Chippewa Herald-Telegram from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin • 6

THECWPPFAA HERALD There once man in A6 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 19S8 lived a petrified Ladysmith it was a rock. Turning the log over, their efforts met with some difficulty. Their exertions finally split the trunk, revealing the ashen face of a man. Now, at this point, I had to say, 'Swede vou expect me to Jeffrey Hage believe that?" Then I found the story continued. The woodcutters, recovering.

When it comes to fictional facts and factual fictions, nobody can compete with mv old friend Swede Nelson. On occasion, Swede shares with me a little tidbit or two that anyone would find unbelievable. Anyone who knows Swede would agree, when I say most of these tidbits aren't fit for publication, because they stretch the truth just a little too far. But his latest story. was different, and it happened not to far from the Chippewa County line in Ladysmith.

Swede's story goes like On Jan. 21, 1926, the Rusk County Journal of Ladysmith, published a startling story. Briefly, it states that two loggers, Art Charpin and Walter Latsch of Owen, were working a tract near the city The pair felled a large basswood, which had a hole in the trunk some 30 feefabove the ground. In cutting through the log, their saw encountered a rock. Or at least they thought ture stories for the paper.

Ah! I was right. Swede was pulling my leg all along, but still, the story continued. It wasn't long before large numbers of peo pie began frequenting the at the. state university in Madison. They were ask-, ing to see the remains of the petrified man.

Later that year, it was written in the muse- urn bulletin that the body of the petrified man had not been received there and it was doubtful that it ever would be. Further, it published a scholarly report debunking the report of the finding of the petrified man. The editor of the paper published the views of the museum and concluded by writing himself, this clear-cut analysis, the museum proved that the petrified man could not have existed. That has always been somewhat our own opinion." Once again Swede. I think you stretched my imagination to the point that it can't be stretched any further.

body was that of Captain Pierre D'Artagan, who was lost from Marquette and Joliet's party on their trip down the-Mississippi River in 1673. It is theorized that D'Artagan, pursued by Indians, crawled into the tree hollow to hide, and being unable to crawl out, died there. The peculiar action of the sap of the live basswood petrified the body and preserved it for the discovery by the loggers from Owen. Once again, I asked Swede, "You expect me to believe that?" Then I found the story continued. The next issue of the Rusk County Journal stated that the body would be shipped to the state university.

Within a couple of weeks, other newspapers had copied the story, resulting in a number of requests for photos and verification. What had not been mentioned in the reprints was that the article was signed by the 1 Rusk County Lyre, a hardworking reporter who had been writing similar fea- from their fright, further Nuts and Bolts Pened tne livinS trunk of the tree to discover the petrified body of a man. clothed in coarse homespun and buckskin and wearing a coonskin cap. The clothing fell away but the men found in it a few French gold coins, one bearing the date 1664, and a scrap of official looking paper bearing the name Pierre D'Artagan and signed Jacques Marquette. According to this story in the Journal, the Were TOSS'S FAD Switch illuminates biology's role OUR VIEW Issues more important than television images We were amused, perhaps even a bit irritated, by an invitation from the campaign of U.S.

Senate candidate Mark Neumann on Monday. He was going to be in Chippewa County, holding a press conference at the airport, and very much wanted coverage of the event from the Herald. The Neumann's new television commercials would start airing on Tuesday. Fancy new advertisements on television have never been considered news for newspapers, any more than television stations consider segments on a candidate's new newspaper advertising blitz to be news. On the other hand, maybe a newspaper advertising blitz by a candidate would be a major news event, just from the sheer novelty of it.

Every political season, it starts again: Candidates go rushing to television stations, building their campaign around 30-second sound bites to make themselves look down-home and their opponents look foolish. Then they call a press conference to announce a new "grassroots" -campaign initiative that the rest of the media should come and cover for free. Neumann's announcement about his television commercials was to be combined with an announcement about a series of "town hall meetings" (translation: campaign stops) throughout the state. The campaign, of course, hopes for free media coverage of the orchestrated events. We do not blame them, in a way.

It is the job of the political pro- -fessionals to engineer campaigns to obtain the best possible exposure for their candidates. But it is the job of news departments to cover news, not get led around by political pros. We intend to cover issues important to voters, not events designed by managers. In other words, call us when you've got something of substance to say. OTHER VIEW Reno more stubborn than sensible Once there was a time to admire Attorney General Janet Reno's flinty independence.

But now, as Reno stands increasingly isolated on the Clinton fund raising scandal, she looks more stubborn than sensible. After a 10-month inquiry, her own top investigator has concluded that she has no alternative but to seek an independent prosecutor to investigate fund raising by the 19 Clinton campaign. No one assumes Reno is consciously protecting Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. Reno, if anything, is a loyalist to her own department, insisting that career prosecutors can be trusted with investigating the White House. La Bella's conclusion shreds Reno's long-held argument against a special prosecutor for Clinton fund raising.

Plainly, she is wrong. She must invoke the act or consider whether a different attorney general should make the call. TH SUTTtf tlMU eral times: She fled to a shelter once, claim ing that her father had sexually molested her from the age smothering eight of her own babies over a 19-year period. She had claimed it was crib death. Some adoptees search for years attempting to find out "who they are." But if they suppose that knowing their biological roots will fully answer that question, they underestimate the human soul.

'if 1 tiiai ge sue ySj later acknowledged 1 I she had invented), The speed with which the University of Virginia Medical Center announced that it would have been impossible for Rebecca Chittum and Callie Marie Johnson to have been accidentally switched at birth approached the speed of light. Robert W. Cantrell, vice president and provost of health sciences at announced as soon as news of the case broke that "We are 99.9 percent sure that it did not happen accidentally" Cantrell was asked, "What would the possible motive be for such a crime?" No answer. Hospital officials are blowinfe smoke for obvious reasons fear of liability. But the truth is that negligence on someone's part is the likeliest explanation for this error.

If anything strikes a new mother in a maternity ward, it is how much all newborns look alike. Some are bald, and some have hair. Some are swarthy, and some are fair. But otherwise, it is awfully easy to mistake one for another. It probably happens more often than we know.

The case of Kimberly Mays made headlines a decade ago when it came to light that she had been switched with another baby at a -hospital in Florida. The switch was not discovered until Kimberly was 10 and after the other little girl, who had been born with a heart defect. had4uVd, In that case, there was reason to suspect that the switch might have been intentional on someone's part. But no proof of wrongdoing ever emerged. Kimberly.

though, appears to have endured a far more tumultuous adolescence than she otherwise might have. Her birth family, the Twiggs, very much wanted her to rejoin her family of origin. But Kim was badly shaken by the idea of lea ing the only father she had ever known. After fmr years of emotionally draining visits to the Twiggs, Kimberly sued for a "divorce," saying sh wanted nothing more to do ith them. A court granted ner petition But over the next several years, Kimberlv ran away om home sev- Mora Charm and later ran off to the Twiggs home (from which she also A Conservative fled several times).

View al)y itching is as old as the Bible. Solomon's wisdom was proved by his ability to smoke out the true mother from two contending women, and Moses was floated down the Nile, plucked out by the Pharoah's daughter and raised at court. But baby switching, as terrible as it is. casts light on the whole question of biology's importance. When Paula Johnson (alas, the only surviving mother of the two, Callie's birth parents having been killed in an accident last month) first saw a picture of her birth daughter, she was overcome by the physical resemblance.

It seems to be part of our nature to be moved by such things. But while she may feel something like love for Rebecca, the 3-year-old who resembles her but is otherwise a stranger, it cannot compare with the bond she must feel with Callie Marie, the child she has raised from birth. (It is another emblem of our time that this switch was revealed for the most '90s of reasons, a suit for child support.) The reason cases like this are so wrenching is exactly because human beings are not primarily biologically driven in their loves and attachments. It is the act of nurturing' a child, day in and day out, that builds the monumental love of parents. If it were otherwise, this case would be simple: Just switch back the girls.

Usually biology and care go together. But humans are not oi.sngutans. We can love a child that comes to us through adoption just as much as our flesh and blood." Nor does biology ensure love. In Philadelphia, a To year-old woman was just charged with YOUR VIEW Goxernoi has done a lot for this area As a long time resident of the Chippewa Valley area, I was pleased to see many of our local officials endorsing Gov. Thompson's candidacy for a fourth term as governor of Wisconsin, as well they should.

Gov. Thompson has done a great deal for this area. He has brought opportunities for economic growth and continued expansion. He has helped to create the new "Silicon Valley" by bringing in high-tech companies like Hutchinson Technology and Johnson Matthey to the Chippewa Valley area. Along with these companies have come quality, good paying jobs for the residents of the region.

Also, Gov. Thompson has done a great job of supplying the infrastructure that is key to continued growth in the region. We already have the North Crossing, and we will soon have the Highway 53 bypass, the construction of which was just moved ahead by Gov. Thompson. These two projects, along with the Highway 29 project, will ease the flow of traffic-in the area, and they will play important roles in bringing new-businesses to the area, as well as encouraging current businesses to stay and expand.

Gov. Thompson has shown his support for the Chippewa Vallev area, and we should show our thanks for his continued efforts by supporting him and his candidacy for governor. Al Rolland Eau Claire. BIBLE VERSE Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. i i lERALD as 7 i 1993 i Ed-tor and Publisher Assistant Publisher Managing Editor Business Manager Production Manager Retai Advertising Manager CSassfed Manager Mark Baker Andrew Bruns Ross EvavokJ LuAnn Oktenberg Joe Webb JdcKic Reeves Dana Chandler.