1956-01-05; Saline Observer

              If
Greater Saline Organization Dinner Jan. 16
"It's Bargain
Shopping Time
In Saline"
THE
OBSERVER
Shopping Time
In Saline"
SEVENTY - SECOND YEAR
THURSDAY, JANUARY  5,   1956, SAUNE, MICHIGAN
FIVE CENTS PER COPY
AR SALINE IN TR
Passing On Hill, Three Dead
Washtenaw County Death
Toll, Six; Michigan Has 21;
Record National High
.*_auoL&l&„'&X__-_-     7
RECKLESSNESS, snow and three dead is the story portrayed by this
picture. Dead are: Mr. James A. Rhea, 55, his wife, Marjorie O.
Rhea, 53, of Royal Oak and James C. Schaefer," 22, Elkhart, Indiana.
Deputes report the accident occurred as Schaefer was passing another car on a hill on U.S. 112 3-_ miles west of Saline at 4:20 Monday
afternoon.   The Rhea car collided head on with the Schaefer's car be
fore Schaefer could get back into the west lane of traffic. Rhea and
Schaefer died instantly of crushed chest and head injuries. Mrs. Rhea
died later of head injuries in University Hospital. Surviving the
Rhea's is a daughter, Mrs. William Brown, 1104 Ware Ct., Willow Village. A total of five persons died on county roads over the week
end.
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Issue Delayed -•
The Observer regrets the delay
in this week's issue reaching you
The "Flu" bug and "strep"
throats hit our printing and -
pressroom workmen this week
disabling four psersons causing
this issue to be off the press a
few hours too late to make the
morning mail. (Thursday)
Woman's Club
Features
Puppet Talk
The January meeting of the Saline Womans' Club will be held
on Tuesday, January 10, at the
home of Mrs. Carl Moehn on E.
Michigan Avenue. Program chairman for the day is Mrs. Reuben
Finkbeiner and the speaker will
be one of the club's own members,
With two vital crashes in the
Saline area Monday Washtenaw's
accidental death toll for the week
end mounted to six. Three died in
one crash Monday and one in a
second.
The week, ind -deaths started
with a crash near here Friday
which cost the life of Allan A.
Davis, Detroit and was followed
by the Portage Lake tragedy in
which Gerald Gainsley, jr., 13,
Dexter, broke ' through ice while
skating and was drowned.
In one of the most serious accidents during the holiday weekend, two persons were billed in\
stantly and one died shortly after
being taken to University Hospital,
on Monday afternoon.
The accident occurred three
miles west of Saline on 112 at 4:20
Monday and the terrific impact of
the accident killed James A. Rhea,
born Dec. 1, 1901, of 2720 Galtin,
Royal Oak, and James Cyril Schaefer, born in 1933, of 1930 Johnson
St., Elkhart, Ind. Mrs- Marjorie
Rhea, 22, wife of James Rhea, of
the same address, was taken to
University Hospital and died shortly after arrival. Mr. Rhea was
taken   to  the  Lockwood  Funeral
Ora W. Sheets, 68, rammed into
a car driven by Hugh A. Maher,
47. Maher, in turn bumped into a
car driven by Kenneth B. Green,
37, of Detroit. Both Maher ant-
Green were waiting for a light to
change.
Sheets  weis  issued  a  summons
for  "excessive  speed-"
•ANN ARBOR — Two persons
were injured in an automobile accident in the 500 block of N. State
Monday evening, Barney Briggs,
66, and Edna Briggs, 58, both of
1107 S. State were injured. Police
report the accident occurred when
the cars driven by Norbert Weber,
24, 608 Davis and Kenneth R. Baker, 1200 Stony Creek Rd. collided
due to snow on the hill.
Frank Sansalone, 60, Dearborn,
suffered a compound fracture of
his nose and right wrist in another accident when his daunghter,
Mary Sansalone, 18, lost control of
their car on U. S. 112 east of Dlx-
boro, going off the road and striking a tree.
Mrs.   Meredith   Bixby.   Her   subject will be "Puppets, the World  Home and Mr. Schaefer removed
Guest
Fearful Carnage on Highways to
Change Identities to Statistics
Just past were two days when
more Americans than in any other
48-hour period checked in their
identities and became vital statistics.
Business knows it gets smeared
with some of* the blame. Many
firms and some whole industries
are striving to curb the carnager
The National Safety Council says
that more persons are killed in traffic accidents on Dec. 24 than any
other day.
Office Christmas parties often
have preceded accidents — so,
many companies this week are
striving to tone them down. The
liquor industry has long known it
is accused of providing the cause
for many traffic accidents — and
is increasing its appeals for temperance before getting behind the
dri. ing  wheel.
The auto industry knows that
the very number of the cars it
sells means crowded holiday high-
Tires, Rims? Stolen
From Auto Dealer
In a burglary at the A. and M.
Chevrolet Company, of Saline,
Monday night, five tires amd -Wheels
were stolen from two new ears,
which were parked outside of the
building.
Tracks were left in the snow by
the persons involved and State Police of the Clinton post are investigating.
jWays — and in' its new models is
stressing safety devices to cut
down the i>umber of fatalities.
The I raiernal Order of Police,
with 40,C00 member officers across
the nf-.ion, is urging upon weary
shoppers as well as upon party-
goc_*3 this slogan: "For holiday
safely, if you take 'one for the
roaS,' make it coffee."
i _c_r_ its Philadelphia headquarters, tho order stresses that coffee
combats fatigue and drowsiness,
to v.I'.ch lart-minute shoppers especially are prone.
The National Licensed" Beverage
Assn., with a membership of 50,000
tavern owners and operators, and
tlie National Retail Liquor Package Stores Assn., with 30,000 retail
liquor stores as members, have
joined with Seagrams Distillers in
placing ads in 76 newspapers with
an estimated 16_ million readers,
urging that coffee be the for-the-
jroad drink.
Gala Party Held
!
Receive Pins
Mrs. Harold Brown and Mrs-
Forrest Hoeft were among honored guests at a "pin party" and
dinner given by the General Telephone Company at the Legion Hall
at Coldwater. Present \Y3re operators and employees of the company from different offices in
southern Michigan who were presented with service pins. Mrs.
Brown and Mrs. Hoeft, from the
Saline office, were presented with
five year pins. Mrs. Brown was
accompanied by her daughters
Carol and Beverly.
in;
A New Year's Eve party was
given by''Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth
Savery-    -—
Among the couples attending
the Savery's party 'at their Shady
Knoll home were: Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Harrison, M. and Mrs. Alton Wahl, Mr. and Mrs. John Wurster, Mr.-end Mrs. Richard Anoiten,
Mr. and Mrs. Karl Scruggs, Mr.
ani Sirs. Robert Kennedy 'and Mr-
a_.d Mrs. Donald Gall.
5 Day Forecast
Temperatures will average near
normal. Colder Wednesday, then
little change till warmer about Saturday or Sunday. Precipitation will
average _ to „ inch occurred as
snow flurries or light snowsthrough
Friday and possibly Sunday.
Lakes Erie and Ontario—Temperatures will average near normal. Normal maximum 3 to 37,
normal minimum 17 to 24. Colder
Wednesday then little change till
warmer about Sunday. Precipitation will average .20 to .40 inches
as frequent snow flurries Friday.
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Library Group
Meets Jan. 13,
The annual meeting of the Saline
Library Association will be held
Friday -vening, January 13, 1956,
at e-'g'at P-M. in the Saline Library.
Ad-alts 21 years o£ age or over, wbo
take books from the library, are
eligible to attend.
Gamble Store Awarded
Chain Saw Dealership
Tihe Mall Tool Company of
Chicago has announced its appointment of the Gamble Store, as a
Mall chain saw dealer and sen-vice
agency for tihe Saline area.
As a local Mall representative,
Gamble carries the world's largest
selection of chains saws."The line
features the famous "MG" series,
which now includes the OMG, IMG,
2MG, 3MG, 4MG,and 5MG tbe-MG
recently introduced, is a rugged* 10
horsepower saw for two-man {production cutting.
To cope sv-tb. servicing and -replacement problems, the new Mall
dealer will maintain, a complete
stock of tools amd parts.
Gamble offers free saw demonstrations, free literature, and answers all questions wncerninig Mail
drain saws.
Couneil Approves
Pact For Natural
Gas In Saline
Saline city council passed a
proposal Tuesday night which can
bring natural gas to the city before next fall. By a voice vote
council members declared that the
voters will be given the opportunity to vote on the measure.
If passed by the voters, Michigan Consolidated Gas Go. will
have the go-ahead for installing gas
mains and supply lines.
Charles Henderson, head o-" Tie
Ann Arbor district of Michigan
Consolidated, said that if the referendum is passed by the voters
the Company will begin work on
supply lines April 1, 1956. He declared that such an early starting date would make natural gas
available for .residents who wish
to ingtall gas furnaces in their
homes during the summer month:;
in preparation for the cold months.
An election is being held in Mi-,
Ian on March 12: If voters of both
Milan and Saline grant approval I
to the company they will be served
by the same supply lines. Henderson said the cities would be served
by a line running south from M-17
on US-23. A smaller line will connect Saline with ,the one running
down US-23; this one will be laid
along the routes of these supply
lines will be served with natural
gas if they want it, Henderson
declared.
An  attorney for Michigan  Consolidated   said  that  tlie   right   of
.way   for   the   supply   lines   was
approved  by  Probate   Court last
Tuesday.
"Everyone within the  city will!
have service if he wants it," Henderson declared. He added that persons outside of the city limits
will be served in accordance with
orders of the Michigan Public Ser
vice Commission. These rules
make it necessary for the Company to provide service to customers if less than 200 feet of
Main must be laid to supply that
customer. Persons outside of the
city limits will be served, Henderson declared, so long as there is
a customer for every 200 feet of
line laid beyond the limits of the
city.
Ccst of installing gas lines into
a home is $1.25 a foot for each
foot of pipe that is inside the
property line. This installation fee
is raid for by the  customer.
New subdivisions which are
planned or being built by next
spring will save supply lines installed as soon as possible after
April 1, Henderson said. This is
so that home builders can install
gas heat in the new homes if
they wish.
Gas rates Sre uniform through
the State for areas being served
by Michigan Consolidated Company
also serves Detroit, Muskegon, Ann
Arbor, and several other communities throughout the'State.
If Saline voters want natural
gas service they will, be given an
opportunity to vote on the measure. No date for the special e-
lection has been set by City Council.
of  Make-Believe."
Thyra Bixby has been associated
with her husband in the production of the Meredith Marionettes
for the past 18 years. The Bixbys
are recognized nationally for their
work in the field of school entertainment. Each summer a new
marionette program is produced
in the Old Saline Opera House and
then presented in 300 schools annually.
Mrs. Bixby is state chairman of
Communications for the Michigan
State Federation of Woman's Clubs;
a past president of the Washtenaw County Federation of Woman's
Clubs and of the Saline Child Study-
Club. She was the founder of the
Saline Room Mothers Association.
The Social Committee for the
day will be Mrs. Henry McKenzie,
Mrs. George Kantiehner and Mrs.
Carl Carr. Devotions will be given
by Miss Margaret Miller.
Drivers' License
Bureau Closed
On order of Erwin L. Klager,
Washtenaw County Sheriff, there
will no longer be a drivers' license
bureau operating in Saline. This
department has been discontinued
here due to the fact that there was
not sufficient demand for the service. Applicaiition for licenses now
must be made at other Sheriff's
Ofiices in Washtenaw County.
Grass Fire
Extinguished
The Saline Fire Department was
called Thursday afternoon to extinguish a grass fire in "back of the
Country Market.
A rubbish fire got out of control
and spread- to surrounding grass-
There was no property damage.
The blaze was put out -within minutes afterthe city's ifire apparatus
arrived.
March Of Dimes Drive Launched;
Need For Funds Will Continue
The "March of Dimes" campaign
in Washtenaw County got underway with £ kick-off dinner Wednesday, January" 4. It was held
at the lodge hall of the Loyal
Order of Moose in Ann Arbor.
The L. O. O. ¥. presented the
banquet to the County Chapter of
tile National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Goal of the- polio
drive is §57,600 for Washtenaw
County.
Chairman of the campaign in
Saline is Mrs. William Miester.
Receipts from the polio drive will
be used for prevention and treatment of infantile paralysis.
"Andy's picture was used again,
this year to point up the need Of'
polio patients for continuing care,"
Mrs. John H» Huss, drive bhairmian
said today. "Although Andy has
made some improvement Over the
past year, like many polio victims
she will continue to need special
treatment and equipment for some
time to come. We feel she typffis
our slogan — Remember me."
As in the past, the posters were
donated toy Edwards Brothers, Inc.
As the posters came off the press
Andy came, home for good Ifirom
the University Hospital Respirator
Center where she bas been confined since" she contracted the ill-
[ness August 13,1954.
f In. com'-*s TrwJs, Ai.**"-? mafe her
first major "step to recovery. Although she still uses the iron lung
at night, sbe now .wears a chest respirator (her "bubble" as she calls
it" for most of the day, and can
go without breathing aid 31-2 to 4
hours each day. She can now sit
in a wheel chair for 1-2 hour a
day.
Her progress has not been without set-backs, however. During the
past year and a half, she has had
pneumonia four times, most recently in November.
Described as a naturally happy
child by hospital authorities, Andy
was 'glad to come home,, 'but also
sorry to leave the 'penthouse". as
she has nicknamed the Respirator
Center located on the nintSi floor
Of the University HbspitaL Chief
attraction at home is" her new baby
brother, -David,'- wbo j i s seven
months old. . -•
Commenting on Ms d-_ug__ter_
recovery! Mr. Cappaert. said recently,"1 don't' think people real-
"•-_ i*-st 'ic---' 'thurh-it: costs'to cpte
foi* a polio -patient. Amdy's.- portable
•respirator alori^.cbst $1500, and her
hospital care1: amounted to $12,000.
Tbe expenses are'tremendous. If
the money collected in the polio
drive went for patient care alone,
there would be ample reason for
people to give generously."    i
Other .purposes for whicih polio
funds go are: continuing research
on the Salk vaccine to make it «f-
fective for tihe one out of four
people on whom the vaccine does
not "take"; research on treatment
being conducted in 35 major medical institutions; and training much
needed medical specialists in this
crippling disease.
to Elkhart, Ind
According to witnesses Schaefer
was driving east and passed on a
yellow line going upgrade and met
Rhea's car. Schaefer must have
applied his brakes and turned bis
car just enough toward Rhea's
car, crashing into the right side.
The wheels of Schaefer's car were
driven into the front seat of his
ear.
The eyewitness to tlie accident,
Edward J. Moran, of 18729 Stahelin
St., Detroit, a student of Hillsdale
College, gave the report to the
Saline City Police and the County
Sheriff's Dept.
Two and a half hours were required to clear the wreckage.
In another accident on tlie Saline Ann Arbor Rd., at 7:30 Monday
evening, Mr- and Mrs. Peter
Thorns, 205 N. Thayer St.-, Ann
Arbor, were seriously injured" and
Mrs: Thorns after being taken to
St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann
Arbor, died after being unconscious since the time of the accident.
Driver of the other car, Clark
Flood, Ortonville, Mich., and his
brother Keith from Boysyille,
Mich., and two other passengers
in his car were not injured seriously enough to be hospitalized.
Hits Mailbox, Pole-
Richard J. Kellog, Dearborn,
driving on Austin Rd., lost control
of his car and hit a ditch- Before
his car halted he had ripped out
a mailbox and hit a utility pole.
No one was injured.
Two  Injured
Two-apei-sons were., injured Monday afternoon in a three-car collision on US-112, 100 yards west
of US-23 in Pittsfield Township.
Gertrude L. Sheets, 66, 1276
Sweet Rd., suffered lacerations of
the eyebrow and bruises while
Blanche M. Maher, 54, Detroit
sustained a fractured leg. Both
were taken to Beyer Hospital.
State police say the accident occurred when  a  car operated by
ers
Listed
Efforts toward the development
nearer itimate •*-*■*:. ligation Mon- -
of a "greater Saline" move -a step
day, January 16 when business
men, professional meg £__ agricultural ___ will hear "Vince Mad_so&.
Detroit, talk on area development
and suuulmeait bis address "with
the showing of a 40-minute movie.
Mr, M&_H_?-_ . superviso? -?£"
area development with Detroit Edison and -wil offer the benefit of
his experience in such programs
in other communities'.
Ronald Powers of the Royal Oak
Chamber of Commerce will also
address the d__er meeting* wbicb
starts at 6:30 p.m. at the American
Legion Hall.
Amy person interested in attending the meeting which po-vts toward organized effort in Saline* to
mprove economic and co_ji_unity
projects for the entire area, is in.
vited attend.
Saline Girl
Wed In Detroit
Mr. aftd Mrs. Donald D. Burkhart of 425 Winsdor St., Lakeland
Florida— formerly of .Saline, announce the marriage of tbsir
daughter. Mary Lou, to Albert J.
Magnatta, of 17233 Fenelon St-,
Detroit.
The marriage was solemnized at
eight o'clock Saturday morning,
December 31, at St. Augustine
Catholic Church in Detroit.
The bride is a graduate of Michigan State University and is a kindergarten, teacher at Holt, Michig »n.
Tlie groom is attending M. S. U.
The couple will make their home
in East Lansing.
Death Takes' A Holiday
RETHA THOMS, 20, 205 N. Thayer, Ann Arbor, University student nurse died in St. . _seph Hospital
shortly after leaving the above scene in an ambulance. The accident on Saline-Ann Arbor rd., just
south of Pleasant Lake road occurred at 7:34 Monday evening. Deputies report the car in which Mrs.
Thorns was riding driven by Peter S.- Thorns, 205 N.
Thayer went out of control due to sbppery Toads
and skidded into tbe_opposite lane of traffic- Driver
of the other car, Clark P. Flood, 19, Ortonville and
two passengers, Howard E. VanCamp, 17, Pontiac,
and -Keitb M. Flood, 16, Ortonville, suffered minor
injuries. Mr. Thorns suffered minor abrasions. "Mrs.
Thorns died of head injuries.