Sunday, January 1,1358
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNEFIVE
Rehabilitation Job
Said 'Significant';
Other Choices Listed
Jhe destructive flood of Christmas week was voted top news
story of 1955 in the Mail Tribune's annual poll of its newroom
staff.
The approval, and start cf work, on the rehabilitation of the
water distribution systems of the Medford and Rogue River Valley
Irrigation districts was voted the "most significant" story of the
year.
The visit of a group of youngsters from Forks of Salmon, Calif.,
to the "big city" of Medford was chosen as the best human inter
est story of 1955.
Other Choices of Stories Listed
The flood story received five of the eight votes cast for the
biggest story; the plans for annexation of large areas to the city
of Medford, and their rejection at a July election, received two
votes, and the Labor day week forest fires received one vote.
Five votes were cast for the rehabilitation story as most signifi
cant, and one each were cast for the story of plans and fund drive
for a new hospital, the fact that 1955 employment was the highest
in the history of the county, and the growth of industrial installa
tions at White City.
Six3 votes were cast for the Forks of Salmon story as best in
human interest, and two for the story of little Joe Willie Haynes,
who was injured and hospitalized here for nearly a month.
Here, arranged month-by-month, are local news stories which
made Page 1 headlines in the Mail Tribune during 19f)5:
JANUARY
Robert Duff named Medford's
first city manager by unanimous
vote of ghe city council . . .
Diamond L. Flynn relinquishes
mayoralty to Earl Miller . . .
1,200 Christmas trees burned to
open March of Dimes drive . . .
Medford's building permit valu
ation up 52 per cent over 1953
. . . John Snider elected presi
dent of the city council . . . Couri
ity population said up 10.6 per
cent . . . Southern Pacific says
Portland-Ashland passenger ser
vice will not be discontinued . . .
Marion Franklin Piening in
dicted on manslaughter charge,
pleads guilty . . . Talent project
omitted from Federal budget . . .
New First National Bank build
ing opens . . . Tax refunds mailed
out&to residents of nine school
districts . . . Construction of Fir
Ply mill at Camp White begins
. . . Home of Mrs. Robert Remil
lard, 305 South Riverside ave.,
destroyed by fire . . . Talent pro
ject funds in doubt . . . Contin
ental Lumber company mill in
Central Point destroyed by fire
. . . Otto A. Ewaldsen wins Jun
ior Chamber of Commerce dis
tinguished service award . . .
Sgt. Clifton Lacy named lieuten
ant on Medford police force . . .
Piening sentenced to 15 years in
prison for death of Mrs. Margaret
Ann Cornell . . . Phoenix woman
pleads guilty to charge of polyg
amy . . . Neuberger endorses Ed
ward C. Kelly for federal judge
ship . . . Fifteen young people
arrested at Central Point follow
ing a Sunday beer party . . . Fire
damages Eads Transfer company
building . . . Neuberger charges
Republican betrayal of Talent
project . . . County welfare de
partment short of funds . . .
Mosquito eradication program
planned by county . . . Architects
chosen to plan new Memorial
hospital . . . Partisan fight de
veloping over Talent irrigation
project . . . Sharp increase in
juvenille cases reported in coun
ty .. . Remodelling of United
States National bank building
begins.
FEBRUARY
County taxes totaling $3,826,
313 collected over a six months
MEDFORD FURNITURE STORE BURNS
period . . . Oregon Veneer com
pany announced plans for a Med
ford plant . . . County employ
ment above normal . . . Senator
Lowry outlines tax problems . . .
Henry H. Mayberry dies . . . Fire
men rescue Dixon Saltsgaver,
Central Point, from a collapsed
silo . . . Auto, chased by police,
crashed into Jackson hotel, driv
er shot in leg by police as he
tries to escape . . . Phoenix city
council suspends Jim Perry as
chief of police . . . Radar traffic
control demonstrated . - - Jim
Perry resigns as Phoenix chief
of police . . . Safety council of
fers funds for radar traffic con
trol . . . City commission ap
proves ' a proposal to rename
Front st. D'Anjou st. . . . Syn
chronized traffic signals for Pa
cific Highway 99 approved by
city council . . . Local man given
a five year suspended sentence
ROBERT DUFF
Named First City Manager
in connection with the hunting
death of a 12-year-old boy . . .
James C. Miller Jr. named head
of the Jackson county stockman's
association . . . County receives
$815,047 share of O&C receipts
. . . 20 acre site for new hospital
obtained on Barnett rd. . . . Med
ford High school students re
ceive Freedoms Foundations
award for city government par
ticipation . . . Forty teenagers
warned of curfew violation in
police roundup . . . Students
take over city government for a
day . . . Medford man, age 91,
who gave a transient shelter for
the night, robbed of money he
was saving for his funeral . . .
City receives permit to use water
from the Rogue River . . . Polio
vaccination program outlined for
county . . . Rogue River Valley
Irrigation district announces
plans for a dam on Dry Creek.
MARCH
Eugene Raymond Birk dies as
result of injuries received in a
fight in a sawmill, grand jury
studies murder indictment of
Bernice H. White, indicts White
on first degree murder charge
. . . Camp White man killed when
struck by car . . . Phoenix police
department is investigated; E. J.
Perry's resignation received . . .
Meteor seen over Medford . . .
Disaster car planned by city fire
men ... Mrs. Sarah Blevins
Wing, Ashland, celebrates 102
birthday . . . Irrigation water
supply far below normal . .
Ernest and Jeanette Jones win
Easter basket contest . . . Cloud
seeding to increase rain under
way . . . Twenty-seven people
take citizenship oath in county
. . . Cit council approves study
of annexation plans for area
equal to the present size of Med
ford . . . 423 Future Farmers of
America delegates attend con
vention . . . Donn Johnson named
state FA leader . . . White re
indicted on first degree murder
charge . . . Harold Skinner killed
when his light plane hits a pow
er line at Emigrant lake ... 34
NEW E. H.
boy scouts and two adult lead
ers go to Lake of the Woods for
"Operation Icicle" . . . Mail
Tribjine has 50th birthday . . .
Secretary Douglas McKay visits
Medford . . . Talent reservoir
less than one third full . . . Prof.
Norman Kennedy, parking ex
pert, arrives to discuss city park
ing problem . . . Many parents
consenting to vaccination of
children with Salk vaccine.
APRIL
Dial telephone service to Cen
tral Point begins . . . Outlook
bad for supplies of irrigation
water . . . Southern Oregon
Music Educator's contest and
music festival held . . . Kids
hunt Easter eggs in Hawthorne
park . . . Ten uranium claims
filed in Trail area . . . Mercy
Flights plane makes trip to Sin
aloa, Mexico, to bring home Dr.
Raymond Smith . . . County
schools receive $685,859 of O&C
funds . . . Russel W.' DeForest
resigns as deputy district attor
ney . . . Congressional investiga
tion seen in Al Sarena mine
case . . . City council hears $600.
000 plan for off-street parking
plan . . . 7,305 names struck
from county voting lists because
of failure to cast ballots . . .
Marilyn Denning, 5, elected Pear
Festival queen, estimated 10,000
people see Festival parade . . .
Rogue Valley Memorial selected
as name for new hospital . . .
Nearly 850 persons attend As
semblies of God convention . . .
State Tax Commissioner Sam
uel Stewart gets verbal lambast
ing at public hearing on assess
ment of orchard property.
MAY
Bernice Hampton White pleads
innocent to first degree murder
charge . . . The 60-year-old Pro
volt post office closes . . . City
council approves annexation of
Vista Heights, Wilson Park and
Douglas . . . Apricots and cher
ries hit by frost ... First Jack
son county polio vaccine shots
scheduled as government halts
approval of vaccine manufacture
. . . County budget is $3,622,
003.20 . . . County polio vaccin
ation clinic postponed . . . Wom
en's wrestling match called off
because of new law . . . Council
plans city election for approval
of increased taxes . . . Eagle
Point voters approve bond issue
to raise funds for school con
struction . . . State police in
vestigate a report that a Foots
Creek family had been threat
ened and ordered to leave . . .
Two Burmese exchange students
arrive for stay in valley . . .
Phoenix' first sewage system
given strong approval of voters
. . . City attorney reports that
tax election can not legally be
held . . . Eight youngsters from
the forks of the Salmon river,
California, on their first visit
to a big city, given royal treat
ment by Medford . . . Brown's
cafe and Lounge receives "bomb
ing threat" . . . Medford school
district budget approved seven
to one . . . Maj. Gen. Hafley
speaks at airport on Armed
Forces Day . . . First polio shots
given in county . . . Elderly
couple receive bombing threat
. . . Sen. Wayne Morse appeals
for Talent Project funds . . .
Memorial day ceremonies honor
veterans.
JUNE
Welfare medical payments
curtailed . . . Central Point ru
ral fire tax defeated in elec
tion . . . 210 seniors graduate
from Medford High school . . .
1,600 Elks register for Ashland
convention . . . Shady Cove girl
helped from her car just before
it plunged over an embankment
. . . At least 20 Tucker Sno-cats
slated for Antarctic expeditions
. . . Medford has 96 degree tem
perature . . . Woman and young
ster save man from drowning in
Rogue River . . . Orchardists
meet in courthouse to discuss
assessment of trees . . .County
officials state that it is impos
sible to assess trees within time
limit . . . Temperature hits 101
degrees . . . Medford armory
bids exceed estimate; new plan
requested . . . Trial date for
Bernice White set July 11 . . .
National Guard companies leave
for two weeks training at Fort
Lewis ... A half million dol
lars for planning and construc
tion on Talent Project approved
by house appropriations com
mittee . . . Ex-Camp White pris
oner of war, now a German
newsman, re-visits Medford . . .
Six new traffic lights erected
on Central and Riverside aves
HEDRICK JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
. . . Four teenage boys admit
30 to 40 crimes, including bur
glaries, thefts, shoplifting . . .
Budget committee signs $3,622,
000 budget . . . Florence Bain
wins Rose show sweepstakes . . .
4,524 people attend annual cat
fish derby at TouVelle state park
. . . County assessed valuation
estimated at $80,000,000 . . .
Bill Barker elected to Medford
school board ... Mosquito con
trol program well underway . . .
Talent project funds increased
to $600,000 by appropriations
committee . . . Fifty people at
tend public hearing on proposed
dog racing track near Ashland
. . . County equalization board
discusses possible ways to as
sess orchard trees before Aug.
15 deadline . . . Dog racing track
denied approval by county
LABOR DAY FOREST
court
. Group exploring for
oil in Sams Valley, announces
leases have been signed . . .
Group meets 'to oppose annex
ation of Southeast Medford area.
JULY
Senate appropriations commit
tee asks $500,000 for start of
Talent project . . . Paul K.
Bowker, Central Point, accepted
as a member of Antarctic ex
pedition . . . Annexation of 3,
000 acres southeast of Medford,
and city budget increases $66,
510 over 6 per cent limitation
overwhelmingly defeated by
voters . . . Nudist convention
held in county . . . Southern Pa
cific passenger service to end
in August ... Medford wins
award for pedestrian safety in
1954 . . . City budget trimmed
. . . Talent project funds cut to
LEONARD MAYFIELD
New School Superintendent
$154,000 ... 50 acre fire on
Blackwell hill controlled . . .
Medford furniture store dam
aged in excess of $100,000 by
fire ... 12 year old Eagle Point
girl writes Sir Winston Church
chill . . . Parents warned of in
fection danger from letting chil
dren wade in Bear Creek . . .
First degree murder trial of Ber
nice Hampton White opens . . .
State Sen. Philip B. Lowry de
mands a PUC hearing on pro
posed abandonment of South
ern Pacific passenger service
Employees of Medford furniture
company confesses fire started
accidentally . . . Equalization
board orders county assessor to
place appraised value of orchard
trees on tax roll ... Voters in
two irrigation districts approve
repayment contract for rehabil
itation work at Four Mile and
Fish lakes ... Explosion dam
ages Rogue Rive Valley Irri-
m
FINISHED, NAMED FOR EX -
gation district flume . . Mason
Ehrman and company ware
house safe blown open . . . Ber
nice Hampton White found guil
ty of second degree murder . . .
Railroad brotherhood protests
discontinuance of passenger ser
vice . . .White sentenced to life
imprisonment . . . PUC delays
ending of SP passenger service
. . . Huge ball of fire, believed
to be a meteor, seen over county
. . . Assessed valuation of orch
ard trees set at $679,520 . . .
Manlie Brosio, Italian ambas
sador to the ;United States, vis
its Medford . . Oregon State
Federation of Labor convention
here attended by 400; Governor
Patterson speaks . . . Rogue
River Roundup begins . . .May
or vetoes bill for paving Ken
wood ave.
FIRES TAKE TOLL
AUGUST
Crow brothers, held in county
jail, admit taking part in 140
safe cracking jobs and bur
glaries; were captured while
'"blowing" Mason Ehrman and
Company safe . . . E. H. Hedrick
retires as school superintendent
. . . 20th Shakespearean Festival
opens before a near capacity
crowd . . . Barn fire at Central
Point causes $12,000 damages
County Assessor R. G., Fowler
taken to hospital, apparently
with a heart attack . . . Crow
brothers sentenced to 25 years
in prison ... Connie Caton
named queen of the Jacksonville
Jubilee . . . New mail service by
truck begins between Ashland
and Portland . . . Mr. and Mrs
Glenn Johnson burned seriously
when oil drum explodes;' two
others injured fighting the blaze
. . . Fire conditions critical; tem
perature reaches 102 degrees . .
Southern Pacific "night-crawler"
makes last run; passenger serv-
ice ends . . . Lightning strikes
Soda mountain lookout Load
ed log truck breaks through
bridge over Evans Creek . .
Irrigation water supply drops to
near critical level . , . Chamber
of Commerce requests President
Eisenhower to call special ses
sion of congress to enact a road
program . . . Ruby's Kitchen de
stroyed by fire . . . One way-
street system in Ashland approv
ed .. . 4-H, FFA fair gets under
way .... County court approves
construction of a new highway
from Medford to Klamath Falls
. . . City council authorizes a
contract for use of sewage facili
ties with South Bear Creek Sani
tary district . . . Mercy Flights,
Inc., acquires two large twin
engined planes . . . Medford man
learns of $10,000 inheritance
while on trip to New York . . .
Sen. Philip Lowry requests fed
eral action against Southern Pa
cific for discontinuance of pas
senger service ... 40 acre for
est fire in Prospect area under
control . . . 300 men out of work
at Ross lumber company due
to box-car shortage . . . County
tax millage rate down 13.3 . . .
Medford's new junior high
high schools named for E. H.
Hedrick and Dr. John McLough
lih . . . Record audience attends
Shakespearean Festival . . .
Evans Valley residents vote
down a $50,000 school bond pro
posal . . . "Tag Day" sale, spon
sored by Red Cross to help flood
victims in northeastern sections
of the U. S., gets under way
here . . .
SEPTEMBER
Pear harvest in full swing , . .
jjji '''
SUPERINTENDENT
Driest agricultural year on rec
ord ends . , . A 20 acre fire near
Gold Hill brought under control
. Seattle man held in county
jail on a charge of being drunk
oh a public highway after the
plane he was piloting crashed
near Talent . . . Medford's 102
degree temperature near record
high . . . Forest fires in county
go out of control; 11,000 acres
burned; five homes destroyed by
Tolo fire; other fires in Sykes
creek; Timber mountain; Nug
get butte; Sterling mountain; 45
fires in the Rogue River nation
al forest . . . Local employment
at high level . '. . Fire destroys
upper Applegate Grange hall . : .
Eleven people receive citizenship
papers here . . . Residents of Tal
ent asked to stop using water for
municipal irrigation . . . Seven
people injured in county auto
accidents . . . Rain' eases fire
threat and aids irrigation out
look . . . Letter to Santa arrives
from Korea asking aid for chil
dren . . . Donald Lee Knoebel
killed, 16 injured in a car-bus
collision at Camp White . . .
Drive for United Medford Cru
sade funds gets under way .-. .
Mayor Earl Miller gives a re
port on possible city freeway
routes . . . Medford elementary
and junior high school enroll
ment up 13.3 per cent . . . More
than 1,000 people attend dedica
tion ceremonies at Hedrick Jun
ior High school ... State Tax
Commission declares tree assess
ments to be void . . . Reseedins
of burned over timber areas to
get under way . . . All fish ex
terminated in Lake of the Woods;
to be re-stocked with Rainbow
trout . . . Five city schools named
to the national Safety Honor roll
. . . Alan B. Holmes named sec
ond deputy district attorney . . .
Three additional U. S. Army Re
serve units to be activated here
. . . Boxcar shortage hits area ... .
James A. Callan appointed con
struction engineer for rehabilita
tion work in this area ... Ore
gon state board of health 'en
gineers measure air pollution in
Medford . . . Elk City water
district voters approve $187,000
bond issue . . . Boxcar shortage
acute; forces several sawmills
to close ...
OCTOBER
County " Treasurer Ralph E.
Sweeney resigns because of bad
health . . . Public hearings on
orchard tree assessments by tax
commission members begins . . .
417th Engineer aviation brigade
activated here ... Mercy Flights
places new planes in use . . .
Karl Janouch appointed new
county treasurer ... Employ
ment in county highest in three
years . . . Heavy rain cuts fire
danger. . . Senator Wayne
Morse arrives in Medford . . .
Knights of Pythias convention
ends . . . Plans announced for a
multi-million dollar Rogue Val
ley Retirement manor . . . Ralph
E. Sweeney, former county treas
urer dies . . . Medford Planning
commission approves annexation
of large area southeast of Med
ford . . . Senator Morse speaks
at Democratic dinner meeting
. . . Hearings on orchard tree tax
valuations end; 225 appeals con
sidered . . . More sawmills close
due to box car shortage . . .
Eagle Point man to sail on Ant
arctic expedition . . . Local man
pulled into a car, taken to coun
try, robbed and beaten . . . Maj.
Gen. William Dean speaks at ac
tivation ceremonies for reserve
units . . . Joe Willie Haynes in
jured seriously when struck by
car . . . Spectacular lightning
storm disrupts electric service
in Medford area . . . County
court approves plans for financ
ing new Medford Klamath Falls
highway via Lake of the Woods
. . . County orchardists ask Su-
P
SHAKY WATERWORKS TO BE REPLACED IN REHABILITATION PROGRAM
preme Court for writ of man-1
damus forcing orchard tree as
sessments from tax rolls . . .
National Labor Relations Board
opens hearings on chalrges
against Red Blanket Lumber
company . . . Congressman Har
ris Ellsworth arrives in Med
ford . . . Medford family at Junc
tion City terrorized by Eugene
jail escapee, Martin Reyes . . .
Oregon Supreme Court orders
county assessors to make or
chard tree assessment correc
tions in tax rolls and turn them
over to the Sheriff's office for
collection or show reason for
not doing so . . . County assessor
elects to file an answer to the
writ of mandamus . . . Pear har
vest completed . . . Congressman
Harris Ellsworth speaks at Ki
wanis club meeting . . . Jackson
county court announces plans for
seven parks along Rogue river
. . . Jay F. Grant named to suc
ceed M. L. Tedrow as Rogue
River National forest staff offi
cer . . ., Temporary restraining
order issued to enjoin the Talent
Irrigation district from granting
concession rights to R. M. Kent.
NOVEMBER
Halloween vandalism light . . .
Talent Irrigation district direc
tors drop plans to grant con-
OTTO EWALDSEN
C of C Head, Award Winner
cession rights at Hyatt lake . . .
Oregon Supreme Court calls for
additional pleadings in proceed
ings against county assessor . . .
Contract awarded for construc
tion of new elementary schools
in Central Point and Gold Hill
. . . Judge Pro-Tern Warren Les
sig rules that a jury trial isn't re
quired in city drunk driving
cases . . . Man killed when struck
by an auto at the Camp White
intersection; third similar fatal
ity this year . . . Klamath coupty
court turns down plans for fi
nancing the proposed Medford
Klamath Falls highway . . . Five
Medford boys injured in an auto
accident south of Roseburg . . .
DECEMBER FLOODS CREATE WIDE DESTRUCTION
Record November snowfall blan
kets the Rogue valley . . . Re
construction of Hansen building,
fire-destroyed home of Medford
Furniture company, begins . . .
Congressional hearing on timber
practices held here . . . Welfare
fraud alleged by district attor
ney . . . Pacific Telephone and
Telegraph announces plans to ex
tend toll-free dialing throughout
the valley . . . Five cases of bur
glary cleared by arrests . . .
Courteous driver program gets
under way . . . School census
shows 6,038 people between ages
4 and 19 in district 49 . . . Five
year old Central Point boy flown
to Eugene hospital with polio.
DECEMBER
Crowd of 6500 watches Christ-
mas parade
Five-year-ojL
Central Point boy dies of polio
in Eugene . . No auto accidents
reported in Medford on Safe
Driving day . . . Survey starts to
determine feasibility of con
structing an irrigation dam on
Dry Creek . . . Bond issues ap
proved by voters in South Bear
Creek sanitary d i s t r i:c t and
Grand View water district . . .
Medford city council calls for
Jan. 16 annexation elections in
two districts; southeast of Med
ford and Siskiyou heights . . .
Irrigation outlook for 1956
termed good . . . County's 1955
pear crop largest in the history
of the industry . . . United Med
ford Crusade exceeds goal . .
Dismantling of Merrick Ball
room starts . . . Medford hospi
tals given $60,500 by Ford grant
. . . Bureau of Land Management
announces plans for 30 per cent
timber sales increase in 1956 . . .
First in a series of storms fore
cast brings .46 inches of rain . . .
Evergreen bus company cancels
holiday service to Ashland . . .
County School Superintendent
Alf B. Mekvold injured in auto
accident . . . County planning
commission appointed by county
court . . . Medford man spends
a night in the woods after be
coming lost while hunting for
Christmas tree . . . Wet Christ
mas, rising streams forecast . . .
Fund established for distribut
ing Salk vaccine . . . City coun
cil schedules hearing on off
street parking program ...
Rain, melting snow, cause
floods in valley; famili3s evacu
ated; bridges destroyed . . . Med
ford isolated by flood waters for
a short time ... Flood water
highest since 1890's . . . Barney
Governor rescued from roof near
Gold Hill after being stranded
12 hours by flood . . . Mail Tri
bune delivered by airplane to
Table Rock residents . . . Mercy
Flights plane makes trip to iso
lated Gold Beach to remove sick
girl . . . 400 families left home
less by the flood ... Rehabilita
tion aid to flooded families be
gins . . . Flood damage in Jack
son county estimated at $800,000
. . . Plans for a Medford profes-.
sional baseball team called off
. . . Bird counters spot 50 species
in the county ... Fred Hale,'
Grants Pass, rescued from where
his small plane crashed in the
lower Rogue River country . . J
Medford woman believed victim
of Yuba City flood . . . Dismissal
sought of five remaining indict
ments against Hugh D'Autre
mont . . . President Eisenhower
designates flood stricken sec
tions of -southwest Oregon as a
major disaster area . . . First
steps taken by joint soil conser
vation flood control committee to
develop a flood control program
. . . City police offer free rides
1
i
home for New Year's eve cele
brants who feel they shouldn't
drive.
Mohawk Indian Trail
Preservation Urged
Williamstown, Mass. (U.R) A
distinguished educator hopes to
have the state of Massachusetts
preserve the 200-year-old Mo
hawk Indian Trail near here.
Dr. Philip Marshall Brown,
professor-emeritus of Princeton
University, recently re-explored
the trail for the first time in 35
years. While some of the trail
was overgrown, Brown reported
that much of it wae still clearly
defined and worthy of preservation.