1947-11-27; Saline Observer

              ,4v
The Saline Observer
VOLUME 65
SALINE, WASHTENAW COUNTY, MICHIGAN,     THURSDAY, NOV. 27, 1947
NUMBER    8
ihanksgivin
.99
ating
Will Sponsor Local Cub
Scout Program
The Saline Child Study Club
met at the home of Mrs,. Harry
Anderson on Tuesday evening,
Nov. 18. Miss Walsh and Mrs.
Roe of the Washtenaw County
Health Department were the
speakers.
Miss Walsh spoke of the many
public services rendered by the
Health Department for-the benefit of county residents. The
facilities are there to be used and
the public is encouraged to take
advantage of them. These services include the county clinic on
Thursday evenings, home nursing
for new mothers, home nursing
for adults, services for crippled
children, and engineering for
home planning and dairy farm
service.
Mrs. Roe's talk covered the
programs which are directly related to the school child. The
teachers report to the nurse on
her weekly visit, anv cases wnich,
from, their daily observations,
need attention. Curiously, the
report which is turned in most
is that the children do not get
enough sleep.
Mrs. Hagen and Mrs. Elfring
gave reports on the Michigan
Child Study Association meeting
which  they  attended in Lansing.
The Child Study Club has been
asked, to sponsor a Cub Scout
program for Saline and it was
voted at the meeting to accept
the sponsorship.
The next meeting will be held
Tuesday, December 2, at the
school and will start at 3:45 p.m.
Miss. Marjorie Stewart, teaching
dietitian at the University Hospital, will speak on feeding the
young child.
Rudolph Wahl, Lance Rogers,
Harold Armbruster, Dr. D. G.
Leidheiser, Robert Vance, Chester
Leonard, LaVern Leonard, Robert
Rogers of Ann Arbor, all came
home  with  their bucks.
Children's Photos
To Be Featured
Next Monday :s the big day for
the picture-taking of your youn,g-
sters! The Observer is having
pictures taken of all children
who are brought by their parents or other guardian co the
Legion Hall between 1 p.m. and
8 p.m. absolutely free of charge.
The Woltz Studios, of Des Moines,
Iowa, nationally known children's
photographers, will be in charge.
The Observer wants a picture of
your child to print in its forthcoming feature "Citizens of Tomorrow," a series of photographic studies of local children.
The more we get the better the
feature will be, so the cooperation of mothers and fathers is
urged.
It often seems to parents that
children are little one minute and
grown up the next,, so fast does
a child's growing stage pass.
Here is a splendid opportunity
to catch a likeness of your child
or children at this present stage
for the pleasure you will get out
of it in future years and for the
thrill of seeing it in print. Tou
will want to clip and preserve it
for the youngster when he or
she grows  up.
There is no charge or obligation for taking the pictures. Parents don't have to be a sSjscriber
or even a reader of The Observer.
You do not have to purchase pictures either, though you may
obtain additional prints by arranging direct with the studio
if you want them. That is entirely up to you! All youngsters,
accompanied by a> parent or other
guardian, are welcome. There
is no age limit.
Don't forget the place; the day
and time. Saline Legion Hall,
Monday, December 1, 1 to 8 p.
m.
% ''This seems oddly familiar,"
mumbled the old man as he undressed and retired for the night.
And the same oddity strucit him
in the morning when he arose.
"My days," he grumbled, "are
like a succession of lightning
flashes in eternal gloom." But he
ate breakfast as usual. Q There
are  not  too  many of us   en  the
Main Drag who view life in this
drab manner. % Life certainly
is speeding, but each new day
brings a new adventure. £ Tomorrow there will dawn a new
day which you and the world
of men have "never looked, upon
hefore. At that, you may never
live to see it. IE you do, it may
be a  day set aside for Thanks
giving. If you have nothing to
be thankful for it will mean
nothing to you, and you might
better be dead. © And so with
your dull perception you'll continue plodding, not sensing that
Life is for those who seek to
know how to live it; who appreciate the marvelous experience
and are profoundly thankful for
it!
"Home Country
At The Library
»
Dexter Dedicates New
Recreation Field
VMS!**:
______m*
The following article is reproduced from the Washtenaw
County Farm Bureau News:
A few months ago a group of
men in Dexter organized the Dexter Recreation Board with the
purpose to make and equip a
recreation field for use of all
people of Dexter and the community.
On a tract of land which was
owned by the School Board the
meh laid cut a football gridron,
softball field and established in
the plans, for the field all other
outdoor sports activities, tennis,
archery, quoits, hardball, as well
as a shallow safe wadding pool
for the children and a splendid
picnic area in a beautiful stretch
of woods along the river.
The land, while'well situated
for accessibility from Dexter as
it is only a few hundred feet outside the village limits, was not
so good for the plans until a great
deal of grading was completed.
Hence, contracts were let with
excavators and 9,000 yards of
earth were removed from the
high side and leveled tQ the low
and which provided the level area
for the football gridiron and. soft-
ball field. In leveling, a great
deal of trouble was encountered
from surface water and. springs,
hut this was taken care of through
a grid system of tiling and now
the water from the springs is
available for the wadding pool
when it is constructed.
. As night games are most interesting to the masses it was decided, that the finest type floodlighting system available should
be constructed and contracts were
let for floodlighting which will
have 15.0 1500 watt lamps, or
225.0GO watts. This gives a class
A lighting instalation which is
considered one of the finest in the
state.
After the field was leveled, it
was necessary, of course to have
a good growth of turf and as time
was short for the football season,
the men went the hard route and
sodded the entire field, removing
sod from the area which was
planned for parking- and in all
approximately 80.CO0 square feet
of  sod  was  removed and  reset.
As   there  was  no  facility for
water mains from the village it
was necessary to install a water
system, so a deep well pump of
high capacity was installed with
multiple outlets for hose lines so
that all of the field can be sprinkled and a fine water supply is
available for drinking and general
use.
Completing of the football gridiron was the number one project
for the first season and all of the
work was completed so that the
first season game was played on
September 26. Other games were
played on October 17, October 24,
October 31 and November 7.
With the response of all the visiting teams as well as Dexter and
community it was gratifying to
the Board to realize how much
pleasure the several thousand
people who attended the games
received from the splendid facilities of the field.   .
Planning the construction of
the recreation field in specific
projects has made it possible for
each step to be completed for the
season in, which it will be most
required. The football gridiron
project has been completed and,
come spring the softball area
will be ready for use during the
coming summer. Then the board
plans to complete one by one
the other objectives of the plan
as they will benefit most people.
A field of this nature requires
an expenditure of $22,000 to $25,-
000 and the money so far has
been raised through donations
of the several active organizations
in Dexter and public donations,
and it is hoped that during the
winter special activities for income for the field will liquidate
the unpaid balance.
Dexter can well be proud of
their recreation plans and is to
be congratulated in having such
a fine group of interested men
on the Recreation Board who have
foresight, energy and the proven
ability to get things done, and
from the general out-state comments it is gratifying to hear
that Dexter has completed a project which is a great credit to
the village, the community and
will bring pleasure not only to
the people in the vicinity but to
many visitors and tourists.
RADIO PROGRAM AIDS NEEDY .. . The ABC Breakfast Club's Shakedown show was a huge success.
Gifts brought in by listeners to Don McNeill totalled an estimated value of $10,000 and overflowed the halls
and studio. Guests were admitted by gifts only for the special show. Don and the Breakfast clubbers left
the studio with representatives of the Cook County Bureau of /Public Welfare and made the rounds of the
bureau's list of needy Chicaso families, distributine the "loot."
Reminders    Visits Jack Miner's
The Union Thanksgiving service for the Federated, Methodist and St. Paul's churches will
be held this morning at 10 A. M.
at the Methodist church. The
public is invited to attend.
—O—
American Legion and Auxiliary of Saline will have a pet-
luck dinner at the Legion Hall
Thursday night, Dec. 4 starting
at 7:30.
—O—
''Welcome Stranger" showing
at the Saline theatre Sunday.
Also a special children's matinee
Saturday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m.
Bird Sanctuary
»Irs.   Alton  David   Wahl
Mrs. Alton David Wahl, who
before her marriage on Wednesday evening, November 12 ->t St.
Paul's Church in Saline, was Miss
Barbara Jean Spike.
band was en-graved his name and
address and a verse of scripture.
Thousands of these bands have
been retumed to him from all
over the western hemisphere.
In this way the great bird airways were located and marked
on large maps that are on display at the Miner home. One
band was returned from Colombia
and a number from far Northwestern Canada on Hudson Bay.
Before the war the Canadian
government was paying him
four thousand dollars per year to
help pay the expenses which
sometimes ran as high as fifteen
thousand dollars per year. Though
Mr. Miner had a limited education he lectured far and near 'to
large audiences eager to hear the
story of the birds,   ■_
When we visited 'ihe sanctuary
a few days ago tihpusands'' of
geese were there,. some ducks and
a few swans. They were fieedtag
two and three loads of ear corn
daily. When the geese rose in
flight it seemed the earth itself
was taking to the air. .
A hospital is maintained for
the crippled ones. Some come
flying in with legs hanging, broken by some hunter's shot. They
are taken to the hospital where
their wounds are dressed; the
broken bones are set and by and
by they are ready to rejoin their
fellows. Do you believe the birds
can talk to each other? If not
explain this one: There are recorded there, cases where birds
with broken wings have actually
come walking into this haven
where loving hearts and hands
are  so ready to minister them.
A visit to this beautiful place
is a revelation.
L. A.  Catey.
There have been some new;
books recently purchased for the
Library. There is sure to he
one which you will enjoy reading.       They are as follows:
Close Pursuit, Katherine Burt}
There Was A Time, Taylor Caldwell; Give Love The Air, Faith
Baldwin; The Secrets of Hill-
yard House, Kathleen Norris;
We Followed Our Hearts To
Hollywood, Emily Kimbrough;.
Adversary In The House, Irving
Stone; Came A Cavalier, Francis
P. Keyes; Nothing So Strange,
James Hilton; Home Country,
Ernie Pyle; East Side West Side,
Marcia Davenport; The Bishop's
Mantle, A-gnes Gligh Turnbull;
Juvenile   Books
Bonny's Boy, F. Rechnitzer;  Rip
Darcy,. Adventure,  Jack O'Brien.
"Home Country", by Ernie
Pyle, is a collection of Pyle's
writings about his own country
before the last war. He spent
more than five years traveling
in every state in the Union. He
visited with and liked all kinds
of people from bums to millionaires. He describes poverty in
the South, tlie beauty of National
parks, Death Valley, the dust
bowl life in the leper colony in
Molokai and other interesting experiences. "Home Country" is a
book written by a true American and. all true Americans will
enjoy   it   immensley.
''Adversary In The House", by
Irving Stone, author of "Immortal
Wife",, is a novel based on the
life of Eugene V. Debs, a story
of love and devotion to duty as
he saw it. When a young man
in Terre Haute, Ind., he would
have married except for one
thing. Debs was driven by an
overpowering dedication to the
cause of the workingman so
there wasn't time for marriage.
Later, he married a girl -who opposed, his work at every turn.
For years Debs fought not only
man's inhumanity to man but
also the adversary in his own
house.
Have you noticed the new Library sign ? It was made at the
high school.
Library hours: Wednesday and
Saturday, 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m.
Contributed.
County Historical
Society Meets
The Saline Masons are having
their annual chicken dinner and
annual meeting next Tuesday
evening at seven o'clock.
Re.gular monthly meeting of
the Eastern Star Monday night
at   eight   o'clock.
—o—
Regional meeting of the Junior
Chamber of Commerce in Ann
Arbor Sunday, from 9:30 until
2 p.m. Further ififormation will
be sent directly to members.
—O—
Forever Amber at   the    Milan
Theatre Dec. 2-3-4.    Shows starting at 7 and 9,:30.
^O—
A bowling match between the
Rotary Club and Jaycees, Sunday,
Dec. 7. The Jaycees need 15
men—if you care to enter notify
President Erwin Schmid soon as
possible!
Rotary-JCC joint meeting at
the Saline Hotel, Dec. 11. Topic,
"Civic Improvement."
Douglas Milhan, who has suf-
fpred with bone tuberculous for
the past two and one-halt years,
came home Saturday night, pronounced cured. During the time
of his illness he was confined, in
the Leland and Howell Sanita-
riuirs and the University Hds-
pital.
Dear Readers:
Three miles north of Kings-
ville, Ontario, which is on the
north shore of Lake Erie, and
less than 75 miles, from Saline,
is the home of the late Jack
Miner. Mr. Miner passed away a
year or two ago but his work is
being carried on by his son and
widow.
The story of Jack Miner the
hunter, trapper and killer reads
like a fairy tale. He was born
in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of
a brick and tile maker. When
he was' but a small boy his father moved from Cleveland to
Kingsville because of the fine
quality of Kingsville clay and the
proximity of tlie Detroit brick
market. When young Jack wasn't
hunting, trapping or acting as
guide for hunters in the northern wilds of Ontario he helped
with the brick making and in
time became the owner of his
father's  business.
One fall day in the late 9i0-'s,
Miner saw a flock of wild geese
light in one of his fields. He
soon was carrying home one of
the beautiful birds. The next
day he was out with his gun
when the same flock, no doubt,
came winging in from Lake Erie
again in search of feed. They
fled in terror upon seeing him
but seemed unafraid of some
nr/zn digging- in a- nearby field,.
This put Miner to thinking. If
those geese could recognize an
enemy would they not likewise
a friend? What took place in
his heart that day as he walked
home through the fields empty
handed, could ve:si aptly h<? compared with the conversion of
Paul on his way to Damascus.
He began his new life with the
purchase of seven wild Canadian
geese whose one wing had been.
clipped to prevent their flying.
This was the modest beginning of
the new famous /'Jack Miner
Bird Sanctuary."
For a number of years after
his purchase of the geese no
more arrived. His friends began to honk at him when they
saw him in town and ask when
the geese would be in. Ycu gee
Jack had told his friends if
they'd cease shooting at the
geese he'd soon show them plenty
of kinds. But at last on April 2,
1908 eleven geese came down on
his pond. He allowed his neighbors to kill five of them and the
others flew, terrified, back to
Lake Erie. Now the wonder
was, will the geese ever return?
On March 18, 1939 as he was
feeding his precious pebs • they
suddenly began chattering and
looking up into the sky, he saw
a string cf Canadian geese coming in from Lake Erie. The six
that had escaped the year before
were returning and bringing
26 more. In 1910, four-hundred
came. In 1911 so many they were
like a cloud over the place. Each
year more came than the year
before until it is now estimated
that they are feeding 25,000
geese besides thousands of ducks.
Miner became a changed man.
He had found his niche in life.
•His clay pit was made into a
large pond to accommodate his
rapidly growing family of feathered friends. Thousands of evergreens were planted around his
four hundred acre farm and
around the ponds for the protection and shelter of the birds.
Soon after the founding of his
Bird Sanctuary, Miner commenced
banding a number of geese and
ducks each year, until of recent
years around two thousand each
were banded.    On a small metal
South Lodi
Farm Bureau
Tlie Scuth Lodi Farm Bureau
group met at the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Oliver Steiner, Nov.
20.
Aaron Feldkamp, South Lodi
representative to the state convention held in Lansing, gave an
interesting report on the convention's   activities.
The group discussed and vcte-5
in favor of having a county group
organizer in Washtenaw and
Wayne   counties.
The next meeting will be a
Christmas party at tlie home of
Mr.  and Mrs. Leon Feldkamp.
Community Club
Party Dec. 1
The December Saline Valley
Community Club party will be
held Monday, December 1, begin-
ing at 8 o'clock at the Saline
Valley Farms recreation l^all.
Feature of the evening will be
moving pictures of the Parcutin
volcano taken in Mexico on a recent tour by Porf. Norman Hart-
weg of the University of Michigan. Square dancing will follow with Joe Cook's Orchestra
furnishing the music and Erwin
Clark  doing   the calling.
Out of a party of seven hunters, five deer were brought
home. Included in this party
were Theodore Stimpson, 'Don
Heininger, Don Stirr.pscn, Lyle
Haselswardt of Chelsea, Dean
Gordon of Caro, Glen Gordon
of Saline and Ardis Heininger
of Milan.
The Washtenaw County Historical Society met Friday evening in the Rackham, building
at .Ann Arbor. The meeting
was called to order by the president, Mrs. R. E. Spokes of Ann
Arhor.
Ezra Shoecraft, the speaker of
the evening was introduced and-
gave a talk on sanitary problems in the. Ann Arbor area.
He said in pioneer days epidemics were threatened because
sanitation was unknown. Dead
animals were thrown into streams
and typhoid fever and other diseases were prevalent. New Tork
and Philadelphia did not became
great until the sewage and water
problems were solved. Washtenaw county is under the supervision of the Washtenaw Oounty
Health unit. This unit inspects
milk, food served, in restaurants,
the water supply, etc. Water
and sewage disposal should be
available to the outlying districts of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti in order to remove a health
hazard. Often the soil is not
practical for individual septic
tanks and water from wells is
often polluted,.
Conditions in the community
are changing as so many are
moving from the city to tha country. Before building a house in
the country the builder should
consult the health unit in regard
to water supply, sewage disposal,
the location of the house in regard to sunlight and the location of adjacent houses in regard to sunlight Industries
contemplating moving to th'e
country should also investigate
the water supply ahd sewage
disposal system so as not to
create   a   health   hazard.
F. C. Bald of Ann Arbor, announced that it is one hundred
years since the founding of the
Lodi Plains Academy which was
located at the interesection of
Textile and, Saline roads.
It was also announced that the
county had given the use of a
room en the third floor of the
Court House for displays of historical objects.
i