In search of a safecracker

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Mar 19, 2002

EAGLE POINT, Ore. (AP) -- The Eagle Point Museum is looking for someone with experience at cracking safes. No questions asked. All that is required is strongbox experience and a keen ear for the tumblers.

The museum has a safe that stood in the First State Bank of Eagle Point when it opened its doors early in the summer of 1911. The bank was one of the few that survived the Great Depression following the stock market crash in fall 1929.

The 2,000-pound safe, which looks a bit like an ancient diving bell, was donated to the museum last fall by the family of the late Walt Young, a longtime Medford businessman. Made by the Victor Safe & Lock Co. of Cincinnati, it actually has two safes -- one at the top and one in the base. It is at least 100 years old.

The sphere shape of the upper chest was created to prevent it from being blown open by safecrackers, said Perry Young, an antiques dealer whose father bought the safe more than 20 years ago. "It was considered impregnable top-of-the-line in its day," he said. "It was made strictly for keeping gold coin."

"Someone said the only person who can open it is probably in the penitentiary," said Barbara Hegne, director of the Eagle Point Museum.

Eagle Point Historical Society members are curious about the safe's contents, Hegne said. "We're looking for someone who can open it for us," she said. "And we all hope there is a pot of gold in there." But Hegne reiterated that the museum's primary interest is in the safe, not its contents. "If we can get it open, we'll leave it open," she said.

Racing rattlesnakes

OLD SAN PATRICIO, Texas (AP) -- Start with the legend of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland. Then give it a Texas twist. What you end up with is the World Championship Rattlesnake Races, run for the past three decades to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in this tiny south Texas town settled by Irish immigrants.

The basic idea is simple -- pay $20 to rent a rattler, put it down on the ground and do what it takes to coax the reptile along a grassy strip to the finish line 80 feet away. Racers are equipped with a 6- foot plastic rod -- called a "gitter," as in to coax the critter to "git" along. Some use it to beat the ground next to the snake, while others walk behind and scare the snake forward. There are a few rules, like no smacking the snake. Not only would that be unprofessional, it would also be bad strategy.

"If you get out in front of him, he's gonna stop," said Jack Lewis, the race's general manager. "If you touch him, he's gonna coil up and try to strike."

The latest winner was Don Burkman, of Austin, who swung his gitter like an ax to urge his rented Western diamondback to victory in 69 seconds. "I was smacking (the ground) pretty good," he said afterward. "He slowed down on me last time. I wanted to keep him going."

The racing idea was born in the early 1970s, when some history- minded residents were trying to come up with a way to raise funds to restore structures in Old San Patricio and build a museum to house Mexican artifacts found in the area. The event steadily grew over the years. Now the festival, which features carnival rides, live music and food kiosks -- one of which sells fried rattlesnake meat -- attracts as many as 10,000 people each year.

A local snake-handler accompanies the racers down the course for protection, to offer racing tips and to pick up the snake should it veer into another lane. The snakes are not defanged.

Another boom

WACO, Texas (Cox) -- Forget cloning humans. People in the United States are doing a pretty good job of reproducing themselves without any help from science. Women in the United States are having more children than at any time in almost 30 years, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2000, the average number of children born to women over a lifetime was 2.1, according to the CDC report, "Births: Final Data for 2000." That number is considered sufficient to replace the number of U.S. residents who die or move away every year. During most of the 1970s and `80s, women gave birth to fewer than two children on average.

There were 4,058,814 births in the United States in 2000, the CDC said -- a 3-percent rise from 1999 and the third straight increase, following a decline from 1990 to 1997.

While some might call the growing population a "crisis," there could be some benefits to having more people around, sociologists say. More people in one place means better restaurants, hotels, leisure activities and health care, said Larry Lyon, a Baylor University sociology professor.

The long and winding road

NEW YORK (AP) -- Today is the 78th day of 2002. There are 287 days left in the year. This is the date the swallows traditionally return to the San Juan Capistrano Mission in California. Here are some business and legal highlights from this date in history:

In 1917, the Supreme Court upheld the eight-hour work day for railroads.

In 1918, Congress approved daylight-saving time.

In 1920, the U.S. Senate rejected, for a second time, the Treaty of Versailles by a vote of 49 in favor, 35 against, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval.