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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1957)
TWX1.YZ MTOrORD (ORKOOK) MAIL TRIBUNE Sunday, Sptmbr 1, 1S57 Medferdl CypD Travel Northern Wafers in Own Outboard Craft Kids, Dog Also Enjoy the Trip Br DON ROBINSON Mail Tribune Staff Writer If the society editor of the Nanaimo (nuh-NY-moe), British Columbia, newspaper had by chance slipped down to the docks one day this June, the following item might have appeared in the paper's columns: "Three families from the city cf Medford, Oregon, visited here by boat yesterday. "Arriving in three small pri vate vessels were: Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Lee, and son and daughter, Walter, 13, and Carol Ann, 15; Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Allen Jr.; and Mr. and Mrs. Car roll Miller. The Miller dog, Joe, was also aboard. "While in Nanaimo, the Ore gonians bought gas and supplies and checked through customs. They chatted with several fish ermen and complimented the country and the people, reserv ing a lew complaints about tne rain." Though it is seldom that so ciety editors collect such news, it is also seldom that folks from the orchards and mills of. the Rogue valley are found cruising the waters between Vancouver island and the Canadian main land in their own boats. Yet a little over a month ago, the persons mentioned above spent their summer vacations on 18 to 22-foot outboard craft, skimming through about 1,000 miles of coves, passages, inlets and straits there. They left Medford June 23, a caravan of three cars towing three boats on specially made trailers. Lees led the way. On their trailer was a boat born of a Chris Craft kit, 22 feet long, put together by Lee and a friend in a total of about 1,000 man hours. Cabin Cruisers The mahogany and white cabin cruiser held a roomy cabin forward, with four bunks, a three burner gas stove with oven, a sink and a toilet. Behind them came the Millers, their station wagon pulling an 18-foot Bell Boy cabin cruiser, bought from the boat building firm in Bellingham, Wash. It had bunk room for two people. Both Miller and Lee crafts were equipped with twin 30-horse- power Evinrude motors. Last in line were the Aliens, towing a green and white cabin cruiser designed and built from scratch by Jim Allen. Once in the water, this boat would be propelled by a single 35-horse-power motor. The three couples, plus Lee chil dren and Miller dog, munched on fried chicken on the road and made Anacortes, Wash., the next day. Anacortes balances on the northern tip of a slip of land in Puget Sound between Washing ton and Vancouver island. The boats were "put in" by elevator at Marina Gates, a launching operation at the beach. Lees, Millers and Aliens count ed noses and grocery money, pointed the boats north and started the motors for a wet but thoroughly enjoyable voyage. Provisions included bacon, snack food, 32 to 50 gallons of gasoline apiece, cameras and stacks of film. The Aliens and Lees preferred 35 millimeter col or pictures, and Miller shot ac tion with a new movie camera. Reach Stale Park The trio of boats skirted north of Orcas, a large island among the San Juans, and by evening reached Sucia island, the whole of which has been dedicated as a Washington state park. The second day carried them further north and east to Mudge island. That night, winds kicked up the water's surface, and they spent the sleeping hours rocking none too gently. As Lee recalls, '"I hung on to my bunk." Calmer waters greeted them in the morning and they put out for Vancouver island and the asy going town on its eastern coast, Nanaimo. Most vacationers from the U.S., "doing the is land" by car, make this the northernmost point on their crowded ventures. The Medford people checked in with customs authorities and stocked up on gas and groceries. Gas came by the Imperial gal lon, five quarts for 28 cents. Downtown (the shopping district is walking distance from the docks) they chatted with resi dents, and back at the water's edge they talked with fishermen. They left convinced Canadians are a friendly lot. "They've al ways got time to stop and chat, and aren't in any hurry." Impatient Motorist Lee, youngest of the "three voyaging men, was sharply aware of the difference on re turning to the states. He was crossing a railroad track in Ana cortes when a wheel of his boat trailer caught in the ties. A mo torist behind asked if he wouldn't get out of the way. r ft 111 rc J IN FOR A DIP A picture taken on the 1956 trip shows Mrs. Miller, left, and Mrs. Allen in the water on a typically rocky beach. Water in the protected areas along the coast FALLING WATER A foamy wisp of water tumbles over a bluff and down through the forest to an arm of ocean water cutting into the British Columbia coast. Similar falls can be seen along many of the inlets in the area, The Lee cabin cruiser is in the foreground. 1 "w-AiliI OLYMPIC BOATING AREA An outline map shows the country which three Medford couple toured by private outboard boats earlier this summer. Their trip began at Anacortes, Wash., and contin ued to Nanaimo, B.C., on Vancouver island, then up to and around Jervis inlet on the Canadian mainland. "Look," Lee said, "if you want to help get this loose, okay. If you don't, just sit and wait." The impatient soul had an al ternative, and squeezed past on what road room was left. Lee was unimpressed. A real challenge for the small boats awaited beyond Nanaimo the Strait of Georgia. This 40 mile wide body of temperamen tal water lay between them and their goal. Dake Cova just in side Jervis inlet. The? pushed out and crossed the Strait with out incident, achoring safely off shore at Dark Cove. Twelve to 14-foot tides are not unusual here, so the boats were left at anchor away from the shore, and boat-to-shore travel was done ia eight-foot dinghies which Allen and Lee were tow ing. Dark Cove was headquarters during the remaining time. From there the travelers took excur sion trips in and around accessi ble waterways. Various islands w 1 mm ii i iiiuiiiij , PtWNT dot the area, larger ones appear ing bent and jagged on . the charts, sides slit by bays and in lets. Perhaps the most interesting expedition took the three boats up Jervis inlet, an arm of water snaking into the British Colum bia mainland about 75 miles north of Vancouver. Princess Louisa inlet lay at its end. Princess Louisa Inlet Canada's primitive country in this section is striking and mag nificent. Thick rainforests cover the earth and heavy underbrush prevents man on foot from pen etrating more than a few feet past the forest's edge. Princess Louisa inlet, pretty as its name, averages two-thirds of a mile in width. Cliffs on either side run up a thousand feet or more. Glacier crowned mountains, which with the. inlet were formed years ago by ice age glacial movements, rise to more than 7,000 feet above sea level. To of British Columbia is often warmer thart" on the ocean beaches of Oregon. Rain prevented the travelers from swimming during the trip this year. i Beneath the boat floors, the water went down to near 400 fathom depth (2,400 feet). It is clear and blue on the surface, and appears, when one first enters the inlet, to be not a stretch of the sea but a high mountain lake. Allen calls it "Yosemite valley with water." At the head of the inlet is luxurious Malibu lodge, built in the 1930's by a wealthy man and intended for wealthy tour ists. The tourists never came, and the owner sold out to the Young Life youth group. Every summer, high school boys and girls from around the nation spend a few weeks at Malibu in the midst of unmarred scenery. Rain was the only distraction of the vacation for the Medford visitors. It fell 12 of 14 days dur ing the first two weeks. Mrs. Lee didn't ask what the annual rain fall was, but estimated it rough ly at "barrels." Allen says it is not an unpleasant precipitation however, and once it stops, men and belongings are dry from the sun in half an hour. Food was no problem. When meal time came, they asked "who'll catch the fish tonight?" and someone went to do a little "jigging" for red snapper, sea bass, rock cod, ling cod, torn cod and other varieties of bottom fish. From time to time they landed small but delicious salm on. At places they found rock beaches carpeted with oysters, and they picked a meal during minus tides. Miller, not wanting to waste film footage, had the group pry open the often tough shells first, then started his cam era recording the "opening of the oysters." Clams could be dug with bare hands. The Lees could have been happier about the food situation, not caring at all for oysters or clams. But they managed the bottom fish and salmon, and their son, "Bud," caught a siza ble red snapper the first time he dropped a line. Grocery Purse Mrs. Lee kept the grocery purse for whatever was needed to supplement fish. There was money left over at the trip's end. Though the area is undevel oped and most natives live by the fishing rod, grocery stores are not wanting. At Stuart is land, 50 miles north of auto roads and where supplies must come by boat, the Aliens and Millers found fresh California grapes and other produce. The Lees left early to reach Medford by July 7. Rough wa ters kept them holed up in a bay for 26 hours on the return trip. They ' were surprised, poking carefully into open waters, not sure even then that they should continue, to find a small fishing boat anchored unprotected, and four men calmly pulling in their catch. The Aliens and Millers took a different route home, stopping at points on north Vancouver island, arriving in' Medford a week later than the Lees. This was not the first trip for the Aliens and Millers. Their boating in northwest waters be gan with an article that, ap peared in Sunset magazine in 1951. It caught the attention of both Jim Allen and Carroll Mil ler. Its . most surprising feature was the advice that trips on Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia could be made by small boats with outboard motors. This was at a time when "outboards" with detachable motors taken off when not in use, were gen erally considered for use only on lakes and enclosed waters. Adventuring in spots like the Strait of Georgia called for 50-foot-plus vessels with inboard propulsion, acording to popular conception. Allen had been interested in boating from childhood. His par ents once owned Rocky Point re sort on Klamath Lake, and he' designed and built his first run about at the age of 19. If he needed more inspiration ke- to take to water, he and his wife moved into a house built on the banks of the Rogue river, just northeast of TouVelle state park, in 1929. Take Open Boats After seeing the Sunset arti cle, Aliens and Millers took open outboard boats to Ana cortes and put in for points north? It was a nice trip, and the next summer they repeated. In 1953 they skipped, but each year since they have been regular visitors They have now switched to cab in cruiser models, still using out board motors. Allen, the past two years, has sailed in the "Sea Arrow," a serviceable vessel of his own building, 18 feet long. Miller bought his Bell Boy cabin cruiser in 1956. The Lees were novices on the Canadian, trip this year. Lee has a pair of skilled hands and an interest in fishing and duck hunting. The combination led him and a friend, Dick Mole, also of Medford, to buy a Chris Craft boat kit and assemble an 18-footer in 1948. The boat was dubbed "Mo-Lee I" after its builders, but an acquaintance humphed at this and immediate ly christened it the "Queen Mary." The two men bought a second Chris Craft kit last vear. finish ing the boat in September. Of ficially the "Mo-Lee II," this 22 foot cabin cruiser is known to the public generally as "Queen Mary . . . II," and it transported the Lees this summer. All three couples are home now. Lee is working at his post in Littrell Parts, and plodding alwavs a little behind remodel ing chores on. his house at' 847 Palm st. Allen is thinking of expanding the shop he has above his house on the Rogue for constructing runabouts. He and his son, Al, 26, can turn out two boats per month now. Al may go into the boat business now that boating has been turned by popular fancy into a major American pastime. The Aliens use their own design, unique so far as they know, which keeps a small boat steady m rough: waters and prevents it from flipping regard less of the impulsiveness of the skipper. Miller is keeping abreast of the pear season in his office at Pinnacle orchards. Joe, the dog, is relaxing from the trip at the family home, 2683 Hillcrest rd All plan to repeat their boat ing vacation next summer, may be leaving a few weeks later to avoid the rain. Bob Lee has en couraging words for those with a similar yearning, "Anybody can do it." Maybe so. At least its been done, and from all indications it is a worthwhile adventure, even if you don't like oysters or clams. Welfare Group Votes Approves Expenditure Portland (IP) The State Pub lic Welfare commission voted here Friday to spend 49 per cent of its biennial budget in the first year, after receiving requests from 13 counties for more funds. Observers said the action re flected Oregon's worsening eco nomic picture. The commission recently approved expenditure of 46 per cent of its biennial funds in the first year, which was from 2 to 3 per cent higher than first year budget alloca tions ' for the last several bien niums. Under the 48-52 formula, the commission had allocated $13, 666.322 for the first year and would have $14,724,055 for the second year. The new 49-51 formula means some $350,000 will be shifted from the second to the first year budgets. Employment Drops In Portland Area Salem W Non-agricultural employment in the Portland metropolitan area dropped 1,800 last month with jobs in food pro cessing, ship repair and govern mental lines all below the June level,' the State Unemployment Compensation commission re ported Saturday. Some 257,500 persons were on non-farm jobs in the four-county area in July compared to 259, 300 in June and 259,400 a year A lull between crops tempo rarily reduced food processing employment by 900 to 9,600, while contract completions af fected 500 workers in ship re pair activities. Release of non academic personnel from educa tion units for the summer months was responsible for few er government employees. Earnings -rf manufacturing production workers were $86.87 on the average in July, a drop of $1.47 from the June figure but slightly above the $86.07 aver age a year ago. RETURNS FROM VISITS London ' (IP) Nort Viet Nam President Ho Chi-Minh has returned home from visits to nine Communist countries in cluding Soviet Russia, radio Peiping reported today. Boot D DUO OUT FOR A SPIN Two of th three boats in. the vacationing group skim the smooth water. The Millers' Bell Boy, 18-foot craft is in the background, and the Lees' 22-foot "Mo- Teacher Institute Ready for Medford Teachers Plan Some 80 school teachers and administrators from Jackson ville, Rogue River, Butte Falls and Prospect will meet at Crater Lake National Park, Sept. 4, for one day pre - school in-service training. Training is designed to offer teachers - ideas for conducting outdoor field trips m education. The program will also supply teachers with needed materials and ideas in all related fields of education. Miss Irene Hollenbeck, assist ant professor of science at South ern Oregon College, will serve as educational consultant for the meeting, and the national park service will furnish lec turers and guides. The program centers around the native flora and fauna of the region and the geological history of southern Oregon. Melvin Rochester, principal of Prospect elementary school, served as planning chairman, and Bruce Hitt, county cirricu- lum coordinator, was consul tant to the planning committee. Holmer Completes Clerks' Meetings Salem (IP) S t a t e elections Chief Freeman Holmer has com pleted a schedule of meetings with Oregon's 36 county- clerks after two months on ' his new job. The schedule began with a conference with Curry county clerk. Miss Oleta Walker, and concluded with Roger Thomp- sen, Washington county clerk. Holmer sandwiched in the tour between supervising publication of the 1957 session laws, the Sen ate and House journals and oth er duties. Purpose of the visits was to carry out Secretary of State Mark Hatfield's instructions to learn first hand the problems of each county, in conducting elec tions. Before Aug. 20, elections were conducted on an unco-ordinated basis with each ' county clerk making his own interpretation of the law. But with the new elections code, secretary of state becomes in actual fact the state's chief elections officer. Holmer is assigned this task. Holmer will conduct a school for county clerks early in Jan uary in each of Oregon's four Congressional districts. The clerks in turn will hold classes for elections boards. Reception of the new election laws was generally good, Hol mer said, among the 22 men and 14 women who occupy county clerk positions. He said he was favorably impressed with the manner in which their ,- offices were staffed and operated. The new laws were the first overhaul of ' Oregon elections laws in more ' than' 40 years. Their purpose is to make pro cedures more uniform and re duce' costs. They also tighten contribution reporting and cor rupt practice provisions. Oshkosh, Wis. m Ralph Viser brushed two spiders from the sun visor , of his car. One went down his back and his car went into a ditch. Smith-Dynge LUMBER CO. 8th and Fir St. W re-'; 31, BERRY PATCH With a rushing falls in the background, Mrs. A. C. Allen Jr. picks a batch of blueberries on Canadian ground in the Jervis inlet area. The blueberries later went into biscuits made aboard the boat. Work on Interstate idge May Stop f Portland (IP) Work may stop in the new Interstate bridge between Portland . and Vancou ver, Wash., unless alleged iafe ty violations are corrected, Don Swink, union attorney warned Friday. Swink, representing the Port land district council of carpen ters, sounded the warning at a hearing by the State Industrial Accident commission investigat ing 'the death of Herbert Smith, who was killed while working on the bridgel Smith plunged to his death from the bridge when scaffold ing gave way. Swink told the commission that the bridge was not safe to work on and specifically noted that an adequate safety railing was needed. Chairman William Callhan told Swink that if anything on the job was unsafe it would be investigated. ' Your Questions In Advance O f Need Learn, first hand, here at Conger-Morris, about the many advantages which "pre - need arrangements" offer. Consult with u at any time. "The best costs no more, why accept ess? (SimgeE,aMi?E,5s FUNERAL DIRECTORS W. MAIN AT SIXTH Lee II" cruises beside it. Both boats were powered by twin 30-horsepower outboard motors, and traveled at a cruising, speed about 18 miles per hour. Marcus Whitman Hotel In Portland Purchased Portland (IP) The purchase of the 175-room Marrcus Whit man hotel in Walla Walla, Wash., was " announced Friday by Western Hotels, Inc. The sale price, according to local West ern officials, was in excess of one million dollars. Western Hotels, Inc. also owns and operates the Benson and op erates the Multnomah hotel in Portland, among other Pacific coast hotels. The Dalles Man Dies When Scaffolding Falls The Dalles (IP) Karyl V. Benson, 58, The Dalles, died Friday from injuries suffered in a fall from scaffolding at the Union Pacific roundhouse here. Benson had been putting up metal sheeting on the building when the scaffolding gave way. . Wasco county coroner Ken neth Libby said that Benson ap parently died from chest in juries suffered in the 12-foot fall. .
