1959-12-31; Clare Sentinel

              \.J   ImmdAm
Established 1878
£,
$2.50 Year in Clare, Isabella Counties
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THE CLARE SENTINEL, CLAKE, ;MICHIGAN
THURSDAY, DEC, 31, 1959
Ten Cents Copy     New Series, Vol. 68, No, 16
Daily arrivals of your mail ihai stacked up io mountainous proportions came through
the Clare postoffice in the days just before Christmas. Assistant Postmaster Gordon
Mcintosh and Carrier Jack "Rodabaugh are almost dwarfed beside part of one morning's load before it was opened for sorting.
The Darkest Hour
Clare after dark, ordinarily
one of the most brightly lighted and lively appearing little
towns, was weirdly blacked
out and silent on Monday
. night wheh .an .electriR powers
failure plunged the whole,
tovra into darkness.
0*. J. Allen, area manager
in Clare for Consumers Power Company said that sleet on
the lines between Dover and
Harrison was the cause of the
trouble. Checking of the iced
lines before re-energizing
took enough time to account
for the 51 minutes of darkness in Clare, and one hour
and three minutes in Harrison and area.
In the Clare police station,
lit only by emergency power
from a gasoline-motor generator, Desk Clerk Mark Krienke sat alone at the desk dialing telephone numbers of
city firemen who could not be
alerted by the powerless siren.
Over the clerk's shoulder
the windows of the dark fire
Station across the street
flickered brightly in the inky
night as hurrying men switched on the fire   truck   head
lights and -warmed up engines. The flashing trucks
screamed out of sight through
unlit streets toward the fire.
■t Consumers' headquarters
buiidiftg" M"Oatg 'Was*'"dark'*-'
inb. Usually lit around the
clock, the place was black
and .deserted in the emergency. Nothing to do there. Linemen were far ~itomtheir -
headquarters as they checked
for trouble in the field.
Un-natural black-outs halted activity at the Doherty
hotel, Ideal theater, bowling
alleys and other places of
gathering after nightfall.
Abeence of street lights,
bright store windows and
signs downtown made the
business section a strange
place hard to find one's way
around in.
Householders burned candles and sat in the feeble
glow of small lanterns or
flashlights. Many a Christmas candle, intended merely
for an ornament was pressed
into service to light corners.
The hospital "reported no
unusual emergency during the
power shutdown.
Relative Township Balance
is Job For Supervisors
A preceding tax story said the
thing of first importance in the
£ assessing of property ior tax
purposes is that the supervisor
or the city assessor places a
value upon each item ol property on the same basis as that
used for all other items of property in the township or city . • .
that uniformity throughout the
township or city is the thing of
vital importance.
The next Step in the process is
county equalization. That function lies with the county board
of supervisors. Each board of
supervisors has an equalization
committee which does the initial
work, but the result of. the committee's effort is not official un-
f til it is approved by the board
itself.
Nov/, what is the board supposed to do?   "
It does not   go back   into X
Township and see Whether John
Doe's farm is valued properly as
, compared   with   the   valuation
placed on Richard   Roe's .farm.
In other words, it does not deal
with the relative values Within
the township or the city. It may
;  take a look at the values placed
on John "Doe's farm and Riehard
.   Roe's farm but, if so, it does it
only as, that is useful in ascertaining whether the total valuation placed upon X Township-by
%   its supervisor andi hoard of review is In proper relationship to
the total valuation placed upon
all the other townships and cities
of the county. The supervisor or
city assessor equalizes as among
the individual property owners
of his unit ... the county board
of supervisors •• equalizes as
among the townships and cities
of the county and does not concern itself with the matter of
uniformity within each township or city. Its chief objective
is to have. uniformity throughout the county by township and
city units.
If X Township has been assessed at 40 per ' cent of cash
value, where Y Township has
been assessed at 50 per cent of
cash value,, and Z City at 60 per
cent of cash value, then the
county board's job is to bring
some of these up or some of
them down until they are all on
the same basis, and it does not
make too much difference
whether they bring them all to
40.per cent, all to 50 per cent or
all to some other percentage, ii
they are all brought to the same
level. This takes guts.
To say to one of the Supervisors with whom one has worked and visited for 10 or 15 years
that his township- is 20 per cent
low and must be brought up by
that amount is not pleasant. He
will.inofc like, it and it Will put
him to wrong with his constitu-
Contimied on Page 6
It seems sometimes that safe
driving campaigns are a waste
of tiirte.p~'!Tfiat people honestly don't want to be saved from
mangling and death on the
highways. Maybe everything
that could be said for safety
has already been said ahd appeals are just not getting
through ...
.And then Fred Krell handed
us this following rhyme that
he saw and read. We don't ordinarily publish long verses in
this column, but this is just a
little different. It might remind someone to be extra
careful when lives are at
stake on the highway.
Child Guidance
Clinic Waits
State Funds
The Child Guidance Clinic
dropped its immediate plans for
opening after being told by the
Michigan Department of Mental
Health that State funds already
granted by the Legislature, are
not available. Nothing in a release from the office of Clare
County School . Superintendent
L e n o r d Schwanz indicated
whether funds are expected by
any certain time;
The prediction is that money
will not be released until the
financial uncertainty at Lansing
is gone.
A letter from Charles F.
Wagg, director of the State Department of Mental Health to
.President H. E. Marshall, of the
Clinic Board advises that "the
development of any new programs even though they have
been approvedd by legislative
action cannot be authorized until
the state financial situation has
cleared." This action by the
State Department of Administration is the result of the "current
acute financial crisis", states the
letter.
Negotiations had proceeded to
the point where a director for
the clinic had been selected but
his identity at the request ofMr. Wagg cannot be revealed at
this time.
It is the recommendation of
the Executive Committee of the
Clinic Board that Boards of Directors of United Funds, County
Boards of Supervisors, . and
School Boards plan to meet
their 1960 budget inclusions for
the clinic so that when the tax
problem is settled there will be
no further delay because local
funds are not immediately available-
Plans are going forward for
the building alterations and purchase of equipment needed for
the clinic at 402 S. College, Mt.
Pleasant, to serve the counties
of Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isa-
bella, Mecosta and Osceola.
If   everyone   who drives a   car
could lie a month in bed
With broken bones, and stitched
up wounds, or fractures of the
head,
And there   endure the    agonies
that many people do;
They'd never need preach safety
any more to me or you.
If  everyone  could stand beside
the bed of a close friend,
And heal* the  doctor say,   "No
hope," before the fatal end,
And see him there unconscious,
never knowing what took place,
The laws and rules of traffic I
am sure we'd soon embrace.
If everyone could meet the Wife
and children left behind,
And step    into    the    darkened
home where once the sunlight
shined,
And look Upon the vacant chair
where Daddy used to sit,
I'm sure   each reckless    driver
would be forced to think a bit. •
If everyone would realize pedestrians on the street
Have just as much the right-of-
Way as those upon the seat,
And train their eyes for children
who run recklessly at play,
This steady toll of human lives
would drop from day to day.
If everyone   who drives a   car
would heed the danger signs
Placed by   highway    engineers
who also marked the lines
To keep the traffic in the lane
and give it proper space,
The accidents   we  read   about
could not have taken place.
And last-4f he who fakes the
wheel would say a little prayer
And keep in mind those in the
car dependent on his care,
And make "a vow   and   pledge
himself never to take a chance,
The great   crusade for   safety
then-would suddenly advance,
—Seymour Taylor
Missionary
To Speak At
Youth Rally
MISS NANCY. HULL
The Seven Church Youth Rally will be held at the Arthur
Center Church of God, January
3 at 8 p.m.
The speaker will be Miss Nancy , Hull, daughter of Rev. and
Mrs. C. H. Hull of BroWn Corners, who is a missionary in
Sierra Leone,-West Africa. She
Will show color slides and describe her Work at the Minnie
Mull Secondary   Schools.
Miss Hull is a very interesting
as well as humorous speaker.
Dance Lessons ~
A ten--week course of lessons
in western square dancing starts
Wednesday, January 6 at 8 p.m.
In the Clare Elementary school
gymnasium. The course is sponsored by the Hayseed Club and
prospective members may contact Clarence Horn, W 6-2763 or
come to the first meeting.
©parting '59 Leaves
Old - Year Memories
At the. turning oi the last leaf on .
1959's •calendar, we loojt in two directions.
Forward *to the dawn of the760 and. a
promise of better and bigger things in
■Clare's future, — and we look backward
tq the best remembered • happenings of
1959;       '
Three rivals for attention as the
leading 'local stories in the 1959. news
parade were Opening Of The Disirict's
New High School. ■ the tremendously
significant revelation thai New Building Construction; in. Clare Has a Value
Total Over 1.6 Million Dollars, and the
account of Clare's Continuing Search
For Good Wafer.
Also of high interest were news stories of efforts to launch the local airport
improvement program, seating of no less
than three new city commissioners on the
city governing body at the April election,
and Clare's growing pains symptomized
by enactment of a zoning law and a professional report of a traffic control survey. (A building standards code is now
under study.)
Conventions
Headlined conventions in 1959 included meetings in Clare of State WCTU delegates in October, District Oddfellows
an'd Rebekahs in February, Michigan
County Fair Officials in December and.
District Business-Professional Women in
April. At Farwell the Rotary club was
host to a 20-club Fall Institute in October.
Qp0n House Parties *
Area residents were treated to two
whing-ding open house celebrations in
1959 as the Citizens State Bank observed
its 50th anniversary with festivities in
March, and Clare Manufacturing Company entertains in May to exhibit its new
plant building. Guests at the two events
numbered into the thousands.
Weather Makds News
As 1958 was the winter of remembered severity, could it be that we are enjoying the beginnings of an open, or mild
winter season. This is supposed to be an
article of looking back on the year just
passed, but already we have seen 45 days
of better weather than, had been experienced last season up to this date!
Predictions of open weather' had a
wishful note as the clock approached
midnight,. December 31, 1959. We need
just enough snow to make winter sports
enjoyable, and just enough sunshine to
keep winter bright and zestf ul.
In January almost a year ago, the
city government, and city-paid workers
reached preliminary agreement on a- program of better working conditions and
benefits. It halted a threat that workers
might affiliate with a national group and
follow outside-organized directions in job
relations ... A JayCee Outstanding, Service Award went to Al Ott for his part in
community (promdtion . . . Methodists
were hosts at an open house to' show
Clare their wonderful new annex housing
the educational unit.
Talented and beautiful Ann Jackson
of Clare was front-page news in February when she won the title, Northern
Michigan Winter Queen at the Grayling
sports celebration. She later Was runner-
up in the choice for Miss Michigan.
March headlines told how Bob
Clute", of rural Clare won his way into
final judging io find the State's most
outstanding young farmer. Runner-up
was Bob Krell . . .Five wild deer were
ground to death under the wheels qf a
freight train when ihey couldn't escape iii a deep "cut" » . . Elmer Amble*
former County Road Commission Clerk
was named in a fund embezzlement
warrant . , „ police Chief Bill Skidmore
asks  leave.
Early in April, election news told of
the choice of three new city commissioners in Earl Baumgarth, Harvey Hartshorn
and Robert Walters. They replaced Albert
Haley and Dan Burdo, neither of whom
was a candidate, and George Shayler , . .
A sprinkling Of sticker candidates won
election to township posts in both Clare
and Isabella counties . . . School services
■and the education program were threatened with extensive cuts after an operating millage increase failed in  a.special
election , . . Joyce Dunkle was voted head
of the, State Future Homemakers .
In May the Clare Chamber of Commerce picked longtime Sentinel publisher,
Malcolm Feighner and Judge. William
Dunlop as 1959 Citizen, and Official Of
The Year, — honored them at a testimonial banquet.
June marked the first successful outdoor Commencement for a Clare high
school class . . . School was scarcely over
in Farwell before the School Board there
'withheld the new contract for Superintendent William LaVine and announced
they were looking for a new administrator . . . Rosebush voters oheh borrowing to enlarge the school there , . . Coleman farmer, Gerald Andrews was acci-
dently killed when he contactd a ■ high-
volt electric line.
7 Late'in July, the Automobile Club
undertook a civic project for Clare with
the beginning of a traffic survey to relieve congestion and promote safety.
The Clare Count y Free Fair 'in
August was tagged a record-breaking
success both as a self-supporting public
event and a crowd attraction ... In
Little League baseball, the Bears repeated as season champs . . . Three pastors'were introduced to their local congregations for the first lime as Brown
Corners welcomed Rev. Charles Hull,
Clare Congregational installed Rev.
Van Parker, £nd St. John's Lutheran
welcomed Rev. Raymond Schultz . . «
Testing fire appsSr'aius bein^ dbhiider-Std y
for purchase by Garfield township,
Board member Neil Watkins and son
Gale were painfully burned when the
blaze started before they were ready.
September began on a progress note
when the Clare General Hospital's
, $175,000. addition was started ... Don
Luce, longtime manager at Farwell Lumber Co., retired . . . Death closed the colorful legend of "old Spikehorn" Meyer,.
Harrison bear keeper . . . The sale of the
Clare Inn brought the announcement that
the landmark would be torn down . . . In
Clare, students in high school began classes on September 21, two weeks behind
the schedule. But the new high school .was .
"in business".
When Coleman high school said in
October that it would not join a new prep
athletic league, it left the.prospective organization with huv three members, Clare,
Sacred Heart/and Shepherd . .7- City
Manage!'s report to the Clare Commission listed $40,000. worth of improvements
during 1959. The Water Department and'
street projects came in for most of the
spending . . , And later in the month, the
city was given reports that total building
completed or in progress during 1959 was
worth $1,621,000. the totals took into account the motel expansion at the Doherty
Hotel, new high school, Kraft Foods plant
enlargement, Clare Manufacturing's new
buildings, Clare General Hospital, and
private residential building to the tune of
$221,000. ... A harvest of corn in the area
was viewed as probably the largest ever.
Available storage was feared inadequate
for the bumper return. Later developments unfortunately changed the picture
as extreme wet conditions prevented
many farmers from getting on the fields
with harvest equipment.
In November, the county lost a
Widely respected leader in the death of
Tom Hecker, Chairman of- ihe Board of
Supervisors . . . Three members of the
. same family met death Nin a head-on
traffic accident near James Hill. Victims were from the Arthur Dent family
ai Farwelh Mrs. Dent, her daughter
Mrs. .Donald Zill, and granddaughter
little Brands !Zill * . . Commissioners
were told that the latest try at providing well water for Clar# was proved a
failure after disappointing pumping
tests.
Tim Cotter is elected to lead Clare's
Chamber of Commerce early in December .. > Results of an earlier traffic survey indicate the ciiy should widen McEwan street, enlarge the police force**..
El©ven*year-old Bryan House of Rose- \
bush exhibited the champion and reserve champion steers in the Detroit
Junior Livestock Show, other yoking
Rosebush exhibitors also" bring heme
ribbonfe and honors.
Damage
Monday Fire
Clare firefighters) were called
out Monday night to battle a
fire In .the dark. Normal lighting
of streets was temporarily "interrupted due to a power fail'
ure, The fire caused very extensive damage at the home of Mr.
and Mrs. John Kaiser at the
west end of John R. street.
Power lines were iced and
wind-whipped until contact
caused a short which blacked out
Clare, "Farwell, Harrison and
areas. Waiting for the lights to
come back on again, the Kaisers
detected smoke drifting out of
an overhead air register.
An alarm to firemen was delayed because of no pow.er to
sound the siren.
Fire equipment arrived after
a trip through the city's darkened streets and men battled the
blaze under the roof of the new
home. Mrs. Kaiser's beauty shop
is located in a portion of the
home also,
The' fire department made efficient use of a portable electric
generator to provide lights at
the scene of the fire, and an-
other emergency generator was
in use to furnish limited lighting
at the police station and city
hall. The second generator js
part of the equipment owned by
State Civilian Defense and loaned to Clare for use when needed.
Damage consisted of severe
smohe; and water staining,, burned and scorched paint and woodwork, ruined roof Where firemen had to chop holes in order
fo get water on the fire.
Earlier Monday the Department had been called out on a
fire at the Horace Fancon residence 2 miles north of Clare and
4% east. The rural truck and
water tanker answered the call
at -11 o'clock just before noon.
A burning-out chimney caused
sparks and flaming soot to
shoot into the air, but .firemen
reported that no damage resulted.
Re-submit
Airport Fund
Request
Assurances .from three congressmen now in Washington
that they would exert personal
efforts to- obtain approval for
Clare airport expansion in 1961
gave some encouragement to the
belief that the project would finally get into actual construction
by that time.
Alan Ott, Citizens State* Bank
cashier and spearhead of com- •
munity efforts to get State and
Federal funds for the project
headed a group dedicated to resubmitting the request and getting it on the approved list for
the earliest possible completion.
The airport enlargement plan .
had picked up   money and   approval at local and State levels
before budget paring eliminated
it from a Federal Bill.
Working with Ott to hurry re*
submitting steps are City Attorney Harold Hughes, Harold
Sandborn, and Court Bauer.
State money, already, -earmarked for Clare's project will
be held available for one year
waiting for release of matching
Federal amounts.
Senator Phil Hart uttered tha
sentiments of all three congressmen in his letter to Ott which
said, "I shall take immediate
steps to find out from the FA A
(Federal Aviation Agency) e%- ,
actly what will be necessary in '
order for you to qualify for Federal assistance In the future."
Other replies were from Senator McNamara and Representa- '
tive Elford Cederberg. .
License Lag
The Department of State announced that in the first 45 days
bf auto license tab sales, transactions in Michigan were' running 99,080 behind that of* a year
ago,       *