EAST FAREWELL
NEWS
Thursday, November
12, 1959 Vol. C750
LOCAL
NEWS
A DIFFERENT VETERANS DAY STORY
East Farewell – It has been six years since the Korean armistice
and most of America has moved on from that difficult time. East Farewell
celebrated Veterans Day yesterday with a parade and a ceremony at the War
Memorial The lone bugler, high school senior Frank Janson, played taps in the
distance as a wreath was laid at the entrance to the ”Military Area” and a list
of names were read in remembrance of the town’s soldiers who had paid the
ultimate price.
There is another story that did not
make the headlines until today. It is a story that typifies many stories of the
returning servicemen but many do not turn out as positive as this one. Buzz
Cooper served in the army during the war and came home in 1953. He never talked
about his experience and tried to get on with his life but he suffered from
flashbacks to his combat tours. It was difficult for him to keep a job and he
had trouble forming relationships. One of his only friends was Al, the
bartender at the Lost Oasis bar. Al was older, wiser and more compassionate
than most and Buzz would spend a lot of time with Al at the Lost Oasis. Buzz
was an angry young man but Al was
able to keep him in line. Natalie Mallard had
graduated with Buzz and she was friendly with him and would see him in the bar.
Buzz misread her kindness and felt they were becoming a couple. Natalie quickly
picked up on this miscommunication and tried to gently end it. That did not go
well. Buzz stormed out of the Lost Oasis and disappeared. He did not say
goodbye and did not leave a forwarding address. That was back in 1954. Natalie
and Al tried to find him but since he said he was leaving he wasn’t considered
a missing person, legally. After a couple of years he faded from people’s
memories.
Last week he
walked back into the Lost Oasis and ordered a beer. Al was still working the
bar and was quite taken back. After drawing him a beer Al had a
long talk with Buzz trying to catch up on where he had been and what he was
doing. As it turns out Buzz had gone off to California to try to get himself
straightened out. He tried working on a farm picking produce and then moved
north to a vineyard. Working in the vineyard seemed to soothe his troubled
spirit. He was able to work his way up to the point where he was actually able
to buy his own small vineyard. In a couple of years he was producing a
well-received bottle a vino and making a profit. Buzz came back to East
Farewell, his home town, to re-establish connections with his old friends make
amends and try to sell some his wine. He talked with Al for a long time and
then he walked over to Mrs. Mallard’s boarding
house to see if Natalie was still around. She was and she was glad to
see him as an old friend.
Buzzes met with
Charles Wentz, the owner of the Lost Oasis, and strike a deal to buy and serve
his wine. Al still holds down the bar and Natalie still sings in the bar
occasionally and Buzz has gone back to Napa Valley with the promise to return
for the holidays, his favorite time in East Farewell.
Lost Oasis Bar
& Restaurant
SPORTS
COUGARS SWEEP DEVILS
East
Farewell – The Cougars hosted the Corning Devils at Regional High Field on Friday
afternoon. Earlier in the season the Cougars won a hard fought game against the
Devils, 14-7. The Devils came into town looking for revenge but they were
disappointed as the Cougars showed an extremely well balanced defense that had
noticeably improved from their first meeting. Sophomore, Mitch Rooney was added
to the roster after arriving new to the school from Philadelphia. Rooney, at
5’11” and 175 lbs. plays defensive tackle and has changed the Cougar rush
completely. The Cougars showed a new and improved pass rush that kept the Devils
scrambling all game. Rooney alone was able to sack Devil’s QB, Brad Lawson,
three times for a single game Cougars record. The Cougars defense kept the hard
charging Devils offense off the balance and was able to give the offense plenty
of time to score. The game ended with a 14-0 Cougars win.
Overall the game was a defensive
slugfest. It was only when Cougar’s QB, Kevin Dugan, made a last second pitch
to Joey Neil that the Cougars were able to break out of the middle of the field
and move the ball down to the Devils 20. The Devils defense stiffened again and
the Cougars were faced with a forth and five at the fifteen. Kicker Sammy
Regalia came on the field to attempt a field goal. Regalia had been flattened
by the Devils in their earlier game and the Devils were looking to repeat their
previous assault. The ball was snapped to Dugan, who was the holder and the
Devils rush was ferocious. Instead of placing the ball down for Regalia to
klick he picked it up and rolled to his right. Wide receiver Max O’Hara was
streaking down the sideline all alone and Dugan hit him with a perfect pass as
he crossed the goal line. Regalia came back on and kick a perfect extra point.
The game went back to its grinding, smashing battle and the Devils came close
in the late third quarter but a beautiful diving defense by Cougar Daniel Green
saved a touchdown and the Devils came away with nothing. Very late in the
fourth quarter the Cougars appear to have finally worn down the Devils defense
when with only 1:20 left Dugan tossed a screen pass out to tight end Albert
Dillon who was able to split through the two Devils guarding him and evade the
safety coming from across the field. Dillion scampered into the end zone with
only 30 seconds left. Regalia kicked the extra point and kicked off but the
Devils only got back to their own forty and a last second long bomb was
woefully overthrown.
After the game ended both sides
spontaneously met in the middle of the field and congratulated each other.
“That was never done before,” said Coach Burcowitz after the game, “The boys
did that on their own, on both sides. I had nothing to do with it. They were
all just so impressed with each other’s play that they had to go out and congratulate
them. It was just great. I really admire those kids, all of ‘em.”
The Cougars have their Homecoming
next week and will play the Sun City Eagles. The game will be on Friday night
beginning at 7:05PM. There will be a Homecoming ceremony before the game
beginning at 6:00PM on the Regional High Field.
NATIONAL NEWS
CASTRO FIRES SANTA AND SEIZES KING RANCH – IKE ADDS SPAIN & TUNISIA TO GOODWILL TRIP – FORMER GM PRESIDENT SHOOTS FRIEND
In
this first year of Castro’s revolutionary takeover, the government of Cuba
calls for the “Three Kings Day” version of Christmas and is eliminating
the North American kind. Dr. Vicentina Antuna, Cuba’s director of culture,
denounced St Nick as “alien” to Cuban custom. The government forthwith bans the
import of North American-style Christmas trees, artificial ice and snow,
ornaments etc. and suggests that if Cubans must do something on December 25,
they do it with domestic materials such as Palm trees.
The
Cuban government announces the seizure of the 35,000 acre American-owned King
Ranch in Eastern Cuba for conversion into a co-operative farm under terms
of Fidel Castro’s agrarian reform law. The property with its 8,000 head of
cattle is estimated to be valued at almost $5 million. It remains to be seen
what manner the former owners would be compensated. Robert Wells, attorney for
the King Ranch says government seizure of the property had come almost
without warning.
President
de Gaulle announces that Soviet Premier Khrushchev will arrive in Paris March
15 for a two-week visit. President Eisenhower adds Spain and Tunisia to his
December goodwill itinerary of India, the Middle East and Mediterranean
nations.
Former
General Motor’s President Harlow Curtice shoots and kills a “very
dear friend,” retired GM president Harry Anderson in a duck-hunting accident.
Apparently, Anderson became excited as a flight of ducks passed over their
blind, stepping in front of Curtice as he went to shoot.
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