r
Learning just how hard to hit the ball and in what direction is a serious business
if one is ever going to be a pro at miniature golf. Ron Edmonds (right) prepares to
hit the ball through a circular obstacle while Ernie Clark (left) and Jim Allen watch.
Everyone seems to enjoy miniature golf, including these three girls. They are (left
to right) Miss Fay Roberts of Bonanza, Ore., and Miss Margie Andrews and Miss Barbara
Cox, both of Medford. Besides small groups after churches and Scout organizations
will spend the evening at the course.
Don Eckenrode of Medford, one of the owners of the course, keeps the sand greens
smooth by using a wooden rake (shown above). The owners are considering putting felt
on the greens and fairways if a mildew resistant felt is perfected.
Miniature Golf Becoming Popular Sport
Features
Medford,
Sports
IfeaTRIBUNE
SECTION B MEDFORD. OREGON. SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 1962 PAGES 1 to 8
By JIM FRAKE
Mail Tribune Staff Writer
Recreation is more than a pastime; it's a million-dollar
industry that is of primary importance to most Amer
icans, particularly in the summertime.
Summer recreation includes everything from swim
ming to tennis, from baseball to water skiiing and bowl
ing to golf. One form of family recreation that has long
been a favorite throughout the nation, but which is little
known here, is minature golf.
In Florida, for example, at one course an estimate
500-700 games of miniature golf are played daily. There
Is even indoor miniature golf in Brunswick, Me., and in
many places golfing leagues have been organized.
On Course in Valley
Here in the Rogue Valley, there is but one such course,
the Family Miniature Golf course on Highway 99 about
seven miles south of Medford.
Two local couples own and operate the course, Mr.
and Mrs. Russell Davis, 5421 South Pacific highway. Phoe
nix, and Mr. and Mrs. Don D. Eckenrode, 2147 Sunset dr.,
Medford.
This is the second full year the course has been operated
by the new owners. The two couples came from southern
California primarily to build a miniature golf course.
They purchased the present isile in 1959 and moved to
Oregon in March, 1960. The course was opened in Sep
tember, 1960.
Davis and Eckenrode designed the course and did
most of the actual construction themselves. There had been
a gravel course at the site previously, but it, hadn't been
used for some Hme, according to Mrs. Davis.
Mo Longer In Operation
In recent years there was another miniature golf
course along the Rogue river, just east of Grants Pass;
however, it is on longer in operation. Other than the one
at Phoenix, the nearest miniature course is in Klamath
Falls.
In California, (he owners were avid golf fans and
played at most of the many miniature courses located in
and around Los Angeles county. Many of their ideas for
the local course originated from visiting other links and
reading golf magazines.
The local 18-hole course consists of sand covered greens
and runways. The average distance from the end of the
approach to the hole is 50 to 60 feet. Par for the course
is 54, three for each hole.
Built by Course Owners
Buildings on the greens and fairways were built by
the owners themselves. The decorative obstacles include a
barn, castle, well, pump, wind mill and light house. A
.,.... ...... j. ,.... - 1 -
r ' i '
ty A :f
l . " i i a.
" I fi''" V' -
Miss Kathy Brvij and Gene Yost of Medford look pleased,
but surprised, after Miss Bevis tees off at the Family Minia
ture golf course south of Medford.
water wheel, several benches and wooden pumps make the
course more attractive. . -
More ladscaping is planned, especially with colored
gravel and planters. Davis also plans to redesign at least
one of the holes. The course is illuminated for night play
ing. Mrs. Davis noted that they are considering putting felt
on the greens and fairways if a mildew resistant felt is
perfected. In this climate, she explained, it is impossible to
leave the felt outside without mildewing. The felt would
be added at considerable expense, she added.
If the new type of felt is marketed, it is possible that
at least the greens will be covered with it before next
summer, according to the owners.
The course is now open daily from 1 until 11 p.m.
Mrs. Davis emphasized that there ts always open play on
the course, although they do cater to groups. Since they
have been in operation, several church and Scout groups
have spent the evening there playing miniature golf, she
added. Groups of 10 or more are charged 35 cents per
person for each game. The regular price is 50 cents, with
the third consecutive game free.
Half Are Touritti
Reservations for groups are not needed, but they are
appreciated. Mrs. Davis pointed out that as many as 50
people can play at one time by starting them at different
parts of the course.
- Nearly half of those playing miniature golf at tht
Phoenix links are tourists, according to Mrs. Davis. She
said many California residents stop on their way through
the valley, and she remembers at least one family from
Kansas who stopped.
Interest in miniature golf "slowed down" for a while,
but is now "coming up rcpidly," the owner notes. En
thusiasm for the game has even gone abroad with more and
more courses in Europe.
Miniature golf courses can become quite expensive.
A 50 by 100 course, not including buildings and extras,
could cost about $10,000 if contracted, Mrs. Davis esti
mates. Additional landscaping and buildings on the fair
ways would cost several hundred dollars more.
Economic) Disaster Resulting by Exodus
(Editor's Not: On Sept. 2,
the barely iwo-monlh-old
State of Algeria will hold
its first ganeral election.
Tht future Is, at best, un
predictable. In the follow
ing dispatch, UPI corres
pondent Joseph W. Criggi
reports on the terror and
turmoil of the almost eight
year struggle for Independence.)
By JOSEPH W. GRICG
United Press International
Paris - (UPU - A busload of
American tourists pulled up,
at the Trocadero Terrace in
Paris to admire the Eiffel
Tower and found them
selves face to face with the
letters "OAS" daubed in
red paint on the subway sta
tion entrance at the tower's
base.
Parisians hurrying to
work near Montparnasse
railroad te r m i n a 1 were
startled to see women and
children peering from win
dows of the derelict build
ing that once housed the
"Sphinx," the best known
of Paris bordellos until the
city government closed
them all in 1947.
When President Charles
De Gaulle left Paris for an
August vacation at his
home in Eastern France, he
traveled by special Air
Force plane-not by auto as
he used to do.
All these incidents
small and seemingly insig
nificant' in themselves
reflect how the long shadow
of Algeria still looms men
acingly over life in a
Franch which handed inde
pendence nearly two
months ago to its former
North African possession.
The letters "OAS" stand
for Organization de L'Ar
mee Secrete or Secret Army
Organization, the group of
diehard European terrorists
who fought witn guns and
plastic bombs in a futile
struggle to prevent Algeria
becoming independent.
The women and children
peering from the windows
of the "Sphinx" were squat
ters, a few of the more than
500.000 Europeans from Al
geria one half of the
original European popula
tion who have fled to
France.
Their exodus has meant,
grave problems of housing
and employment for the
French government and the
threat of economic disaster
for newly independent Al
geria. De Gaulle flew Instead of
driving from Paris to his
country hnme because there
was less d&nger of I new at
tempt on his life, already
the target of more than one
abortive terrorist plot in
the last year, '
On Sept. 2, newly inde
pendent Algeria will vote
for the first time in general
elections for a constituent,
assembly from which its
hiiWM f ! " TiW ? Aft,'. St fa
m ff- ffi
i ;V:" .1 - P 1
AWAIT TURN More than 500.000 Euro- aster for the newly independent state of
peans from Algeria, one half of the original Algeria. Here, Europeans fill the Maison-
European population, have fled to France. Blanche airport terminal in Algiers a: they
Their exodus has meant grave problems of await their turn to board planes for France,
housing and employment for the French (UPI)
government and the threat of economic dis- 1
first representative govern
ment will be chosen.
Frenchmen hope this will
mean the end of the polit
ical chaos that has wracked
Algeria ever since Inde
pendence. They hope it will
be the green light for the
European refugees to re
turn to North Africa. They
hope it will mean real peace
for France a country
which had known no peace
from Sept. 3, 1939, until
Algerian independence on
July 3 this year.
End French Rule
It took seven-and-a-half
years of bloody war in Al
geria to end 132 years of
French rule.
The Algerian war began
on All Saints day, Nov. 1,
1954, when 30 bands of
armed Moslem rebels struck
simultaneously in different
parts of the country, killing
hundreds in the first orgy
of violence.
France rushed reinforce
ments to Algeria. For more
than seven years she main
tained 500,000 men there,
the flower of her army.
De Gaulle was swept
back to power in June,
1958, by a nation sick of the
war and by a succession of
feeble, ineffectual govern
ments of tM French Fourth
Republic. He was brought
back on a pledge to end the
Algerian conflict.
Makes Up Mind
It now seems almost cer
tain that De Gaulle already
had made up his mind that
an independent Algeria was
Ihe only answer. But his
first words to tens of thous
ands of cheering Europeans
on a triumphal tour of Al
geria soon after he took of
fice were "Je vous al com
pris" (I have understood
you).
The Europeans of Algeria
took this to mean De Gaulle
supported them. , When it
became clear he was push
ing for independence, their
cheering turned to bitter
hatred at what they be
lieved was a great double
cross by a man they had
trusted.
In January, 1960, armed
Europeans In Algeria under
Ihe leadership of cafe own
er Joseph Ortiz barricaded
streets and began a revolt
designed to block De
Gaulle's drive tor independ
ence. French Army Rebels
The revolt failed. Then in
April, 1961, part of the
French army in Algeria re
belled once more against
De Gaulle
This time the rebellion
was not led by cate owners
and student rabble-rousers
but by two highly honored
officers, Gen. Raoul Salan,
former French commander-in-chief
In North Africa,
and Gen. Edmond Jouhad,
Algerian - born former
French Air rorce chief of
staff.
This revolt failed, too,
and Salan, Jouhaud and
other rebel leaders went
underground to create the
OAS and fight De Gaulle
with the weapons of terror
ism. On March 18. 1962, a
crase-fire agreement was
signed at Evian. It went into
effect at noon the following
day, ending seven-and-a-half
years of war between
Algerian and French Gov
ernment forces. It was not,
as hoped, an end to blood
shed. The French people on
April 8 and the Algerians
on July 1 voted their over
whelming approval of the
agreement.
In it, the Moslem nation
alists gave sweeping guar
antees for the security of
the million Europeans in a
country where Europeans
were outnumbered nine-to-one
by the Moslems.
The Algerians won sov
ereignty over the Sahara
with its vast, hardly-tapped
nil wealth, with agreement
that France and Algeria
would exploit it jointly.
The signing of the Evian
cease-fire was the signal for
a desperate all-out offen
sive of terrorism and killing
by the outlawed OAS.
OAS Collapses
Then, as suddenly as It
emerged, the OAS col
lapsed. First in Algiers and
then In Oran Its leaders
signed truces with the Mos
lems. The terrorist bosses,
the diehard renegade ex
colonels, the swaggering
Foreign Legion deserters
and the hired gunmen dis
appeared. But still Algeria's
troubles were not over. As
independence n eared, a
massive flight of Europeans
set in. The French govern
ment was forced to organize
an airlift and special sea
transport to cope with the
human flood.
Instead of the 150,000 the
French government had ex
pected to flee over a period
of many months, more than
500,000 joined the exodus,
and it still continues. It has
left the infant nation of Al
geria almost without doc
tors, civil servants, trained
mechanics, office workers,
shopkeepers and bank of
ficials. Economic Disaster
If the exodus continues,
few of the one million Euro
peans will be left in Algeria
by the end of this year and
the country will be faced
with econ o m 1 c disaster.
More than 80 per cent of
its business activity form
erly was in European
hands.
On top of all this, new
troubles beset Algeria. Its
Moslem nationalist leaders,
who had maintained I solid
monolithic front to the
world while they fought
France, were split during
the peace by angry quar
rels. The disputes broke Into
the open after a meeting at
Tripoli lato In June of the
National Council of the Al
gerian Revolution (CNRA),
the highest body of tne
nationalists.
Political Bureau
Ahmed Ben Bella, left
lea n I n 41-year-old vice
premier who had spent six
years in French captivity
until the Evian agreement,
and .who enjoyed the sup
port of the bulk of the Na
1 1 o n a 1 Liberation Army
(ALN), announced forma
tion of a political bureau in
which most of the members
of the still-exiled provision
al government were not
represented.
Provisional Government
Premier Ben Youssel Ben
Khedda, a mild, scholarly
former druggist addicted to
dark glasses, squrricd back
to his Tunis headquarters
with most of his govern
ment and promptly fired
the army general staff and
its leaders.
This action, almost on the
eve of independence on
July 3, threw the young na
tion Into political chaos,
the worst of all possible
birth pains.
Set Up Headquarters
' Ben Khedda and his
henchmen entered Algiers
and set up headquarters.
But finally, Ben Khedda
with hardly any army
capitulated. Ben Bella and
his political bureau entered
Algiers in triumph and it
was agreed that the Polit
ical Bureau and the now al
most powerless Provisional
Government would exist
side by side until the Sept.
2 general elections and for
mation of a new govern
ment. !
There seems little doubt
that the new government
chief will be Ben Bella
himself.
One of Ben Bella's first
acta after winning control
of the political bureau was
to cut the army down to
size. He reasserted the lead
ership of the civilian ad
ministration and made it
clear that the army must
stay out of politics.
Strong Leftist Views
Ben Bella Is known for
his strongly leftist views.
Rightly or wrongly he has
been suspected of commu
nist leanings. There is no
doubt he wants to turn Al
geria into a one-party state
run on socialist lines. There
also is no doubt of his pas
sionately Pan-Arab ideals.
Ben Bella has stated re
peatedly that he supports
the Evian agreement with
France, which provides for
continuous close coopera
tion between the two coun
tries and substantial Fench
economic aid in years to
come.
But French officials ask
themselves whether such
cooperation is possible if
Ben Bella goes through
with his announced pro
gram of splitting up big
French-owned estates and
dividing them among land
hungry Arabs.
They also point out that
the pledge of continued co
operation was predicated on
the continuous presence o
1,000,000 Europeans In Al
geria. Whether the Euro
peans who fled to France
will return or whether the
exodus will continue still
ran not be foreseen.