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
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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.
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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.
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TWIN PLUNGES
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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.
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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.
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7 - -
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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!