Is That So?
Princess Kaiulani Hotel, Waik-I
iki. Honolulu I was sitting on
the porch of my room facing
the beach, squeezing lime juice
on my second half of solo pap
aya, thinking: "The way visitors
bureau has squeezed out every
drop from the wringer on new
stories, what'll I find to write
about .... when all of a sudden
it struck me like a ton of bricks.
It" being an idea for a column.
I picked up the telephone. " Give
me the manager, please."
Mr. Filoni came to the phone.
"Joe," I said, "I'm up here in
room 721 and I've just been hit
by a coconut:"
"Hit on the seventh floor by a
coconut! This early in the morn
ing. Impossible- Look, stay right
there until I come up. No. better
yet, I'll send a lawyer. I mean
the doctor ..."
"Nothing like that, Joe. You
see, I looked out of my lanai
(porch) and here is this big co
conut tree staring me right in
the eye. Now, your Kaiulani
Hotel is less than a year old,
right? And these grounds of
yours are new, right? Now, tell
me, how did you get all these
big trees must be a hundred of
thorn, and big ones, from 50, 60,
70 and even 80 feet tall ..."
His voice dropped. "Is that all:
Why we buy them. Just like
chairs. This batch set us back
around 510,000. Lots of money.
But where's the story?"
"Unless I'm mistaken, these
trees you have out here may well
be the tallest old trees ever trans
planted, that's all. Get it?"
"Well what do you know?
Look, Gene, the man who trans
planted 'em is putting in another
batch a lot smaller ones, though
just across the street right now
for the Waikiki branch of the
American Express company. I'll
take you over."
Real Tropical Lock
1Vlr. Filoni introduced me to
Wilbert H. S. Choi, territorial
commissioner of the Board of
Agriculture, and owner of a
nursery, who was directing a
crew of 32 men.
"This is old stuff to me," said
Choi. "Figures we've put up at
least 1.000 of these big trees,
gives Waikiki a real tropical
look." While talking he directed
the boom operator. The man was
lowering a 60-foot palm with its
five-foot ball of roots and earth
into a prepared, curbed hole in
the sidewalk. Choi ordered it
raised again, two men swung it
around, and it was lowered
again with the long stem tak
ing off rakishly toward the busy
By EUGENE BURNS
. Ranger-Naturalist
traffic. "I like to make 'em look
like they are standing easy and
natural."
Once the tree was rested, four
men rushed in, with wet sandy
loam which had been "spiked"'
with high-potash content fer
tilizer. They tamped the soil in
4-18-56
firmly around the ball of roots
"to prevent air from getting at
the roots" and then soaked the
area thoroughly with water.
I asked Mr. Choi about the
Princess Kaiulani planting.
"I'm proud of that job. Big
gest trees I have ever handled.
Took a special truck with a
trailer boom hoist. Some of those
trees over there are 100 years
old. That one," he pointed to
the very tree facing my room
721, "is over 90-feet tall. Had a
ball of roots maybe eight feet
through. Took a five-foot-deep
hole, weighed better'n 20,000
pounds."
Architects Help
"But how can you get a tall
top-heavy tree with all its heavy
20-foot long leaves at the tip
top to stand at that slant with
such a small root system?" I
demanded.
"The architects help us. You'll
notice they incorporate hooks
right into the nearby buildings.
That way, 20 feet up from the
ground where no one notices, we
use guy lines. We keep them
tied up about five months. Takes
about 100 days for the root
system to become established,
and take a firm hold in the
loam."
Joe interrupted. "Remember
how we removed the lines? Then
within a week we had one of
the strongest blows I've ever
seen. Blew in lot of windows and
took off .some roots." '
"But we didn't lose a trans
plant," said Choi. "Those coconut
palm stems are mighty flexible.
Can bend almost level with the
ground. And the leafy top trims
with the wind. And those roots
get to be 20, 40, maby even 50
feet long. . . "
"How many did you lose?"
The Family Council
Editor's not: The Family Council
consists of a judEe, a psychiatrist, a
newspaper editor, a women's page
editor and two newspaper writers.
These consult with clergymen of all
faiths and denominations. All letters
are held In complete confidence.
EMILY He refuses to use my
money.
STEVE We don't need a new
home.
EMILY My husband and I
are having a serious disagree
ment that may affect our future
and the future of our three
children, the oldest of whom is
12.
At my question he looked at
Joe Filoni. "As I recall, two out
of 80. And they're looking
mighty healthy. Bearing coconuts
already."
"Which I have to pay a man
to cut down so they won't kill
my guests. . ." said Filoni un
happily, but he brightened in
stantly, "but I don't mind as long
as I've got the biggest old trees
ever transplanted. Wait until I
tell my publicity director! What
a scoop:"
(Copyright, 1956,
by Eugene Burnt)
(Released by
McClure Newspapers Syndicate)
Free: By special arrangement
with the editors of the Encyclo
pedia Americana, my panel of
judges will award each week to
the readers who send me the
best true-life nature adventure,
the best nature observation, or
the best question on nature and
wildlife, a complete 30-volume
set of this world-famous ref
erence work in a handsome Seal
craft binding. Each week new
submissions will be considered.
Sorry, I simply can't answer
your many friendly letters.
Please address your letter to: IS
THAT SO! care Medford Mail
Tribune, Box 575, Sausalito,
Calif.
I have just inherited a sub
stantial sum of money. At the
same time, my husband has had
a promotion that gives him a
large raise in salary and good
prospects for future promotion.
I have asked by husband to use
my money to buy and furnish
a new home in a good neighbor
hood where they are good
schools. There is enough in my
inheritance for that purpose, and
my husband's salary would be
easily enough to run the house
hold, since we would not even
have to have a mortgage on our
home.
My husband angrily refuses.
He says he will not use my
money, that I can leave it to the
children if I like, but it is his
duty to maintain the home and
he will not have a better home
than he can aford.
I would not press this if I
were not worried about the ef
fect our poor neighborhood may
have on our children's future.
STEVE My wife's fears, I
am afraid, are just snobbery.
I have seen children growing
up into model people in the
worst neighborhoods, and I
know of brats and criminals
who grew up in the nicest
neighborhoods. I don't want my
children to grow up in a home
I cannot afford, and to come
to look down on their father
with contempt.
I can wait for a fine home
until I earn it, and I can't be
lieve children as young as ours
will be contaminated by the fact
that a few of the neighboring
houses need a coat of paint. My
wife's inheritance was nothing
she expected when we married,
and I do not see why it should
be permitted to change the
whole course of our lives.
THE COUNCIL Steve ac
cuses his wifejof snobbery, but
he may be guilty of an exces
sivley tender and selfish pride.
He Is not being sensible or prac
tical when he argues that his
wife may leave her money to the
children upon her death, but
may not use it for their benefit
during her lifetime.
The thought of profiting from
his wife evidently tends, to un
dermine Steve's sense of self
respect. This should not be. It
will do the children much more
good to have the benefit of a
Wednesday, April 18, 1SSS
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE FIVE
good home in a good neighbor
hood with top schools during
their formative years than to
inherit a financial windfall
later in life. The fact that some
slum children turn out well and
some suburban children turn out
badly is utterly beside the point.
There should be some formula
whereby Steve can reconcile his
pride with constructive utiliza
tion of his wife's money now.
Perhaps the effective compro
mise would be an agreement
whereby Steve restores his wife's
inheritance to her through the
years, by putting aside a small
sum regularly until it is made
whole again.
Steve should not give up his
idea that he alone will support
the family. But he should not
refuse to let his wife invest her
money where it will do her
(as well as her children) . the
most good in a home, that, of
course, will always have a sub
stantial value as real estate.
(COPYRIGHT 195G,
GENERAL FEATURES CORP.)
DR. CORNELL A. SABO
Dentist
Announces the Removal of His Office
to '
810 West Main Street
Medford, Oregon
Office Hours Telephone
By Appointment 3-3934
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