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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1958)
12 MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Oregon, Sunday, April 27. 1958 To eiry 13 d sooes melius ruinni & gye SPRINGTIME Spots of water on the high way leading to Crater Lake National park headquarters indicate the first signs of spring, although in lower elevations pear NEW RESIDENCES Construction started last year on new residences for park per sonnel at Crater Lake National park near headquarters. Shown above is one of the two-family units, designed to provide living ; Av.sT- v $ ? - . I T s :v-'-r m - War PLOWING ROAD National park per sonnel are kept busy all spring and into the summer months clearing roads in Crater Lake National park preparing for the tour ist rush. Above equipment is shown plow fcEi:-.xx v.v ..v .......... .. . r ' " vjcjl fiJt " 5$ NEW CONSTRUCTION Part of the Mis sion 66 program of the national park service is to provide adequate living quarters for park personnel. Above is one of the new four-family units at Crater Lake National trees and spring flowers are in full bloom. The job of clearing all park highways of snow, preparations for the summer visitors, started recently, according to park officials. quarters above the average snow level. Roofs are designed to hold the snow pack. Such design, officials said, will eliminate moving snow from around steep roofs so it can slide off. 1 ing the road winter. About ground when national park park. No.t yet occupied, work on the build ings is expected to resume as soon as possi ble, park officials said. The picture was taken by park personnel earlier this winter. to the rim after a storm this 13 feet of snow was on the the picture was taken by the service. Prominent People Stayed at 2-Story Building on Rogue By BOB VROMAN Mail Tribune Staff Writer One summer day, some 70 years ago, a small boy in fad ed homemade shirt and trous ers stood beside a trout stream maiting ciumsy casts wnn a willow pole, trying to get his bait to go where he wanted it to. The stream was tiny Salt creek above Eagle Point and the boy was William Isaacs, son of pioneer couple Mr. and Mrs. George W. Isaacs who operated a cattle ranch near Brownsboro. This was Bill's first try at angling, but it was by no means his last because before the day was over he had hooked a 14 - inch trout and he decided right the and there that fishing' was the sport for him. Name Almost Legend Bill Isaacs, now 78, retired a number of years ago but his name, now almost a legend in southern Oregon, is well re membered by every long-time resident of the area. Bill was known locally as "Toggery Bill" Isaacs, opera tor of the "finest men's cloth ing store between Portland and San Francisco," but he was more widely known as one of the best fly casters on the west coast and as an ar dent, skillful fisherman who seldom came back from the Rogue river without a limit of steelhead. Whenever he had spare time, Bill could be found down at the river, whipping the water "with a wet or dry fly. Accuracy in casting and the ability to put a fly clear across the river' if he had to was Bill's secret to catching lots of fish. The biggest steel head he ever caught out of the Rogue river weighed more than 20 pounds and measured 36 inches in length . i . and he says, with a wink, that he has two witnesses to prove it. Operated Toggery Isaacs operated the Toggery from 1903 until his retirement in 1938. The business was last located in the building where the U. S. National bank is now and earlier further west on Main street. Before he opened the firm he and a partner ran a small cigar arid confec tionary store in Medford for several years, where Bill got the "feel" of being in business for himself. He was just 23 years old when he opened the Toggery and had little money of his own. But he had a lot of initi ative that enabled him to "wangle" credit from whole salers in San Francisco and his business was successful from the very beginning be cause once he .opened his doors he never let the people in southern Oregon forget that the Toggery sold men's clothing. He was always thinking of new ways to get his firm's name before the public, and though his methods may seem a little unorthodox now, they certainly worked for him in those days. Paints Signs He painted signs on fences in the outlying areas reading "Toggery Bill, the farmer's friend," or hung signs over the basins in wash rooms, in hotel lobbies or any place where people would read them. He ran eye - catching ads in the newspaper that began "Toggery Bill breaks jail" or "Toggery Bill steals ducks." Once he made a special trip out to the Blue Ledge mine on the upper Applegate to put up a sign reading "Tog gery Bill, the miners friend." But his best advertising was the fact, that he gave his cus tomers a square deal and all of his clothing was sold on a "money-back-if-not - satisfied" guarantee. Bill was all business when he was at the store but after hours he could be found most any evening indulging in his favorite pastime fishing. For many years he fished the Rogue river up and down for a hundred miles of its length but in 1927 he built Big Rock lodge about two miles up riv er from Bybee bridge and found he had all the fishing he wanted , right at his back door. Sells Lodge Just last week Isaacs sold the lodge and he and his wife are in the process of moving their belongings to an apart ment in Medford. He says that it is with much regret that, he leaves this rustic "castle" on the river that was his home for so long. '- The two-story 'structure is built almost entirely of peal- j BIG ROCK LODGE This rustic log home on the Rogue river, built in 1927 by Bill Isaacs, housed many people of renown in the days when Rogue river steelhead fish ing was world famous. Ex-President Her- FAMOUS GRIP Casting a was the specialty of "Toggery" Bill Isaacs which called for the powerful grip shown in the picture above. He once fought a steelhead on light tackle for was also an expert on accuracy and back in the 1930's scored 98 out of 100 in a flycasting tournament in Portland. His mark tied the national champion's score that year. RIVER MAESTRO "Toggery" Bill Isaacs, king of the Rogue river fishermen in the early days, is shown above on the "beach" at Big Rock lodge where he has caught hundreds of fighting steelhead. The trees in the background were partially up-rooted in the flood of 1955. ed, vafnished logs and has a huge rock fireplace in the living room. Bill designed the building himself and he claims there is no other place like it anywhere. His favorite spot in the house was the glass enclosed "river room" where he and his wife could look out over a broad stretch of the moody Rogue river while they ate their meals. Bill was one of the greatest boosters of the Rogue river country that this area has ever known. He entertained many prominent people, in cluding Ex-President Herbert Hoover, at Big Rock lodge and showed them how and where to catch the famous Rogue river steelhead. It was said that Bill knew every fish in the river by its first name. Chamber Director He was a member of the board of directors and vice president ' of the Melford Chamber of Commerce for many years and was one of the hardest "pushers" in get ting a decent road to Crater lake in the early days. He was made president of the cham ber in 1938 and he now is an honorary lifetime member. Medford Chamber of Com merce has since combined with the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, and Bill is its oldest living mem ber. As head of a sportsman's group here he was instrumen tal in getting legislation passed to eliminate commer cial fishing at the mouth of the Rogue when the practice of gill - netting threatened to wipe out the river's steelhead arid salmon population. As head of Medford Merchant's association he helped bring about the closing of retail stores at 5:30 instead of 6 p.m., but he denies that this idea wet or dry fly a great distance an hour and ten minutes. He was only so he could get in an extra half hour of fishing each day. Bill was also head of the music association here for many years. Claim to Fame His greatest claim to fame was his ability to cast a fly. 'He walked off with many tournament prizes in the early 1930's and he organized the first fly casting club in southern Oregon. In a state-wide tournament held in Medford in June, 1933, he beat out the best fly cast ers in Oregon by 10 feet or more and later in Roseburg he topped his nearest compe titor in the distance cast by 20 feet. In a contest sponsored by the Western Association of Scientific Angling clubs in Portland he again walked off with honors and tied the na tional record set that year for accuracy casting by hitting 98 out of 100. His greatest cast was 120 feet, which he made during a practice ses sion below the Bear creek bridge in Medford. Bill ad mits that nowadays that dis tance is not considered great because of the new types of line and rods in use, but it was "way out there" in the 1930's. National Competition Bill never entered any na tional competition because he figured it would lead him too HELP US! We Need Clothing, Shoes, Dishes, Furniture. We Pick Up. HELP OTHERS! The Salvation Army SPring 3-7335 bert Hoover slept three night in the right front bedroom in July, 1928. Bill sold the lodge recently and he and his wife now live in an apartment in Medford. far astray from the whole idea fishing, and rather than put so much importance on the "fancy" aspects of casting he preferred the' kind of casting that would get results in steel head. He caught hundreds of the fighting fish in his day and he either gave them away or kept them to eat himself. His favorite way to prepare the fish was to cut them into steaks and fry thehm in siz zling fat, although he some times baked them whole. Bill was often called upon to speak before women's or ganizations, Boy Scout groups and at various civic meetings and was guest speaker at the first meeting of the Shasta- Cascade Wonderland associa tion when it was first organ ized. In effect, Bill was the Rogue valley's public rela tions . man, promoter, idea man, ambassador and recep tionist for tourists without pay. Wanted Maps He tells the story of a man named Ceph Salisbury, head of the Automobile club of southern California who was up in this country to get some maps made of the area. Bill spent several days helping him collect data but refused pay for it and to square things up Salisbury offered to broad cast the fishing conditions in the Rogue river every week for a year over radio station KNX. Bill prepared the week ly reports and Salisbury stuck to his word. As a result, the Rogue country received much publicity in the south ern California area. Bill also relates the time when the world's champion fly caster, Walter Mansfield, came here to visit him from San Francisco. The two men went fishing together on the Rogue but hi spite of Mans fields supposed "cdse"' as a caster. Bill caught two steel head for every one his guest landed. Finest Streams t The Rogue river was one of the finest fishing streams in the United States until re cent years and people like Charles Lindberg, Flo Zicg- Insurance Pr ograms Are Available to meet your particular situation in advance of need. Please feel free to consult with Conger-Morris for your Memorial Service in advance and avoid burdening those who are left. II "The best costs no more, why accept less?" Conm-Morris ssss. WEST MAIN AT S,XTH driPl 'Your TV Weatherman" I f ASHLAND MORTUARY rr-s B i KBES-TV Monday Thru Friday rT r ' ' ffi H 6:00 P.M. 4th and C Streets Athkn (TP-i '''ZjL. f Member National Selected Morticians by Invitation .jLLAL&JifikaMii General Labor Law Attempt Scoffed At Washington (IP Senate Democratic Leader Lyndon B. Johnson dismissed as "pure political hogwash" Saturday a Republican drive to broaden the senate's welfare fund bill into general labor legislation. The Texan made the state ment just before the Senate began its third successive round-the-clock session on the welfare and pension fund re form bill. The major controversy cen tered on some 30 Republican sponsored amendments cover ing a wide range of labor pro posals. Senate Republican leader William F. Knowland touched off the GOP drive by offering as amendments what he called his workingman's "Bill of Rights." The basic provisions of the- pending Democratic bill would require full disclo sure of the financial opera tions of employee welfare funds. "Laughing Stock" Other Republicans followed Knowland's lead and Secre tary of Labor James P. Mit chell arranged to have the ad ministration's own labor bill offered as a series of amend ments. But Johnson told newsmen that "technical language" of some of the pending amend ments "would not even work." If they were written into the bill, he said, they would "make us a laughing stock" when the measure was taken up in the house. "If you want legislation in field, Billie Burke, Lawrence Tibbet and Guy Kibee made special trips here to fish the famous water. Bill Isaacs was usually the receptionist when dignitaries arrived. One man, Frank Dumont, a New York artist of note, first visited the Rogue cpuntry in 190o and was so impressed with the fishing here that he returned each year, skipping only three, for the next 25 years, and Bill always ar ranged his 'accommodations. The fact that the fishing in the river is nowhere near what it used to be is due part ly to the destruction of mil lions of young trout in the formerly unscreened turbines, according to Bill. Another factor is the increased amount of anglers and a lack of prop er spawning conditions, he said. It would be almost im possible to bring the fishing back to what it used to be, he added, but, he said, it could probably be greatly improved from what it is now with a stepped -up fish management program. Opening of the river and its. tributaries for angling later this year to save more young migrating fish is a step in the right direction, accord ing to Bill. The- old Maestro of Rogue river fishermen, who in the past probably caught more steelhead than any other man, says he is about done fishing, and having moved from Big Rock lodge, where the roar of the Rogue was constantly in his ears, he will undoubtedly spend many hours dreaming of the pleasant experiences the "river" has brought him. 1 stead of an issue, if you want a constructive program in stead of political speeches," he said in a chat with news men, the proper procedure to follow would be to let the senate labor committee draft a labor bill. That is the course which Johnson . has been ufrgmg throughout the three-day de bate. He has the support of almost all Senate Demorcats In the proposal. Another Labor Bill Johnson has stated that he expects the Senate to consid er another labor bill this year. Knowland was voted down on four of his proposals Fri day. He has served notice that he will demand roll calls on six more. Johnson hoped to complete action on the bill today, but Knowland doubted if it could be put to a final vote so soon. Knowland told newsmen he wouldn't be a bit surprised" if he picked up strength on voting Jests expected later Saturday. PATIENCE RUNS OUT Columbus, Miss. (IP) George Adams' patience fin ally ran out and he decided to wait no longer for his er rant wife to return. He filed a divorce suit against his mate, whom he hasn't seen since she walked out 40 years ago. Hl-Lltes .IN THE History Pharmacy by ED HALL The Apothecaries system of weights and measures is a part of the English system and has been used in United States since colonial. times in the com pounding of prescriptions. The unit of weight is the grain. Table of Weight 20 grains (gr.) 1 scruple 3 scruples or 60 gr. 1 dram 8 drams or 480 gr. 1 ounce 12 ounces or 5760 gr. 1 pound . The unit of liquid measure is the minim. Table of Fluid Measure 60 minims 1 fluidram 8 fluidrams or 480 minims- 1 fluidounce i 16 fluidounces 1 pint 2 pints 1 quart 4 quarts 1 gallon a drop of fluid from a medi cine dropper is considered to) be .equal to a minim. We af Central Rexall Drug guarantee complete purity and accuracy in the compounding of your doctor's PRESCRIPTION. CENTRAL REXALL DRUG Main and Central
