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Newspaper
Shafter Press
Location
Shafter, California, United States of America
Date
Jan 15, 1942
Page
4
Shafter residents have formed zones and sectors with air raid wardens, added fire and police personnel, and set up emergency committees for a potential California attack. Some residents call it red tape, but most say efforts are essential as home defense preparations continue and may expand with evolving plans.
The article argues defense bonds are a strong personal investment during wartime. It highlights Series E bonds with denominations 75 275 and 750, maturing after 10 years to 25 50 100 500 and 1000, offering 2.9 percent interest compounded semiannually and redeemable after 60 days if needed.
The article explains defense bonds and Series E bonds as government loans with guaranteed returns. It urges individuals to purchase bonds at local banks or post offices to support national defense and assure future income for holders, emphasizing patriotism and financial security.
The Shafter oil field shows no Union Oil rigs for the first time in years signaling possible depletion of the field. While some edge drilling continues, the boom days may be over though over 120 producing wells and the absorption plant require workers. The field remains vital to meet wartime oil needs.
Kern county junior chamber of commerce and the Kern County Free Library lead a campaign to collect five to ten million up to date books for men at the Army Air Corps Basic Training schools near Shafter and Taft and other bases. Shafter residents may drop books at Mrs. Thomas Wedge the Shafter librarian. Distribution will be handled by the Bakersfield county library with a February 12 goal.
A college professor laments that modern picture magazines overwhelm students and force them to fear reading again, arguing that visual sensationalism makes sustained reading harder for learners.
A Shafter item recalls a Sunday morning where a man could not stand a loud noise and could not buy cromoseltzer. The piece mocks publicity stunts like buy a bomber and urges paying taxes and defense bonds. It notes Army shoes and mud and mentions local reactions to wartime measures.
The Shafter Future Farmers of America chapter has drawn local attention over the years. Chartered January 15, 1930, its early members included Albert Kattenhorn Jim Camp Hildra Frosh Pete Epp Harry Schultz Eddie Friesen Gerald Bosserdet Pat Clayton Ben Peters Jack Potter Harold Voth Carl Steele Hans Thiel Elroy Janzen and
The New York Times notes Mr. Churchill spoke with stronger, swifter vigor in the Senate on Friday. Detroit News remarks H V Wade on fifty first downs in China and Japan’s bowl game expectations. Fresno Bee laments long hair on men. UC researchers identify two virus strains tied to buckskin fruit disease. California lumber firms report parts shortages for old tractor logging gear. experts warn of a shift to less efficient methods harming second-growth timber.
A reader notes two hours of waiting and threats to stand someone up if they do not arrive within the hour. The New Yorker cites congressional farm and labor blocs blocking a strong price control bill and comments that consumers lack a bloc of their own.
The Los Angeles Times notes a serious typhus fever outbreak in East Prussia with suspected cases near Berlin, a situation seen as potentially more sinister than recent German reverses and a threat to Hitler's war ambitions.
The Secretary of War cautions against viewing the ongoing conflict with optimism, urging a sober assessment of battlefield realities. He emphasizes careful analysis of military realities rather than hopeful speculation.
In a surprising pause during the performance, a small dog wandered in startling the audience and was restrained by a embarrassed usher. The scene interrupted the planned recital, adding an unintended moment to the event.
A fragmentary dispatch from the Bureau of Census to Herbert and Mrs. Midgley hints at Shafter crossroads and local inference. Parody of cafe names and memory lines appears, with Dav is and Dr Eckert offering a hundred dollars for a queen bee meeting specs. Eddie Brown reportedly had an unpleasant week amid unverified chatter.
The comedian Eddie Cantor calls for a year devoted to life liberty and the pursuit of the enemy Japanese, urging Americans to unite in wartime effort and national resolve. He frames 1942 as a period for strong action and patriotic duty.
Jim Davies urges women to stop relying on cosmetics and adopt real muscular workouts for facial tone. He argues the face needs physical exercise like other muscles to stay youthful and vibrant.
Chih Tsing Feng, Chinese consul general at San Francisco, says if Chinese around Hong Kong had been armed the British flag would still fly there. He asserts 4,000,000 stalwart men are trained and eager, needing only arms.
Screen and radio star Tony Martin enlists in the Navy stating that the nation and people have given him luck and now it is his duty to repay them. He emphasizes gratitude and a pact to serve.
Stanford professor Edgar E Robinson warns that war demands relentless effort from universities. He argues the trained specialist and educated man and woman are essential to prevent civilization’s collapse and preserve intellectual leadership amid global conflict.
Mrs. S. F. Kabler wife of a lieutenant who piloted a tiny aircraft through a seven hour battle with Japanese bombers praises the crew. She recalls her husband Bill saying the Heron was like a cross between a pigeon and a row boat and expresses her confidence in his safety.
John N. Davies of Shafter notes mint cultivation rising from 175 acres in 1929 to about 200 in 1930. The crop yields gross of $225 to $250 per acre, net $150 to $175 after costs, with a distilling plant at Davies Larich sending oil to Sacramento. Dos Palos and Shafter are the only commercial mint districts in California, with high quality oil largely exported from Japan. A planned Shafter High School P T A project proposes a $32,000 expansion adding science, agriculture, and domestic arts facilities, to be built starting February and ready by September.
Reverend Herman Janzen was sent off with a farewell at the Mennonite church on Wednesday evening. A service was followed by fellowship and refreshments as guests spoke kindly of the couple. They traded their 10 acre Shafter ranch to Regier of Wasco for a 20 acre Reedley area ranch and will move to their new home immediately, leaving many friends behind.
Mr and Mrs Woods Stone announce plans to build a new bungalow featuring four rooms and a bath. The brief notice notes construction specifics and the couple as principals.
A Chinese driver collided with a snowball on Main Street causing a hole in a back window. Onlookers at the drugstore faced controversy as finger pointing swirled between a school teacher and Jesse Jones before the snowball souvenir was carried away.
Miss Elsie B Parker assistant of the state bureau of speech defects will discuss Speech Correction Problems and a Specific Problem of Diagnosis at Richland grammar school auditorium in Shafter on Monday January 20 Herbert Healy county superintendent invites P T A members and others interested in youth welfare to attend Teachers from Buttonwillow Rio Bravo Poplar and Maple are invited to join the meeting in Shafter.
Charles Westen berg of the Farmers' Water District in Kern County reports the Empire Development company has filed with the state power commission for a preliminary permit to build a Kern river and south fork power project. If approved the plan envisions three power houses to produce 160,000 horsepower from two large storage reservoirs, with dams to be built below Monache mea.
After a heavy snow, Shafter businessmen received $2 bills for sidewalk snow removal on Main Street. H Midgley W H Hitchcock E B Stringham Bill Handel and Cleve Skaggs billed for the work. Stringham showed pictures of the gang at work, signaling discord over the charges.
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