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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 1956)
o te MEDrO OFEGOW) MAIL TP.IBUNE Sunday. December 23, 1958 o O o o Letters t sk Voriety O O o - - Requests Include ;HoflseforMofher, i 'Electric Socks' ; Children of Jackson county ex- ! pressed a desire for almost every .kind of toy, arid in or. case a ; wild asked for a "house-' for moth, according to Santa ! Claus? received hundreds of letter from louthern Oregon youngsters. ; Some letter were written J with Die assistance of the child's ;-nSmmy"OwhiIeoso.ne brothers J and sistt5 combined their wishes ; in one Jetter written by one j member of til family, usually , an older irother or sister. SSht gnid scfhe children, how j ever, asir, to write their own - letter. He recalled that one youngsters started "Dear Santa Claus" in carejuily drawn let t5r The pest06f the letter con sist! of pencil marks, pictiyes and S'.seormectPdletters. Archer little girl drew the vS's "Idbe doli" in one corner of the paper, folded it neatly , everD (jimes. tucked it in the , bottom of a large nvelope, and j mailed it.o , Somgo children,. 0insted of j writing, enclosed what resem- bled a pageofrom an old mail order catalogue. Joys desired by ; the yoiftgster were indicated, 1 whiTe those which the ehild de fcidedOhe did nt ant were ) crossed off. o San0 saide Wanted one little J boy to know he. Mrs. Claus and his reind?r ve?e fine. The t young Ssllow wrote: 1 "Dar Santa, I Jsope you and the Tlraroar fine. I wai . good all yier. I wish you a Merry Christmas. How U Mri. : q,u,? - ! WVhat I want Is a bike and . a pa&0of gum. Jackie want a rrika affd a popgun, Timmy wanti a tidewalk bike and a popgun, Nancy wanti a doll bed, and bring grandpa a hunt ing knife." o Another letterhead "I love yoiQ Santa Claus, bring me a ball, a buggy crib and games. I am good most ot thetime." Several children. Snnta said, listed iat lhey thought their parents wtftld like, and one young boy didn't even list what he wanajd after asking Santa: "Would viju please give mother a 'wacSing' machine tor Christ mas." One little girl, writing for the entire family, wrote: "Mcir wanis a house and bedroom illpf an. Daddy wanti a new house and 'elec tric Mcks' and for me a 'ballirinac bride dress and a set of Ashes, and forcmy broth er a RinTin Xui suit and big boa," fC fix-year-i3d fcoy. after list ing gB gug. a pair of pants and a footoall suit for Himself, added Ga postspt, 'Bring my brother something, too." The boy contin ues? "I tio want a shirt and sweater and a few toys." Although most letters were hand writtifl Santa said he re ceived one wiiiclj wa rypewrit tgi TheO letter lisWd several items.Onclgding a radio kit, mi croscope, banjo, a trumpet, a complete football outfit, a foot ball, and view-master pictures of Rig- gners. Rusty an Bami. each of which was accompanied by the stock number. A young sportsman said he wsayted 0"a fishing pole and punchMg bag' and added that he had been good. One little girl wrote: "I want a gum machine with a package of gum and with a key to open up thecVnoney thing. Thank you. Love.- Three brothers mailed one of the longest list of Christmas gifts Santa had received. The letter read: Dear Santa. Our names are Dick, Jack and Harry. "For Christmas we would r . I ; . . . .w - - -if, J TOYS FOR NEEDY Meciford firemen and the Lady Lions Friday held an open house at Franklin's Transfer and Storage to dis play toys being distributed this week end to needy families. The public donated the toys. firemen reDaired them and Lady Lions dis tributed them. In above photo, left to right, Mrs. R. W. Smith, Mrs. Earl Courtney and Mrs. Joe Patella prove that girls of any age love dolls. a like a paint package, road truck for Dick, a clam shell digger, flatbed truck for John, sign and ticket shop, print shop, typewriter for Jack. Rin Tin Tin set. Thank you Santa. "And a reversible steam engine, tool kit, aircraft car rier. Wild Bill Hickok two gun holster, Roy Rogers signal light, steam engine double, beat the clock, $64,000 ques tion, safe new combination leek steel, M.D. doctor's kit, new toy coke dispenser, new 63-piece construction set. Roy Rogers ranch, skyline, ready mix concrete truck, Linever get rich, Disneyland. George Gobel, Little Black Sambo and Woody Woodpecker, erector, new tool belt, basketball, al ternating current generator, boxing game, football, new dragnet car, games, surprise package, new talking switch board. Thank you Santa." Most children signed onlv their first name, while others signed their full name and ad dress. A bother and sister in cluded a map of city streets with their home pointed out, but they didn't include a list of what they wanted for Christmas. Santa said most letters he re ceived had regular postage stamps on them including air mail postage. He said he noticed a few letters with Christmas Seal stamps and some with green stamps. Santa said he had little trouble reading the lists, and expressed appreciation for the letters sent to him. A majority of the letters, he said, closed with the words "and anything else you might like to bring me." TV's 'Vampira' Hurt In Apartment Fire Hollywood (U.R) Actress Maila Nurmi, 34-year-old "Vam pira" of television, and an actor friend suffered first degree burns Friday night when her Holly wood apartment caught fire. Miss Nurmi was burned on the arms and hands. The blaze apparently started in an over stuffed chair. Her friend, Charles Beadles. 22. suffered burns on his right foot and hand. He and the actress put out the flames. Both were treated at Hollywood receiving hospital. Miss Nurmi said "one of the lit candles in a chandelier must have fallen onto the sofa." The actress will play the role of a witch in the forthcoming Disney production of "Sleeping Beauty." Firefighters Regain Control of Brush Fire Ventura. Calif. fU.R' Fire fighters regained control Satur day of a stubborn three-day brush fire which had flared anew behind brisk winds along U. S. Highway 101 northwest of here. Some 1.000 acres have been burned so far. t . . ; - - - nw' i " V? .',4, 1 . STUDY EVACUATION METHODS In the case of fire, flood or other disaster, volunteers in the Central Point Civil Defense dis trict will know the best methods of evacuating the household pos sessions of stricken families. Special classes in removal and hand ling of household furnishings will soon be held for the group. Above, CD workers Wallace Bowen, Dale Bartley, Jay Hallett, Steve Benston and Carl Nelson conduct a demonstration on the removal of light furniture. JIHPJJ'ilMHI'SwyMW 4 ' i NEW RECEIVER-TRANSMITTER Shown above, Donald E. Faber, Mayor of Central Point and head of the town's Civil De fense district, and D. R. Offut, CD communications chief, try out the new portable transmitter purchased by the district recently for use in Civil Defense Work. The S600 unit, especially designed for Civil Defense use, can be purchased by any community for $75, with the help of government funds. Olfut, an experienced radio operator, is currently conducting classes, free of charge, for any one interested in Civil Defense communications. According to Faber, a practice alert will soon be conducted by the district. Great Decisions Chairman Urges Formation of Groups 88 SEASON'S GREETINGS Tabu Dinner House 305 South Riverside Avenue To allow our Employees to enjoy , the Holidays We "will be -closed December 23-24-25th Mrs. John Ousterhout, chair man of the Jackson county Great Decisions committee, Saturday urged interested people to organ ize informal groups of 6 to 14 people to discuss issues of the 1956 Great Decisions program, scheduled to start Jan. 20. The groups will meet in pri vate homes and discuss eight for eign policy issues. These topics will also be featured in television and radio broadcasts and news papers. Material Provided Special background study ma terials will be provided for all discussion groups. At the end of each discussion, individuals will register their opinions through Great Decisions ballots. Results of these go to Congress and the state department. Enrollment blanks and fact sheets will be available at the Medford library on Jan. 1. Among those assisting Mrs. Ousterhout with plans for the program are Don Hansen, Med ford attorney, who is contacting men's service groups: Mrs. Justin Smith, Medford High school teacher, school groups: William Prentice. Copco: Mrs. Irving Thomas, womens' service groups: Mrs. Leland Mentzer, League of Women Voters: .Everett Faber, station KBEStTV; and Mrs. Ron James, Jaycettes. Mrs. Ousterhout has suggested Mountain Climber Dies Cortina Dampezzo. Italy tU.B Guido Lorenzi, 29, one of Italy's ranking mountain climb ers and Alpine guide, died in a hospital here Saturday of in ternal injuries. He fell from the roof of a barn eight days ago. that people interested in the Great Decisions program start discussing the various issues dur ing the Christmas holidavs. De tails concerning the program may be obtained from the coun ty extension office in the court house or by telephoning Mrs. Ousterhout, White City TA-6-4835. Famous Editorial In response to a request, the Mail Tribune is glad to publish again the famous New York Sun editorial, written in 1892, en- uuea. "Yes, Virginia; There Is a Santa Claus." It was written by an obscure editorial writer named Francis P. Church in response to a letter from Virginia O'Hanlon, in which she said: "Dear Editor: I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says if you see it in the Sun, it's so. Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?" The editorial replied: "Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they can see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensive by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the bound less world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as cer tainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound, and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this exist ence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. "Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. No body can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. "You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not even the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all the world there is nothing else real and abiding. "No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will con tinue to make glad the heart of childhood." tv M r h I 4 1 ;V4'II PEAR SEED THRASHER When Gordon Kershaw saw the need of improving his orchard planting stock he built this maclsne to "thrash" seed from the Winjer Nelis pear, an especially disease resistant variety. Kershaw admits to having invented sr numb of "Rube Goldberg" contrivances, bit this one, he saysQis really practical. Above, Kershaw shovels pears into the hopper while Joe Lindsey and Grant Matlcfnich, who hglped him build the machine, look on. rv r ri... r. i c i- UtiScue Lumiui uawju di tdyit: ram. wo livestock diseases develope in the past year. The first meeting will be neld Eagle Point The Eagie Point Agricultural advisory board has announced that an "animal dis ease conlrol and sanitation on the farm" course will be held here next month. The course will be taught by Dr. E. M. Hanawalt of Central Point, who conducts some of his lifestock veternarian practice in the Eagle Point area. The course will be similiar o one at Crater High school in Central Point in previous years, and will include modern changes in prevention and control of Thursday, an. atc?:30 p.m. in the vocational agr'Oulyoyre building at Eagle Point. Ten meetings are planned for the course, which will inclQtfe mo tion pictures, lecgugeo sesyons and practical demonstrations. Additional information miy bt obtained by Contacting Nal Etzel, vocational agriculture (in structor at VAliey 6-3071, or at the Eagle Point agricu!ire building. Pear Seed Thrasher Developed By Orchardisf in Rogue Valley Gordon Kershaw prominent Rogue valley orchardist and farmer, who is well-known for his experiments with machinery and gadgets of all kinds, has come up with another unusual device that he calls a "pear seed thrasher." To some this might seem like a useless sort of a machine be cause any housewife could do the same thing with a seive. But for Kershaw's purpose this meth od wouldn't be fast enough, and besides that it might damage the seed, which, in this case, is the product being sought. The seeds he will "thrash" in the machine are to be planted as nursery stock, and are from a particularly hardy species of pear, the Winter Nelis. Bulk from Canneries The bulk of the seed now available for planting is from canneries, and is almost entirely Bartlett seeds, which is not as hardy a variety as the Nelis. Kershaw, who runs a nursery on his land in the Table Rock area, decided that in order to grow a better starting stock, he must have the hardiest variety of tree, which, of course, could be grafted onto later with a more marketable pear. The problem was to extract the seeds from the Nelis pear in large enough quantities to make the project worth while. He visualized a machine that would process the seed automatically, and it wasn't long before plans for such a device were worked out. After a little experimenting, taking place over a period of several weeks, Kershaw was shoveling pears in one side of Take the -family out for WE WILL BE Open Christmas Day ' and all thru the holidays as usual. REGULAR PRICES! a remodeled cider press and pear seeds were dropping into a 50 gallon drum some distance away. Works Like Sluice Box The whole process works somewhat on the principle of a sluice box, with water being mixed with the crushed pear pulp as it travels through the press and down a chute. The 7956 One of Busiest, Safest Years, CAA Soys Washington (U.R) The Civil Aeronautics administration reported Saturday that 1956 was the busiest and one of the safest in commercial aviation history. Acting CAA Administrator James T. Pyle said U. S. air lines hauled some 54,860,000 passengers during the year, up 11 per cent from last year's pre vious record of 41,441,000. Domestic scheduled airlines had 0.62 passenger fatalities for every 100 million passenger miles, compared with 0.76 in 1955. Both years were up from the three preceding years, but under the 1.3 fatalities per 100 million passenger miles recorded in 1951. seeds along with some of the finer pulp, drop throuah a screen as the rest of the pulp moves on to a trailer to be hauled away. The seeds are then pumped, along with water, to a settling tank, where they remain until they are taken out to dry. By furnishing orchardists wilh this hardy, disease - resisting stock, Kershaw feels that, in time, a better grade of pear trees will predominate in most pear-producing areas, bringing better crops with less care. California!? Gets County Jail Term. Paul Edward Campbell, 17. of Oakley, Calif., was committed to the county jail Friday in lieu of payment of a S20 fine after pleading guilty in district court here to charges of having no operator's license. He was arrested by state po lice last Wednesday along with his brother, Carl Russell Camp bedd, 24. of Oakley,' Calif. He was arrested on a concealed weapons' charge and is being held for Contra Costy county authorities on a robbery charge. tfEED o MONEY FOR G CHRISTMAS? o O f?ivt vnnr fnmilBA merriest Christmas m Jhey'e ever Wo1- 5? and let u$ foot theJP bills! K For Christm8s Ccfch ii in a hurry-just call $ or see us. But HURRY m before the big rSsh flj starts! COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL o FINANCE Medford 3-4564 Main and Kivenide m, HEADQUARTERS IN $ OREGON Ftk h H CHRISTMAS LOANS. j& 'II F i TO ALL . . . OUR WARMEST GREETINGS!: We want to rejoice with you this most blessed of Seasons . . May the Yuletide be filled with happiness and cheer for each of our neighbors and friends throughout the Rogue River v ij vaney . . . ana may ine iNew lear onng to you an gooa ! health and good fortunel JULIE, ROLAND AND ALL OF US AT MON DESIR DINING INN CENTRAL POINT We're closed Christmas Eve so that our staff may enjoy this truly family night at home. , Special Dinner served on Christmas Day. O RESTAURANT OPEN EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR ON HIGHWAY 99 SOUTH 4 MAKE YOUR RESERVATION NOW FOR , NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY AND SPECIAL NEW YEAR'S DAY DINNER AT MON DESIR O Phone 3-NOrmandy 4-2513 O oO o o J O o o J