Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 2, 1960)
oo MAIL TRIBUNE, Mcdford, Or. A Thursday, Jun 2, I960 jmu4bMMK!JUS9 or cir V'' Vfc- ' v IN BETTER DAYS - Francis Powers, held by the Russians after his un plane was ': downed over the Soviet Union, is shown above in better days. At left he is shown, sffOWith his father, Oliver, center, and his By JACK V. FOX Norton. Va. - (UPD - Oliver Powers is enduring as stark an ordeal as a father could His only son is In the hands Of the Soviet military police, branded a spy and very pos sibly close to death before a firing squad. ; Powers, 55, Is facing It with dignity and with a courage that only fleetingly wanes at the desperation of his son's plight and the bitter frustra tion of being unable to help. Almost every day since 30-year-old Francis Powers was brought down in his U-2 far Inside Russia and the Com munist charges trumpeted to the world, the father has gone to his one-man shoe repair Shop in this tiny Virginia mountain town and worked it his cobbler's trade. Pauses for Newscast - Last week he sat at his bench and, between custom ers, talked about his son. A radio played incessantly and Powers paused for each news cast. He had goncn working, he said, because his son would want It that way. His wife . 1 ..... - J r"," """" 1 w.mmmm-.&) . ... . .Mn I nfllafrirT I lfpjp g-i I ftth (L dUmmh.: HA VlNuS IN EVERY UtrAKimLiyi . j av'ir r it. i i J m m r r W.M i i ic i i i i i; i txxsM ' ' ii inr vv.ii 1 1 nn o a 'j . 2 ii Af.wrr.i f. wumm v iiiii v- i mm -a i w&m in ii 1 1 n nii i ii ini.i r( UUH OdlJO) LMI-JV ? tJrw ii m x j zzzz 1 grandfather. At right he is shown with his fAVT3i jf1 A five sisters, JoOine, Joyce, Jean, Jessica and VVjJpS Vf -j. I V- 'tdt Janica. The photo was taken after Powers' V i3Si3p!LtM ' fVV i graduated from high school. 'S. " fc'' ' V ! 4 u Powers' Father Endures Ordeal Of Son Being in Soviet Hands cost $2.50 and it was a woman pilot in a two-seater plane. "When he came down, he said 'Daddy, I left my heart up there. Power's voice broke and he sobbcQ. It was the only time he lost his composure in a conversation of more than two hours. Worked as Miner Powers has repaired shoes for 22 years. He worked 15 years as a coal miner but gave it up because it was "too dangerous." He was in the infantry for about a year in the mid-1 920s but never went outside the country. I would never let him go into the mines," Powers said. And he would never work Receives Blame For Many Deaths Cincinnati (Science Serv- Is severely ill with a heart condition, aggravated by worry over her son. "He was a daddy's boy," Powers said. "No one will ever know how close that boy was to me. We had five girls, too, and I told Ills mother, 'You raise them however you want, but I'll raise the boy And I did'." JRecalJs First Flight . Four of the girls are mar ried. Two of them have moved away, both near Washington, D.C. One is married to a rural mail carrier here; the other to a school bus driver. The youngest girl lives with her parents and grandfather on the farm of 90-ycar-old James Powers at nearby Pound, Va. "Francis was a fine young man," Powers said. "When he was a young boy I told him he wasn't to go with the bad kind of boys. Run with the best boys you can. They arc going to amount to some thing. That's what he did. I never had a moment's worry with that boy." Powers, in fact, may have tried to be too close to his ton. The father revealed Hint when Francis was sent to iiv pan during the Korean Wnr the elder Powers wrolc the Air Force asking that his "only son" not be sent into combat. FrQicis did not sec action-although the letter un doubtedly hud nothing to do with it. First Plan Ride Powers recalled when Fran cis first went up in an air plane. The boy was 14 and the were driving through Princeton, W. Va., on the way back from taking the elder girl to school. "He kept after me to lot Mm go up and there was an icc)-Many deaths from heart airj)rt at Princeton," Powers aid "I remember the ride disease and cancer may be related to air pollution, re search suggests. Two analytical statisticians from the Department of Heallh, Education and Wel fare in Washington, D.C, re ported the relationship here at the annual meeting of the Air Pollution Control Asso ciation. Richard Schiffman and Emanuel Landau present ed information based 'on a study of 163 standard metro politan areas that were ranked n terms of potential air pollu tion levels. Those with high est air pollution had a great er number of deaths from various diseases than the na tional average. Chronic rheu matic heart disease, arterios clerotic heart disease, indu ing coronary, and non-rheumatic chronic endocarditis were three that showed mor tality increase in 20 standard metropolitan areas studied. Above National Average similarly, cancer of the esophagus and stomach caus ed more deaths in 20 metro politan areas with high air pollution than the national average, while cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lung showed comparable mortality Increases. The need for further study to show types of industries, fuels used and other factors related to air polWitlon and ! morbidity was emphasized, j Other investigators here I minimized the "overwhelm-! ing importance) of cigarette smoking as a prime cause of cancer, which has been al leged by' many researchers. They said the frequency of lung cancer started on the Kuropean continent before cigarette smoking became popular. at tftis trade. He just didn't like it. "This area doesn't offer much for a young man. He wanted to govo work when he got out of high school, but I persuaded him to go to col lege. I talked him into tak ing a pre-mcd course and he did real well. But when he got out, he told me he just wasn't interested in being a doctor and didn't want to go on to medical school." Powers triQI to get Francis an appointment to the Coast Guard AcadoKiy. BuWhe boy was restless, his draft board was scheduled to take him in and Francis enlisted in the Air Iftrce on Oct. 6, 1950. After a year, he took flight training and became a fighter pilot. Only Fighter Planes "He never flew anything but a fighter plane," Powers said. "He told me he didn't want to be responsible for nobody but himself. ' Thinks Government blun dered, o There is reason to believe that Powers knew something about what his son was doing in Turkey after leaving the Air Force In 1956 and going with Lockheed Aircratt as a "test pilot," but that is where the silence begins in talking with the father. His anger flares at what he thinks has been govern ment blundering in his son s case, Including the abandoned story that the U-2 pilot got lost In the Turkish border after a failure of his oxygen supply. Powers has tried to get State Department approval for a trip to. Europe and Russia nd made personal appeals to Premier NikiJJi Khrushchev s a fellow coal miner and father to let him take Fran cis' place. Unquestionably Invqgved But he realizes how little chance those attempts have. Closing his talk, he said he was aware his son may be executed, asknowlcdgcd that Francis was unquestionably involved in espionage. OSome one has to pay and perhaps It must be my boy he said slowly. "But know this. Whatever he did, he did for his country and it may turn out to be one of the most valuable things a man ever did." Next: Power's wife wanted him to quit flying BROWN'S MARKET Eagle Paint, Oregon 22.2 2 lbs. S135 I J.'ll- I IO-oi, Instant fSPJ $39 AN APPEAL FOR USED ITEMS The Medford lions Club hat completed construction of the Girl Scout activity center at Tomlin Forest. Used items are needed to start operation of the lodge. Do you havo any of the following for Girl Scout use? 2 large iron skillets 2 large cooking potiwlids 1 large coffee pot Smaller cooking pott Tea kettle Can opener Kitchen knives O long handled spoon long handled fork Pancake turner Dish pan Vir mattresses Shovels Sledge & wedges lanterns HaijH ax Yard rakes 8 wash basins First aid kit Old chain Old benches Old tables Phone SP 4960 or SP 2-6582 before 5 00 P.M. Phone SP 2.803S, SP 2-9995, SP 2-5402 after 5:00 P.M. AND A MEMBER OP MEDFORD HONS ClUB Will MAKE PICK-UP. IF YOU PREFER, HAVE ITEMS AT GIRL SCOUTS, 500 East Main. Q Q save up to 1.65 yd. special purchase MIRACLE BLEND FABBICS reg. to 2.98 yd. 1.33 All new spring and summer fabrics featuring Dacrons, cottons, Arnels, rayons in a gay assort ment of fashion colors and patterns u save 11.10 completely immersible ELECTBIC FR? PAS 10.88 comp. value 21.98 Giant 12-inch square. Therm-O-Ware top qual ity appliance. Fully guaranteed. Spreads heat evenly. Stay-cool contour grip handle. Price in cludes lid and removable control. save up to 1.10 - slight imperfections BEACH TOWELS values to 2. 98 1.88 Ever so slight imperfections mean dollar savings to you. A gay assortment of full gen&rous size. Brightly printed. By famous manufacturers. o save 70c o CHILDREN'S TENNIS SHOE Kg. 2.99 2.29 save 1.20 o OHIDREN'S TENNIS SHOE' Kg. 5.99 4.79 save 1.99 little or no ironing DRIP DRY COTTON SHIRT reg. 3.98 1.99 Convertible collars. Short roll sleeves. Over or tuck-in styles. In prints and solid colors. Sizes 30-38. save 51c handsome crew neck BOYS' KNIT SHIRTS o comp. value 1.50 99 Colorfast stripes in fine mercerized cottons . , , taped non-sHg neck band. Sizes 6-16. save up to 1.41 ideal gift item RAYONSILK SCARFS Values to 2.00 59 Tops for graduation gifts. Lovely fashion scarfs. As0-ted floral prints. Large squares. Takt your pick . . . they're all beautiful. Hand rolled hems. o save now! bonded guarantee CUTLERY SALE 2 for 3.00 or 1.59 Famous "Foremost" brand. Imported hot drop forged carbon steel. Hand ground polished and set for lasting accuracy. Fully nickel plated. , famous Munsingwear for men & boys SAMPLE KNIT LINE k& $i. to 23 Price! Includes full line of knit shirts, sweaters and underwear. Men's size, medium. Boys' sizes 8. 10-12-14. ys,zes- (Adv, pj. by Midlord LloClub) o 3 o
