The Sauk Centre herald., 1938-08-04
S Sport
cM Wags
BY Chuck Rattle

y
A number Of years ago, when
conservation in the rigid measures
we know 1t today was only back
ground thought with few, Little
Birch Lake suffered to go the route
so many of Minnesota's lake shore
lines had gone. Saw milling threat
ened to move in, coming from the
north, to strip the country side Of
the store of timber. Even as
such notions were being entertain
ed two men, +. s. Parker and the
late ]. w. Ward, saw the long run
fallacy Of the proposed slicing of
timber, moved in quickly and
bought acres Of the lake shore
tracts. Luckily the movement
was sincere and timely enough to
save Birch from relapsing into a
lake with stark, sandy shorelines
with a few dottings Of timber
stand that might have been. {.
Now all these suppositions are
largely fanciful, but it could have
happened that way. 1t did in other
PAdSCos
Today, largely because of that
movement and because for the past
four years the Little Birch Lake
Conservation Club has relentlessly
battled to maintain timbered
shoreline, and a water level that is
constant, Birch stands as one of the
most beautiful of this sections
lakes. "A sky-mirrored, clear shot
Of water that snuggles in a bowl
whose edges rise wooded and green
all around. But four years ago
Little Birch, property owners there
held, was being dangerously sap
ped Of it's water supply through
sources at both ends. One drained
into Big Birch, the other into Syl-
via to the south. Result was that
a dam, now subject of widespread
controversy, reported blastings, and
even lawsuits to the Little Birch
crowd, was built. Now washouts,
or hastings as some contend, have
rendered the Birch-Sylvia dam use
less with great gaps around its out
er edge. :. Sunday in the annual
meeting Of the Little Birch Lake
owners, it was reported that new
state control dam was being pro-
posed at the lower end of Sylvia
to maintain levels of both lakes
identically. It'll rid the Little
Birch crowd of a thumb that has
been sore for some time, should for
a long time end the painful bicker-
ings that have kept residents along
the several lakes Of the chain at
swords points. -.
without personal regard I'm
the matter, your correspondent
who processes to know little
of the issues nor their relative
merits-can point to these Lit
tie Birch men with something
of pride for their apparently 0p-
en-minded gestures In the inter-
ests of conserving something
man cant give back, once TAX
en- away.
Sauk Centre Country Clubs macs
tro-He's the course record holder
you know-Walt Moynihan, drifted
into the hamlet the other day.
And welcome he is too. Waits
been doing a lot of bowling during
the winter, and true or not the
story is afloat that the bowling,
done with his left hand since he is
a southpaw, has made some chang
es necessary in his golf game.
But he's still the old master here
abouts, at least. The other day he
raped of the first five holes in
one under par. e. Sunday on 4
hole, a 310-yard par four, Walt got
a lie on his first ball off to the left.
He stroked the ball with number
iron that pitched the pellet onto
the green. The ball rolled up to the
cup and plunked in for deuce. :.
Some there are who have pointed to
a fact that may account for
Waits prowess as far as his natural
ability is concerned. Golfers point
out that the control of the stroke
Is largely in the leading, or left
hand. For southpaws, in which case
the left is developed much more, the
game has peculiar advantages. /.
Well, be that as it may, Walt still
hangs onto his course record Of an
official 33 strokes, he still whacks,
an mean apple down the fairway,
he's nice competition. -.
At long last "a neat phrase
coined by the Duke of Wind
sor and often appearing in col
umnists' stints who can't be