3/10/1955

EAST FAREWELL NEWS

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Thursday, March 10, 1955   Vol. C758

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LOCAL NEWS

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RAILROAD TO TAKE ON HIGHWAY COMMISSION

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East Farewell- The mighty Keystone Railroad plans to confront the State Highway Commission on opening its access points along the new “super” highway that is being built and will travel across the state.  The highway has the blessing and backing of the government and is seen as a pet project of the President himself.  The railroad is throwing up flags and is calling foul.  Railroad attorney, Michael S. Franklin, filed a complaint with the FTC which alleges the Highway Commission is misusing government funds to illegally acquire property that is being used for the highways right-of-way.  The suit claims that on several occasions the Highway Commission has spent government funds to obtain right-of-ways which are in violation of the eminent domain laws.  “This is a clear violation of the law.  You can’t go around using our taxpayers’ money to steal land from good, upstanding landholders in the name of socialism.  It is outrageous!”  complained Long.

            “The suit is completely baseless,” says Highway Commissioner Harry Long, “of course we are spending money on right-of-ways, how else would we acquire them? Steal them? It is obviously a political smokescreen to slow construction and give the railroads more time to charge exorbitant freight costs to every retailer in the area.”  The Highway Commission maintains that no laws are being broken in the purchase or use of lands involved in the highway project and had asked for a dismissal of all suits pending.  

            Hearings are scheduled for the end of the month in East Farewell.  A local judge will be hearing arguments for both sides.  The Highway Commission has already filed a grievance to the hearing saying that the three week delay will severely impact the construction project and the project should be allowed to continue while the hearings proceed.           

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SPORTS

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COUGARS STAY ON TRACK- BEAT FORT LEE CAPTAINS 50-42

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East Farewell- The Cougars handily won over the overmatched Fort Lee Captains on Tuesday, 50-42.  Center, Michael Watson had a season high of 24 points and 18 rebounds.  Other contributors to the rout were guards Timmy Green and Joey Welch with a combined total 22 points.  The scoring was rounded out by Tim O’Hare with 2 and Billy Reilly with 2.  The team held the Captains to only 12 points in the first half and was in control the whole game.  The Captains leading scorer was Joey Wilson with 15 points.

            “The boys were on fire tonight,” said Coach Wilson after the game, “Watson was unstoppable and our front court guys, Greeny and J.W. looked as good as Fitz and Joey W., Jimmy’s older brother, from the ’53 team.  They won the League Championship, you remember.” 

            The win kept the Cougars on track to win the league. The season started off with three strong wins and talk off a repeat of the 1952-53 League Championship season.  Then the losses to the Slate Mountain Canaries and to a superior Riverview Wildcats which rocked the team’s confidence.  The season has been a bit of an up and down ride but most has been up lately with strong wins over the Bears and the Wildcats. Only the Devils have been able to stop the Cougars in the last seven games.

There are several members on this team who are younger brothers of members of the ’52-53 team which may be why there has been so many comparisons to that team. The backcourt combination of Joey Welch (J.W.) and Timmy Green are younger brothers of the remarkable backcourt/forward combo of Jimmy Welch and Gene Green from the 1952-53 championship team.  This years team has shown as much, if not more potential than that team and expectations for this year are high.  The next game is against the Southport Hawks on Tuesday at 4:45 in Southport.

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 NATIONAL NEWS

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33^RD NUKE SET OFF IN ARIZONA- DUMONT IN TROUBLE- HALEY HITS 1 MILLION

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A nuclear explosion is set off in the Nevada desert, 75 miles from Las Vegas. The blast could be seen from 400 miles away. The force jarred cities as far as 135 miles. The exploded nuclear device was a prototype for an atomic missile warhead. It’s the second atomic test in 1955.  The Soviet Union proposes that all nations destroy all atomic and hydrogen weapons and calls for international control for the carrying out of the proposal.  The announcement came about an hour after the United States exploded an atomic bomb in Nevada - its 33rd nuclear explosion.

President Eisenhower presents a gold medal to Irving Berlin in recognition for his song “God Bless America.” Congress authorized the medal last year.

Dumont - television’s “fourth” network is cutting back. Last month, Dumont eliminated the greatest share of its AT&T line charges by cutting back on the use of the coaxial to as little as 10% of what it was a month earlier. The network is laying-off more people this month and is down to one full-time advertising salesman - Harry Pertka.  Channel 2 in Pittsburgh is now KDKA (as of February 1). The former Dumont station was WDTV, but was sold to Westinghouse for $9.75 million.

Big business - replacing burned-out television picture tubes turned into an $80 million business last year. 20% of the nearly 10 million picture tubes went to dealers for use as replacements. How long does a picture tube last? It was originally estimated that the life of a typical tube is 1,000 hours.

However, that estimate has proved to be a minimum rather than a maximum. With the increase in the number of stations and a greater choice of programs, it would be expected that in many areas of the country, TV sets are operating more hours than ever. This should mean in more business in tube replacement sales.

Music news -

Bob Thiele, in charge of pop artists for Coral Records, says the rhythm and blues beat is the best thing that’s happened to the music industry in years. “It’s good for the business because it sells records. And that’s what counts. He adds that too many industry people are rapping rock and roll because they don’t understand it. The same resistance to new sounds took place when jazz and swing first came to the musical forefront. Thiele says r & b records are creating a new excitement in the business that runs from the recording studio down to record stores. “Every new release is like New Year’s Eve.”  More rock ‘n’ roll - WINS DJ Alan Freed is set for his second stage show – this one at the Brooklyn Paramount theatre. Already booked are Laverne Baker, the Moonglows, and The Penguins. It all happens April 8. You’ll hear more about on Freed’s 1010WINS rock ‘n’ roll radio program.

Meanwhile back in Cleveland, WSRS DJ Sam G. Sampson is sort of picking up where Alan Freed left off. He was supposed to have conducted his R ‘n’ R stage show billed “Crazy Man Crazy” on February 6 - but the cops shut down the Cleveland Area show for several reasons: He didn’t have a license to operate a dance; the Arena didn’t have a dance permit and there wasn’t enough time for all obstacles to be lifted legally. The police were a little afraid the affair would attract over 10,000 - much like the Alan Freed shows of yore.

Bill Haley & The Comets hit the 1 million sales mark for “Shake, Rattle And Roll” for Decca. The group’s latest release - “Mambo Rock” was launched with a 300,000-advance sale, one of the largest in Decca’s history. Interestingly “Shake Rattle and Roll” has been on the bestseller charts for 20 weeks without ever getting into the top 5.

3/3/1955

EAST FAREWELL NEWS

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Thursday, March 3, 1955   Vol. C362

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LOCAL NEWS

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PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM MAKES ITS DEBUT

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East Farewell- The new trolley line that ties the Lakefront Plaza area to the downtown train station is now open.  The 2.1 mile track was developed and partially financed by the Keystone Railroad.  The railroad has taken a keen interest in the future development of East Farewell.  The relationship stretches back to the founding of the town, originally the railroad was instrumental in placing a stop at the current stations downtown location to help develop the area and enhance the lines passenger traffic.  The town developed as a tourist destination as a respite for city dwellers looking for relief.  As the town grew the railroad was very involved in the development of the attractions and other local enterprises.  It was not a completely new idea when the railroad offered to partially finance the local trolley line.  It should be remembered that in 1952 that the railroad named East Farewell as a “Destination Station” a coveted honor given to resort towns that are currently in vogue.

            The new trolley line was started only 13 months ago and a novel approach to construction was taken.  Instead of having designated stops or stations the trolley will stop on any corner it passes when requested by a rider.  This saved money by not having to build specific stations and only supplying streamlined shelters.  The new line will feature cars built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia.  The cars are state of the art and the inaugural run was March 1^st.  The line will run year round and the cars will run on a ten minute schedule.

            “I think it is fantastic that you only have to wait ten minutes at the most to catch a trolley and they will take you almost anywhere in town,” gushed Bernie Talent, local rider.  Other townspeople expressed similar enthusiasm for the new line.  There is already talk of tying the farther reaches of the town, areas around the west side of Lake Charles, to the line.  These areas are made up of development lots and there is a small enclave of artists’ galleries and shops.  A new Music Bowl is planned to be built in that area.

“We are very proud of this system. The superb craftsmanship that went into the building of this line along with the state-of-the-art technology that is used to make it run is a testament to the American worker and American know how,” gushed Ben Hagger, president of the EFTS, at the press conference held to launch the system Monday morning.

            The first car left the depot at 8:20AM and completed its route on time in spite of snow clogged streets and ice covered signals. The inaugural run saw a huge ridership, mostly due to the novelty of the system and the pure history of the event.

“A lot of riders were just riding, they didn’t really have any place to go,” laughed Bernie Talent, a local rider.

It seems the East Farewell Transit System is off to a successful start and appears to have a wonderful future.

New trolley passes through Main Street on loop system

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SPORTS

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COUGARS TAME THE WILDCATS

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East Farewell – The Cougars were able to get back in the lead of the league as they beat the Wildcats on Wednesday, 48-45 on Wednesday. The Wildcats tried to use the same strategy that they used to beat the Cougars in their last meeting, double team center, Watson, and press every inbounds. They didn’t count on Coach Wilson being as good a coach as he is. Wilson learned from the loss and like every great coach made adjustments. The Cougars came out with an entirely different game plan that focused on the forwards, Billy Reilly and Tommy O’ Hare. The backcourt tandem, Green and Welch were able to keep the Wildcats zone moving and finally forced them to switch to a man to man, which opened up the center. The Cougars took advantage of splendid team play and tightly executed play by the whole team. Reilly and O’Hare were able to combine for 30 points. 18 for Reilly and 22 for O’Hare, Watson ended up with 8 while Green and Welch both had 5.

            The Wildcats tried to press from the start but the Cougars had obviously practiced several inbounds plays and were not intimidated by the smothering but ultimately ineffective Wildcat press.  The Wildcats seemed to run out of steam towards the end of the game and had to lift the press. The Wildcat offense was very aggressive throughout the game with center, Gerald Conwell, leading all scorers with 26 points.

            The Cougars continue at home next week against the Fort Lee Captains. The standings in the league are now; Cougars, Devils, Bears, Wildcats, Canaries, Miners, Hawks and Captains. If the Cougars win three more they will cliché the title.

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 NATIONAL NEWS

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IKE GIVES CONGRESS A RAISE – VOLCANO SPLITS HAWAII – CHURCHILL SAY COMMIES NO BIG THREAT – COMMIE CHIEFS IN TROUBLE

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President Eisenhower signs into law a 50% pay raise for members of Congress. The legislation boosts their pay from $15,000 to $22,500 per year. This includes a $2,500 taxable expense account.

Pahoa Hawaii - A new volcano splits a half-mile crack in a cane field on Hawaii’s eastern tip and explodes a 200-foot-high fountain of red-hot lava about 200 yards from 12 plantation workers. All escaped unhurt.

 Prime Minister Winston Churchill says Soviet leaders realize they never can win a hydrogen bomb war against the west. “The United States has an overwhelming superiority in thermonuclear weapons that may be cut by the Russians within four years, but cannot be nullified,” said Churchill. He also told the House that a sneak hydrogen bomb raid on Britain might bring a retaliatory punch “almost immediately” from American bombers.

Sources in Russia say that former Premier Malenkov seems to be in serious danger. A case is being built up and that it is possible he may be charged with ideological heresy. Pravda condemned him by clear inference by expressing a view which the paper said was “useful only to imperialist warmongers.” Last March, Malenkov declared in an election address that if a new world war breaks out “with modern weapons it means the run of world civilization.”

Premier Nikoalai Bulganin purges the Soviet officials who served under ousted Premier Georgi Malenkov. He fired both the Minister of state farms and the Minister of the Coal industry for “unsatisfactory work.”

Russia declares that the United States as well as Britain is within the range of “military retaliation” with hydrogen bombs. A Moscow radio broadcast quoted Maj. Gen. Isayev as saying that the Soviet Union is well ahead of the United States in production of hydrogen weapons.

It’s disclosed that Prof. Bruno Pontecorvo, the Italian-born British atomic and hydrogen bomb scientist who disappeared in 1950, has been working on nuclear research in Russia since that time.

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2/24/1955

EAST FAREWELL NEWS

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Thursday, February 24, 1955   Vol. C361

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LOCAL NEWS

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FINALLY ABOVE FREEZING

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East Farewell – After almost a month a temperatures well below freezing the daily temperature for the last week has been an almost balmy 34°. The sun has been shinning and the wind has been low. The mountains of piled up snow have started to shrink, slightly but shrink never the less. People have started walking outside for more than only needed trips and the Lakefront Plaza has once again seen people meeting and spending time on the plaza. The warming trend has had a down side for some, with the consistent warm temperatures the surface of Lake Charles has become unstable causing skating and fishing to be curtailed much to the dismay of many.

“We all knew it was going to warm up sometime, we just didn’t expect it until at least March,” lamented former ice fisherman, Bernie Talent. Many others have said much to same but all have been resigned to the fact of nature and say it was fun while it lasted, but it is time to move on.

The warmer weather may not last, though there is still about a month left in winter and this has been an unusually cold winter by any standard. Temperatures will most likely dip back down and another cold stretch is not out of the question. Most people would not mind a quick end to the winter, even the ice fishermen would not mind getting back in their boats and get out on the lake and do some casting.

Another inconvenience the melting creates is the runoff that streams down the gutters and eventually ends up in the lake. This has many concerned about the pollution that the runoff carries. Usually there is not much concern because it is never very significant and the Lake can absorb it, but this year it presents a much higher volume and this has many concerned. The Town Council has taken a look at the situation and is expected to present some alternative to the problem. One would be to truck most of the snow back into the woods and dump it and let the natural melt occur and have the ground absorb the runoff. Other ideas include trying to filter the runoff or section off part of the lake and contain the runoff there. The Council will make a report within the next two weeks. Of course this may be a mute point if the weather gets cold again and also if the weather gradually warms and the snow melts and evaporates at a slower pace. This would be the most desired solution.

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SPORTS

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COUGARS LOSE A TOUGH ONE IN CORING

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Corning- The Corning Devils showed why they are the league leaders on Wednesday, squeaking by the Cougars with a last minute inbounds play that looked like it was taken from a top level college playbook. The game had gone back and forth with each team falling five points behind and each team battling back to tie it up and then move back in front. The Cougars were looking to upset the Devils like they had early in the season but it was not to be. The Devils have been playing very well winning their last six by convincing margins. The Cougars have won their last four and have beaten the Devils earlier.

            The game started off fast with both teams running and scoring. The score was 14-12 Devils within the first seven minutes. Both teams settled down and defense took over and the first half ended 24-20 Devils. The second half was much more defensive with Cougars center, Michael Watson, fighting a very tough inside game with stand out Devils center, Joe Ladd. The fight ended in a draw with both centers scoring 8 points and Watson collecting 16 rebounds to Ladd’s 18. The back court played extremely well with Green and Welch running the show with forward, Tom O’Hare almost making a game winning bloke at the end of the game. The Cougars other forward, Billy Reilly contributed 13 points in a very good game.

            The clock was winding down with 33 seconds left and the Cougars had just gained the lead 37-36 on a wonderful driving layup by Joey Welch. The second upset looked like it was in the making. A very composed Devils team set up for the inbounds and inbounded against a tight Cougars press. Then Devils Coach Rollins called a timeout. This brought the ball in bounds to half court with 29 seconds left. The Devils set up and executed a perfect double pick and roll in bounds with guard, Bobby Thompson darting off the pick underneath to receive a perfect pass from center Ladd. Thompson was able to lay it up with 8 seconds left and score. The Cougars tried a fast inbounds with Joey Welch trying a makeable outside shot at the buzzer that rattled around and fell out. The Devils fans went wild.

            “This was a disappointing loss but we tried and came up just one point short. We are going to learn from this one and we will get them next time,” said Coach Wilson after the game. The Cougars come home next week to face the Wildcats from Riverview. The game begins at 4:30 in the Regional High Gymnasium.           

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 NATIONAL NEWS

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IKE LIKES EARL WARREN AS CHIEF JUSTICE AND PLAYS GOLF WITH BEN HOGAN – FREAK ACCIDENT CLAIMS FIVE LIVES

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The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee recommends confirmation of for former Governor Earl Warren to be Chief Justice of the U.S. Visiting Palm Springs, President Eisenhower hails Warren as “one of the finest public servants this country has produced.”

In Palm Springs for a little business and rest, President Eisenhower plays a round of gold with pro Ben Hogan.

In a freak car accident - 4 die in a head-on car crash, with the cars driven by a father and his son. Charles Garrison of Burbank, OH was en route to visit his father Willard about 12 miles away, when both cars collided on the crest of a knoll. Garrison’s wife and sister were also killed. The crashed injured 5 children.

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