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mm COLBORNE EXPRESS, COLBORNE, ONT., JULY 29, 1948 Sky Lighthouses Help Guide Planes Like a bright necklace, twenty airways beacons glitter nightly along the Boston-Albany airplane route, helping to guide pilots over some of the most treacherous terrain in the East. And nowhere are they more valuable, according to a writer in the Christian Science Monitor, than through the jagged reaches of the Berkshire Hills. These sky lighthouses, almost hand-over-hand, have led many lost fliers to a safe landing. When an aviator is lost above such a region as the Berkshires, a familiar landing field sliding up over the horizon toward his propeller hubs is a comforting sight. Maintaining these beacons despite weather problems is one of the biggest jobs of the Civil Aeronautics Administration. Spaced 10 miles apart along the route, they are infallible guides to aircraft. Keeping them reliable is the job of the airways mechanicians who are at once woodsmen, electricians, mechanics and hardy pioneers. The Boston-Albany lights are kept burning by Elmer S. Bisbing. Routine Check He lives in Westfield, Mass, halfway along the airway, and gives each of his 20 lights a routine check at least one a month. They rise from the highest peaks of the Berkshires, marking them as lighthouses do reefs at sea. Their positions, therefore, can bear little relation to existing roads and trails. Mr. Bisbing must be prepared at any moment to climb a mountain or slog through a downpour or a blizzard to repair a bea- Late last March he drove 50 miles at night, west into the hills near Pittsfield, in a four-wheel-drive Army truck, strapped on snowshoes at the entrance to an abandoned CCC camp and hiked two miles through a blinding blizzard up a mountain to the Lebanon Springs, N. Y., beacon. When he made the summit, he climbed another 51 feet up the frail metal "It was singing like an organ in the wind," he says, "and it swayed a lot. Before I finished work I had to turn on the light so I could warm my hands in front of it. The bulbs are 1,000 watts, and if you touched one, it would fry you." Departure Noted As a form of insurance, these men usually tip off someone in the neighborhood before they strike out into the wilderness, so a rescue party can start after them if they are gone too long. Most inaccessible tower beacon is on the top of Gobble Mountain near Chester. It is nearly three miles from the nearest road. The way leads up two 40-foot cliffs. When Mr. Bisbing reaches the top, he has a 91-foot tower waiting to be climbed. The entire trek is through a dense forest. Summer isn't much better. Mr. Bisbing carries a small scythe, or hatchet, since the woods around Chester are full of rattlers and hundreds of black snakes. Actually the scythe does yeoman duty in keeping the underbrush down along the trails from highway to beacon, which follow the power line poles through the wilderness. Only the light at Garfield, N. Y., 10 miles east of Albany airport, is not powered by a. ■ utility electric line. That one uses current generated by two gasoline engines, and its 1,200-gallon fuel tanks are sufficient for six to eight months' operation. The airways' man here is also an auto mechanic, cleaning carbon and grinding valves regularly. Well Above Trees Steel-lattice towers hold the beacon lights well above the surrounding trees, and a quarter-horse-power electric motor revolves the 36-Jnch globe so alternate red and white beams flash for miles across the sky. They are controlled by electric clocks in the tower base, lighting up a half-hour before dusk, switching off a half-hour after sunrise. The mechanism adjusts itself to the seasonal difference in daylight Although a second bulb cuts in automatically if the first burns out, failure of these units is the most common trouble, since the sudden switch - over may knock out the spare. State police, nearby airport personnel and fliers report failures to Mr. Bisbing's Westfield office as •oon as they are spotted. Airway beacons mark the path on the ground that the radio range i take through the air. Combining the lights with the reassuring range signal humming through his earphones, a pilot can tell exactly where he is at any time. ;nt CAA oojl showed that mofe*than 85~"per cent of the pilots rely heavily on the beacons, despite the increase and improvements in radio directional devices. Essex Ships 25,000 Bags of Potatoes a Day-- Seldom have Essex potatoes approached the quality they are this year and never have they been available to consumers in large volume so early. Ten men and women are required to operate a digging rig efficiently. Power-operated and drawn, machine will harvest as many as 500 bags a day. Early potatoes cost about $30 an acre to plant. THEFAEM FRONT iJormlSu^eLL. Possibly you have never thought of climbing as an important part of farm work--but it is, nevertheless. In feeding livestock a farmer climbs into haymows, granaries, silos, haystacks and feed racks. He climbs on and off tractors and other farm equipment several times a day. Painting and repair of buildings and servicing high equipment such as a windmill al' l;mbing. And all this cL.nu.ng .....kes falls the chief cause of accidental death and injuries to farm people. Just one little stumble or slip may result in a costly injury, and climbing increases the chances. Some of the climbing practises common on farms shock those familiar with safety precautions-- and if you will check up on yourself, the unnecessary chances you takie might come as a real surprise. Safety engineers have studied thousands of falls associated with all types of climbing; and the basic prevention rules they have developed can apply to farms just as well as factories. The first step is to make it difficult "mechanically" for a cumber to fall. The second is to form safe climbing habit* Ladders, steps or .stairways should be rigid and strong enough to support twice the load that will be placed on them. A good ladder or stairway is cheap compared with a bad fall. A haymow ladder that doesn't extend above the loft floor invites falls, by making it easy for the climber to lose balance when he attempts to transfer from ladder to loft floor. Stationary or portable ladders to any overhead floor should be long enough to extend at least four feet above the level to which the climber must ascend. Outside ladders and platforms on many silos make it easy to fall. The ladder may be high enough, but an independent railing around the elevated platform makes it dangerous to transfer from ladder to platform. In many cases the climber has to step over the railing to get on or off the platform. It is true that a railing is desirable-- BUT IT SHOULD ALSO EXTEND AROUND THE LADDER, thus Crabs Six Feet From Tip to Tip King crabs of astonishing proportions have been taken from the crab beds along the Gulf of Alaska. Specimens caught have weighed as much as twenty-six pounds and have measured over six feet from tip of one gangling walking' leg to the tip of its mate on the opposite side of the carapace. The average from the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska beds, however, weighs between 14 and 15 pounds and is three or four feet in leg span. Far from prepossessing in appearance, the king crab is orange-gray it may lack in eye appeal, how-' e giant crab makes up for approximately a fourth of the mature crab's live weight consists of meat of excellent quality. Conse-Pacific Coast fish- You never see a passenger train without grab bars at the steps of the coaches, and employees in properly-run factories are not permitted to use stairways without handrails. Likewise, all stairways on farms need handrails where two or more steps are necessary. Grab hars will also help prevent many falls as you climb onto wagons, tractors, trucks and other farm equipment. If the manufacturers have not provided such devices, home-made ones can generally be easily added. When you're in a hurry there's always the temptation to use some makeshift support and trust to luck instead of taking time to get safe equipment. Many people gamble with faulty ladders or steps, always putting off repairs till some other time. Going up and down in too much of a hurry is another risky habit which usually results in a fall instead of saving time. New Fog Horn Blasts Away Fog There's a new kind of fog horn, it seems, which instead of guiding mariners through the murk, simply blasts the fog out of existence-- agitating it with such powerful sound that it dissipates. It is said that the new fog-dispersing machine produces sound louder than some :S0,00() police sirens all going at once. It is also described as something like a combination of a passing elevated train, a number of pneumatic drills, and several fire and police sirens--all multiplied a thousand Someone remarked on the announcement, "A sound idea for Long Island Sound!" /ShohtS?^ Moving Day EDWARD EARL LEE The quitting bell sounded through the office and immediately ordered routine gave way to confusion as workers prepared to leave. That is, all but one. Jerome Clayton remained seated, elbows leaning on the polished top and cupped palms supporting his chin. Jerry's abstracted gaze watched employees' hurried exits. His emotionless voice enswered hastily uttered farewells. Last Friday he had been part of that scene. This Fri-daj . . . well, no use hurrying home to be greeted by four bare walls. Of course, Helen would take the furniture. She had bought it by installments from her sa'.ary. Jerry recalled how her grey eyes lighted plea the had she had a in;: it A slamming door interrupted his reverie causing him to glance up. He recognized he elevator operator and realized the man was taking his last look around to ascertain if all the e-mplpoyees had gone. Jerry hurriedly locked the desk, slapped on his hat and rode down. It was then he remembered Jack's poker session, pre-arranged for six o'clock. He shrugged. All week he had been groping for a suitable excuse to tell Helen. Now that none was required, he had no desire to sit in at the game. Well, no use mooning around down here. He walked away slowly with no destina-'ion in mind, his thoughts tumbling So, after a year, this was the end. Helen should have known that Grace meant nothing to him. Had he not done everything except tell her? But Helen thought otherwise and had started acting up to that Charlie with the patent-leather Jerry's thoughts were rudely jerked back to the present by the sound of screeching brakes and the vitriolic tirade of a truck driver.He was crossing a street with the red light against him. Grinning sheepishly he glanced at the street sign to determine his location, then started, surprised. He was only one block from home. His subconscious mind had directed him to the route habitually followed when returning from work. Jerry turned the corner slowly. Suddenly his mouth felt dry. There was a sickening void where his stomach should have been. Weights seemed attached to his feet as he shambled on unwillingly, yet unable to stop. In front of the house was the furniture. No chance of his mistaking that "Modernistic Design." One of the draymen went in as Jerry came abreast the dwelling. The second one said: "Gotta match, pal?" "No. He ut will a lighter do?" accepted the instrument and began the somewhat difficult task of endeavoring to light his pipe with a cigarette lighter. "Beats all," he grumbled between puffs, "how much extra work people can cause. Take this customer, for instance. We get her stuff all packed, drives to her new place, and what happens? Says she's changed her mind and wants it hauled back." "What!" exclaimed Jerry. "Yeah," the mover continued, "I was surprised myself. But I think shes nuts. When we get back here she bursts out crying and runs up the steps like . . . Hey, here's The drayman removed his pipe from between slack lips. He scratched the lobe of his ear with the stem and a puzzled frown wrinkled his face. He started to pick up a chair to carry in. Then he began to grin. Dropping the chair, he hoisted the loveseat on his back. The End The taipan, an Australian snake, las a bite so poisonous that it will cill a horse within four minutes. with all four legs on base. Be sure it's ta permit you to stand steps from the top, fully spread, lose your balance when working from the top. When you erect a straight ladder it should form a triangle with the biulding so that the base equals one-fourth the distance from the top support. For example, on a 12 foot wall the bottom of the ladder should be 3 feet from the wall. When you climb a ladder hold on • with both hands. Tools or other materials that cannot be safely carried in the pockets should be hoisted with a hand-line. Be sure and always work facing the ladder, and holding on with one hand. Especially dangerous is the common practice of straddling the space between the ladder and the building. Never leave a ladder standing where it will tempt children to climb. As a protection for children the lower section of stationary ladders on silos or windmills should be removed Those who make use of a barn stairway as a hay chute are taking real chances because loose hay or straw makes such an uncertain footing. Separate feed chutes that are guarded above the loft floor are far better. Ladders and stairways should be well lighted as climbing in the dark is another careless practice that leads to almost certain trouble. And when climbing don't carry bundles or objects that will obstruct youOview or prevent your grabbing a support in case of emergency. THE COUNTRY DOCTOR Symbol of security and confidence. No hazard, no labour, c from his path of mercy. His life is bound up in the stirring words of the Hippocratic Oath: Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick ..." Men like this, some of Canada's finest, are in the public's service--at your si DAWES BLACK HORSE BREWERY i tribute to those Canadians in the service of the public