise, it can By J. HUGH PRUETT Astronomer. Extension Division Oregon Higher Education System The days are now almost as long as they will be at the sum mer solstice. June 21. The sun is rising far over toward the northeast and setting well to ward the northwest. Be sure to note how low in the south the full moon this week end crosses the sky. The full moon any month is in about the same lo- Dead line for Sunday 'Classified fef at noon Saturday '4 J i ri M' m in -i -i-ir : DUPLICATING GENERAL Douglas MacArthur's feat as a cadet. Lee D. Olvey of Hinesville, Ga., Is honor man in both military and academic standing at U. S. Military Academy. He Is first cadet since 1933 to excel In both branches. (International) --- f rrrr.rrrrrrrrr r tm Buried Treasure x 'Rappa Forge' Inscription Brings More for Pistol Charles looked thoughtfully at on of the five flintlock pis tola hanging on the wall above a sideboard, took it down and Inquired the price.. "It's yours for only $30," said the proprietor, and without a moment's hesitation Charles paid for it. - , "What do you want that thing for," I asked. "This is an exception," he said, handing me the pistol. "At $30 I couldn't afford to pass it up. In fact, I am somewhat sur prised that you didn't beat me to it and buy it as an investment." I looked the old handgun over carefully. It was a little over 12 inches long. The barrel, of brass and slightly belled, was about seven inches in length with a bore of approximately .65 caliber. There was an ivory sight something which may have been added a generation or two after the piece was made and a silver-banded wooden ramrod. A silver buttplate ter- inating in a Turk's head, a lock plate, also of silver and with rounded ends, and a trigger guard of the same noble metal made up the other high points of the piece. All in all it was a good exam ple of the pistol maker's art and was doubtless worth $30, but I couldn't see that it was anything to get really excited about. "Of course, the important thing about it," said Charles, "is the engraving on the barrel, the words 'Rappa Forge.' " I wanted to know why. His answer was that the words stood for Rappahanock Forge, an arms factory owned by James Hunter, noted Revolutionary gun maker who was financed by Patrick Henry. On any kind of a weapon, he said, those words mean a sub stantial extra value. But on a pistol such as his they mean a tremendous difference a fact he demonstrated some weeks later by getting $400 for the piece. RENOVATING ANTIQUE HARD WORK; IT PAYS DIVIDENDS My niece Judith was standing before a six-legged, drop-leaf table of very considerable di mensions. Part of it was cov ered with several different colors of paint as if various mixtures had been spilled upon it. But the rest of it, where she had been working, showed promise of a rich, reddish brown color indicating an unusual item. My niece graciously offered to let me demonstrate my skill in removing paint, but I refused. The table, 48 inches long by 20 wide with the two leaves each 22 inches wide, was made of cherry wood, she said. Judg ing from the workmanship on the brass pulls on the single drawer the piece had, as well as the character and design of the piece, her estimate of the table's age at around 150 years semed substantially correct. "I got it for only $10," she said. She got it at a secondhand store that was having a big markdown an every thing-must- go sale. "And I expect to sell it for at least $100," she added. She did even better than that, however, getting $150 for it. But she had put at least 20 hours of just plain, hard labor into the piece. COINS' VALUE NOT BASED SOLELY ON ITS CONDITION Fineness of condition is by no means a final criterion in evaluating a coin. I know that now, but one day some years ago I had to learn it the hard way. The lesson began when a cousin of mine offered to sell for $20 a 1796 United States half-cent piece he had re cently acquired. I looked the piece over care fully. It was clear enough the design though the piece had obviously seen plenty of use. The date was good and so were the features of the Liberty head facing to the right. But the crease lines in the Liberty cap shown in the air behind the head and without the usual pole sup porting it were gone. Not only that, but to my perfectionist eye it seemed that the tips of the arms of the "Y" in LIBERTY above the head were worn down so far as to be almost flush with the rest of the coin. As for the other side, while I could distinctly make out the fraction 1200 standing beneath the wreath - enclosed words HALF CENT, I had to look care fully. In view of such palpable de fects I forthwith decided to re ject his proposal, and I even of fered to give him $5 for the coin, half expecting that I would let him force me up to $10. The offer evoked one word. "Tightwad," he said in a tone that showed he meant it to the very last syllable, and he snatched back the coin and hur ried out. I may have grinned at that point. But some hours later it was the other side of my mouth I was using. He was back again, richer by a full $150. A dealer had given him that amount for the coin, explaining that he had a customer who had offered him $250 for that particular issue even if it were not in quite such good condition, which most half cent pieces of that date are not. The coin 115,480 was the total coinage of that denomina tion for 1796, according to mint records is today worth up to $350. (Released by McClura Newspaper Syndicate) USE TRIBUNE WANT ADS PlEMMIEY'S SHAPE-UP YOUR HOME FOB SHJJr.ir.lGQ Shop Pcnney's summer living values rovj! PENNEY'S BETTER QUALITY PEfICO SHEETS Famous Penco quality, thor oughly lab-tested, Checked in every way to offer smooth texture, years of economical service! 72 x 108" ........ 1.87 42 x 36" pillow cases 46c ea. 81 x 108 I09 CAREFREE COLORS IN THICK CANNON TOWELS Thick-looped, d r y-you-quick towels by famous Cannon . . . now in carefree colors for i lose-harmony or e o n t r ast! Sun gold, pink whisper, many others. 16"x28" Face Towels, 59e 22" x 44" Matching Wash Cloths, 27c bath six r T" II jMiJwmwwii, h.jjii : k tM " JkwWB rtf&tmiM CRISP! SILKY! TIERS OF BEMBERG ORGANDY! A crisp look in lustrous, luxurious rayon! Terrific new tier that stays crisp and fresh thru endless tubbings. 6" cut ruffles, 3" top ruching. White, vellow, rose, green, blue. Valances . . . . 79c 1198. U POPULAR, RICH COLORED 'PRINT DRAW DRAPERIES! I J Scenics, florals, moderns, geo- lf : I metrics . . . exquisite bold a 64" wioe, I 1 patterns in acetate draw if 36" long I I drapes with 5 pinch-pleats. p S Rail4v.fn.nnt.im1 At T3nnnn..'. 48" will. f I I I nowl 90" long t NEW, MAT-RESISTANT BLANKET . . . RICH COLORS! Extra-long, extra-warm! Pen ney's double-woven, warmth retaining blend of 10 wool with 90 special crimped rayon . . . wn't mat, stays fleecy-thick after repeated washings! &90 72' 90' DELUXE BEDSPREADS OF j VELVET-SOFT CHENILLE i ; The tufting is closer, deeper ' the back firmly woven! Wavy line pattern, vibrant machine washable colors! Banded edges, rounded corners! Fluffs dry, no ironing! a90 JPIll MODERN PRISCIUAS . . .STRONG AGAINST SUN, MOTHS, MILDEWI MINIMUM IRONING I If you're practical, youll love the way those A Penney curtains last, the easy way they tub, SJ viae aoov TV cj vaavj tt iuoiv via, j viu a v"n board ! If you're particular about how they look you'll love the sheerness, the sparkling whiteness, the draping quality ! TImm Doc ron priscillas have everything Including 6" headed ruffles, hemmed headed tops, . ruffled tiebacks. ID 50 pair 104" Wide 81" Long Sculptured for Greater Luxury, ; Greater Depth! S:iAN . TILE U loop 998 ifS RUGS 6i 8 ; 32x48" . . 4.98 . 40x56" . . . 7.90 ' : jj llsJllll lllliilPli " There are many facets to the ' ?A Wmk - . i v it iu beauty of Penney's dynamie p Wl hK i-Tyi roP! They're a new f ft JTaPrfCTr modern texture, of sculptured i f JL gpj !J2a nd low cotton- They f i Tg come in a range of brilliant ItI heavy 2-ply yam on sturdr W MW duck backtogTNdlAnd 77 waahable! ff xWk ' IUJ--'-r trsiMpun, f " UMllffM, Srrn, Pink UUtt - -
