SUNDAY. DECEMBER 25, 1960
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, ORE.
City-;Mdnager Observing .-3 5 'Years -Service
8 A
ft) v n , is; iJf r, ,
I TIlT'll' I ' III 'lit Willi HIIIH lM Ml I M I I hmmmlm;,M
KNOWS CITY WATER PROBLEMS City assist in designing the first of two water
Manager Robert A. Duff was
intendent from 1931 until 1955, and during
that time became well-acquainted with the
city's water problems. One of Duff's first
jobs with the department in 1925 was to
Heavy Fog, Icy Roads Cause
Several Accidents in
Four persons were injured
in one of several accidents oc
curing in the heavy fog and
on icy roads Friday and Sat
urday morning.
Friday, a mother and her
three children were injured
when a car driven by the
mother, Mrs. . Dolores Eliza
beth Voss, route il, Box 169M
Medford, missed the road at
the intersection of the North
Phoenix and B a r n e 1 1 rds.,
took out several feet of pas
ture fencing, and hit. a tele
Seasons T
of a " v .'; Ilplir
Bird Watcher W
Fall I960
' Anybody that watches birds gels a special pleasure from
seeing them around the place where he lives. I am fortunate
to live in a favorable spot, so every two weeks I keep a. list
of the species I see in & seven day period. Any week in the
year if I watch I can find as many as 20 species and often
over 30. My total for the year on the home place broke all
records, with 78.
This goes to show that Increasing population and many
new houses in the neighborhood haven't reduced the number
of birds much. It has cut down, though, on the number of indi
vidual quail in the flocks.
New ones seen on the place this year and never before
were barn swallows and marsh hawks flying over, and a
mountain bluebird which perched in a tree by the church
and gave me a good view. As before I saw great blue herons
and kingfishers flying over. These birds are easily recognized
In flight.
We have a few somewhat unusual observations to record
for the fall scasun. We saw a hummingbird at our penstcmon
flowers on Oct. 25, which Is a pretty late date for this species.
RHlph Browning has an even more remarkable late record.
He saw a male Bullock's oriole on Nov. 22 as he was going
home from high school in Phoenix. J. H. and I saw at least
three chipping sparrows on Nov. 28. There are always a few
summer birds that linger, but this seems to have been a
good year for that.
J. II. was also responsible for another unusual record.
On Nov. 13 he saw red phalaropcs on a pond near his cabin
on the Rogue. This kind of phalarope Is an ocean or coastal
species and rarely strays inland. Wilson's phalaropcs probably
nest around Hoover lake in the summer because we often see
them there. Phalaropcs are interesting birds because they arc
the feminists of the avian world. The females are the more
brightly colored, and the males do all the incubating of the
eggs.
J. H. and I were together one fall day when he spoiled
and identified a rough-legged hawk. After he pointed it out
I could confirm that this was what it was. We have been
looking for this hawk in our valley for years, and it was
quite exciting finally to see it. As a matter of fact I had never
seen one anywhere before, but J. H. had seen them in east
ern Oregon.
It was on Nov. 7 we saw this
later. This particular trip was
When we started out it was a little showery and we thought
we wouldn't see much, but we ended up with 57 species on
our four hour trip. We saw
Reservoir.
. Now the season of our Christmas Bird Count has again
come around. We had a little
for it and set Friday, Dec. 30, for our date. We will count
birds again in the 15-mile diameter circle centering about a
mile south of White City. It includes all of Medford, Roxy
Anne, botli Table Rocks, the Rogue Rver from Gold Rey dam
almost to Dodge Bridge, and a
ing on the west side quite a
Old Military Road.
Phone calls or notes from
us quite a little on last year's count. We located our barn owls
that way then, and I think we know where we can find
them still. Does anybody know where great horned owls
roost regularly, or do they keep moving around? How about
screech owls? They are supposed to be permanent residents in
Oregon, but I don't recall ever seeing one In the winter.
Another species that readers might help us locate is the
slate-colored junco. Oregon juncos are among our common
est winter birds, but there are often one or two slate-colored
juncos among the hundreds of the commoner species. I won't
attempt to describe them but any one with the aid of a good
bird book can pick them out if they come to your feeder, or
close to the house. The standard bird book that most of us
use is Peterson's Field Guide to Western Birds.
Phone me at SP 2-8860 if you have any of this information
to impart. You may call me also if you would like to join us
on the Christmas bird count. T.M.
A '
water super
phone pole, breaking it off
at the base.
The injured children were
Lorrie Voss, 5; Stephen, 3;
and David, 10 months. Ail
except Lorrie Voss were treat
ed at Sacred Heart hospital
and released. The five-year-
old girl was reported in good
condition Saturday morning.
Another child in the car, Den-
ise, 4, received no injuries,
state police said.
Foggy weather and icy road
caused accidents Friday
hawk, and J. H. saw it again
one of the best we ever made
a lot of ducks on Gardiner
meeting a while ago to plan
great portion of valley, extend
distance into the hills above
readers of this column helped
pipelines from Big Butte springs. He is
shown above talking to Robert Lee, who
assumed the job of water superintendent
when Duff became city manager.
Valley
morning at the Tolo ovcrcross-
ing when several vehicles
piled into each other. The
road and bridge had been
sanded but the cars were trav
eling too fast for the condi
tions, stale police said.
Drivers ' were Larry Lee
Logghe, 27, Santa Clara, Cal
if.; George Henry Kitchen,
64, Vernonia, Ore.: Wallace
Arnold Gabrielson, 34, Castro
Valley, Calif., and Joel Knox,
43, Bandon, Ore.
Two rear-end accidents oc
curred within a few minutes
of each other Friday morning
at the Stewart avc. and High
way 99 junction. Involved in
one were truck driver Bert
Julius Stats Jr., 44, of 702
Park st., Medford, and Fred-
crick Paul Meyers, 27, Sun
nyvale, Calif., and in the sec
ond John Milton Cook, 49,
Phoenix, and Gene Harold
Hillhouse, 20, Sunnyvale.
Later Friday morning,
another rear-end collision oc
curred between vehicles
driven by Homer Jackson Hyl
ton, 54, of 315 Laurel st., Med
ford, and Charles Francis
Dacges, 29, Ben Lomond,
Calif., on Highway 99 about
a mile south of Medford.
Friday night, a car driven
by Hubert Paul Bentley. 24.
Grants Pass, slipped on an icy
curve near Jacksonville and
slid over a bank.
Also ion Friday, trucks
driven by Franklin Ray Lind
sey, 23, of route 1, box 319,
Eagle Point, and Eugene Ray
Arnold, 29, of route 2. box
495, Gold Hill, collided near
the entrance to Burrill Lum
ber company on Agate rd.
A car driven by Junior Lee
Parker, 32, of route 2, box
508X, Central Point, struck
two Hereford heifers on the
Table Rock id. Friday after
noon, about lVi miles south of
the Sams Valley highway
state police said. Both ani
mals. owned by the Reter
fruit company, were killed
They were being driven by
the ranch foreman, Benny
rciK.
Accidents in City
Medford city police report
ed several non-injury acci
dents Friday.
Adding to the traffic diffi
culties of icy pavement and
foggy weather was removnl of
wires from the traffic signal
control box at Oakdale ave.
and West Main st. later Fri
day night, and the placing of
cans In the street in front of
the YMCA at West Sixth st.
A tvenworth truck and two
trailers driven by Clarence
Edward Smith, Portland, ran
into a ditch off McAndrews
rd. between Biddlc rd. and
Riverside ave.
A car driven by John
Quincy Adams. 2495 West
Main St.. ran Into a ditch at
West Main and Jeanette sts.
Donald Thurston Wilinson,
1407 West Main st., Medford,
reported a car ran over his
lawn Friday night.
A car driven oy Bruce Wei
lington Moffat, 2178 Spring
sl ran off the road near the
intersection of Modoc and
Hillcrest rds.
Three vehicles were in
volved in a collision at East
Main st. at Crater Lake ave.
They were driven by Herbert
Clement Rtidd Jr., 2323 Ar
nold ave., Medford; by Harold
Warren Smith, 547 Bessie st
Medford, and by Arthur Hill
Shackleton Gill m ore. 128
South Kecneway dr., Medford.
Cars driven by Wllma Ger
trude McLean, Grants Pass,
and John Coleman Norris, 831
Minnesota ave., collided Fri
day at Eighth and Grape sts..
city police records show.
Medford One of
Finest Cities,
R. A. Duff Says
By GREG NOKES
Mail Tribune Staff Writer
Christmas is a day of spe
cial meaning to all people
everywhere, but it has taken
on an even added significance
for Medford's city manager
who today is celebrating his
35th Christmas as an em
ployee of the city of Med
ford. The city of Medford, its
problems and people, have
been Robert A. Duff's busi
ness since he came here in
1925 to work as a drafting en
gineer in the city water de
partment. Thirty-five years is a long
time for a man to work for
a city. But, if Duff had it to
do all over again, he wouldn't
change a thing.
He declares: "Medford
one of the finest communities
anywhere. Its people are of as
high a caliber as I have ever
seen. What reason could
there possibly be for me to
want to leave here?"
Changes Since Start
The city has changed a lot
since Duff started working
for it, and Duff has seen most
of these changes.
He has seen the city grow
from a town of 5,000 persons
to a city of nearly 25,000. He
has seen it struggle through
depression days and virtual
economic collapse, to the war
time Camp White era and the
post-war lumber boom, which
together did much to get the
city back on its feet again.
It takes a special kind of
a person to devote his life to
municipal government.
He must be willing to stay
silent and courteous while
irate citizens are heaping un
justified abuse on him or the
city government for doing, or
not doing, something over
which they have no control.
Answer Demands
He must answer with a civil
tongue when people demand
to know why the city has not
paved such-and-such a street,
nor provided for a more
abundant water supply, when
the city doesn t have the mon
ey to do it.
He must be able to take it
for granted that few expres
sions of appreciation will
come from the citizens when
a new bridge is built, or city
streets repaved.
He must be able to serve
the public, listen to his sub
ordinates, satisfy the city
council, and even sometimes
deal with a misunderstanding
press. ,
He must be a fighter, a dip
lomat, a negotiator. He must
have patience, tact, foresight,
hindsight and understanding.
He must be willing to do a
lot of work for little pay.
As Drafting Engineer
Duff first started working
for the city in 1925 as a draft
ing engineer with the city
water department, following
his graduation thai same year
from the University of Santa
Clara where he received his
BS degree in civil engineer
ing. One of Duff's first duties
was lo assist in designing the
first of the two water pipe
lines from Big Butte springs.
In 1931 Duff was appointed
water superintendent, and lie
held that position until 1955.
From 1951 until 1954, Duff
doubled in brass as city super
intendent.
Following a special elec
tion in 1953 at which time the
city voted in the city manager
form of government, Mayor
Diamond Flynn appointed
Duff city manager. He has
since been city manager un
der Mayors Flynn, Earl Mil
ler and John Snider.
Career With City
Outside of a summer job
with the U. S. forest service
in 1925, Duff has spent his
entire career with the city of
Medford.
Asked why he chose this
line of work, and then stuck
with it through all these
years, Duff replied: "Because
there is always a challenge.
Problems are continually pre
senting themselves which
need solving. 1 like to see
things grow and I like to see
things accomplished."
Things have been accom
plished during Duff's tenure
with the city, and they are
still being accomplished.
Medford's relatively sound
financial shape is admired by
cities throughout the state.
Water System Envy
Medford's water supply sys
tem is the envy of cities ev
erywhere. The city has been growing
at a faster rate than most oth
er Oregon cities-16 per cent
during the past 10 years.
Medford has established it
self as the distribution point
for the southern Oregon-
northern California area, and
its future in this respect ap
pears bright.
And the city's municipal
JZWm si6" )!aKMsiBS
.irti wi..iM,i.U. twin, i nmXlVaeMMMiii
MEDFORD IS HIS BUSINESS City Manager Robert A. Duff
could well consider the city of Medford to be his business.
He has devoted his entire adult career to working for the
city, coming here in 1925 as a drafting engineer with the
water department. Few devclopmentss have taken place in the
city during the last 35 years that Duff iias not Been a part of.
airport (second largest in
Oregon) has long been an ob
ject of local pride.
Duff, to be sure, is not sole
ly responsible for all of this,
but he has had a significant
role to play in all of them.
But what of the man him
self? What kind of a person
is Medford's city manager?
Duff is 59; he is married
and has no children. His once
bright red hair is only now
beginning to gray.
Says Little
He is a quiet man and says
little more than what is abso
lutely necessary. A newspaper
reporter would not consider
Duff to be an "ideal" news
source. He is hesitant aoout
receiving publicity, particu
larly for himself, and ap
pears reticent when giving a
reporter the facts of a story
no matter how important.
Fellow city employees who
know Duff best say they have
never seen him lose his tem
per. One department head re
marked that Duff's patience
is amazing. "It would do him
good sometime lo blow off a
little steam and get mad at
somebody when they make a
mistake - but he never does,
Duff apparently has the
loyally of -nearly every city
employee, certainly all of
those that this reporter talked
to. One of the reasons for this,
according to a water depart
ment official, is that he treats
everybody alike and gives
them "the benefit of the
doubt."
Not a Politician
This same official remarked
that although Duff seems
quiet, he makes friends easily,
and people remember him. He
explained, Duff is not a poli
tician ... he doesn't make a
lot of promises. If he can't
live up lo what he says - he
isn't going to say it."
Neither docs Duff actively
seek to leave a great personal
mark on the city. While city
officials elsewhere want to be
known to one and all as being
personally responsible for
erecting a new bridge, build
ing more and better city
parks, or overhauling a city's
outdated water system, Duff
wants none of this.
His subordinates point out
that Duff wants simply to pro
vide a good, effective and co
ordinated government that
will give the people what they
need, when they want it, and
within their ability to pay for
it.
Things Have Been Done
Things have been done here.
There are new bridges, new
parks and an expanding water
supply system, but they are
not considered to be the ac
complishments of one man -they
are considered to be the
accomplishments of the entire
city.
Indicative of Duff s desire
lo provide for a continuity of
government services was his
engineering of the city's tran
sition from the council-mayor
form of government to the
city manager form in 1954.
in many cities such a tran
sition is made with consider
able confusion and a tempo
rary ineffectiveness of the city
government.
i Heads of various depart
ments, previously responsible
to a particular councilman,
now were responsible to one
man - the city manager.
Elected Officials
Both the city recorder and
the city treasurer were elected
officials. Under the new form
of government, the offices
were combined and the city
recorder-treasurer was made
an appointed official, respon
sible to the city manager.
Previously, the city super
intendent had little power. He
could carry out only minor
administrative tasks while the
city council made almost all
decisions, large or small. But
a city manager docs have pow
er. He is answerable only to
the mayor and city council,
whose responsibilities in turn,
were limited to policy-making.
Yet the transition in Med
ford took place so quietly and
smoothly that, as one city offi
cial remarked, "even the city
employees themselves didn't
notice a change was taking
place." To a man, they credit
the smoothness of this transi
tion to Duff.
Little Social Life
Duff has little time for so
cial life. The nature of his job
and the many night meetings
which he must attend prevent
tins, as he himself points out.
However, he is an avid hunt
er and fisherman, and says the
love of the outdoors is one of
the main reasons for his re
maining in Medford.
It is probable that Duff has
made a number of enemies
during his tenure as city man
ager. But, it would be diffi
cult to conceive of a man in
his position who could satisfy
all of the people all of the
time.
Duff said he has never se
riously considered leaving
Medford, although many at
tractive opportunities else
where have been offered Kim.
He differs from most city
managers in this respect, as
the majority of these profes
sional city administrators sel
dom stay longer than five
years or so in one city.
Duff has not given any
thought lo retiring. He says
he plans to stay on as city
manager for years-at least un
til retirement age, six years
from now.
One city official, who has
known Duff for many years.
said: "Medford is fortunate to
have, not only a city manager
who is dedicated to his work,
but a city manager who is
dedicated to the city."
Initial Exploration of
Illinois River
Project Nears
Coquille-The initial explora
tion phase for a proposed hy
droelectric dam project on the
Illinois river is nearmg com
pletion, according to Bruce
Shavere, general manager of
Coos-Curry Electric Coopera
tive, Coquillc.
The proposed site of the
dam is the Buzzards Roost
area on the Illinois river in
Curry county. A report on
studies of this area were sub
mitted to the board of direc
tors of the cooperative.
In the report it is indicated
that tile physical characteris
tics of the site are more favor
able than a preliminary sur
vey suggested. A design en
gineer said, when presenting
the report, that the core sam
ples tested show twice the
strength necessary to support
the proposed structure.
Topographic maps of the
reservoir area should be com
pleted and printed in the next
few weeks. These maps, to
gether with the dam site
maps, will make possible a
determination of the height of j
the dam. So far only rough !
estimates have been available. !
Applied for License j
In 1958, Coos-Curry Elec-i
trie company applied to the '
Federal Power commission for j
a license to construct a hydro-1
electric project on this stretch i
of the river. The report was
the first step in completing
the application. !
Next will come an economic j
height study of the dam to-;
gethcr with hydrology studies, '
unit installation analysis, dam i
layout and radial adjustment i
rercgulating dam layout, spill- j
way capacities and fish han-j
Acme Office Machines
1949 W. Main SP 3-7964
Duncan Talks To
Rights Council
On Passing Laws
Ashland-House Speaker
Robert Duncan cautioned
those attending a meeting of
the Ashland Human Rights
council last week against pass
ing too restrictive laws to con
trol hate literature and ob
scene materials in the mails.
"Every law that is passed
takes a little of our freedom
away," Duncan said. "And for
this reason I advise caution
against making too many laws
to meet problems we don't
like."
"In the sphere of free will
we do as we please within the
bounds of prevailing custom
and obey the unenforceable
because it is the thing to do.
In the sphere of law we do
what we have to do or be pun
ished. Abuses of free will re
sult in laws and eventually if
the sphere of free will- and
custom are entirely 'taken ov
er by the sphere of law, the
result is totalitarianism," the
Medford lawyer and legislator
explained.
Meet Them With Truth
Duncan admitted that he
does not know the answer, but
perhaps the most effective
way to fight ideas people do
not like is to meet them with
truth and other ideas and not
censorship.
The legislator mentioned
the different types of hate ma
terial such as defamation of
the Jewish race and the Cath
olic religion through mass
mailings of literature. Two
different classes of this type
of literature are originating in
the south, one is inflammatory
and the other thought-provoking.
"Much as we regret the dis
semination of hate literature
we have to remember one of
the basic rights guaranteed
us is the one which says there
shall be no law abridging the
free expression of opinion,"
Duncan pointed out.
"Libel, slander and obscen
it, ofourse, are exceptions
to freedom of speech, but it is
hard to pin down what is ob
scene in art or literature for
each person interprets the
same thing differently."
Protect Individual
Civic and criminal actions
for libel and slander generally
protect the individual rather
than the group and inade
quately at that, Duncan said.
In areas of libel and slander
some cases are black, some
almost white and a limitless
variety of gray exists in be
tween, he added.
"As a matter of fact, the
charges made by Republicans
and Democrats against each
other amount to mass slander
sometimes," the legi s 1 a t o r
noted.
Dam
Finish
dling facilities, access roads
and transmission layout and
cost estimates.
Shavere said completion of
these studies will make it pos
sible to determine the power
generating cost of the project
and will give sufficient infor
mation to complete the appli
cation to the FPC.
a.
n
JC
U
MORTUARY
CEMETERY
605 Highland
May your Christmas be IIf
filled with peace and with , , I
something of the calm ww I
joy of the very first , . i
Christmas. . I
SOC Winter Term
Classes Scheduled
Ashland-Wlnter term regis
tration at Southern Oregon
college will be held Jan. 3, the
last day to register without
penalty. Saturday, Jan. 14,
will be the final day for all
registration or for the addi
tion of new courses.
Evening classes to be held
at the college during winter
term include: ceramics (2
credit hours), Monday or
Tuesday, 7, 8, 9 p.m., Britt
103; painting (2 credit hours),
Tuesday, 7, 8, 9 p.m., Britt
111; orchestra (1 hour credit),
Monday, 7:30 p.m., Churchill
207; appreciation aspects of
music (3 hours credit), Tues
day, 7, 8, 9, p.m., Churchill
207; problems in education
(seniors only, & hours credit),
Monday, 7, 8, 9, p.m., Chur
chill 108; applied mental hy
giene (graduate credit, 3
hours), Thursday, 7, 8, 9 p.m.,
Churchill 203; principles and
practices in curriculum con
struction (graduate credit, 3
hours), Monday, 7, 8, 9, p.m.,
Churchill 203; first aid (3
hours credit), Thursday, 6:45
p.m., gym 101; skating (1
hour credit), Wednesday, 6:30
p.m., at the rink; skate dance
(1 hour credit), Tuesday, 6:30
p.m., at the rink; social dance
(1 hour credit), Tuesday, 6:30
p.m., in the ballroom; phone
tics (3 hours credit), Tuesday,
7, 8, 9 p.m., clinic.
Winter Pears To
Get Promotion
Winter pears from the
Rogue valley will receive
their second national adver
tising and sales promotion
campaign of the current sea
son, beginning in mid-Janu
ary and continuing into Feb
ruary, according to R. A.
(Dick) . Patterson, general
manager of the Oregon-Washington-California
Pear bureau
at Portland.
The promotion, in behalf of
D' Anjou, Bosc and Cornice
pears, will utilize more than
70 radio stations in 31 of the
country's most populated
areas. The main theme is "All
Good Things Come in Pears."
The fresh pairs will be fea
tured as lunchbox favorites
and "perfect partners" with
meat, cheese and salads. Re
tailers throughout the country
are tying-in with the current
advertising campaign, by
making use of colorful display
and promotional materials, as
well as building large displays
of D'Anjou, Bosc and Cornice
pears.
Due to three deaths during the last thirty
days in Mrs. Bray's familywe take this
opportunity to thank all our friends and
patients for the beautiful cards sent to
us, and wish all of you v
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND HAPPY NEW YEAR '
Dr. and Mrs. Jouett P. Bra
SP 2-5488
SISKIYOU
Drive
Siskiyou
All of the classes may be
taken at a cost of $11 per term
hour with a minimum fee
charged of $22. Registration
for classes meeting on Wed
nesdays' and Thursday will be)
held at the regularly sched
uled class time during tha
week of Jan. 3 to 6.
Classes meeting on Monday
or Tuesday evenings will hold
their first class during tha
week of Jan. 9 to 13 at the
regularly appointed time. The
last day to register for an
evening class is at the second
regular meeting.
Lions Club To Pick Up
Christmas Trees
Central Point - The Central
Point Lions club will pick up
used Christmas trees on the
afternoon of Jan. 1, according
to Lyle Paull, publicity di
rector for the club.
Paull said persons desiring
to have their trees picked up
should put them in front of
their homes between the hours
of 1 and 4 p.m.
' Paull said there will be no
charge for the service, but i
anyone wants to donate to the
Lions they should place their
donation in an envelope and
leave it with the tree.
Pharmacy Phacts
From GENE WESTLAND
New discoveries are coming
along so fast in drugs that it's often
hard to realize that only 20 to 30
wsg years ago the only
disease that doc
tors could prevent
with a drug was
smallpox. There
were many diseases
for which there
was just no help
diseases that took
millions of lives.
Now illnesses like
lockjaw, polio, typhoid fever, diph
theria and the many nutritional de
ficiencies are either lessened or
conquered by the wonderful new
drugs which stop them before they
get a chance to destroy lives. You
have heard us talk about today's
prescription being the biggest bar
gain in all history. The reasons
given above are the proof of it.
To an ever increasing number
of friends and customers, McLain's
Drug Centre is becoming known
as prescription specialists. Prescrip
tion filling is our business, so we
are glad to be establishing a re
liable reputation in our field. Re
member, we are located in the
center of the downtown business
district, 8 No. Central. Adv.
MAUSOLEUM
CREMATORY
Memorial Park
1