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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 20, 1958)
o 14 MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Oregon, Sunday, July 20, 1953 WdeH) at Pears Used o O 00 0 O O O o PACKING INST1UCTOHS These women Jensen, Hazel Smith and Mabel Bourne! 'instruct IocjS people how to pack pears Following the instruction the students are during 72 hours of classes. Each student re- taken to their respective packing houses, ceives 36 hours of instruction. From left Here they become acquainted with the they ar Mrs. Mabel Penland. supervisor; packing lines before operations start about Velma Singler, Bernice Wilson, Margaret Aug. 1. if". 'PS CHECK VORr -Student packer Floyd Drisltell, left, pauses temporarily as Super visor Mrs. Mabel Penland and Chuck King of Southern Oregon Sales, Inc., check his q practice box of pears. King is chairman of 42 Disease Cises Reported Last Week Of the 42 cases of communi cable diseases reported to the Jackson County Health de partment for tne week ending July 18 morethan half of tSm were mumps, according to Dr. A. Erin Merkel, public health physician. In Medford, eight cases of mumps were reported. There were sii in Gold Hill, three in Trail, two each in Shady Cove and Ashland, and one each in Eagle Point and Prospect. Centajfal P o i n t reported three cases of measles, and Jacksonville and Ashland re ported one case each. Med ford had five cases of German easles. Two cases of chicken pox were reported in Ashland, and one in Central Point; one Ashland resident had strep throat; one pneumonia case was reported in Ashland; one Talent resident had whooping cough; two cases of scarlet fever were reported in Cen? tral Point; and Ashland re ported ont case of influenza. Starting Pay for Eng ineers Increases Corvallis Starting pay for 1958 engineering gradu ates at Oregon State college was $470 a month, up S25 from last year, according to M. R. Haith, engineering placement officer. During the five-year period of 1954 to 1958, starting pay has increase from S365 to $470, or S105 a month. On a Oyearly-basis, starting pay for bachelor degree holders has O jumped from $4,380 to S5.640. Some0 158 companies and publife agencies came to the campus 259 times this year to interview the 275 gradu ates. Students averaged 7.2 interviews each compared to 6.6 lt year, Haith said. Of the 275 engineering graduates, 37 per cent were vet(ans. Average age was 24.3 years. Most of the com panies did heaviest recruiting during winter term. MINER KILLS SELF Fukuoko, Japan IP Mat suji Hirota, 43, one of 22 coal miners rescued three weeks ago after being trapped 70 hours by a cave-in, has hanged himself, police reported Sat urday. Police said his mind apparently had cracked under the strain of entombment. . : .- STUDENT PACKER Rene Green, student packer, places a wrapping around a wooden pear. She and about 100 girls and one boy are taking instruction in proper wrapping and packing of pears. The annual school is conducted at Southern Oregon Sales, Inc., near the junction of the South Pacific highway and Stewart ave. Final session will be held this week. Fire Destroys Green Chain Part of Mill Corvallis OD Fire has destroyed the green chain sec tion of the A. E. Albertsen Gang mill a mile . west of Philomath, causing damage estimated at more than $10,000. Philomath volunteer fire department members and two pumpers managed to save the main section of the $35,000 structure. The fire was believed to have started from a spark from a trash burner. Grants Pass Lady Named to Position Mrs. Lola Roney, Grants Pass, was recently elected to succeed William L. White, Medford, as president of the Rogue Valley Chapter of the Oregon Association of Public Accountants. Fred E. Kmggel Jr.", Med ford, w-as elected vice presi dent of the chapter, and Ethel Mclntyre, Medford, was re elected secretary. Guest speaker at the din ner meeting was E. G. Som mer of Ashland who is presi dent of the Oregon Associa tion of Public Accountants. A myrtlewood gavel made by Sommer was presented to the outgoing president. The next meeting of the Rogue Valley Chapter will be in Medford on Aug. 25, ac cording to Kruggel. the packing school committee sponsored by the packing houses in the area, the state department of vocational education, and in cooperation with the M e d f o r d public schools. Soviet Proposal Given Thought Washington (DPD The state department said Saturday Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev' ' proposal for a Summit conference of the Middle-East will be given "prompt consideration" when it is officially received. The department also said the United States was wiling to withdraw its troops from Lebanon if the Soviet Union would permit the United Na tions to take effective action to maintain the independence of that small Arab nation. But it pointedly noted that a Soviet veto in the U.N. Se curity Council spiked a U.S. move to strengthen U. N. forces in Lebanon. The department also took issue with Khrushchev's con tention that the U.S. commit ted "aggression", in Lebanon and the British likewise in Jordan. ADVICE ON STEPS Ames, Iowa (UPI) Uneven steps and steps that are out of proportion are the leading reasons for falls in the home, according to Norval Wardle, extension v safety specialist at Iowa State College. A prime role for safe stairways is to have a clear walkway the full length of each tread, Wardle said. Stairways of more than three steps need handrails. Course Assures Adequate Supply Of Labor in Area By JOE COWLEY Mail .Tribune Staff Writer They're packing wooden pears at Southern Oregon Sales, Inc., in Medford. One hundred women are now learning to pack the simulated pears. Company officials had planned to use cull pears this year but de cided if .they waited until next year they would be assured of an adequate supply left over "from this year's crop. Wooden pears are hard to ob tain. They were originally made by a local firm. This is one of the few schools of its kind in the United States, according to the local pear shippers. The school is 20 years old'. It is sponsored by the Fruit Grow ers League, Medford Pear Shippers and the state depart ment of vocational education in cooperation with Medford Public schools. It was originally started by the Traffic association, and j followed a number of small private schools for packers in the Medford area. Aim of School Aim of the school is to de velop a large reservoir of trained packers on whom the various packing houses can depend from season to season. It virtually eliminates the need to employ "transient" labor, which is seldom con sidered reliable packers as a whole. However, two packing houses in the area still use some, a pear shipper said. "The homeguards stay with it," declared Mrs. Mabel Penn land, school supervisor. "Some of those trained here work as long as 25 years. About two thirds of them are housewives who don't want to work the year around but want the ex tra money they can make packing." "We used to get only a 10 per cent repeat until we stepped up the age require ment. Formerly, it was 16-36 years. Now it is 18-40 years. The industry needs a steady labor supply." Average Packer "A good packer will hit her peak in about three years," Mrs. Pennland said. "A good average packer will fill 125, boxes during an eight - hour shift.. Such a worker will av erage $100 a week. Some packers claim they can pack 200 boxes a shift, but they'll have to show me! That might be for a day but not for a week!" Women are preferred in this work. Men are too often careless packers or what the industry calls "cowboys." A good male packer has strength in setting the pears in the boxes. However, a woman is neater and more skillful. A prospective packer first signs up at one of the local packing houses. Then, she may be required to take an aptitude test at the employ ment service. Some of the packing houses require , it. With the rest it's optional. It does, however, eliminate some people who are too clumsy. This last point is disputed by Mrs. Pennland. Some fail this aptitude test and make won derful packers when trained, she said. Registration fee for the course is three dollars. Actual cost per student runs from $11-$ 14, Mrs. Pennland said. The packing house at which the trainee signed up sponsors the student and pays the difference: Ten trainees are assigned to eaqh of the five instructors under the supervisor. This is considered the largest num ber which can be carefully supervised. Starting about the middle of July, 72 hours of instruc tion are given. Each student gets 36 hours, three hours a day. Packing pears isn't as easy REVIVAL July 2027-7:30 P.M. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH Phoenix, Oregon '! Dr. C. E. Henson, Evangelist, Afton, Oklahoma SPECIAL EQUIPMENT This equipment, located, at the Medford airport, was put to use this week by the U.S. forest service to mix and store 2,000 gallons of chemical slurry that will be used to "bomb" forest fires in this area. In the foreground is a water reservoir and the pump that forces Chemical Slurry To Be Used By Forest Service to Check Fires A chemical slurry, which has the appearance and con sistancy of hotcake batter, will be used in this area to "bomb" spot forest fires, ac cording to T. S. (Tenny) as it sounds. Students first are taught how to wrap each pear, which presents special prob lems. The long neck and stem of the pear must be carefully protected. A fold of paper covers the stem. The bunching of wrapping formed after the twist is left as a cushion under the pear. The same paper is carefully folded and used as a nesting when the fruit dealer sells the fruit on the retail market. Paper Wrapping The paper wrapping for the D'Anjou variety is treated with a copper sulphate chemi cal and a mineral oil. This prevents spread of any fruit rot which may occur in the fruit. The other varieties which don't seem as suscep tible are wrapped with plain white paper. Packing costs are figured at about $1.50 a box, according to a shipper. After the student ' learns how to wrap she moves on to the actual box packing. Here she is taught how to get the actual feel of the fruit .for weight. Packers are allowed a graduation of three sizes to the box. The two smaller sizes' are placed at each end and the box is crowned in the center with the larger pears. The boxes have to be fairly uniform in size. One box can't be heavy and another light or the packer will be directed to repack the box or boxes. Comes from Experience The ability to select the right sizes comes from experi ence. Packers learn how vari ous sizes fall from the grader into their tubs. Their eyes never leave the fruit. Quick, deft hands reach constantly for the pile of wrappings. They may miss a wrapping but never a pear. v Each of the boxes is stamp ed during actual packing op erations. Careful records are kept of boxes packed by each worker and the packers are paid accordingly. Mrs. Pennland and heriive instructors are all veteran packers. The supervisor is also an ex - school teacher wliich helps her with the training. She's been at it for some 12 years. "I enjoy it;" she comment ed. "This way I can work for a short time then hole up when the weather gets bad. It's interesting work." 5ifl6? Sp? Moore, fire control officer for the Rogue River National for est. The mixture, calcium sod ium borate, clings to leaves, limbs and grass to render them fire resistant, serving as a fire break to keep fires within, certain areas. It will not be used to put out fires, Moore said, but will merely serve as a control measure until tfire crews can get to the scene. The chemi cal has been used successfully in California and northern Washington for several years. Moves In Supply - The forest service last week moved in a supply of the chemical and set up the equipment at the Medford airport for mixing and stor age. Here to supervise the in stallation of the apparatus and the mixing of the first batch of the stuff was A. B. Everts, forest service equip ment engineer of Portland. Medford . Air Service has installed special tanks in three airplanes that will re lease the creamy mass all at once when the pilot flies low over a fire. The system can keep a fire in a remote area from spreading when man- Watkins-Malone New Office Here Opening of the Watkins-Malone realty office at 526 East Main st., was announced Sat urday by partners Wallace Watkins and John C. Malone. The new firm will handle all types of real estate listings and will feature a new type of photograph presentation in sales work, the partners said This method allows a client to see a full color group of pictures of the listings prior to a visit to the property, it was explained. . A western style cartoon character has been developed to identify the firm and part of the promotion will include a contest to give him a name, the partners said. The "per sonalized character" will be used in advertising, on signs and displays, according to the partners. Watkins was formerly with the Jackson County Federal Savings and Loan association and Malone is a well-known valley realtor. ' The Onondaga Indians re ceive 150 bushels of salt an nually from New York stale under terms of an ancient treaty. the water into a special mixing machine. Anotner pump, located near the tower, is used to put the mixture into the storage tank. The slurry is about the consistancy of hotcake batter and controls the fire by clinging to cumbustible materials after it is dropped from an airplane. power cannot be spared or when the fire cannot immed iately be reached by crews, Moore said. Mixed With Water The chemical, which comes packaged in 50-pound bags in the form of a cream-colored powder, is mixed with water in a machine that automati cally apportions the two in gredients. From the mixing machine it is pumped into a 2,000 gallon tank on top of a 15-foot tower, where it is stored until needed. The chemical will be. used only on certain type fires, serving as a supplement for est fire control in this area, Moore said. MIX SLURRY U.S. forest service em ployees are shown above in the process of mixing the chemical slurry that will be used in controling certain type of forest fires in this area. The powdered chemical is put in the hopper, where it is mixed automatically with the correct amount of water before it is pumped to a storage I ; .Off-Street Parking " J . PARKING , , j III t ' r I Conger-Morris o liillf O SERVICE STATION I . MAIN STREET parking your car is no problem at Conger-Morris. Here.tyou can park right next door, ust a few steps away from our easy, con venient sidewalk-level ntrance. roMer-oJftrorris $rs J W O WEST maim AT SIXTH ' "Your TV Weatherman" I W1 ' ? 4- ASHLAND MORTUARY mi j " I KBES-TV Monday Thru Friday , f f r r T-fJr 5:00 p.m. I 4th and C Streets, Ashland i uti 'J, ifc I Member National Selected Morticians by Invitation Packard-Bell to Display New Sets Packard - Bell's complete line of 1959 television, radio, and high fidelity sets will be displayed for the first time in this area to dealers and the press during a July 30-31 show at the Rogue Valley Country club. Between 20 and 25 dealers will be on hand for the two day private show. On Aug. 1 and 2 a public showing of the companies' line will be dis played at Leonard Electric company, Medford. A total of 112 styles and finisheswill be offered by Packard-Bell this year in their "Golden Line for '59." One innovation this year will be a five-way combination which includes TV, AM ra ,, , A I. f r lmmwm'- i ill ,7&!&&pJk. zS. CHECKS CONSISTANCY T. S. (Tenny) Moore, (above) fire control officer of the Rogue River National forest, tests the consistancy of the chemical fire control slurry as it comes out of the discharge pipe below the storage tank. Special tanks on Medford Air Service planes will He filled by gravity flow from this outlet. This type of chemical fire control has never been used before in this area, according to Moore. dio, FM radio, automatic rec ord player and stereophonic hi-fi sound in console car ets of various finishes.' This year, according company official, the manjjj facturer is offering com plete line of stereophonic hi fi sets, and each new hi-fi model will play either mon aural or stereo discs. SOIL MEN IN U.S..l. Moscow (UPD A party of U.S. specialists in soil cultiva tion and improvement beg$a a month's visit in Russia Sat urday. The group is led by Charles E.' Kefiog, deputy head of the Soil Preservation Service of the U.S. Depart ment of Agriculture. tank. Cutting a bag open, left, is A. B. Everts, forest service. equipment engineer,' Portland, who is being assisted b Frank McDowell. T. S. (Tenny) Moore, fire control officer for Rogue River National forest is moving bags to the back'of the truck while Dick Hart waits his turn to put one in th hopper.
