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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 5, 1960)
o o oo o oo o SUNDAY, JUNE 5, Ida? o WooddPWorb Waits on Raifi; Tramp's View of Job-Scckinq (Editor's npte: What's il I were shut rWnwtO i . . ltk to look tor work in Medford? Bo Peep knows. He's a lelf-slyled "tremp." who hai beeivJookatg over the Rogue Vffley with an appraising eye. We present an second article he has Written.) Vernon wasn't a tramp when he got here, hjit the Itorm clouds followed him up the coast, two days be hind, and rained out his chances for work. His home is on the Gila River in Arizona, and he's a member of the Pima tribe. He came up here for one reason, to work in the great green woods. "Biggest tree we got is cactus," he said, "and I love trees." The first thing he did was call up every logger in the phone book. "Hello," he said, "my name is Vernon Eagle and I want to work in the woods." Was he experienced? "No," he answered, "but I . . ." And that was as far as he ever got. The logger usually cut in right there, saying, "We're all full up." Early' next morning he walked out to the Elk Lum ber company on Pacific highway. He got there just as a log truck was being un loaded. When the driver swung the empty rig around the crane-h o u s e, Vernon stuck out h i s thumb. The driver, Frank Applegate, told him to climb aboard. An hour later they were still rumbling along be side the Rogue river, and Vernon wondered if they would never stop; he didn't know of the great distances that often separate the log gers from the mill. When they turned into Elk Creek rd., the big tim ber began to show itself and Vernon's heart beat faster. Ten miles further on they swung onto a narrow strip of red clay and be gan to climb steeply. Sud denly there was so much forest around him that Ver non saw nothing but bark and fir like the small child seeing an elephant for the first time, taking in only hide. They finally reached the landing, where the logs are loaded, and Vernon got out and looked around. The towering Douglas fir, three hundred feet high, so far up. in the azure sky that they seemed to lean over the clearing. On a distant ridge the fallers and buckers were hard at work, and the whine o their chain saws rang down through the for est. A man in a tin hat came over. This was Oscar Han son, the boss. Vernon low ered his eyes and found it hard to focus them on a man only six feet tall. Han son said yes, he could watch the work, as long as he stayed out of the way. "It's okay," said Vernon politely. "I been around." One of the cat-skinners had just dropped in a turn of logs. This was Buddy, a light-haired little guy who looks like Jesse James. He had seen Vernon nearly fall over backwards as he looked at the timber, and knew Vernon had never been in the woods before. He caught Vernon's eye and motioned him up on the seat beside him. They started up the skid road. Vernon quickly learned that in order to stay aboard he had to use everything including fin gernails. They lurched up tjie steep slopes, two men "stride a ferocious yellow monster, chewing up the ground and ' stopping for nothing, neither rotton log nor boulder. Pete, a dour tobacco chewer, was the choker setter, and Vernon watched him at work. He saw how he cleared out a space under the end of each log and then slipped the cable through; how he fitted the nubbin into the bell; how he jammed a stick into each coupling so it wouldn't slip; how he lugged the heavy winch-hook into the bush whenever a choker didn't reach far enough. Applegate had said tha't setting chokers was the hardest and most dangerous Job in the woods. That's exactly what Vernon want ed. He watched Pete all morning, and by the time they clattered down to the landing at noon he figured he knew almost everything there ($as to know about setting chokers. Everybody gathered at the landing with dinner pails. As soon ai the cats were shut (HowiV the in. tense silence of the forest closed in and Vernon's heart beat faster. Wilson, the head skinner, built a small fire of pine boughs and soon a wisp of sweet swelling blue smoke arose through the slanting shafts of sunlight. Vernon noticed how slojj'ly the men moved as they took their places around the fire, as if trying not to make too much noise. He sat apart . from them as they ate, but near enough to hear-their logging-talk. When they finished eat ing, Vernon went over and asked Buddy what a bridle was, fpr he had heard the word four times. Buddy got up and took him over to a pile of old chokers, bris tling with sharp jaggers, and showed him how to fit the nubbin of one choker into the bell of another thus making a double-sized ring for an unusually big log. Now Vernon figured he knew everything. Then the storm clouds caught up to Vernon and it started to rain. The red clay became soft, the mud was washed off the cats and rivulets plashed in the gul lies. When Applegate showed up for his third and last load of the day, Vernon rode back to town with him. Applegate asked how he liked the woods. "Mr. Applegate," he said. "I like them." He told him that if it was the last thing he ever did in this world he was going to become a choker setter. Applegate gave him the names of several gyppo log gers around the county, and that night Vernon called them. "Hello," h e said, "My name is Vernon Eagle and I'm looking for work. I'm a choker setter." Was he experience? Oh, yes. Who had he worked for? A. R. Tuckey, Roseburg. (That was a name he made up.) Three of the men he called told him to check back in a few days, and that was encouraging. Then Vernon walked over to the Mail Tribune and placed an ad for three days. The girl behind the desk helped him write it, and it came out like this: "Man, 28, wants work in woods. Can set chokers. Call SP 3-9297 between 5 and 6." That number is a phone booth beside the Chevron station at Sixth st. and Riv erside ave. Vernon waited there at the proper hour for three days and of course the phone never rang. It finally sunk through his stubborn skull that rain means no logging. Right now he's waiting out the storms with the rest of us. You can be sure he'll stay right here until he gets that job. If you want to see what he looks like, drive past the employment office around eight. He's strictly off the reservation so you can't miss him. yf TAURUS APR. 21 I MAY 21 sTl 4- 5- 7-14 W17-24-31 3-15-59-M 57-68-74 OEMJNI MAY 22 JUNE 22 K33.38-43-49 SJ 6577-81 -90 CANCIR JUNE 23 JULY 23 ?N 9-10-18-J1 44-7)-82-8y S3 JULY 24 AUG. 23 111-19-21-28 12-37-52 vmoo AUG. 24 SEPT. 22 13-25-35-41 5-64-67-8. STAR GAZER!) By CLAY R. POLLAN- JH Your Daily Activity Guide JM According to thm Stars. r To develop message for Sunday, read words corresponding to numbers of your Zodiac birth sign. 1 By 31 Solitude 6! Generality 2 Your 32 Beauty 62 Through j ntawni oj roow OJ io 34 Courteous 64 Colls 35 Watte 65 Attainment 36 Good 66 Hidden 37 You 67 For 38 The 68 Attroct 39 The 691s 40 The 70 A 41 And 71 Against 42 Belter 72 Conference 43 Star 73 Meaning 44 Persuaded 74 Good 45 Means 75 Indicated 46 Lines 76 Dot 47 Bring 77 lr 46 Don't 78 And 49 Of 79 Sex 50 You 80 Favorable 51 Break 81 Shines 52 See 82 Better 53 For 83 Cooperative 34 hortun 84 Kedoing 55 Goin 85 Sudden 56 Spending 86 Halt 57 Ways 87 Tosks 58 And 88 Efforts 59 Much 89 Judgment 60 Opposite 90 Brightly Adverse ) Neutral uau OCT. 23 ILI 1- 6-45-48 151-70-76 4 You 5 Con 6 All 7 Think 8 Chorm 9 Don't 10 Be 1 1 Express I2W.II 13 Hojte 14 Much 1 5 Manners 16 Influence 17 Better 18 Forced 19 Delight 20 A 21 In 22Reod 23 Between 24 In 2,'i Mokes 26 Spurt 27 Or 28 The 29 And 30 Of (9) Good SCORPIO OCT. 24 tg NOV. 22 VV 50-55-59-621 P2-7MM8Vl SAGITTARIUS NOV.23 . 22 M: 42-47-56-58(1 1 61-63-85-86'H CAPRICORN DEC. 23 jf jan. 20 W-26-3U-36V 54-69-75 AQUARIUS' JAN. 21 A FEB. 19 4sfr79"8QA& Ft. 20 g MAR. 21 $ 22-23-39-46fl l6f3 A In the Day's News By FRANK JENKINS From Taipei, Formosa: The Chinese communists unleased an artillery bom bardment at Quemoy a few hours after President Eisen hower's visit to Formosa was announced. It is feared that the Chinese Reds may try to harass his visit to this staunch anti-communist country by launching a heavy artllery at tack on the Nationalist islands in the Formosa Straits. HMMMMMMMM. It isn't as if Ike hadn't heard artillery fire before. The chances are he won t scare too easily. I SUPPOSE you've noticed these tales from Washing ton about traveling members of congress who have been turning In big expense accounts. One of the most Interesting of them concerns a member of the investingating committee that a while back was frying out radio disc Jockeys accused of accepting "payola." It ap pears that this gentleman had been in Hawaii a while back on a government mission and had stayed at one of the plushest of the plush holtels. On his expense account when he turned it In appeared a quite considerable number of BAR items. expense account and had writ ten in after the bar Items the explanatory word FOOD -indicating that SOMEBODY had got scared. To make it worse, the clerk of the congressional commit tee that has charge of these expense vouchers closed the record to the public so that nosey reporters couldn't delve into it and turn up scandalous stories. BAD business? Well, of course It Is. If members of congress are go ing to delve into the pecca dillos of other people they should first make sure that their own skirts are impec cably clean. i That principle was under stood and accepted two thou sand years ago. Pultarch, in his immortal "lives," relates that when Caesar was asked why he parted with his wife he replied: "Caesar's wife ought to be above suspicion." The same goes for members of congressional investigating committees. THE Interesting point is that after the investigation started it developed that, someone had gone over his INCIDENTALLY When Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn heard about the order closing the expense account voucher record to public inspection, he promptly COUNTER MAND it. 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