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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1957)
COURTEEK MEDI-ORD (OBECOK) MAIL TRIBUNE Sunday. February 10, 1957 Eysiiniessmaini Makes Wood Gcarvimigs aim Spare Time o o ) O O O O o Co ffeyV-, fjkf. v'rw-- J- "'Uamx I ; y r;jftaa MORE THAN A WHITTLER Although he uses a pocket knife lo carve wood, Medford grocery store owner Bill Fon taine it not jusi an ordinary whiiller. He is shown above in the basement of his home where he spends most of his spare time forming wood into strikingly beautiful figurines. He is at work Local Committee Named to Supervise AFS Exchange Plan A local American Field Serv ice committee has been organ ized to supervise local participa tion in the world-wide AFS stu dent exchange program, C. Wel don Kline, temporary chairman, has announced. The AFS was founded in 1914 as a volunteer ambulance serv ice in World War I, and served in World War II, when it decid ed to form a peacetime program. Part of the program is carried out by sponsoring teenage stu dents from 39 foreign countries to study in American schools and to live with American fami lies for one year. Sponsors Student In Medford, the Rotary club has sponsored a student under the exchange program for the school year 1956-57. He is John Hansen from Copenhagen, Den mark, who is staying with the H. D. Chnstensen family in Med ford and attends Medford High school. The Rotary club will sponsor another student for the 1957-58 school year, Kline said, but not ed that .this area is allowed two exchange students under the pro gram. The committee has ex- pressed an interest in talking to other groups who would like to participate. The newly formed committee will assume from the Rotary club the responsibility of con ducting the local program. The committee has offered interested companies, clubs and individuals the opportunity of participating in the formation of a permanent committee. Committee Members Members of the committee serving until a permanent organ ization is formed are Kline, Joe Naumes. William M. Caldwell, Jjponard Mayfield and Russ Jam ison. Onc of the first projects planned for the group in 1957 is Cthe summer program of AFS which places American students Cin foreign homes for the summer months. OrOOSS OUT CHARGE Paris (U.R) A French court has tossed out a charge that French Suto magnate Louis Renault was killed by beatings in Ca French prison where he was heldo on suspicion of col liboratins with the Nazis dur ing World War II. O ON'T LET ARTHRITIC jtrfUMATIC PAIN RUIN YOUR LIFE! o There 'i no need to suffer -vou 3 CAN" ret relief QUICKLY with ) AR-?AX-EX. Most pain will sub- side . . . YOU, and your loved ones . O q can rejoice like thousands who are O " relieved. fVervwhere, victims of sciatica. JuOjtbago and neuralfria are dis Qovering our "wonder-tablet" and thanking- heaven for the SURE RELIEF AR-PAN-EX brines; Aching muscles, stiff joints may necome limber again. "I'm sorry I didn't try AR-PAX-EX months ago. Think of the agonies I could Ohave avoided." writes one. CVes. ind?ed ! But thousands who ad this will XOT art . . . will 1UL"ET our HOXEST WORDS. We sav BELIEVE have faith in .CR-PAX-EX. We sincerely tell von AR-PAX-EX will quickly relieve much pain or your M&VEY BACK! WAfiMCOTT'S pharmacy ? 322 East Main More State Pay Asked For District Attorneys Jackson county's district at torney will receive a 57,000 in crease in the portion of his sal ary paid by the state, effective July 1, 1957, if a bill now be fore the Oregon legislature is adopted. Increases for all Oregon dis trict attorneys were recommend ed by the District Attorney's as sociation. The bill was read to the 49th legislative assembly for the first time on Feb. 6. State, County Funds The Jackson county district at torney now receives S5.000 a year from the state and S2.500 from the county. It is proposed that the state pay $12,000 to ward his salary. The bill (HB-397) would also prohibit district attorneys re ceiving state salaries of 510,000 or more per annum from engag Increase in Student Population Discussed By School Officials Leonard Mayfield, Medford school superintendent, and Howard Boner, principal of the Howard school district, discus sed the increase of student pop ulation in Medford area schools at a meeting of the Medford Council of Parent Teacher as sociations at the Medford YMCA Thursday. Mayfield summarized reasons why the Medford school board plans to submit to school dis trict voters this spring a S1.200, 000 bond issue to finance con struction of two elementary schools and a major addition to Medford High school. Increase in Schools Boner pointed out the student increase in Medford area schools parallels enrollment increases in city schools. He said Howard en rollment has increased 300 per cent in the last nine years, re quiring two bond issues during that time for construction of several classroom additions. Student membership at Howard has increased from 400 two years ago to 465 this year, according to Boner. However, he added, Howard facilities will be adequate to absorb enrollment rises for several years despite anticipated increases. Howard now has 16 class- Court, Clerk to Eye Precinct Boundaries The county court will meet Monday afternoon with Mrs. Bereth P. Hopkins, county clerk, to study maps and consider voter precinct boundary changes which will be required by law. According to County Judge Rodney Keating, there are 23 precincts in the county which have more than 500 registered voters. Law specifies that no precinct shall have more than 500 voters. This means these precincts will have to be di vided. Judge Keating said. Law also requires that pre cincts in cities having more than 2.000 population must not be shared by voters living outside the city limits. Judge Keating indicated Central Point would be affected by this legislation. on a carving of a bearded woodsman. Fontaine also works in copper and does a lot of sketching to get the "feel" of a partic ular subject that he plans to carve. Some of his work is on dis play at the Hawthorne market, of which he is proprietor. ing in private law practice. Present law permits the district attorney to maintain private practice. Two Deputies It would also provide for a deputy district attorney in each county having a population of more than 30,000. and an addi tional deputy district attorney for each additional 30,000. The deputy district attorneys would receive salaries of S6.000 per annum from the state. Law now provides that one deputy district attorney be ap pointed for Jackson county and receive 53,000 from the state. Jackson county has two deputy district attorneys. One receives S3, 000 from the state and 52.000 from the county and the other receives a salary of S4,200 paid entirely by the'eounty. rooms and 18 teachers compared to four teachers and 150 stu dents nine years ago. Mayfield added the trend at Howard is in dicative of enrollment increases in Medford and throughout Jack son county. Students Population The school superintendent an nounced earlier last week that the 1956 school census taken last October indicated the pre sent student population in Med ford is what school officials two years ago anticipated it would be in 1960. The census disclosed an un predictable increase in school age population, due to immigra tion, accrued during the past two years, he said. The Medford council of Par ent Teacher associations is com posed of representatives from various public school PTAs in the Medford area. About 25 PTA officials attended. Deadline (or Dog Licenses Nears A penalty of one dollar, in ad dition to the SI. 50 license fee, will be imposed on dog owners who fail to obtain licenses by March 1. J. Chris Haglcr. coun ty dog control officer, remind ed residents Friday. Hagler will be at the Shady Cove Cleaners on the Crater Lake highway from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, to sell dog licenses. The licenses may also be pur chased every day from the Ash land city police department: M. W. Young, chief of police at Tal ent: Walter C. John, Phoenix police department: the dog pound. 2872 Howard ave.. Med ford: Gail's Market. Gold Hill: Harold Ottosen, city marshal, Ea gle Point; Frank Carter. Jack Orva Jean Cruise, city record er, or Lois O. Morgan, city treas urer. Rogue River; Kizzie Ed mondson, notary public. Butte Falls: and the county clerk's of fice in the courthouse at Med ford. About 800 languages are spo ken in the world today. Two Local Men Attending Church Meet in Cleveland At a Moderators' meeting held last week in Cleveland by the Presbyterian church . in the U.S.A., a $54,000,000 benevo lence program to be-underwritten in 1962 by the church was discussed by 400 church leaders. The meeting, attended by Dr. D. Kirkland West, pastor of the Medford First Presbyterian church, and George C. Flanagan, elder-trustee of the local church, was called by the moderator of the church's General Assembly to discuss a new five-year pro gram for the Presbyterian church. Target for 19E2 The 554,000,000 benevolences target for 1962 was characterized as "a hoped for and hypothetical sum" by Dr. J. Hoyt Boles, sy nod executive from Texas. He thought the sum "not too great" according to the resources of the church. Dr. West and Flanagan par ticipated at the meeting as a team reporting on the steward ship progress of the ' Medford church at a presentation Wed nesday. Dr. Robert J. Cadigan, editor and general manager of Pres byterian Life magazine, spoke on "The Kind of World in Which We are Living" Monday evening at the Cleveland meet ing. Summarizes Year "It is a culture in which the year 1956 we committed murder on our highways for an all time record of 40,200 individuals. In one week the total reached 1,124. When not very many more people lost their lives in the sinking of a passenger ship four decades ago, the nation declared war. Is it not high time for the church to lead the nation in declaring war against highway slaughter?" Structural Changes Tn s.,mmrWir,o in the social structure of Ameri- ca Dr. Cardigan mentioned that church membership is at an all time high, and so are the crime statistics; that this is the age of the psychiatrist's couch, the moving van, and the portable television set and the conform ing consumer; but it is also a time of fear and of courage, of hatred and of love. After the three-day meeting in Cleveland the pastor - laymen teams left for Nebraska where they are speaking this week to test the plans discussed. The two local men will return to Medford Wednesday. Willamette Band To Give Concert The Willamette university band will present a public con cert in the Hedrick Junior High school auditorium Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 8 p.m., I. A. Mirick, instrumental music supervisor for the Medford school district announced. . . The band, under direction hi Maurice Brennen, will feature a j variety of musical selections. The concert is part of a tour made each year and is sponsored this year by the Medford High school band. Tickets may be purchased at the door or from Medford band students, Mirick said. Admis sion will be one dollar for adults. 50 cents for high school and junior high students and 20 cents for elementary students. Original Figures Created by Local Market Proprietor By BOB VROMAN Mail Tribune Staff Writer To see Bill Fontaine, wearing a grocery apron and arranging produce in his store, the Haw thorne market, a person wouldn't suspect that this "or dinary" Medford businessman spent his spare time in his base ment at home carving beautiful figures from wood that easily fall within the realm of fine art. Fontaine started carving about four years ago,-' and though he only does it in his spare time, he has created hundreds of orig inal figures, ranging from ani mals and Zulu natives to some weird-looking creatures he calls 'snorkle-bugs" which he first vis ualized when he was fighting a high fever in a hospital bed. Most of his carving is done from pencil, or Red cedar, which works smoothly and makes pos sible the velvety finish that is typical in most of his work. He acquires this finish by rubbing the finely sanded surfaces with linseed oil. Small Figurines The figurines are small, most of them under one foot high, but are so delicately done that they seemingly could stand five feet high without any coarsening of detail. Although he has all sorts of woodcarving tools, Fontaine pre fers to use his penknife, which he keeps sharpened to a razor edge, for nearly all his work. He usually works from sketches that he draws before-hand that are complete in every detail. Lately he has been busy col lecting data on the American buffalo. His research .is scienti fic and includes such details as the length of hair and ears and skeletal structure as well as pic tures of the animals from all angles. In the near future he plans to carve a buffalo cow and her calf and a yearling buffalo. Studied Ait Fontaine didn't take up carv ing accidently. He studied art about 15 years ago at the Cali fornia School of Fine Art and attended the Academy of Adver tising Art in San Francisco, esta blishing a background in draw ing and design that has proved invaluable in the execution of his carvings. One of his instruc tors at the California School of Fine Arts was watercolorist Mil lard Sheets. As a boy of 10 Fontaine re members carving bas-relief im ages in sandstone, using what ever tools were available to shape the material. Though crude by his stand ards now, these early attempts at self-expression were when his natural talent came to light and led him to consider art as a ca reer. Earning A Living But the struggle to earn a liv ing deterred him from follow ing art full time, and after he quit school he took a job in a Medford Safeway store as a clerk, which he held for seven years before opening a small store of his own on Holly st. Several years ago he sold out and purchased the Hawthorne market at the corner of East Main and Almond sts. When Fontaine became ill in 1953 with a severe case of pnue- monia and was lying in a hospi tal bed under the effects of num erous shots of penicillin and a high fever, he began to imagine little creatures ( were scamper ing around on his bed. In his delirium, his wife, Frei- relates, ne was sitting up in lbed wa"ng at the imaginary monsters, trying to knock them away. His fever broke several hours later and he described the unusual "things" that had at tacked him to his wife, who had been at his bedside during the crisis. Appearance Detail He was able to tell her in de tail the appearance of the crea tures and later he made sketches of them, along with color notes, so i that he could make replicas of them in wood. When he got out of the hospi tal he began carving one of the odd-looking beasts that had the appearance of something from another planet. The bug-like ab domens and stocky legs of the creatures, which he was soon to call "snorkle-bugs," along with outsized noses and feelers, made them unlike anything anyone had ever seen before, and, Fon Daily's U-Drive Medford Airport .. . m) SNORKLE BOGS Once, when Bill Fontaine wai ill with pnuemonia, he imagined grotesque creatures were running around on his hospital bed. He remembered what they looked like when his fever broke and made sketches of them. Later he made these carvings and painted them in the brilliant char treuse and reds that he saw in his imagination. Fontaine thinks there might be some commercial use for them. The figures are about 7 inches high. taine feels, are as original in concept as anything can be. Though he looks back on the experience with humor, he said he wouldn't want to go through it again. Traveling Bug One of the long-nosed snor kle-bugs" has traveled all over the 'United States with a sales man who delighted in showing it to customers, and who made an attempt to interest a pen com pany in using it in their- adver tising. The company wasn't interest ed, but Fontaine feels that there is definite possibilities in using the little creatures commercial ly. He says they, look very at tractive in a planter or sitting on a knick-knack shelf. Woodcarving is not the only craft in which Fontaine is skill ed. He enjoys working in copp er, forming the soft metal to the original designs he has drawn. The demand for this work lo cally is greater than he can sup ply since many hours go into the creation of each design. Sold Copper Plaques At first he sold the copper plaques to friends for a small fee, enough to cover the cost of materials, but since the demand became so great for them he has had to raise his price to where it is representative of the hours of work involved. Some day, Fontaine says, he would like to get out of the gro cery business and do nothing but carving and copper work, but right now, until he feels more se cure, he will go on working at it in his spare time. Governor Proclaims Advertising Week Gov. Robert D. Holmes has proclaimed Feb. 10-16 as ad vertising week in Oregon. Highlighting the week for the Oregon Advertising Industry will be the ninth annual awards banquet Feb. 13 at the Mult nomah hotel in Portland. Aw ards will be made in several categories, singling out the best advertising originated- in the state during. 1956. NEW TONEMASTER CW&SS HEARING AID worn entirely on one ear No Cord No Clothing Noise No Receiver Burton Use Telephone Naturally It's easier to put on than a pair of glasses fits comfortably and un noticed behind one ear. No cords, headbands nothing interferes with complete freedom. Women completely conceal it with a bit of hair. Full range fingertip adjust ment. You'll marvel at the all di rectional hearing, you hear right GEORGE E. WHITE HEARING AIDS -131 West Main ff MEDFORD, OREGON Pay Hike Approved For County Rural School Teachers The Jackson county rural school board has approved $200 across-the-board salary, raise recommendation for rural school teachers of the county according to Glenn Smith, Jack sonville, chairman of the board. Recommendation, for the sal ary increase was made by mem bers of the Jackson County Ru ral School Board ' association. Smith explained salary Increases originate with the local school boards and are approved or re jected by the rural school board. depending on whether or not the proposed raises are within established county equalization limits. Two-Mill Increase The $200 raise will result in an estimated tax increase of two mills. ' The board previously ap proved raising experience lev els for annual salary increases. Rural teachers holding bach elor's degrees wiU be eligible for annual raises until they have had 10 years of experience; those with five years of train ing will be eligible for raises up to 12 years of experience: and those with masters degrees will be eligible for raises up to 13 years of experience. Level Raised The level was raised one ex perience station for those with bachelor's degrees and those with master's degrees. The $200 raise for teachers in every station of the salary scale will be in addition to increments allowed under the. revised an nual raise schedule, Smith ex plained. WEATHER By United Press Northern California: Fair Sun day. Morning fog in valleys. up at the ear the natural place to hear! Try the new Tonemaster Cordless. You'll never go back to I he muffled "swish swish" of an or dinary hearing aid. Act now. Send for free illustrated literature. Aim, ak to th. famous Tonemaster standard model hearing aids. (dealer name) (dealer address) Please rush free literature on new Tonemaster "Cordless" Hearing Aid. NAME . ADDRESS CITY -STATE f--'l" , ' v ZULU W A R R I E R This woodcarving, made from Red cedar and hand subbed with linseed oil, is typical of the work of Bill Fontaine, who spends most of his spare time in his basement at hoifte cre ating unusually beautiful fig urines. From 50 lo 100 .hours of work go into each piece. He was once offered S200 for this one. . r Vrefco Council Against Sales Tax in County 0 Yreka Yreka city council-, men went on record last week as being against a Siskiyou county sales tax at the present time. Supervisor Bill Ealy appeared before the council and asked for an opinion on the proposed tax. Ealy indicated "increasing pres sure" had become evident in re cent weeks on the sales tax question and pointed out that cities in the southern end of the county have already planned discussions on the subject. OLD BEFORE YOUR TIME? New Hope for tk Tntd-Oat The REAL cause of that "dragged out" feeling, irritable nerves, sleeplensnees. constipa tion and digestive disturbance may be due to iron-poor blood r a lack of nature's vital minenia and vitamins in vour system. If so. feel STRONGER and YOUNGER fast. Get new iron rich, vitamin-rich blood-buildimjf Drag-NOT Tablets. 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