The Mail-Journal, Volume 16, Number 43, Milford, Kosciusko County, 14 November 1979 — Page 2

THE MAIL-JOURNAL—Wed., November 14.1979

2

■KOO - ! HI • - ■' S& Mz/jw i Vj>Bfe^ k- , 4Hra w'z? ®u% ..'Wwßh’ Mw fe wWlsfi vXlrb x rfl ■SR& '<»2. AxaaL '^ ; vv^.i " WIE .Asafl BF r > Yk- :;^BES^X^is^MLl^xiKS9fcMgWy^^'’ '' '' hAß E '^MBMkY*vS£sri 1 *' ? —* diWissT i»JK^BaßWWßTOß^^Miw^ra»'^j^jMßSMm. s > TIMMMWI W^Wv-; >“ Bb JigiiSTi ir

JI SSs mb k 1 I fw kS KJ* p -W w ,4.- ._. ......' IIIIL . .... ■ ENTERING MING DYN ASTY TOMB

China — (Continued from page 1) Christianity. Following what the Chinese keep referring to as the Liberation, in 1949, portions of the wall have been rebuilt in order to retain it as a historic and tourist attraction. The day we visited it, it was surely that as thousands of visitors swarmed <, over its towering heights. We had a near-perfect day for our visit at the Great Wall. The day was clear, bright and warm. Those of us who donned coats when we left Friendship Hotel No. 3 in Peking, left them in the bus as we scaled these steps. Della, for one, thought it would be cold at the top, and kept her heavy coat in tow. only to be burdened by its weight. We chose to “go left,” as it was called, and to attack the steepest of the two climbs. There are 12/to 15 of us who did. The others went to the right, for a distance which was just as great, if not greater, but not nearly as steep. Thank goodness there was a metal hand railing all along the way to the top; otherwise, the climb would have been more difficult if not impossible for some of us. There were places where the climb grade was 45 degrees, then steps of 12 to 14 inches were encountered. Wang, our guide, gave us special attention, for what reason we do not know (unless it would be that the gray hair forwarned him that we would not be up to the climb), but we were flattered by his solicitous attention. Wang warned us that coming down could be worse than going up, and there were times we thought him exactly right. All of us carried cameras, and the heights to which we were being carried, provided breathtaking panoramic views. It was a cameraman’s delight from any point of view. The periodic stops for photographing were welcome respites. We told John P. Marcantel of Welsh, LA., a real-life shutterbug, that we wanted some good pictures of us at the Wall. He obliged, in spades. And we did as

SB*" ■F I Jggk /.a )• M . I L B g ] 5

well for him. and others with us. And so. finally, we reached the top of the left climb. We almost hated to descend. Marcantel and Arch decided, on reaching the bottom and with only half of our time gone, to start up the right climb, and this they did. although they found at the half-way point that this was enough. You would have been proud of the oldest member of our party. Glaphyra ("Bucket”) Stafford, in her 80s and a resident of Springdale, Ark. With cane in hand, and solicitous guide Chiang on her left arm, she went half way up the right climb. There no one in our group that did not go up at least some portion of either climb. If there was ever a modern-day Tower of Babylon this would have to be it. We thought for a moment about the huge number of nationalities of people who were at The Great Wall on the day we were there, and the number of languages spoken. To see and hear an American, other than a member of our own group, was delightful. We were given a piece of literature at the Great Wall describing it. and we think it fitting and suitable to the record to quote it: "The Great Wall, first built during the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), was the crystallization of the w'isdom of the Chinese working people in ancient times. It was a military project built by various small kingdoms for holding back inroads by nomadic tribes coming from the north, as well as for protection against each other. After unifying the six states in 221 BC, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty issued an order that the walls originally built by the States of Qin, Yan and Zhao be reinforced and linked together for defense against the attack by the slave-owner regime in the northern part of China. This is how the welljmown 10,000 li Great Wallcamelhtobeing. “The Great Wall played a significant role in protecting the economic and cultural developments in the central plain area of China. "Since the Qin Dynasty, the

READING WALL POSTER CARTOONS IN PEKING

Great Wall had been restored and reinforced during the successive dynasties, but the most ambitious efforts were made under the Ming dynasty. After its founding in 1368, the Ming dynasty devoted huge amounts of manpower and resources to the project, with a span of over 100 years and on the basis of the Wall of the Qin dynasty, a 12,700-li-long Great Wall was finally completed that stretched from Jiayuguan in the west to Yalu River in the east. When the Wall was rebuilt in the Ming dynasty, a lot of bricks and stones were used, and some of the slabs were as long as two meters, weighing one ton. Considering the conditions of the time, one can imagine how extremely difficult the project must have been. "Because of the high quality of its construction most of the Great Wall built under Ming still stands intact. The section at Badaling, restored in 1957 for visitors, is typical in structure, 7.8 metres high on the average. 6.5 metres wide at the bottom and 5.8 metres wide on the top On the outer flank of the Wall, there were battlements for watching and shooting. The guard towers built at intervals were used as sentry posts and living quarters for soldiers. Beacon towers were built at commanding points on either side of the Wall. There were facilities used in ancient times for signalling by making smoke in day time and fire at night in case of emergency. “The Great Wall has been put down by the Chinese government on the list of important historical sites to be given special protection.” Visit Ming Dynasty Tombs China is so rich in history it is almost staggering, and when we think our country is but 200 years old. it is hard to comprehend a country whose history is known as far back as the 21st century BC. It was in this period, from the 21st to the 16th century BC, that the HSIA Dynasty reigned. Perhaps this is where the word Asia comes from. Not far from the Great Wall is the burial grounds of 13 Emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In all, there were 15 Ming Emperors, but for reasons not known only 13 are buried in this hallowed ground. The period of this dynasty runs from 1368 to 1644 AD. One large room, not a tomb but built in 1427 by one of the emperors, was supported by 60 giant cedar beams about 50 inches through. It had a stone floor and very ttecorated high ceiling. We would only think, “What a newsprint storage building this would make!” We were taken to the tomb of Ting Ling, the third of the Ming Emperors, who was buried with his two wives in 1620 in a marble vault some four stories underground (apart from the remarkable feats of engineering and architecture that charac-

The Great Wall . . . outside Peking

terize the vault, its depth makes it one of the coolest spots in China during the summer, we were told.) This is the first underground palace at the Ming Tombs that has been excavated. In keeping with the imperial tradition that dated back to the Chou Dynasty, the Ming emperors selected the location and design of their tombs while they were still alive. Construction of the tomb site began in 1584 and was completed in four years at a cog of 4 million oz. of silver. All but one Ming emperor (T’ai Tzu. buried in Nanking) chose to be buried in this beautiful valley 30 miles north of Peking. The road to the tombs, which branches off from the route to the Great Wall, was once a four-mile- - long sacred way, forbidden to all but the emperor’s retinue. Today, the bus first drives through the

It 7*l sE ’ is iii Jr 1 1B 1 i 1 ■ I EXPLAINS OAKWOOD — James LeGro, right, director of Oakwood Learning Center since June 15, 1979, told the SyracuseWawasee Rotary Club of plans for revitalization of the facility. With him is Rotary Club president Dan VanLue.

Rotary Club hears Oakwood Park story

The history of Oakwood'Tark, on Lake Wawasee, was discussed at the Tuesday luncheon meeting of the Syracuse-Wawasee Rotary Club with its new director, James M. LeGro making one of his first such public presentations. LeGro assumed his duties as director of Oakwood Park, renamed Oakwood Learning Center, June 15,1979. He told how the Indiana Conference of the Evangelical Association empowered a committee to purchase 40 acres for $5,000 to establish Oakwood Park where a tent tabernacle was built. He spoke of the “Oakwood Experience,” noting that in 1968 the Evangelical United Brethren and Methodist churches merged to form the United Methodist Church, and in 1970 the newly formed North Indiana Conference undertook a study of all its camp properties. At this time the plant became “an adult learning center.” Conference Has Plans Mr. LeGro, with an experience in the ministry, said the center has a two-pronged purpose: To establish an adult program for the whole person, and to establish a facility to house it. He said a previous fund drive netted $400,000 for the purpose of rebuilding the center, and that his goal is to raise this figure to $1 >/ 2 million by the middle of next year. Plans are to begin construction on the new facility by a

great marble archway (built in 1540> with five arches. About a mile further up the road to the Great Red Gate (Ta Hung Men), a massive 120-foot portal on which were formerly hung three huge wooden doors. Just beyond the gate sits a stone tortoise with a steele inscribed by the fourth Ming emperor (1426). Thirty feet high, it is the largest stone tablet of this type in China. Here begins the famous "Avenue of the Animals.” Lions, camels, elephants, horses and two sets of mythical beasts, totaling 12 statues, line each side of the road, alternatelystanding and kneeling. Following are a series of stone statues of 12 imperial ministers, all dating from the 15th century. The entrance to the grounds is by a large gate with a magnificent bronze lion. Through

year from now. He wasn’t sure if the present building would be razed or simply rebuilt. The new facility will have 100 modern rooms and be able to feed 300 people. He referred to a motel type complex, and said the ecumenical look would be “wide open.” Following the meeting Mr. LeGro noted that there is a committment of a $200,000 grant if the Oakwood Learning Center can come up with an additional $400,000. He termed his talk, “anything you've always wanted to know about Oakwood but were afraid to ask.” Hear Students Two Wawasee High School students appeared to speak about departments of study at the high school. Jeri Meditch talked on social studies and Richard Steele on the math department at Wawasee High and gave a good accounting of themselves, *SOO damage to Deßolt home Syracuse firemen were called to the home of Roger Deßolt, 12135 County Line Road, Syracuse, at 6:06 a m. November 12 to extinguish a fire that started in the attic of the home. It is believed that a heat tape shorted out, causing approximately SSOO damage.

the gate several museums house tomb objects. Our group went to the depth of the recently excavated Ting Ling tomb, a climb of several hundred steps to reach ground-level again. There were all kinds of photo opportunities here also. Our bus stopped and we walked the length of the "Avenue of the Animals." which gave us a chance to stretch our legs and to take more pictures. Peking Duck Dinner That evening we were back at the Friendship Hotel No. 3 in Peking for a brief rest before going to the most famous restaurant in Peking for a Peking Duck dinner Our friends at the Maple Leaf Farm would have been proud of us when they saw us at a real-for-sure. genuine Peking Duck dinner. Wreck — (Continued from page 1) take care of our problems. Syracuse Stands By At 11:30 a.m. the Syracuse Fire and Police departments dispatched one truck, the ambulance and both squad cars to tell residents to stay inside because of the fumes. During this time the Syracuse Dispatcher, Cindy Simpson, received 110 calls regarding the announcement and what they should do. Tim Weisser, a firemen, assisted in answering the calls. Syracuse Police Sergeant Robert Houser reported all people did a good job in obeying the request and he is pleased about that. As in Milford, there was no one transported by the Emergency Medical Service to the hospital. Houser stated that all departments will be meeting to work on disaster drills for future use. It is hoped that the departments can learn from mistakes. The all-clear signal was given to Syracuse residents at 7:15 p.m. from the Kosciusko County Sheriff s department. Derailed Train The chemical spill began on Thursday morning when an eastbound Conrail freight train derailed near Inwood in Marshall County. The train was heading from Chicago, 111., to Harrisburg, Pa. The derailed cars started leaking chemical fumes and as the leaking continued the prevailing winds of 15-18 miles per hour sent the gas cloud, onemile in diameter, in a northeastern direction cutting across the northwest corner of Kosciusko and Elkhart Counties. A shift in the wind helped block further spreading of fumes and sent the cloud back towards Inwood. The effects appear to have been minimal except in the immediate area. The cause of the derailment is under investigation and Marshall County Sheriff John Sime believes the derailment was not a result of faulty tracks. However, a derailment occurred in the same area in October, There were 17 persons treated from exposure to the fumes. Those requiring treatment were persons working in the evacuation areas and before being released they went through decontamination procedures at Kosciusko Community Hospital. Retail merchants to meet Friday Syracuse-Wawasee retail merchants will meet at 7:45 a.m. at the Three-Flags Restaurant in Syracuse Friday morning. They are expected to finalize plans for bringing Santa Claus to town in December. Also discussed will be plans for a Winter Carnival to be held in January. All members of the Chamber of Commerce and all merchants are invited to attend.

7 C Hi)

Board members-elect learn ropes at meeting

Board members-elect, Steven Miller. Robert Auer and Clerk treasurer Maria Lozano, attended the Milford Town Board meeting November 12 to observe and learn the ropes before taking office in January. Incumbent Board President Jean Treesh is returning for a second term. The first item on the agenda was signing the ordinance authorizing the town to issue revenue bonds for construction of Lakeland Loving Care Center. Inc. John Perry, president of Milford’s Emergency Medical Service, submitted a proposal to the board that the town of Milford and Van Buren Township each pay SLOW) for 1980 insurance coverage for EMS volunteers. This money would be added to funds received from Leesburg, Plain Township and other donations. Mrs. Treesh commented she didn’t know where the town could find the money since the 1980 budget has already been made. She felt it was something that needed to be added if possible, stating. “I feel it’s something we owe these people who dedicate themselves.” Perry said he felt the volunteers needed additional coverage in case any of them got hurt on an emergency run. but he understood the board’s budget problems and was willing to work something out. Board member Jim Brooks suggested, since the town’s and township’s budgets for 1980 have been made, they let the insurance coverage become effective in 1981 and the town would plan on budgeting for the money in 1981. Perry agreed to the proposal. Board member T. A. Miller advised a note be made to ensure it will be included in the 1981 budget. The board reviewed the bill for the newly completed sewer line from Gayle Smith Excavating. Board members questioned why the bill was for $15,806.70 when the original bid was $12,870. The board decided to table the bills until next month when the town’s consultant, Bob Murphy, could attend and answer their questions. . Mrs. Treesh announced a new water system for Milford would result in considerably increased rates. Residents, who now pay quarterly, would have to pay a minimum of $lO to sl7 a month with a new system. Mrs. Treesh also said she had talked with Congressman Floyd Fithian who said there will be no money this year for federal grants for water systems. It was decided not to pursue installation of a new water system at this time. “Milford will not be getting a new water system. We’ll just have to keep

For the information of other members of our tour group we wanted to emphasize that the largest duck processing plant in America is located just a few miles outside our home town of Milford. Indiana. Terry Tucker, president of Maple Leaf, is to be informed that Peking Duck is served in a 16-course meal It was a fitting meal to end a great adventure Even though the food was interesting it is not today a cuisine that matches the best of Hong Kong. Chicago or even Fort Wayne. Indiana. There was the usual roomtemperature bottles of Tsingtao beer and rose' wine. • This gave occasion to many toasts from leaders of our tour group, our guides and several members of our party. It proved a full, eventful, and satisfying day

this one in good repair.” announced Mrs. Treesh. Town Marshal David Hobbs submitted the monthly police report to the board He asked the board what they were planning to do with the old police car. Brock Manufacturing recently donated a new police ear to the Police Department Since the board felt the town did not need two police cars, the' old ear will be auctioned off. An advertisement will appear in The Mail-Journal announcing when and where the auction will be held. The car is a 1976 Dodge Monaco four-door. Hobbs also said the new police car needed a light bar and the tires rotated. The board nstructed Hobbs to use the $Bl3 left over from the insurance for when the old car was damaged last summer, to buy a light bar and have the radio repaired and the tires rotated. The town’s attorney. Rex Reed, submitted an unsafe building ordinance to the board. Board members discussed whether they should sign the ordinance since the town did not have the money to pay for the administrative and enforcement costs, of the ordinance. Miller suggested they sign the ordinance so a fund can be established and then the board will be able to enforce the ordinance in the future when funds become available. The board voted to table the matter until next month. Meanwhile, it will look for a volunteer to serve as building inspector. Signing bills was last on the town board’s agenda. The meeting closed at 10 p.m. The Milford Town Board will meet again December 10, 7:30 p.m., in the town hall. Leesburg man involved in mishap Ronnie A. Park. 25, Leesburg, was involved in a mishap, Sunday, Nov. 4. at 1:15 p.m. at an intersection north of Warsaw. George E. Bumbaugh, 61, r 2 Warsaw, the other driver, sustained injuries to his right hand and arm. He was treated at Kosciusko Community Hospital. Park, who was traveling north on CRIOOE, struck an auto driven by Bumbaugh. who was also traveling north on the same road. Bumbaugh had stopped at the intersection of CR 300 N and CR 100E when the mishap occured. Kosciusko County Patrolman Brant Nellans, estimated damages at SI,BOO to Park’s 1973 truck and $5,000 to Biunbaugh’s, 1979 auto. Damage to a county highway road sign was set at S3O.