EAST FAREWELL
NEWS
Thursday, December
6, 1956 Vol. C597
LOCAL
NEWS
STRANGE WEATHER TAKES HOLD OF
EAST FAREWELL
East Farewell – An odd weather inversion has settled in over
East Farewell and almost spring like weather in being experienced area. By this
time there is usually at least a covering of snow and the temperatures have
been well below freezing for two weeks. This year the average temperature for
the past month has been hovering around 53 degrees which is almost 20 degrees
above the normal for this time of year. The weather forecast for the coming
days does not contain any significant cooling and the prospect for a white
Christmas is in jeopardy. “It has never been like this before,” said Natalie Mallard,
local resident, “You can’t get into the Christmas spirit and this is the only
time of year that I can tolerate the cold because it is Christmas.”
The Nation
Weather Service put out a forecast for the area last week that detailed a high
pressure zone that is sitting squarely over the entire valley. It seems to have
settled in and blocking the cold Canadian air with help from the mountains to
the west. Usually the Canadian low pressure sweeps in pushing the warm air to
the south and keeping it down there for the winter but this year there seems to
be an inversion that has drawn the southern warm air up and held the Canadian
cold up north. The inversion may stay in place for the next week and even then
as the cold weather makes an entrance it will take time for the area to cool
down. This is the first time in anyone’s memory that Lake Charles is not
frozen. The lake is usually at least partially frozen by now and in a
surprising twist there were boats out on the lake last weekend.
While it seems
very strange to see roses blooming on the Lakefront Plaza there is still a lot
of Christmas
spirit around town. There may be no snow and freezing temperatures but
there is still a very happy and warm feeling coming from the people on the
streets and in the shops and restaurants.
Flowers
blooming by Lake Charles 12/1/1956
SPORTS
GIMMICK BOWL A HUGE HIT AND FAKE OR TWO
East Farewell – The yearly game between the Regional High School
Cougars and the Fort Lee Captains has become known as the “Gimmick Bowl” thanks
to rival coaches and long time friends Couch Burcowitz for the Cougars and
Coach King for the Captains who have consistently come up with more outlandish
and convoluted plays each year to try and confound the other team. Double and
triple reverses, Statue of Liberty plays along with laterals and double pitches
have become standard fare for the game. This has pushed the game into almost
mythical status with great highlights being remembered time and again around
the dinner tables and in the school hallways. The game this year did not
disappoint the fans as both coaches drew up some outrageous plays and both
teams executed them with what can only be described as flamboyant vigor.
The game
started with an unusual coin toss. Instead of the team captains meeting at the
center of the field both entire teams walked onto the field. The referees proceeded
with the explanation and at the coin toss the entire Fort Lee team said, in
unison, “Heads” the coin fell to the ground and ended tails. The entire Cougars
teams deferred and chose the south end to defend. Both teams ran off to their
respective sides and then set up for kick-off. The spirit of the game was
evident from the first kickoff. The Cougars lined up with ten men on the front
line and kicker, David Galloway, approached the ball at full speed and right
before he made contact running back Davey Wilson, who had lined up right next
to the ball kicked it off the tee with a soccer style kick that send the ball
bouncing haphazardly down the field with the entire Cougar team in chase. The
Captains seemed confused at first but regained their composure in time to grab
the ball and recover at their own 35 yard line.
The Captains
first play was a triple reverse ending with the ball back in quarterback,
Johnny Taylor’s hands and he threw a 23 yard, cross field pass to wide receiver
Tom Kean who gained ten yards after the catch. The Cougars defense stiffened up
held the Captains to try a 22 yard field goal. The attempt was a fake and the
Cougars were not fooled and were able to hold the Captains for only a two yard
gain and take control. On their first play the Cougars ran a play that no one
had ever seen before. It can only be described as a double Statue of Liberty
play. After taking the hike quarterback, Bill Dolan dropped back and cocked his
arm to pass. Then running back, Davey Wilson ran behind him taking the ball off
his hand and swept out to the right and then cocked his arm as if to throw down
field, but then halfback, Billy Reilly ran behind him and grabbed the ball off
his hand and tossed it across the field to a waiting Mitch “Merc” McMaster who
was able to scamper 30 yards for a first down. The play took so long to unfold
that the entire Captains team was spread out across the field and it took
almost 30 seconds to get everyone lined back up. Things settled down a little
after that but the Cougars were able to drive down to the 15 yard line where
kicker Dave Galloway was able to connect and put the cougars on the board.
The game went
back and forth with each team trying a gimmick play at least once a drive. The
sideways hikes and triple laterals were fun to watch but not having practiced
them to any degree many turned into fumbles, dropped balls or worse turnovers. The
first half ended in a tie 3-3.
The second half
started with the Cougars pulling off a triple lateral on the kickoff that was
able to take the ball out to the fifty. The next play was a straight forward
long pass play the seemed to catch the Captains off guard. They were expecting
a gimmick play and were caught flat footed as “Merc” McMaster raced by the
safety and was able to score after catching a 15 yard pass from Dolan. Galloway
made the extra point and the Cougars held a 10-3 lead. The play settled down a
bit in the third quarter but in the fourth the Captains executed a wonderful
pass, catch, lateral with an end run by tight end Fred Sherman for a score. The
Captains then tried a two point conversion but were stymied by a smothering
Cougars defense. As the game wore down the Captains tried one last wild play
that included two laterals, a screen pass and a long bomb that ultimately end
as an incomplete pass. The Cougars were victorious 10-9.
After the game
both coaches held a conference and congratulated each other on a game well
played. They have a long friendship that goes back to the days when they played
together on the same team at the Academy in Philadelphia. “While the game
counts, it is always a bigger challenge to outdo Coach King with the most
outrageous play possible, this year I think they may have got us with the last
play but since it was incomplete we won. But it was all fun and both teams
looked great,” said Coach Burcowitz after the game.
The Cougars get
back to reality next week when they play the Southport Hawks. If they win they
will be the league champs with an outstanding record of 10 and 1. The last time
they won the championship was in 1952. Next week’s game begins at 3:30 on the
Regional High Field.
NATIONAL NEWS
FIRE ON BROOKLYN PIER – IKE SENDS OIL TO
EUROPE – SUPREME COURT LETS PROMPT ADMISSION STAND – AT THE MOVIES
A Brooklyn pier fire burns into a
mountain of explosive cargo touching off a tremendous blast. Nine persons are
killed and 247 are injured. The shock radiated 35 miles from the explosion.
Windows were shattered as far away as five miles.
President Eisenhower gives the signal
to ship 500,000 barrels of oil daily to Western European countries facing
critical shortages because of the Mideast crisis.
The Supreme Court lets stand a decision
requiring “prompt” admission of Negro students to the Mansfield (Tex.) High
school Rioting occurred at the opening of the school term last September, but
the appearance of Texas Rangers ended the disturbance.
At the movies -
The Rainmaker - Burt Lancaster,
Katharine Hepburn
Curucu- Beast of the Jungle
The Teahouse of the August Moon -
Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford, Machiko Kyo
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