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Community Newspaper Vol. 15, No. 45, Folio 90 Wednesday, November 10, 1982 28 pages, 30 cents Medonte Township's Epic journey ends Balloonists come torest in field by Murray Moore The only sign yesterday morning that something unusual had happened in Hazel Miller's field, on the east side of Fourth Concession, south of Mount St. Louis, was a "monstrous big white thing spread along the field."' The "thing,"' as Hazel Miller described it, was the canopy of the two- man helium balloon which made an unscheduled landing late Monday afternoon, a landing that ended an attempt by two Americans to float around the world by balloon in eight to 10 days. Maxie Anderson, 48, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Don Ida, 39, from Longmont, Colorado, ascended into the air from Rapid City, South Dakota, around midnight Sunday night. The pair in their 230 foot high balloon got as far as Georgian Bay in about 16 hours when a leak in the envelope of the balloon forced them to land, and put an end to their around-the- world adventure. This was the third, and last, attempt for Anderson, who, with Ida, last February, during one of their two previous attempts to round the globe, stayed aloft for 138 hours, and became the first balloonists to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Anderson and his son, Kris, 28, were the first to balloon across North America from coast to coast. "It is so disappointing that you can't get a balloon up without getting a hole in it," Anderson said after touching down. "Every part has to work." The gondola of the balloon, named the Jules Verne, in which the two men rode, was red, white and blue, and 14 feet long, 10 feet wide, and eight feet«tall. The balloon's envelope, made of thick, clear plastic, and about 119 feet high when inflated, spread out in Hazel Miller's field yesterday, was a problem for about 10 Herefords in the 40 acre field. "They don't like the idea of the white balloon on the ground,"' she said. '"'They won't come to water." As well, she said, a khaki coloured portion of the balloon, nylon string about 15 feet long by one foot wide, was in the Miller barnyard, perhaps a part of the Jules Vernes' 100 feet of Tigeing. ce. Injuries safe landing No damage resulted from the landing or the removal by trailer from the field of the gondola, Miller said. She said she did hope that the canopy and other debris from craft would be collected. Anderson and Ida radioed a distress call to air controllers' at Toronto International Airport at 2:30 p.m. Monday , saying that their balloon was 15,000 feet above Georgian Bay and losing altitude. Two Canadian Armed Forces aircraft, based at Trenton, Ont., were in visual and radio contact with the balloon when it made a soft landing in Medonte Township. If successful, the balloonists would have crossed the Atlantic, England, France, the Mediterranean Sea, Saudi Arabia, India and the Pacific, and returned to North America, without landing. Allan Preston, one of the first persons on the scene, first saw a Canadian Armed Forces plane before he saw the balloon. Preston, who lives on the farm north of the Miller farm, then saw the top of the balloon, over trees, moving on the west side of the road in a southeasterly direction. When the balloon cleared a hill, he could see the gondola and a USA flag. The gondola barely cleared hydro wires as it crossed Concession 4. Ropes dangling from the gondola hit the wires and caused a blackout in the immediate area. Anderson was shaken- up, Preston said. His hand was shaking a bit, he said. The co-pilot, Ida, was calm. Ida said, "You get a good balloon or a bad balloon. You don't get a chance to try it out,' according to Preston. The balloonists had tried to lighten their balloon and keep it in the air by throwing out 100 pounds of weight an hour, anti-freeze jugs filled with lead weights, Preston said. The farmer denied part of a story in yesterday's Toronto Star that said the balloon passed four feet above his far- mhouse' roof. The balloon couldn't have passed over his property because of surrounding trees, and in fact did not pass above his land but across the road, he said. The Jule A view of the gondola of the balloon, the 'S Jules Verne, on a trailer owned by Alex Currie of Elmvale, before it was driven to Cents win two big weekend clashes in shinny -- See sports section 4. landing around 4 p.m. Monday afternoon. The emergency landing was the end of an attempt to round the globe without lan- ding. Elmvale from a farmer's field in Medonte Verne Township, where it made an unscheduled EDHS drops two places on SCBE list Elmvale District High School has dropped to third place on the priority list of the Simcoe County Board of Education. Last year an addition for EDHS was number one on the board's list of projects submitted to the Ministry of Education for approval. None of the SCBE's capital projects of last year were approved last year by the ministry. This year a new elementary school for Bradford, and a new elementary school for Barrie, are ahead of the EDHS addition. The estimated cost of an addition for EDHS is $590,000. Remembrance Day Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. Tomorrow veterans will parade to cenotaphs all over Canada to pay homage to those who didn't return home from two great wars and from the Korean conflict. ' See editorial on Page 4. Santa Claus Parade coming to Midland In less than a month the annual Midland Civitan Club's annual Santa Claus Parade will work its way through the heart of downtown Midland. The gala event is slated for Saturday, Dec. 4, starting at 1 p.m. If you, your business, school or service club would like to enter next month's giant Santa Claus Parade you're invited to get in touch with parade chairman Mike Tinney at 526- 6019 or 526-7269. Seminar on starting a business slated It has been said that the chances of success for a new business increase in proportion to the amount of planning and preparation that precedes its opening. A seminar on the topic of "How to Start Your Own Business" will be presented on Nov. 25, between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., at the Highland Motel and Restaurant, Midland. The fee is $45 which includes lunch and all study material. In addition, excellent reference material will be made available for further examination of the topic. Heritage buildings speaker's topic Heritage Buildings in Ontario will be the subject of Dr. Darryl Norris, the speaker at the November meeting of the Simcoe County Historical Association. The Association meets this Friday at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Grove Park Home in Barrie. A Super voter turn-out in Penetang --Pave3