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Jim Thorpe's Family Unaware of His 'Day'

WASHINGTON (UPI) - Monday, April 16, whether you knew it or not, was Jim Thorpe Day - but don't feel stupid if you didn't know. Neither did his family.
     
President Nixon signed a proclamation marking April 16 as a day to honor the legendary Indian athlete and called upon the people of the United States "to mark this day with appropriate observances."
     
But nobody bothered to tell the Thorpe family or anyone else, according to Grace Thorpe, his daughter.
     
Miss Thorpe, a student at the Antioch School of Law, told a press yesterday that she first learned that both the House and Senate has passed legislation declaring a Jim Thorpe Day, "I was really thrilled."
     
"I thought, 'isn't that great - The President naming a day for my dad. It will be a day celebration for Americans and especially Indians for years to come."
     
But on second thought, she said, she wondered why the Indian community wasn't informed, particularly the chief of the Sac and Fox tribe in Oklahoma where Thorpe came from "and lastly, why wasn't the Thorpe family contacted."
     
"My brother, Maj. Carl Thorpe, and I both live in the Washington, D.C., area - we weren't even told of the pending legislation.
     
"We would have liked to witness the signing. When I got wind of this, I was told by the White House it was too late," she said.
     
Miss Thorpe said she also has questions as to the purpose of the naming of the day.
     
"Is someone exploiting my father's name, or was this just an oversight or a lack of awareness on someone's part?" she asked. 
     
"If anyone is to exploit my father's name, it had better be legitimate Indians doing it and for Indian issues such as educational scholarships," she said.
     
Miss Thorpe said she had written President Nixon about the oversight. 
     
"Indian bills have been stagnating in congress," she said in her letter to Nixon. "The needs of the Indians voiced in those bills are immediate.
     
"It is my wish that congress will act as quickly on the Indian bills currently pending as they did on the Jim Thorpe Day Resolution," she said.


GIRLS' SOFTBALL
Week's Results
CD East 16, Harrisburg 0
Central Dauphin 22, Susquehanna Twp. 7
Cedar Cliff 21, Camp Hill 5
E. Pennsboro 9, Susquenita 3
Northern 15, Red Land 6
CD East 27, Susquehanna 1