ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

Today the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ offers a look back at some front pages that appeared in Novembers throughout the newspaper’s history. Stories of note from past Novembers include the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknowns, the death of Harry Houdini, a blackout in the northeastern United States and the beginning of the hostage crisis in Iran.

A single newspaper page earlier in the 20th century was much wider than they are today. To be able to print the entire page, we have been forced to shrink them so that they are too small for many to read. The center of this section shows a page that is much closer to the original size. On other pages where the reproduction is smaller, we've reprinted at least part of the stories we've highlighted.

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Nov. 15, 1882

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Buckskin Leslie Takes Billy the Kid's Scalp

KILLING IN TOMBSTONE

Special Dispatch to the Star.

TOMBSTONE, Nov. 14. ─ William Clayborne, alias Billy the Kid, was shot and killed this morning at the Oriental saloon in this city by Frank Leslie, alias, Buckskin Frank. The parties quarreled, when the Kid went and armed himself with a Winchester and returned to the saloon, where he waited outside for the appearance of Leslie. As the latter emerged from the door the Kid opened fire at a distance of fifteen feet, but missed his man. Leslie drew his revolver, and returning the fire shot the Kid through the body, mortally wounding him. He lived but half an hour after being shot. The Coroner's jury returned a verdict of justifiable homicide. Both parties have heretofore killed their men.

Note: This is not the same Billy the Kid who is famous ─ or infamous ─ in western lore. Henry McCarty, aka William H. Bonney, was killed in 1881 in New Mexico.

Billy Clayborne insisted on being called Billy the Kid after the more notorious outlaw's death.

Nov. 12, 1918

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WORLD FREED OF HUN MENACE, ALLIED CHIEFS TURN TO NEXT STEP OF BUILDING ON RUINS

Unlikely That Peace Conference Can Be Assembled Before Expiration of 30-Day Armistice Period; Extension Probable; Wilson's Dictums Form Framework of New Order; Work of Mercy Is Planned

(By A. P. Leased Wire)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11. ─ Preparations for final peace negotiations will engross American and allied statesmen during the next few weeks, while Marshal Foch and the naval commanders see to it that the terms of armistice which ended the fighting today are carried out.

Thirty days is the armistice period and since it hardly will be possible to assemble the greatest peace conference in history in that time, an extension is certain to be granted by the victorious allies and accepted by the vanquished.

What happens in Germany, in what was once Austria-Hungary and in Russia during the meantime probably will govern the solution of many of the complex problems awaiting the conference.

Absorbed in the German surrender, today officials were unwilling to even discuss for publication the next steps to be taken to secure the fruits of victory and make future wars, at least on so vast a scale, impossible.

General Plan Known.

But in a general way what is to be expected already is known. The various utterances of President Wilson and the premiers and public men of the entente countries all have been carefully studied by those who must plan the next step and at one time or another these spokesmen have touched upon nearly every idea that might be properly included in the treatie.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11. ─ Signing of the armistice with Germany was proclaimed today by President Wilson, who also announced its terms at a joint session of congress.

The terms herald the end of the war because they take from Germany the power to renew it.

Just before he went to the capitol the president, in a proclamation addressed to his fellow countrymen, said:

"The armistice was signed this morning.

"Everything for which America fought has been accomplished.

"It will now be our fortunate duty to assist, by example, by sober, friendly counsel and by material aid in the establishment of just democracy throughout the world."

Stripped of its malicious power, the military autocracy, its masters driven to exile, stands before the world's court of justice, having subscribed to terms of surrender which probably will be recorded in history as the most drastic and complete ever measured out to a defeated foe.

No Scraps of Paper

Reading of the full text of the terms discloses measures the United States and the allied governments have taken to guarantee that Germany's acceptance shall not be a scrap of paper and to insure the destruction of the military which once could secretly and of its single choice disturb the peace of the world.

When President Wilson concluded his exchange of notes with Prince Maximilian, then chancellor, administration officials declared that if his course did not bring about what they hoped would be more than an unconditional surrender it might bring about a revolution in Germany.

Pointing today to the Hohenzollern dynasty, dethroned and exiled, the people's revolution sweeping Germany, and the terms of the armistice, these officials felt their predictions amply fulfilled.

Bind Wounds of Oppressed

Having lifted the yoke of militarism from the people of the central empires, the allies now turn to tasks of humanity and mercy to bind up their wounds and feed the hungry, meanwhile seeking to guide them to a place in the fame of nations from which they can take a part in assuring that another such days of bloodshed and horror need never come again.

Nov. 12, 1921

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"He Shall Not Have Died In Vain"

Thus Spoke Pres. Harding Before Mammoth Throng At Arlington Cemetery In Services Over Dead Warrior

Foreign and U. S. Officials and Citizens Pay Homage to Dead

(By the Associated Press)

Washington, Nov. 11. ─ Under the wide and starry skies of his own homeland, America's unknown dead from France sleeps tonight, a soldier home from the war.

Alone, he lies in the narrow cell of live stone that guards his body; but his soul has entered into the spirit that is America. Wherever liberty is held close in men's hearts, the honor and the glory and the pledge of high endeavor poured out over this nameless one of fame, will be told and sung by Americans for all time.

Scrolled across the marble arch of the memorial raised to American soldier and sailor dead, everywhere, which stands like a monument behind his tomb, runs this legend:

"We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain."

The words were spoken by martyred Lincoln, over the dead at Gettysburg. And today, with voice strong with determination and ringing with deep emotion, another president echoed that high resolve over the coffin of the soldier who died for the flag in France.

Great men in the world's affairs heard that high purpose reiterated by the man who stands at the head of the American people. Tomorrow, they will gather in the city that stands almost in the shadow of the new American shrine of liberty dedicated today. They will talk of peace; of the curbing of the havoc of war. They will speak of the war in France, that robbed this soldier of life and name and brought death to comrades of all nations by the hundreds of thousands.

Must End Conflict

And, in their ears, when they meet must ring President Harding's declaration today beside that flag-wrapped, honor-laden bier:

"There must be, there shall be, the commanding voice of a conscious civilization against armed warfare."

Far across the seas, other unknown dead, hallowed in memory by their countrymen, as this American soldier is enshrined in the heart of America, sleep their last. He, in whose veins ran the blood of British forebears, lies beneath a great stone in ancient Westminster abbey; he of France, beneath the Arc De Triomphe, and he of Italy, under the altar of the fatherland in Rome. And it seemed today that they, too, must be here among the Potomac hills to greet an American comrade come to join their glorious company, to testify their approval of the high words of hope spoken by America's president.

Speech Made by Pres. Harding

(By The Associated Press)

Washington, Nov. 11. ─ The text of President Harding's address at the burial of an unknown soldier at Arlington cemetery follows:

Mr. Secretary of War and Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are met today to pay the impersonal tribute. The name of him whose body lies before us took flight with his imperishable soul. We know not whence he came, but only that his death marks him with the everlasting glory of an American dying for his country.

He might have come from any one of millions of American homes. Some mother gave him in her love and tenderness and her most cherished hopes. Hundreds of mothers are wondering today finding a touch of solace in the possibility that the nation bows in grief over the body of one she bore to live and die, if need be, for the republic.

Station In Life Unknown

We do not know his station in life, because from every station came the patriotic response of the five millions. I recall the days of creating armies and the departing of caravans which braved the murderous seas to reach the battle lines for maintained nationality and preserved civilization.

The service flag marked mansion and cottage alike and riches were common to all homes in the consciousness of service to country.

Standing today on hallowed ground, conscious that all America has halted to share in the tribute of heart and mind and soul to this fellow American, and knowing that the world is noting this expression of the republic's mindfulness, it is fitting to say that his sacrifice, and that of the millions dead, shall not be in vain. There must be, there shall be, the commanding voice of a conscious civilization against armed warfare.

Our Father who are in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory forever, Amen.

Nov. 1, 1926

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HARRY HOUDINI, MAGICIAN, DIES

Famous Escape Artist Was Enemy of Spiritualists and Mediums.

DETROIT, Oct. 31 (By Associated Press.) ─ Harry Houdini, the magician, died today.

The noted escape artist, whose adeptness at freeing himself from straitjackets, chains and cells, mystified audiences in all parts of the world, died after a second surgical attempt had been made to save his life from the effects of peritonitis.

Houdini was operated upon last Monday for appendicitis.

Although it was known the magician was ill when he arrived here eight days ago, the seriousness of his condition was not learned until he collapsed at the end of his opening performance.

WAS NOTED FOR HIS MYSTERY ESCAPES

NEW YORK, Oct. 31 (By Associated Press). ─ Harry Houdini, the world famous magician, who died in Detroit today, was born in Appleton, Wis., April 6, 1874, the son of Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weiss.

Houdini came before the American public as an exposer of frauds perpetrated by so-called spirit mediums. He held that the phenomena produced by professed mediums of various kinds, hypnotics, mesmerists and fakirs were all spurious. He exposed hundreds of professional mediums and offered $10,000 to any medium who could produce phenomena which he could not reproduce by relying solely upon his muscular strength and agility, his physical endurance and his knowledge of mechanics. He never was called upon to pay the reward.

Against Spiritualists

He kept up an untiring attack on spiritualists, and on Sir Oliver Lodge in particular. He wrote a book to expose "Margery," the medium who won the award of the Scientific American, charging that the committee which made the award did not take proper precautions. He aided the police of New York City in putting a number of mediums out of business and gave a course at the police academy here on the discovery of frauds.

His first appearance as a public entertainer was at the age of eight, when he performed on the high trapeze with a circus troupe. Because of his mother's objections he was brought back home and apprenticed to a locksmith. Almost at once he turned his attention to the business of opening locks without keys.

A handcuffed prisoner brought into Appleton by a sheriff who had lost the keys to the handcuffs, was the occasion for the discovery of the trick of opening of handcuffs which Houdini said was known only to him, his wife and the prisoner. After an unsuccessful attempt to appear in vaudeville Houdini scraped together enough money to go to Europe, where he made his reputation. When he returned he was able to command 50 times the price he first asked for his act. Besides performing various so-called magical tricks, Houdini was adept in releasing himself from almost any kind of confinement that could be devised.

Library of Magic

He freed himself after being manacled and shut up in a box. He escaped from straitjackets. He freed himself while hung from a derrick in manacles and a straitjacket. He suffered himself to be confined in a coffin under water. Although he challenged any man to perform these feats of escape, no man ever duplicated one of them.

Houdini's library here is said to be the most complete library on magic in the world. He was the author of a number of books on magic and was nine times elected president of the Society of American Magicians.

Nov. 4, 1948

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Truman Defeats Dewey

And what's that feather?

We all know Truman defeated Dewey in the 1948 presidential election despite the famous incorrect headline on the front page of the Chicago Daily Tribune.

But the real question 71 years later is: What is the meaning of the giant feather superimposed on the front page?

While the feather isn't red on this reprint of the front page of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, it was probably red when the newspaper originally went out to readers. When the Star was microfilmed, it was filmed in black and white and that is all the record we have, so we don't really know.

The "Red Feather" marked the start of the Community Chest campaign of 1949.

The Community Chest was a precursor to the United Way, a way for employees of businesses to contribute to services to help children in need, those with disabilities and others less fortunate, and organizations that help them.

A picture of the red feather would be placed in the windows of homes and businesses of those who had done their part to contribute.

In the days of hot type, another question might be how did they get that feather printed on the front page?

With the help of former Star employees Elaine Raines, Maria Parham and Dave Skog, we were able to learn the meaning of the feather and then to get in touch with Glenn Looney, who was one of the people who put the Star together back in the day when the Star was located at 208 N. Stone Ave. It moved in 1973.

While Looney didn't know the specifics of this particular front page, he said it was likely the page went through a second printing when the red feather was printed over the page on which the news had already been printed. That second plate would have been made in the plate camera department.

Limited color was possible in those days, but expensive. The attention-getting feather was likely an example of a community service effort by the Star.

From the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, Nov. 6, 1948, Page 8:

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s Attention Is Drawn By Community Chest's Symbol

The Red Feather is attracting a maximum of attention in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ since the start of the Community Chest campaign this week, says Stanley Steele, director of the campaign, and executive secretary of the chest. Steele has been watching the reaction of the public to the red-feather symbol. He noted that when it appeared on the front page of Thursday's ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, it aroused considerable interest.

In recognition of this interest, Steele took time out yesterday from the big job of directing the drive for $168,850 to carry on the work of the eleven chest agencies during 1949, and explained the meaning of the little emblem.

"As the workers accumulate pledges in the campaign," Steele said, "you will see the Red Feather appear in the windows of homes and business houses of the city and on the persons of its citizens signifying they have done their share in support of the Community Chest. Lots of people will be wanting to know what it symbolizes. It's a short cut to an idea ─ a little mental picture that stands for something big.

"The Red Feather is the symbol of service varied and important. It may be the service which watches over an infant with loving tenderness, or helps a crippled youngster walk again, or lifts a family struck down by trouble to its feet again, or provides care and kindness for somebody's lonely old age.

"In ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ there are 11 worthy organizations providing services like these and many others every day in the year. The Red Feather is a symbol of the service provided by the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Children's Home, Boy Scouts, Catholic Social Service, Community Service, Inc., which includes Comstock Hospital and Ryland Farms; Council of Social Agencies, Girl Scouts, Jewish Social Service, Salvation Army, Social Service Exchange, YMCA and YWCA. When the Red Feather is displayed in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ it means that somebody has responded to the Community Chest appeal for the support of these agencies in a spirit of living and caring, a spirit of giving and sharing."

Nov. 23, 1963

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Nation Mourns Kennedy; Johnson Assumes Office

Red Sympathizer Held As Slayer

DALLAS, Nov. 22 (AP) ─ A hidden gunman assassinated President Kennedy with a high-powered rifle Friday.

Three shots reverberated. Blood sprang from the President's face. He fell face downward in the back seat of his car. His wife clutched his head and tried to lift it, crying "Oh, no!"

Half an hour later, John F. Kennedy was dead and the United States had a new president, Lyndon B. Johnson.

Within the hour, police had arrested a 24-year-old man following the fatal shooting of a Dallas policeman. Homicide Capt. Will Fritz said Friday night witnesses had identified the man as the slayer of the policeman and he had been charged with murder.

He is Harvey Lee Oswald of Fort Worth, who four years ago said he was applying for Russian citizenship. He has a Russian wife. Oswald denied that he had shot anybody. Fritz said Oswald was a member of an organization known as "Fair Play for Cuba."

Nearly 12 hours after the assassination, Oswald formally was charged with murdering the President. However, Dallas police said that Oswald has not admitted taking any part in killing the President.

The assassination occurred just as the President's motorcade was leaving downtown Dallas at the end of a triumphal tour through the city's streets. His special car ─ with the protective bubble down ─ was moving down in an incline into an underpass that leads to a freeway route to the Dallas Trade Mart, where he was to speak.

Witnesses heard three shots. Two hit the President, one in the head and one in the neck. The third shot wounded Gov. John B. Connally of Texas in the side but his condition was reported not critical.

As the gunfire rang in the street, a reporter in the caravan screamed, "My God, they're shooting at the President!" The motorcade slowed and then sped forward at breakneck speed to Parkland Hospital near the Trade Mart.

Onlookers, terrified at the sight and sound of the assassination, dived face forward for protection onto a grassy park at the entrance of the underpass, fearing more shots. Police swarmed the scene.

At the hospital emergency entrance, AP Reporter Jack Bell saw the President stretched out face down at full length, motionless on the backseat of the car. His suit still looked neat ─ but there was blood on the floor.

Secret Service men helped Mrs. Kennedy away from the car. Hospital attendants aided Connally and his wife. It seemed clear that the assassination was carefully planned. In the Texas school book depository building, overlooking the overpass, officers found the rifle. They described it as a bolt-action, 6.5 mm. weapon, apparently of Italian make, with a telescopic sight.

Along with the rifle, partly hidden behind books on the fifth floor of the six-story building, were spent cartridges and scraps of fried chicken. The bullets had come from a 45-degree angle as the presidential car passed the building, which has a clear view of the underpass.

The shots were fired at 12:30 p.m. and the President died at 1 p.m. He was 46 and the youngest man ever elected president. Bob Jackson, a Dallas Times Herald photographer, said he looked around as he heard the shots and saw the rifle barrel disappearing into the upper floor window. He did not see the gunman.

Jacqueline Kennedy, who was touring the Lone Star State with her husband, sat just ahead of him in the big auto when a rifle slug ripped a gaping wound in the back of his head and sent him sprawling forward. Crying, "Oh, no," Mrs. Kennedy tried to cradle the dying President's blood-smeared head in her arms as Kennedy's Secret Service driver sped out of rifle range and toward the nearest hospital.

When the President was carried into the emergency room, Mrs. Kennedy walked behind ─ parts of her clothing drenched with blood. The First Lady remained composed but, inside the emergency room, grasped hands with the new President, Johnson, and his wife, Lady Bird, in a reflex display of deep anguish.

Shortly after Kennedy's death ─ "We never had any hope of saving his life," said one doctor ─ Johnson was driven to Dallas' Love Field where he boarded the presidential jet transport, Air Force One.

Nov. 10, 1965

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Power Failure Plunges New York, Vast Eastern Areas Into Darkness

Blackout Hits At Height Of Rush Hour

NEW YORK (AP) ─ The mammoth complex of New York City ─ most populous metropolitan area in the world ─ along with vast areas of the Northeast plunged into frightening darkness Tuesday from the worst power shutdown in history.

Consolidated Edison said at about 9:40 p.m. that it seemed apparent that most of the city would be without power most of the night.

Power was reported restored within a couple or three hours in much of Massachusetts, Connecticut, parts of New York state, and some other areas.

The blackout, which extended into the big cities of Canada, was estimated to have hit cities, towns and countryside in which at least 30 million people live.

Almost a million commuters were stranded in subways and elevators and on electric trains in New York. Airliners were diverted from New York's blacked-out airports to Newark and Philadelphia ports.

The cause was reported to be a disruption at a substation near Clay, N.Y., in a vital point in a vast grid system carrying electricity to far-flung areas.

President Johnson commissioned Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and other officials to extend all needed federal aid to the affected communities in New York State, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

Electric clocks in the vast metropolis of New York stopped at 5:28 p.m. and in Boston at 5:21. Traffic signals also went dead, producing monumental jams at the height of the rush hour.

Thousands of New Yorkers, blocked from returning home to their dinner tables, descended on snack shops.

Every hotel in the city was filled. Some refused to take additional guests because there was no way to get them to top floor rooms, although there were reports that some stranded commuters had walked up as many as 30 floors for a bed.

The Statue of Liberty maintained its illumination throughout. The statue appeared to be the only beacon of light in the harbor.

The city's office buildings became a major source of trouble as people were trapped in stuck elevators. Workmen cut out a section of wall on the fifth floor of the Pan Am building to extricate five persons from elevators in which they had been stranded for more than five hours.

As midnight approached officials at the building made plans to dig into two other walls to rescue nine other persons still trapped.

Luckily, a full harvest moon bathed Manhattan's streets.

Harlem had a holiday air. Teenagers by the hundreds kept warm around fires set in trash baskets while their elders watched from front stoops and doorways.

The power blackout affected Associated Press headquarters in New York, and the AP's Washington bureau took over to round up news of the power blackout and to supervise distribution of other news.

The radio and television networks also switched operations for a time to the nation's capital or to other network points.

Many stores, including those selling suddenly needed flashlights, put up shutters and closed down, to escape possible looting. Hundreds of off-duty policemen were summoned.

In New York City, thousands of persons made their way to the Grand Central terminal only to learn that no trains were moving to suburban areas. Snack bars began doing a brisk business.

New York police ordered all taverns to stop selling intoxicating beverages.

At Bellevue Hospital on the lower East Side of Manhattan 500 student nurses and 500 medical students were summoned to duty. The fire and police department supplied auxiliary lighting for emergency use.

The blackout began first with a dimming. Then the lights flickered on again and off again several times. But within minutes, virtually the whole city on the ground, below and above the ground, was dark.

With startling suddenness, normal activity stopped.

Nov. 11, 1965

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Bodies Of Fritz Sisters Found On City Outskirts

Police Hold Suspect In Double Slaying

By Dave Green

Skeletons of the Fritz sisters, missing since Aug. 16, were found yesterday by detectives in a desert area north of the city and a 23-year-old ex-boyfriend of the oldest girl has been charged with murder.

Charles Howard Schmid, of 428 E. Adams St., was charged with two counts of homicide after an informer led city detectives to a hill north of the city near Alvernon Way and Pontatoc Rd.

There detectives discovered the bones of Gretchen Fritz, 17, and her 13-year-old sister, Wendy. Identification was made last night by Dr. Louis Hirsch, pathologist.

How the girls were killed is not yet known. It is presumed that death was caused by strangulation since there was nothing found yesterday to indicate that the girls were beaten or shot to death.

Police Chief Bernard L. Garmire said the first break in the case came late Monday night when the informer called ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ police from Columbus, Ohio and said he knew where the bodies of the missing girls could be found.

Detective Sgt. Robert Wilhelm was sent to Ohio and returned to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ with the informant who was said to have taken police to the northside area yesterday morning.

The bodies were not buried. The bones were lying on the ground atop a small hill and detectives pointed out that fresh tire tracks and beer bottles at the location indicated the desert area was most likely recently used by some person.

Detectives expressed doubt that someone had not seen the bones of the missing girls prior to their discovery yesterday.

Remnants of clothing were found on one of the bodies but the other was unclothed. Garmire said it could not be determined yesterday whether the girls had been sexually assaulted.

The rest of the article from the inside page:

Schmid was identified as a suspect in the case by the informant, according to detectives. He was taken into custody at his home shortly after noon yesterday.

Both the informer and Schmid had been questioned a short time after the disappearance of the two girls.

An anonymous caller to the Star last night identified the informer as a one-time friend of Schmid and said he thought the suspect to be innocent of the crimes.

Police would not reveal the name of the informer and would only comment that "he is available to us."

The Fritz girls were two of four teenagers who disappeared in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ during the past 18 months.

It was a pretty Palo Verde sophomore, 15-year-old Alleen Rowe, who was first reported missing from her home at Cuernavaca Pl. on May 31, 1964.

The mother awaited the return of her daughter home from school on the following day but she never returned.

From the beginning Mrs. Norma Rowe insisted her attractive daughter was the victim of foul play.

City detectives began an investigation and during the course of that probe Schmid's name first came up. He was named by the missing girl's mother and by Alleen's friends as an ex-boyfriend of the blonde sophomore.

Although official sources remained mute last night, there were strong indications that a search will be started today east of the city where county authorities believe the body of Miss Rowe might be hidden in the desert.

Other sources close to investigators said there also was fear that Sandra (Dusty) Hughes, 14, who disappeared on Sept. 10, has been slain.

While the investigation continued into the disappearance of the Rowe girl, the Fritz girls left home on the evening of Aug. 16 after saying that they were going to a movie at the Cactus Drive-In Theatre. That was the last time they were seen alive.

The daughters of Dr. and Mrs. James Fritz of E. Elm St. took the family car which was found later at the Flamingo Hotel annex at N. 7th Ave. and E. Mabel St.

During the probe into the girls' disappearance, city detectives talked with dozens of teenagers and older friends among whom were Schmid and a Richard L. Bruns, 19, of E. Winsett St.

It was learned last night that Bruns was placed on probation by a city court magistrate about two weeks ago after an east side family complained to police that he was bothering their 16-year-old daughter whom he had previously dated.

The family told a reporter last night that Bruns was placed on probation on the stipulation that he leave ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ for residence in Ohio. The family said city police informed them that he was returned here in connection with the slaying of the Fritz girls.

The 16-year-old ex-girlfriend of Bruns described him as a good friend of Schmid and said they often were seen together.

Schmid was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Toby LaVetter in Justice Court yesterday and a preliminary hearing was set for 10 a.m. on Dec. 13. He is being held without bond.

As early as Aug. 17, the day following the Fritz girls disappearance, an anonymous caller told police that persons he knew as Richie Bruns and a friend called "Smitty" had information regarding the two girls. He said he believed the two knew the whereabouts of the girls.

On the same day Mrs. Fritz, insisting that her daughters were dead, told city detectives that she was considering hiring a private detective to watch a boy who she said she felt knew more than he was telling.

Read the Pied Piper of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ series in Tales from the Morgue.

Nov. 6, 1971

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Community Center Dedication Today

By Richard Gilman

Star Staff Writer

Opening ceremonies for the $17.6 million ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Community Center will swing into full gear today with a ribbon-cutting and a speech by a presidential aide.

The center's first attractions will open next week: Arthur Fiedler in the music hall on Monday and the Ice Capades in the arena on Tuesday.

Before then, M.M. Sundt Construction Co. workmen will have to continue their headlong rush to put the finishing touches on the exterior and interior of the two buildings. The third part of the complex, the little theater, will not open until February.

Workmen were painting in the dark two nights ago and cement sidewalks were laid as late as Thursday afternoon. Hammers and cans of paint and cleansing powder were strewn about last night. Among the work remaining to be done are the installation of more brick sidewalks and putting the outside fountain in working order.

Nonetheless, the building drew unanimous plaudits last night from the 500 city leaders, mass media representatives and other visitors attending a preview of the cultural center.

"This is a great living testimonial made possible by this community," said outgoing Mayor James N. Corbett.

"Absolutely magnificent," said Howard A. Shiff, chairman of the city Planning and Zoning Commission. "It's been a long time coming."

And outgoing city councilman Conrad Joyner said, "It's a real treat, after you've worked on something for eight years, to see it really happen."

Today's ceremonies begin at 9:45 a.m. with a concert by the Luke Air Force Band.

James Falk, special assistant to the President for domestic affairs, will deliver a message. Falk is a former ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ lawyer and former president of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Transit Authority. Ribbon-cutting honors will be shared by Oliver Drachman, chairman of the Community Center Commission; Harry Chambers, chairman of the Community Center Authority; and Corbett.

After the ceremonies, the public will have an opportunity to tour the center's arena, exhibition hall and music hall until 5:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, there will be continuous entertainment in the Community Center Plaza by the Air Force band, the Loren Nickel Orchestra, Cal Lewallen Rock Group, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Boys' Chorus, Ballet Folklorico de Guadalaraja, Estudiantina de Hermosillo, the Ev Martin Orchestra and Los Payadores de Pueblo.

At 2 p.m., Fiedler will ride by the center aboard a fire truck.

Continuous entertainment will also be provided Sunday during another open house from noon to 5:30 p.m. Monday will also be an open house day from noon to 5 p.m.

Nov. 5, 1979

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Iran mob seizes U.S. Embassy, staffers

The Associated Press

A mob of Iranian students overran U.S. Marine guards on a three-hour struggle yesterday and invaded the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seizing dozens of staff members as hostages, Tehran Radio reported. They demanded that the United States send the exiled shah back to Iran for trial, the radio said.

No serious injuries were reported. Tehran Radio said as many as 100 hostages were being held, but an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said he believed it was fewer than 45 ─ about 35 Americans and seven or eight Iranians.

The spokesman, reached in Tehran by telephone from New York, said an estimated 200 or 300 students were involved.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Jack Touhy said it was estimated 59 persons were being held captive, and there was no firm evidence the invaders were armed. He said a State Department working group was set up to monitor the situation and added that the U.S. government would have no immediate comment on the demand that the shah be returned to Iran.

White House spokesman Alan Raymond reported in Washington that President Carter, spending the weekend at the Camp David retreat, was in contact with his national-security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance and Defense Secretary Harold Brown.

The Tehran Radio broadcasts, monitored in London, said the embassy's Marine guards hurled tear-gas canisters but were unable to hold back the students. None of the broadcasts mentioned any weapons besides the tear gas.

Japan's Kyodo news service reported from Tehran that the invaders called a news conference in the embassy compound, and a sweater-clad man in his mid-20s told reporters, "We will continue to stay here and won't release any of the hostages until the United States returns the ousted shah, which is what the Iranian people want."

There were reports that the hostages were blindfolded and handcuffed. The Foreign Ministry spokesman denied this, saying the embassy takeover was "a very peaceful exercise. They are dealing with them very nicely."

But television film broadcast in some Western countries showed a few hostages, blindfolded and either bound or handcuffed, in front of an embassy building.

Asked if the students were armed, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said only he had heard no reports that they were. He said a Scandinavian ambassador in Tehran would act as a mediator "to try to convince the students to get out of the compound." He reported an Iranian Moslem religious leader also was trying to talk the invaders into leaving.

The spokesman, who asked not to be named, said he was unsure of the identities of the two mediators.

Nov. 14, 1982

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Proud Viet vets march to emotional dedication

By Mike Feinsilber

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON(AP) ─ Thousands of Vietnam veterans paraded with pride yesterday where anti-war protesters marched a decade earlier, then dedicated a new national monument honoring themselves and their 57,939 missing and fallen comrades.

They marched to the newly lain turf before the gleaming black granite walls of the monument bearing the names of Americans who did not return from Vietnam and ─ in speech and song and silent reflection ─ paid homage to the war's victims and the 2.7 million who served and came home to an indifferent welcome from a divided nation.

Some former soldiers were almost overcome by the emotion of the moment. A few wept openly and took comfort from the embrace of their buddies. But it was a joyful occasion for most.

The crowd cheered the marchers and the marchers cheered the crowd.

The day turned cold and windy, and alternately gray and sun-streaked. The mood changed, too: once tearful and somber, a moment later, joyful and triumphant.

U.S. Park Police estimated that 150,000 people watched the parade and attended the monument dedication, but that estimate seemed high to other observers. The crowd along the line of march was sparse, and many bleacher seats were empty.

In the uniform of the day ─ olive drab field jackets and blue jeans ─ and often out of step, about 20,000 veterans marched in their own welcome-home parade.

They marched down Constitution Avenue in ragged columns, waving little American flags, and led by white-haired Gen. William C. Westmoreland, wearing a raincoat and carrying two little flags. The old Vietnam commanding general marched with the Alabama contingent at the head of the parade.

One marching ex-GI waved and grinned and shouted, "Thank you, people." And in the crowd, a woman held aloft a sign: "Thanks, Yanks."

On the same street in May 1971, thousands of war protesters fought with police and were felled by tear gas in the most violent Washington demonstration of the era.

But the national divisions of hawks and doves were faded memories yesterday.

Veterans walked in state units ─ hundreds from New York, 20 from Alaska, three legless men in wheelchairs leading Indiana's contingent, men in white shirts and three-piece suits from South Boston and a band from Delaware playing, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again."

In the fading uniform of an Army specialist 4th class, John Chucoski of Ijamsville, Md., marched pushing his son, Stephen, 2, in a baby carriage.

At the dedication, the highest government official present was Everett Alvarez Jr., deputy director of the Veterans Administration and a prisoner in North Vietnam for 8½ years ─ longer than any other captive.

President Reagan took no part. He visited the Soviet Embassy to pay his condolences on the death of Leonid I. Brezhnev, then flew to Chicago for a memorial service for Nancy Reagan's stepfather, Dr. Loyal Davis, who died Aug. 14.

Alvarez recalled the silent indifference that greeted GIs returning from a distant, costly, unpopular war.

"There was a time long past," he said, "when words would have mattered more. But at this place ─ for all time ─ it is our hearts that speak. God bless this nation and those who have honored it with their service."

Jan Scruggs, the former infantryman who conceived the idea for a monument, said: "Now all Americans can agree that Vietnam veterans deserve the recognition and appreciation for their sacrifices."

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The monument was built from $7 million in public contributions. It takes the form of a wide "V." The walls are 250 feet long. They are only a few inches high at the edges but descent 10 feet into the ground at the point where they meet.

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The names of the Vietnam missing and dead are listed in chronological order from 1959 to May 15, 1975, and a printed directory the size of a telephone book is on hand to help people locate a name.