The Mail-Journal, Volume 8, Number 5, Milford, Kosciusko County, 3 March 1971 — Page 14

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THE MAIL-JOURNAL—Wed., Mar. 3, 1971

AFRICA — Last In A Series African Tour Group Winds Up 5-Week Trip In London

By ARCH BAUMGARTNER LONDON, England — A bolt of lightning that struck our VC-10 36,000 feet over northern Egypt, and a coup d’tat that overturned the government of Dr. Miltern Obote in Uganda, allowed our group of touring American journalists to visit another country and to extend our stay in beautiful Londontown. I have already written about our stay in Nairobi, Kenya, and our safari that took us to the foothills of the Kilimanjaro mountains to see the co-called "big five” animals in their natural habitat. The safari was on Saturday. Feb. 20. and we * were scheduled for the last leg of our five-week African tour of emerging nations on Sunday, Feb. 21 The last leg was to take us on a ID-hour flight from Nairobi to London, with a brief stopover at Cairo, Egypt. Our visit to Uganda was cancelled on the advice of VS. Ambassador Robinson Mcllvanine in Nairobi. While the new government, that of General Amin, was fairly well in charge in Uganda, it was thought our tour could be turned into some sort of American approval of the new regime. And in order to avoid any embarrassment to the U.S. state department, it was thought we should forgo the visit to Uganda High Over Aswan Dam Our flight out of Nairobi on Sunday morning was on schedule, and we boarded the sleek BOAC VC-10 with its four aft jet engines for a 11 a m. takeoff. We were soon off the ground for a rapid ascent to our 36,000-foot flight pattern We found the skies clear, and over the northern part .of Kenya we could see the plush, green fields It was nothing like parched southern Kenya Our captain. W. L. Tomlinson, came over the loudspeaker several times, telling us where we were and giving other pertinent information concerning the flight After several hours out, he pointed out on our right the Blue Nile River, and later he directed our atlention to the confluence of the Blue Nile with the White Nile, to form the Nile that pours into die Mediterranean He told us at one point that nearly 100 miles to our right was the Russian-built Aswan Dam that was recently dedicated We could not see the dam. however, because of its distance and due to a light fog. Our plane carried 11 passengers who were supposed to disembark at Cairo. Egypt But when we neared Cairo, Captain Tomlinson announced that due to a strong wind and sandstorm at Cairo, we were directed to fly to the island of Cyprus, landing at the capital city of Nicosea "Cyprus." we thought, racking our memory for an exact location of the island where only a fewyears ago civil disorder broke out between the equally-divided Greeks and Turks We went to our map to find Cyprus just off the coast of Turkey, and southeast of Greece. But before we reached Cyprus, our plane went through a rough storm through which we sat in our buckled down seat belts. Then — "flash" — and the lights went out momentarily, and the huge plane shook We were told a bolt of lightning had struck the plane! We circled the field at Nicoaea with apparent ease, in spite of the lightning incident, and landed without concern. A light rain was falling and it was balmy. The grass was green, and we were in a festive mood. As usual, the women scurried to the airport counter where trinkets and postal cards are sold. We had no need to be in a hurry, for we wee soon told there would be a two-hour delay in our flight. Lightning had actually struck our plane Off For London We landed at Nicoaea at 4:30 pm., after a 54 hour flight from Nairobi, and at 6:30 we were taking off for London. The 11 passengers who were to disembark at Cairo got off at Nicoaea. and those we were to pick up at Cairo were not with us. We found ourselves with but 25 aboard the huge VC-10 destined for London. Captain Tomlinson announced his apologies for the delay and had the three young British hostesses to break out the refreshments to allay any hostility the passengers might have built up For our part, we can say there was no hostility, for all of our group seemed delighted with the unscheduled stop-over. We had a delightfully computable group.

En route to London, we were in for a 44 hour fight. And as-time dragged I had browsed through most all the reading material aboard. I sent a personal card up to the cabin with a hostess, telling Captain Tomlinson I would like to talk to him concerning the flight for background purposes. Following his dinner, he came back to our area where I had a long talk with him. 1 found, among other things, that the captain had been a BOAC pilot for 18 years, having visited JFK in New York, O’Hare in Chicago, anddnternational at Los Angeles a number of times. He was a World War II pilot in the RAF. He said the plane on which we were traveling was one of BOACs finest, having a 150-seat capacity, powered by Rolls-Royce engines. The trip we were making, he said, was 3,000 miles from Nairobi to Nicosea, and 2,000 miles from Nicosea to London. The huge plane carries 65 tons of fuel, and uses up six tons on takeoff. He also said on the NicoseaLondon leg of the journey we were passing over Rhodes Island in the Agean Sea, Agean islands. Greece. Rumania, Yugoslavia, Austria. Germany. Belgium, the North Sea and into England. Approaching London at night is a sight to behold. We made our descent over the city that was a prime target for Hitler’s Luftwaffe 27 years ago, and we could not but bring back many memories of that war in which we had a small part. The city was lighted with both white lights and amber lights, and we knew not why, but we were again reminded of the breadth of the city that is so steeped in history. We landed at 11 p.m., just 12 hours from the time we took off at Nairobi, at famous HeathrowAirport at Hounslow, Middlesex. England We found the night air biting, and we were glad for the trenchcoat and hat we had lugged along the 25,000-mile route we had traveled through the hot equatorial countries of Africa. We were met at the airport by an attractive young English lass who had all our arrangements made for our stay in London. She accompanied us on the bus to the London-Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, just across from famous Hyde Park See London We enjoyed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Landon, and even m that short time we could see a lot. Monday was unscheduled and we walked to Oxford Street, the main shopping area in London. It was extremely crowded, shoppes were well stocked and people were buying There appeared to be no depression in Landon. In the afternoon we took a tour down the Thames River. On our second day, ten of our group took a regular tour of the city of London, and we found it well worth while. We drew an excellent guide, and it would press one to begin to repeat the places we visited. The regualr places such as Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral. Fleet Street, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of Landon, all figured in our itinery. We hoped to see the Crowned Jewels at the Tower of London, but found they were being cleaned during our visit. Della

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stepped up to one of the colorful Beefeaters (guards) and asked why we couldn’t see the Crowned Jewels. Surefooted and full of great good humo&he said, "Oh, we didn’t expect you until next week!” Our guide pointed out the London Bridge which has been replaced But underneath the bridge is the old bridge which the city sold to an Arizona Millionaire, who is having the famous landmark disassembled and moved to Arizona where he has a development at Lake Havasu. The guide said the story persists around London that the Arizona entrepreneur thought he was buying the Tower Bridge, the one with the twin towers most often seen on picture post cards. On Wednesday several of us took a three-hour bus ride on a double-decker city bus. riding the front seat on the top deck. It was a real thrill. And of course we visited the internationally famous Harrod’s. London’s Marshall Fields. It should be mentioned that Della was in a taxi cab accident on Monday afternoon when we were returning from our trip up the Thames River. Our group was in two taxis, and I was in the first one. The one she was in struck another cab. and she and two others in the cab tumbled forward, ending up on a pile on the taxi floor. No one was I hurt, but it gave us fuel for conservation for several days. Our group ate breakfast in the London-Hilton dining room and dinner at the second-floor International Restaurant where service and cuisine were superb. Our group got to know headwaiter George Weiss, a German, and he attended to our every whim. 747 To JFK All good things must cme to an end. and this is more than just a cliche. Our stay in London proved most enjoyable, and was the capstone to a wonderful experience in travel and education. In fact, there’s no education quite like travel. Our bags were out early Thursday morning at the LondonHilton to be transported to Heathrow pirport. Here we cleared customs and boarded a giant Pan-Am 747, the jet jumbo that the air transport world is talking about. We lumbered down the runway at exactly 11 a.m. and we lifted off for a seven-hour journey over the north Atlantic for JFK airport in New York. A description of this big craft goes begging. The fuselage is 22 feet across. From left, there are three wide seats, an aisle, then four wide seats, another aisle, then two seats on the right. Three movies were shown simultaneously and service was excellent. We traveled tourist, so we didn't get to visit the astrodome. Looking across the plane, one had the feeling of being in an auditorium. It has 28 wheels in its landing gear. The big plane has 362 seats, but our trip had only 147 passengers The big bird traveled over Greenland. Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, across the state of Maine and into JFK. We left Landon at 11 a m. and landed at JFK at 11:30 a m. You can do this if you travel with the sun. We transferred from Pan-Am to TWA after we had cleared customs, and in two hours we

were headed for Cleveland and the Midwest. At Cleveland we were met for a snack by brother Joe and his wife Gladys. It seemed great to see someone from home. Tw o hours in Cleveland and we were off again, this time for South Bend, in what seemed a mighty little plane after the 747. We were met in South Bend by son Ron and his wife Gloria. This could easily be the end of our narrative, but it certainly is not the end of a story about a vast continent we knew so little about before setting out on our journey January 25. Africa is so big. unknown to the Western world as we know it, so unexploited We have a hunch the word "Africa 4 ’ will be cropping up in our American language more and more in the years ahead as Americans begin to know and understand a continent on the brink of a new destiny among the nations of the world. Merit Badges Expand Scout Knowledge Paul Weaver of Elkhart, is one of the newly 175 men and women who helped boy scouts earn over 1300 merit badges during 1970 in the Pioneer Trails Council, Boy Scouts of America. “The merit badge plan, with over 100 vocational and hobby subjects offers a real opportunity for a boy to expand his knowledge,” Weaver says. Every merit badge is carefully selected and must satisfy at least one of-the three purposes of the program ... to help the boys develop greater proficiency in Scoutcraft skills, guide him in exploring a vocational field at his age level, or introduce him to a stimulating hobby,' explains Ronald Meteiver, Advancement Chairman for the Pioneer Trails Council. Boy Scouts of America. Every merit badge is practical, has a broad appeal for scout age boys, include easily understood requirements, and stress learning by doing. There is an expanding need for v more counselors to join those already working closely with boy scouts on subjects ranging from agriculture to zoology; and business to outdoor skills. The ten most popular subjects are; first aid. camping, cooking, citizenship in the nation, and in the community, personal fitness, swimming and lifesaving, home repairs and conservation of natural resources. New counselors are now being approached to serve for a two year term; which will add to the availability of knowledge in every neighborhood.

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