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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 1959)
MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or. Friday, August 7, 19S9 iNews Editor Tells Of Explosion in Downtown Area (Editor's note: Dave Cor don, mwi editor of radio station KRXL in Roseburg was knocked down six blocks away by the blast which heavily damaged that' Oty Of 13.0UU eariy xoaay. ; His account follows:) : By DAVE CORDON ' j As Told to UPI I Roseburg-(UP-I was asleep early this morning when I I was jwakeried by the fire ; siren. - , ; I got out of bed to check I with the fire department to see what had happened. When - I got up the explosion went ; off and knocked me down. T ran down to the area. There were people all over. " I saw two persons lying in the 1 street. Both were still alive ' but were bleeding badly. . Then I got out of there be J cause there were two propane : tanks in the area and firemen ' said they were in danger" of going up. It's a good thing they didn't or I wouldn't be talking to you now. I went up "town and got on tnn of a building where I could see down on the fire. It looked like a 'big inferno Smoke was heavy and burn ins particles were going through the. air and landing . all around. . ! There were hot wires lying ? all over the place. ; On Jackson street, which is the main street here, almost every window in every store 10 was knocked out. J That truck was sitting in front of the Gerretsen Supply ; Company. That building was r leveled. There was a soft I rirint nlant across the street. When I went down there this morning that was gone except for one corner. - Emergency Plans Set in Motion Salem -dJPD-Officials at the State Civil Defense headquar ters here today set in motion emergency plans following the Roseburg explosion. Welfare Coordinator An- iice at tne capnoi since a.m. contacting Lane county offi cials. Col. Arthur Sheets, Civ il Defense director, and ... -. , a " Warne Iviunn, assistant to tne governor, Dew to Roseburg in a National Guard plane to check on the disaster. With them were Jack Bartlett of the -State Highway Depart ment and Col. Maylon Scott, operations officer, i National Guardsmen and tne snenii s rescue paixoueu the area. All gas and electri city was shut off in the down town area and all stores were closed. Entry to the area was by police pass only. Roads outside of town were patrolled by the state police and Grants Pass police. The ; Roseburg High school was set ' up to handle emergency serv i ices. Josephine County I Awards Tire Contract Grants Pass Hawkinson , Tire Trc d service of Medf ord and C .Jits Pass, was low bidder on providing new tires and recapping for Josephine ' ... . The year's contract became ruecuve auk. x. Carl Bismark, Medford store manager, stated that the plant .. is equipped to provide four . different type treads for re "" canoed tires for bofh winter and summer driving. Dine & Dance i, at the ... Rogue River Lodge 25 Minutes N.E. of Medford en Carter Lake Hwy. 62 FRIDAY . . .. Caesar Muzzioli - en the Accordion VERY DAY: Delicious Charcoal Broiled Steaks. , FRIDAY A SATURDAY SPECIALTY: Charcoal Barrel Prime Ribe SATURDAY: Dining and Dancing. Music by THE TUN ESTERS. SUNDAY: Featuring Fried Chicken, Buttermilk Biscuits, Charcoal Barrel Beef Ribs, Homemade Pastries. . OPEN DAILY 2 PM. CLOSED THURSDAYS Carcoal Broilers 5 P.M. OWNERS: lola Porterfield - Froida Frank Keefer Ammonium Blast Rips Downtown Area Early Today (Continued From Page 1) . Firemen were successful in preventing the blaze from spreading to buildings on Main street, a few blocks east of the blast scene, and from jumping the Umpqua river to the residential area on the west side. Windows Shattered ' But windows in most of the downtown buildings were shattered. The Roseburg News-Review office located about six blocks east of the blast scene was heavily damaged, v HaL Crawford, who turned out to help, said he saw about 20 injured persons taken from houses set afire by flying embers. Some were removed from under broken doors, beds and other furniture. ' The Central Junior high school, an old building, received heavy daamge and school Superintendent M. C-. Deller said it was possible the building may not be safe for use again. Mercy hospital, located across the Umpqua river from the blast scene, received some broken windows and awning damage. Reported missing was William T. Unratb, co-owner of a soft drink bottling company who had left his home after the fire started but before the blast. His wife was unhurt but her daughter, Mary, 19, and two of her friends, in an upstairs bedroom. Lorraine Ross and Lauretta Rusher, both of Bremerton, Wash., suffered minor injuries after climbing to a roof and leaping to the ground when the house started to burn. Much of the damage occurred in an area surrounded by Douglas., Stephens, Mosier and .Oak sts. Ileuberger Asks Explosion Probe Washington -. (UPD - Sen Richard L. Neuberger (D- Ore.) today asked the Inter state Commerce Commission to investigate the explosion at Roseburg, Ore. He said the Commission should determine if further authority is needed to control transportation , of explosives by licensed carriers in urban areas.' "The tragic explosion in Roseburg . . . shows the need for a complete review of safety regulations , governing cargo movements . of this type," Neuberger said. He said he has asked the ICC for a complete investiga tion of the explosion to deter mine whether existing regula tions were adhered to at Roseburg. The senator said he also asked for legislative r e c o m m e ndations if addi tional controls are needed. Neuberger said he has been in touch with office of Civil Defense headquarters in Battle Creek, Mich., and would - support efforts 'of state and local officials ' in obtaining disaster relief from federal agencies if such ac tion is warranted. - - Ike, Premier May Go foXamp David Washington - IBPD - Presi dent Eisenhower' is expected to take Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev to his secluded Camp David retreat in Mary land for informal talks at some point, during the Rus sian leader's visit next month. This was reported today by well-informed . officials who said tentative . plans for the Camp David talks are emerg ing from U.S.-Soviet negoti ations on arrangements for the Khrushchev visit, which begins Sept. 15. " , Officials said Eisenhower and Khrushchev would have a much better chance-to get down to brass tacks in a dis cussion of cold war problems in the relaxed, private atmo sphere of the mountain re treat than at White House meetings. Othello-UPD-L. W. Sharpe, 54, Othello, was killed today when his pick-up truck col lided with an automobile at a highway , junction East of here. ENJOY OUR LOUNGE FRIDAY ... Try our , Trout Dinnor "V nr. Sonic Boom in Area Alarms Residents . Ashland - Residents here were alarmed by what sound ed like an explosion yester day at about 2:25 p.m. . Firemen were called to a vacant building at North Main and Granite ' sts., : be lieved the scene of the blast. Investigation proved that the blast in fact was far above the city-a sonic boom caused by a. pair of fast-flying jet aircraft. ' . Paving Project Arouses Debate - . . , . The- proposed paving of Mary st. from East Jackson st. north to Saling ave. aroused debate among property own ers at the Medford city coun cil's public hearing last night. The debate ended in an anticlimax, however, when it developed that a change of ownership reduced the ranks of those, petitioning for the project to below the minimum percentage. 7:-The council, acting on the recommendation of City At torney Joel B. Reeder, con tinued the hearing and asked for a new petition. The petitioners had orig inally represented 54.2 per cent of the property abutting on the street. But the shift in ownership, which came 'to light during the hearing, dropped the figure to an in sufficient even 50 per. cent. Arguments favoring the project. held that the street's surface was unsatisfactory, being dusty in summer and muddy in winter. It was also pointed out that a water main had recently' been installed, and that paving the street was a logical next steD. " Those opposing the improved ment spoke primarily of their inability to meet the expense, estimated at $7 per front foot. Grain and Combine Destroyed in Fire .Two acres of grain and a combine belonging to Victor Birdseye and 30 acres of stubble on the Hanley ranch west of Medford burned yes terday, Central Point rural firemen reported. The firemen, called about 3:30 p.m., said that the blaze started- from the combine. Two tankers, one pumper and 10 men from the Central Point rural department were dispatched to. the scene. Two trucks were sent by the Med ford department since the ( blaze was near the Medford rural district line. One of the trucks was" detailed to protect homes along. Winema .and Vashti ways. ' HOTTEST IN STATE' Person who complain about the s heat here might be shipped off to the South Pole. While Medford reported the highest temperature in- the state at 100; yesterday, the South Pole recorded a maxi mum of 52 Agrees below zero, local weather bureau of ficials reported. Minimum at the pole was 60 belcw. "-4 CANDLE ' An HOTEL BEDFORD 'flits fjaLTrffiT- City Described By Eye Witness As in Shambles (Continued from Page I) A Western Airlines pilot, flying at 17,000 -feet several miles east of Roseburg, saw the blast. He called the Med ford airport tower, and said: "I don't know what hap pened to . Roseburg, but it looks like they got hit by something from Russia." Reminded of London Blitz Other witnesses said the blast resembled an atomic blast, so fierce it was. George Milligan, chief pilot of Mercy Flights, Inc.; who flew blood and doctors to Roseburg early this morning, said the flam ing holocaust of the fire re minded him of the wartime blitz of London. Glass was damaged as far away as two miles from the explosion. The Jackson county chap ter of the American Red Cross is preparing to as sist in providing informa tion on persons involved in the Roseburg disaster. An official at the chapter house, 60 Hawthorne ave., said lists of the dead and in jured would be made avail able as soon as possible. The Red Cross telephone number is SP 2-4405. Louie Suiter, chief crim inal deputy sheriff, drove me around the blast area. He pointed out a little Fiat car. "That belonged to a friend of mine, just a kid, 18 or 19 years old," Suiter said. "He and his wife were driving by, and stopped to see if they could help fight the fire. Just as he got out of the car the truck went up." The side, of the Fiat was caved in. Later, Suiter was advised his friend 's body had been" identified. The young man had been married only a few month's. I Mayor Arlo Jacklin said that Vz hours after the blast, 150 people were' lined up at the hospital waiting to donate blood for the blast' victims. Col. Arthur Sheets, director of civilian deffaise for the' state, and Warne Nunn, execu tive assistant to Gov. Mark Hatfield, flew in to Roseburg in a National Guard plane at mid-morning to offer the state's assistance. Newspapermen from all parts of the state converged on Roseburg to tell the story of the disaster. Thej-airport was a busy place this morn ing. Sheriffs deputies were running a shuttle service for officials and newsmen. BIRTHS GRISSOM-Ta Mr. and Mrs. Donald, box 310', Lake Creek, Aug. 5, 1959, a boy, 8 pounds, at Rogue Valley hos pital, y-' ;Y KRUGGEL To Mr. and Mrs. Fred E. 21 Portland ave., Aug. 6, 1959, a boy, 63i pounds, at Rogue Valley hospital. ; " . CLOVER-To,Mr. and Mrs. David 476 Laurel ' ave., Ash land, Aug. 7, 1959, a girl, 8 pounds, ' a$ , Ashland General hospital. . JOHNSON-To Mr. and Mrs. Claude, 1930 Ashland Mine rd.,v Ashland, Aug.v 6,11959, a girl, IVi pounds, at Ashland General hospital. ALLEN-To Mr. and Mrs. William, 647 Valley View rd., Ashland, Aug. 6, 1959, a boy, 6V4 pounds, at Ashland Gen eral hospital. FAZIO-To Mr. and Mrs. Michael R., 2241 Roberts rd., Medford, Aug. 7, 1959. a girl, 72 pounds, at Sacred Heart hospital. McQUADE - To Mr. and Mrs. Alan M., 911 Casino dr., Medford, Aug. 7, 1959, a girl, 634 pounds, at Sacred Heart hospital. DITCH-To . Mr. and Mrs. Irwin, 316 South Orange st., Aug. 6, 1959, a boy, 5V4 pounds, at Rogue Valley hos pital. AARSETH-To Mr. and Mrs. Donald E., route 1, box 16, Gold HilL Aug. 7, 1959, a girl, 8V& "pounds, at Rogue Valley hospital. ELSOM-To Mr. and Mrs. Frank, 941 Alta st., Aug. 7, 1959, a girl, 6Vz pounds, at Rogue Valley hospital. . The Salvation Army has 491 senior bonds with a mem bership of more than 6,000, in the United States. - Charcoal Broiled LOBSTER TAILS especially good place to eat if dieting! Officials Express Optimism About Orbit of Satellite (Continued from Page 1) In a, news conference at the cape, all officials involved in the shoot expressed firm op timism about the possibility of achieving orbit. Dr. Arthur K. Theil, Theil Project director, announced that a Manchester, England, tracking station successfully picked up all three transmit ters from the satellite package at 7:10 a.m. The Manchester crew turned one transmitter on from the ground with an ultra high frequency signal after it had been turned off from Cape Canaveral. Theil said a Singa pore tracking station picked up all three transmitters 20 minutes later. Thiel said, however, that both Manchester and -Singapore would have been able to pick up the signals before the satellite reached apogee in its first trip around the earth. The launching rocket's third stage had "to reach a peak speed of 22,000 miles an hour to put the Paddlewheel into the orbit planned for it. This speed - 4,000 miles an hour more than the . minimum necessary to get a satellite into orbit - was necessary be cause the orbit sought this time was so flat and elongat ed. Given Extra Boost To help the paddlewheel achieve this difficult orbit, its makers built into the payload itself a small, solid-fuel "kick" rocket designed to boost the Paddlewheel an extra 50 to 100 miles away from the earth during its first orbit. Planners feared that because of - the elongated orbit, the satellite might come back' too close to earth. European Nations Start Conference London - (UPD - European nations concerned over the prospect of a "Big Two" ap proach to world affairs began a round of- talks today de signed to insure that their in terests will be protected. U.S. Asst. Secretary of State : Livingston Merchant arrived-in Rome to assure the Italian government that' the coming exchange of visits be1 tween President Eisenhower and Premier Nikita Khru shchev will not have the effect of dividin" the world into two spheres of influence. 'At the same time, West German Foreign Minister Heinrich von Brentano was preparing to report to Parlia ment on the situation. Reports in Bonn said Chancellor Ade nauer's cabinet is seeking a pledge that the Eisenhower Khrushchev talks will cause no weakening of the Western position in Berlin. . In London, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was con tinuing talks with Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd on the situation created by the Big Four foreign ministers' inability to reach any agree ment on Germany or Berlin. Fire Crews Continue To Patrol Burn Area Six crewmen of the state department of forestry were mopping up and patrolling to day in the Nugget butte area east of Gold Hill wh'ere fire burned 160 acres of grass, brush and timber Tuesday. Southwest district head quarters of the forestry de partment here reported that three men would be on the scene three or four more days and then the area would be checked daily for a time. The fire was thought to be smoker-caused and more than 60 men fought the flames at one time. Roseburg- (UPD -State police said today that the Highway 99 by-pass through Roseburg was open to traffic but that the downtown 99 route was closed because of today' explosion. Learn to WDM New Classes Every Monday. We guarantee to teach you to swim in 1 0 lessons Only 6 to a class so make your reservations NOW! TWIN PLUNGES N Ashland, Oregon At blast-off, the four pad dles were folded downward like a bird's legs around the satellite. They were designed to spring up and lock in place just before the third stage rocket fired. The satellite was nestled under a plastic jacket, which also' covered the third stage of the rocket. This was rigged to break away from' the Pad dlewheel and the third stage about four and a half minutes after launching. The third stage propellant was to burn for about 40 seconds. Then 20 seconds after third-stage burnout, a set of springs was to force the third stage and the satellite apart. The Thor-Able rocket was the same type the Air Force used-last summer and fall in its three attempts to put small satellites into orbit around the moon. The first stage was a Thor intermediate range ballistic missile, the same type now a part of NATO defense weap ons in England. The second stage was an adaptation of the middle section of the Vah- guard satellite launching rocket, . and the third stage was a solid fuel rocket, also designed originally for the Vanguard. President Asks Strong Labor Bill Washington -0PD- President Eisenhower threw his full personal and official prestige behind a strong labor reform bill Thursday night in a tough-worded nationwide ra dio-TV appeal for J'truly ef fective'- legislation. In the 15-minute speech, Eisenhower; called on Con gress . to respond to an "ov erwhelming . national dis grace" of racketeers, crooks and other corrupt elements in labor unions. The President gave exam ples of "blackmail" picketing, secondary boycotts and "no- man s land" cases. After each one, he looked directly into the TV lens and declared sterhlyy "I want that sort of thing stopped. So does Amer ica." He praised a proposed bill by Reps. Phil M. Landrum (D- Ga.) and Robert P. Griffin (R- Mich.) as "a good start toward a real labor reform law. He also pointed out that his own recommendations' still were before Congress. President to Go To Europe Soon Washington - (UPD - The White House anonunced today that President Eisenhower will go to Europe Aug. 28 to confer with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and French President Charles de Gaulle in advance of his exchange of visits with So viet Premier Nikita Khru shchev. Eisenhower's first stop, will be in London beginning Aug. 28. He is scheduled to be in Paris Sept. 2. ; A White " House announce ment said the President has accepted invitations by Mac millan and De Gaulle to make informal visits to the two countries." The President announced earlier this week he planned to talk with Macmillan and De Gaulle before Khrushchev arrives in the United States Sept. 15. Logging Firm, Union Extend Contract Portiand-(UPD-A new agree ment between the Simpson Logging company and the Lumber and Sawmill Workers union was announced Wed nesday. The current contract will be extended to June 30, 1961, with wage increases and other benefits added. Some 1,800 plywood and door factory workers in four plants in Oregon and one in Washington are covered in the new contract. - Phone MU 2-3461 Queen Elizabeth Baby London (DPD Queen Eliza beth expects a baby early next year, Buckingham Palace an nounced today. The expected child will be the third for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philin. Prince Charles, heir to the throne, is 10. Princess Anne will be nine next week. The new child, if a bov. will take precedence over Princess Anne in line of succession to the throne. An official palace announce ment today ended weeks of speculation that the 33-year-old British monarch was preg nant. The rumors had started dur ing her Canadian tour which ended last week end and dur ing which the Queen at one time had to cancel part of .her official schedule. Wanted Mote Children Both the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh always have been anxious to have more children and it was un derstood they were "very happy" about having another. The Queen's doctors have stressed that she is in good neaim. xms is oased on thorough examinations they carried out over a period of three straight days this week. The doctors have determ ined that her illness during ner Canadian tour had noth ing to do with her pregnancy. It was just an ordinary, stom- acn upset. Lord Evans, the Queen's chief physician, flew to Ger many today on vacation and said before leaving "the Queen is m good health. There is cer tainly no need to worry about Her Majesty." : No more precise date has been set for the birth than "early next year." Confirmation came early this week that she was examined by her doctors, Lord Evans and Sir John Weir, and a gynecologist, Dr. John Peel. Continued on Tour The Queen apparently real ized she might be pregnant at some time during her Can - adian tour. Early in June she told Can - adian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker of the possibility. He offered to reduce or, end the tour the Queen and Philip were then making across Cart - ada but the Queen insisted that she alone would decide whether any alteration to the tour was necessary. She did not have a medical examination on the tour, pre ferring to wait until she had returned to London where she could consult her own doctors But she did tell a few se lected persons she thought she might be pregnant. Because of the pregnancy, Elizabeth will be unable to carry out the tour . of West Africa she and the duke had planned for the fall. She also cancelled for the More than 6,000 business and industrial firms use home study correspondence courses to train their employees. COME TO THE CENTENNIAL Medford FRI., SAT. and SUN. AUGUST 7-8-9 FUN FOR EVERYONE EVERY DAY: 20 Booths ' Over. 6,000 Prizes Hot Dogs . Refreshments Old Time Auto Supply Antiques Souvenirs Games of All Types SATURDAY: Open at Noon Pony and Donkey Rides Buttons the Clown Games and Refreshments SATURDAY NITE: FREE DANCE with 5-piece Band . Games and Refreshments Palace time being the tour to the Orkney and Shetland Islands off Scotland that she was about; to undertake. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were married on Nov. 20, 1947. Prince Charles, now the Prince of Wales, was born the next year, Princess Anne in 1950. The British people were told at exactly 2 p.m. London time that their Queen was ex pecting another child. Imme diately after the chimes of Big Hen rang out over the British Broadcasting Corporation an announcer broke the "glad tid ings. - Royal Cradle Ready The new baby will be the first in more than a century to be born to areigning Queen of England. The child will use the same cradle used by royal infants over the past 100 years. The present Queen's great - great' grandmother, Queen Victoria, ordered the cradle for her first born. Neither Prince Charles nor Princess Anne was born while Elizabeth was Queen. The last child born to a reigning sov ereign of England was Prin cess Beatrice, daughter of Queen Victoria, and that was on April 14, 1857. She died Oct. 26, 1944. The last son born to a sov ereign was Victoria's eighth chijd, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, born April 7, 1853. Deliciously different! Finger Lickin' Good! It's Medford's newest taste treat ready to eat in 6 minutes! We're boasting about our mm ! ! ' ; ! 1 j . ! 4 (WW Tender, golden brown, juicy, delicious chicken , done to the bone, instantly cooked (6 min utes) with flavorful goodness sealed in, without ; greasy pre-cooking. Try an order of chicken "; 98c, today! Dine inside,, eat in your car or take it along with you. . ' . - . .' - - . f. Open Daily 11:3.0 a.m. till 10:00 p.m. Fresh Young Chickens Supplied Daily by SORAN'S Klamath Poultry BROASTER HOUSE 2 Blocks East of Bridge on Main St. Ph. SP 3-4379 Sponsored by SACRED HEART FRIDAY: 6:00 P.M. GRAND OPENING GAMES Talent Shew ' The Shadows Refreshments Expects nnounces Announcement that the Queen is' expecting 4 baby raised the question whether she would meet President Ei senhower should he visit Brit ain during his trip at the end of the month. - It was pointed out by Buck ingham Palace sources, how ever, that the President's visit would not be an affair of state and so the Queen would not be involved in rigid protocoL It was thought .quite likely that if the President has a chance personally to congratu late the monarch, their meet-' ing would be informal. Enjoy Yourself in SALEM . Stay at the beautiful new Marion Motor Hotel Hotel or Motel Guest Accommodations Comfortable Beds Heated Swimming Pool Excellent Cuisine Cocktail Lounge Friendly Service ' MARION MOTOR HOTEL 200 S, Commercial Salem, Ore". Prion. EMpire 3-4123 COME ALL! 7 - - 93 STED' SUNDAY: OPEN AT NOON Authentic Old Time Dress Contest Fiddler's Contest '59 Auto Electric Range Power Lawn Mower Bicycle and Other Valuable Prizes TO BE GIVEN AWAY!
