The Conshohocken Recorder, April 7, 1960

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TA 8-4600 Vol. 9047 Thursday, April 7. 1960—10c -o> > BR 90950
DA No Help
In Murder Case
Ferguson Says
Montgomery (lounty
Officials Fuileri
To Give Cooperation
Captain Clarence J. Fergu-son
is speaking:
"I stand before you haunt-ed
by memories of a black-haired,
freckle-faced boy in
knickers to whom this build-ing
was a second home 60
years ago.
"That boy was I.
"I suppose that I spent the
best years of my life under
this roof.
"It was here that long before any-body
ever heard of Juvenile gangs
— we had one. It was known as the
Ferguson Gang and it was strictly
a family affair. The members were
my brothers Joe. Pete, Howard.
Jlmmle, r-'ymond and myself.
"We all went to school In this
building when It was the Oreen
Lane Orammar School.
"We kids In this school came
from working families and homes
In Manayunk and Roxborough just
like yo"-s today.
"I won't say that all the mem-
(Contlnued on Page Seven)
CAPT CLARENCE I. FERGUSON
. . . Will N.y.r Foiq.l Maryann
Mllch.U Murder.
(Weekly Review photo.)
Firemen Enter
Loyalty Parade
Washington Fire Co. No. 1 and
Conshohocken Fire Co. No. 2 will
enter marching units and appara-tus
in the Loyalty Day parade
April 30 In N-rrlstown.
Sponsored by Nuss-O'Hara-Todd
Post 1804, Veterans of Foreign
Wars, Norrlstown. the parade is
expected to include 90 marching
units of VFW posts. American Le-gion
posts, fire companies, high
schools, Boy and Oirl Scouts and
armed forces personnel,
Lafore Calls Rival's
Tactics 'Ridiculous
And Unscrupulous'
Congressman John A. Lafore Jr., sharply attacked ex-ponents
of inflationary spending programs in a hard-hitting
speech Tuesday night before the Whitemarsh Valley Re-publican
Club as his campaign for a second two-year term
moved into full swing at the home of William Boulton-Dixon
10, American Legion, Fort Washington.
Samuel M. Glass, president of the club, introduced Wil-mer
D. Cressman, campaign chairman, who introduced the
speakers.
■ftea lmm*»A rntinrl fiiArtl
Schweiker
Hits 'Sub'
Debate Role
Those who Ignore sound fiscal
policies and advocate wasteful,
needless spending are doing a real
• disservice to their nation." Con-gressman
Lafore warned. "Only by
consistent economy In government,
prudent and effective spending for
the right kind of defense, can we
have economic stability that glvea
us the kind of peace record employ-ment
and prosperity that we have
enjoyed under the Elsenhower ad-ministration,"
he said.
The Montgomery County Con-gressman
lashed out at his primary
opponent for what he called "bald
misrepresentation of tha facts of
my voting record" in a campaign
as "unscrupulous as It is ridiculous."
"It Is Interesting to note that a
number of these unfounded charre*
by my opponent Indicate that Rich-ard
A. 8chwelker actually advocates
reckless spending, although he pub-licly
disavows it." Congressman La-for*
asserted. "He has attacked me
for voting against Alaskan state-hood."
he continued. "One of the
reasons I voted against Alaska be-coming
a state was Its economic In-stability.
It may be slgnlflcsnt that
such divergent publications as the
Wall Street Journal and the Read-ers"
Dl;:;t In recent weeks have
fo-used attention on these economic
problems with which Alaska Is
struggling since II has become a
► tale. These stories Indicate that
Alaska has many serious financial
problems.
"I have been accused of being
against the missile program because
I voted against a Senate-House
conference report which had water-ed
down the funds needed for this
most Important program. This mis-representation
of my record is one
of the most serious perpetrated by
.-Continued on Page Seven)
Lafore Speaks
At 8 Tonight
In Norristown
Congressman John A. Lafore Jr.
will be the principal speaker at 8
tonight at an Area Two rally at
L.A.M. Hall. E. Main St.. near
Arch, Norrlstown.
A large crowd Is expected to at-tend
from Norristown. East Norrl-
*on. West Norriton. Plymouth and
Conshohocken.
According to Wllmer D. Cress-man,
campaign chairman, brief
speeches will be made by Area
Representative Elkins Wetherlll. of
Plymouth Meeting; Assemblyman
Thomas H. w. Jones, Charles
Oreen, chairman of the Norrls-town
Republican Committee; At-torney
James R. Calola, president
of the Norristown Republican Club
and Mervln G. Sneatr, Republican
finance chairman.
Refreshment* will be served.
201 Confirmed
At St. Cosmas
A class of 190 children and 11
adult* was confirmed Sunday by
the Most Re . J Carroll McCor-mlck.
auxiliary bishop of Philadel-phia,
In S3. Cosmas and Damian
Church, Fifth Ave. and Maple St.
Bishop McCormlck was assisted
b the Rev. Victor Strumla, rector,
a I the Rev. Louis P. Olorgl, as-
*. lant rector.
Richard Schweiker, candidate for
the Republican nomination for
Congress, charged his opponent.
Incumbent John A. Lafore Jr., with
with "trying to force me off the
speaking platform."
Schweiker charged his opponent
was instrumental in having a meet-ing
of the Upper Merlon Republican
committee cancelled. It was ached
ulrd April 30.
"Pressure has been brought to
bear on the Upper Merlon com
mltteemen to cancel their meeting
because of Mr. Halleck's Invitation,"
Schweiker declared in a campaign
bulletin from his Norrlstown head-quarters.
Re referred to Rep. Mar-tin
Halleck, minority leader In the
Bouse of Representatives.
Schweiker added:
"My opponent and his political
advisors are so alarmed about his
Inability to defend in open debate
his poor voting record that they
have decided to call for outside help.
"An invitation has gone out to
Mr. Hslleck to come to a rally April
30 and speak in my opponent's be-half.
This maneuver of getting
someone to speak for my opponent
Is in line with his past practice of
ducking debates. As Priscilla so
aptly put It 'Why don't you speak
for yourself, John?'"
Decency Project
County Wide
A steering committee charged
with formulating a proposed Citi-zen's
Decency Committee on a
county-wide basis was named Mon-day
night as the result of an anti-pornography
public meeting at the
Whitemarsh township building.
Mrs. John Pfeffer, chairman of
the committee against obsenlty for
the PTA of the Lafayette Elemen-tary
School sponsor of the meeting,
will herd the steering committee
assisted by Rev. Harold F. Doelber,
pastor of St. Peter's Lutheran
Church, Carl D. Buchholz Jr.,
Whitemarsh school director and
past-president, Whitemarsh Lion's
Club: and Mrs. Ann Roberts, rep-resenting
Wllllam-Boultou-D 1 x o n
American Legion Post, Fort Wash-ington.
Prothonotary's
Deputy Hangs
Himself in Tree
Clarence I. Oodschall, deputy
prc'-on-iary in Montgomery coun-ty
for 37 years, commltteed sucid
by hanging from a tree on the lawn
of his home on North Broad St.,
Colmar. at 11:30 A. M. today.
A veteran of World War I, he
was 60 years old.
Abe Hallmau. 88. under Invest!
gation in connection with a short-age
of funds (story on page 8) In
the prothonotary's office, was ad-mitted
last night to Montgomery
hospital, NorrlBtown, suffering a
heart attack. His condition at noon
today was said to be satisfactory.
Godschall was a member of Wil-liam
E. Hare post, American Legion
Harold Oraham, chief of police
of Hatfield township, notified Dr.
(Continued on Page Seven)
11 Seek
West Side
Police Job
\|i|ilii':illl-
To Be Screened
Next Wednesday
Eleven applications were re-ceived
by the Borough Coun-cil
of West Conshohocken for
a $4,000 a year police officer
post. The full-time officer will
assist Chief of Police Albert
Slater.
The applications were read at a
meeting of council last night in
borough hall by Mrs. Isabel Ty-son,
secretary. They wer- referred
to the police committee, headed
by Councilman Vincent Kehoe,
which wUl "screen" the applicants
at a special meeting next Wed-nesday
night in borough hall.
The applicants:
Charles P. MUlhouse. 106 Jo-sephine
Ave., West Conshohocken;
married, threw dependents; played
football and learned Judo In Army,
discharged as sergeant; attended
St. Gertrude's school and gradu-ated
Conshohocken High school;
his father Albert M, Is president
of Borough Council.
James W. Priest. 20 Cedar Ave..
West Conshohocken; married, three
dependents; Softball player; Army
(Contlnuet on Paae Three)
♦ SO GOOD!
+ 90 Years of Know How
$5 yearly by n>»il
Palm Sunday,
Christ's Triumph
To Be Observed
Palm Sunday, one of the
events in the life of Christ, \v
triumph, will be observed by
PROCESSION — Girls of St. Mary's school are led from rectory grounds to
church Friday for confirmation rites by Sister Camilla. The Most Rev. J. Carroll
McCormick, auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia, officiated. (Weekly Review phoio by An Reese!
Easter (Nest) Egg
Municipal Authority Owed
$12,000 in Plymouth Twp.?
Fire Ruins
Bungalow
Falher Leads
Children to Safely
Fire completely gutted a three-room
bungalow and ruined the
frame exterior at 12:40 AM. to-day
a half block from the Harmon-
-fille Fire Co.
The home, occupied by Joseph
F.ynn, 42, am', his three children,
is at 1088 Butler Pike.
J. Donald Tarbutton, fire mar-shal
of Plymouth township, said
Flynn discovered the blaze and
routed the three children out of
their beds and took them to safety.
They are Joseph Jr., 11; Dennis,
10, and Richard, six.
Tarbutton said an overheated
wood-burning stove caused the
blaze. He said it apparently
smoldered for some time before
discovery and then suddenly
"mushroomed" out of control, en-gulfing
the one-story frame struc-ture.
The entire contents of the bung-alow
are a total loss, Tarbutton
said. He estimated the loss at 84.-
000.
The building is situated on the
property of Robert Wells, chief en-gineer
of the Harmonvllle Fire Co.
It sets back abou'. 50 feet from
Wells' home on the pike.
Plymouth Fire Co. assisted Har-monvllle.
Plymouth and White-marsh
police were at the scene.
The five members of the Plym-outh
Township Municipal Author-ity
cast a Speculative eye on a 12-
year-old resolution that could net
them a total of $12,000.
The board discussed at a meet-ing
March 28 the wisdom of enact-ing
the January 5. 1048 resolution
which would provide a salary for
each member.
Naming $300 as an annual figure,
the authority members on a retro-active
basis would each receive 92400.
The salary provisions are legal
under the state municipal author-ity
law which stipulates that re-muneration
for authority members
may be provided but may not be
Increased or diminished. All salar-ies
must be paid from authority
funds.
A decision was reached to bring
the question before the board of
commissioners of the township.
Members of the sewer authorit-ies
In neighboring townships. In-cluding
Whitemarsh. Upper Dub-lin.
Horsham and Springfield, re-ceive
no salaries for their services.
Apparently, with the township
sewer program now in full swing,
the Plymouth authority has decid-ed
to tap the long dormant nest
egg.
No member of the Plymouth au-thority
has been paid to date, since
the group was inactive over much
of the 12-year period of its exist-ance
and no funds were available
to ihe authority until about four
years ago when they began collect-ing
sewer rentals from the Colwell
Road area which Is serviced by
Conshohocken under a lntermunl-clpallty
agreement.
Present members of ihe Plymouth
municipal authority are T. Allen
Glenn, chairman: Vincent Greco,
James Lynch, Alex Smith and Irvln
Stevens.
Of the present board only Glenn
was a member of the original board.
Governor to Personally
Hear Why State Should
Relieve Traffic Jams
West Conshohocken Borough
Council, which expects to get mor-al
support f.om Conshohocken,
will go right to the top In an ef-fort
to get relief from the terrific
name Jam at the entrance to Mat-sonford
bridge and at Front and
Ford Sts.
The council U t night decided
the best thing to do was take the
matter to Governor David L.
Lawrence and the head of the state
highway department In Harrlsburg.
A committee representing the
borough will contact county and
state officials to help their cause.
They include State Senator Henry
J. Propert, Representative Thomas
H. W. Jones, and County Commis-sioner
Daniel J. Costello, The bor-ough
will be represented by At-torney
' cc7»arC A. Talone. solici-tor,
and John Hoy. borough engi-neer.
The council will seek new type
lighting for the bridge, the current
lighting deemed as good as what
was the extant in the Gay Nine-ties.
They also will seek traffic
lights at the intersection of Ford
and Front and the Expreaway
St Gertrudes Wins
Area CYO Tournament;
Awards Dinner April 30
spurs, which becomes a "mirage"
of swirling vehicles during morn-ing
and evening rush hours.
Council's argument with the state
Is the whole operation is a state
Job. It was pointed out that when
the b-'ldge was built. It was county-operated
and built for the conveni-ence
of residents of West Con-shohocken
and Conshohocken.
When the state took over Ford
and Front Sts. and 'he bridge it
became the state's responsibility to
maintain and regulate the traffic
and roadways.
Paradoxically, the tiny borough,
always hard-pressed for funds,
must pay a partial bite of the
lighting costs for the bridge with
Conshohocken; yet, it is a state-owned
span.
The borough contends the state
created the situation b> installing
the Ingress and egress rlghts-of-way
for the Expressway for the
convenience of users of the state
highway.
Little League
Tryouts Are Saturday
Tryouts for boys desiring to
play In the Conshohocken Little
League will be held at 9:30 Sat-urday
at Sutcliffe Park.
Boys are asked to bring their
own gloves and speakers. Those
who did not register before the
tryouts may do so Saturday.
Boys may not be over 12 years
old in the Little League.
Registration
On Saturday
Registration^ and tryouts for
Little League* players in White-marsh
towwnship have been set.
Registration will be held 10 AM
to noon Sa'urday at the township
building. Only boys coming out for
the first time need to register.
Boys who played on teams last
year will register with their man-agers
at a later date.
Tryouts for all new players will
be held at noon Apri: 23. Rain date
is April 30.
Registration cards may be ob-tained
at local schools or at the
township building.
Boys who will be 9, 10. 11 and
12 as of Aug. 1 this year are eligi-ble
to play. All boys who register
will be assigned to teams.
Park Site
Seen for New
Borough Hall
Committee Deems
Mary Wood Park
Is Best Location
Conshohocken Borough
Council last night indicated a
proposed new borough hull,
which question will be pre-sented
the voters Nov. 8,
would be built in Mary II.
Wood Park, Fifth Ave. and
Harry St.
Council's committee appointed
to investigate possible sites for the
new borough building reported the
park was considered the best site.
The group sa" in special session
in borough hall.
Attorney Francis Dennis, bor-ough
solicitor, said the borough
would be r?qu:red to get a "dec-laratory
Judgement" through the
courts to acquire the ground to
build, since the Mary Wood will
specifies certain uses for the park.
Fellowship House, which Is on the
park ground, was built under the
same conditions, the court order
considered a mere formality.
Council unanimously voted to
have the new borough hall question
placed before the voters at a meet-ing
last month. They will be asked
to approve council's borrowing
money, about $75,000, to build the
hall.
Two bids were received on a new
borough utility truck, but were re-jected
and new bids ordered ad-vertised.
The group also discussed
the rental of a second police car
and purchase of police uniforms.
Conshohocken planning commis-sion,
headed by E. F. Moore, re-quested
the council approve the
employment of the Pennsylvania
Economy League In helping the
commission conduct a comprehen-sive
survey on the borough's future
needs as to building, zoning.
streets, traffic and myriad other
problems.
The survey will be done at no
cost to the borough by the non-profit
group. Council adopted a
resolution granting the commis-sions
request.
Councilman John DUlosla, chair-man
of the street committee, re-
•ported on plans for oiling and chip-ping
the borough streets. The
committee will look Into the pos-sibility
of obtaining a better grade
oil for the work.
most hallowed and glorious
hen He entered Jerusalem in
members of every Christian
faith on Sunday.
Christ's entry into the huge,
sprawling town which was the
center of Chrlstlar was amidst
the jubi iatlon of thousands of His
believers.
The laying o; palms along the
way signified their adoration and
the event became historic and re-versed
In the light of Christ's
later passion and finally His Cruci-fixion.
Palm Sunday is the beginning of
Holy W»ek when the crowd cried
•Hos.nna to Ihe son of David."
Solemn and impressive services
are planned for all churches In the
area with palms, ancient symbols
of victory, being distributed to the
worshippers.
The ciowd ftiveh hailed Jesus
Christ on he day of his triumphal
entry Into Jerusalem cried lest
than a week later, on Good Friday,
"Crucify Him!"
Music has contributed much to
the Inspired Holy Week and the
works of the great masters will be
played and sung In the area
churches starting on Sunday.
Th? chronology of Christ's last
j week on earth Includes the con-spiracy
of His enemies on Monday;
Christ's lament over Jerusalem on
I Tuesday; Judas bargaining to be-tray
Christ on Wednesday; the Last
Supper with his 12 disciples on
Thursday; His death on the Cross
on Friday and the Resurrection on
Easter Sunday.
T. K. Dedication
To Be May 14
The Tadeusz Kosclus/kn Km
atlon. Hector and Apple Sts., Con-shohocken.
will Conduct a dedica-tion
banquet Mav 14 at *hcir new
hall.
On tshe committee for the special
occasion are Ted Kljack, chairman:
Bernard Pleklo and Stanley Bon-kowskl,
assistant chairmen.
A limited amount of tickets will
be available at the club, beginning
Sunday.
A number of distinguished guests
will be invited to attend. Mm c will
be by Adam Novlcki's group. A
catered dinner and refreshments
will be featured.
Red Cross
Aids 12,700
Local Drive
To End Sunday
The Red Cross fund drive in the
Conshohocken area is making seady
progress but is still a long way
from its goal of S80O0. according to
Emll J. Clavarelll, chairman.
Concentrated effort on the part
of all volunteers is necessary if the
drive is to be a success, Clavarelll
said.
The campaign was hindered seri-ously
by the March snowstorms,
called the worst the Red Cross had
to combat during fund campaigns
in the lost two decades.
The Red Cross has an excellent
record of serive to the Conshohock-en
community, Clavarelll said. Dur-ing
the year, 12.700 persons living
or working in Conshohocken were
provided assurunce against their
whole blood needs througli partici-pation
In the Red Cross blood pro-gram.
A total of 375 pints of blood was
provided through U.e Red Cross to
meet the blood needs of this group,
representing a saving of $7,500 to
Conshohocken families.
A team of Conshohocken residents
has been tarlned in disaster pre-paredness
and stands ready to as-sist
the community in the even, of
such major disasters as hurricane,
tornado or flood.
Red Cross trained Instructors and
registered nurses are available to
conduct courses in first aid, care
of the sick and injured and mother
and baby care. The Red Cross also
trains life guards and certifies In-structors
to teach courses in water
safety.
Cassels Return
From Florida Trip
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph (Bill) Cassel,
of 22 V. Elm St.. returned Friday
after a two-week vacation touring
the South and visiting Miami
Beach, Fla.
The Tassels visited the famous
Fountalnebleu Hotel and other re-sorts.
Both have nice tans after
spending most of the time at the
beach.
St. Gertrude's of West Consho-hocken,
Philadelphia Area Catholic
Youth Organization basketball
champions w»U be feted at a testi-monial
dinner at 6:30 April 30 in
the paiish hall. Bullock and Meri-on
Aves.
Coach Don Stempls and his
Jubilant squad brought the first
championship of such a wide area
to the small school In Its history.
The team defeated St. Mat-thew's
of Philadelphia. 30-28. on
Sunday to wl< the St, Joseph's
Prep Invitational tournament in
which 24 district champions com-peted.
Dave Whltfleld. classy point-producer,
scored 23 points to lead
the West Siders. Co-captain Jim
Farrell's outstanding floor play
continually draw applause from the
partisan crowd.
St. Oertrudr's ended the season
with a 30-6 record, breaking all
previous team records.
Joe McFadd'n chipped in nine
markers in the victory; Franny
Mellon added four; Jim Farrell two
and George Farrell one. Other out-standing
players in the lineup were
Martin Carr, Danny Smith. Joe
McTamney. Franny Salkowskl and,
Richie Gryzwacs.
The squad, which entered the
tourney after winning the Norris-town
Area CYO title, received a
trophy at St. Joe's Prep after the
game.
The Holy Name Society of the
parish Is sponsoring the testimoni-al
dinner. Stan Jaworowskl, noted
sports official, and Ed Glvnish.
basketball coach at St. Matthew's
High school, Conshohocken, will be
among the guests.
Individual awards will be pre-sented
by John Mlchell, president
of the Holy Name unit. Another
trophy will be presented by Con-shohocken
Council 1603, Knights of
Columbus.
Post Office
Sculptor (ited
Robert I. Russln, of Larsmle.
Wyo.. famous sculptor who executed
the mural at the Conshohocken Post
Office, Is subject of an orticle laud-ing
his work in the January Issue
of American Artist magazine.
Russin did the Conshohocken
mural in 1042. It depicts life-size
figures of steel workers, carved In
laminated basswood. Russin has
other sculptures at colleges and
other locations across the country,
notable among the a 12-foot high
bronze head of Abraham Lincoln,
mounted on a 30-foot granite base,
overlooks the Lincoln Highway 10
miles east of Laramle.
THEY'RE FOR LAFORE — Chattingwith Congressman John A. Lafore Jr. at
meeting of Whitemarsh Valley Republican Club Tuesday night are, 1. to r., Mrs. John
S. Magill, Mrs. Ethel James and Mrs. Jay Cooke.
Conshohocken Award
Dinner Set April 28
Conshohocken Klwanis Club and
Conshohocken Jaycces will Jointly
sponsor the second anr/.al "Con-shohocken
Cltize"ship Award" din-ner
at 7 April 28.
The award is given to an indi-vidual
who ha> contributed to the
betterment and progress of the
community through his or her pro-fession.
Joseph Quinn, secretary of
the Borough of Conshohocken, was
recipient in 1*50
Station Wagon,
Sedan Collide
A Chevrolet aedan driven by
Frank M. Wilson. 55, of Broomall,
struck the rear of a Plymouth sta-tion
wagon driven by Charles Bu-ter.'
i. 44, Ardmore, at 14th and Fay-ette
Sts. at 8 A. M. today.
Sgt. Kenneth Blewltt of White-marsh
Township Police estimated
damages to Wilson's car at 8500;
Buterae at 850. *J