The Mail-Journal, Volume 9, Number 7, Milford, Kosciusko County, 15 March 1972 — Page 7

THE MIDDLE-EAST - Seventh In A Series Newsmen Fly To Sharm El Scheikh And Enjoy A Swim In Red Sea

By DELLA AND ARCH • BAUMGARTNER SHARM EL SHEIKH, Sinai Peninsula, Wednesday, Feb. 16 — Perhaps a fond dream of any red-blooded American lad or llass is to enjoy a swirn in the Red J>ea, on the lower tip of the Sinai Peninsula, when much of the world is suffering from cold winter weather. And this we did, in crystalclear waters unspoiled by any pollution whatever. Swimming in ten feet of azure blue waters one could easily see the sandy bottom. Our visit to this outpost which figured so much in the new s in June 1967 during the now famous six-day war between the Arabs and Israel came yesterday and today as the southern-most leg of our tour of the Mi< "ast countries with other members of the National Newspaper Association. Fly Over Sand, Mountains Our group boarded a fourengine prop plane of the Arkia (Israel) lines at Herald Field in Tel Aviv al about 10 a m yesterday, Feb. 15. We had spent the night at the hilltop InterContinental Hotel in Jerusalem, overlooking the Mount of Olives and the Old City of Jerusalem We were up early and made the trip from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv in a little less than two hours over a super highway much like we have in the United States. The road was opened since the 1967 conflict, but burned-out trucks and armored units still remain at certain points along the road as a reminder to Israelites and visitors of that traumatic national experience

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ANNUAL MEETING SAT., Mar. 18 mr* AT THE WINONA LAKE AUDITORIUM ELECTION OF THREE DIRECTORS ENTERTAINMENT: DOOR PRIZES: Radios, Portable TVs, Portable Heaters, Power Tools and Appliances. EACH MEMBER-FAMILY ATTENDING WILL RECEIVE AN EIGHT-PACK OF LIGHT BULBS. PLUS AN INTERESTING ELECTRICAL SAFETY DEMONSTRATION. COUNTY jz/ twa «U«AI tIfCTSIC MtMStSSHIF CO«rO«ATION XjLjK , VW* 8

Once we took off at Tel Aviv and headed south on an hour and a half flight to Sharm El Sheikh, we headed east and passed over Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We also passed over the 6,000-year-old city of Beersheba, the city where Queen Batsheba once reigned. This is only one of the cities in Israel that has phenomental growth since 1946 when the state of Israel was set up. It has gone from a population of 3,000 in 1948 to 90,000 today. A very helpful guide who was to remain with us the rest of the day. by the name of Yehiel Kirshbaum. a real Don Rickies type, told us at one point we were going over the land where Abraham lived 1,800 years before Christ. Living in the same area as well were Abraham’s son Isaak and his grandson Jacob He referred us to the Book of Genesis for the full story. And of course we passed over the famous Judean Hills in the early part of our flight. The guide also pointed out the Sde Boker Kubbu z where the first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion, grew up. and where he is now living and writinghis memoires. He is in his 80s. j Meet South Bend Man As luck would have it, we met a man sitting near us on the plane from South Bend. He was Jacob E Burke, of 559 River avenue. South Bend. We were with him much of the remainder of the day. At any rate, we landed at a desolate airport where nothing but sand surrounded us, with volcanic hills far away on both

sides. Before we got on our bus, our guide, who by now we were calling “Larry" for some unknown reason, pointed to two small white buildings about 10 feet apart way out in the sand. “These are our only toilet facilities here,” he pointed invitingly. He took us a ride across the sandy plains, and through an area cut off by barbed wire. He told us the area was still mined from the war. He drove up to several shot-out gun emplacements overlooking the Straits of Tiran, and of course we did the usual picture taking. The guns were Egyptian before the 1967 war and were used to keep Israel from using the Straits for shipping up the Gulf of Aquaba, now called the Gulf of Eilat. This Straits is reduced to an 80yard passage area due to coral growth, the guide told us. We visited an oasis and Mangrove Grove, and saw sea vegetation at its northern most point of growth in the world. Then we continued down the dusty road to Sharm El Sheikh. A Real Outpost Sharm El Sheikh was nothing like we had expected. Its location is at a most desolate and forlorn spot, but its value as a strategic point insofar as the national interest of Israel is concerned is undeniable. We found a number of small temporary buildings to house workers for what is the beginning of a large city. The plans are complete, we felt sure, to launch this area into full city status. Our group ate lunch in an inflated balloon-type building, being served by Sinai native boys who had been enlisted as part of the local work force. Sharm El Sheikh is nothing today, but it has a quality of virgin beauty that is both captivating and entrancing. Humidity stands at five per cent, and one can stand in the driving sun without sweating. The clear, blue waters, licking upon an unspoiled, sandy beach was more than we could withstand. Once we found suitable facilities to change into our swimming trunks, a number of us ventured into the waters for a refreshing swim while some of our group took a trip into the bay in a glass-bottom boat and others

found solace in a patio with a deck of cards. Back To Eilat We ended an idyllic afternoon in a spot that is destined to remain in Israeli hands for years to come, one which will figure prominently in this country’s defense perimeter. As we saw it, Egypt held a fragile grip on this tip of the Sinai when it closed it to Israeli shipping in June of 1967, thus triggering the six-day hostilities. And Israel recognized the Gulf of Aquaba as its “back door” to East Africa nations, India, yes, and the new state of Bengladesh, and this route simply could not be dosed. t One wonders what Egypt had in mind in the first place, or whether Egypt president Nasser had gotten himself out on a limb in his country with too many promises he could not keep. One can fault Israel for a number of things, but not for securing this vital lifeline: this being the consensus of most of our group. Well, in the late afternoon of February 15, we,flew from Ophir airfield north of Sharm El Sheikh where we had landed earlier, and were headed for another new town — Eilat (prounced “A Lot”) located in the bay at the north end of the Gulf of Aquaba, where we were put up in the Solomon Hotel. We were met at the airport by George Baum, a multilingual guide and a native of Austria. He told us he had renounced his French citizenship in 1940 to become a native of the new state of Israel. George, too, was an able guide and we took him to our hearts at once. It was our pleasure to be in his charge all day today as he took us around the new city of Eilat with its 16,000 residents, of which 12,000 are workers, according to George. He showed it all to us, including about 500 hippies. Here, too, natives have an aversion to these young folks of the road. On this trip today a small group of French tourists joined us. and good ole George would speak a sentence of explanation in English, then repeat it in French. Besides getting a tour guide we got a French lesson as well. Eilat’s harbor is full of tankers and other ships with cargo coming and going, but this isn’t the thing’ that attracted our attention. We were taken by the

huge amount of new building that promised to make this small community a first class city in a short number of years. George took us north to a Kibbutz we visited and to a small camp where boys and girls in ages ranging from 15 to 18 were undergoing some sort of training. George said this is pre-army — “This way a youngster doesn’t go from mommy to Sergeant Major,” he said. He took us to a modern copper mine and explained the intricate process used here. He said, “Now let me show you an old copper mine,” and we headed still further north to visit a copper mine called King Solomon’s Copper Mine. This mine was discovered by a Cincinnati University archeology professor. He took his clue from the Bible, and set out to discover these lost copper mines. Our tour van rumbled through some desolate country, reminiscent of the U.S wild west. In fact, George told us European movie companies cane to this site to film wide west movies, with actors and actresses speaking in Arabic! We came onto these King Solomon Copper Mines located near the Pillars of Solomon which we took cola slides of. Geage explained that King Solomon’s workmen built a circular wall against a steep mountain slope, leaving holes along the wall’s baton. The natural air going into the holes and up the wall provided the first Bessamer furnace, he said. At any rate, copper was smelted here for tweapons used in King Solomon’s time, about 800 years before the birth of Christ. Then A Swim We motaed back to Eilat to the Neptune Hael where we ate lunch and again several of us took to the beach. We found a clear water, much like at Sharm El Sheikh, but the beach was strewn with stones. Hundreds of hippies were lying around the public beach, no doubt to the chagrin of the hael’s management. Our group assembled at 4 p.m. at the Neptune Hael lobby and soon we found ourselves driven back to the Ophir airfield at Eilat fa a 25-minute trip to Lod airfield at Tel Aviv. After desolate Sharm El Sheikh, which reminded us ruefully of Timbucktu of a year ago, we were happy to see the bright lights of the throbbing city of Tel Aviv. We put up at the Shearton Hael in Tel Aviv and got a good night’s sleep, ready for another full day of official visits. We hoped now to get the official version of the six-day war and the aftermath which has held a grip on world attention, and threatened to plunge the super powers into a third world war. » Receives 'One To 10 Year Sentence Darrell Ray Custer, 24, Milfad, has been sentenced to a one to 10 year sentence on charges of possession and sale of LSD. State police officers arrested Custer on June 3, 1969 during a raid at a Pierceton mobile home park. October 26, 1970 Custer’s case was venued to Starke circuit court and found guilty of both charges on July 14, 1971. On August 20, 1971 Custer was sentenced to a one to 10 year prison term and fined SSOO on the possession charge and a one to 10 year sentence and fined $lO on the sale charge. Custer indicated he was going to appeal the ruling to the Indiana supreme court and therefore was released on bond. He later decided against the appeal and appeared before Judge McLaughlin Wednesday. March 8, and officially received his sentence of one to 10 years.

Coupon Days in Nappanee Friday & Saturday, March 17 & 18 Long sleeved dress shirts will be on sale these two days. Two shirts for the price of one. t And sweaters. How About two of these for the price of one also? Incidentally, no coupon required. 107 E. MARKET ST. J* ® OPEN UNTIL EIGHT-THIRTY NAPPANEE . PA OOF kJ FRIDAY-UNTIL PHONE 773-3732 s< vUTr W,IUI >: FIVE-THIRTY SATURDAY . J* "' <n aMa ■

K J ■ ■ ■ 7 S L 8" ■'< wjMjpß BzJ IK a II B I *F/B Ik 1 < I. I SPELLING BEE WINNERS — Syracuse junior high school spelling bee winners last Thursday night are shown here, from left. Brian Slabaugh, 3d in 7-8 class; Gary Brown, 2d in 7-8 class; Craig Koble. Ist in 7-8 class and grand champion; Libby Alberts, Ist in 5-6 class and runner-up grand champion; Tonya Coquillard, 2d in 5-6 class; and Chris Henning, 3d in 5-6 class. Mrs. Ronald Sharp, pronouncer, is in the back. Craig Koble Syracuse Jr. Hi Spelling Bee Winner

Craig Koble, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Koble. was winner rs the 7th and Bth grade spelling bee and was pronounced grand champion of the Syracuse junior high school at a spell-off held at the school gym last Thursday night. Runner-up was Libby Alberts, daughter of Mrs. Barbara Anderson. She was sth and 6th grade champion last year. Libby misspelled the word “stationary,” and it was

Milford Junior High Honor Rolls Released For Fourth Six Weeks

The Milford junior high honor rolls have been released as follows for the fourth six week grading period: Distinguished Eighth grade — Beth Beer Seventh grade — Patricia McQuillian and Diane Perry Sixth grade — David Baker, Phil Stichter and Lydia Tucker Honor Roll Eighth grade — Doug Baker,

Terry Baldwin In Regional Speech Tourney Terry Baldwin, a sophomore at Wawasee high school, has gained the opportunity to participate in the regional speech tournament this Saturday at Warsaw high school. Terry is in the extemporaneous division consisting of choosing a topic on current affairs and having 30 to 45 minutes to workup a factual 5-7 minute speech. This requires a knowledge of current events as well as being able to organize. A member of the speech team all year, this has been his first year of competition. He has helped the team through a successful year in which W’awasee participated in eight tournaments as well as hosting one of its own. There will be 14 tournaments lined up next year with plans fa attracting new members and preparation of the second annual Wawasee speech invitational.

Wed., Mar. 15, 1972— THE MAIL-JOURNAL

correctly spelled by Craig, then Craig went on to spell “superintendent” correctly, to be pronounced the champion. As grand champion Craig receives a plaque and ribbon, a $25 savings bond. He also received a $5 check as 7th and Bth grade winner, while Libby as runner-up receives a plaque and ribbon and a $5 check aS sth and 6th grade winner. Ribbons were also presented to second and third winners in the

Deborah Hartman, Angela Jessop, Susan McQuillian, Esther Miller, Brad Sorensen, Craig Sorensen, Steve Troup, Amy Vanlaningham and Lorraine Welker Seventh grade — Diane Kesler, Robin Miller and Ronald Wuthrich Sixth grade — Roger Baumgartner

Ta Wa A O Wa's Meet Wednesday By SHELLY HARTING The Ta Wa A O Wa Camp Fire group at Syracuse met on Wednesday, March 8. They discussed more about the slumber party to be held in April. Teresa Searfoss brought the treat and Cathy Singrey was appointed to bring the treat next time. Milford Boy Scouts To * Sell Kits Members of the Milford Boy Scan troop 47 will be on the streets from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, March 24. and all day Saturday, March 25, selling combination safety-first aid kits. They have set a goal of 300 kits. Funds will be used to purchase camping equipment for use by the scout troop. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Estep visited with Mrs. Estep’s brother-in-law, at the Elkhart hospital last Saturday.

sth and 6th grade class, and in the 7th and Bth grade class as well, by junior high principal Charles Haffner. 'Mrs. Ronald Sharp was pronouncer; judges were Philip Fawley, Mrs. Mary Whiteman and Mrs. Max Ellen Smith; recorders were Mrs. Judy Firebaugh and Ned Speicher; tape recorder, James Nelson; dictionary, Mrs. Gladys Preston; contest advisors, Russel Sonafrank and Mrs. Marvis Vanderveer.

Syracuse Library Notes By BONNIE BJELLA There will be anaher story hour Saturday, March 18, beginning at 10:30. Among other things, two movies will be shown. They are “The Story of Ping” and “The Ant and the Grasshopper.” There are several new books in the children’s room once again. Be sure to stop in and look them over. We now have an “Easter Egg Tree” and any child wishing to donate eggs may do sq. To make the eggs, simply punch-a hole in the ends of the eggs and blow or wash out the insides and decorate any way you wish. Help us make our “Egg Tree” more beautiful than ever. Honor Roll Released At Syracuse The Syracuse junior high school honor rolls have been released fa the fourth grading period. They follow: Distinguished Roll Eighth grade — Jenny Cox, Mark Koble, Leisa Napier and Doug Silveus. Seventh grade -y Gary Brown, Andrea Griffith, Craig Koble, Sandy Rinker, J. C. Schrock, Susan Shank and Brian Slabaugh. Sixth grade — Libby Alberts, Teresa Carpenter, Lisa Gose, Diane Pittman, Rachel Stiffler .. and Steve Walker. Regular Roll Eighth grade — Kathy Brandon, Patti Bryant, Bill Gerstner, Stan Kroh, Sherry Myers, Karen Moore, Jeff Smallwood and Jerry Yoder. Seventh grade — Mark Amos, Kim Beezley, Benji Hall, Debbie Huff, Nina Huffer, Marie Kitson, Lai Littlefield, Kirk hockenbaugh and Robyn Watkins. Sixth grade — Stan Kroh, Brian Larson, Ken Patton and Brian Smith.

HOMEMADE Corn Beef Cabbage And Irish Stew BUFFET STYLE Friday, March 17 7 p.m. to ?? BELLMAN'S Ligonier

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