Medford mail tribune., October 16, 1956, Image 16

TWO MEDFOHD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Tuesday. October 16, 1356
JgpgjJIM STEVENS
Ghost Towni?
Once again, I am trying to
track down an honest lumber
"ghost town." Have you, your
self, personally, ever seen one?
If so, where? Can you name one?
Well, neither have I, and I've
been all over the Lake states,
where a ghost town has been
rumored to stand in every town
ship of the old pineries.
Such places at Seeley, Mich.,
must be counted out, for Seeley
was never more then a tempo
rary logging headquarters bor
dered by saloon and dancehall
stockades. The real lumber
towns of that region such as
Bay City and Muksegon, thriv
ing today are bigegr and better
than they ever had hoped to be
In the roaring days of the pine
tops and shanty boys.
The term "ghost town" was
first applied to abandoned min
ing camps. Around a dozen years
ago sqme slicker with words in
Washington, D.C., had the bright
thought of applying the term
"ghost towns" to old logging
camps. The thought caught on.
The city slicker rigged up a list
of "74 Lumber Ghost Towns in
the Pacific Northwest." Since
then I've heard or read this fan
ciful quotation hundreds of
times.
Ghosts and Facts
Some years ago a friend of
mine took it upon himself to get
the actual -names of the "ghost
lumber towns" that were claim
ed to be haunting the Douglas
fir region western Oregon and
Washington. He was handed a
list of 39 names, with the coun
ties in which the ghost towns
were supposed to be situated.
Questionnaires were sent to
county clerks and other official
custodians of old records. All
were answered, most of them
thoroughly. Out of all the 39
"ghost towns" there were 22
which were unrecorded either as
towns or voting precincts. There
were 14 places which the census
showed as having great popula
tion than in 1890, and only 3
had less. The greater number
had been simply camps, and
carried place names which had
been applied to their locations in
pioneer times. Often the location
was only that of a crossroads.
Nothing remotely resembling
Virginia City, Nev., or Tomb
stone, Ariz., was discovered.
"The 74 lumber ghost towns
of the Pacific Northwest bunk!
Real Ghost Country
From the early 1880s until
1905 the Columbia basin was
good grass and cattle country.
Homesteaders straggled in after
the building of the Great North
ern in 1890. But it was not until
15 years later that the Basin was
generally plowed. Rising wheat
prices caused the natural re
source of grass to be turned
under.
A cycle of rain that did not
run out until World War I kept
the Basin green and prosperous.
But Jim Hill mustard spread in
yellow waves through the green.
Straw and stubble were burned
each fall. The Basin became a
dust bowl. When a cycle of
drouth succeeded the years of
rain, the big winds of the region
blew devastation over the land.
Lakes and water courses dried
up. Irrigated orchards, some
valued at $1,500 per acre, died
out. The rains did not return.
The Columbia basin became a
ghost region of ghost towns and
ghost farms.
The grass was gone for good.
Cattle growing could not be re
stored. A lifeless land, saving
only the tumbling tumbleweeds.
So the record of the Columbia
basin made all the dreamed up
fables about "lumber ghost
towns" look trifling and silly.
And now it is taking billions of
the taxpayers' dollars to lay the
Basin's ghosts and bring the land
back to life.
A Nichol's Worth of . . .
Comment On This and That
By HARMAN W. NICHOLS
United Prara Futura Writer
Uinnu Nichols
Washington (U.PJ The
car people pretty up the no
tops, the all-tops, and things
with four
doors.
But what
my truck-driving
friend
wants to know
a Mr. Frank
F 1 o s s i s
flossis is why the car
people won't
leave his trail
er truck
alone?
"We got it happy the way it
is," Frank was saying. "Al
ready they got us a bed where
one man can drive and one can
sleep. Clean sheets and all. Why
do they have to run around and
give us seat covers and things
like that?"
Frank F. had a point there.
And he nailed it right down.
Pride in Work
"The seat cover people say we
have a certain pride in our
work. Flossisflossis said. "We
do. We deliver the lumber and
the new cars, and fetch daven
ports and odd chairs and the
like around the country. And we
don't break nothin', hardly, and
we keep the grease off our pants
and we don't sit on new daven
ports. "First thing you know, they
will have us running around in
white ties and black, or maybe
tails. Seat covers in trailer
trucks! Yambee, jambee!"
"All right," Mr. F. said. "May
be it looks better and sits bet
ter. And maybe a guy has a
bunch of tools in his hip pocket
like pliers, screw drivers and
other things that could puncture
the upholstery. So he sits down
and punctures something real
pretty like a pink seat cover.
Is he gonna feel awful? No he's
not gonna feel awful. He has a
load of goods to take all the
way from here to What Cheer,
Ioway. And poking a hole in
the seat of the cab is none of
his business, so long as he gets
the load there."
And there you are!
The truck people want to
keep truck men on the job, and
happy. One outfit even fits the
seat of the driver to the seat of
the driver's seat. With fat men
that takes a good bit of fitting.
All of this performance fol
lows the rules of the union.
Some of the cross-country
trucks work along at something
like 180,000 miles a year. That
could wear out a lot of the scats
of pants, not to mention seat
covers, and, of course, one driv
er never could do all of the wear
ing out by himself.
But with cleaner, more com
fortable trucks, the drivers
should be happy drivers. But
not my friend Frank Flossisflos
sis, who complains, as he always
does:
"Golly, first thing you know
they'll be tying a tie around my
neck. That'll be the day I climb
down." ,
(Ed: The name Flossisflossis is
used to protect the guilty).
Southern Pacific Sees
Higher Freight Rates
San Francisco U.R) A
Southern Pacific Railroad at
torney said that if the company
continued to lose money on its
passenger service it was "in
evitable" that the losses would
be "ultimately reflected in high
er freight rates."
Charles W. Burkett told the
California Public Utilities Com
mission hearing on Southern
Pacific passenger service which
opened here yesterday, that
"loss on all passenger trains
operated by Southern Pacific
presently amounts to over $43
million."
Burkett said "if these pas
senger losses continue, it is in
evitable that they will be ulti
mately reflected in higher
freight rates, which so directly
effect the cost of living of all
members of the public."
Democrats Top Umatilla
Voter Registrations
Pendleton (U.PJ Final voter
registration figures for Umatilla
county as announced Saturday
show the Democrats with a slight
edge in the county.
Of the total 21.545 registered
voters, 11,014 are Democrats and
10,215 are Republicans. The fig
ures represent a gain of more
than 1.000 over the primary fig
ures for both parties.
tMMMT Automatic
WOOD HEATERS
Mow Available!
CITY APPLIANCE
On The Side
By E. V. Durling
(Distributed by King Futv'M Syndicate. Inc.)
Life on the ocean wave agrees
with me. I am in the pink al
though I should be blue. Why
should I be blue? Well, sir, ever
since I boarded the good ship
Nieuw Amsterdam I haven't
won a bet. I played the ship's
pool daily, bingo, canasta and
the horse races. I even lost on
the horse races. My system
failed me. Horse number four
won all six races. That was one
of the worst blows to the laws
of probability in all history. To
night they are having live turtle
races. As badly as I want to get
my money back I am passing
that up. Generally speaking I
will try anything once. But I am
making an exception this time.
I am not going to try handicap
ping turtles.
Asides
Everybody knows Henry Hud
son discovered the Hudson river.
However, a fact not so well
known is that Admiral Van
Voort, a Hollander, discovered
San Francisco bay . . . When was
the airport in your city opened?
The Amsterdam airport at Schip
phol, was opened in 1920. If that
isn't the world's oldest airport,
what is?
Summer
The Holland summer is usually
a delightful period. Best time of
the year. However, summers
were bad all over Europe this
year. Holland was no exception.
Our room steward told me he
had a 24 day vacation in Hol
land this summer and it rained
for 23 days of that time. Think
of having muddy tracks on 23
days out of 24. Makes you shud
der. Briefly
The passenger list on this trip
of the Nieuw Amsterdam is a
very cosmepolitan group. A wide
variety of languages are spok
en. I think the most beautiful of
all European languages is Span
ish. . . The Netherlands was oc
cupied by the Germans for five
years in World War Two. The
Dutch continue to express their
gratitude for the liberation. They
seem especially fond of Ameri
cans. That is unusual in most
foreign countries these days.
Some Prices
The Merry Widow cocktail is
among the mixed drinks listed
on the ship's wine cards. Also
the September morn cocktail.
Both are priced at 25 cents. A
martini costs 35 cents. A cham
pagne cocktail, 65 cents. Holland
gin and bitters, very popular
with Dutch travelers, costs only
10 cents. Highball of 12-year-old
Scotch is priced at 30 cents. Best
bourbon is 35.
Please Note
In many European places the
public drinking water is a men
ace to health. In the Netherlands
it is good anywhere and can be
used with confidence. The high
grade quality of the native water
is one of the reasons that Dutch
beer is so good.
Road Watch
On the highways of Holland
are special traffic policemen who
are not there to regulate driving.
These policemen, called the weg
enmacht (road watch), are there
to help motorists in trouble. They
are equipped to make repairs
and also to come to the rescue
of motorists who run out of gas.
They have blue uniforms and
ride on yellow motorcycles.
They are employed by the Neth
erlands Touring club.
Added Details
The slogan of the Netherlands
National railroads, which are
100 per cent electrified is: "Safe,
fast and reasonable" . . . Some
people say the game of golf orig
inated in Holland. It was origi
nally called "kolf." . . . The
Netherlands has the highest birth
rate in Europe. A Holland couple
with only four children is con
sidered practically childless.
Soup
The Dutch national dish is
pea soup. That reminds me that
the owner of a roadside restau
rant in California has grown
wealthy specializing in pea
soup. In addition to serving it
at his restaurant he cans it and
sells it nationally. Speaking of
canned soups, did you know a
man who specialized in that in
the U.S.A. left a fortune of over
S200 million? His name was Dor-ranee.
Certified Washable
Week in Progress
The American Institute of
Laundering in cooperation with
retailers, manufacturers and
professional laundries, is spon
soring Certified Washable week
Oct. 14-21.
The institute, as a non-profit
organization, has established the
Certified Washable Seal program
to aid the public in selecting the
best in washables and in laundry
service, according to a local
spokesman.
In a recent proclamation, Med
ford Mayor Earl Miller called
attention of citizens to the week,
"during which recognition is giv
en to those so dedicated to the
manufacture, sale and servicing
of better washable merchandise."
Moose meat was almost the
complete source of meat for
those who cut the first pine of
Minnesota.
The Family Council
Editor's note: The Family Council consists of a Judge, s psychiatrist,
three clergymen, a newspaper editor a women's editor and two writers.
Lacb article Is a summary ot an actual report The Family Council does not
give advice; It merely reports on problems that have been dealt with by
responsible agencies and counselors. ,
Hilda Our "lover's spats"
worry me.
Peter R She's making a
mountain out of a molehill.
Hilda T My fiance and I are
planning to be married in a few
months. I am 23. He is 27. We
have known one another three
years and have been engaged for
the past six months. We are con
sidered by everyone to be ideal
ly matched and we really love
one another very much.
However, there is something
about our relationship that wor
ries me. There are times when
by fiance seems to pick on me
and criticize me for no reason at
all. He will often go into a vio
lent temper tantrum about some
trivial thing I said or did. We
make up quickly and then we're
perfectly happy again, but I
worry about this and wonder
whether we'll come to fight
more when we are husband and
wife. Sometimes I think that
marriage with Peter would be a
mistake, but then our parents
and friends say those are just
lover's spats and all engaged
couples quarrel because it's so
much fun to make up. The mak
ing up is fine, but our fights
make me feel unhappy and
frightened.
Peter R I think Hilda is
making a mountain out of a
molehill. She is too much of a
perfectionist and insists on cor
recting all of my faults, but she
has some of her own. When 1
point them out, she becomes
very much annoyed. This invari
ably angers me, and I sometimes
even feel like slapping her.
But a moment later, I realize
how silly our quarrel has been
and I want to make up. I flare
up and then subside, but Hilda
goes into a slow burn and
broods.
Everyone says we make a per
fect couple, and I am confident
that after we are married we
will become accustomed to each
other's ways and avoid these
quarrels. The trouble is that
Hilda seems unwilling to risk
marriage until she is sure she
will have her way about making
me over in all the little things
that irritate her. I am willing
to take my chances, confident
that we will get along better as
we become closer to each other.
e
The Council Hilda and Peter
seem to have some serious
doubts about their impending
marriage. Hilda expresses her
self openly, but Peter appears to
be trying to reassure himself by
saying that "everyone says we
make a perfect couple." Hilda,
too, seeks reassurance from the
opinion of others.
Lover's spats often help to
clarify things, give the couple a
chance to explore one another's j
personalities. They should come ;
out feeling that a greater under
standing and sympathy has been
reached and that is one reason
why the making up is so pleas-
ant. "J
The fact that this couple's
spats leave Helen unhappy and :
frightened indicate that she feels
an understanding has not been i
reached. Peter appears too
anxious to blot out the memory ;
of the quarrel and to solve it all ;
by kisses. Helen is right in her ;
feeling that it might not always
work out that way when they .
are husband and wife. I
Helen and Peter should ac-!
knowledge that there is some j
question of their compatability.
They should make an active ef- ,
fort to understand what their :
conflict is all about and not rely !
too much on the opinion of oth- j
ers. It is possible that they are !
suffering from strained nerves
because of the often tense pre- j
marital period, but only they
can tell to what extent this is the
case. They may find they would
like to discuss the matter further
with a physician, clergyman or
qualified marriage counselor.
(Copyright 1956, General Fea-;
tures Corp.)
NROTC Exams
Slated Dec. 8
For Senior Boys
Vice, Admiral James A. Hollo
way, Jr., chief of Naval person
nel, announced today the 11th
annual national competitive ex
aminations for the Navy's re
serve officer training corps will
be given to high school seniors
on Dec. 8.
Application forms are now
available and must be received
before Nov. 17, he added.
Program Explained
Designed to supplement the
officer output of the Naval ac
ademy, the NROTC program
makes it possible for a young
man to earn a commission while
studying at the civilian college
of his choice which has an
NROTC unit. All tuition, fees
and btoks are furnished by the
Navy, and the student receives
an annual retainer of $600 for
four years.
During the summers the stu
dent goes on training cruises as
a midshipman. After completing
the usual four-year college
course, he is commissioned in
the regular Navy or Marine
corps and goes on active duty
with the Navy's fleets.
May Take Test
High school seniors and grad
uates between the ages of 17 and
21 may apply for the NROTC
aptitude test. Those who make
qualifying scores will be given
a physical exam early in 1957.
From the pool of qualified
young men remaining in com
petition, approximately 2,000
will be selected to begin their
naval careers next September.
Application forms are avail
able at all high schools, colleges,
Wacm Wafer Fishery Abandoned at Hew Era
Oregon City (U.P.) A. V.
Meyers of the State Game com
mission staff informed officials
here yesterday that any plans
for development of a warm wa
ter fishery at the old mill pond
at New Era have been abandon
ed. The reluctance of some land
owners to sell to the state was
Navy recruiting stations or from
the chief of naval personnel,
Washington 25, D. C. I
one of the major stumbling
blocks to the project, Meyers
said, but other problems such as
possible litigation over water
rights, expiration of an easement
for a dam in 1971 and ultimate
cost of development also xeie
listed as contributing to the decision.
The average age of bride
grooms in the United States is
22.7 years. Two generations ago
it was 26.1 years.
says
"OREGON NEEDS A COMMERCE
DEPARTMENT, COMBINING
3 EXISTING STATE GROUPS"
"As a means to realizing our
state's best potential for growth
in all its areas I would recom
mend a State Department of
Commerce. This department
would combine activities now
under the State Highway De
partment, the Secretary of
State's office in Salem and the
State Development Commis
sion. It is my belief that such
a department, working with pri
vate concerns and Chambers of
Commerce can perform a real
service for Oregon and is one
small way of increasing effi
ciency of our state government,"
si St
The Ontario Argus Observer
(Nov. 21, 1955) sod:
"Hatfield has progressive, forward
looking ideas, with professional train
ing in political science and what is
much more important, the practical
"know-how." . . . People like him and
the policies he espouses."
I !! 1 tlHi:i,v v&.ux:! ins
.wiibh, QuMrnwn. il8 Orcein Bids- Salem. Ongo
I r. a
WiUiaa E. ,V
World's highest volcano is
Cotopaxi, 19,344 feet in Ecuador.
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