Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, January 26, 1958, Image 12

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Medford mail tribune., January 26, 1958, Image 12

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Newspaper Page Textr TWELVE MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Sunday, January 26, 1958 FoinniDlDO Due ifirm Camp Ths Year Statehood Bill Predicted Soon By Alaska Backers Washington HP) Alaskan statehood backers Saturday forecast tha bill will come up before congress shortly and be passed by both chambers by substantial majorities. Alaskan "Senators - elect" Ernest Gruening and William A. Egan and "representative elect" Ralph J. Rivers said they are now in a position to make a "firm" predicition that the long-delayed Alaska measure is now on the thresh old of congressional approval. : Gruening, former governor of Alaska, said the delegation could not identify the senate and house 'leaders" they had talked to, but added "we are j assured the Alaska bill will be brought up for a vote in both chambers shortly." The statement by the three Alaskans was the most posi tive they have made so far ob the immediate possibilities of statehood for the territory. ' One of the biggest breaks for Alaska statehood came just before the end of the last session of congress when Speaker Sam Rayburn D-Tex promised he would support statehood and help get it through the house. Rayburn, who had not previously committed himself on the Alaska issue, repeated Lis promise when congress opened its new session earlier this month. Senior, Junior Citizens Named Ashland Clarence Lane was named Ashland's Senior Citizen and Dale Williams they city's Junior Citizen at itne annual banquet cospon sered by the Ashland Junior Chamber of Commerce and Kiwanis club here last week. Harry Wright, Kiwanis club president, and Dick Cot tte, Jaycee president, made the plaque presentations. Other candidates for the Senior Citizen award were Wayne Wells, Henry Galey and Frank Davis, and other candidates for the Junior Citizen award were Bill War ren Jr., and Bob Boyce. Lane, who was born in Ash land 87 years ago, has been active in business and civic affairs here. Williams is en gaged in many the city's bet terment and welfare projects, and during recent months ser ver as one the chairmen for the Ashland-Talent United Fund drive. Conies! Entered By Cities Here Medford and Ashland among 25 Oregon cities are en- tered in the 1957 Automobile association's pedestrian pro tection contest, according to the Oregon State Motor as sociation in Portland. Each city is to turn in a complete report of traffic ac cidents and deaths that took place during 1957. A board of judges will then evaluate various activities of traffic safety programs and the traf fic record. Awards will be presented on a basis of ex cellence of the safety pro grams and pedestrain accident reductions. In the 1956 contest Oregon placed first in its population and motor vehicle use group while Portland received a sec ond place. Eugene was given a honorable mention award for its group in the nation wide competition. IKtS I Men and women hear aeain with nothing in either ear through thrilling Sonotone research discovery. Only YOU will know your E-Zontf secret of transistor hearing aid completely concealed in stylish glasses. Yet you use both ears (just as normal per- E-Zon Everything worn at EYE-EAR level, nothing worn anywhere else. miir i ijuiiifiiiiii n i " if C. R. ADAMSON, Manager vh 4ltiMt 4tmhi ! - - - .... , TAME DEER Salt licks outside Henry Van Berger's cabin at Lake of the Woods attracted many, deer during the 20 years he Klan To Hold Rally In Spite of Ruckus In Recent Meeting Burlington, N.C. OP) The Ku Klux Klan intends to go here. Saturday night although state and local law enforce ment officials expressed be lief it had been cancelled. The Rev. James W. Cole of Marion, S. C, Grand Wiz ard of the Carolinas Klan, said Friday night the rally would be held as scheduled and would be the "greatest show of strength in the his tory of the Klan." Cole said the rally would be held four miles west of here on U.S. 70A. It was the first time the place of the rally had been definitely es tablished. Director Walter Anderson of the State Bureau of Inves tigation said Friday that FBI sources had reported the rally cancelled. Cole told United Press "we will have a meeting, all right, but won't be done there." Cole is a fugitive from North Carolina, battling ex tradition on a charge of in citing riot in connection with a gun battle between Lumbee Indians and Klansmen a week Ranger Reported , Better at Hospital Robert Webb, district as sistant ranger at Star ranger station, who was taken by Merer Flights to a Palo Alto, Calif., hospital Monday for medical treatment, is improv ing, according to word re ceived from Mrs. Webb, who accompanied her husband on the trip. Webb had been under ob servation in a Medford hos pital for chest pains and was sent to Falo Alto to be under the care of specialists. He suf fered a coronary occlusion Tuesday in the California hos potal but was considerably improved by W e d n esday night, Mrs. Webb said. Webb will remain in Palo Alto to recuperate and to undergo further tests and ob servation before returning to Medford. Mrs. Webb, who is a teacher at Washington school in Medford, was to re turn today. David Webb, 12, son of Mr. and Mrs. Webb, is staying at the home of District Ranger and Mrs. V..E. Taylor during his parent's absence. U HAUL IT Nashville, Tenn. HP) Thieves broke into a feed mill Friday, stole a safe contain ing S5.000 and took one of the firm's trucks to haul it away when their own transportation was inadequate. sons listen) to enjoy latest hearing revolu tion recommended by doctors. Based on Sonotone bone-conduction invention, by passing outer ears. COME IN, PHONE OR WRITE SONOTONE immmwhI 839 East Jackson - Phone SP 2-5904 WW mmlf 1 i i 'XT' WALKS TO CABIN Walking up to his cabin from the mid dle fork of the Applegate river, Henry Van Berger looks and acts a lot younger than his almost 78 years. For the past 20 years, he has worked at Camp McLoughlin during the sum mer and spent the winters at his cabin south of Copper. Two Injured Accidents at Two persons were injured in separate pedestrian-car ac cidents at the intersection of Sixth and Grape sts. about noon Friday, according to Medford police. About 11:09 a.m. Friday, Victor Fred Yates, 9, of 145 West Ninth st., Medford, suf fered a bruised shoulder when he ran into the side of a car operated by John William Po age, 145 South Ivy st., Med ford, police said. Officers said the boy told them he did not look before running into the stree. No citations were issued. Walter Broyles, 79, of 1045 Lozier lane, Medford, suffered leg injuries when he was struck by a car operated by Paul Stucky Jenny, 39, of 1240 North Riverside ave., about 1:20 p.m. Friday, police said. Making Right Turn Jenny was making a right turn onto Sixth st. when the accident happened, officers re ported. He told police he did not see Broyles until it was too late to avoid hitting him. Broyles was taken to Rogue Valley hospital by Medford Ambulance service. No cita tions were issued. State police reported four Hearing Secret was caretaker at Camp McLoughlin. Above three does and a fawn enjoy the salt and pieces of bread left for them. in Separate Junction relatively minor accidents in the Medford area Friday afternoon and night. About 3:22 p.m. Friday cars operated by Daugherty Lee Couch, 24, of Gold Hill, and Thomas Ramsey Pollocks 76, of 605 South Third st., Jack sonville, were involved in an accident on the Jacksonville highway near Matlack's mar ket. Drivers Cited Police said Pollock was cited for violation of basic rule. Cars operated by Morris Robert Jones, 58, of 204 Stark st., Medford, and Simeon Wil son Burrill, 75, of route 2, box 137, Central Point, were involved in an' accident about a half mile south of Medford on Highway 99, officers re ported. They said the cars were traveling beside each other, when a third vehicle started to pull onto the highway, forcing the two cars to the shoulder side of the highway, and the Jones vehicle into a ditch. No citations were is sued, they said. About 6 p.m. Friday, a car operated by Floyd Roger East wood, 36, of 940 Shaffer lane, Medford, and pickup truck operated by Charles Gilbert Knikle, 70, of 242 West Glen wood rd., Medford, were in volved in a crash on Kings highway near the Stewart ave. junction, according to police. No citations were is sued. A car operated by Alva Clein Hutton, 75, of Malin, went off Highway 99 north of the Tolo junction last night and rolled over on its side, police said. They said Hutton apparently became confused and thought he was on the wrong highway. The car left the highway, went up an em bankment and rolled back and over on its side, they said. HE'LL NEVER LEARN Statesville, N.C. (IP) James A. Trent, 19, was re leased from prison Wednes day after serving a term for car theft.Less than 24 hours later he was arrested for stealing a car from a parking lot a half block from the po lice station. Henry Van Berger Retires to Cabin South of Copper By JIM FISHER Next summer when Boy Scouts from Medford and vicin ity return to Camp McLoughlin, their summer camp on the shores of Lake; of the Woods, a familiar face will be missing. For the first time in 20 years, Henry Van Berger will not be there to serve as caretaker, mailman, master mechanic, and advisor to young and old alike. The deer and chipmunk that knew his kindness will probably miss him as much as the campers and staff at Camp McLoughlin. Henry was born April 11, 1880, in Rotterdam, Holland. When he was 14, instead of joining a boy's organization such as American boys now do at that age, Henry went to sea. For the next few years, he sailed aboard a windjammer, vis iting the many ports of Europe. In 1905, Henry joined the Dutch navy and sailed twice around the world before ending up at San Francisco in 1907 at the age of 27. Here he found work in the reconstruction of the city that had suffered the terrible earthquake the year before. This work lasted for several years, but Henry grew rest less. He traveled the west coast finding work whenever he felt like working. In Wash ington, Henry ran a logger's "donkey," the portable steam engine used in cable logging. He ran an air compressor for a mining operation in Ne vada and also worked in the mining industry in Arizona. Eventually his travels brought him to Medford where he worked in a fruit packing house. Finds Work Her While living in Medford, Henry grew to love this area and found work with the U.S. forest service. He worked on road construction and mainte nance, bridge-building, fire fighting, and many other proj ects. For a while, Henry worked in the Applegate area, but was' later transferred around on the Rogue River national forest. He worked at Fort Klamath and elsewhere before ending up at the Lake of the Woods ranger station. Camp McLoughlin needed a caretaker, so Henry went to work in the summer of 1938, but he still worked several winters for the forest service on bridge construction. Henry spent his summers at Camp McLoughlin and would then move to his mining claim south of Copper just over the California line for the winter months. Henry had built his cabin in 1936 with the help of a few friends. The 12 foot by 16 foot cabin was built en tirely out of native logs on the banks of the Middle Fork of the Applegate river. Good-Nalured The Boy Scouts grew to love his good-natured person ality and the way he always had time to help them or lis ten to their problems. In the same way, Henry liked his job and the people he met, so he kept coming back each year to make sure that the camp was taken care of and that it would be closed tight I at the end of the camping sea son. He became an institution of the camp and was known to many parents, visitors, and residents of Lake of the Woods' summer homes as a real friend. Henry's day at Camp Mc Loughlin always began eafly. He would get up early to have the stoves hot for the cook and to make his morning cof fee in his small cabin.' Throughout his cabin were gifts, carvings and other me mentos of past seasons at Camp McLoughlin. Each fall these mementos were trans ferred to his cabin on the Ap plegate river. Special Project Henry would make sure that everything was running smoothly in the kitchen be fore he had his breakfast. Following that, some special project might receive his at tion for a while, such as a mi nor building repair or a look at one of the light plant mo tors that were used until elec tricity was recently made available at the camp. Shortly before 10 a.m., Henry would leave for the re sort with the 'outgoing mail and two or three Scouts that had earned the special trip. They would leave in a small boat with an outboard motor called "Henry V". After arriving at the re sort, Henry would visit friends and wait for the mail. When the mail-lady arrived by car from Klamath Falls, Henry was always there to help unload the mail sacks and take her into the restau rant for a cup of coffee. Occa sionally, Henry would ride into town with the mail-lady to get a haircut and do some shopping. Did Odd Jobs After the mail was de livered to Camp McLoughlin, Henry would keep busy doing odd jobs until lunch. After lunch, he would generally feed his pet chipmunks that lived under his cabin. By this time, the deer would also start appearing to ask for a handout from, their friend. One summer, several years ago, Henry made friends with two small fawns and he named them Suzie and Lizzie. Each year, these two deer would return to the camp, growing into does and eventu ally showing up one summer with fawns of their own. Suzie was always having twins until one summer she had none at all. Henry says that he really told Suzie off and the next summer Suzie went ' back to have twins again. Two years ago, Suzie and Lizzie were both mothers of twins and kept making their daily visits to Henry's cabin. Then one morning, shortly after the deer season had opened, the district ranger at the Lake of the Woods ranger station found Suzie shot to death near his house. Even though she had been within the half-mile "no shooting zone" of the lake and despite the fact that no doe season was on in that part of the state, Suzie had been shot and left to die. Fawns Beside Her Her two fawns were found lying beside her. Henry felt very badly because of this and worried about her two fawns. His worries vanished the next day when Lizzie showed up at Camp McLough lin with her two fawns and the two fawns of Suzie's. Henry's afternoons at camp were spent looking over his pride, the fleet of camp boats or helping some of the Scouts in their merit badge studies. If most of the Scouts were out out of camp on hikes, Henry would walk over to the ran ger station arid visit the cook, hoping for a cup of coffee and possibly a sample of pie or cake. He would relive his for mer forest service days until it came time to get back to camp. After supper, there was generally some activity around the campfire or spe cial ceremonies and pageants for visitors. Henry would al ways attend and contribute much to the show by his par ticipation in stunts or ex change of pranks. Camp Bedded Down When the camp bedded down for the night, Henry would make his check of camp before turning in for another day. Henry's working season at Lake of the Woods began in May or June, depending when the melting snow made roads possible. He would say at the camp until some time in' late October or early November when the snows once again covered the ground. , Both in the spring and in the' fall, Henry would have a big job in the directing of work for the opening and closing of the camp. Volunteer help from Medford was told where to put the boats and how the pipes were opened in the spring. The next fall, shut ters' were placed on the win dows and everything put away for the winter. Amusing Stories Henry can sit and tell amus ing stories of his life for hours. His Dutch accent com bines with his strong sense of humor to make interesting tales. One of his favorite sto ries concerns the time he sign ed up for Social Security. The office clerk asked him if he was married and upon receiv ing an answer of "no", joking ly asked Henry if he had any children. ( Henry came back with the quick reply, "yes, 18,000!" That was the number of Boy Scouts Henry had known at Camp McLoughlin by that time. By the end of his last season last year at Camp Mc Loughlin, this number had in creased to 22,000, not count ing more than 1,000 . Girl Scouts who had used the camp and numerous church groups of ' children from al most every denomination who also used Camp McLoughlin. Several hundred members of the Medford football team that had attended summer training sessions at the camp 9 JHm&tt3$ kiLVff $ fin 1 ? ; - n MEMENTOS Henry Van Berger's cabin Lake of the Woods. Carvings, trophies and on the Applegate river south of Copper con- several other gifts are displayed on the tains many mementos he collected in the 20 cabin wall behind his stove, years as caretaker of Camp McLoughlin at were not included in the 22,000 boys. Tested by Service Man Another time, Henry was tested by a visiting forest service man who offered Henry and others a cigarette while walking ( around the camp. Henry refused the cigarette and told the others that they should know that no smoking was permitted ex cept in certain areas during the fire season. While he was working for the forest service, Henry was sent to a fire near Camp Mc Loughlin. Lightning had start ed the fire in a tree that grew in a big lava flow. No water or dirt was available to put out the fire, so Henry was told 'tc stay with the fire until it went out. He stayed there for several days before no smoke appeared from be tween the lava rocks. Two years ago, Henry had a bad case of pneumonia and was forced to leave5 camp for a few days. His quick recov ery surprised his doctor who told him that his .remarkable good health was probably due to his living and working out doors. "Yes," said Henry, "and be cause I was never married." Heart Works Hard Last summer, the Boy Scouts had left for the season and a churqh group was using Camp McLoughlin when Hen ry became sick. A doctor's ex amination showed his , heart was having to work too hard in the high elevation of Lake of the Woods. No one can imagine Henry's thoughts as he lei": Camp McLoughlin for the first time in 20 years with out being chased out by the winter snow. Although many friends wanted Henry to move into town, he returned to his small cabin in the Siskiyous where he now spends his" time pan ning for gold and enjoying the small pleasures of life. The cabin and cabin grounds are kept as neat as Camp McLoughlin ever was. Trees have been planted to fill in empty spots around the cabin area and narrow paths lead to the river. Roof Over Woodpile Henry has placed a roof over his woodpile so that it is covered and also attached to the cabin. Inside the one room cabin" are cases of canned food to last him throughout the winter in case a heavy snow would fall. Hen ry's mementos cover the walls and add to the atmosphere. He tells of his life at Camp McLoughlin and elsewhere using his pet expressions, such as "big squeeze" meaning boss, "little squirt" for a tenderfoot .Scout, and "the boys" meaning the many Scouts he has known. v Henry still gets around as well as anyone for all of his I " Trust 'Programs I - . Are Available to assist you in a well planned program in advance of need. Why III wait and leave a burdenbehind. Consult with Conger-Morris so II that all "your affairs"- are in proper shape. II "The best costs no more, why accept less?" I Conger-zM'orris ss v WEST MAIN AT SIXTH '111 "Your TV Weatherman". I .iS J KBES-TV Monday Thru Frida, ASHLAND MORTUARY kJzg3i& j j 6:Q0 P.M. J 4rh and C Streets Ashland r -jyVl j ' Member National Selected Morticians by Invitation ajaa 1 ' .fi'- tfitw -i-iii; HENRY'S CABIN Just, over Copper is the one-room 'cabin, built by Henry Van Berger and 78 years, and his wide sus penders and closely-smoked cigarette are still as much a part of him now as they have been for years. Rides to Copper When good weather per mits, Henry rides to the Cop per store with one of his few neighbors and then rides to town with the mailman. He visits friends, shops, and then returns the next day, using the same means of transporta tion. He admits that doesn't like to be away from his cabin too long since he soon misses the quiet, unhurried life found there. Henry plans on spending more time with his gold min ing .now that he won't be returning to Camp McLough lin each summer. One of his biggest regrets is that he wasn't able to stay with his job for 25 years. One of Henry's proudest possessions amid all of his gifts, trophies, and other me mentos is not as spectacular to look at as you might think. It represents Henry's feelings toward his adopted country and the thousands of, Boy Scouts that he has watched grow up to become doctors, military men, and business men. This possession is a 1958 membership card of the Boy Scouts of America. Ashland Drive-In Broken Into Friday Ashland The H a n b y Drive-In Market, Litha way, was broken into Friday and about $40 in cash and an undetermined amount of food were reported missing, accord ing to Ashland police. Officers said the burglars gained entrance by kicking in the rear door after first trying to break a window. , An undetermined amount of wine, coffee, cigarettes and meat was taken, police said. The money was on a shelf, X i the California line south of with an attached woodshed, his friends from native logs. Olympia Man Finds Local People Fine Merle S. Farrow of Olym pia, Wash., who has been stay ing in Medford to be with his son, Bruce D. Farrow, 20, after he was critically in jured in an automobile' ac cident Jan. 19, feels that he has never known any nicer people than those he has met in Medford in the past few days. The boy's parents credited the ability of local police, doctors and hospital staff members with saving their son's life and everyone they met seemed to be willing to help in any way they could, he said. They were even of fered free lodging by the Navy Mothers organization here, Farrow said. ' The extent of young Far row's injuries called for the immediate attention of bone and brain specialists which were available here and the hospital care could not have been better in any city any where, according to Farrow. Bruce Farrow recently was released from the Navy and was visiting friends in Rogue River prior to the accident. The boy's parents express ed appreciation to everyone in Medford for their thought fulness and consideration. . JUST LOOKING Salem, 111. (IP) Two would be burglers know the "ins" of their profession, but flunk ed miserably on the Vouts." Floyd Weber. 39, and his nep hew, James Melton, 29, stuck their heads out of a service station window Friday to see if the coast was clear. Instead they looked down the barrel of a policeman's revolver. they added. The break-in was discovered when employees arrived for work, police explained.