The Coolidge examiner. [volume], April 26, 1946, Image 1

About The Coolidge examiner. [volume] (Coolidge, Ariz.) 1930-current

Image provided by: Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records; Phoenix, AZ

                
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Note l i c k
WE CANNOT URGE
100 strongly your attendance at the
loth animal 4-11 Fair at Kenilworth
Thia is the one time each year
when boys and girls of our farms
and rani he* exhibit the result of
their skills, it is with consider
able ;»riile these youngsters dis
play their personal prowess. The
exhibits represent hours of toil as
these children learn by doing the
i raft of their forbears . . . the
sewing, cooking, hoinemaking.
-(•>• k and < rop raising which makes
tiie farm a nearly »eif sustaining
unit of family life.
WITH THE CLOSING
of l-lorem e prisoner of War (’amp
next Tuesday there passes a phase
in the community life of Florence
and Coolidge which has been good
for those who live in the two
towns. Not only have the busi
ness men enjoyed profitable trade
relations with the men who have
tome aud gone during the past
three years hut personal ties have
been knotted which will last as
long as any of us live. Close
friendships have been made. Fam
ily re Ia 11 on*h 1p s have been
strengthened through marriage.
Home of our girls who wed sol
diers have moved to many eastern
titles. Soldiers whose original
homes were in the east now live
in the west. They have adopted
the family homes of their brides
And several former servicemen
wbo tame from eastern points to
live awhile In Florence and Coo
lidge are now living here per
uianentiy, having forsaken the
mud and snow of eastern winters
for the more salubrious climate of
Ct ntral Arizona.
WITH BUT SLIGHTLY
more than 500 Coolidge citizens
regi-tered to vote in the city elec
tion May 27th town officials are
urging every eligible person to
register so as But to lose the right
to rote There are 16 candidates
for the seven positions on the city
council The winners are going to
have the responsibility of guiding
the destiny of Coolidge through
w hat could well be its most peri
lous years. These men should be
very tarefnlly chosen and there
should be a high percentage of
lo« a| voters at the polls when the
towni Initial election day comes
along
COOLIDGE SCHOOL
trustees have set up a progressive
salary schedule for teachers. They |
hare also granted pay raises aver- !
aging s:*s«i annually. And in addi
tion budget provision will be made
for an additional lion raise If the
cost of living index rises. And we
may he sure it is going to rise
With lessening OPA restrictions
.there will be a constant mounting
of prices until supply equals de
mand and the family on a fixed
salary gets squeezed tighter and
tighter.
ITS AXIOMATIC THAT
everybody talks about the weather
but no one does anything about
it. But that's just because we can't.
If we could we'd do something
about this drouth. Especially
would we have done something
Wednesday afternoon when the ele
ments missed their finest oppor
tunity to give us a good rmln Some
rain did fail south and west of
Coolidge and Florence but only
enough to lay the dust.
EARLY ON THE
evening of flood Friday there ap
peared In the western sky a cross
whose light seem to radiate as that
of no other constellation. There
seemed to be something symbolic
coming as it did just two days be
fore Faster . . . the anniversary
of the resurrection of Christ. But
symbolic or not It presented a
beautiful vista and we are grate
ful to the gentleman who tele
phoned ns to call our attention to
it.
OUR SLIPS SHOW
and show in the pittiless light of
the written word. Fvery other busi
ness can make mistakes and only a
few know of them. We in the
newspaper business, and especially
those of us in the smaller fields of
American journalism, make our
mistakes where everybody can see
them. Yes, our slips show but,
honestly, we try quite dilligently
to prevent them. Last week we
placed a business house two blocks
further down the street by simply
printing a 5 instead of a 3 in an
address. And then we inadvertantly
changed the name of the Surety
Title and Trust Company of Flor
ence to “Security". Sometimes
these slips are quite persistent. We
lecall one particularly stormy
month when in four successive is
sues we made a mistake in adver
tising copy for one single merchant.
We were yanking hair out by the
roots before we hit the groove
again. But we try. And we ll gladly
make correction when our slips
show too badly.
IT PAYS TO SHOW
proper respect for a Gila Monster.
The truth of this statement can be
attested by Carlos, genial drink
mixer of Oracle Junction, who was
bitten by one of the big lixards
when it was brought to his bar by a
neighboring rancher. While the bite
ol the Gila Monster is not always
i Lack Os Interest
Shown In State
Election Ticket
Booming Business Proving
More Attractive To Poten
tential Candidates
f Proof that economic conditions
in Arizona are riding at a high
I level is indicated by a sharp lack
. i of interest In the coming state elec
, tion. There Is a dearth of candi
• dates for state jobs, from that of
governor on dowu. the line. Po
i tential < andidates are staying shy
; ol the election tickets .preferring
to remain in private business, de
spite the fact that Arizona elective
i positions are currently carrying
• attractive salaries.
! Topping the state wages is the
job of governor, whtch pays an
annual salary* of slo,t>oo. Other
1 salaries are: chief justice and
judges, f 5.500 each; secretary of
state, $5,500; attorney general. $6.-
' 500. state treasurer. $4500; state
auditor, s6.<*oo; superintendent of
public instruction $5,000; state
mine inspector. $4.500 .tax com
mission (chairman and two mem
bers i $4,500 each; and corporation
commission (chairman and two
members $4,500 each .
Os the state candidates, three
are without opposition. They are
Attorney General John L Sullivan,
State Auditor Ana Frohmiller, and
State mine Inspector Clifford J
Murdock.
Other candidates whose names
will appear on the Democratic tick
et in the July 16 election are:
Judges of the supreme court.
Joseph H. Morgan and S
I'dall. Governor. Sidney I*. Osborn
and Howard Sprouse. Secretary of
state. I»an K. Garvey and W. D.
I.lpsromb. Slate treasurer. E. T.
Williams. Jr., and Mit Simms Su
perintendent of public instruction.
Carl Hickerson. J. E. Zimmerman,
and Nolan D. Pulliam. State tax
commissioner. D. C. O'Neil and
Thad M Moore Corporation com
missioner (regular termi, W. J.
Eden and William T. Brooks. Cor
poration commissioner (two year
term). Yale McFate and Ted R.
' I)rey. State senator .Charles S. Goff
and Lloyd Canfll. Representative (
| district No. 1. Parke T Gilbert and
!O. W Rugg
o
Parke T. Gilbert
Is Candidate For
Legislative Post
Parke T. Gilbert of Casa Grande
j today formally announced his can
didacy for the office of state rep
resentative from District No. 1. of
Pinal county subject to the Demo
cratic primary election in mid-July.
Actively engaged in farming for
the past 14 years, Gilbert is at prev
ent associated with his brother,
Guy. in the operation of large acre
age adjacent to Casa Grande.
Gilbert is a native of Arizona, and
attended Arizona State College aft
er finishing Casa Grande elemen
tary and high schools.
He is a member of the board ot
directors of the Arizona Pure Seed
Association and ol the Casa Grande
Lions Club. Gilbert is an active
member in and past president of
the Casa Grande Farm Bureau.
During his tenure in office, the
[aim group was largely instru
mental in obtaining prisoner-of
war labor for Pinal county at a
time when workers were badly
needed for the harvesting of crops
vital to the war efforL Gilbert has
never before been a candidate for
public office. In announcing his
intention to seek the post of rep
resentative, be declaied that he
was entering the political field up
on the insistence of friends and
purely in the interest of service
to agriculturalists and residents of
the county and state.
Gilbert is intimately familiar with
the farmer's problems. Bon of a
' pioneer Arizona family .Gilbert is
the son of the late Frank T. Gil
bert.
o
Arizona To Remain
On Standard Time
Arizona w ill remain on Standard
Time next Sunday, when six states
turn their clocks forward at 2 a. m.,
and numerous points in others will
’ set their clocks ahead for the in
auguration of postwar Daylight
Saving Time.
States which will not have Day
light Saving Time are: Arizona,
Washington. Oklahoma, California,
Georgia, Alabama .lowa, Colorado.
Wyoming, Montana. North Caro
lina. Maryland, Wisconsin, Kansas.
[ Ctah, Idaho, Virginia. North ’Da
kota. South Dakota. Arkansas. Mis
sissippi. Texas, Nebraska, and Ne
vada. The six states which will
observe summer time are: Con
necticut, New York. Massachusetts.
New Hampshire, Rhode Island and
Vermont. Other states will allow
communities to make their own de-
J cisions.
Radio net works, airlines and rail
roads. which must cnosider time
across the nation in planning
’ schedules, have arranged to cope
with the differences.
}
» fatal it can well be and there are
i numerous incidents of deaths re
» suiting from playfully reaching- out
3 a finger toward these reptiles.
LIBRARY * ARCHIVES
, capitol bldg
Coo It
M IN THE CENTER OF PINAL COUNTY AGRICULTURE”
' VOI'IMK 17
Home For Good
j JL<s,. yk
.. m .j»r
WILLIAM M. BOWEN
William Martin Bowen, seaman
first class, has received an
honorable discharge from the
U. S. Navy at San Pedro, Cali
fornia, after 19 months serv
ice in the Pacific theater.
Bowen was employed at the
Western Gin before entering
the service early In 1944. He
is the son of Mrs. Vena Bow
en. Billy, as he is known here,
is one of four brothers who
served in the armed forces. He
was awarded the Asiatic-
Pacific ribbon, American Thea
ter ribbon and the Victory
medal.
McFarland Offers
Terminal Pay For
Enlisted Veterans
Many Enlisted Men And
Women Would Get SIOO
To S2OO Bonus After Serv
ice
Senator Ernest W. McFarland
has introduced a bill in the Senate
for himself and Senators Edwin 0.
Johnson (D. Colorado), Burnett It
May bank. D. S. C.) aud iHsuuur
Chavez (D. N. M ). The bill pro
vides terminal leave pay for en
listed personnel and includes a ret
roactive clause to pay discharged
enlisted personnel In lump sums in
lieu of terminal leave pay.
The bill is of importance to en
listed personnel, presently In the
service, and to veterans who served
in an enlisted capacity. It will do
away with the present unfair prac
tice of making terminal leave pay
ments to officers and prohibiting
such payments to enlisted person
nel. Senator McFarland said,
“Many enlisted men and women
who have been discharged, will now
receive either one or two hundred
dollars to compensate them for the
lack of accrued annual leave pay,
w bich would have been paid them
had the law been in effect at the
time of their discharge." The per
sons now serving in an enlisted ca
pacity will receive their terminal
leave pay at the time of discharge.
This bill is a revised version of
a bill introduced earlier by the
Arizona Senator. McFarland said
that investigation had revealed that
enlisted personnel who had served
overseas usually had six weeks or
two months furlough time due at
the time they were returned to the
states and discharged. The boys
and girls who served wholly within
the United States received more
furlough time so bad less due at
time of discharge.
It is believed that payment will
bmade upon presentation of Dis
charge Certificates to any army fi
nance office or naval installation
or recruiting office. Payment will
be made direct to the veteran in
volved and record of such payment
will be stamped upon the dis
charge certificate.
Harry Jones Resigns
Highway Patrol,
Starts Own Business
Harry Jones has resigned from
the Arizona Highway Patrol to go
into private business for himself.
He is opening a wholesale ice
cream factory here in Coolidge and
expects delivery of the machinery
next month.
In opening this factory Mr. Jones
I is bringing a new enterprize to
• Coolidge and its surrounding terri
. tory. He plans to operate under
the name of Coolidge Wholesale
Ice Cream Company.
, The new business will be housed
„ in the north side of the building
owned and operated by Ivan's
Place on South Main Street.
0
•James and Maggie Sue Notting
i ham of California, former Coolidge
- residents, are visiting their father,
t Alvie Nottingham and other rela
tives here.
COOLIDGE, PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 1946
i. ■■ ■■■ ■■ ny ■■■»»— 1 ■— ,3 - .x ...I
Work 1* Started On
55,000 Improvement j
Program At School
A $5,000 Improvement program |
is underway at Coolidge high
school this week. Among the proj
ects authorized are the building of
an earth-filled bleacher section for |
the football field, with a seating
capacity of 1.800; leveling of the
gridiron; Improvements to the
baseball diamond, and the con
struction of a track encircling the
football field.
A fence is to be built around the
area containing both the football
field and the baseball diamond.
The work is being done by H. A
Nafziger.
o
Honor Society Is
■naqurated Here
Coolidge High School Junior-
Senior Honor Students In
ducted Into National Hon
or Society By Chandler
Chapter
Fourteen Coolidge high school
students became charter members
of Coolidge chapter of the National
; Honor Society at an induction cere
mony conducted Tuesday morning
by Chandler chapter in Coolidge
high school auditorium.
Requirements for membership are
based on scholarship, service, lead
ership and character. Membership
is limited to Juniors and seniors,
excepting special probationary in
stances. A scholarship average of
not less than 2.5 is required of all
members.
Presentation of the chapter was
made by W. G. Austin, superintend
ent of Chandler schools, and ac
cepted by R. W. Taylor, superin
tendent of Coolidge schools. Pur
poses of the National Honor So
ciety were explained by Hugh Gib
son of Chandler. Miss Ruth Miller
wag chosen sponsor of Coolidge
chapter.
Coolidge high school students In
ducted into the honor society were;
Neighbors, Frank Mauldin,
Velda Abbott. Helen Anderson.
Curtis Shaw. Tommy Wolf, Tom
Adame and Vance Taylor .all sen
ior; N'edra Jean Ray. Nadine Mc-
Cleery, Madge Dixon. Betty Ruth
Moody, Hilly Van Orman, and Eddie
Schell, all Juniors.
The ceremony Included vocal
solos by Colleen Riggs and Pete
Navarrete of Chandler high school,
accompanied by Laßue Lambson.
and "Ye Are the Light of the
World,** In which the following
Chandler students participated In
a candle-light ceremony: Geraldine
Clem, torch bearer; Shirley Austin,
character; Nadibe Nova, scholar
ship; Elizabeth Overstreet, leader
ship, and Leßue Ltmpson, service.
o
Chesley* Announces
That He Will Seek
County School Post
Horace J .Chesley. for 12 years a
school teacher in Pinal county
schools and for many years a resi
dent of Coolidge, has announced
that he will be a candidate for the
office of County Superintendent of
Schools. Chesley had originally an
nounced his intention to seek the
position last week but withdrew his
petition.
Chesley has attended schools
from grade through college in Ari
zona. He graduated from Arizona
State Teacher’s College at Tempe
in 1932 with a secondary certifi
cate. and attended state college at
Flagstaff for three summers.
After leaving school he taught
one year In Tempe, and then came
to Pinal county where he has
taught ever Bince. He taught two
years in Eloy. was principal of the
Mammoth junior high school for
five years, and then went to Casa
Grande as principal of the North
Side grammar school until he en
tered the army in 1943.
He returned home in March aft
er 22 months in the European thea
ter of operations where he was
wounded in action twice. He was
awarded the bronze star for meri
torious service while crossing the
Rhine, and is the wearer of five
campaign stars. He is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Jake Chesley, of
Coolidge.
o
Coolidge Town Team
Plays Here Sunday
The Coolidge town baseball team
will make its home debut Sunday
• when it meets Buckeye in a Central
! Arizona league game. In tangling
with Buckeye the Coolidge nine
I will seek to get Into the win column
f in league standings. They dropped
i their tirst two contests. The game
Sunday will be played on the high
school diamond.
■ o
* •Miss Madelyn Martin of Tucson
, was a week end guest at the home
-of her sister and brother-in-law,
Mr. and Mrs. Warren Eyer.
Committeemen In
Only 7 Os 18 Pinal
Precincts Listed
None Os Those Filing For
Nomination Faces Opposi
tion In Primary
The two Florence precincts were
among the seven of the 18 precincts
in Pinal county where precinct
committeemen candidates filed pe
titions for nomination.
Other precincts where commit
tees filed were: North Superior,
South Superior, West and East
Casa Grande, and Ray.
In Florence, north precinct, five
candidates are unopposed. They
are Dorothy L. Ellis, Charles A.
Smith, Clarence A. Lewis, Wyly
Parsons, and R. L. Swearengin.
Candidates in the south precinct,
also unopposed, are: J. W. Baker,
W. T. Brunaman and Tom Ful
b right.
North Superior candidates, also
tiuopposed are; Joe H, Luevano,
(Jforge Mariscal, Battista (lays,
Frank A. Kennedy, Estill Osborn
and Robert R. Leory.
South Superior candidates are:
Cecil Comerlin, J. O. Shirley. Dee
Simpson. Manuel J. Lira and
George W. Clay.
West Casa Grande candidates:
Albert S. Quinn, Oeorge P. Serrano,
Ruby Wilcox. A. Q, Bennett. Alvin
T. Ethington. Henry C. Armenta.
and Forrest T. Rainey.
Ray candidates are :Fred Mit
chell. *Ray Padilla. (Jeorge Mor
ten. L. C. Thompson and R. C.
Lewis.
■ o -
Last Rites Held
For Jimmy Clemans
Saturday Afternoon
Funeral services were held for
James E. Clemans, 24. In Cole and
Maud chapel at Coolldge Saturday
afternoon at five o’clock. The Rev
erend S. B. Hannah of Florence
officiated. Clemans was bom at
Mesa. August 8. 1921. shortly after
the family moved there from Flor
ence He lost his life Monday.
April 15. when the boat in which
he was fishing at Roosevelt lake
overturned and he failed to make
shore.
James Clem sns Is the son of Mrs.
Hazel Clemans and the late Earl
Clemans. residents of Coolldge and
Florence for many years. He Join
ed the army In 1942. In March of
the following year he received a
medical discharge from the service.
A Hammon organ, brought here
from Mesa, supplied music for the
service. Mrs. Ida Brayman of Chan
dler was the organist.
The deceased is survived by his
mother and two brothers, Richard
and Joe, all of Coolldge, and two
uncles. Twain and William Clem
ans. of Florence.
Pall bearers were boyhood friends
of the deceased: Charles Hanks,
Donald Chesley, Herel Bickford,
Chesley, Charles Figgins and Ray
mond Davis. .
Interment was in Valley Memo
rial Park.
o
Scottish Riters
Attend Reunion
Tucson, Thursday
The San Carlos Scottish Rite de
gree team attended the annual
Scottish Rite spring reunion at
Tucson Thursday to confer the sth,
9th. and 10th degrees. Approxi
mately 10 candidates from Flor
ence, Casa Grande and Coolidge at
tended for initiation into the Scot
tish Rite degrees.
The following members of the de
gree team made the trip:
J. D. Goree, C. A. Anderson, Geo.
Hayduke. Fred Hamilton. George
Dell, D. S. Davis. Mike Hayduke.
Rodney Elsberry, Karl Fisher, Jack
Garrett, Arthur Burtcher, William
Short. Roy Snider, Charles Cohen
and Earl Smith all of Coolidge.
John Zellweger, J. Houston Al
len, Clarence Lewis, Paul Diffin, A1
Gressinger and Hugh Hager, all of
Florence.
Jack Clements of Casa Grande,
Clifford Clements and Melvin
Grossmiller, of Phoenix.
—o
Maricopa Voter*
Petition County
For Precinct
The people of Maricopa have pe
titioned the Pinal County Board of
Supervisors for assignment of a
voting precinct to that district.
They also request a justice of
the peace precinct in the petition
which is signed by approximately
50 residents. They base their ap
plication upon the recent popula
tion growth of the area and the
fact that Casa Grande, the nearest
voting precinct, is too far away.
The precinct designation was
taken from the Maricopa district
3ome years ago upon the request
of the people of that district them
selves.
Local C Os C Invited
To Meet Phoenix
Body On May 14
i lie Cooinige ami lUe Floieuce
v hampers ot commerce hate been
in v ued by trie i'hoenix chauioer
to a meeting .day H to uwcuas lour
questions described us being ot
prime importance to Arizonans
the call was issued by Herbert
K. Asking, president of the Phoe
nix body and Norman S. Hall,
chairman of the organization’s pub
lic atlairs committee.
The four points to be discussed
are; County zoning laws and regu
lations, modernization of Arizona's
sanitary code, need for county
planning commissions and moder
nization of the states motor ve
utclo code.
The session, to be held at the
Westward Ho Hotel will open at
2 p. m. A dinner will be given
that evening by the Phoenix cham
ber and the final business session
of the conference will he held the
lollowiug morning.
o
Coolidge Gives
Wage increase
To All Teachers
Other Schools In County
Grant Fay Rises Ranging
From SIOO To SSOO A
Year
A cost of living wage increase
has been granted teachers in the
coolidge elementary schools, pro
viding an average wage rise of
s2Bu a year, according to Robert W.
laylor, principal of the elemen
tary schools here.
The increase to be based upon
a cost ot living index of 130 as an
nounced by the government but the
school board assuming that the in
dex will rise above that figure has
arranged that the money will be
held for them and be paid off in the
form of bonus at the end of the
year.
if the index rises from 130 to
140 the difference of 10 points will
be used iu estimating the amount
of salary, giving a S2OO boost to
the scale already established for
a 42.U00 rating. The board also set
$2,000 as the base for cost of living
adjustment.
While the elementary schools get
their increase on a sliding scale,
the high school has provided an av
erage $250 a year increase for all
teachers.
Throughout the county commun
ities, realizing that in many cases
teachers have been unable to keep
up with the cost of living, have
granted pay rises.
At Ray high and grammar school
a blanket increase of SIOO has been
granted in most cases.
Casa Graude has granted a SIOO
blacket increase to high school
teacherß, while elementary school
teachers will average an increase
of approximately $l2O a year.
Eloy grammar school has adopt
ed an average $lO a mouth increase
for its teachers.
For the first time in its history,
Superior high and grammar schools
have adopted a wage schedule with
annual increases granted begin
ning at $1,850 in elementary
schools. The average increase will
bt S2OO but one case provides the
teacher with a jump of SSOO a year.
The Superior schools are also pro
viding a five-year experience al
lowance from other schools.
o
Local Stallions To
Be Exhibited In
Phoenix Sunday
Three Coolidge stallions are en
tered in the second annual all Palo
mino horse show which will be held
Sunday at Windsor Square stables
on North 7th street Phoenix. Roy
Harelson of Glandale is president
of the Palomino Exhibitors Asso
ciation of Arizona.
The three horses which will be
entered from Coolidge are M. M.
Ware’s Liberty Nickle, holder of
many ribbons and trophys from
previous shows and Bishop Patter
son’s Punkin and Bingo.
Breeding horses will be exhibited
during the morning and working
animals in the afternoon.
o
Pay Traffic Fines
Fines in justice of peace court
were meted out this week to Ralph
Vasquez, who paid $5 for failure to
stop at a stop sign, and to Charles
Dora, who was assessed $25 on a
reckless driving charge.
o
#O. W. Rugg, secretary of Selma
Soil Conservation district, was in
Tucson Monday inspecting some
gunite jobs with the view of adopt
ing cement gun method of ditch
lining farm laterals in Selma Soil
Conservation district.
NUMBER 8
Army To Quh'
Prisoner Os War
Camp By June 30
Classed As “Surplus" On
April 30. Camp To Be
Turned Over To U. S. Dis
trict Engineers.
With the Prisoner of War Camp
at Florence classed as “surplus to
need,” by the war department on
April 30, Lt. Col. Howard G. Rlon,
commanding officer at the camp
announced today that the entire
project would be completely de
activated and turned over to the
U. S. district engineers by June 30.
All prisoners and army personnal
will have left the camp by that
time, leaving a deserted village
under control of a few civilian
guards.
However ,Col. Rion said, the
camp laundry which is the only
army laundry in Arizona, will be
taken over and operated by the air
forces. *
At present there are 20 officers
and 75 enlisted men operating the
camp with the aid of 189 civilians.
Os the latter number 170 will be
retained during the deactivlzatlon
period.
Most of the officers are ex
pecting to be transferred to Ru
pert, Idaho .where an expanded
POW camp is being created as
other (‘amps in the west and south
west are being abandoned. A num
ber of the enlisted men will prob
ably go there too, it is expected.
Civilian employees will be let out
on or before June 30.
Os the officers now at the camp,
Lt. Col. Alex Stiller, of Tucson,
one of the most decorated officers
in the camp, and who saw active
service with the late General Pat
ton in Europe has already been as
signed to duty in Dallas. Tex. He Is
scheduled to leave for Dallas on
Thursday.
The camp initiated as an offi
cial internment camp for prison
ers of war in August, 1942, had a
peak of 13,000 prisoners, reached
December 1945.
Because of its efficiency it was
more or less operated as a train
ing center for military men assign
ed to other prisoner of war camps.
More than 600 officers have served
at the Florence camp during its
four years of existence.
First used as a prison camp for
Italian prisoners, it switched when
Italy capitulated and it was made
an all-German camp. All Italian
prisoners left the camp by August
1944 when the first German pri
soners entered. 'Some of the Ita
lians went to other camps while
some were included into sabor
battalions for the army. The first
Italian prisoners arrived in Flor
ence on May 6, 1943.
Much of the property at the
camp is already being moved to
other stations. The remainder not
moved by June 30 will be declared
surplus property.
Os the 2,834 prisoners now held
in the sprawling camp all will be
gone within a week with the ex
ception of approximately 300 who
will leave later.
The camp hospital, termed one of
the best in the country by visiting
physicians, will be closed May 1,
which is also the date that the
air forces will take over the camp
laundry.
During its existence, the camp
set up 11 sub-camps in this area,
with prisoners farmed out to pick
cotton and do other work so badly
needed during the peak manpower
shortage.
Among the locations of these
camps were: Casa Grande, Cortaro,
Duncan, Safford, 11-Mile Center,
Maricopa and Continental near the
Mexican border.
Strangely enough some of the
prisoners are not looking forward
to repatriation. About three per
cent do not want to go home, de
claring they like America, particu
larly that part of America in which
they are presently located.
The others with the Fatherland
uppermost in their minds. Several
said they knew that their home
cities w-ere badly bombed and they
didn’t know what to expect when
they arrived home, but they want
ed to go anyhow.
Faced with the prospect of re
turning to a Germany now without
food, and under the heel of the
conquerors, these men, many of
whom have families, are anxious
to return despite the positive hard
ship w hich they must meet.
Few of the officers and enlisted
men look forward with pleasure to
leaving Arizona, they said. This
has been proven in the past by the
fact that many, eligible for dis
charge, have elected to continue on
for a while before finally accepting
their discharge and a one-way
ticket out of Florence.