Letter box-.
It is a rare pleasure, in these polarized days of our years,
to hear a voice of reason lifted above the bellowing extremes.
The latest calm American to add his comment to our
heritage of freedom is an American Legion official in
Maryland who revealed why an outstanding student could not
attend Boys State - a mock-government session sponsored
by the Legion - unless he gets a military haircut.
"We want these boys to know what America is all about
- and that means learning to take orders," the Legionnaire
explained.
Thomas Jefferson couldn't have put it more succinctly.
Nor could Lieutenant William Calley, Jr., the latest in a long
line of American folk heroes, all of whom knew what
America is all about.
The problem with most youngsters today is that they
misinterpret what they are taught by their elders.
When a student is exhorted by a teacher to "think for
yourself," it is obvious this doesn't apply to subjects as
important as how to wear his hair. Hair style is a matter best
determined by constituted authority, whether that be the
federal government, a school board, the commander of an
American Legion post, or the Supreme Exalted Hindquarters
of the Concatenated Order of Yaks.
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Editor, The Journal:
In times like these when
adults are critical of what young
people do and many young
people complain of nothing to do,
it is disgusting to see people who
are as wonderful to their boys as
Mr. and Mrs. Art Nicklaus, Sr.,
taken to court over the so-called
noise which their boys' musical
group caused.
I have been to the Nicklaus
home many times during the past
12 years and have thoroughly
enjoyed the piano and guitar
music which this family provides;
it is excellent. Most importantly,
here is a family that works
together, united by music.
As for the group to which the
boys and their friends belong, I
can truthfully say that they are
not loud. In fact, I have enjoyed
their music the few times I have
been privileged to hear it. The
boys have played in at least two
Shelton churches, too, with the
congregations appreciating the
music.
Now a restriction has been
placed on the:
one, but a
brought
three
having to
rough on
the other boYS
their parents,
quite be the s
Just
d e mocracy
people
relatively far
neighbors are
notify on
neighbors
play good,
Nicklauses
were
I hope
brought s
NicklauseS
testified for
satisfied. At
no idle
that suits
hurt feelings
the
Thinking for yourself involves the ability to say "yes, sir"
when you receive an order from someone who has the power
to give or take away favors or bestow pain or pleasure. This
builds character, and character is what America is all about.
The Maryland Legion official was lucky; he had the
honor and opportunity to learn what America is all about in
the military service. The military epitomizes all that is great
in our society. It is the last bastion of freedom, democracy
and intellectual integrity in a rapidly-crumbling culture.
We were lucky, too. We learned what America is all about
from several great teachers in the United States Navy.
The first was a chief petty officer who greeted our group
of 17-year-old patriots at boot camp. He had contributed 36
years to the service of his country, during which he had
developed a vocabulary which imparted to his enlistees an
unmediate knowledge of what America is all about.
Extensive travel had given him a broad grasp of the
humanities and, if he had not been engaged at the moment in
vinning World War II, he would have been an excellent
addition to any university faculty as a scholar on two
, uV ects - brothels and alcoholic intoxicants.
After greeting us at the reception center with a cordial
obscening obsceners get your obscening obscenes in
gear and go through that obscening door," he conducted us
into the head (that's a powder room in the Navy) and herded
us around two toilets that were plugged and overflowing. (We
have substituted "'obscene" for several big words the chief
used might not undel stan .) ......
you obscenmg obsceners, he his
best democratic voice, pointing to the four boots closest to
the brimming bowls, "clean out those obscening obscenes."
The neophytes asked where they might find the
equipment to do the job.
"Obscene! Equipment! You obscene obscening
obsceners! You've got the obscening equipment. Use your
obscening hands."
One of the boots who had misinterpreted his lessons in a
high school hygiene class pointed out that this might not be
healthy.
The chief set him straight with lesson number two in the
What America Is All About series.
"Listen, you obscening obsceners, and get this through
your thick obscening skulls - you clean out those obscening
bowls in the next ten obseening seconds or I'll be on your
obscening necks for the rest of your obscening time here."
Two of the boots declined to participate in the simple
housekeeping chore and the chief was a man of his word -
the two had the obscening necks to prove it by the time they
left the training station.
After the chief had tucked us in that first night, we lay in
our beddy-byes and discussed what we had learned from this
great American. The overwhelming majority of us agreed that
we had learned a lesson that could be applied by each of us
to his civilian life after the war.
It was an emotional moment as forty voices shouted as
one: "THIS IS WHAT AMERICA IS ALL ABOUT!"
The next day we all chipped in and bought the chief a
box of his favorite obscening cigars.
H~~~lift~H~H~~mIll~h
Founded 1886 by Grant C. Angle
Mailing Address: Box 430, Shelton, Wa. 98584 Phone 426-4412
Published at Shelton, Mason County, Washington,
weekly, except two issues during week of Thanksgiving.
Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Post Office, Shelton, Wa.
Member oL National Editorial Association
Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $5.00 per year in Mason County,
in advance -- Outside Mason County $6.00
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER ...................... Henry G. Gay
Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, June 10. 1971
"You won't have Richard Niggleson to kick around an~more."
By ROBERT C. CUMMINGS
When the occupational
driver's license law is reenacted by
the 1 972 Legislature, it
undoubtedly will differ in some
respects from the old law.
The old law was inadvertently
repealed when Gov. Evans vetoed
a section granting occupational
driver's licenses to those who lose
their regular licenses under the
implied consent law.
He didn't intend to wipe out
the law granting occupational
licenses to those who lose their
licenses for other infractions, such
as drunken driving. He has
indicated he will recommend its
reenactment. But he also will
recommend some changes.
Governor Is Shocked
The~.Oovernor will ask that
• th~. Legislature spell out
specifically that occupational
licenses shall be issued only to
those who must drive as part oŁ
their job.
Governor Evans was shocked
to learn that 250 to 350
occupational driver's licenses were
issued each month. He learned
that many judges were too liberal
in granting this type of license,
and were interpreting the law too
broadly.
The large number of
occupational driver's licenses
issued each month doesn't
necessarily indicate there are a lot
of heavy drinkers among the
commercial drivers. The
Governor's investigation revealed
that some judges had even issued
them to housewives.
It's Happened Before
The inadvertent repeal of the
occupational driver's license law
created quite a stir. But these
things have happened before. In
1933, former Gov. Clarence D.
Martin's veto inadvertently
repealed the $300 exemption on
personal property taxes.
Household goods were subject
to the personal property tax, and
the error could have resulted in
chaos. But the oversight was
corrected in a special session
which convened later that same
year, so it didn't have any effect
on tax assessments.
That special session ostensibly
was called to enact a liquor
control law, but in reality it was
called to correct numerous
mistakes which had been made by
a Legislature dominated by
inexpierenced first-termers.
Double Trouble
The 5-cent per pack increase
in the cigarette tax could spell
double trouble for the
.Department of Revenue for a
while. It already has had plenty of
problems from contraband
cigarettes, and the Legislature
didn't appropriate any money for
additional enforcement personnel.
But the cigarette tax also will
go up another 5 cents in Oregon,
effective September 1. Oregon
cigarettes still will be cheaper, but
the new tax will put the
differential back where it was
before. Past experience indicates
that sales in this state will fall off
during the first year of the tax,
but then will return to their
normal level.
Others Have Problems, Too
The biggest problem from
contraband is expected to appear
after July 1, when the tax on
liquor goes up 52 cents per fifth.
With a 5-cent per bottle freight
charge added, the new price for a
fifth will range from 60 to 65
cents higher, enough to make
"imports" profitable from some
distance.
The Legislature took a
roundabout way of doing it, but
it managed to tap the Motor
Vehicle Fund for a few million to
bolster up the sagging General
Fund.
This was done by extending
the sales tax on highway
*
Editor, The Journal:
I happened along a troop of
Boy Scouts with their Scout
Master in uniform, along the
highway, busy cleaning up a big
mess of garbage that hasn't been
,cleaned up for years. I stopped
and took some slide pictures of
them and talked to their leaders.
In a world that seems to have
so many things wrong with it,
Editor, The Journal:
Since school is nearly out, I
am writing to tell you and the
City of Shelton how proud I am
of the kids in our schools!
In the past year I have
attended several games, plays and
concerts put on by both the jr.
and sr. high students and have
thoroughly enjoyed all of them.
These kids really work long and
hard hours to put on the plays
and concerts for us and I for one
appreciate getting to see them.
The boys on the teams also
worked hard for whatever scores
they received in their games. Also,
both of the bands did well in the
parade which meant a lot of
practicing in routines and
marching.
By STEVE ERICKSON
I was driving unsuspectingly along a city street the other
day, when all of a sudden Yreka! and Ye Cats! There it was,
the nigh-forgotten object of a once-obsessive search.
The small neon sign read simply "Horse Meat Market,"
but it ended a nagging desire - for years I had yearned for a
broiled brisket of thoroughbred.
If man can observe a pig at wallow, a hog a' sloppin' or a
swine dining, then turn around and enjoy a pork chop, then
what is wrong with partaking occasionally of a barbecued
bronco-burger?
With that bit of logic and horse sense at hand I began a
search that was to stretch over a decade before finally turning
up a fillet of filly. I came close at the Portland Zoo once,
but was resigned to watching a pride of lions rip a rump roast
of raw horsepower to shreds.
And all those years I fed Alpo to dogs I was bridled bY
the suspicion that they were beating me to the wire - that
those "Meat by-products" chronicled on the can were really
glue-factory interceptions.
I perused Seattle's Pike Street Market ("Got any 'range
meat'?") and Portland's Farmer's Market ("I'd like some
'high-protein beef' ") and everywhere in between, but
everywhere weary, wary butchers gave me the same answer:
"You want I should call a cop, wisenheimer?" No, thank
you.
So here it was after all these years - the end of the
rainbow. The winner's circle. I entered but immediately
betrayed my giddiness and gratitude with a flippant remark.
'TI1 have a couple pounds of stallion steak," I said, trying
to sound like a galloping gourmet. Failing.
The butcher put a tight rein on further attempts. "I've
construction contracts to cover
labor costs.
It will sweeten the General
Fund by some $6.9 million. This
added cost, of course, will be
added to the cost of construction,
so eventually will come out of the
gasoline tax.
there are young people and adults
who are not afraid or think it
beneath their dignity to clean up
other people's trash and to whom,
Keep America Beautiful is more
Editor, The Journal:
I don't know the player, the
team, the Manager or the
situation referred to in Carol
Dunbar's letter to the Editor, but
I'd like to answer it with some
general observations.
We've been through the
Minor, Coast and Major Leagues
with our boys, too. We've had
Managers and Coaches who
played to win, and others who
played to give all their boys equal
time.
We had one Manager who put
all his better players in for the
first three innings; then put in all
the substitutes for the last three.
This created such bad feelings all
around that after losing the first
six ball games, he discovered that
he had a completely demoralized
team and totally unhappy
parents. He then started the
better boys and only substituted
in such a way that he didn't
cripple his team. They won their
remaining six games, beating
every team that had beaten them.
All of a sudden, boys and their
parents were happy and proud of
than a.slogan. ~ ~ .... : their team.
I am ~proud to belong to an ~ ..... The,object of pla.ying any
organization that sponsors a Boy
Scout Troop and I hope other
clubs will volunteer to become
sponsors• Anita Dugger
However, without the
assistance of the great coaches
and directors in their various
departments, our kids could do
nothing and I would like to say
"thanks" for putting up with the
kids and helping them so much to
become good citizens• I do not
think enough tribute is given to
our "good kids" - but we
certainly hear enough from every
direction when a few of them get
into a jam.
I am looking forward to the
next year's activities. Please keep
up the good work, teachers and
coaches, I think we have a bunch
of pretty darn good kids in
Shelton.
Nancy Stuller
rl
heard that leetle joke a t me or two belore," he said.
Then he opened his meat counter and said "You want the
best we got?" I did. He withdrew several small tenderloin
steaks marked "59c" and wrapped them in butcher paper.
"It was cheap, devoid of fat, boneless, tender.. • This was
the butcher talking of horse, of course, and he said anybody
anywhere would agree "If only they could overcome this silly
mental block they all got."
He grabbed his own block, a carving block, and whacked
a steak off on it. "If people don't use this meat they're only
shorting themselves of something they should have," he
shouted.
He held up a rare cut. "That," he said, pointing with a
cleaver, "is low in cholesterol. And I got an open-heart
surgeon buys horse meat here from the pure standpoint of
health - it's two per cent higher in protein than beef.
"It's got a lot of Vitamin E, too," he said. Then, noticing
a pun coming on, he beat me to it by adding, "And Vitamin
E don't stand for Equestrian, neither."
Undaunted, I returned home and broiled up a couple
steaks. One for me, one for wife, I thought.
"Horse?" she said. "Don't make me laugh."
"But it's high in protein," I said hoarsely.
"So are people."
"And low in cholesterol."
"I won't eat Trigger. Or Mr. Ed, or even Canonero II,
You just stop horsing around with dinner."
"Listen," I persuaded, "open-heart surgeons just gobble
this stuff up. Twice a day, every day."
"Those guys make me sick, too," she said emphatically,
and I could see it was hopeless. I was licked.
After all, you can lead a horse to dinner, but you can't
make it beef.
game is to win. It's a funny thing,
but the only people who want
their team to win more than the
boys do is the parents.
Unfortunately, many of the
lessons in sportsmanship learned
by the boys are lost on the
parents, and the many umpires
who have quit in disgust will tell
you that the poor sportsmanship
came from behind them, not from
the field.
: Every year mistakes are made.
Boys stay in the Coast that should
have gone to the Majors. Boys go
to the Majors that should have
stayed in the Coast. With over
three hundred kids to look over in
a few turnout sessions, there are a
few boys who stand out that
every team wants, and some that
are overlooked that are pretty
Editor, The Journal: woman
I have written several articles act.
concerning Washington State Ja
Industrial Insurance• I want to
help other men and women and
feel
working in this state who may get
hurt on the job, and who may people
wake up the way I did and find
they have to live from hand to
mouth on existing industrial
insurance.
I worked as a logger for 14 me
the
years here and in Alaska, making
good money, and keeping my could
wife and five children happy and prot
fed. I thought that if something u n
should happen to me in the
I
woods, we would be taken care of
by all the money I had paid into publi~
taxes and insurance coverage.
Last winter I was injured in
the woods near Forks, Wash., and
when I woke up in a Seattle should
hospital, I became fully aware gov
that my family and I would not
be taken care ~of as well as I day
thought. I now have to sell almost and
I
everything I worked hard for just
to get along on what I receive
from State Industrial.
I recently went to Olympia
with a petition containing 5,000
signatures to present to our
lawmakers. The signators are
willing to back me in my quest
for a vote of the people that
would voice what they feel is fair
coverage for the working man or
good, and
by
good plaY.
their boy
them held
not even
Majors. It'S
outside
because all
will denY
by those on
work.
With Ill
choices
we begin
have. We
the
boy gets
has so
any of it
boys ir
position
their attil
hard to
to play
know it
learn.
their pare
and to
game is the:
they have
Of
their boys
when
the boys
good ide!
there,
move
at prac
to
soon
There's
who
or divine
the bent
him by
different
bench.
The
they
world,
their
a
