EAST FAREWELL
NEWS
Thursday, August 13, 1959
Vol. C737
LOCAL
NEWS
4th SWIM ACROSS THE
LAKE HOT HIT
East
Farewell – It was already hot by 9:30AM, almost 79 degrees. The water
temperature was a mild 68 degrees very unusual for Lake Charles. All these
conditions made the 4th annual “Swim Across the Lake” ideal for the
150 participants and 100 racers who all jumped in the lake from a very wide
“entry funnel” created by organizers, Hugh Reston and Frank Dunlap that ran all
along the Lakefront Plaza beach and over onto the
Fun Pier beach when the starting cannon boomed. The “entry funnel” led all the
swimmers into a fifty foot wide swimming lane that stretched across the entire
lake and contained the massive group. All along the lane borders was a virtual
flotilla of rowboats and small speedboats, even a mast-less sunfish or two kept
to watch over the swimmers. There were several boats filled with fans and
spectators that moved along the outside of the lanes as the swimmers progressed
across the lake.
This year saw some other changes
instituted by organizers Dunlap and Reston. Instead of landing on Raleigh
Beach, the beach owned by N.U.D.E. (Nothing Until Democracy Evolves), a local
nudist organization, Reston and Dunlap rented North Shore beach that is owned
by the Reese family, former owners of the Reese farm that is now the Reese
Links, the local golf club that is hosting next week’s Golf Tournament. “The
increase in the number of people that were going to land on the other side of
the lake made Raleigh Beach really unusable this year. No, we did not have any
reservations about Mr. Logan (N.U.D.E.’s president and spokesman) showing up au
natural. We spoke with him and explained the situation and he agreed with the
changes. He is a wonderful person and said he do his best to shield the beach
from prying eyes during the race,” said Frank Dunlap before the race.
There were only three incidents
where swimmers had to be assisted by rescue boats and all incidents were deemed
minor. All the swimmers that need assistance had overestimated the length of
the race basically had to quit before they were able to finish. The race was
won this year by a local Regional High graduate, Neil Ross. He graduated from Regional High two years
ago and is currently a sophomore attending the prestigious University of
Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. This year with the course change the race was a
little longer. It was an even 3 miles, three tenths of a mile longer than the
former races. Ross was able to cross the lake in 1 hour and 47 minutes, a very
good clip. The female winner was Gail Stevenson, another Regional High grad but
she is currently in her senior year nearby Gettysburg College. Her time was
also very impressive at 1 hour, 58 minutes. Last year’s winner, David Wilson
finished second and Ruth Steele, at a ripe old age of 25 finished second in the
woman’s division. After the race there was a ribbon ceremony on North Shore
beach and most folks drifted back to town or headed over to the ballpark to
tailgate before the Travelers game. Once again the organizational skills of
Reston and Dunlap shone brightly throughout the whole event. From the early
planning stages and the recruitment of a top notch group of volunteers to the
securing of all permits and rental agreements both men led with exceptional
direction and vision. The whole day was full of fun and good competition and
turned out to be a wonderful summer highlight.
Swimmers take
off in 1959 Swim Across the Lake
SPORTS
VIKINGS ATTEMPT TO RAID
TRAVELERS
East
Farewell – The evening was still hot but the ballpark was packed. The Travelers
walked on the field holding onto a four game winning streak and the Vikings
came into town with the same credentials. Both came to play. The Travelers sent
ace pitcher, Joe Nagy and the Vikings matched with their ace, Phil Burkhart,
both put outstanding effort into their games and both pithed nine innings.
Unfortunately for Burkhart the game went into extra innings and he was relieved
in the 12th inning by rookie, Sam Nelson, who ended up letting the
Travelers Johnny Cloos hit a game winning double to win and end the game in the
bottom of the 13th inning, 3-2.
Both pitchers were perfect for the
first four innings and a buzz started through the crowd that something special
was happening. Then in the fifth the Vikings brought Nagy’s perfect game to an
end when Jimmy Wentworth hit a single over Archibald’s head. The Vikings scored
first when their slugger, Hans Weise, hammered a double into right scoring
Wentworth. Nagy then doubled down and struck out the rest of the side stranding
Weis. The Travelers didn’t have an answer to Burkhart until the sixth when
Dimero singled, then Joey Brown smacked a double but stuck Dimero at third.
Archibald tried a suicide squeeze bunt but it failed taking out Dimero. Nagy
struck out but then Ralph Francis caught up to one of Burkhart’s fastballs and
put the Travelers ahead 2-1. Undaunted, the Vikings struck back in the ninth
and tied it up at 2-2. The extra innings both teams showed signs of fatigue but
the Travelers were able to get hits off Nelson in the 13th and
Johnny Cloos finally doubled to end it bringing in Dale Dunham for the walk off
win. The game ran a long 3 hours 30 minutes but the fans did not seem to care.
The night air was still warm at 11:00PM hovering around 65 degrees. Most people
walked home through town and enjoyed the late night sky in East Farewell.
The Travelers go on the road next
week as they visit the Albany Senators. The game begins in Albany at 1:30PM,
Saturday in the historic Albany Stadium.
NATIONAL NEWS
NIXON SAYS KHRUSHCHEV THINKS US IS WEAK –
CASTRO SAYS TRUJILLO IS A MADMAN – BATISTA LANDS IN THE MADEIRA ISLANDS –
BOEING 707 CRASHES IN LONG ISLAND – EARTHQUAKES IN MONTANA
Vice
President Nixon says that Soviet Premier Khrushchev believes the
United States is weak, sinking economically and split over foreign policy.
Nixon said Khrushchev’s forthcoming visit to the U.S. would be worthwhile if it
removes “his miscalculation” about U.S. strength and determination. The net
effect Nixon added could advance the cause of peace.
Premier
Castro of Cuba declares that General Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, and
old foe, is a power-mad dictator guilty of disturbing the peace. He contends
that Trujillo, the Organization of American States and the U.S. State
Department are all in league against his revolutionary government.
Exiled
dictator Fulgencio Batista of Cuba and his party immigrate to
the Portuguese Madeira Islands, where he is granted political asylum by
the Portuguese government. Batista had taken refuge in the Dominican Republic
January 1 after the Cuban revolution - but that became an embarrassment to the
Trujillo regime.
In
the first disaster of the jet age - a $5 million American Airlines Boeing 707
jetliner carrying five crewmen on training flight crashes in a Long Island
potato field killing all. The crash was about 70 miles east of New York City.
Earthquakes
in Montana kill eight and injure 60 in the Southwestern portion of the
state. The shocks were felt in Yellowstone Park.
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