Loss of Dog Mourned by Old Man... The old dog is gone and he has left a void, a vacancy that never can be filled. The old man is puzzled by the ultimate scheme of things and wonders why one should form such a strong at­ tachment only to have it taken away when there seems to be no reason, no compensation, when the grief poignant and memory so perisitent. Perhaps it is the enate longing for love that is in all of us and the old dog gave so fully and unstinted of his affections, striving always to please and asking so little in return, a pat on his head or a word of approval with the brown eyes of him searching your face for the answer to the words he could not understand—or did he? One sometimes wonders if he did not understand the workings of nature better than we. Before he left he seemed to be trying Public Auction 9 i to say goodbye by licking a hand and trying to tell us that every­ thing would be all right bye and bye. When the mailman came, the old man went out for the mail. This morning he carried in the paper himself. Always before it was the old dog who carried in the paper and laid it beside the old mans’ chair. Then he lay down beside it as was his privi­ lege and right, for was he not one of the family? Always, as he unfolded the paper, the old man reached down a hand to stroke the sleek head or tweak a silken ear; then the old dog would rest his head on his paws and sleep while the old man read. Sometimes his sleep was serene. Other times he dreamed. He would twitch and his paws would scratch on the floor and he sometimes whimpered in his slumbers. One wondered what adventures he found in dreamland. Was he chasing the cottontail rabbit that always escaped under the ever­ green blackberry bush? But he never really wanted to catch him—it was all just a game. Or was he herding back a recalci­ trant hen that had escaped from the chicken run, or was he fol­ lowing the call of his forebears on the trails of high adventures— one wonders? This morning, as he unfolded the paper, the old man absently reached down his hand to caress the head that was not there. Then he remembered and glanced across at Ma to see if she had noticed. With her head bent over her knitting, she pretended not to have seen, but if you had look«! closely, you would have seen her brush a furtive tear from her cheek. The old man knew she did not want the old dog to go; he knew she had pray­ ed that he might stay. The old man put down his paper and started on his daily walk to the lower pasture. As he passed the old fir tree where the pine squirrel lived, the squir­ rel promptly ran out on a limb and chattered a defiance as usual, but -there was no answer­ ing bark. He seemed puzzled, he scolded louder than before, his little tail vibrating with the vigor of his endeavors. He even ran down the trunk of the tree to where there were the marks of the old dog’s claws on the bark, then he scurried up the tree and was still. When he came to the blackberry bush the cottontail rabbit scurried under the briars, but when no dark, barking form followed he came out again and sat up, his nose twitching as he looked inquiring­ ly around. There are others the old man ruminated who miss him. On his way back he stopped and picked up a stick beside the path; it was one that he used to toss into the brush for the old dog to retrieve and, when he had found it, he would bring the stick and lay it at his feet for him to throw out again. The marks of his teeth were still on it and, as the old man agzed at it, there came a flood of memo­ ries. There came a tenseness, a tightness in his throat and, some­ how, his glasses seemed a bit foggy. When he reached the house he opened the screen door to the back porch and, as always before, he stepped back and held the door open but, when no dark form bounded in. He remember­ ed and looked around as if to see if anyone had noticed. Those old habits will be hard to over­ come—it will take a long, long THE EAGLE, VERNONIA, ORE. Child’s Letter to Santa Proves Unusual Children like to write letters to Santa, but they don’t always think of others when they do so, as did Judith Strong, Washing­ ton school second grader. Her letter attracted attention over others written here this year be­ cause she asked that Santa be sure to make other children happy by remembering them. Judith said in her letter: “Dear Santa, THURSDAY, DEC. 22, 1949 9 Please send somthings over seas to make the boys and girls happy. Please send me just a doll and my little brother wants a toy gun. I hope you do not work too hard. Christmas is a lot of fun. Thank you for all the nice things. Marry Christmas Judith Strong" time but maybe—bye and bye. The old man went in and closed the door very gently behind him. He still held the stick in his hand. LOG SCALE BOOKS • Scribener’s • 1948 Columbia River • Only 50c • From 12 to 80 Feet VERNONIA EAGLE Greetings and Best Wishes at Christmas. H. H. Sturdevant All Safeway Don't Forget.. Every Saturday Afternoon - 2:00 Stores will be Mrs. Wright's Special Next to Hy Van Hotel Dec. 25 & 26! Bread for Stuffing] Closed Sun. and Mon. 1-lb. Loaf 14C I'/j-lb. Loaf £^0 Let us do your sei.in" for you Furniture, farm machinery and also farm sales. FRUIT COCKTAIL Jim Loftis, Auctioneer Dick Loftis, Clerk Hostess Delight No. 2’/a ftftc Can Libby's Mo. 303’s J A" Years may come anil years ua forever. He’s coming again this year, with a full nack. So sweep out your chimney and get ready for the jolly visitor, Mince Meat us to bless your home with a very Merry Christmas. 35c Borden’s ftftc 1-lb. pkg. £^9 Bleached Raisins«^. l-tb. 19c j Dromedary Dates 19c Hs Cake Flour 35c »*«• Cinch Cake Mix 39c <-•«. « Nestle’s Morsels Fl«. A -35c m Milk Chocolate bib. 39c Flour c,‘.kfr '.!* gj e ”* $2.05 Kitchen Craft Flour it* $3.99 For Delicious Mince Meat Pies That Can't Be Beat Jell-Well Gelatins Pkg- 5c Six Flavors to Choose From. Buy Several Packs! Fancy Canned Peas Del Monte ¿fl Sugar ft A ETC No. 303 can jQ Bel,e A cfln$ who has had special orders from A large variety of Nuts you like. Ocean Spray—Your Choice—Jellied or Whole Berries bib. Jar 33c Glace Fruits Na. 303 Fancy Corn ÄLÄ CM 15c 12-M. can NibletsCorn 19c Na. 303 Libby’s Pumpkin cas 10c -lb. 29c Ritz Crackers , 1-lb 29c Crackers t .. 3-lb. laaf 69c Cheese Food Sunnybank Margarine p^. 30c may go but Santa Claus is with MIXED HUTS Cranberry Sauce 2 cans 29c Canned Pumpkin 3/25c Gifts for the Smohar! No. 2'/z Cans, Moonbeam Brand. For Beautiful Golden Pies! Famous $4 /r Cigarettes, eta I.Yj Prioce 1-lb. (MV Albert can Oz X X Pebble Creek Dairy / I Cherub Milk s..«, «.» ... 12c Whipping Cream 54C 2/39C Fresh Milk 1-lb. Nob Hill $1.35 Sag J-lb. Airway WhCHI.V*n $1.29 J-lb. Edwards Coffee <■■ $1.45 Hard Candies b FRESH-PRODUCE VALUES! ORANGES! Full Crate LB e A 19 *4 lb. 73c Ready to Stuff and Roast! lb. Grade A Toms 65c lb. Crisp-Luscious Apples 8C Sweet Potatoes2 LB 25c Southern Yams2 LB 23c Garbage Disposal Cranberries‘3? lb 23c Half Box Marvin Kamholz, Editor and Publisher Melvin Schwab. Linetype Operator Official Newspaper of Vernonia, Oregon___________ $1M 55c Fancy Fryers Other "Pan Ready Features! DUCkS Ready to ituff Rabbits For Frying Disjointed lb. 69e n,4dy t0 $♦„« lb. 69e lb. 69 Roasters lb. 69 Fricassee Fowl per lb. 65' FRESH DATES. 3-lb. pkg. 75c GRAPEFRUIT, white, 9-lb bg 49c GRAFES. Red Emperors 1-lb. 17c D'ANJOU PEARS lb. Be AVOC ADOS-CALAVOS lb. 49c BROCCOLI, fresh, bright lb. 13c CAULIFLOWER, solid — lb. 14c CELERY HEARTS............. lb. 11c CRISP LETTUCE ............. lb. POTATOES. U.S. No. 1 10-lb. BRUSSELS SPROUTS 10-oa. RIPE TOMATOES 14-0«. bx The Vernonia Eagle $2.50 yearly. A' When you buy a Safeway Christmas Turkey — you pay only for the part that will roast just right. Price is based on the oven-ready weight. Red Ql/2e Delicious Lb. . 49e Skinned HAMS Fresh Oysters Pia« f«r ywr DrtMtny Pure Port Sausage pint 59 fc. 45‘ / / 1 CovMry i$yl« lb. 35* / Pure Ground Beef Ni«« '• l««A R>. 39* / Specially p»kW Skinless Wieners per lb. 49* Assorted Luncheon Meats * Ì V CHRISTMAS SEALS A HAPPY HOLIDAY TO YOU FROM ah of us at SAFEWAY Prices in this ad are effective through Satur­ day. Dec. 23. We reserve the right to limit quantities. No sales to dealers.