The Amherst news-times (Amherst, Ohio), 1943-01-07

              I TV EE HERST EfWS- Jl IMES i j i j 1 1 1 tJJLllL VOL XXV, NUMBER 2 AMHERST, OHIO, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 1943 SANDSTONE CENTER OF THE WORLD N Ait r Mrs. McCann Is Proud Of 3 Stars l The enlistment of Jack McCann into the U. S. Navy put the third star in the window of Mrs. Mary m McCann on Pearl-st. With two brothers already in the service and writing home interesting experiences of their lives in serving their country, Jack couldn't wait until he graduated to get into the armed forces. He quite school several weeks ago to enlist and is now "enjoying navy life" at Camp Endicott, Rhode Island. The Amherst lad has the follow- 6 ing address until completing his boot training: Jack McCann, S2c, Batt. 75, Co. D, Pltn. 1, U.S.N., C. T. C, Camp Endicott, Davisville, R. I. 9 The other two McCann Broth ers in the service are TSgt. Bob McCann and Pvt. Joe McCann, the latter having arrived a short time ago in North Africa with Q U. S. Army troops. TSgt. Bob put the first star , in the McCann window having been in the army air corps since his graduation from Amherst hiyh f school in 1940. He has had a taste of a variety line in army life He started out as a mechanic, study-IP ing various branches at a special s c h o ol, from there he went into the of- fice, then he had a transfer to training as a gli- r. -."v .' , 1 low he is studying to be a regu-;.r army pilot. He is lookine forward to the day when he will solo. Bob's first ambition on enlisting in the air corps was to be a pilot. He will finish his course in March. His tddess is TSgt. Robert McCarn, A. A. F. Glidsr Replacement Center, Kirtland Field, Albuquerque, N. Mexico. Pvt. Joe McCann, who was inducted into the army last spring, I. .sow seeing many strange sights ijmewhere in Africa. Mrs. Me-. , 2 a u n received her first letter in three months ii'om Joe before Christmas saying that he arrived safely in North Africa. He wrote that the American soldiers and the natives there get .1 Joe along fine, each having nothing to do with the other. The Americans can't understand what they talk about and the natives can't understand what the Americans talk about. The people there are chiefly Arabs and French. The Arabs don't have too many clothes and will trade readily with the new folks. The French are a little bit better off in their living conditions. Joe is a radio operator in a bomber and was formerly stationed at Greenville Air Base, Greenville, South Carolina. We have his address at the office for those wishing it. Pvt. McCann sent holiday wishes to the people of Amherst in his letter home. SENIOR LEFT SCHOOL TO JOIN U. S. NAVY Elmer Reichert, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Reichert of Bcaver-ct, left Wednesday for Great Lakes, 111. where he will commence his boot training at the Naval Training Station. Reichert, a member of the 1943 graduation class of Amherst high school, discontinued his schooling to join the service. ADDRESS CHANGED Pvt. Fred Kleps is now an aviation, cadet, training at San Antonio, Texas. His change of address is AvC Fred Kleps, Sqn. 11L Flight H, A. A. F. C. d, S.fV. A. C. C, San Antonio, Tex. On land, the sea and in the air Amherst Soldiers and Sailors are lighting for Liberty Amherst Chalks Up Another Lieutenant Another Amnerst hi:;h school graduate has just been commissioned a second lieutenant In the army air force at Scott Field, 111. parent radio school of the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command, it was announced this week. The newly commissioned second lieutenant is Harold P. Nie-sen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Niesen, Elyria-av. Lieut. Niesen received his gold bars in an impressive ceremony at Scott Field, before Christmas following completion of an intensive course in .ommunicaUons. During his months as an aviation cadet, h e underwent training in code, mathemat ics, radiorepair, transmitters, receivers, radio compass, circuit analysis, radio v " A..". A r telegraph procedure, tiight operations and otherhighly-technical subjects. Now ready to take his place in combat duty as a communications officer, Lieut. Niesen earned that right by undergoing tbe most strict type of military discipline and academic study. Scott Field, which also trains enlisted men as radio technicians to man America's bombers, is located six miles from Belleville, ill , in the 'LAJOjcn.g vjiass Country" immortalized by Charles Dickens. Formerly a training ground for aviators in World War I, it is now devoted exclusively to the production of communication officers and enlisted radio operators and mechanics. Niesen graduated from Am-hc:st high school with t!r class M 1839 taking an active part in science and dramatics during his last two years. He also graduated .'rom St. Joseph's parochial school in 1935. COUSINS CONVENE 3N CHRISTMAS DAY Sgt. Robert Krausc, Pfc. Joe Fuhrman and Pvt. Bob Fuhr- man, all cousins were able to tell .sach other his lot of army life during the holidays when all chanced to be home at the same ;time and Christ- ,. . .,- mas day was the J time that the . stories were told. I Sgt. Krause was in the office for a short time the day before he was to return to Fort Snell, Min. This furlough was his first since April and it "certainly was good to be home" was his way of saying it. A change aside from the town being minus of fellows, to Sgt. Krause was the addition of new houses on Hazel-st, his home. The old ball lot which was used seasonally by the Hazel-st gang no longer exists, in its place are two new homes. Sgt. Krause ' is stationed at Fort Snell, Minn, and he'd just as soon remain there for the time being. It's a swell camp in his estimation. At Fort Snell it is his duty to get the payroll out. It's a job that keeps him busy all day long and many times into the night. He's not sorry that he is through with his basic training and drilling. He can now watch the others go thru the same routine. The Amherst sergeant had a chance to become a 1st sergeant and be transferred to Texas just before he came home but he preferred the furlough. Sgt. Krause's address is the same as before: Sgt. Robert Krause, Co. A710 M. P. B.( Fort Snelliri.g, M CEMEN'S NEWS E FOUR , ICS n morHfI I pjaval Report Is ljy Tq Jack Essig, gunner's mate second class, sent his greetings home to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Essig of North Ridge-rd, telling them he was certainly thankful for what '42 had done for him, especially in that he was still alive. Jack was expected home for Christmas but circumstances prevented it. In an article appearing in the Cleveland Plain Dealer last week Thursday c o n-cerning action received by the USS McFarland, Mrs. ,. Essig un- ? derstood all that f her son meant in . ; i,:,. i..... !. r ' The article said the little des a-cycr M Farland, which is the Amherst youth's ship, traveled .i.uli) miles from the Solomons after sinking a Jap submarine and shooting clown four dive-bombers. This ship kept sail using a false stern and a jury rudder, fashioned of telephone poles. The four planes shot "down were among nine which attacked the destroyer and blew off a large section of its stern. Despite the assault, the destroyer which has ueeii converted into an aircraft tender, carried out its mission, dolivering a full load of aviation gasoline, torpedoes and bombs to C.uadalcanal and taking off a Urge number of the islands' '.valking wounded. " PacAic leet Commander Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was told the story of the McFarland by Lt. Commander John Clement Alderman of Portland,, Ore., the ship's captain, and Lieut. Earl G. Gardner, its executive officer. The McFarland built in 1920, wai in action in the Solomons area many weeks before the marines first landed there last August 7. It was during this period that she sank the submarine. The dive-bombing action came later. The air action came after the torpedoes, bombs and ammunition had been taken off the ship at Guadalcanal and the men were iinloatling the gasoline. One plane planted a bomb on the last live feet of the stern tearing away a large section of the ship including the rudder. The men aboard made a jury rudder out of telephone poles and a false stern. After several weeks, they started out for Pearl Harbor. Essig wrote in his letter that several of his buddies with whom he was schooled were killed in this action. PVT. BELLIN BEGINS TRAINING AT MISSOURI Pvt. James C. Bellin of Amherst is among the newly inducted personnel of the army to have been sent from the Reception Center at Fort Thomas, Ky. to the Signal RTC at Camp Crow-der, Mo. LIEUT. AND MRS. THOMAS JrEND HOLIDAY HERE Lieut. Arthur R. Thomas has completed his course in the military intelligence school in Washington, D. C. Accompanied by his wife he spent the weekend with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig Thomas of Elyria-av. FORMER BOOK STORE OWNER IS IN TEXAS Pvt. Clarence Frederick, former manager of the local Central Book Store, is stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. He wrote home that he is enjoying army life and at the present he is getting a taste of maneuvers. His address is Pvt. Clarence Frederick, 1537-4889, Bit. D, 512th C. A. (A.A.), Fort Bliss, Texas. Ray Frederick has a new address again and lt Is: Ray Frederick, U. S. C. G. Base, San Juan, Puerto Rico. " , Mlliwm;,ii j Beards Grow As Lights Go Off Amherst men were the "most unshaven" men in the county Monday morning. Hundreds of them were seen on the streets of the village, and since many of them passed up their morning shave when it was due they left their beards grow for the rest of the day. But beards weren't the only unusual sights. Happy faces on school children indicated they, too, were effected by the same condition that brought out the beards on men's faces. And here and there you saw other indications of something wrong. Mother nature caused it all. Ice-coated wires caused by Sunday afternoon's cold rain that froze when it struck something en which it could stick can be blamed for all the trouble and blessed by the school children for one more day of vacation. The heavy 22,000 volt wires that bring electricity to Amherst from Lorain held up Sunday afternoon and Sunday night, but about 2 a. m. Monday morning they held more ice load than thry could carry and snapped. Crews were Immediately hurried to make repair's, but a fro zen switch created more trouble, and current didn't flow into Am herst until nearly noon. Candles were in big demand wherever a store could be found that had any. In homes flashlights, and even old fashioned coal oil lamps .came back into their own. At the U. S. Automatic plant the morning shift couldn't start work. Not only was the power off, but the heating system failed since the blowers are electrically operated. Office tenants in the Bank Bldg. kept on their heavy coals and goloshes because heat couldn't be forced to the second floor. It was the usual wash day in many homes, but few washes were done in the morning since wash machines were without the power to operate. In the stores customers and clerks managed the best they could, and so far as could be learned, there were very, very few wrong substitutions.But nature left a beautiful story outside for those brave souls who ventured out over slippery sidewalks or icy pavements. Trees, wires and bushes had a tinsel decoration that covered all around, and whenever ihe sun broke through the clouds they glistened in a most glamorous manner. The naked limbs of trees were clothed once more and silvery streaks waved in the wind. In the fields every blade of grass that extended above what little snow was left was like a tiny sword ready to pierce anyone stepping upon it, but presenting a brilliant sight to the onlooker. The American Legion auxiliary will hold its regular meeting next Tuesday in the Legion Rooms at the townhall. End of '42 By Mrs. F. R. Powers "A maximum of change in a minimum of time" might be considered an apt and timely thumbnail description of our village in the year just past. Oh, yes, the town hall is still standing and the sidewalks haven't been taken in outwardly we're about the same . "1 remember the day he was called how my heart ached for his loved one. In my mind's eye I followed him to Camp Perry and thence from one training camp to another all over the country. Then the tortuous weeks of silence, and finally the good news that he had arrived safely in England, Hawaii, India maybe Alaska." The above quotation represents one soldier boy. Multiply it then by a few more than 260 young men (and two young ladies if you please) and you'll find In the product thus obtained what's missing around Amherst right now. And the only change, of all that the war has brought about during the year now passing, that's really worth mentioning. Army-Navy E Will Be Presented Wednesday Troop Units Are ilitary Secrets If you know what ship a sailor is on, or what company or regiment a soldier is with overseas then you know a military "secret," the Office of Censorship in Washington warns. This secret ought not to be published. This is why: A general needs to know the , Disappointment over the co-; buttons to three employees dur-strength of his opponent: how operation of both public and civil- inB Wednesday's program. John many men guns, ships, planes ian defense workers in the sur- I J- Strohmeier will be one of the there are in each theater of war. prise lest last week Tuesday was ; -'M'iuyccs receiving the button. ' The Nazis and the Japs want to expressed by the members of the know these things about our Civilian Defense Council, forces. Their agents assemble Qne hundred and sixty-four the information like this: trom lockout violations were report-one paper, an item reveals the tci to control center, with an even 600th Infantry is in Australia; greater number probable. .Most nnn4knp 4.', 41... IT c c ur;.. ....... cuivniwi, uiui imc yj. u. o. i.i.-,- consin is in the Meditei ranean: another, that the 206th Tank Battalion is in North Africa. Add hundreds of these bits of information together, and our encmies have a too-accurate esti- mate of American niiiitury ; miiar to an actual raid. In a strength. jfw instances air raid wardens These are OUR soldiers reported residents refused to Americans all whom we en-! blackout their homes, and auxil-danger by these "little slips." P()lice had to bc dispatched This is not a "blackout" on the 10 enforce the regulation, news about our soldiers. Con- The surprise test was also in-siderable latitude in reporting ! luukd l" determine just how personal experiences gives the ' m;,ny workers could be depend-enemy little military intorina- ul)('n 10 r"-'l)(,rl ' eVLnt of an lion, if the troop units, the ship ! unexpected emergency. It was names are kept secret. But in ! expected that many would fail articles about soldiers and sailors110 'cspond because of employ-and in the addresses for them, nicnt- 1,1 a ft'w cuscs none of the don't give away their fightin j ielvite Personnel reported which unjtS- would have left the village un- j protected so far as their services Asks Cops Work An Extra Night In an effort to curtail expenses this week by Charles Kendeigh, the night police officer will be: chairman of the council, asked to wori: seven nights a "We know that our siren is week from Mr.y 1st to October I not loud enough, and that it can-lst, according to the wishes of the i not be well heard in some sec-village council. The move was! lions. However, it is the only made to reduce the cost of extra police. Regular police have been working six days or six nights a week, with extra police hired for the seventh day. With the man on nights working seven days the services of one extra policeman will be saved. Applications were received from E. H. Mays and Earl White for the jobs of regular police, John Hollingsworth for street commissioner, and Dorothy Gawne for mayor's secretary. Council authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $1500 to pay for attorneys' fees in light plant taxpayers' suits. The bonds will run for five years. News Letter If anyone had told us a year ago that the dawning of 1943 would find so many of our young men gone from our homes and highways, we wouldn't have believed him at least we wouldn't have wanted to. But world affairs being what they arc today, I shall make haste to place on the credit side of Am herst's 1942 ledger our roll 0f honor with its 260-some names, along with the "E" flag that will soon be floating over the U. S. Automatic. The fact that this year saw the quibbling over the light plant temporarily halted will be considered a bright and shining entry on 1942's credit side, too. Everything considered, it would seem that we the people of the village of Amherst have behaved ourselves quite well during 1942. Sure enough, I could think of an item or two that would fit snugly on the liability side of the ledger but I shan't mention them here. After all who wants to start the new year with a bunch of people "mad" at him. (Cont'd on page four) ,: Major Herbert S. Karch, veteran of the first world war, wiil represent the Under-Secretary of War at the Army-Navy ' I'. ' Award presentation cerei.:ony at the U. S. Automatic Corp. on V u..r.cai.i.rf . Januai I Jih .l f.io p. in. iviajor Karch, a . ...i e si..o n, .6 iHcihiinutalive Olficer of the Industrial Division of the War Department, Cleveland Ordnance District. His extensive research and executive experience with industrial firms has qualified him for the type of work he is doing for the War lepartmeni:. , Lt. Commander W. J. Mauer, ioor Results In Recent Blackout oi me violations were in resi- deuces, but a lew busint as places v. vie lisa-cl among the violators. i,lc tC:,t was unexpectedly 'calnu to determine how well the puijhc a:.d workers would co- t;'cia;j unutr conditions very : were concerned. j SIREN NOT HEARD j Many of the violations were , due to not hearing the siren. A plea that residents should be on ! the alert for the siren was made one that we could get, and we'll just have to make it do until such time as a better one can be obtained."Residents can give us their cooperation in two ways. If they uh ttJi J. i ,J u 1 1 . close by, they should turn out all ! lights before leaving. And secondly, they can cooperate by Informing their neighbors of the blackout who may not have heard the siren Informing neighbors, how-1 . . 1 j u.i ever, must not be done by telephone for telephones are not to be used during a blackout," said! Kendeigh. i v-Hi-h .-M - .. .J tests would be held to accustom people to the practice. "If we get a real raid we'll have no advance notice, so we've got to get used to having them come unexpectedly," he said. POLICE MEETING Next Sunday at 1:30 all auxiliary police, both the older men and the new class, and all firemen and auxiliary firemen will meet in the town hall. Atty. J. J. Smythe will explain the war emergency ordinance, and Fire Chief Stlwald will explain the newest methods of combating Incendiary i bombs. Auxiliary police are ask ed to brine their books with them. The dangers of air raids in the United States are going with the length of the war, state defense chiefs warned. "The more desperate the Axis becomes, the greater the danger of raids. They will resort to any lengths to win this war," Lieut. Col. Willard A. Johnson said this week. The meeting of the Band Mothers' club will be held this evening in the home of Mrs. Raymond Sick. All members, old and new, are asked to be present at eight. Mrs. Clayton Young will en tertain members of circle three of St. Aim's society this evenlna. Naval Advisor of the Office of ! inspection ef Naval Materiel, 1 will represent the Navy Depart- meiit and will personally pre-i sent the Army-Navy "E" lapel ie is the oldest employee in the number of years of service. Mrs. itmh Jewctt is the first employee in the line of duty since I the new policy of employing I women workers in the shop. She I w:li acjot ti.e laoel button in , . jLiiau oi ;,ie women employees, irank Lach, president of the a.Sl'vV will receive the button in behalf of all employees and will make the acceptance talk. The "E" flag to be flown from the main flag pole will be presented by Major Karch to president and general manager W. G. Nord. JUDGE COOK CHAIRMAN Honorable D. A. Cook, Lorain County Common Pleas Court Judge, will be Chairman for the event. The invocation' WU be given by Rev. Fr. J. H. Smith of St. Joseph's church. Rev. C. E. Schmidt, Amherst, of St. i'eler's Evangelical church Will i.iv'0 the welcome address. Tht Color Guard will be composed ol '' me Aniiu rst Legion, Post No. 118. Preparations are being made at the present time for decorating an appropriate platform for the occasion. All employees are to participate in the program. Each employee will be given a guest ticket which he may present to an immediate member of his family or to anyone else he wishes to have as his guest on this day. There will be touri throughout the plant after the presentation ceremony. Accord ing to word received today high officials from both the Army and Navy will be on hand tor the presentation. Music for the occasion will be Z " " V, . "7T Oberl.n College Music students furnished by a select group of This group will be directed by D. , . ,. . i oui. ruinui vviiuums oi vne Obcrlin College Conservatory. Prof. Harold Haugh and Miss Wanda Pittman, an Oberlin stu- Hfint Mr 1 1 1 tqUa enln nnvfs UnnxU . , V""6" Wl11 sinS God of Our Fathers" iand Miss Pittman will play the l trnmnnf for tho oilipQn.lnrf nf tuA V r 8 " colors. . ..,...' Approx.mately 80 of the form- v. w. hj. Cllliyiujrtrcs die 1IUW in the Armed Forces. Some time during the program these men will be honored for their efforts in the defense of our country while they were turning out vital war parts. , PROGRAM i Band selctions. Master of ceremonies, Honorable Dan A. Cook, Judge Common Pleas Court; Advancing of the Colors, American Legion Color Guard, Amherst Post No. 118; Invocation, Rev. Ft. J. H. Smith, St. Joseph's church, Amherst; Address of Welcome, Rev. C. E. Schmidt, St. Peter's church, Amherst; Presentation of "E" Award, Major H. S. Karch, Cleveland Ordnance District, War Department; Acceptance of "E" Award, Walter G. Nord, President U. S. Automatic Corp. Raising of Army-Navy "E" Flag, Color Guard; Presentation of Lapel Insignia, Lt. Commander W. J. Mauer, Cleveland Naval District, Navy Department; Representative Employees Receiving Lapel Insignia, J. J. Strohmeier, Ruth Jewett, Frank Lach; Acceptance on Behalf of Employees, Frank Lach, President, ASPW; "God of Our Fathers," solo, Harold Haugh; "America," by the entire Assembly. Music by Instrumental ensemble from Oberlin College under direction of Arthur Williams. J Ll L -