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The Infamous Black Bird Southern Oregon History, Revised




Medford News 1932
Medford-related news items from 1932. Also see descriptions of Medford and Jackson County for this year.
A Tribute to Judge Alex Sparrow.
    Just as we are about to write the publicity for the Pomona Grange, we are deeply grieved to hear of the passing of our worthy brother, Judge Alex Sparrow, an honored and beloved member of our order.
    As our mind dwells grievingly upon this departed brother, we are so forcibly reminded of his nobility of soul, his strength of character, his innate courtesy, his genial friendliness, his modesty, his cordial handclasp and the ever-present humor which spiced all.
    As we think of him we are reminded of that famous quotation which was once spoken of our first president, George Washington, “First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen,” for we believe there has been no man who has been in the limelight in Jackson County that has been more highly respected or more beloved than Judge Alex Sparrow.
    The Pomona Grange of Jackson County extends to the bereaved family its deepest sympathy.
"News Notes of Granges," Medford Mail Tribune, January 28, 1932, page 7


Sues on Mortgage Note.
    Medford, Ore., Jan. 29.--Charging that a mortgage note had not been met, the First National Bank last week filed suit in Circuit Court to foreclose on the holdings of the C.&E. Fruit Company, naming the fruit company, Simons & French Co., C. H. Eismann and the Medford National Bank as defendants. The note is for $15,048.67.
    The note was signed by W. F. Biddle, president of the fruit company, and James E. Edmiston, manager. The mortgage covers lots 5, 6, 7 and 8 of block 32, Medford, as well as all the packing house equipment.
 The Chicago Packer, January 30, 1932, page 9
Growers Exchange Buys Medford Packing Plant.
    Medford, Ore., June 17.--The Growers Exchange, Inc., Myron Root, manager, has purchased the packing plat at Fir and Eleventh streets from the First National Bank of this city, acting as trustee. The plant was formerly occupied by the C.&E. Fruit Company. No figure was made public relative to the amount involved.
    The Growers Exchange sustained the loss of its plant last March, through fire.
    The Bardwell Fruit Company, which also sustained losses in the same blaze, has [no] announcement to make at present on future plans.
    Payment of insurance on the losses sustained in the fire has been made.
    The Growers Exchange, Inc., has taken possession of the C.&E. property and established an office there. The plant has a capacity of ten carloads per day, and is well equipped throughout.
 The Chicago Packer, June 18, 1932, page 19
Medford, Ore., Pears 75 Percent Normal.
    Medford, Ore., July 15.--The pear crop in the Medford district will be about 75 percent normal this year. According to estimates of the best posted growers and shippers in the district there will be between 2,800 and 3,000 cars to move this season. Sixty-five percent of the crop is made up of winter pears, with the balance Bartletts. Part of the Bartlett crop will go to the canneries, but just how many is not yet determined.
    Growers report the crop is to be in fine shape. There has been plenty of moisture to bring the fruit on well, and the sizes should be good. Many growers said they had not seen better quality fruit in several years.
    The first Bartletts should move about August 8, and the peak should be reached about August 20, with a lighter movement continuing well into September.
The Chicago Packer, July 16, 1932, page 9
HAY IS MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE
    MEDFORD, Ore. (UP)--Hard-pressed farmers and business men of the Rogue River Valley are using hay as a medium of exchange in place of money. Many farmers are paying workers in hay, priced at $6 the ton in shock.
Oswego Palladium-Times, Oswego, New York, July 27, 1932, page 7
Attack on Judge Norton Is Cited as Last Straw
    Under the caption "Will This Cure the Medford Cancer?" the Daily Courier of Grants Pass carries the following editorial on the attempt to recall Judge Norton:
    "Medford, once the metropolis of Southern Oregon, of late has fallen from her high estate, but something has happened in the Bear Creek city that very likely will ring the knell of Medford's troubles and start her upward again.
    "That something is the unwarranted, asinine and probably suicidal attack upon Circuit Judge H. D. Norton.
    "Here's the way we figure it: For many years Medford has been the city that grew and prospered and got the things she wanted. The method was to harbor no qualms over how she got 'em or what city she antagonized in getting 'em.
    "Then up rose Klamath Falls. Klamath Falls began to get things, railroads, mills, payrolls, population, highways. She got 'em by the other method, patting other cities on the back while getting 'em.
    "The first policy was bound to lose in the end, and the second was bound to win.
    "When Klamath Falls began to usurp Medford's place, Medford tasted the dregs, and seeds of discord sown through many years began to bear fruit.
    "Now the place has achieved statewide reputation for being all muscle-bound by warring factions to the point that nothing can be accomplished. Man after man in public life has been marked for attack and has been pulled down.
    "That is the stage setting for what may be the purgative, the latest and we hope the final attack, that on Judge Norton.
    "Norton is one man in a hundred thousand so removed from petty suspicions, so elevated in public esteem, so freed from any taint of unfair dealings of any nature that the attack can hardly help but be thrown back upon the attackers with maiming force.
    "If that can be the outcome, then it will be a cage of the maimers maimed. The cure of the harmful Medford situation will be on the way. The patient may be on the way to recovery.
    "Let's hope that it will be so. There will be mighty few, if any, signers of Norton recall petitions in Josephine County's borders.
    "If any can be found we will be glad of the opportunity to offer them the proper notoriety."
Medford Mail Tribune, August 11, 1932, page 6
News Notes from Medford Pear District.
    Medford, Ore., Aug. 12.--C. C. Darby, formerly manager of the Kimball Fruit Company local branch, announces the establishment of a new company to be known as Darby Fruit Company, Inc. This firm will represent the L. N. Stocklin Company of New York. During the present season this firm will lease space at the Alta Vista Packing House, but it is the intention to secure a packing house of its own next season.
----
    The first car of Rogue River Bartlett pears rolled from Medford Saturday, being packed by the Palmer Corporation. This week the entire valley is getting under way on Bartletts. Most of the houses started packing operations Wednesday, August 10. A survey of the Bartlett pears shows that they are [of] exceptionally fine size this year, and as a result the packing will run largely to sizes larger than 180. Canneries are reluctant about contracting for any of the tonnage this year, and as a result it is the intention of most of the shippers to pack the Bartlett crop. Some cannery representatives have been in the valley for the last few days endeavoring to contract Bartletts, but present offers have not been attractive and it is felt that a much more attractive deal can be worked out by shipping this season, and as a result the tonnage will largely be packed and go east.
The Chicago Packer, August 13, 1932, page 16


FOREST RENAMED
    Medford, Ore.--(UPI)--To prevent confusion with Crater Lake National Park, the Crater Lake National Forest has been renamed Rogue River National Forest. The order was signed by President Hoover. Rogue River National Forest is in Southern Oregon with headquarters at Medford.
Binghamton Press, Binghamton, New York, August 22, 1932, page 10
Medford District Pear Crop Much Reduced.
    Medford, Ore., Aug. 26.--The Bartlett pear harvest is now on in full swing, and up to this week 114 cars had moved, of which six have gone to canners, 39 export and the balance to eastern points where they will be stored until the bulk of California Bartletts has been disposed of.
    It was originally estimated that there would be about 1,200 carloads of Bartletts shipped from Medford this year, but the storm of a few days ago cut this estimate down to 800 cars, and at the weekly meeting of the Rogue River Valley Traffic Association held yesterday, this estimate was further reduced to not to exceed 500 carloads of Bartletts for the season. In view of this heavy reduction in tonnage, it is expected that Bartletts will be out of the way in about ten days. Considerable tonnage of Bartletts is being packed and placed in cold storage here awaiting better marketing conditions.
The Chicago Packer, August 27, 1932, page 6
Fruit Season About to Close in Rogue Valley.
    Medford, Ore., Nov. 4.--The fruit season of the Rogue River Valley will be concluded the coming week. Most of the plants have already closed, with a few finishing the odds and ends next week.
    The Rogue River Canning Company, R. U. Boutelle, manager, closed its season today. Employees of the plant this noon held a "farewell party" at the cannery, lunching on products of the plant. An entertainment with songs and dances was given by the employees.
    The canning company packed 25,000 cases of pears and about 10,000 cases of cherries, beets, beans, prunes and other products. The plant operated steadily from the last of August and employed 75 to 100 workers, chiefly women.
The Chicago Packer, November 5, 1932, page 6
Committee Asks Medford Dealers Not To Ship Boscs.
    Medford, Ore., Nov. 4.--A wire from the New York Pear Committee indicates that the New York group is seeking a solution to the present extremely low market on Bosc pears. It has urgently requested that the shippers in the Medford district withhold all shipments of Bosc for at least the next week. No Bosc will be marketed through the New York auction except those which must move on account of condition. Daily meetings of the New York committee are being held to determine policies.
    Thursday, at a meeting of the Traffic Association, it was decided to cooperate fully with the New York committee, and all shippers were asked to defer shipments of Bosc until further advice is received from New York.
The Chicago Packer, November 5, 1932, page 10



Last revised October 19, 2024