10 MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Oregon, Sunday, February 1, 19S9
A -4
rr
McCALLISTER SPRING - The concrete en- north fork of Little Butte creek, gained
casement around McCallister soda spring popularity before the turn of the century
was constructed in 1900, according to in- because of the supposed medicinal proper
formation printed on the top edge, but who ties of the water, which bubbles ice cold out
built it remains a mystery. The letters US of the rocks near the creek's edge. The
are legible, but the rest of the lettering is opening is about 16 inches square,
difficult to read. The spring, located on the
CAMP TABLE - Campers at McCallister tered throughout the area can be seen. The
soda springs will, for the first time, have trees had to be removed because of a
use of improved facilities at the site since heavy infestation of Douglas fir mistletoe,
the forest service made it into a first The forest service will plant 500 black
class camp ground recently. In the back- locust trees at the camp ground to provide
ground in the picture above, a stump of shade and privacy,
one of the giant fir trees that were scat-
1
iV
NORTH FORK - Harold (Red) Thomas,
district ranger of Ashland district, forest
service ,is shown above surveying the scenic
beauty along the north fork of Little Butte
creek in the vicinity of McCallister soda
spring. The stream is the outlet from Fish
lake and runs constantly year-around. Slash
Ft 2 -tJ
tl iy J" ' r-
NEW TYPE The rest room above, recently erected at Mc
Callister soda springs camp site is the new type being put
into use by the Forest Service. The pre-fabricated building
features a concrete slab ( floor and other sanitary features.
Trees will be planted throughout the camp area that will,
in a few years, provide shade and privacy.
BOAT CAPSIZES
Otahu. Japan-(TPD-A 29-ton
Japanese fishing boat cap
sized in stormy seas near Ja
pan's northern tip yesterday,
) -obably killing all of its 10
crewmen. A fishing boat that
a.tempted a rescue ran
a around. Its 15 crew-mem
bers were picked up by a j
Xaval patrol boat. j
AT S '
,tv .,"ikJA,r .-iritis
F Fk -ft (k
ills 'tC 'f mt! & "4s
and objectionable debris was cleaned up
along the banks of the stream near the
spring, but enough was left to prevent
erosion, according to Thomas. McCallister
soda springs was a favorite camp spot in
the early days.
HARRY COLLIER
San Francisco- (LTD -Harry
Collier, retired president and
chairman cf the board of
Standard Oil Company of
California, died Friday night
after a brief illness. He was
83. Collier was t also prom
inent in state and national
activities of the Republican
Party.
if fSrC I
f5 O!
r
Surplus Material
Offered for Sale
Bids will be opened by the
national park, service Friday,
Feb. 13, for surplus material,
Thomas Williams, superin
tendent of Crater Lake Na
tional park, has announced.
Included in tfte items are
used truck tires, old storage
batteries, copper and copper
coated wire, wheelbarrows,
old telephone receivers, elec
trical parts, hand tools, auto
motive parts, oil heaters,
stoves, beds, tables, chairs and
other household and rest room
surplus material.
The items may be inspected
between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m.
Feb. 5, 10 and 12, in building
25 at the old fairgrounds south
of Medford.
Polio Victim Trades
Brace, for Crutches
Garner, Iowa -HPD- Richard
Edwards, 29, a "polio victim
who still wears a leg brace,
set out yesterday on a 20
mile hike to raise money for
the March of Dimes.
Two miles outside of town,
Edwards was hit by a car.
His leg was broken and he
will have to do his walking
on crutches for the next six
weeks.
Traffic mishaps kill about
7,500 pedestrians annually. .
Favorite Spot of
Campers Again
BecomingPopular
by BOB VROMAN
Mail Tribun Staff Writer
In the "old days" in Jack
son county, before the auto
mobile came into use, many
families went on camping
trips for recreation, just as
they do today.
Then, however, it involved
a good deal of preparation
and the trip would cover a
period from several days to
a week or two. After driv
ing a team and wagon over
rough dusty roads for an en
tire day to reach one's des
tination, it was foolish to
turn around and come home
again right away.
One of the favorite spots
for the old-fashioned camp
outs was McCallister soda
springs on the north fork of
Little Butte creek, a peace
ful site on the fringe of the
Cascade wilcerness, where
giant firs towered overhead
and the north fork, abound
ing in trout, tumbled down
through the cool canyon.
Added Attraction
An added attraction was the
soda springs itself, which
bubbled forth a steady supply
of ice-cold mineral water,
naturally carbonated by min
erals deep in the earth, is
fizzy, like soda pop, and has
a pleasant taste. In the early
days it was believed to have
medicinal properties.
One of the favorate ways
to drink the water was with
a squeeze of lemon juice,
which made it fizz even more
and added to its tang.
The spring got its name
from the fact that Simon Mc
Callister, a pioneer settler, es
tablished a homstead in the
area in the 1860's. His grand
son, John R. McCallister, still
makes his home in the vicin
ity. -
In 1900 a federal agency
(what it was called cannot
be determined) encased the
spring with concrete - side
walls so that the water would
be clean and easy to dip out.
Widely Used
From the turn of the cen
tury on into the '20's the
spring was widely used as
groups in old-style cars made
rutty road to escape the sum
mer heat and partake of the
invigorating" soda water.
Although not as popular as
Dead Indian soda springs on
the south fork of Little Butte
creek, McCallister springs, in
spite of being more difficult
to get to, draws its share of
visitors.
Outside of the concrete en
casement on the spring, few
improvements had ever been
made at the site except those
made by campers themselves.
The spring is within the Na
tional Forest boundry but be
cause of lack pf funds the
area was never developed in
to a first class camping area
by the forest service.
Clear Right of Way
In 1929 and '30, the forest
service, with the help of the
state highway department,
cleared a 30-foot right of way
from McCallister to the Fish
lake summer homes junction,
which was the beginning of
a through route over the Cas
cades.
Improvement of the road
from Lake Creek to McCallis
ter was started just before
World War II with the idea
of making it into a secondary
highway over the Cascades,
but construction was stopped
by the war.-
The Steve Wilson logging
firm, in 1954, was the next
to have a hand in road build
ing and improvement in the
area. In order to make an
all-winter haul, Wilson built
a good road fram McCallis
ter to the top of the moun
tain and made major improve
ments in the road below the
springs.
In the last year or so, pres
sures to complete the route
as a secondary highway were
begun again, resulting in its
approval. Construction on the
new highway is scheduled to
begin this spring.
Ideal Spot
When looking over the Mc
Callister site, Harold Thomas,
Ashland district forest rang
er, USFS, decided that the
spring area would be an ideal
spot for an improved camp
ground, and after submitting
plans and getting approval
for its development, work
was begun.
up until the last year or
so lack of funds would have
made such a project impos
sible, but under the new pro
gram "Operation Outdoors."
the forest service has three
times as much money avail
able for campground mainte
nance and construction.
Even with the new allot
ment of funds, however, the
money doesn't go far enough
to do all that jhould be done,
according to Thomas, and the
individual districts are con
stantly scraping tht bottom
PARKING AREA - Parking
improvements made by the forest service at the McCallister
soda springs site recently, in making it into a first class
camp ground. Red cinders will be placed on the parking
area as well as on walks in the camp ground to eliminate
mud and dust. The project was designed and supervised
SPRING ENCLOSURE - McCallister soda
springs site, which for years has been
uncared for, was recently made into a first
class camp area by the forest service and
the spring itself was enclosed with a fence
PREFAB STOVE - The most practical type of outdoor fire
place is the style above that affords direct heat cooking,
according to USFS District Ranger Harold Thomas. This one
was installed at the McAllister camp site in January of this
year. Construction of the camp grounds improvements at
McCallister was made possible by additional funds made
available to the Forest through "Operation Outdoors," a
program approved last year by congress.
of the barrel to keep their
camping areas properly main
tained. The McCallister project
necessarily had to be done
with a limited outlay of funds
and much thought went into
planning in order to cut costs.
Fir Trees Removed
Huge firs that stood here
and there in the camp area
"were noted to be infested with
fir mistletoe and had to be
removed for safety's sake.
Parking had to be provided
for, rest room facilities had
to be built and fencing had
to be put up to keep out cat
tle. Tb.e spring itself needed
a fence and a stairway had
to be built to make it acces
sible. Camp stoves and tables
also had to be added.
This was all accomplished
last month by a crew of Ash
land district forest service
employees, and after 500
black locust trees are planted
and cinders placed on the
walks and parking area, the
camp ground will be com-
plete . . . at least for the
time being:
McCallister soda springs,
after almost passing out of
existence, may once again be
come a well-known spot, and
while travelers "w e t their
whistle" with the zesty spring
water they may recall how
the early day families found
pleasure in camping in the
primitive woodland spot.
WRITER SHOOTS WIFE
Long Beach, Calif.- (LTD -Myster
writer Robert H. Kel
ston, 43, solved a shooting
Friday at his own home. Kel
ston told police he fired at
what he thought was a bur
glar. It turned out to be his
wife. Glenrose, 39. who had
awakened him 'to tell him she !
hear noises. Her wounds were j
termed "not critical."
n i r-
'-' " - - " tmn' , - .v w x
facilities for cars is one of the
DIRECTOR - Chester C.
Squire, former principal of
the Briscoe Elementary
school, Ashland is serving as
director of the audio-visual
aids center at Southern Or
egon college during the ab
sence of Laurence E. Butler,
I who is doing advanced degree
work this year at the State
College of Washingtori. After
receiving his bachelor o f
science degree at SOC in
1942, Squire spent four years
in the Army Air Corps. He
obtained his master of educa
tion degree from the Colo
rado State college of educa
tion in 1949. He is a member
of the Ashland Elks and Lions
clubs, and Theta Delta Phi,
national education society.
He and his wife, Viola, re
side at 1167 Tolman rd., Ash
land. Cities and non-farm lands
of the U. S.. with two per cent
of the total area- 'ield about
88 per cent of all the taxes
collected in a year.
t& "raff" -
by Bob Asher, district assistant ranger of the Ashland
forest service district, which
(Red) Thomes. Construction was carried out by forest
service employees Virgil Wilson, Jack James and Bill
Stewart, Ashland.
to keep out cattle. Also constructed was
a stairway leading down the steep bank of
the creek to the spring. The spring is
located amongst the rocks . in the fore
ground above.
Dr. Taylor Named
To History Board
Ashland-Dr. Arthur S. Tay
lor, chairman of the social
science division at Southern
Oregon college, has accepted
a membership on the board of
sponsors of the California
History Foundation. He was
chosen because of his long
time interest in western his
tory and because of his re
search and writings in regard
to it.
Established to promote and
sponsor activities of an his
torical nature, the organiza
tion has promoted pioneer li
braries, historical societies,
western tours, and many
courses in California and
western history for a number
of years..
Notification of the honor
came from Robert E. Burns,
president, College of the Pa
cific. Formal acceptance of
the membership will be made
by Dr. Taylor at the spring
meeting of the organization
in Stockton, Calif.
OSCAR SPORTS LETTER
Hollywood- (UPD -Oscar Le
vant is by his own admission
not much of an athlete but
he won a. letter for his jacket.
"I did receive a letter," he
told his TV audience. "It was
for my strait jacket and it was j
a 'P' for psychotic."
Your Questions
In slikiiiicc
Learn, first ha fid, here at Conger.
Morris, about the many advantages
which "pre-rieed arrangements" of.
fer. Consult with us at any time
about insurance, trusts or ivill
programs.
nhnut insurance, trusts or trill VSw
1111 j IN
I programs. j
ill j! FUNFRAI II
I uMCi'ZJsioim wHciMs. .
WEST MA,N AT SIXTH
"Your TV Weatherman" I fc5jLj I
IP . I ASHLAND MORTUARY --Mgm Pi
Ml KBES-TV Monday Thru Friday I JV( . , 7WXsl Nil
I 6 00 I 4th '"6 C Streert Alnland 1 nli ll1fkMffii f
Member National Selected Morticians by Invitation . ttlaKilfcljSijl
is headed by District Ranger
Information Booth
Planned at Phoenix
Phoenix-A "welcome" and
information booth will be con
structed at the south edge of
Phoenix as part of the Oregon
Centennial - observance, the
Phoenix Centennial committee
decided last week. 1
John Caulkins was named
chairman of the committee in
charge of the booth, with
Jack Peebler, Alee Lester,
Allen Harris, Olen Poe and
Leonard Halfhill serving on
the group.
The committee also receiv
ed the cooperation of Phoenix
merchants to supply window
space for early Oregon pio
neer displays. .Plans were
made to observe the Centen
nial birthday this month, but
exhibits will remain in win
dows throughout June, July
and August for the tourist
trade.
Mrs. Bert Stancliffe, chair
man of the Phoenix Centen
nial committee, appointed an
other committee to plan de
tails for "welcome" signs at
the north and south edges of
the city. Committee members
are Charles Hockersmith,
chairman; Allen Harris and
Ed Brown.
Events Planned -
Among events planned this
month are the Centennial pro
gram of the Phoenix Parent
Teacher association meeting
Feb. 5, a meeting of the Phoe
nix Grange Feb. 10 to honor
early pioneers of this area,
and a dinner and dance spon
sored by the Phoenix Thurs
day club Feb. 26.
Phoenix High school is plan
ning to publish a Centennial
edition of the school's news
paper this month. Two mem
bers of the journalism class
attended the committee meet
ing last week. They are Dana
Halaas and Lola Good.
Attending last week's meet
CASH DAVIS PHARMACY
THE tonmrQ STORE
135 West Main, corner Grape Ph. SP 2-2230
GREETING CARDS FOR ALL OCCASIONS
PRESCRIPTION SERVICE
C S&H GREEN STAMPS
Ex-Local Resident
Completes Program
Portland - Mrs. Viola Rus
sell Harrison, formerly of
Medford, recently completed
her student teaching program
at Lincoln High school where
she assisted in the English de
partment. -
She was one of 18 student
teachers placed by the public
school education department
of Lewis and Clark college
this fall in schools of the
Portland area.
Student teaching - for one
semester is required to receive
a teaching certificate in Ore
gon. Under the guidance of - a
supervising teacher, Mrs. Har
rison had the experience of
one half day every day in the
classroom. She is the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. John Russell,
204 North Ivy st.
Of all the accidental deaths
in the U. S., about 70 per cent
occur during the victim's non
working hours.
ing were Kay Caulkins and
Nannette Wrede, Phoenix
Thursday club; Elva Claflin,
Neighbors of Woodcraft; Leon
ard Halfhill, Lions club; Mona
Ferns, Presbyterian church;
Boyd Oldham, Baptist church;
Violet Graha, Phoenix Exten-
sion unit; Vincent Claflin,
Phoenix firemen; Peggy Glas
cock, firemen's auxiliary; Al
len Harris, 4-H clubs; Ethel
Hockersmith, Garden club;
Mr. and Mrs. Olen Poe, Phoe
nix Grange; Lester Igo, Cub
Scouts; Kathryn Stancliffe,
elementary school; and Faye
Carver, Marian Towne, Alice
Lester and Mayor Arthur
MacKintosh.
Organizations which did
not receive display assign
ments may contact Mrs. Stan
cliffe at KEystone 5-1458.
Plans for all displays should
be completed Feb. 14, she
said.
Glafman Reported
Violent in Prison i
San Quentin, Calif. -TO-Harvey
Glatman, 30, con
demned sex-slayer of three
models, became violent in his
death row cell at San Quentin
prison Friday night, smash
ing a stool and some radio
equipment.
Associate Warden W. D.
Achuff said the Los Angeles
killer was removed to an iso
lation cell. He said he did not
know what caused Glatman's
outburst.
Glatman, who confessed to
strangling three young wom
en and leaving their bodies
in the desert, has been in
death row since Dec. 18. His
case is on automatic appeal
before the California Su
preme Court. .
of Need
V