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Newspaper
Shafter Press
Location
Shafter, California, United States of America
Date
Jun 01, 1944
Page
3
A wartime reflection argues money matters less than goods and labor hours. It laments bottle shortages and worker scarcities at potato sheds, notes the value of individual effort, and urges community leadership to incentivize work and oppose exploitation to sustain the nation’s big enterprises.
Mettler leads a welfare group forming a Community Chest in Shafter. The effort aims to organize local charitable fundraising and assistance programs for residents in need.
A group of civic leaders met at the American Legion hall and decided to form a Community Chest with temporary officers Mettler as president H W Kull as secretary and Glen Crampton as treasurer. They urge donors to withhold gifts until full plan details are announced and note growers and merchants are busy during potato season.
A new list of local men to be inducted into the Army and Navy has been released by the local draft board. Navy selections include George Henry Fox Shafter Alvin Bowman Wasco Hubert Coy Sallee Shafter Arthur Darvin Fenderson washam Buttonwillow Stanley Eugene Walker Buttonwillow Marvin Wade Singley Wasco Robert Burney Schnidt Wasco F B Preston Buttonwillow Brint Quin Wasco Ervin F Screws of Shafter and Wayne R Grimes Buttonwillow. Army selections include Elaterio P Dela Rosa Shafter W B Roberts Wasco Olen A Fletcher Shafter Norman D Ebel Shafter Robert W Curtis Jr Shafter Rudy Rey Buttonwillow Guy E Gipson Buttonwillow James M Cook Wasco Elie H Crettel Jr Wasco Roy Daniel Henson Buttonwillow Trinidad Rodriguez Shafter and Harley Alger Margrave Wasco.
Navy sailor John Evertt of Shafter recalls seeing Shafter potatoes during a posting in the Marshall Islands. He previously worked for Robert Neuman and Sons before he entered the service and was there a week ago describing Neuman spuds he saw in the Marshalls.
Virgil Lewis 17 was arrested Sunday on a felony charge after allegedly stealing A. R. Duehren's car Saturday night and driving to Smith's Corners. He had been employed by Duehren and is certified to Juvenile Court on probation from Preston for a prior burglary.
Shafter Kiwanis Club members and wives dine at a local motel tonight to celebrate a contest win by a team led by Jack Zeman over a team led by A. J. Heming son. Heming son’s group hosts. Zeman acts as toastmaster.
A report notes that about 125 million people in tropical India are afflicted by malaria each year. The figure highlights widespread health challenges and the need for intensified disease control efforts.
Mr and Mrs C V McKinney of Shafter learn their son Albert and wife welcome a daughter Leanne Patricia born May 24 in Flandreau South Dakota. Albert is FC 2/c in the Navy. Their granddaughter Mrs Jimmy Stovall meets Sally Lee born in San Diego the same day. Stovall serves in the Navy. These two additions mark a double birth.
The Cub Scouts of Shafter collected over 800 coffee jars in a drive announced by cubmaster J. W. Gwin on Monday. It was the second such drive in three months and regarded as very successful. An eight pound boy was born May 23 to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Branch at Shafter Maternity Home.
One and a half year old Dean ally died from burns after her parents Lonnie Canady left her in a parked car while collecting potatoes near Wasco. Lynn Norris and the father pulled the child from the burning vehicle, Homer Powell rushed her to Kern General Hospital where she died at 5 PM. The fire is blamed on the child playing with matches. The 1930 model A Ford, valued at 225 dollars, was destroyed except for three tires later stolen two tires disappeared in the confusion.
Students at the Troop School for Christian soldiers presented a program Sunday evening at the First Baptist church. Rev. E. M. Anderson praised high attendance and student progress over the two week session, with diplomas and awards awarded. War Food Administration lifted set-aside requirements on brown and milled rice from May 15 to July 31 1944 due to sufficient stocks for government needs until the 1944 harvest.
Two California food companies earned the War Food Administration Achievement for their performance during the war years. Officials cited surplus output, efficient distribution, and adherence to rationing guidelines as key factors behind the recognition.
Over two weeks dry winds sparked several fires. Harold Schnidt’s grain field on Bender Ave lost 3 acres of barley. A 60 acre alfalfa blaze near Circle Ranch required county and Wasco trucks. A Santa Fe Rail line pole fire near Rosedale destroyed the pole. Central Market car fire caused wiring damage. Bethnal hay loss reached 24 tons at Neuway farm. Additional grass fires appeared on Martin Ave and other sites.
A daughter was born Saturday to Mrs Ray Van Bever at Freise's Maternity Home in Bakersfield. The father, in the service, was home on furlough recently.
The Fifth War Loan drive starts June 12 with Shafter's quota set at 360000, about 20 percent higher than the Fourth War Loan target. County War Loan chair John J. Wilt spoke in Shafter with Rotary guests urging full support as the drive reaches a critical wartime stage.
Shafter Cub Scouts led by Cubmaster J. W. Gwin and Glen Crampton spent the weekend camping in Kern River Park. A Bakersfield group under Milton J. Reynolds joined nearby, with Billy Robinson Bruce Belden Gilbert Frazee Teddy Knowles among their ranks. Sunday breakfast featured Jimmy Youell as chef and Mr. H. W. Kelly delivering the Sunday school lesson. Second Cub charter night is set for June 6 at 8 p m in Richland cafeteria.
Channing L Crandall son of Mrs Gladys Crandall Shafter completes the Army Air Forces Pilot school advanced two engine at Stockton Field California earning full pilot status and silver wings He will be placed on active duty with the Army Air Forces after completing the final course at Stockton
California’s population rose from 92,597 in 1850 to 6,907,387 in 1940, reflecting rapid state development and demography across the 90 year span.
Shafter's 1944 potato harvest accelerates as hundreds of heavily loaded trucks and 238 refrigerator cars pour into the depot. Sheds process long white spuds via conveyors, with shipments from Shafter totaling extensive carloads to coast cities and Western states. Colder spring delays linger, but growers expect per acre yields near 350 sacks, plus strong Chicago market demand for California whites at multiple price points.
The Women's Auxiliary of Leslie L. Robinson Post 213 of the American Legion reported a record poppy sale in Shafter on Saturday, selling 1600 poppies with many returned for resale. Auxiliary president Mrs. J. W. Lassiter noted sales likely exceeded 1500, far surpassing prior city records. Names of volunteers include Shirley Thomas Francelia Hansen and Paula Raney, with Camp Fire Girls helpers Alice Marie Hansen.
California Taxpayers Association released a study showing Kern County’s 1943-44 property tax levy averaged 50.49 per person for 140000 residents as of January 1, 1941, up from 62.39 for 135000 residents in 1943. The total levy reached 1 068 264, including county city school and special district taxes, down from 8 420 701 in 1942-43. The tax per dollar assessed stood at 39.12 versus 40.64 in 1942-43.
Dale Wiedman and Leroy Henderson will represent Shafter at the California Boys State to be held June 22 to 29 at Grant Union High School in North Sacramento. Sponsored locally by the Shafter Rotary Club and Leslie L. Robinson Post 213 of the American Legion, the program trains youths to understand government. Eligible seniors-to-be are selected for character and leadership, with boys forming mock cities and two political parties to simulate state politics. California Boys State began in 1937 and mirrors programs in 34 other states under the American Legion.
The adobe walls of San Francisco's Mission Dolores measure four feet in thickness, reflecting the mission's solid construction and historical resilience.
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