Tucson Citizen (Newspaper) - December 24, 1977, Tucson, Arizona Magazine Citizen VOL 107 NO 307 TUCSON ARIZONA SATURDAY DECEMBER 24 1977 A GANNETT NEWSPAPER Color Comics 36 PAGES 15 CENTS A Papago Christmas combines traditions Christmas for the Alvarez family on the San Papago Indian Res will be a combination of two Tonight the adults will go to midnight Mass at San del Bac Mission and stay on to join their friends in dancing staging and feasting presents have been opened the will begin an afternoon of more dancing and eat ing foods ranging from the Indian tamate to the Anglo potato salad Four will share the spotlight with the new toys opened by Ms sisters who is I and I Mrs Shirley Alvarez center and her husband have planned a Christmas for their family the old with the new The also have two sons 3 and Monolito 4 who are not pictured 3 Christmas spotlight falls on Bethlehem Wire Services BETHLEHEM Occupied West Bank AP Thousands of Christian pilgrims greeted a colorful religious motorcade as it ar rived in Bethlehem today opening Christmas festivities in the town where Jesus was born Monsignor Giacomo Guiseppi the Roman Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem donned black robes trimmed with scarlet before leading the caravan from Jerusalem down the winding road to Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity Dozens of prelates wearing scarlet sashes across black robes as well as boys in white robes and priests in red and gold tunics accompanied the patriarch into festively decorated Manger Square After a week of rain a chill December sun bathed the parade route heavily patrolled by Israeli troops on watch against possible Arab guerrilla attacks Police locked amis to clear a path for the Christmas Eve procession as it entered Bethlehem and a helicopter swooped overhead In the US travelers crowded roads bus terminals train depots and airports today as they headed home to celebrate Christmas Airlines ordered extra flights Amtrak added cars to its most popular trains and bus runs were increased to handle the tradition al Christmas crush Officials of OHare International Airport the worlds busiest said today is one of the heaviest travel days of the year Police increased traffic patrols in many sections of the nation and flashing signs along Chicago expressways urged motorists to take none for the road In Minnetonka Minn Fingerhut Corp told its 2600 employees to take cabs at company expense if they find themselves too Ml of cheer to drive home The company also offered to reimburse employees who pay cab fare for anyone else who appears to be drunk While millions followed the sacred festivities in Bethlehem marking the birth of Jesus Egyptian and Israeli leaders meet by the Suez Canal on Christmas Day seeking to bring peace to the troubled Holy Land This is a very historic time to be here said Al Gitelman of Dallas as he toured the Church of the Nativity Were all hoping for peace A dozen choirs from South Africa Belgium West Germany Scotland England Israel and Bethlehem itself entertained the pil grims in Manger Square The United States was represented by two Texas chorales from Longview First Baptist Church and Bay lor University At midnight Catholic Mass will be celebrated before a few who obtained passes into St Catherines Roman Catholic Church which adjoins the Church of the Nativity expected to watch the Mass projected onto a huge outdoor screen hung in front of the police station in the square The service will be beamed worldwide on television New food aid Benefits rise with fuel bills Arizona food stamp recipi ents can pay less for their stamps if they can show their utility costs jumped by more than a month in the winter The new benefit available nationwide is designed to make sure families dont have to choose between buying stamp and paying winter heat ing bills The Arizona Department of Economic Security which administers food stamps in the state expects a good response to the program from Arizona food stamp families who al ready have been notified of the benefit by mail Increases in bills for electric ity heating and cooking fuel water and sewage service garbage collection and basic telephone service also can be used to help a recipient qualify for the project Persons feel they qualify should present department with their most recent utility whether or not it has been paid for The state agency has 10 days to recom pute what a recipient should be paving for stamps They should apply at the same local food stamp office that originally granted them stamp benefits the department says Department of Economic Security officials said there are too many variables that must be considered in each case so they cant estimate the average amount a food stamp recipient could save by apply ing for the new benefit A quick look at Charlie offers in his newest cross word puzzle challenge Because of the holiday the puzzle will be pub both Monday and Tuesday Clues will be published Tuesday Cor rect solution to this weeks puzzle is on Page 2B Drying No snow to show So his sled wont go San tas gonna para chute Look out below F Tracks The clouds managed to wet things down a bit last night but dreaming about a white Christmas can forget it A weather distur bance that left 18 inch of rain at the airport and a sprinkling r snow on Mt Lemmon taring the night should be moving out of town Christmas Day according to the National Weather Ser vice High temperature tomor row should be near 65 and the tow should be about 40 Yesterdays high was 64 The low this morning was 49 Full weather Page 1A BrezhneV Warning President Leonid nev has warned the that if it continues to develop the neutron bomb the Soviets will be forced to answer the challenge and step up the arms race Brezhnev who Soviet sources say has been at home with a cold for weeks made the comment in an interview published yesterday by the Communist party newspaper Pravda The story did not say when the interview took place but was apparent from the questions that it was re cently The Soviet Union is resolutely opposed to the develop ment of the neutron bomb but if such a bomb were developed in the West developed against us the latter must clearly realize the USSR shall not remain a passive onlooker Brezhnev said The Soviets often have lashed out at the neutron bomb which kills people but spares buildings But this was the first time Brezhnev addressed the matter at such length and tied it to disarmament talks Carter and farmers President Carter who angered some farmers by refusing to speak at a strike rally sat down privately today with their representatives to ex press sympathy for their cause and hear their demand for higher prices Carter interrupted his Christmas holiday to meet at his home with a delegation of four leaders They want higher prices guaranteed by the government A federal judge has denied an appeal from the US Food and Drug Administration to delay en forcement of a ruling that removes restrictions on importa tion and use of Laetrile The FDA had asked US District Judge Luther Bohanon to delay enforcement of his Dec 5 order until the case could be heard by the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Den ver But that request was refused yesterday Laetrile is the trademark for a substance derived from the chemical found naturally in the pits of apri cots and peaches and in bitter almonds Advocates say it is an effective cancer treatment But the FDA and the United States medical establishment have said the substance has not been proven to be of any in cancer treatment aide City Councilman Thomas J Volgy has requested and received the resignation of his aide who Volgy says surpassed a self imposed campaign spending limitation by a few hundred dollars Details Page IB events While so many are caught up in holiday gifts and parties the true meaning of Christmas the birth of Christ will be celebrated in a variety of ways tonight and tomorrow in churches For a list of those special events see Page inside CHRISTMAS EVE 27 Fifty years ago when population was nearing 30000 life was simpler The film fare on Congress Street featured Wallace Berry and Rin TinTin not flicks only and Citizen staffers exchanged Christmas gifts See At Weeks End IB CM Charlie 21 IB SC Deaths ote It 1C Faro JA Ote CHRISTMAS Spirit melts away the years By RICHARD S VONIER CUM Stiff Writer Quick whispers the old urgently whats the line before Hearing spirits cry Hearing spirits cry Yeah In Dashing Through the Snow I forget the line before it Oh you mean Making spir its bright Its Bells on bobtail ring Bells on bobtail Ahem We are about to sing Christmas carols gathered at what is beginning to feel like an awkward experience for all Thirty more Cub Scouts from Pack 216 who cant quite settle down are milling self consciously in the lounge of the Elks Nursing Home on West Speedway Boulevard Due to a snafu over which group was going to visit the old folks home on which date this season some costumed mem bers of the Santa Rita High School Distributive Education Clubs of America are also there So Santa Claus this evening is a big teenage drink of water in loafers and ringed racquetball socks pro truding from his jolly red suit His pillow is shoved up too far It looks more like a matronly bustline than a bowlful of jelly But what the heck its Christmas and this is the sort of thing we do at Christmas That is out of some cultural longing to be loved we march on nursing homes and hospitals to sing songs with ing lines to captives we have never met and will not think of again The Santa Rita spokes man by the way is peeved behind his painted clown face that a TV station was unwilling to film this event to publicize the unselfish works of his club The Elks Home residents are all there in the lounge proba bly without a lot to say in the matter Old men lining the wall in chairs are wheeled or assisted in by nurses and aides for this command perfor mance Some are cinched to their seats so they wont wander off during the festivities The Monday Night Football tame on the TV set in the next room is playing to empty couches And what would you like for Christmas the Santa positioning himself for a picture by the club inquires of Lee Lee who spent a lifetime growing lettuce and melons in the Imperial Valley and ends up being tied to a chair is trapped Nothin much he responds tightly mouth set firmly in a bed of wrinkles blue eyes dis and uncomfortable Well Ill see if I can arrange that Santa tries lamely then moves on with the photographer In tow The men for the most part sit expressionless gaze vacantly bathing the blue blur of Cub uniforms squirming in the cen ter of the room One doesnt know if this is aloofness earned by transcend ing the age of any longer hav ing to please others or the mental shutdown that must come from people gawking at you and whispering uneasily simply because you are old and melting 8 These Cubs They aint ever gonna get that old So old that their skin sags and their eyes retreat into their sockets and their hair disappears It isnt only 70 years that separate an from an unfamiliar its the million light years between different worlds So there is little attempt at communication the Cubs being primarily concerned with stak ing out their individual shares of the cookies the mommies are spreading on napkins But what the heck its Christmas A holly wreath is draped as proof around the elks head on the wall Buck up Continued page by
