The Lure of Swashbucklers…

June 6, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

Nothing grabs the public’s attention quite like stories of pirates, whether they be historical accounts of actual people or stories of those who play a pirate on the big screen. Of all the legends both real and created, none can surpass the real-life drama of Captain Kidd. Scottish born in 1645, he grew to be both pirate and privateer – the distinction fueled by the encounters he had with those who crossed his path. In the end, betrayed by the governor of New York, as reported in The London Gazette, May 26, 1701, he was hung twice by the neck until dead.

They put it in print… Interesting Kennedy obituary…

May 21, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

One of the more desired of the newspapers reporting the assassination of President John F. Kennedy has always been the “Dallas Morning News“, published in the city where he was killed. Blog-7-13-2015-JFK-ObitUnbeknownst to most–including us for many years–is the curious obituary found on page 6 of the last section. Inconspicuously listed among the 33 entries in the “Deaths & Funerals” section is the one shown in the photo. It is a paid obituary notice inserted by a private funeral home announcing the death of an American president.  The O’Neal Funeral Home handled President Kennedy’s remains in Dallas and furnished the casket in which he was sent to Washington. Although certainly not a local funeral, I suspect the funeral home sought the opportunity to gain some stature & credibility by letting all know they handled the remains of a  President of the United States.

Has anyone else discovered this obituary notice?

And of note as well, relating to the Kennedy assassination, is the death notice of “J.D. Tibbit”, the police officer killed by Oswald shortly after the Kennedy assassination. In fact it was for Tibbit’s death that Oswald was initially arrested, the connection to Kennedy’s assassination discovered afterwards.

The Traveler… on the rails… one more time…

February 6, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

I traveled today to the Valley Sentinel in Carlisle, Pennsylvania (February 6, 1912) where I encountered an interesting article entitled “Hobos In Convention” which was being presided by “Millionaire Hobo” James Eads How. This intrigued me to see if there was further information about Mr. How. I found that he truly was a millionaire who dedicated his life to the homeless and migrant workers, published the Hobo News, organized the International Brotherhood Welfare Association, hobo colleges and hobo conventions.

Another article is of a man who had died at the Homeopathic hospital and then taken to the city morgue. As he was about to be embalmed, he emitted a groan and tried to turn on his side. Every effort was taken to keep him alive, but signs of life faded away again. Now the dispute is going on between the police and the hospital as to when he really died.

~The Traveler