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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 5, 1957)
TWELVE MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Sunday, May S, 1957 INIoin)-SecD'siniQill Dodystiry D im Ash Do mid! Lumber Company Makes Boats to Keep Key Workers A small non-seasonal indus try that utilizes wood materials has developed in Jackson coun ty and may be the forerunner to similar diversified enterpriz es that would give the area ad ded economic stability. The White Fir Lumber com pany. Ashland, last September decided to provide work for key personnel, who logged during the summer, to keep them em ployed on an annual basis. As a result, the company is actively manufacturing boats. The demand for boats has be come so great that the original four-man operation has increas ed to 10 and now is being geared to a year-around scale. "The tail is now wagging the dog as E. E. McLaughlin, firm man ager, described the industry's growth. Marketing Beats Marketing the boats has been so successful in "taking up the slack of the current lumber re cession," according to company owners, the firm's saw mill will not have to operate this sum mer. Copartners in the lumber company are L. G. Wirz, C. E. Brownson and E. F. Burgess. Community planners have long recognized the need for local "diversified industry" and year-around and off-season jobs to stabilize the area's economy. Owners of White Fir think the-industry is a step towards this end. Another advantage of the boat industry, they said, is that the use of local raw ma terials is encouraged. McLaugh lin added that most materials for the boats, however, are import ed from other areas. Trade name for the local prod uct is "Crater Crafts." Mc Laughlin said they are being marketed now at one retail out let in both Medford and Ash land. Future dealers are plan ned in Klamath Falls, Rocky Point and at Lake of the Woods. Popularity of Boats Illustrating the popularity of boats in this area, McLaughlin said if future dealers market the crafts as well as the two present ones, the company's production output would have to be doubled. "At any rate," he said, "the consumer demand for boats is bigger than the poten tial supply." ' Three different models are manufactured by the lumber' company. They include a Cat bottom "fisherman" model, the the "V" bottom "fisherman de luxe," and the most expensive model, the "runabout." Custom models developed to individual specifications also are made, according to company officials. Two "fishermen" and one "run about" is completed each day. Costs of the boats range from $125 for the 12-foot ready-to-paint "fisherman" to $560 for the 16-foot mahogony-paneled "runabout." The . three models also include 14-foot boats. Profits from the sale of boats since last fall have totaled about $12,000, McLaughlin said, which includes about 100 sales. Prospcts Bright Prospects for the boat indus try are "bright," according to McLaughlin. He noted that many lake resorts in southern Oregon now have fleets of what he des cribed as "klunkers," which soon will have to be replaced with new crafts. There is every indication the company's boat operation will have to expand again, he added. Materials for the boats in clude a marine plywood hull, douglas fir ribs, and aluminum and stainless steel stripping. Runabout models are equipped with mahogony decking. Wind shields and other accessories are considered "extras," McLaugh lin said. The deluxe and run about models also are complete ly fibreglassed, he added. Plywood materials used in the boats are shipped to Ashland either from Stockton, Calif., Seattle, Wash., or Portland. Lo cal materials are used only for minor parts, the firm manager said. The two fisherman models are designed by Manual Surber, of the lumber company. The Western Plywood association, Tacoma, designs the runabouts. Miss Webster Taking Week's Vacation ' Following attendance last week at the Oregon Library as sociation in Portland, Miss Hel en Webster is taking a week's va- cation to visit friends in Wash- 1 ington and Oregon. She plans brief stays at the veterans administration hospital at American Lake, Wash., and at Montesano, Wash., where she was employed before coming to Medford as librarian of the Med ford public and Jackson county libraries. She also plans to visit friensd and relatives in Corval lis, Albany, and Forest Grove during her absence. (If Mmm READY TO GO E. E. McLaughlin, general manager of the Crater Craft boat factory in Ashland, stands beside one of the 14-foot "runabouts" ready for market. This model, which is complete with windshield, steering wheel and engine control quadrant, plus other marine hardware, sells for about S525, less motor and trailer. The factory also makes a boat they call the "fisherman." which sells BOAT FRAMEWORK Carl Surber, an em ployee of Crater Crafts, is shown above f it . ting a-.section of floor board, filler in the framework of a 14-foot runabout under con struction at the White Fir Lumber company, Ashland. The structural pieces are made of Laa'o. i'- FITS SEAT Manual Surber, of the boats being made at the Crater Craft plant in Ashland is one of 10 skilled craftsmen employed by the firm.. He is shown above fitting a seat in a hull of a standard run about.. The inside of the boats are finished .in a. weather resistant multi-hue paint and the decks are lacquered ma hogany. According to E. E. McLaughlin, plant manager, the . consumer demand for boats in southern Oregon is larger than the supply. SANDING HUUL Above, co-owners Eldo Burgess and Leonard Wirz, are shown sanding the marine plywood hull of a 14-foot runabout being built in the Crater Craft boat factory in Ashland. The wood is finished to smoothness and all flaws are filled with a special hard bond wood filler before hulls are covered with fibreglass. Port of Portland Man To Washington U.R) Rep. Over ton Brooks (D-La.) Friday . ap pointed W. L. Williams, presi dent -of the Port of Portland, f j ; x above, who designed several Represent Oregon to represent Oregon on the reso lutions committee of the Nation al Rivers and Harbors Congress. The Congress will meet in Washington May 16. U ' iJtJK' j for as little as $125. Recently the company has been concentrating on building up a backlog of boats rather than trying to market them on a large scale, according to. Mc Laughlin. At the present time they have 30 on hand. They have orders for 18 of the Fisherman models and are turning them out at the rate of two per day. douglas fir. Every day one runabout and two fisherman-type boats are turned out on the plant's production line. Ribs are cut from a pattern in mass production ahead - of time and stored until they are needed. Two County Students Elected to SOC Posts Ashland Two Jackson coun ty men have recently been el ected representatives at large at Southern Oregon college for 1957-58. They are Bill Russell, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Lee Russell, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Lee Russell, 1139 West Main st., Medford, and Don Floyd, son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl L. Floyd, box 544, Phoenix. Russell also recently won hon orable mention in the recent Lambda Iota Tau poetry contest. He entered an exercise in alliter ation called, "An experiment in Alliterative Accommodation." Annual Iris Show is Slated in CJ May 29 Cave Junction The annual Illinois Valley Iris show will be staged Wednesday, May 29,, at Immanuel Methodist church in Cave Junction. In addition to en tries of flowers in all classifica tions from single blooms to massed bouquets and - arrange ments, bird and book displays will also be featured in the event which is sponsored by the Illi nois Valley Garden club. At the club's regular meeting held Friday at the home of Mrs. L. W. Monroe, committees for the show were named by Mrs. John Smith, general chairman. Assistant Librarian Arrives in Medford Mrs. Constance Pease joined the staff of the Medford public and Jackson County library last week as assistant librarian. She replaces Mrs. Joyce Full er, who has filled the position ed in order to spend more time with her family. Mrs. Pease is a graduate of the school of librarianship of the University of Washington. She has served as librarian of the Corvallis Public library for four years and as a member of the staff of the Oregon State college library for seven years. Two daughters, Mary, a jun ior, in high school, and Janet, in the eighth grade of McLoughlin Junior High, have come - with Mrs.' Pease to make their home in Medford. " . Holmes Takes Steps To Northwest Salem (U.R) Gov. Robert D. Holmes says he is bringing an abrupt stop to a program through which, he said, Oregon's two previous Republican gover nors had contributed nearly S8, 000 of state funds for promotion of so-called "partnership" power ("development. The action removed Oregon from the Pacific Northwest Gov ernor's Power Policy Commit tee, which Gov. Holmes called an arm of the private power lobby. Gov. Holmes said that unap proved reports of the commit tee's technical engineers had been used recently to support the position of Idaho Power Co. in the Hells Canyon controver sy. Payments Authorized Gov. Holmes said the records showed that the late Gov. Paul Patterson, under whose admin istration Oregon joined the pow er policy committee, and Gov. Elmo Smith had authorized pay ments from the executive de partment funds to Portland General Electric Co. totaling $7,577.63. He said the case had been un der investigation since he took office Jan. 14 and during that time he felt a moral obligation to authorize continuation of monthly payments although no contract existed. PGE Takes Exception Immediate exception to this statement was taken by Estes Snedecor Jr., tax agent and leg islative representative for Port land General Electric. "PGE merely has been acting as a fiscal clearing house for the governors' policy commit tee." Snedecor said. "We have collected the money from all the participants and paid the bills from that fund We have not received one cent of compensation- .for ourselves, and we object to the inference that we have been paid money. Oregon's share, which . Gov. Holmes said was bigger by al most twice than any other con tributor's, went into a fund for expenses of Ebasco Services, a private' firm which actually Evaluation Group Approves Medford Mail's Invention A valve lifter invented by Roy G. Miller, 322 South River side ave., Medford, has been accepted and approved by the GMC Gadget Jury, according to Don L. Davis, director of opera tions in the Gadget-Of-The-Month Club, Inc., Los Angeles. The Gadget Jury is the official screening agency of the Gadget-Of-The-Month club and is com posed of experts in patenting, manufacturing and marketing of new inventions. Miller, a 61-year-old retired businessman, has had 20 record searches made on ideas and has had five patents granted. Prior to World War I, he shod horses and did blacksmithing in Mon tana logging operations. On en tering the service, he became a horse shoer of the 316th mobile veterinary corps, 91st division, a first aid unit for horses. He is a Mason and a member of the machinists and teamsters unions. He has been in the trans fer business, general merchan dising, building, automobile re building and , in logging and milling occupations. Approval of his valve lifter by the Gadget Jury means that the invention has been thoroughly evaluated and tested by experts and found to be new, practical and possessed of strong com mercial potential. Jury approval also releases the item to a num ber of manufacturers who will bid for its exclusive rights and arrange for its national and in ternational marketing. The Gadget-of-The-Month club is celebrating its 12th anniver sary this year. Whitney, Wright Join Medford Realty Board Lloyd W. Whitney and Bill Wright, both of Medford, have been named members in the Medford Board of Realtors, it was announced Friday. " Carl ' T. Nelson, chairman of the . membership committee of the local board, said April was National " .Association of Real Estate boards "Realtor Action Month." During the month a campaign was conducted to bring qualified real estate men and women into affiliation with the Medford Board of Realtors. The super-carrier USS For restal is almost 10 stories high, keel to flight deck, with a five- story superstructure, giving it an over-all height of approximately 15 stories. Governors1 makes the studies for the com: mittee. Gov. Holmes said Ebasco was "an arm of the private power lobby." And he said: "Except for propaganda ior partnership power, we could have gotten the same informa tion supplied by Ebasco Servi ces from the advance program of Bonneville Power Adminis tration for nothing." Compilations of billings for 1956 alone, Gov. Holmes said, showed members contributed more than $20,000 of which "the major 15 per cent share was paid by Oregon taxpayers." "This is a case, Gov. Holmes declared, "of state funds being contributed to further a cause in direct contradiction to what the taxpayers -clearly demon strated by their vote." All Firms Said Contributors CARL SKYRMAN 4-H Member of Month . Central Point Boy Named April's 4-H Member of Month Carl Skyrman, 17, son of Mr. and Mrs., Ivan Skyrman, Cen tral Point, is Jackson county 4-H club member of the month. Carl is in his eighth year as a club member and his interest has been primarily in forestry, In addition to his work in the forestry project itself, - he has had a leading part as a junior leader in the Central Point 4-H forestry club. - , He also has taken projects in electricity, -' poultry, sheep, dairy and outdoor cookery. Dur ing his years of 4-H club work, he has been president, vice pres ident, reporter and secretary of his several project clubs, and this past year, was president of the Central . Point Community 4-H club, which encompasses all 4-H clubs in the Central Point area. He 'has won five county fair championships with exhibits in forestry, sheep and outdoor cookery. Training Younger Members - , Carl has done a lot of work in training younger club mem bers in forestry identification. He was a county medal winner in forestry identification from 1954 through 1956, and was on the state forestry judging cham pionship team in 1953. In 1956 he also was awarded the county medal in the National Awards program for forestry. Skyrman has taken an active part as a camp councelor at the 4-H summer camp, which is held at Lake of the Woods. In recog-J nition for his work, he nas been selected to attend camp again this year for his fifth year. Last year he was recognized for his leadership ability by being elec ted president of his house. A senior at Crater High, he is a member of the track team in broad jumping and i pole vaulting. He has also been ac tive on the Journalism staff as a member of the FFA chapter and of the Sportsman's club at Crater High school. ' Carl comes from a 4-H family. His father is a forestry leader and his mother is an outdoor cooking leader.. His older sister, Mrs. Douglas Smith, was a club member for many years and is now a student at Oregon State college. Carl's younger brother, Wally, 11,. is now an active 4-H club member. Carl plans to en ter college this' fall and "hopes tor major in forestry' and :forest products'. ' "' '' ' . Ashland Woman Released After Hearing Jean Ardith Starr, 37, of 54 Mountain ave.i Ashland, was re leased Thursday afternoon after appearing . in district ' court on a charge, of uttering and pub lishing a false check. District ' Judge James Main held that preliminary hearing failed to show sufficient evidence to hold her on the charge. She was arrested Tuesday by Ash land police. Remove Oregon From Power Policy Group The governor said that rec ords showed that two reports, one of them never approved by the committee, had been used by the Pacific Northwest Power Co. in FPC hearings and before the Senate Interior and Insu lar Affairs Committee to sup port arguments for Idaho Pow er's opposition to a high federal dam in Hells Canyon. "This has in effect mislead ingly lent the weight of north west governors to the partner ship program," Gov. Holmes said, "though the last meeting of the policy committee was held in October, 1955 x over a year and a half ago." Gov. Holmes said correspon dence indicated that Gov. Pat terson took on the 15 per cent share for the state with the in tention of collecting parts of it from Oregon's public power groups and PUDS. But all the public utility districts except one, the governor said, "declin ed to contribute on the basis that the program held no pos sible benefit." Snedecor said - participants contributing to the fund inclu ded all private power compan ies in the Northwest. He said Idaho Power, Montana Power, Washington State Water Power, Puget Sound Power and Light, Pacific Power and Light Brit ish Columbia Electric Co., PGE and Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada, Ltd., VA Overpayments Due for Recovery, Officials Report The veterans administration Saturday warned veterans and other beneficiaries under various laws that overpayment of bene fits are subject to recovery by the government, according to S. T. Brannock, officer in charge, Medford. . These overpayments can be prevented by promptly report ing changes in income or de pendency status, or interruptions of education and training, Bran nock pointed out. Incomplete Information Usually, overpayments are made because veterans or other beneficiaries fail to furnish com plete ' or accurate information. This obligates the VA to recover the money, and it often comes as a hardship to the recipient, Brannock. said. Ex-GI's attending school or on job or farm training under the GI Bill should make sure the monthly certificate required by the VA is accurately and com pletely filled out before they sign it. Special attention should be given attendance reports, Brannock said. Changes Unreported Overpayments to veterans re ceiving service-connected disabil ity compensation are generally made because the veterans fail to report changes in marital status or in number of dependents. Prompt reports of divorce, re marriage or deaths enable VA to keep its records current and avoid overpayments. Other persons receiving pen sion for non-service-connected disability, and widows of such veterans of World War I, World War II and the Korean Conflict' may be overpaid if they fail to keep VA informed about their other income. . The law provides such pen sions are payable only to veter ans whose other income does not exceed $1,400 if single, or $2,700 if they have a wife or minor children, Brannock said. 2X'2 0,w ftrie Ttmtah 1 -u.- felt Trip" , W four . licensee. , L Guaranteed br t ?-B""e0r'ofhrd- large" , J (InnrL Lti, world'! oldt - BIG PII1ES LUIMR CO. Corner 6th & Fir had each been contributing one ninth of 50 per cent. Washington State Power Com mission, Seattle and Tacoma each contributed 5 per cent; Idaho and Montana, each 7 '.4 per cent; British Columbia, S per cent, and Oregon, 15 per cent. Plumbing, Heating Conference Ends Saturday Evening Oregon members of heating plumbing industries yesterday concluded their annual two-day conference at the Medford hotel. The sessions were attended by wholesalers and manufacturers as well as members of the asso ciation. y Discussions Held Discussion subjects included how to stimulate modernization of plumbing in existing build ings, technological advances in the plumbing industry, publior relations, labor relations, mer chandising and protection to public health provided by plumbing codes and the training of apprentices. Special emphasis was given to such phases of the industries as stimulating remodeling and pro motion of extra bathrooms. Several Speakers Speakers during the confer ence included Walter J. Widmer, Portland, assocaition president; Herbert Wait Sr., president, Ore gon U.A. Pipe Trades council; Eric Hansen, Winston; Jack Webb, San Francisco, American Standard Radiator Corp.; Don Patton, Oregon plumbing inspec tor; W. O. 3rown, Pacific coast district manager, Crane com pany; Wilbur S. Hokum, vice president, National ' Association of Plumbing Contractors; - and Carl Rice, DeTemple company. Welcome to Medford was ex tended to the .group by Mayor John Snider. A 6:30 p.m. - ban quet at the Rogue Valley Coun try club climaxed the conven tion. ' Foresters to Tour Hills Fruit Plant Siskiyou chapter, Society of American Foresters, will tour the Fruit Growers Supply com pany in Hilts, Calif., Friday, May ,10, at 1:30 p.m. In addition to the plant tour, the society will inspect the new access road from, the plant into Hilts from the west. . Social hour will begin fet 5:30 pjn. at the Bur-Bel resort on Highway 99, located a mile north of the Klamath River bfidge. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. Speaker will be George Criag, secretary-manager of the Western Lumber Manufacturers association, whose topic will be "Observations on Wood Utiliza tion." Elks Association v Convention Slated Coos Bay Schedule for the 1957 Oregon Elks association convention, to be held at Coos Bay May 30-June 1, has been completed, according to Howard Maple, general chairman. 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