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Maud island hospitality. And when freezing rain

, noon no one, least of all the per-

Page 12. T... Guardian Sat. June. 9. 1956

without WARNING

When the morning of January 6th dawned mild and moist over -Prince Edward Island. few if any eyebrows were raised. Everyone on P. E. 1. has grown to expect some sort of a January thaw on the Island. it's more or less trad- itional, like lobsters, and oysters,

began that after-

sonnel attached to RCAF Station Sumnierside thought very much of It. People went about their every- day chores in the usual manner and wondered when it would stop. Most went to bed that night ex- pecting to find the usual crisp winter weather in the morning.

- Operation "Silver Thaw"

sources, t h e y relinquished all claims to the services of the Sum-

World War 11. After sizing up the conditions at the station he decid- ed to use a single wire system using the water pipes as ground. This method speeded up the wir- ing so that by Thursday all homes in the married quarters had some form of light and the work shifted to the station pro-

P91'- . Meanwhile. auxiliary power units of various types had been arriv- ing at the station almost daily. A special gang of diesal engineers was set up to put the units in op- eration and airmen were put on round the clock shifts to tend the power plants and keep them in'op- eration. As fast as they were set

the

mei-side and Charlottetown

and technicians were made avail- able to several communiti in- cluding Miscouche and St. Elea- ll(ll'S.

Looking back on the disaster there is much to be thankful for. If the weather had turned cold following the power failure many people would have suffered to I much greater extent. The almost negligible amount of damage to personal property and the absence

until the power in surrounding communities could be restored. in addition. heaters, auxiliary units

IIMELY NOTES ON in rims -

Good demand continued for standard rsnch iiilnk at the West- ern Canadian Raw Fur Auction Illee. About 70 per cent of the ao.ooo standards waf sold with better sizes and good colors of ermine type males bringing from E7 to 331. females 311 to 313.75. Dark brown es were 813 to rw and ordinary types in weaker sizes. and better colors brought 819 tovS22, females from 310 to 311. In mutations silverblues sold most of the 1,000 skins at unchang- ed prices from April sale. Better lots of males were 822 to S24. fe- males S13 to 314. Pastels were 95

r cent sold. Stewart males were

to 334. weaker sizes S24 to 527 and females 315 to 517.50. Males of better color were 535 to 337. le- males 320 to 322.

The Hudson's Bay Company. Montreal, cancelled its special sale of beaver and muski-at which

attention to was the skongth shows by white fox. muskrat and ermine of Hudson": Bay Company one tlon. Clearances for these reach- edfromll2toilipercent.'l'hese was spirited bidding for white for and Quebec heaven were com- pletely sold, but the offering of government of Newfoundland beav- ers was mainly unsold. The st- tentlon directed to white fox means also that silver fox and its muta- tions will be in more demand. The fact that the Russian government has bought a large number of foxes means that they are sensing a comeback for these furs. We hope those who have had the courage to hold on to their foxes will be rewarded in the not too dis- tant future.

A collection of approximately 37.000 ftandard ranch mink for the account of the Great Lakes Mink

additional assistance. lmn was returned to normalcy

BACK TO NORMAL

By the end of the nook the station had been l'('llli'lIt3(l In semi- normal operation. Essential tclc-. phones had been liookcil up and most of thc station buildings had at least partial light. Heat had' been returned to as many build- ings as possible. On S.'iliii'ilny. January 14th. the single wire system was converted to a more efficient two wire type. with all ranks from Wing Commaiidcrs to

AC2s pitching in to help

As poles. primary cables

transformers were r e p a i r c d, thought was given to the settingi up of a centralized generating unit. Power units were withdrawn from PMQS, and other station areas and placed side by side he- hind the Construction Engineering Section. By Saturday the twelve units had been hooked up into a single generating plant able to feed the whole station. That Sat- urday, the 21st of January. the Commanding Officer threw the switch in an informal ceremony and for the first time in two weeks the entire station had light. The back of the emergency had been broken.

From then on It was a matter of cleaning up the debris and im- proving the existing facilities. Since the station was at last in-

power lines. cables, telephone poles and trees with its terrifying beauty. Telephone poles began to groan menacingly as the ever in- creasing weight of the ice on the wires linking them continued to build up. I Trees began teaching the earth, unable to support their parisitic burden. Slowly at first and then with s quickening pace wir.es started to give way. And still the rain continued. The first pole crashed to the round. Another and still more. hey began to fall in groups of three, four, five and even more. Through the early morning hours of Saturday the awesome sighgcontlnued, as whole streets of poles thundered to the ground. Trees, bent to the break- ing point gave way under the merciless pressure and broke un- der the strain. littering the ground with their ravaged beauty.

will also be remembered as

iiict.

.. . .... . ......:','.,

liliawa Reports Fish landings

(JTTAWA fCPl- Canadian fish

and . April

month period to January - April period last year. the bureau of statistics reported Thursday.

Value of the catch declined in April to 53.725000 from 33,943,000 but rose in the first four months to si4.677.000 from Sl0,998.000 in the January-April period of 1955.

Landings on thc Atlantic coast dropped in April to 53,651,000 pounds from 79,388,000 but in- creased in the four month period to 1ilfi..'l-12,000 pounds from 186, 212.000 last year.

LITTLE STANDING

By Saturday noon there was lit- tle left standing on the Station. Wire. cable. poles and transform- ers lay in tangled disarray. lining the roadways. Mute evidence to the power of nature. Through Satur- day altcrnoon the damage con- tinued at a decreasing rate. Late Saturday a thaw set in. loosing the ice and sending it in turn crashing to the ground. On Sun- day rain began again, threaten- ing several times to renew its at- tack. hampering the efforts of the' workers, who were attempting to regain some type of order. At last after 55 hours of continuous freez- ing rain it was over and the ' - gigantic task of cleaning up be- gun.

The Station swung into action as soon as the extent of the dam- age was appraised on Saturday morning. Following a meeting called by the Commanding Officer which was attended by the key personnel of the station, A course of action was determined. it was decided at the meeting to first make barracks and PMQs com- fortable and assistance was re- quested from Maritime Air Com- mand Headquarters in Halifax. Calls went out for specialist to come in and help repair the dam- age. Messages were relayedgby the static radio facilities request- ing specia equipment to aid in the tremendous job ahead. Oil stoves, lanterns, insulators. poles. pro- tective clothing. power units and heaters were just some of the items requested.

The technical staff of the sta- tion were organized under the Chief Technical Officer, SfL'Brant Howell. and portioned out to the various Jobs to be done. Line gangs were organized immediately and began the task of re-stringing em- urgency lines in the PMQ area.

EQUIPMENT ARRIVES

lquipment began to arrive at the station on Sunday. Oil stoves and lanterns were unpacked and dis- trlbuted to the married quarters. Herman Nelson heaters w h a so normal function is to provide heat- ing for aircraft engines. were set up and soon began blowing their warming air into barracks. messes and station hospital. Men were organized into patrols to ensure that the heaters were kept sup- plied with gas.

On Tuesday afternoon W01 cle- mens arrived from AFHQ and was placed in charge of the rehabilll-a- I tion. A specialist In such situa- As any filer will my. "Aircraft

DOUBLE CHECK

ing. In this photo the two airmen are running a hydraulic test on

'13:: I The first significant occurance up the construction ciiginccring (,5 my-50.131 injury was g magm- i-; 3.3 r that foreshadowed the havoc to section erccted slicllers around of relief to all concerned.

" i. come occurred on the morning of them to protect the workers from No single person on the station

- I , the 6th when a complete power the elements. can be singled out for their efforts

- I failure occurred at 8:30. The day A.fC Costello. Air Officer Coni- during the emergency, The wholg

in . wore on and the icy rain continued manding Maritime Air Commanrl of thc personnel were organized

. -i, . to fall without letup. coating ev- flew in for a personal inspociion into a smooth working team ,1.

3; erything it touched with its in- on Tuesday afternoon and returned most immediately and continued

candescent whiteness. Covering to Halifax to confirm the need for 1.. Wm-k that way ungu the sta-

Thc silver thaw of 1956 will long bc remembered by the personnel who were here at Summerside. It an obs-iacle that Station Summerside coped with. and surmount-

:-rinen landed a smaller catch in but substantially more in the first four months of 1956 than in corresponding periods last year.

Seafisli land ings declined in April to 60.569.000.pounds from 83,297,000 but rose in the four 519,529,000 pounds from 318,020,000 in the

'7' several years. Promotion pays off

was set for last w6dnESd8y. The Company's next Montreal sale will be a general auction which - is opening on June 20th. At that time a wide selection of wild furs will be offered as well as ranclied furs.

Ed Gold writing in Women's . Wear Daily states 5'18! .lhe 111' solirencles among American fur merchants for the first four months of the year approached 34 million, close to 80 per cent of total in. solvencies during 1955. Last year's total was in excess of 85,100,000. This was one of the more depress- ing facts polnted out in the an- nual American Fur Merchants As- sociation report. which.was drawn up under the supervision of Wil- liam Kolodney. executive director. American Fur Merchants Asso- ciation records show that follow- lng a fairly modest January and February. the insolvencyppicture grew much worse. Following one giant "bust" in March, the total for that month topped Sl.700.000. According to trade sources. the large March setback had a snow- balling effect, resulting in a seri- ous loss total for April - more than 3l.200,000. As for the num- ber of firms falling by the way- side via the bankruptcy route 1956 appears well on the way to top- ping 1955. During 1955. 107 firms went down for the count. New York contributing 75 to 32 from out-of-town. Mr. Kolodney points to a weak spring and I continuing decline in the fur dressing indus- try as contributory factors in the rough period these past few months.

STOCK Low

Now here's another view of the fur market from the same paper . . . Stocks are low, open to buy positions are strong and depart. ment budgets are relatively un- changed from last year. a survey of for buyers in three western states indicates. These buyers have made preparations for visits to New York markets and they anticipate strong July and August openings to be followed by suc- cessful fail seasons with pro- motions running even to ahead of last year. Department stores are

anticipating excellent July and

August business with gains of 5 to 10 per cent by some stores dur- ing those months. '

Although mink is and will un- doubtedly remain the leader. buy- on are showing more than aver- age interest in beaver dyed in blues and odd tones. Small pieces hold a strong position with the buyer in the west. Many buyers believe that the bulk of the selling will come in October and later. Women who have the money will buy then as they have for the past

best during this period. it was felt. One buyer added that furs are no longer worn for warmth. Women ride in heated cars instead of wait. for buses or street cars. Jackets and little furs more or less fit into the changed picture but what is needed for s real re- vival of interest in the fur busi- ness is something entirely new from the style angle.

Women's Wear Daily carries an excellent likeness of John C. MDIOIIY. fur sales anager of Hudson's Bay Company. Montreal, who is to retire on June 15th. Mr. Mplony has had a long experience with the oldest company in the world. its history going back to 1670. He has been a popular man- ager in Montreal and will be re- membered for his visits here when he acted as judge of mink at our fur exhibitions.

SPIRITED BIDDING

A feature of the Montreal sale last month that we failed to draw

Association was 81 per cent sold at New York Auction C , .y last weekend. Prices on the GLMA offerng the last of the season were quoted by the auction c0mPI"Y as very frm with fine goods, In ext-client demand and medium and lower qualities also moving well. On the 27,272 select goods 34 per cent was sold. Seasonal highs for the auction company were reached on both male and female lots. The male bundle brought S75 and the females 840.50. Both bu " were shipped by Wueslenbcrg Mink Ranch of Bid- ridge. Indiana, and purchased by Ritter Brothers. A collection of 7:675 UMPA starlight types was 85 per cent sold with the highs of :29 for males snde813.25 for fe- males

GROWING FAST

"Doc" Collins. editor National Fur News, in his editorial column has a warning to mink ranchers part of which is as follows: "Any- one starting a mink ranch today should be fully aware that he is entering a business whose great- est danger is over production. Both at home and abroad, the production of mink is growing too fast for the s ety of the mink ranching indust . Too many mink -which is where we are headed -means lower prices by the im- mutable law of supply and de- mand. Frat to be. hit will be the small and smaller ranches. Some 80 per cent of the nation's mink ranchers. according to National Board estimates. are of the one- man type. One man can handle 250 mink. depending on circum- stances. Such a ranch. with (W: kit average, will produce about 750 kits. He will lose, we'll say, 50 of those kits. With good luck, he could average 525 a pelt. At a production cost of 817.50, which includes his labor, the rancher would earn a net profit of S5250 for his year's work.

"In com arison with the remain. ing 20 pe cent of mink ranches, which may be regarded as the big money-makers, the one-man ranch is faced with certain dis- advantages. The smaller quanti-

Northam School Choniii win- iiei-s

in group singing. grades Ellis, David Moore, 4-545. in schurmans School Parade Elwood Ellis. Carol Mscxay, non. for the 1955-56 season are. from an Colwill. Wendy Moore,'- Emily

NORTH sciiooi CHRU WINS

left to nun. Front Row: Valerie Linda coiwui.

Bernice Rod Psught, liyden Ellis. Carmen Col-

will.

. . --(PHOTO av woi-rom'

With a total strength of approx- imately 51.000 men'and women. the RCAF today is the largest of Canada” three military forces. For the past year or so, the RCAF has been maintained at or near this establishment.

The taxpayer may well ask. "How are all these people employ- ed"? At this point it might be well to note that all members of the armed forces are themselves tax- payers and are therefore interest- ed in seeing our dcfsnce dollars spent wisely. The main job of the RCAF today is the fence of Can ads but aside from I is aspect, the Canadian public have in time of need. come to rely upon the RCAF Search and Rescue Units. Today the exploits of RCAF helicopters and other aircraft are well known in this respect. In paticiilar, civ- ilian flyes. hunters and fisherman have relied upon this service for their lives when,in trouble, for from other aid.

AIR MAPPING

The gigantic job of mapping all of Canada has now been nearly completed by the RCAF's Photo Squadron, an undertaking which, if attempted by some other means. would have taken infinitely long- or to finish.

The transport and Fighter bran- ches of the RCAF are well known to the Canadian Public at large and all Canadians take pride in the fact that their Air Division in Europe is second to none in quality of manpower and aircraft. In this area, the work of Marl- tlme Air Command is very prom- inent. in Wartime, it is this Com- msnd which would be responsible along with the Royal Canadian Navy, for keeping our sea lanes

n. ese are just s few of the du- ties performed by the personnel of the RCAF. Thus it will be seen

ties of pelts produced makes it necessary for them to be part- lotted. which usualy means low- er prices than if offered in match- ed bundle . Nor do the pelts carry the same prestige among buyers as those from well-known ranch- es. The small rancher cannot buy feed as economically as the large producers. and he must buy a feed grinder. mixer. freezer. etc. He has to figure pretty close to the belt when he invests in some new breeding stock. Yet. the one- man ranch is the backbone of the mink producing industry. Without this type of rancher - without this man fighting his way up by the grace of the American in- stitution of free enterprise - our industry would be doomed to stagnation. We need this little

man.

"The important thing for the small rancher to keep in mind is that he must produce top-quality pelts. There is no lace in today's market for any o er kind. Being small need not be a penalty here; many small ranches are producing toq quality pelts. He should con- centrate his efforts on two or three types. Keep the finest breeding stock that can be found. Buy good feed. Take part in field days, shows and association meetings. Never stop learning more about mink; it's still s comparatively new business."

ROUGH TRIP FOR. l'l.S.T'.

BONN. West Germany (Reuters) Former president Truman srlved here Thursday after s sleepless night because a sprin broke on his sleeper from Munl .

tlons as he found at Summerside. are Only as 800d 85 the men who W01 Clemens has been solving e. service them" Cpl. C.E- 5lE'l7h9l1S lectrlcal problems on regular un- and LAC Ken Proctor are two of its, radar stations and northern the ground crew who keep the outposts since the outbreak of Summerside based Neptune: fly

CONTRACT BRIDGE.

By B. JAY BECKER (Top record holder in Mssters' Individual Championship Play)

heart return was won in dummy.

one of the sleek sub-killers. Every aircraft at Summcrside undergoes periodic inspections to ensure that they are kept in the best possible condition.

Outspoken Report On Home Missions

one. West can capitalize on this knowledge by waiting for s more

Suppose West ducks the sec ond trump lead.-if declarer con- himes with a third round, West takes the ace. and lends a dis- mond. if tIecIl1'cf'fll"l he is out

louth dealer. . you; -Idqg vnhgum, trumps were drawn. and four spad-

.J 10 . g, made, I 1;0R0(NlT0 QC?!) - The P::sby- cr an urc s no ”sp tual .31. deI;le”:;;'”I;; 33' ”:':i:t; liznwli: club" for expatriate Scottish and gK Q 9 ! g H" "mm round M humps Mt” Irish. in Branlford, 0nt., clergyman .1 the diamond is ruffed West is on "M Thunmy "I "I ouupoku "'