The Mail-Journal, Volume 18, Number 7, Milford, Kosciusko County, 4 March 1981 — Page 2

2

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., March 4,1981

1 -j - JTUMPMj . - .' r V «/ \W BkSl|X-.*> SERGSSKMMraE xs?>. : '- *■ c x . -v *-, 4 * '' ? J* ' k m 3 s®jsMSjsafcy- - ■* 1 • <'7 ■• MAYAN RUN ATOP AN UNCOVERED RUN. ATUXMAL. MEXICO /♦ i’^ 1 ■ik *y \TjS2K WHAT’S LEFT OF THE GRAND CASTLE AT PAI.ENQVE. MEXICO

Mayan ruins lends s insight to lost culture

(Continued from page 1) The Mayans moved into southern Mexico and even into Guatemala. which juts up into the Yucatan Peninsula Archeologists who have made a study of hieroglyphics at the ruins calculate the Mayans date back to some 3,300 B C But our guides told us it is believed most of the high rise pyramids were built from 250 to 900 A D By the beginning of the ' Christian Era the Mayans were knowledgeable in astronomy, mathematics and the art of building They developed the number "0”. were the only people of the new world with an original language which archeologists and scientists continue to study today They are credited with perfecting a calendar 2,000 years ago similar to the one in use today I The Mayans were temple ) builders, myth makers, building ' great cities which flourished, declined and all but disappeared, and left myths still heard today At the time of the Spanish Conquest in 1527-1546 there were countless books written on Mayan history, religious beliefs, and astronomy, with paper made from bark. Most of this was destroyed by one Bishop Diego de Landa, who. incensed, ordered everthing burned. Three books escaped and are presently preserved in museums in Paris, Dresden and Madrid Mostly because of this, manyquestions about the Mayans remain Where did they go’ What happened? Was it for lack of water? Epidemics’ Orders from the gods’ War? Or what’ We Visit Merida Following our convention and a few days on the sandy beach, we flew to Menda. the first leg of our trip inland Menda. a city of some 450,000 people, is the capitol of the state of Yucatan. For years it has been a favorite vacationing spot for Americans, famous for its many very excellent hotels and restaurants. all at reasonable cost. In the past several years, however, costs in Merida have gone up with the inflationary trend throughout Mexico One feUow we met from Canada told us he had been coming to the same hotel for years, paying 115 . per night. This year the rate was jumped to SB. plus the 10 per cent sales tax that was added. The sales tax is very burdensome, especially for local people who have to live with it the year around.

In Menda we stayed at the very ornate Pan Americana Hotel, just off the busy part of town, thus much less noisy. All floors were all polished tile, and from the ceilings hung large fans, working lazily against the warm air Cuisine in the dining room was excellent Walking the halls of this old but comfortable hotel, one had the feeling he would meet Charles Dickens or perhaps Mark Twain coming his way Merida, one of the oldest cities of Mexico.;]has narrow, one-way streets One would think movement would be non-existent, but gears do shift — noisely — and traffic does move We spoke to some people billeted m the popular downtown Casade Balam, but they said the night-long shifting of gears m the streets kept them awake Menda is the capitol of the sisal world, and before we left home Theo Beer told us he purchased twine and rope from Merida for re sale in our area We have photos of sisal fields we hope to show Theo The plant is an ageold cash crop for the farmers around Menda; but it takes seven years from the time of planting until harvest Sisal was the product that built Merida, we were told, and with the coming of the combine the twine is no longer in general use This, plus the fact that the plastic and nylon industry has largely replaced sisal A popular "bed” for the poor of Mexico is the old-reliable hammock — and the hammock is made of sturdy sisal. They claim resting in a hammock is very comfortable — and think of it. Mrs housewife, no mattresses, no sheets or pillows! It was from Menda that we visited the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itze It was a two-hour drive over a very good blacktop highway in a Volkswagen van. It was smothering hot. but in spite of this we managed most of the steep climbs. The main building had 91 steps to the top. on each of its four sides, on something of a 60-degree incline. Steps were narrow and high, almost foreboding, and we chose to forego this one. We had the hieroglyphics explained to us, and we had to accept the explanation on faith. We did have a nice lunch and a swim — in the Hotel Hacienda pool (not all that dean, but refreshing) before returning to Merida We had the coming of the Toltecs explained to us and bow this blood-thirsty people practiced the human sacrifice.

The victim was taken to the top of a pyramid, and with a blunt stone instrument his chest was ripped open under the rib cage, his (or her) heart, still pulsating, was tom out with an agonizing yank, and, still dripping with warm blood, cast into a pit. Ofttimes, the victim was cast into a dark green water hole. By this time the whole crowd was “hopped up” on a local weed we know as marijuana, What a festive occasion this must have been! Many of the > sacrificial victims were volunteers — prisoners, young virgin girls, even chiefs. It’s an understatement to say modem civilization has never understood the sacrificial rites of the Mayans or Toltecs. The next morning our legs were sore as could be. bjw not sufficiently sore to keep us from making the day-long trip to Uxmal where we saw more ruins. This was an hour and a half run in a Volkswagen van, topped again with an excellent lunch and swim in a hotel pool that seemed something of an oasis to us. En route home we ran into a terrible wind that filled the sky with grasshoppers — literally millions of them! When we returned to Merida we found them throughout the city. Most hotels have an “open concept,” so you can imagine grasshoppers throughout the hotels, homes, and all! Then To Villahermosa Our schedule called for us to fly from Merida to Villahermosa, a flight of a little over an hour, in the state of Tabasco. Here we stayed at a relatively new El Presidente Hotel, at the edge of this city of some 400.000 people. The only thing we did here, other than take a city tour which was not all that thrilling, was to make a two-hour drive to Palenque. in the state of Chiapas, to see the ruins of Palenque Again, steps and more steps, but by this time our legs were inured to the pounding and we . enjoyed the tour more. But as one in the group said. “A ruin is a ruin is a ruin." In other words, once you have seen one Mayan rum and had it all explained, you felt you had seen them all. We were interested to learn that much of the interest in the Mayan ruins has been in the last 25 years and that the Rockefeller Foundation, under the influence of Nelson Rockefeller, put up much of the money for archeologists to continue this painstaking work. Palenque is the most humid region in Mexico, we were told (and which we could easily believe), and amongst those areas registering the highest ramfall throughout the world. We went up the Temple of Inscription. 67 steps in all. then down the inside through a narrow stairway, another 67 steps, to the crypt and sepulcher slab Following this muscle-wrenchmg climb, we climbed many more steps and over rocky slabs to reach the top of temples, such as the Temple of the Court, the Palace. Temple of the Sun, and the Temple of the Cross. It was interesting to note tourists from Switzerland. France. Spam. Canada and other foreign countries at the several ruin sites we visited. It was also interesting to note many thinly-clad American youths (boys and girls), with back packs at these sites You also see them walking down country roads by themselves One wonders. Where do they sleep and eat’" “Where do they get the money for these extended trips’" "Who are these people?” Oh. to be young again' We heard one person say. “It seems like eventually everything perishes except that which has been engraved in stone.” One gets that feeling after seeing the Mayan ruins This entire subject has been very’ thoroughly gone over by the National Geographic magazine and other prestigious publications, so there is actually very little that ,s new w ® ean here Suffice it to say. one professor, knowledgeable on the subject, commented that there are well over 2.000 Mayan pyramids not yet unearthed It seems strange that so much of the Mayan culture parallels the Egyptian culture with neither having knowledge of the other. Other than that, there was little else for us to do in our three-day stay in Villahermosa It rained a torrential rain on two different days. One must realize we had no newspapers, magazines, radio or television. America could have gone to war and we would have been none the less wiser. AU of this gave us longing thoughts of home, and we found ourselves ready to leave Villahermosa, oilrich or not. When we first drove into Villahermosa. a 14 kilometer drive from the airport over a wide and very good road over an immense bog that showed signs of enormous fill, we were struck with the utter devastating poverty of the area’s outskirts. Small metal houses, shacks by any standard of measurement, crowded one another, and we thought, “no wonder they use hammocks for sleeping instead of beds!” The streets were narrow, muddy, filled with water, and in many cases pigs were staked out, tethered on a chain around their midsection, reminiscent of how some of us in rural America used

to stake out cows along the highway. The little kids were dressed in tattered clothing, no shoes, in many cases dirty, but smiling, apparently ignorantly happy with their lot in life. Return To Yucatan There are no flights out of Villahermosa to Cancun, so we had to fly into Mexico City, then return to Cancun. We were utterly surprised at the heavy amount of traffic at the Mexico City airport. The last time we were there was 1961 and the airport seemed small. In fact, at that time Acapulco had only a small airstrip and jet passengers had to land at Mexico City and travel by bus to Acapulco. Now all this has been changed. We found the Mexico City airport big and teeming with air travelers, all in a hurry. We had a brief time to change planes, and were handled with dispatch. We were truly impressed with the service. When we took off from there the pilot circled the city. It was early evening, dark, and the city’s lights were on. What a lovely sight! It was a two-hour flight back to Cancun. and it was 11 p.m. until we found ourselves, bags unpacked in the large and very modem El Presidente Hotel. It was Monday, and the first thing we heard when entering the hotel lobby was how windy it was all day, and how it had rained and rained. This is bad news for vacationers, anywhere. We can report the next day. Tuesday, was sunny and bright, more like it. The beach here at the El Presidente is much better than that at the Camino Real, the first hotel we stayed at in the Cancun area. The hot sun and the broad, sandy beach in front of the El Presidente provided the correct (el correct©) mode for the last three days of our Mexican odyssey. We literally bathed in high number suntan oil before exposing our tender skin to the solar rays we had longed for during the past three weeks And let us tell you about the latest thing in bikini bathing suits — or perhaps we should not. W’e used this time to practice our meager Spanish on the natives, and were surprised how quickly we learned the language, what little we did learn. It was an exercise in Mexican-American relations we enjoyed. As the sunburn welts rose on our bodies we realized there was more to this Montezuma's Revenge than the results of drinking their water. Oh. yes. Cancun has become the winter honeymoon spot for young marrieds. We ran across four such — from Texas. Ohio. Florida and Illinois. We. can say we thoroughly enjoyed the several days of beachcombing in and around Cancun, but by now were looking forward to returning home. In all. a good winter’s vacation, but we're sure of one thing — we have to do a kg of work on our Spanish! * Si Lions to hear UFO expert Milford Lions plan an extraordinarily interesting program at its next meeting. Monday. March 16, when Charles L. Tucker of Nappanee will appear as speaker. Mr Tucker is International Director of International UFO Investigative Bureau, and holds credentials as a speaker and writer on “ancient astronauts " He has traveled and spoken before groups in many foreign countries, and is considered as authority in this field The Lions plan to invite Milford Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and their leaders They are also urging their members to invite guests to what they think will be an unusual meeting Coffee and dessert will be served. Community Building Member Karl Keiper asked the Lions to work two Saturday mornings per month for three months at the town’s new community building He is asking other groups to do the same. His report on the building is that progress is on target. He noted the EMS portion of the building “looks like home." He said the. Boy Scouts plan to “camp out " in the building one night. He hopes to see the building completed this summer. Work hours are 9 to 12 Saturday mornings Other discussion concerned club projects such as its annual community calendar sale, horse show. etc. The horse show is scheduled for Saturday. July 11, according to member Gervis Schafer, who headed up the first horse show a year ago. It was also noted that the state Lions convention will be held in Indianapolis April 3-5.

® First Federal hgricl 1 Ivwm. *«M WM.M

Turtle Bay — (Continued from page 1) “Current tenants will have to reserve a lot at Turtle Bay or move to another park v . . . As a courtesy to existing tenants you will have a first priority over any other purchasers.” Tenants Upset Many Turtle Bay residents are upset over the eviction and met Monday evening. March 2, to discuss hiring an attorney and possibly obtaining a court injunction that would extend the amount of time they have to move. They also discussed approaching the Syracuse Town Board and Board of Zoning Appeals about setting up another mobile home park in Syracuse. Turtle Bay residents will meet again Friday evening. March 6. In the letter received by the tenants, the owners stated: “We have discovered that mobile home lots are hard to come by. We are currently making arrangements for lots at Shamrock Meadows Mobile Home Park in Nappanee, Indiana. We have so far arranged for 18 lots available now and we will manufacture an additional 37 lots. Unfortunately, at this time, we are only able to offer 55 lots. We offer these lot rentals on a first come first serve basis. “As compensation for the cost of the move the following arrangement has been made between Shamrock Turtle Bay and Shamrock Meadows. Persons moving from Turtle Bay to Shamrock Meadows will have one month's free lot rent at Turtle Bay and two month’s free lot rent at Shamrock Meadows." “It’s Very Excessive” According to a local realtor, the price the Shamrock Corporation is asking for lots in Turtle Bay are “very excessive.” Another local realtor agreed, saying. “It’s terribly high." Both realtors felt the owner will have difficulty selling the mobile home lots at those prices. Lots within the town of Syracuse usually sell for $3,500 to $6,000, according to area realtors. There are also few lots for sale within the town. According to Dan Richards, director of the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission, mobile homes may not be placed within the town except in a platted mobile home park or mobile home subtkvision. Exceptions can be granted by the Syracuse Board of Zoning Appeals. Turtle Bay is presently the only mobile home park in Syracuse .Assessed at $39,950. Turtle Bay is located on 14.5 acres along the channel connecting Syracuse Lake and Lake Wawasee. It was started in the 1940 s as a site for summer campers. Over the years, mobile homes were placed with in the park. The president of Shamrock Corporation is Edwin Gottlieb of San Diego, Calif. The Jacobsons moved to Nappanee from California three years ago. Jacobson was unavailable for comment. Summer — (Continued from page 1) the chart should also note that officials fees, listed above program costs must be added into the figure to get the total figure. It is hoped booster clubs will pick up some of these programs and make them self-supporting. Other programs stich as music, where private lessons are being given, may have to be cut to group sessions with private lessons having to be paid for by parents or other interested persons. GTI sales slightly up For the year 1980. GTI Corporation earned a net income of $787,000 or $37 per share on sales of $17,413,000 from continuing operations Those earnings, though down from test year’s record-breaking results, are GTl's second highest since 1973. GTI Corporation is a multidivision manufacturer of electronic component parts, circuitry and component-processing, equipment for the automotive, electronic and computer industries. During 1980, GTI paid regular quarterly dividends totaling $257,000 or $.12 per share to its shareholders During 1980, GTI delivered more than 5.5 billion precision parts to its domestic and international customers. James K La Fleur, president of GTI Corp., stated that at present electronics represent* 71 per cent of GTl’s sales, automotive is 20 per cent and the remaining nine per cent of sales are to general industrial customers. Some new electronics products now being developed will be announced later in the year.

Expenditures for summer programs Number Ant. Pd. Ant. Pd. Total Cbst Per Strolled from from Cost Buolleo Qmn.Sv. Dirol I.Fees - Girls Basketball 14 150.00 124.75 274.75 19.62 Boys Basketball 45 935.00 418.25 1,353.25 30.07 Girls High School Baseball 14 500.00 520.74 1,020.74 72.91 Boys High School Baseball 24 650.00 -O- 650.00 27.08 Open Gym 94 190.00 272.06 462.06 4.92 Tennis 36 500.00 50.00 550.00 15.28 Golf 19 400.00 -O- 400.00 21.05 arinming 1,109 12,720.00 202.30 12,922.30 11.65 Fbotball Conditioning 45 297.50 -O- 297.50 6.61 9»im Club 50 598.90 -0- 598.90 11.98 4-H Clubs 123 1,290.00 -O- 1,290.00 10.49 Milford Recreation (1,082.00) . w m (T-Ball, Little League A Girls Softball) 279 3,300.00 1 > 165 - 57 5.M7.57 19.88 North Webster Recreation (T-Ball) 68 600.00 242.35 842.35 12.39 Syracuse Recreation (T-Ball, ( 968.00) lftno Little League fc Girls Softball) 262 2.975.00 1 035 58 4,978.58 19.00 s Milford Pony League 21 650.00 ( North Webster Pony League 19 650.00 ( 1,086.65 57.19 Syracuse Pony League 17 650.00 ( 1,071.12 63.15 Milford Band 64 Syracuseßand S 4,591.36 -0- 4,591.36 36.44 North Webster Band and Orchestra 82 1,666.56 297.36 1,963.92 23.95 High School Band 143 2,506.56 284.12 2,790.68 19.52 Orchestra 102 1,584.00 270.90 1,854.90 18.19 Misc. Items of Ins. Lime, etc. not indent if ied to a particular -0- -0- 1,205.06 1,205.06 -0program. TOTALS 2,692 38,U86.88 8,239.37 h 6,726.25 17.35 ( ) Coat for

'Bl 'Citizen' — (Continued from page 1) Kosciusko Ladies’ Shrine. Mrs. Treesh was co-chairman of the Milford Bazaar which raised nearly $26,000 for medical equipment for the Milford Medical Emergency Services in 1979. She and her husband, residents of West Emetine Street in Milford, are the parents of four children: Dr. Michael Treesh of Houston; Pamela (Mrs. James) Rummel of Hawaii; Mark, in the Purdue graduate school: and John of Columbus, Ohio. Program Wawasee Varsity Singers will present the program for this year's banquet and the evening dinner will be catered by Mrs. Willard (Sue) Schieler. Tickets for this year’s banqut can only be purchased prior to'the banquet, not at the door, from any MAD member or MAD merchant. Serving as hosts this year will be MAD officers: Karl Keiper, president; Bruce Bultpmeier, vice president; Darrell Orn, treasurer; and Vi Miller, secretary Mrs. Alvin (Carol) Haab is chairman of this year’s banquet. The Uth annual “citizen" will join Mrs. Treesh and Dr. Miller and the 18 other Milford citizens who have been chosen for the award in the past. Previous winners and the years of their award are. Mrs. Charles ( Dorothea) % Kerlin. 1971; Carl Duncan, 1972; Harold Young. 1973; Mrs. Herbert (Edith) Baumgartner, 1974; Mrs. Arthur (Bertha Wehrly) Gilbert. 1975;

This announcement is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of BBnK an offer to buy any of these securities The offer is made only by the Prospectus. dSMM New Issue SSgjg 550,000 Shares | citizens **ffij* cable CITIZENS CABLE COMMUNICATIONS, INC. || Com mon Stock Price: $5.75 Per Share n Copies of the Prospectus may be obtained from the undersigned. flHgSn This offer is qualified for sale onlv to bona fide residents of Indiana. wBRsS y < ' Indianapolis Fort Wayne B IBC■■ B ■ Indianapolis. IN 46204 Fort Wayne. IN 46802 ■BBVI Bi MB 1 (800) 382-1036 (219) 423-1334 ANO COMPANY INC Yes. Please tell me more about Citizens Cable Communications. NAME— ’ *. ADDRESS — CITY STATE ZIP__TELEPHONE

Dorothv Williams. 1976; John • Perry. 1977; Dr Floyd M. Rheinheimer, 1978; Ned Speicher. 1979; Dr. Miller and Mrs. Treesh, 1980. Who will be the 1981 “Citizen of the Year ”? I ■ 'Ha A DR.T. A. MILLER —I9BO

Sa 41 JEAN TREESH -1980

ihk NED SPEICHER —1979 *

DR. FLOYD RHEI.NHEIMER - 1978