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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1963)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1963 6 C MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON Old Post Office Space Age Victim STAKES ADMIKINGLY Little John F. Kennedy Jr., three-year-old son of the Into President, stares admiringly up at a toy clown during a visit to a toy store at nearby Dulles International Airport in Washington. The lad and his sister, Caroline, went to the airport to see off Mrs. Peter Lawford and her daughter, Sidney. (UP1) LOGTOWN, Miss. (UPI) One of the nation's oldest and smallest post offices, a faded frame building furnished with wood stove, a rolltop desk and a rocking chair, is giving way to America's space pro gram. Mrs. Loollie B. Wright closed the office recently after serv ing 36 years as postmistress In (he 209-square foot building here in the backwoods of south west Mississippi. The building will be demol- ished or moved to make sure it is not used as a dwelling within the huge buffer zone set up lor testing Saturn space boosters. It is just one of many old buildings being torn down or hauled away to clear a 141,- 500-acre area for the static firing of moon rockets. Logtown, once a thriving lum Rivcr, is one of five towns that will be wiped out to make way for the test firings. The Nation al Aeronautics and Space Ad ministration (NASA) wants to make sure no dwelling units re main in the buffer zone because vibrations from the tremendous firing noises might shatter the buildings. Closing Day NASA officials say noises from the static firings will be greater than from actual launchings because the rockets will be bolted to the pad and will not be released, confining all noise to the ground. All persons living in the buf fer zone must be evacuated by next July, but Mrs. Wright de cided on an early closing of the post office. Waiting until next year would reduce her retirement benefits. "Anyway, I don't look forward to another Christmas mail Forest Service Hits 500,000 Acre Mark in Reforestation PORTLAND A half-million-acre milestone has been passed in a program begun more than half a century ago to start new limber crops on logged or burn ed national forest lands in the Pacific Northwest. From a meager beginning In 11109, the artificial reforestation program conducted by the U.S. Forest Service in its Pacific Northwest Region of Oregon and I Washington now covers from !0,WK) to 60,000 acres annually. Recently, in a newly logged area of the Mt. Hood National Forest, overlooking the Colum bia River, young noble fir seed lings were planted on the 500, OOtlih acre to be reforested since the regeneration program be gan 54 years ago. In an informal ceremony, the first tree was planted on the historic half - millionth acre by Walter H. Lund, Portland, as- sistant regional forester for (.'inber management, and a 36- year veteran of the Forest Serv ice. Planting Hoe Used His use of the planting hoe was symbolic for hand planting si III accounts for some 70 to HO per cent of the acres to be arti ficially reforested in the North west Region each year. The re mainder is accomplished through direct seeding, largely with helicopters. "We've made great progress in advancing nerinl seeding tech niques, but the 'man with the hoe' is slill the key figure in our reforestation efforts," Lund pointed out. Of the (ia.Hlfl acres reforested Christmas Shopping PrVJillMIHI ; SAVEJC0UP . in the Pacific Northwest Region in 1962, 49,177 acres were plant ed, some by machines, but most ly by crews using hand tools. "There's just no other way to do it on the tougher sites where the young trees must fight for survival from the begin ning," Lund said. New Forest Crop Each year, timber is harvest ed from about 250,000 acres of national forest land in Oregon and Washington. On 20 to 30 per cent of the loggeur areas, nature must be given a hand in starting a new timber crop. Where artificial reforestation is necessary, it is the objective of national forest managers to es tablish a new forest crop with in one to three years aflcr log ging. This does not Include a back log of around 400,000 acres need ing reforestation lo heal old for est fire scars, some dating back 50 lo 100 years. Forest Serv ice officials hone lo complete thai job within 10 years. 1 lie 1 1 r s t recorded forest planting in the Region was in 1009 in the Mt. llebo district of Iho Siuslaw National Forest, In Oregon's Coast Range. Three years later, planting began in Washington on Hie Snoqualmie National forest, since that time, timber crops have been regen erated on 300.000 acres of na tional forest Innd in Oregon, and around 200,000 acres on national forests in Washington. The Ci vilian Conservation Corps pro gram of the 1930s gave a strong boost to the reforest at ion effort when (ire-scarred slopes were re-greened with millions of seedlings planted by young CCC workers. Long Way To do "We've come a long wav, but we've got a long way to go," said Lund as he tamped earth around the tiny noble fir he had just planted on Larch Mountain, east of Portland, in the Mt. Mood National Forest. The tree will be fighting for its life, Lund pointed out. It could become the victim of hun gry rodents or animals. Inten sive research Is under way to find methods of reducing the annual $15 million loss caused by animal damage on Northwest timber lands. There are also the threats of destruction by fire, insects, disease, w i n d stnrms, and competing vegeta tion. Leaving the planting to a For est Service crew headed by fore Iman Frank Baker, of Cascade Locks, Ore., Lund and his group proceeded lo a nearby planta tion of vigorous Douglas-fir. The trees had recently undergone their first commercial thinning designed to release tho stand for increased growth. The trees had been planted some 30 years ago, about the time a young Forest Service of ficer named Walter Lund was serving on (he Olympic Nation al forest in Washington. We knew (hen (hat keening the land in production was our most important job," said Lund. "It's just as true now, even more so." rush," the little white - haired postmistress said. Her last day at the post of fice was Mrs. Wright's busiest in years. Collectors flooded her with specially printed envelopes and stamps to be cancelled on the last day of existence for the 80-year-old post office. When Logtown was a boom ing lumber town after World War I the post office handled hundreds of letters daily. But the depression and dwindling lumber supplies ended the boom and mail volume in recent years was as little as 30 pieces per day. Closing day was different. "I cancelled about 200 stamps that day," Mrs. Wright said. "They wanted me to cancel about 500, but I said I couldn't, "she add ed, her hands still shaking from -A 3 DAYS 2 NIGHTS for 2 people ALL FOR MjiI Coupon lodiv 'or fltitrtahon FAMILY PLAN Bring the Children 2 Roomt Wirh Of ft Bjth, Per Nighr U Sf Hochy or lUsfcctbaH Gmtt Sr B'R Stios fcrijoy Shopping i ..... i 5WHII in ms sity i Free sauna baths i Free ja;ge... phone i No tipping (or lueeage I THE PARK HAVILAND A MOTORIST'S HOTEL t . W. Park at Salmon In Portland Enid ! limffiirJ; poo) n h, ky . , , lun ttck . . Icp ol th Prt Dining and ftfftlfimtntt ..Iht bttuhlul Aloha Room nllh music lor dincinf (no tour chit. ,.lh Finniih Slum ...all In Ihi tliultfl dniiicl, lutl 100 fcl nttt Of Iht fitw Hilton. Phona 226-7031, Pauling Receives Nobel Prizes in Norway Ceremony OSI.P, Norway (DPD-Unus Pauling, a leader of the ban- the-bomb movement in the Unit ed Stales, and two International Ked Cross organizations re ceived Nobel Peace prizes Tues day in ceremonies before King Olav V. Pauling won the $50,000 prize for 12, which was not award ed until this year. He won the prize for physics in 1954, and is the only man (o have won two Nobel prizes. Tile League of Red Cross So cieties and (he International Bed Cross Committee received the 1!Hk) Pence Prize. Choices I'nexplainrd Hy tradition, (he Peace Prize Committee does not explain its choices. But (he league appar ently won for its relief work in STII.WK1.I,. Okla. (ITU I Algeria, while (he international Officials Tuesday fought n diph-; committee was believed to have theria epidemic with mass inoc- j won 'Hr offering to nc( as an illations at this eastern Oklaho-1 intermediary in the Cuban mis ma city, less than 10 miles ' s''p crisis, from the Arkansas border. I Clunnnr Jahn, chairman of the Thirteen persons in Adair j Peace Prize Committee, said in County have been struck with i handing the prize to Pauling: the disease. Additionally, three "No one would suggest that persons died from what was he- ln nuclear test ban in itself is lieved to be diphtheria. This, the work of Linus Pauling. . . however, has not been con- But does anyone believe that firmed. this treaty would have been The persons known lo have reached now if (here had been diphtheria are undergoing treat-! no responsible scientist who tire mont at hospitals in Oklahoma lessly, unflinchingly, year in. City and Stilwell and at Prairie year out, had impressed on the Scientists Plan To Make Study In Bolivia By FRANK RAMOS NEW VOBK (UPI) group of American scientists will journey into the relatively uninhabited lowlands of Eastern Bolivia next April in an effort to determine the cause of the deadly disease hemorrhagic fever. A team of scientists from the American Museum of Natural History will join with medical teams in Bolivia in an attempt to locate the ectoparasites which are believed to carry the disease. The disease, which causes in ternal bleeding and other symp toms, has afflicted at least 600 persons in Bolivia during the past four years with a mortality rate of approximately 20 per cent. Dr. Richard G. Van Gelder, who will head the museum's scientific team, said his group will collect mammals in the area and the ectoparasites which they carry. He said their primary objective will be to de termine whether or not the hemorrhagic fever virus can be found in the animal population of (he region. The museum team will work together with scientists from the Middle America Kesearcn unit (MAHU). an acency of the Na tional Institute of Health and the Walter Reed Research Insti tute, which has been trying to isolate the virus. Dr. Van Gcldcr said the expedition would probably last about six months, (he scientists would travel along the Itio Kcncz living in a 5:i-foot house boat complete with a labora tory. They would make nu merous stops to collect animals and carry out their research Dr. Van Gelder said tnc great est problem will be one in logis tics. There are no roads, few peo ple, an uncertain food supply and no adequate geographic in formation about the area in which we will work," he said. The region is biologically un explored." He said, however, dial (lie boa( would be slocked with six - month's food supply and would nrovidc purified water. The team from MAItU has been working in the area for the past six months in an all out program to isolate the virus, determine what animals are carrying the disease and find the modes of transmission. the excitement of the closing day. In its last days, the post of fice was a study in contrasts between the days of the wood stove and the age which is bringing millions of dollars of new roads, new buildings, new canals and moon rockets to these sparsley populated piney woods. Next to dust - covered books from the 1930s were the post of fice's new zip number promo tion leaflets. On bare old boards on the post office porch was a poster advertising a K-0 polio campaign. The post ollice had one room for Mrs. Wright to work in and a small foyer for residents to pick up their mail. A wood stove remained in use lor heat or burning trash. A rolltop desk contained books that went back to 19.15. A rocking chair pro vided a place for Mrs. Wright to read mail order catalogs and her Bible, On the wall was a huge framed certificate signed by President Calvin Coolidge. Dat ed Jan. 27, 1927, it named Mrs. Wright postmistress of Logtown. Behind the frame rested a Bay St. Louis newspaper, dated Aug. 12, 1938. It carried the story of the death of Mrs. Wright's sister. Hit By Flood The bottom of the rolltop desk was faded badly, a result of a lfffll flood that brought more than a foot of Pearl Riv er water into the post office and forced Mrs. Wright to dis tribute mail elsewhere for three davs. That flood was one of the biggest disasters in Logtown history. But it took the 1947 hurricane to halt Mrs. Wright's mail service for one day the only time it was interrupted in her 36 years The hurricane hit on rn- day and I was told not to open on Saturday." she said. "By Monday the water was gone but the place was filled with mud from that old black river." Mail once was delivered to Electric Device Used To 'Milk' Venom From Bees the post office directly from the river. At one time it was delivered twice a day. "That was wonderful for a place like this," she said. Old green shades, each full of holes, hang over the three windows in the building. "Don't pull them, the whole thing might come down," Mrs. Wright cautioned. Attached to the front of the building and extending above the rusty tin roof was a paint ed tree branch the post of fice flag pole. Raising and low ering the flag was another of Mrs. Wright's jobs. "This was a meeting place for Logtown," she said. "Every body came here." Well, not everybody. Mrs. Wright personally delivered mail to residents who were too old or ill to get to the post office. Will Be Missed "People depended on me for a lot of things," she said. Now Mrs. Wright is moving to nearby Pearlington, where she was raised. She appeared to be taking in stride the closing of the post office, her retirement and the condemning of Logtown. The people will miss her and she will miss them. "But I'll keep busy doing my house work," she said. The day after she closed the office an elderly Negro man walked across the open field in front of the building, a letter in his hand. Mrs. Wright met him at the porch. "Reily," she said, "we don't have any more mail here." The old man looked at her in disbelief. "If we want to mail a letter now we have to go to Pearling ton," she told him. "We do?" he asked. "Yes, we have to go to Pearlington, now," she said. T h e o 1 d man mumbled and walked away. Soon he too will have to leave this area to make way for moon rockets. ITHACA, N.Y. (UPI) -Cornell University scientists are out to shock the venom out of hon ey bees. They do it hy "elec tric chairs." Bee venom has not been wide ly used in this country for med ical purposes because sufficient quantities for analysis or clini cal testing have never been available. But, Prof. Roger A. Morse, agriculturist of the New York State College of Agriculture, and graduate assistant Allen W. Benton now report they have perfected an electrical device for mass collection ot the ven om. The device a wooden frame over which copper and steel wires are stretched fits un derneath the brood chamber of a colony. Alternate wires are charged, the others grounded, so when a bee touches any two consecutive wires the circuit is completed. The shocked and infuriated bee then stings a piece of ny lon parchment taffeta stretched taut on a glass surface. Pure venom, Morse said, is wiped from the stinger and deposited as clear crystals on the under side of the taffeta. When dry, it then can be scraped up with a razor blade. An average of 20 hives must be "milked" to obtain a gram of venom, he said Three Accidents Checked by Police Medford police investigated two non-injury vehicle colli sions Monday, and one Tuesday. No citations were issued. Vern Waldo Buseman, 221 Vancouver Ave., reported that a maple tree was hit by an auto driven by Emil Stephen Knut son, 972 Stewart Ave., on Mon day. Sarah Sophronia Pierce, 1080 Stewart Ave., reported Sunday that an unknown vehicle dam aged three rose bushes and one elm tree on her property. Early yesterday, a vehicle dri ven by David Harold Brandon, 17, of 2432 Crater Lake Ave., collided with a parked auto at the corner of Crater Lake Ave nue and Saling Street. The parked auto was registered to Ernest J. and Betty J. Cox, 412 Crater Lake Ave., police said. highly irritating lo the mucous membranes. They also have to wear special clothing since not only do the "stung" bees be come irate but they release an alarm odor that excites all oth er bees in the vicinity. " Morse said chemical analysis and further testing of the ven om were still necessary but "we expeot the device will be satisfactory for the collection of vonnm from other species of Collectors have to wear as- stinging social wasps and bees pirators because the venom is I and perhaps even ants. 8G PROOF C1962, ECHO SPRING DISTILLERY, LOUISVILLE, KY. HOLIDAYS CALL FOR ECHO SPRING again, again and again! i SSi 1 BOURBON rv The bourbon gift of the "Ages" now over 100 million bottles sold Brilliantly wrapped and brightly priced! $4.80 is 0t. $3.05 Pint Diphtheria Hits Oklahoma Area Halloween Drugs ! Bring Penalties ; COLLINGSWOOD, N.' J. (UPI) A man and woman have been J fined $1,00 each for "reck less disregard" in giving drugs and tranquilizers lo a number of children making "trick or treat" calls last Halloween. Frederick E. Waterhousc, 60, of Collingswood, and Mrs. Edna McCrory, 39, of Philadelphia, were convicted by Municipal Judge David Greenberg. They also were given six months sus pended sentences. Four children testified durin" (he seven hour (rial. John Rost er, 8, testified he heard Mrs. McCrorv laughing inside the house after he and his (win j brother had been given cello- phane-wranped packages of "candy pills." i Mrs. McCrory admitted 1 laughing but said she was amused at the costumes of the two boys. She said she made a m'stakc in thinking the pills she found in a cookie (in in the I Waterhousc home were candy. The judge found Mrs. McCrory guilty of reckless dis regard for not having inquired about the pills. He said Waler- house was responsible for his home and what was in it. Waterhouse said (lie pills had been prescribed for his lale wife during her fatal illness. Organization Event Slated by Groups A new program providing for the organization of all general contractors, specially contrac tors, retailers of materials re quired in the building industry, wholesalers and mill operators now operating in Jackson Coun ty will be presented at a meet ing in Medford Dec. 18, it was announced today. The meeting will be held in the Carpenters Union Hall, 123's West Main St.. according to J. B. Rarry of (he Pioneer Construction Company, and Al len W, Beltmann ot (he Carpen ters Union. It will open at 7:30 p m. Preceding presentation of the ! new program, matters relative lo (he welfare of contractors I operating in the Jackson County area w ill be discussed. The program, (he first of (his i nature to be introduced, will lie j accompanied by a summary of the related provisions to ' (he fife 1 1 - ''.V. ir-Tr:-Tr.--' " THE SAILBOAT THAT WOULDN'T DIE 1 1 AND THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T LET HER Grove and Silonm Springs. Ark Health oldcials Inoculated 7110 public (In Mill or Phon lot Rjrnllom. Valid Ihru April M persons Monday and 500 others Inst Friday after the spreading disease brought alarm. Tuesday, persons from through out the county (locked to Stil well to lake part in the pro gram. A total ol (i,875 doses for children and adults were sent lo Stilwell Dr. T. Kirk Moslev. director of the slate Health Department ! said the major emphasis now is I on (he prevention of new cases. "When (he critical aspect of the epidemic Is over, we can spend more lime on being de leclives and tracking down the Mt'lMW" authorities and on (he general 1 h,rS I,-,,, lui-utur i,i nu clear tests? i est builders, the (wo spokesmen 13 13SW! Mrs. LiNill(r Economy Anieufanca Service, Non-Emr rgenev for Medlord! L I TW I LLE R ' s 1 1 Ahi,nd si. C. M. litwilltr Tho Oregon Funeral Plan Guarantees pavwent ol last ex penses. Insurable ages I to 90 scars Good anynhete in the world, protects one or the whole family. Call today. CALL 482.281ft FUNERAL HOME Ashland Peer J. Opienheimer re ports the unusual adven ture of a ship in distress and the gallant Irish nov elist who saved her in tho DECEMBER 15TH Weekend Issue of Weekly with your copy of Iht MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE E. H. Hedrick Junior High School one of 17 schools in the Medford School District is an example of the extensive educational facilities available to Jackson County youth. Another way Pacific Power serves you in Jackson County. . , $1 ,430 Per Day in Taxes Pacific l'ower & Light is Jackson County's largest taxpayer. Last year the Company paid $524,754 in local and state taxes here. That's $1,430 per day! And much of this large tax pay ment goes to support Jackson County schools. Roads, parks and other essential community services also benefit. Over tiie past ten years, PF&L taxes here have totaled more than $4,600,000! They help make Jackson County a wonderful place to live . . . another good reason why electric service from Pacific Power & Light is today's biggest all-around value! Pacific Power & Light Company Your Partner in Jackson County Progress!
