Saturday, August 5, 2017

8/1/1957

EAST FAREWELL NEWS

Thursday, August 1, 1957   Vol. C631

LOCAL NEWS

2ND ANNUAL SWIM ACROSS THE LAKE

East Farewell – The weather was beautiful, the temperature was in the low 90’s and the lake was calm. Seemingly perfect conditions were in place for the 2nd annual ‘Swim Across the Lake’ race. The event built on the enormous success of last year’s race. Race founders, Hugh Reston and Frank Dunlap once again headed the organization, signups and race day logistics. All that work did not keep them from competing though, both ended in the top ten of finishers with Dunlap coming in a very respectable third and Reston coming in eighth on the men’s side. Last year’s winner, Robbie Jenkins, came in fourth. Last year’s female winner, Daisy Forman won again but was very closely followed by a new comer, Joan Early by only 30 seconds.  This year there were over 100 entrants signed up but only 74 actually started the race. While that is a huge number it was very manageable by the larger race lanes and the almost continuous lane edge monitoring by both official boats and avid spectators and supporters. Reston and Dunlap’s prerace planning was inspiring and all encompassing. They took everything into account from the large number of entrants (wider swim lanes) to all insurance and permits needed. They also made provisions for the flotilla of fans by creating outside lanes on the route. This made a designated place for all the fans and supporters during the race. It also made a space for any first-aid boats that may have been needed.
            The race began with the booming of a signal cannon and the crowd raced into the water. There were the fast paced starters and then the long haul, slower paced swimmers behind. All along the way there were fans and supporters egging on their favorites. The fans on the shore could only see the beginning and the end of the race but were seemingly happy with that. They gleefully lined up on Raleigh beach to welcome the swimmers as they came ashore. Raleigh beach is still owned by the N.U.D.E. organization and their nudist retreat is only five miles down the road. N.U.D.E. president, Frank Logan made a statement before the race that the organization would not have any entrants this year but would not say if there would be any spectators from the retreat causing a bit of concern from Reston and Dunlap. As it turns out there were no spectators from the retreat present this year.
            The male winner this was a local swimmer who is going to be senior at Regional High this year, Peter Hagan. He finished the 2.7 mile course in a very respectable 1 hour and 37 minutes. Not as fast as last year’s time of 1 hour 30 minutes by Jenkins. The two top female swimmers, second time winner Daisy Forman and second place Joan Early were right behind Hagan with finishing times of 1 hour 35 minutes and 35 minutes thirty seconds respectively. Out of the 74 swimmers at the beginning of the race 60 finished which is a great percentage increase from last year where less than fifty percent finished. “Looks like people were practicing for this year,” laughed Reston when told of the number.

            This “Swim Across the Lake” is quickly becoming a favorite mid-summer classic event. Reston and Dunlap were only too happy to begin next years planning the day after the race, promising a bigger and better race for next year, if that is possible.

Swimmers take off as race begins in 1957


SPORTS

ANGELO AND NAGY SCULPT A GEM ON SLATE MOUNTAIN

Slate Mountain – The game between the Slate Mountain Miners and the East Farewell Travelers started at 7:05 in the evening. The game ran only two hours and twenty minutes. It was one of the best pitched games, if not the best, of the season. Both pitchers, Miner’s ace Tony “Michael” Angelo and Traveler’s perfect game ace, Joe Nagy, pitched a dazzling display that went eight innings on both sides without a hit and finally in the top of the ninth Traveler’s local hero, Johnny Cloos got a hold of low and outside Angelo curve ball and sent it out of the park. After that Angelo went back to his methodical perfection and struck out the rest of the side. Nagy came in the bottom of the ninth and also gave up one hit but it was a double to Al DiCerra and he was stranded by Nagy striking out the last batter, Dave Martin.
            While the arch-rivals renewed their animosity for each other the fans were treated to a wonderful pitching show that defined the term, pitcher’s duel. The Travelers fans were happier than the Miner’s fans but both got to view a rare special game that neither side will soon forget. The Travelers come home next week when they host the Albany Senators for the first time since Joe Nagy pitched his perfect game against them. Luckily for the Senators, Nagy will not be pitching this time. The game begins at 1:05 on the Travelers field.

 NATIONAL NEWS

ANOTHER BLOW TO CIVIL RIGHTS BILL – HOFFA WANTS SUPER GOVERNMENT UNION – CHESTER WON’T TALK – TITO & KHRUSHCHEV MEET – BANDSTAND DEBUTS, REVIEWED – HARDY DIES

The Senate attaches jury trials to the civil rights bill. It was the second major setback in the senate for the Administration on the civil rights bill. Earlier, Senator Johnson’s forces had stripped it by a vote of 52 to 38, of injunction sanctions that could have been used to force school integration in the south. Vice President Nixon declared: “This is one of the saddest days in the history of the Senate because it was a vote against the right to vote.”  President Eisenhower denounces the senate-voted jury trial amendment in the civil rights bill as a blow to “our whole judicial system.’

Sen. McClelland says that James R. Hoffa’s plan to put the entire nation’s transportation workers into a single union or federation would create a “super government.” Hoffa, the 44-year-old heir apparent to Dave Beck as Teamsters Union president, has said all truck air, rail and shipping unions should be combined into a single union or federation “for their own protection.’

Max Chester a convicted labor racketeer refuses 50 times to answer questions from senate rackets probers who had just heard he used terror tactics to shake down a businessman.

Moscow radio reports that President Tito of Yugoslavia and Nikita Khrushchev met for several days in satellite Romania and agreed on “concrete forms of cooperation”. Western experts say this meeting could be the most significant accord since Tito broke with Stalin in 1948.  Rumors are flying that Premier Bulganin of Russia may be on his way out.

Cuba - President Batista’s government imposes military rule over the Cuban people to combat rebellion. It then seized the rebel hotbed city of Santiago.

A work dispute between ABC and its technicians forces “The Lawrence Welk Show” off the air this week. The dispute affected technicians in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Francisco - but they were retaliating for the network premiere of “American Bandstand” in Philadelphia at WFIL-TV (Channel 6). NABET says the program is using local WFIL-TV employees instead of network union employees - depriving its members of work.  Hosted by Philadelphia disc jockey Dick Clark, “Bandstand” has been a late afternoon mainstay on the station for several years before ABC decided to place the program on the network.

Speaking of which - WFIL-TV’s “Bandstand” makes its national debut this week as “American Bandstand.” It’s described as a 90-minute daytime program of recorded popular music, dance contests and Interviews and sometimes live recording artists. The show has been presented in Philadelphia since 1952. Dick Clark is master of ceremonies. The show replaces ABC-TV’s feature film series titled “Afternoon Film Festival.” (Monday - August 5).

J.P. Shanley of the New York Times reviews “American Bandstand”“Presiding over the show, which originates in Philadelphia is Dick Clark, a well-groomed young man richly endowed with self-assurance. Mr. Clark is inclined, when expressing agreement with guests on his program to use contemporary idioms such as ‘Crazy!’ ‘I’m With You’ and ‘Ah, too much.’ Yesterday’s program began with Elvis Presley’s interpretation of ‘Teddy Bear.’” …“During the program, the studio from which it was televised was crowded with energetic teenagers who danced as the records were played. They were an attractive grip of youngsters. They girls wore pretty gowns and the boys were dressed conservatively. There were no motorcycle jackets and hardly a sideburn in the crowd.” “The quality of the dancing, however, was poor. There also was a shortage of boys. Quite a few girls had to dance with other girls and some of them looked grim about it.” “The format of the program is almost identical to that of a show that has been conducted in here over channel 9 by Ted Steele. The young set dances to records on that program too.” (Note - Ted Steele’s show is on at the same time as Dick Clark’s - 3PM each weekday afternoon).

Passing - Oliver Hardy (65) half the famed “Laurel & Hardy” comedy team. Hardy died from the effects of stroke suffered last September 12. The stroke prevented him from speaking and he could hardly move. Stan Laurel, his skinny partner summed it up: “What’s there to say? ... He was like a brother. That’s the end of the history of Laurel and Hardy.” The pair hadn’t made a picture since 1945.


No comments:

Post a Comment