TWELVE ME D F O R D (OBECOK)
i. H. hedrick To Keftiire
Aft:er 3
By DON ROBINSON .
Mail Tribune Sltff Writer
"A man's got to love his work
. . . and hia work becomes a
hobby." These words of E. H.
Hedrick best describe hia 30
yean at the superintendent's
desk of School District 49. Med
Xord. On August 1 he retires.
When he first arrived in Med
ford, there were five schools.
The high school stood at the site
cf Safeway Store No. 2, on Bart
lett at.
A gym had yet to be built in
town. Baseball games were
played in the old Armory build
ing. .Football players, having no
turf available, were sometimes
half buried in mud holes.
Hot school lunches were just
an idea.
Changes Told
Now, Medford schools number
eight. Eight gyms are standing,
three more abuilding. Looking
into the future, the district owns
two elementary sites on Grand
ave. and Orchard Home dr., and
has just closed an option on 35
acres east of the old Crater Lake
highway, north of town.
Perhaps schools will be built
here, perhaps not. But if the
need arises (and indications are
that it will) Medford is prepared.
Hedrick was born, the son of
a achool teacher -lumberman-rancher
in Josephine county,
near Merlin. When he was 5,
the family moved to Drain, in
Douglas county. There he, his
brother and two sisters received
training through high school.
Decides on Law
Seeking a future, Hedrick de
cided upon law. He entered Mon
mouth Normal school, now Ore
gon College of Education. With
the money from teaching, he
meant to put himself through law
school.
He taught his first term in a
Douglas county rural school in
1908. Graduating from Mon
mouth in 1909, he spent the next
three years teaching in rural
schools around the county.
About that time, the state
legislature enacted a measure
establishing supervisors for Ore
gon's rural schools. Hedrick was
one of the first of these, being
elected supervisor, with 51 dis
tricts to look after,. in northern
Douglas county. There he stayed
for three more years.
Seeks More Background
By this time, the boy from the
ranch had unconsciously con
vinced himself that lawbooks
would not do. Teaching was his
field, he decided, but he needed
more background. Entering the
University of Oregon, he earned
a bachelors degree, with a major
in education and a minor in phi
losophy. Later he gained a mas
ters in education, minoring in
psychology.
World War I. came, and Hed
rick spent a year with the 213th
Field Signal Corps, at Ft. Lewis,
Wash. For a short time after
wards he was in the Army edu
cational service at the base hos
pital. Discharged in 1919, he
came south to take the superin
tendent's reins at Central Point.
In 1923 a Central Point girl,
Helen Norcross, and he were
married. They had four chil
dren: Eva, now married to Sam
Richardson, salesman for Home
Appliance company; Bill, prin
cipal of the Hugo, Ore., high
school; Lala, wife of Robert
Work, both having taught t
Lone Pine for the past three
years, coming to Medford High
next year, and Carolyn, a Med
ford High junior.
In Heppner
From 1923 to '25 Hedrick was
superintendent of Heppner
schools, in Morrow county.
At the turn of the quarter
century, he was back in Jackson
county, having been elected
superintendent of Medford
schools. He intended to stay only
a year, then take a position at a
teacher's college.
But the one year stretched
into two. then three. He had
found the town and the job he
liked. He settled down, and
started to build Medford's school
system.
The second year of his stay,
1926, the high school was moved
into a brand new building on
West Second st. With the Bart
lett st. structure, the superinten
dent and his board introduced
something new to Medford a
junior high school. The district
switched from the 8-4 plan (eight
years of grade school and four
years of high school) to the new
6-3-3 plan.
With the construction situa
tion temporarily in hand, Hed'
rick turned to the students.
Courses of Study
The first move was to institute
courses of f-tudy for all subjects.
Teachers committees work with
the superintendent in developing
an outline of work to be taught
during the year
Next, Medford initiated testing
procedures, the results revealing
local students' ranking with
those around the state and na
tion.
With the coming of a junior
high school, District 49 began
MAIL TRIBUNE
Years with
the "group"' system. Students
capable of more were put in
group one, average students in
group two. and slower students
in group three.
The dividing factors were
three-fold: the amount of time
taken to cover a topic, the quan
tity of work given, and the ap
proach of the teacher giving an
assignment.
Stuck by System
Although cries of "undemo
cratic" arose from time to time,
Hedrick and the board stuck by
their beliefs. With the backing
of the majority of the people,
they employed the system for 20
years.
In 1946, two things occurred,
as a result of which group three
was discontinued.
The "inherent difficulty" of
the curriculum decreased. In
other words, state and national
standards didn't demand that so
much be learned in each grade.
Secondly, special education de
partments were developed.
Slower children were placed
in these departments, the aim
being to bring them back,
through concentrated individual
attention, into their own group.
The names '"group one" and
"group two" were dropped in
favor of "regular" and "advanc
ed" classes. Subjects such as
typing, shop, or physical educa
tion, involving individual accom
plishment, have no advanced
classes. But in studies where
the class as a whole must move
together, students are divided to
facilitate learning.
Emphasizes Point
With regard to divided classes,
on one point Hedrick hits hard:
"It's bad to advertise that a kid
is in an advanced group." He
wants none of the never-crack-a
book type notions in his schools,
That kind of student, he says, "is
like a Chrysler without gas . ,
it might just as well be a Ford."
The philosophy of District 49
and Hedrick, has been this: Edu
cation is the schools primary
concern. Outside activities are
necessary, but secondary.
HedncK doesn t believe in
narrow education, or "just the
three Rs." But it is his chief
concern to "educate where so
ciety's other institutions can't."
Churches can give spiritual train
ing, and the YMCA and Scouts
recreational training, but none
beside the school can teach read
ing, science, English, math, spell
ing the basic solid courses.
In Minority
For the past decade, Hedrick
and Medford have held this view
in the minority. "Progressive"
education methods have seized
the fancy of many school men,
and "solids" have suffered for
extracurricular activities. Now,
the swing is back.
It has long been Hedrick's con
viction that "the heart of any
school is what you're doing in
the classroom"; in other words,
the curriculum the material of
fered. The two main obligations of a
public school, as he sees them,
l.
I 'Ph i
amililemigit
U ml
L ; mm-
'.LM:
Sunday. July 31. 19SS
are to build citizens, on the one
hand, developing likenesses; and
to build individuals on the other,
developing the distinguishing
qualities in 'people.
History, English, and. math for
instance, are required so that
E. H. HEDRICK
Veteran School Superintendent To Retire After 30 Years
(Photo by Bramcrd)
the students may cultivate com
mon ideals, loyalties, and the
ability to live together construc
tively. Music, art, debate and studies
along this line are made avail
able for "development of the stu
dent's own peculiar interests, at
titudes, and abilities."
Two GuidepoiU
These two purposes, citizen
ship and individuality, Hedrick
has always used as guideposts
when making up Medford curric
ulums. Then too, he says, the curricu
lum must reflect the interests
and nature of the community.
More than half of Medford's par
ents want their children to go on
to college. For that reason, Dis
trict 49 has. stressed academic
courses.
In 1931, Washington school
was moved to its present site
from where the courthouse now
stands, and the high school was
constructed, south of town.
Twenty acres had been secured
on Oakdale ave. for the pros
pective Medford high. Though
many opposed it as being too
extravagant, ("They thought we
were building a country club"),
they wish now it had been an
even larger area.
Bricks Sared
The old high school and Wash
ington element ary structures
were wrecked. From the bricks
saved, Jackson school gym was
erected.
Back in the 30's, the board
bought a piece of land for $8,000.
Today, it could be sold for $100,
000. Next year, the new East
Medford Junior High school will
open on the same tract.
The outstanding trait of the
man whose career these events
have filled, is a hard and fast
philosophy of life.
"The men wb run this world,"
he will tell you, "are the ones
who have three qualities: First,
they know their job. There's no
substitute for background. Sec
ond, they're willing to work at it.
They're the ones who take their
work home and stay at the of
fice after-hours. Third, they've
got personality . . . and charac
ter." Likes 'Good Man' .
He loves to see a "good man."
Not a puritan but an honest
man, who fits his job like a nut
fits a bolt.
Hedrick is ever on the look
out for such men and women for
his District 49 "family." He
once hired an extra- man for one
day, shoveling dirt in front of
the administration building. He
walked past, saw the workers,
and in particular, the extra man.
"Keep that man on," he told the
foreman. "I want to watch
him."
The new man moved from one
menial task to another, and in
Tomorrow
City S
chools
each Hedrick detected a spark
of enthusiasm and pride in his
work. Soon, the man applied
to the superintendent for a va
cant janitor's position, but was
told, "We can always find jani
tors. I need a man like you on
maintenance." The onetime day
laborer was hired.
Biggest Problem
"A superintendent's biggest
problem," says Hedrick, "is get
ting and keeping the right kind
of people. No matter what your
aims are, unless you have people
that can translate them into ac
tion, you can't do a thing. The
trouble is, they don't make those
superior people often enough."
The fact is, Medford has been
blessed with more than its share
of "those superior people," as he
will readily admit.
In sports, Hedrick points with
pride to local track teams. Bill
Bowerman and his "pup," Bob
Newland, are the coaches that
made Medford, trackwise. "There
aren't two better track coaches
in the state of Oregon," boasts
the superintendent. .
As for teaching, "We've al
ways been strong in English,
math, social studies and science."
Though he's provided the best
possible buildings, Hedrick
doesn't care "if you've got a log
cabin or a palace. It's the teach-
rrs that make a school."
Became 111
From March 11. 1934, to the
same date, 1935, Hedrick was off
duty. Not voluntarily; he took
sick and was in and out of hos
pital beds all over this state and
even California. Doctors said
it was heart and stomach trouble.
Hedrick never put much stock
in doctors he still claims it was
"just nerves."
In any event, he wasn't the
ideal patient. He kept trying to
run the district's schools from
his bed. He had his assistant
jumping back and forth with in
structions constantly, and all but
set up office wherever he was
taken.
He says the best way to lick
illness is to lie down and make
a job out of getting well. But
then, smiling admits, "You can
tell the other guy that, but it's
hard to take yourself."
Has Earned Support
Throughout his 30 years at
Medford's helm, Hedrick has en
joyed and appreciated steadfast
support of school board and pub
lie. During that period, the
town nas never voted down a
Inter health, rat, eemtort end hospitality
amidst pleasant surroundings. Completely
turnished Sleeping end Housekeeping
Cabin, with all modern facilities.
MOT MINERAL en MUD BATHS
Per Rheumatism. Arthritis, Neuritis,
. Sciatica, Nervaasness
'carbon oioxipe vapor baths
Are excellent far lexeme. Sinus, Skin tnrp
tmm, Hiafc ana" Lav Bleed Pressure
"Your Health Is Our Business"
for P. nervations end information Address
tockneni Mineral Sarins, Rt. 1, Ashland,
Oreeon ar Phone Long Oistence.
Dr. Herman Wexler. Director
Chiropractic Physician
budget or a bond issue.
"There is probably no finer
town in America for conducting
a 'good school system," claims
Hedrick. He believes Medford
has a high cultural level, and
therefore is a challenge to a
school man. Furthermore, the
people want good schools. They
like the philosophy of "educa
tion first."
The superintendent has al
ways taken confidence from the
fact that "If the people are con
vinced you're running a good
system, they will support you."
Looking back, Hedrick feels 30
years have flown fast. To him,
"It doesn't even seem like ten."
Busy, Full. Happy Years
But they've been busy and
full, and for those reasons,
happy. By his own standards,
Hedrick is one of the men "who
run the world." He knew his
job, he couldn't be kept from his
work, and he had the personality
and character to carry him
through in every public test.
As for the future, he has "two
or three ideas" in back of his
mind, but nothing definite. What
ever he decides, those who know
him feel certain, Tie won't stray
too far from the public schools.
Two Drivers Fined
For Reckless Auto
Driving on Streets
City police said that Coe Eu
gene Brown, 21, of 1086 Spring
st., who was fined on reckless
driving charges in city court Sat
urday morning, led them on a
high speed chase through Med
ford and in the north outskirts of
town about 10:30 o'clock I riday
night.
Coe entered a guilty plea, offi
cers said, and was assessed $50
by Judge James Main. His driv
er's license was suspended one
year.
Police Sgt. Lyle Perkins said
that Brown was clocked at 87
miles per hour on South River
side avenue. The sergeant said
also that the chase was over
East Main St., Hawthorne ave.,
Jackson st., Crater Lake ave.,
McAndrews rd., Biddle rd., Cra
ter Lake highway, and Delta
Water rd. and Crater Lake high
way, headed back to town and
was "lost" on North Central ave.
Police arrested Brown on a
warrant Saturday morning.
Arthur Bryan Hall Jr., 29, of
610 Benson St., was fined $75
and $5 court costs by Judge
Rawles Moore in district court
Friday on a reckless driving
charge.
He entered a plea of guilty,
records showed. Judge Moore
also recommended to the secre
tary of state that Hall's driver's
license should be suspended for
30 days.
Hall appeared on a state police
complaint that he drove in excess
of designated speeds on Highway
99, on McAndrews rd. and on
Central and Riverside aves. He
was accused of going 60 miles
per hour in a 35 mph zone on the
highway, 50 in a 25 mph zone on
McAndrews. 60 in a 35 mph area
on Central and 85 mph on River
side. About 83 per cent of all U.S
vacation trips are by automo
bile, and the average mileage
is 978 miles.
sssssssssssssflBl BzmmSBaiBBlBVBzsmmTe
ITS UC3TH
A TIUP TO
SJU1
FRA1IOSC0
to) SSSaaa .
'
r$S M its
ITS
jiirg3
ZJ
18EKW
T3 2m
KESEITrTICI
RESERVED SEATS
WOW ON SALE
BOX OFFICE OPEN
DAILY lOam-9 pa
OR ORDER BY MAN.
BRSIATKI PVmk U 1-5SSt
c
?BJ?fJrV.
"-w 4WT JuU
;-,?slfiBS
Dagger Owned by Noted Actor
Owned by Camp White Member
"Is this a dagger, which I see ,
before me?"
These words from one of the
most dramatic passages of Mac
beth, which w'ill stir audiences
at the Shakespearean Festival
which starts at Ashland tomor
row, have more than passing
significance to one world war
veteran, now living at Camp
White.
Ralph Baker owns the dagger
used by Edwin Booth in this and
other Shakespearean plays. It is
a reminder of the fact that his
father and step-father both
achieved recognition on the
stage, in portraying the char
acters in plays of the immortal
bard.
Is Inheritance
The dagger has come down to
him as an inheritance of the past,
which is rich in memories of the
way Shakespeare was presented
to audiences in the gay nineties
and until the first World War
repopularized the barnstorming
engagements which were cur
rent for many years.
Revival of Shakespeare in the
classical interpretation of the
Festivals, such as the one which
has been running for 20 years
here in southern Oregon, has
changed the entire tradition,
Baker believes.
Although he has lived at the j
VA Domiciliary for the past four
years, he has assiduously avoid
ed attending the Ashland per
formances. He does not explain
why, but observes dryly, "I was
brought up on those lines, and
lived in that atmosphere long
enough."
Different World
Actually, he feels that the
treatment today belongs to a
world other than the one enacted
by his father, Leighton Baker,
and his step-father, Frederick
Vroom.
The dagger, was acquired
through his mother, who after
the death of his own father, mar
ried the distinguished Shake
spearean actor Frederick Vroom
in Los Angeles, after a friend
ship of 60 years. Vroom was a
member of the famous Booth-
Barrett company.
Baker has a flock of clip
pings acquired from his step
father, one of which reproduces
a program dated 1891 from the
Brooklyn Academy of Music,
with Edwin Booth and Frederick
Vroom featured in Hamlet. In
this engagement, Vroom played
the part of King Claudius.
Booth, of course, played Hamlet.
In an interview published
when he was slaving movie
parts in Hollywood in 1939,
Vroom ventured this note of pro
phecy: "The stage will not re
cover the glories of the days of
Booth in this dispensation. We
will have to get over the jazz
age. After some great upheaval,
there may come a time when
great stage actors are again
produced."
Medford Dentist Will
Reopen His Practice
Dr. Cornell A. Sabo, Medford
dentist who has been in the
Army two years, will reopen his
office on Monday, Aug. 1.
His practice will be at Room
305, Medical Center building,
his location before entering the
service.
Dr. Sabo was stationed at Heil
bronn, near Stuttgart in Ger
many, for 20 'i months. His wife
and three daughters were with
him and his son, Cornell Jr., was
stationed nearby in the Medical
Corps.
The family home here is at
257 Winema Way.
Steel mills in the U.S. in 1953
used a total of about 3,108 tril
lion gallons of water.
JMil.i!!.K)
WE5TOAST PREMIERE
TUES. EYt AUG, 2 at 8:30
mmm man n mm bw tmm, t, 1.
Mia mi.i.'i' n tM )t
STABS IOTEBSC31
VH cammEsT ussm baessi
rvn
E7EIT E3LDAT TCT ETEB
REAMED CF CCE TOTE!
in sstwni al ariediiiaett tokss tea tnmt
ftt wmU m i MEIUU MUNR
tVMRaS: WO Deaf Except Sat. 7J0 t 1MB
Stm. at I-S 1:30 Orckslia SUS Mcsay $1 JS
UT1NK5: 2 ml WW., Tiers, W. aJ Set.
Orcarslri JUS leksey Sl-20
Ssaarr 2 t 5 ml Ordwslre S2.eS leicsey S1.7S
Mm i. Cndw. Xe ii.ni, dm la of&s
MS hnl mi tnmft. (MM t IvtrW- nic
; . i
BOOTH'S DAGGER This dagger, used by the noted Shake
spearean actor, Edwin Booth, in plays produced 75 years ago,
is now owned by Ralph Baker, a veteran now living at Camp
White, who inherited it from members of his family who played
with Booth during that -period. (Payne Photo.) '
Farm Credit Organizations
Report on Their Activites
Two farm credit organizations
reported on their activities last
week.
F. E. Bowman, secretary
treasurer of the Southern Ore
gon National Farm Loan asso
ciation, said that long-term, low
interest credit furnished farmers
in this area is being used to re
finance and consolidate present
indebtedness, to make improve
ments to land and buildings, and
to purchase land, livestock, ma
chinery and equipment.
The association extended some
$200,000 in credit during the
year ending June 30, he said,
with the 4 per cent loans going
to farmers and ranchers in Jack
son and Josephine counties. The
loans are made for the Federal
Land Bank of Spokane.
Back From Conference
Irvin Patten, secretary-treasurer
of the Southern Oregon
Production Credit association,
has returned from a conference
at Spokane with officials of the
30 PCAs in Idaho, Montana,
Oregon and Washington.
He said the federal farm
credit board is now gathering in
formation to develop national
Wh re rhra
uritheut i modem, cleen operat
ing, fuel savinf, eil heater.
Why wiit until the tnew fliea
and lose $15 en your eld heater.
BUY year new Spark Oil Hearer
aunng the mentn et August ana
ger an exrra I ror me
heater.
aether. winter f jBfe, ' ' 1
This offer is made eeetikle be
cause the Factory is sharing m
this extra $1$.
There have baea no increases hs
Spark arices.
Cent in today anal talecr the til
Spark Oil Heater you need, in the
lovely Neutra-tone Baked Emmal
Finish and get this extra $15 for your
Id heater.
Telephone 2-5295
SAMSON FEED & SEED CO., Agents
4th & Front Streets
plans to further improve credit
services through the associa
tions, which work with the Pro-
duction Credit Corporation of
Spokane.
At the' meeting, Patten re
ported, representatives of th
Farm Credit Administration at
tended, and there were discus
sions as to possible ways for
farmers eventually to take over
ownership from the government
of the production credit corpor
ation and the intermediate credit
bank. Most of the PCAs in the
farm credit district are now
farmer-owned, he pointed out.
Yreha Votes Tuesday
On Swim Pool Bonds
Yreka Yreka voters Tues
day will pass upon a proposal to
build a new swimming pool.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m.
to 7 p.m.
A $70,000 city bond issue hag
been proposed to finance the
pool, and it is on the bonds that
voters will ballot. The present
city pool has been termed ined
equate for the use given it.by
Yreka residents.
ro8
I