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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1955)
rOURTEEN MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE any-Day Ex-Editor Deplores Access Park Plan as Way to 'Slaughter' (Editor'i note: George Pui- iim, editor emeritus of the Salem Capital Journal, and former editor and publisher of the Mail Tribune, has in recent months been writing occasional columns of remin iscence about earlier days in Oregon, and in southern Ore gon in particular. A number of them have been republish ed by the Mail Tribune, with Putnam's permission. Another one, this lime about fishing in the Rogue river, is published here today.) By GEORGE PUTNAM The Oregonian says editorially under the caption "He Bragged of Steelhead," the following, re printed because the "Field and Stream Treasury" is not avail able in Salem at present: "Remarking that it was the big fish that count in fly-fishing, not the big catches, W. F. Backus went on to say that 'We have in Oregon a river that will yield more big trout on the fly than all of the rivers of Maine, On tario and Colorado combined.' That was a large order, but 'Sportsman Backus was an au thority and he was writing in the authoritative 'Field & Stream.' The time was 1916. The marvelous river was none other than the Rogue, where a com' petent angler, he said, was vir tually assured of half a dozen five-pounders every day. Ten- poundcrs were common. - "Sportsman Baackus felt it necessary to explain that these fish were 'a species of sea-run rainbows called steelhead trout.' He suggested that a 10-foot rod of seasoned split bamboo was just the rig; and with it a 'sen sible' single-action reel and 50 yards of heavy enameled line.' Add to this 'a six-foot single leader and a No. 4 Coachman with junglecock shoulders . . . and you Eastern anglers will insure yourself some of the greatest fishing you've ever had.' It Was 40 Years Ago "All of which, -as we said, was 40 years ago. Mr. Backus' ar ticle is one of scores on hunting and fi s h i n g in the 'Field & Stream Treasury,' a big, fat book published this week by Holt to mark the 60th anniversary of the wellknown magazine." Backus was a partner in Backus & Morris, sporting goods store in Portland which special q ized in tying of trout and other angler's tackle. He was a fine fly fisherman, familiar with all Oregon trout streams. Many times the writer spent the day on the Rogue river with Backus. Perhaps once a season would a lucky angler land five large steelheads in a day, and, s in all fly-fishing, many a day there would be none, 50 years ago. Experience taught the fly an gler to use a tapered enameled line supplemented by 100 yards of Cuttyhunk or silk line. And, no matter how skillful in the playing of the large steelhead, landing was a 50-50 chance. Many a time one would have to follow the large steelhead down stream a quarter of a milel of swift waterjto beach it. Notes on the Flies The fly used didn't seem to make much difference. One year I used only one variety of fly a Royal Coachman and my fish ing partner. Col. Kelly, used only one Professor. The next year I switched to a, yellow bodied Gray Hackle, my com panion to a Grizzly King and both years we probably caught as many steelliead as any one. Steelheads seem to lurk in cer tain spots and one must relearrt where they are after each flood. for the old spots may be filled with gravel and sand. So when the steelhead season opens, usu ally in late June or early July, these spots are first located. Rarely could a steelhead be caught on a dry fly, though oc casionally in the right kind of water one would be hooked. The steelhead usually lies in swift and rough water of a riffle or just below it and takes a wet drifting sunken fly at about a 45 degree angle from the fisher man. Many a noted angler has failed to connect with the steel head with his dancing surface fly. Are Fish Color-Blind? A Stanford scientist has writ ten a book to prove that fishes are color-blind, which seems a fact, I believe it. The hundreds of varieties of trout flies and the incessant switching are perhaps futile, except, to sports goods stores. It is probably the way the fly lights naturally and its action that tempts the trout. The days of the fly fisherman may be passing. There seem to be few now, superseded by the fish hog. Every year some new gadgets are invented to deci mate the fish more easily, fly fishing is becoming a lost art. There are more fishermen than fish in our streams. High dams Fishing destroy them, as do irrigation ditches which lower the temper ature of the streams by lowering its waters. Pollution extermin ates fish of all kinds. Fish hatch eries can't replace nature and their released fish are caught as soon as planted. The automobile and good roads have sounded the death knell of the trout by making them accessible to mass exterm ination: The headwaters of all streams should be permanently closed and the fry planted where they have a chance at survival. Parks Speed Slaughter To seal the doom of the trout, steelhead and salmon and stim ulate their slaughter "recrea tional parks" along the Rogue are being established. Seven new parks have been announced along the Rogue which will have picnic and boating facilities. And the tragedy of it is they are to be developed through the use of game commission funds, collected in the name of conser vation, and maintained by the county with taxpayers' money. Thereby good-bye forever to Rogue River trout fishing. Newspapers are mistaken when they say that "public ac cess to the fishing spots in the Rogue river has been limited to extensive private ownership of the lands" through which the river flows. The parks are de scribed as designed "to open up the spots where fishermen can get "down to the river." Under the Oregon law the land owners do not own the river, like they do in California. The river . belongs to the state or federal government, if it did not, the state could not restock it. It is a meandered stream. Anyone can walk along its banks or down the stream to fish and there are. thousands- of places of easy access. Anyone Can Fish Rogue I have fished the Rogue for many years from above Union Creek on the upper Rogue to Gold Beach at its mouth and no land owner ever interfered or tried to. For nearly 30 years I was part owner of a mile and a half of river front below Trail with a fishing cabin - and we never could and never did object to any one's fishing the stream or walking along its bank. And boat fishing is banned above Bybee. bridge from June to Janu ary. There are now numerous re sorts along the stream for. fish ermen they do not attempt to control fishing rights, for they have none. Until the turn of the century, there was little sport fishing in the Rogue. The pioneer was only interesteQ in tood. J-.ong cane poles were used with big spoons or salmon eggs bait, and some times the fishing was done on horseback. When a big fish was hooked, the farmer put the pole over his shoulder and rode his horse dragging t h e salmon or steelhead ashore where it was salted down in a barrel for win ter food. . " - "Silk Stocking Anglers" The first fly fishermen with their light rods and tackle were derided as silk-stocking fisher men and belabored in legisla tures for their conservation ef forts. I helped initiate a bill clos ing the Rogue river to commer cial fishing in 1910, which was passed by a vote of 49,712 to 30,397 which the next legislature repealed. Steelhead in Rogue river are classified by law .in 1912 as a trout, but in no other streams in Oregon where sea-going trout is commercially fished as a "salmon." The Rogue was some years later closed to com mercial fishing and still is. Californian Killed On Redwood Highway Grants Pass (U.R) Lee Abyta, 37, Crescent City, Calif., was injured fatally early Satur day when the car he was driving skidded into a bridge abutment seven miles south of Cave Junc tion on the Redwood highway, state police reported. Abyta died in a local hospital about two hours after the acci dent." ' Leonard W. Brekke, also of Crescent City, suffered minor injuries in the accident. Use Mail Tribune Want Ad Dead line tor Sunday Classified is at noon Saturday. EUGENE V. MEYERDING, M.D. Arrnounces the Opening Of His Offices IN THE MEDICAL CENTER BUILDING Medford, Oregon For the Practice of General Surgery OFFICE HOURS BY APPOINTMENT: Office Phone 3-3248 ' ' Residence Phone 3-4910 Sunday, Nerrember 8, 195S in Rogue J .V hi r f 1 rf4tJr- .r, - ROGUE FISHING 40 YEARS AGO The pic ture above, taken 40 years ago, shows George Putnam and the late Col. E. E. Kelly of Med ord. The former was at that time editor of the Mail Tribune. In the accompanying article he tells of early-day fishing in the Rogue river. The picture was taken by the 'Safe-Teens' Group Namd at Meeting A committee to assist in the promotion of the "Safe-Teens" movement was appointed at a meeting of. the Jackson County Association of Insurance Agents at the Jackson hotel this week. Purpose of the nation-wide "Safe-Teens" movement is to promote safe driving among teenage youth. Members of the association also voted to assist in formation of an association : of insurance women; changed the. regular meeting date from the first to the second Thursday of each month, and voted in favor of closing insurance agency offices on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. A nominating committee was appoined at the meeting to nom inate officers for 1956. Election of officers will be held at the December meeting of the 'associ ation. irl Scouts Surprise Party- Members of Troop 156 recent ly gave a surprise birthday par ty for their leader, Mrs. Al Car rara. The girls taking charge of arrangements were Tom Adams, Patricia Calhoun, Karen Crevior, Diane DeLorne, Karen Fogel, Theresa Fogel, Judy - Kirkland, Virginia Kruegger, Ann Manno, Mary Pat Naumes, Dorothy Raush, Martha Simpson, Carrol Valentine and Carole Doyle at whose home the party took place. The next week they ' visited the Park View nursery home. Patricia Calhoun Scribe. Lost Articles Scouts"'are' reminded ' to " pick up "lost and found" articles from camp at the Girl Scout of fice by November 15 : ' ' Honor Mothers .' Girl Scout . Troop 163 .held a tea for their mothers at the home of their- leader,. Mrs. Ralph Thompson, Monday,. October 31, this day being Juliet Lows birth day. . Pat Emiy gave a talk on Sir Baden Powell and Patsy Thomp son talked on Juliet Low. We welcomed Frances Bessonette into our troop as a new member; Mrs. Scott Ellis is assistant leader. Sherry Kablih is presi dent and Marcia Harrington, sec retary and treasurer. NEW TOPIC Philadelphia (U,R) Barbers here have added to their con versational repertoire. Instead of the running commentary on the weather and sundry subjects, they will urge the customers to register before the deadline and vote at the Nov. 8 municipal election. River Recaile -HJ " Hospital Drive Men To Gather; Campaign Volunteers Set Work Managers and assistants of seven groups of the advance gifts committee' of the Rogue Valley Memorial hospital fund raising campaign will meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the cam paign office at 28 South Bart lett st. They will receive final in structions on the advance gifts campaign. The advance gifts committee is organized to secure large donations and memorials' from those who are in a posi tion to subscribe larger amounts. A special group of 20 men, with Glenn L.. Jackson as man ager has been working on ad vance gifts. Besides Jackson, others who will meet are Sam Colton, John Moffat, . Dick Finch, Tom Mac Leod, James Rowan, A. N. Pot ter Jr., Curtis Hopkins,. H. D. Christensen, Ron Gandee, Eu gene Ferrell, Robert E. Schott, and Russell J. Hogue. Thorndike Chairman . Eugene Thorndike is chair man of the advance gifts com mittee, and Jackson is co-chairman. The general organization for the fund raising campaign is headed by Walter G. Garner and James J. Dunlevy. The gen eral campaign probably will start in December. A total of 150 men is expected to volunteer for the general cam paign, making a total of 245 working to solicit funds for con struction of the three-story, -78-bed hospital at the corner of Barnett rd. and Murphy rd. Jackson county residents will be asked to subscribe $714,000, which is about one-third the to tal estimated cost of 51,900,000. Some $600,000 had been : con tributed to .date, and another $586,000 is available from fed eral Hill-Burton hospital funds. Names of founders and volun teers in the fund raising cam paign will be listed on a plaque in the hospital lobby. Various civic and other organ izations have been . encouraged not to make memorial fund rais- Y.M.C.A. WOMEN'S EVENING GYM CLASS Starting ; Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. Do Calisthenics! Play Volley , Ball and Badminton! Swim! Gym Class from 8:00-9:00 p.m. Swim from 9:00-10:00 p.m. REGISTER NOW - PHONE 2-6295 by h. V late William I,. Finley, the nated naturalist, in his moving picture "Mult and Jeff" of the Rogue," which was shown through the nation in connection with, Finley's lectures in 1915" and 1916. (Engraving courtesy of the Capital Journal.) : : i ing drives within the organiza tion during the campaign, but once funds are available for con struction groups may donate me morials. Seek Endorsement The hospital board of direc tors is ' seeking endorsement of various organizations for the hospital, and the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce has al ready endorsed the project. A "school of instruction" din ner, originally scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 10, has been changed to Monday, Nov. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the Jackson hotel. The dinner meeting was changed so it would not conflict with Elk lodge activities Thursday night. Four members of the local chapter of the National Secre taries association volunteered last week' to fold prospectuses. They were Miss Bea Saunders, Mrs. ' Iola Russell, Mrs. Daisy Cain, and Mrs. Gwenn Caster. Among new directors whose names were not listed previously are Walter Garner, Janet Guches and John Niedermeyer. Rogue River Students Hold Magazine Drive Rogue River Fifth through eighth grade students have sold $364 worth of magazines in the annual magazine subscription sale at Rogue River Elementary school. The sale started late last month and will end Monday. About one third of the total collections will be -retained by the school for purchasing a tape recorder for music, language and other classes. Three students who solicit the most subscrip tions will receive a watch, a travel clock and a fountain pen. Each room is anticipating sales totaling $150 with seventh and eighth grades presently leading with $93. New Haven, Conn. (U.R) After appealing a 60-day sen tence for striking a policeman, Joseph Pouncey wound up with a nine-month term. Putn am Pay to Jobless in Jackson County Down in October , Unemployment benefits paid during October in Jackson county were less than half the number claimed during the same period in 1954, John J. Patton, manager, Oregon State Employ ment ". service,, announced re cently. The number of unemployed in the county as of Oct. 31 was estimated at 585 persons includ ing 200 women, compared to a total of 1,065 at the same time last year. Rapid Decline The high employment level at the end of September, when only 262 persons were estimated unemployed in the county, was maintained through the first half of October but declined rapidly during the last of the month due to the 'end of the fruit harvest and the closure of some saw mills. Reasons given for the shut- dowa of sawmills and night shifts being discontinued in sonje mills included shortage of logs; shortage of railroad cars, and a less favorable lumber market. The total number of employees effected by the shut downs is small compared to the total employed in the lumber industry in the county, Patton said. - Nearly all retail sales firms contacted during October indi cated a very good volume of business. There will be a demand for orchard pruners as soon as the leaves are off of the trees. No large change in the employment situation is expected until bad weather slows down outside work of all kinds, Patton said. Speakers Slated At 50C Assmbly Ashland Three speakers will speak at an assembly at Sou thern Oregon college here at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9. They will speak on various education al processes of foreign countries. Philip Keno, Japanese ex change student, will discuss the Japanese system of education, Dr. Clifford Miller, social science instructor, will discuss experi ences of teaching in Kenya, Af rica, and Miss Pat McNees, stu dent body member, 'will speak on the American system of edu cation. ' Miss Francis Barta, chairman of the assembly committee and SOC faculty member, said the program will coincide with Edu cation Week. Ashland residents have been invited to attend the assembly. City of Rogue River To Buy Police Car Rogue River The Rogue River city council recently called for bids on furnishing the city with a new police car. Previously, the city's police man furnished' his own vehicle, and the city financed gasoline and oil. Chief of police of Rogue River is William Peters.- The council also discussed pos sibilities of constructing a city jail, but agreed to let voters of Rogue River decide on whether or not they want a jail. Con struction would be financed through a bond issue. Mayor Phil Engle accepted the resignation of Howard Miller, who has been Rogue River civil defense chief five years. Miller also' is supervisor of the city's Ground Observer corps, and felt 1 We invite you to make the WURLITZER "TRUE VALUE" Test A Wurlifzer Piano "is built for performance ihat assures the enduring satisfaction every purchaser of a piano should look fori Yoarown companion will fell you, only a Nationally Advertised and Nationally Priced Wurliher oHert o genuine- TRUE PIANO YALUE. , PURUCKER V 111 North Central How To Meet Higher Demands for Timber Talked by Various " approaches to help meet the increased demand for wood were discussed at a meet ing of the Siskiyou chapter of the Society of American For esters Friday.' Larry .Solin, forester at Elk Lumber company who attended the. national SAF meeting in Portland recently, told of pertin ent points brought out there, pointing out that stepped-up pro duction of trees will be necessary to keep up with demand for wood in a steadily increasing population. Among the suggestions Solin said, are assistance to owners and -managers of small plots to better utilize those areas; more preventive measures regarding disease, and increase salvage among diseased trees; planting trees in areas where vacant land is not valuable for farming; and planting and restock cut over areas as soon as possible after logging. To Support Publication The group also discussed and agreed to support for this year the society's publication "West ern Forester," a newsletter spon sored by the Puget Sound and Columbia River sections of the society. The publication started this year. . The majority of members pres ent at Friday's meeting believed the newsletter would tend to bring chapters -of the two sec tions closer together, and would furnish news concerning ' other chapters which may be of itner- est'to other areas. Also discussed were possibil ities of strengthening the Colum bia River section,, of which the Siskiyou chapter is a member, and - programming for future meetings this year. By-Laws Changed ; The group voted to amend the chapter's by-laws to exclude, in istol Expresses Optimism About Aid for Mining Optism about federal aid for the mining industry was ex pressed at a meeting of the Northwestern Mining Council, inc., here. F. I. Bristol, Rogue River, principle speaker at the meeting, gave a report on the convention of the American Mining Con gress held in - lias ; Vegas last month. ' -Program Needed : Bristol said that according to Secretary of the Interior Doug las McKay, a mining program is needed which will produce min eral requirements without addi tional imports. President Eisenhower vetoed appropriations voted by Con' gress for continuing government stockpiling of strategic minerals with the statement that it was only stop-gap legislation, and asked that the next session of Congress come up with a com' plete mining program, Bristol said. ... Groups Named It was pointed out at the con vention that the Interior depart ment had appointed 14 groups to work on a program of desired mining legislation, Bristol -said He stressed the fact that a pub licity program to bring' about better understanding of the prob lems of the mining industry by the public was needed. IT'S A PUZZLEMENT Bennington Center, N. Y. (U.R) Sister M. Claudianne at Sacred Heart school has four sets of twins in her kindergarten-first grade classroom. There is one boy-girl duo; two sets of boys and one set of girls. he could not handle both respon sibilities as they should be handled. -n " a i " ! HI E III J We suggest you de this male the Wurliher True Value Test. Personally examine e Wurliher Piano for appear ance, quality of construction and excel lence of musical tone and performance. PIANO HOUSE Phone 2-5702 Foresters describing the- geographical boundary, "parts of Douglas county." Douglas county has been claimed by another chapi ter. Ted Maul, chairman of the local chapter, pointed out that members living in Douglas coun ty have been attending in an other chapter. Maul said the executive com mittee would niet in the. nir future to appoint a vice-chairman to fill the unexpired term of M, L. Tedrow, who is being trans ferred to Washington. . Tedrow is with the U. S. Forest Service Co. Friday afternoon, a group of about 30 members toured five plants at the White City indus trial area. 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