Wallowa County Chieftain

Sept. 8, 1949

We are somewhat annoyed at the amount of publicity given to the young lady who proposes to swim the English channel after her muscles coincide with the power of the tidal waves. If this is international news, why doesnt some enterprising lass, with a burning love for Wallowa county, announce that she will swim Wallowa lake from one end to the other and thereby focus the eyes of the nation upon this beautiful county, and herself.

If we have a young lady in our midst, and surely we must, who has the muscle to swim the lake and the other incidentals to make a good picture, The Chieftain will undertake to see that she is photographed in various strategic poses and will make every effort to have these interesting photos distributed where they will do the most good. We would take a personal interest in this ìworkî, which would be motivated, of course, solely by a desire to see the young lady and Wallowa county given the publicity which would be their due.

There was a time when young women occasionally, and without any of the incentives which we have offered, took it upon themselves occasionally to swim the length of the lake. All they got for their efforts was a brief story after the completion of the exploit.

It has been years since the last time a young lady swam the lake and it must be assumed that the job would be much easier today. The progress, which has been made in cutting down on the amount of unnecessary cloth in swimming suits, has been astounding the last few years and it may therefore be supposed that a girl in a modern bathing suit would encounter much less resistance (in the water, that is) than her predecessors of twenty years or so ago. In fact, we doubt whether the additional energy required, as a result of the suit could be measured by any available devices.

The financial possibilities are most interesting. A considerable sum could probably be obtained from local merchants, if the lake swimmer would agree to wear a suit emblazoned with the words Homans Meats are Best, of Fill Up With Texaco Gas. Moreover the young lady could sign testimonials to the fact that she eats Barley Biscuits for breakfast, smokes Ducky cigarettes and drinks Cool Aid and from these derives her unusual stamina as well as her fulsome figure. After the exploit, she could appear here and yonder under the auspices of the company who made her suit or furnished the grease to cover her during the swim and thereby acquire further publicity and revenue.

We refuse to imagine that the ladies of today are not as robust as the ladies of the 1920s. Anybody who has observed the local girls in sweaters and slacks will feel confident that there must be a number of these huskie lassies, who could swim the length of Wallowa lake and back again.