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Medford
News: 1919 Medford-related
news items from
1919. Also see
descriptions
of Medford and
Jackson County
for this year.
U.S.S. Medford Builder: Grant Smith-Porter Ship Co. Launched: August 29, 1918 Delivered: December 31, 1918 Tonnage: 3500 Operator or Owner: Sudden & Christenson ----
The first completed ship was delivered to the government June 24, being the Wasco, and yesterday the last turned over to the Bureau of Operation by the Emergency Fleet Corporation were the Latoka and Medford, though
others had been received by the Emergency Fleet Corporation from the
builders, but are not counted as finally delivered until in the hands
of the Bureau of Operation."Great Wooden Fleet Is Built in Oregon," Morning Oregonian, Portland, January 1, 1919, page 11 A. E. Reames, popular resident and well-known attorney of Southern Oregon, is at the Hotel Portland for a few days, registering from his home town of Medford. "The 'flu' is all but a thing of the past in Medford," said Mr. Reames, referring to the severity of the epidemic there. "I am doubtful if the masks, which were universally worn, had much to do with stopping the course of the disease, but believe that the stringent quarantine restrictions helped more than anything else. At any rate, the influenza in Medford appears to have just about 'petered out.' By the way, there was a fine winter run of steelhead in the Rogue, and the egg fishermen scored heavily. Most of the Medford boys, however, use the fly, so we didn't participate." "Those Who Come and Go," Morning Oregonian, Portland, January 14, 1919, page 12 531 Cases, 18th Deaths Flu Record
The exceptional
healthful climate of Medford and vicinity is shown in the report of Dr.
E. B. Pickel, city health officer, since Oct. 12th last, the date on
which the first case of influenza was reported, until today, as follows:
531 cases of flu with two deaths from flu proper, and 16 deaths from pneumonia following flu, in the city, and six in the country around. There are only four cases of influenza in the city. Medford Mail Tribune, January 31, 1919, page 1 BIG IRRIGATION PROJECT IN ROGUE RIVER VALLEY
The Chicago Packer, March 29, 1919, page 9
Medford,
Ore., .March 28.--Great interest in irrigation is shown in the
Rogue River Valley, and four new projects are contemplated. The Talent
district with 8,000 acres expects to let a contract on its first unit
during the next 30 days. The principal products which are expected to
show great increase in yield are apples, pears, hay and grain. This
district contains some of the oldest and best orchards of the valley.
The Medford Irrigation District containing 20,000 acres of valuable land in the heart of the valley expects to have its plans approved by State Engineer Cupper in the near future. The water of Big Butte Creek will be brought 40 miles and distributed upon 5,200 acres of orchards, 5,600 acres of alfalfa, 4,600 acres of grain land and 4,600 acres of pasture lands, most of which will soon be used for agricultural purposes. The Eagle Point district covers about 4,000 acres, and the Gold Hill district approximately the same amount. More than $2,000,000 of bonds have been voted for the work in these districts, and the valley as a whole seems to be reviving very perceptibly. There has been ample rainfall during the last six weeks and a bumper fruit crop is in prospect. There is great highway activity, and this summer will see the completion of the Pacific Highway as a paved road from the California line on the top of the Siskiyous to Grants Pass about 60 miles north. MEDFORD POLICEMAN DRANK UP EVIDENCE IN CASE
By United Press
MEDFORD, Ore., April 10.--Mayor Gates has compelled Sam Garrett, night policeman, to resign because it is alleged by the mayor and other city officials that Garrett drank up the evidence against a Chinaman who was charged with bootlegging. Evening News, San Jose, April 10, 1919, page 1 Two more of the fleet, the Latoka and Medford, which are Grant Smith-Porter vessels, were shifted yesterday from the Victoria dolphins to the plant of the Pacific Marine Iron Works for finishing touches. "Ships Delivered to Operation Division," Morning Oregonian, Portland, May 21, 1919, page 22 MEDFORD TO SELL IRRIGATION BONDS
MEDFORD, June
10.--Preparations have been completed for the bond sale of the Medford
Irrigation District, and it is believed that in a few weeks the bonds
will be placed on the selling list by a number of the large bonding
houses in the United States. Promoters encouraged by the prosperous
condition of the Medford district are confident that the bonds will be
readily disposed of.
For the Medford Irrigation District, of 19,656 acres, $7,500,000 in bonds has been issued. The entire territory, except 500 acres, is under cultivation. One-third of this district is devoted to orchards extending in a crescent about the city of Medford. There are 670 farms on the project. The principal crops of this district are hay, grain, fruit and vegetables, and the principal agricultural industries are livestock, fruit growing and general farming. The price of lands in this district with water rights are from $400 to $2,000 per acre. The Evening Herald, Klamath Falls, June 10, 1919, page 8 Mose' Boy Growing Up.
Medford Mail Tribune. The
misplaced eyebrow on the upper lip of Mose Alford's boy is now
accentuated by a three-cornered goatee and will soon be long enough to
bang.
"Gleanings from the Press," Morning Oregonian, Portland, June 14, 1919, page 10 The city of Medford colors have semi-officially been adopted as blue and white, blue for the color of Crater Lake, and white as the contrasting background. As was related the other day, there are no Medford pennants in existence, and a manufacturer of pennants arrived here Thursday to remedy this situation, calling on Secretary Steel at the Commercial Club to learn what Medford's colors were, and finding that the valley metropolis had none, Mr. Steel suggested the blue and white combination, which was approved by Mayor Gates and President Treichler of the Commercial Club, and the forthcoming pennants will be in these colors. "Local Briefs," Medford Mail Tribune, July 18, 1919, page 2 The new Medford pennant, which is being manufactured and will soon be on sale in the city, has a background of blue representing the color of Crater Lake, and the letters of the word "Medford" appearing in white. "Local Briefs," Medford Mail Tribune, July 19, 1919, page 2 DENTIST QUITS GERMANY
Medford Man Home After 26 Years' Practice Among Huns. MEDFORD,
Or., Aug. 7.--(Special.)--After practicing dentistry in Germany for 26
years, Dr. George Martin, who was born and reared in Jacksonville, has
returned to Medford with his family, where he expects to make his
permanent home as soon as possible. Dr. Martin will return to Germany
to see what has become of his property there, which represents a large
part of his savings of nearly a lifetime. He had a son in the United
States aviation service.
Dr. Martin said he had no desire to return to Germany to live and that the taxes imposed upon residents of that country for a generation or more will lead to extensive emigration to various parts of the world. Morning Oregonian, Portland, August 8, 1919, page 22 650 Cars To Ship.
The Chicago Packer, August 23, 1919, page 2
Medford,
Ore.--The apple crop here is about the same as last year, moving about
650 cars, packed in boxes. The principal varieties grown are Newtowns, Spitzenberg and Jonathans.--H.W.B.
APPLE PICKING WEEK PLANNED IN OREGON
MEDFORD, Ore., Sept 30.--A joint proclamation was issued this noon by
Acting Mayor E. C. Gaddis. Blaine Klum, president of the Jackson County
Merchants' Association, and George Treichler, president of the
Commercial Club, announcing an apple-picking week, and requesting every
able-bodied man, woman and child not essentially employed to volunteer
for service. The board of education has been requested to close the
school for a week and will take action tonight. Medford has the largest
apple crop in its history, estimated at 800 cars, which has matured at
least two weeks earlier than usual, and there is no labor available to
pick it. It is believed this action will save the valley a loss of over
a million dollars.Mayor and Commercial Club Head Join Hands in Big Move Arranged, San Jose Mercury Herald, October 1, 1919, page 8 AVIATOR KILLED BY FALL
MEDFORD, Ore., Oct. 8.--A forest fire patrol airplane fell near Gold Ray
shortly before noon Tuesday. One aviator was killed and the other
seriously injured. The engine stopped, according to observers, and
while circling for a landing the plane suddenly went into a tailspin,
crashing to earth.The Richmond Palladium and Sun-Telegram, Richmond, Indiana, October 8, 1919, page 5 RUNAWAY MARRIAGES END HAPPILY IN CHICO
Happiness, parental forgiveness, joy bells in the home town and the
fatted calf waiting for them is the sequel to a youthful runaway
marriage the history of which commenced in Medford, Ore., last Monday,
found temporary lodgment in Redding, and ran its length as far as
Chico. There was a mild sensation in Medford High School last week when
it was known that two 15-year-old pupils, Mary Miller and Josephine
Martin, had gone away in a touring car with Clark Walker and Glenn
Allen, each scarcely out of his teens, on their way to Chico, and that
they had stopped at Redding long enough to get married.They had not been very careful in their going. Walker's father is in the automobile business. He has a big touring car. Clark Walker borrowed it. While the quartet of young folk sped on their way to the land of promise for them, the parents in Medford began to wonder, then to anxiously question and eventually to keep the wires hot in frantic appeal for news. But there was no hotfoot chase, such as the movies picture. Instead, the chief of police in Medford traced the car along the highway from point to point, south, still farther south; the pause at Redding; the destination at the La Grande Hotel in Chico. That was the story. In the afternoon of last Monday the fathers heard from the wandering boy Walker and the lost son Allen. "Forgive us; we are married," was the laconic appeal. Walker asked for money, and it was sent to him at Chico. The two mothers had gone on the search to Yreka, where they got in touch with home in Medford to learn the news of the marriage. The reconciliation and the return took place yesterday, when Mrs. Walker senior brought another automobile, large enough to take four more than it brought from the north. It drove up to the La Grande Hotel about 2 o'clock. There was an interview behind dosed doors in the hotel; explanations were made, forgiveness assured, and all left for home. Mr. and Mrs. Clark Walker, youthful bride and groom, and Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Allen, equally youthful, have had the exciting trip of their lives. The brides will resume their high school education if their husbands. both of them having good positions in the automobile business, will spare them in the early days of wedded bliss. Chico Record, October 19, 1919, page 5 ELOPERS BACK RETURN SUNDAY, WELCOME HOME
Accompanied by Mrs. A. W. Walker, the two young couples who eloped from
Medford to California a week ago, Mr. and Mrs. Clark Walker and Mr. and
Mrs. Glenn Allen, arrived in the city last night from Chico, Calif.,
having returned by auto.The Chico Journal contains the following account of the elopement and weddings: Stealing a march on the home folks, two 21-year-old youths and two 18-year-old girls arrived in Chico last night and registered at the Le Grande Hotel after an automobile elopement from Medford, Ore. Glen Allen and Miss Josephine Miller were married at Anderson yesterday and Clark Walker, son of A. W. Walker, wealthy automobile dealer, was married to Miss Grace Martin at Red Bluff. They were interrogated this morning by the police upon telegraphic communication from the parents of the elopers. Ira R. Morrison, city clerk, received a telegram from the chief of police at Medford, asking if he had issued marriage licenses. "We intend to live in Chico," said Allen, peering out of a window in the city hall toward the automobile where the girl brides were waiting. "Chico looks good to us," smiled Walker. The foursome left Medford Sunday afternoon and drove all night to Redding, but could not find a preacher, so were not married until they reached Anderson and Red Bluff, where the services of Methodist ministers were secured. Allen and Walker are both automobile accessory men and are anxious to go to work right away. Allen claims to be an accomplished drummer and wants to play for dances. Whether the home folks have forgiven them or not is still a question. No further word has been received from them. Medford Mail Tribune, October 20, 1919, page 6 FAST PROGRESS MADE IN PAVING OF HIGHWAY OVER SISKIYOUS
When Weather on Summits Becomes Too Bleak for Operations, Oskar Huber Plans to Switch His Paving Crews to Work on Lower Altitudes of Pacific Highway in Southern Oregon. By L. D. Mowat.
ASHLAND, Or., Nov. 1--(Special.)--Six years ago the Siskiyou grade, at
that time a rocky mountain road of unbelievable steepness, was a
barrier between Oregon and California which only the most intrepid of
motorists would attempt. By July 1, 1929 a ribbon of pavement winding
in sweeping curves up the mountain range to the summit, 2000 feet above
the valleys on either side, will be completed.
No more will autoists tell of burnt-out brakes and bucking axle-deep mud. No more will travel between Oregon and California by automobile cease with the first storm of winter. The tourist, whether he crosses the line in August or in January, will remember the Siskiyou grade only as one of the most magnificent pieces of mountain highway in America. A maximum grade of 6 percent, 16-foot pavement widened to 20 feet at the turns, the Siskiyou grade is a bugaboo no more. Jackson Gets Head Start.
Jackson County got off
to a running start when the value of good roads began to be realized
throughout Oregon. Sixteen miles of pavement, connecting the towns of
Ashland and Central Point, were completed several years ago, and the
present grade over the Siskiyou highway was then established. By the
time tourists begin to come in numbers next summer, the Pacific Highway
in Jackson County will be paved in its entirety. Contracts are now
under way which assure completion by early summer of 65 miles of
pavement, extending from the California line to Grants Pass.The Oskar Huber Contract Company of Portland has here the largest single pavement contract in the state, comprising 21 miles of hard-surfacing from Ashland to the California line. About four miles of pavement have been laid extending from Steinman to Siskiyou station. About two miles more is to be laid from Siskiyou to the summit. A two-mile unit has been laid from the California line, two miles up the mountain into Oregon. A second two-mile unit is now being laid at the rate of 500 feet per day. This and possibly a third unit of the same length will be completed on the southern side of the mountain this fall if the weather continues to smile upon the pavers. This will leave about four miles on the mountain to be paved next spring when weather permits. Big Plant at Summit.
These mountain units
are paved from an immense plant located near the mountain summit as a
base. When storms make work at the high altitude impractical,
operations will be transferred to the valley floor, where it is
believed it will be possible to continue paving throughout the winter.A second rock crusher, on Emigrant Creek, four miles south of Ashland, is already in operation, and a second "hot-stuff" plant is being erected three miles south of the city. Quite a ceremony marked the dumping and spreading of the last load of "hot stuff" at the California line. Former State Engineer Dunn, who is chief engineer for the Huber people, superintended the epochal operation. When it was discovered that several cubic yards had been laid in California, he remarked: "Well, that will give them then a nest egg to start with." Crushed rock has been piled along the highway the entire distance over the mountain, and the valley crusher is now busy supplying rock for the seven miles between Ashland and the foot of the mountain. A big grading crew, operating caterpillar-drawn machinery which resembles a huge harrow and numerous scrapers, plows and harrows, is getting the road in the valley into shape for laying the rock. A second crew of about 30 men is working ahead of the paving gang, putting the final leveling touches on the highway and spreading the rock. The paving crew proper has two steam rollers and about 20 men. Fourteen heavy trucks transport sand, rock and "hot stuff" from the plant to the scene of operations. City of "Hot Stuff."
One hundred men have
their headquarters at the summit plant, and a village of considerable
proportions has mushroomed into existence there. The camp even boasts a
clubroom, which the men have christened "Dinty Moore's Place."The hot-stuff plant turns out about 400,000 pounds per day and keeps four trucks busy hauling sand and rock from the quarry nearby and as many more hauling the product to the paving gang. The quarry at the summit, which is equipped with a steam shovel and modern equipment, turns out 250 yards of rock per day. The quarry in the valley furnishes about 150 yards per day, both rock for the lower road and sand, which is hauled the 14 miles to the paving plant at the summit. Four trucks haul sand, making three or four round trips a day over the 28-mile route. For a time two shifts were worked, but paving at night did not prove efficient, and only one 8-hour shift is worked at present. Five miles of power and telephone lines were built to supply the summit camp. The rock crushers and hot-stuff plant are operated by electricity. At the valley plant a donkey engine operates a large drag shovel which bites out sand and rock from the creek bed to supply the crusher. Laborers are paid a minimum of $4.50 per day. Excellent board is furnished for $1.05 per day. The contract held by Mr. Huber totals about $500,000. Equipment in use is valued at considerably over $100,000. Several concrete bridges and culverts and an undergrade railroad crossing are being constructed under separate contract. The tourist at this season need anticipate no difficulty in southern Oregon. Six miles of pavement extending south from Grants Pass has been opened to traffic, eliminating a rough detour. Several miles between Gold Hill and Central Point are paved and in use. From Ashland south the road is somewhat torn up in one or two places by grading, but they are short. At the scene of paving operations a few minutes' wait may be necessary while a load of hot stuff is being rolled. On the whole the Siskiyou highway is in better shape for travel than it has been this past summer, and with careful driving a tourist should make it from Ashland to Hornbrook in less than two hours. The Ashland-Klamath Falls road is in fairly good shape, recent rains and road work having put it in better condition than for the past several months. It is about a five-hour drive to Klamath Falls at present. Antone Glebisch, who has a grading contract on Greenspring Mountain, has two steam shovels at work and is making good progress. The county has a contract from the summit of the mountain east and is also making good headway. The new highway will have a 10 percent maximum grade. The new route crosses the old road in only one or two places, and no difficulty is experienced on account of the road work. Oregonian, Portland, November 2, 1919, page E1 Pioneer Woman of Klamath County Dies
KLAMATH FALLS. Nov. 7.--Mrs. Ella Anderson Applegate, wife of Captain
O. C. Applegate, a native daughter of Oregon and a resident of Klamath
County for forty-one years, died at her home here at the age of 64
years. She was born near Phoenix, Jackson County, and taught in the
Jackson County schools during her girlhood. Immediately after marriage
to Captain Applegate, December 25, 1878, they moved to Klamath County.
Captain Applegate was one of the first employees of the Klamath Indian
Reservation.Special to the Union. Besides the husband the decedent leaves six children: Frank L., Medford; Roy G., Berkeley, Cal.; Oliver C., Sacramento, Cal.; Annie E., Kodiak, Alaska; Rachael E., Klamath Falls; Jean M., King City, Cal. Her surviving brothers and sisters are G. G. Anderson, Dairy; F. M. Anderson, Berkeley, Cal.; Mrs. James Reynolds, Fort Jones, Cal.; Mrs. G. W. Loosley and Mrs. J. M. Wagner, Ashland, Ore., and Mrs. George Nickerson, Sacramento, Cal. Sacramento Daily Union, November 8, 1919, page 7 "I saw smoke coming from the chimneys of my neighbors' homes and I thought they were wiser than I am or else more foolish. Well, in a short time stoves began glowing up and I was thankful that we cooked our breakfast over a heater," says A. C. Allen of Medford, who is registered at the Hotel Portland. "Our country isn't built for cold weather, so when it went to 7 below it just froze us up. We were without electric lights or gas and there were no newspapers printed for two days. About three score of telegraph poles went down between Medford and Ashland, which are only a few miles apart. The day the storm hit Portland a dispatch was sent out saying that the snow extended from Medford to the north. One of the local editors published the dispatch and inquired editorially where the snow was. Next morning when we woke up there was a foot of snow on the ground and the town was paralyzed. The first time the editor had a chance to issue another he published an editorial declaring he would not discuss the weather again." "Those Who Come and Go," Morning Oregonian, Portland, December 16, 1910, page 10
IS SCARED BY WOODEN LEG
Medford, Ore.--A thief entered a home in this city. He had ransacked
several rooms, pocketed a gold watch and a bunch of jewels belonging to
a lady occupant of one, stole a valuable pipe from a male roomer,
pulled on a pair of new shoes belonging to another, grabbed a pair of
trousers and started for the door. Just then a wooden leg dropped from
the pantaloons.Sounds of its Fall Made Thief in Oregon Disgorge Loot and Then Beat It Quickly. As it struck the uncarpeted floor with a loud thud the frightened burglar emptied his pockets of the loot he had stolen and with a yell dashed from the premises. It is the opinion of the owner of the house, T. M. Thompson, that he is running yet. Cordova Daily Times, Cordova, Alaska, December 16, 1919, page 3 |
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