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
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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. The' plants are Fir
Ply, Inc., Oregon Veneer com
pany, Cowning Lumber com-i
pany's saw mill, Cascade Wood
products, and Padgham Mill
work company.
PAINT WITH
BEDFORD PAINT &
WALLPAPER STORE
Formerly Burgess Paint and
Wallpaper Store -Corner
6th & Holly, Diagonally
Across from the Post Office
We Give S&H Green Stamps
PHONE 2-9321
Daily's U-Drive
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