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They put it in print… Interesting Kennedy obituary…
May 21, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · 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. 
Unbeknownst 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… Jack Johnson bombs…
May 18, 2015 by The Traveler · 2 Comments
Today I traveled to Fairmont, West Virginia, by the way of The Fairmont Times dated May 19, 1915, where I found a small article about Jack Johnson being in Paris. When asked if he was going to war, he replied “Man, for me war is over. I am at peace for the first time in several years… Anyway your name goes down in war history, for big German shells are called Jack Johnsons… wasn’t I in history before the war?”
~The Traveler
Ford’s Theater… then and now…
April 24, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
150 years ago, much of the nation was still reeling from the death of Abraham Lincoln. A mere 10 days previous time stood still and tears flowed freely at the news that the President had been killed. Did many travel to Washington, D.C. to mourn his passing? Did some visit the very site of his tragic and untimely demise to place a candle… flowers… mourn? The Philadelphia Enquirer, April 17, 1865, not on only printed a sketch of the captured John Wilkes Booth, but they also included a front-page schematic (right) of the back-alley escape route where a horse was waiting for the infamous villain and his accomplice. While the region has gone through several transformations over the course of the last 150 years, this same alley exists today. The current-day photo shown below was sent to us be a collector friend who also included the following note:
I have attached a picture of the rear of Ford’s Theater as it looks today (showing the original windows/doorways that have been bricked-up)…and I want to point out that the alleyway shown on that April 17th issue is incredibly, to this day, the only exit on the entire block and proportioned to what it was in that newspaper.
If you’ve never visited Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., it is certainly worth the trip.
Note: During my days as a Middle School Teacher, can anyone guess the most common question students asked upon visiting this spot during a school trip?
The things we take for granted… Let there be light…
March 30, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Ludicrous advertising in the late 1800’s…
March 20, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Hofstra University maintains a Facebook page where staff from their special collections department can post interesting finds. We recently discovered the following which illustrates one of the collecting strands of the hobby: sensational (or absurd) advertising:
First reference to “Ivy League”?
March 13, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Some words including names, titles, etc. are so noteworthy or common that we forget they had a beginning – a first use. According to Wikipedia, the first public use (in print) of the term “Ivy League” occurred within the Christian Science Monitor, Boston, February 7, 1935. The usage was in reference to Brown University being accepted into the “League”. A quick search on The New York Times database shows that it did not print the title until nearly a half-year later. Is Wikipedia correct? Until we see confirmation to the contrary we’ll assume their assessment to be accurate. If anyone has information to the contrary, please let us know.
They put it in print… Castro given a year or less…
February 23, 2015 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Historical perspective offers so much as we reflect upon some of the headlines of the past, particularly those proven to be so wrong. With the reestablishing of relations with Cuba currently in the headlines, we dug through out archives and found a headline which history has shown could not have been more wrong. The “Detroit Free Press” of October 20, 1960, in announcing the beginning of the embargo against Cuba, ran a banner headline: “CASTRO COLLAPSE FORESEEN” and one of the subheads noting: “Fidel Given Year or Less“. This is now a newspaper much more interesting today than it was almost 55 years ago.
What a fascinating hobby!
The Traveler… Zeppelin bombing… hidden in the city…
January 23, 2015 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled to New York City by the way of the New York Tribune (January 20, 1915). There I found the headline “Zeppelin Throws Bombs At Sandringham Palace; Airmen Brought Down.” This was the reporting of the first time that Great Britain had been bombed by zeppelins, attaching them at night. Sandringham was one of the royal residences.
Another article on the front page was of a witness to the death of a bride almost a year ago surrendered herself to authorities. They thought that she had fled to Europe, only to find that she had found it easy to hide within New York City itself!
~The Traveler
Before heading out to Your New Year’s Eve Party…
December 31, 2014 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
While celebrating the onset of the New Year through alcohol-blurred eyes has become an international tradition for many, before heading out to this year’s party, perhaps a gander at Dr. Benjamin Rush’s well known “Moral & Physical Thermometer” from the 18th century is in order (see below). While this work certainly holds a degree of validity, I wasn’t aware God measured morality according to such a scale, and I’ve searched without success to find such a tool within His Word. Might Dr. Rush have been using a different translation – or was this creation garnered from years of observation??? 🙂 Regardless, while no such measuring stick has been bestowed upon humanity by their Creator, taking heed to the inherit dangers of over-consumption and His warnings regarding drunkenness would be both a wise and safe way to begin the new year. The passengers and drivers of vehicles you’ll be passing on your way home thank you in advance. Cheers!
They sure don’t make’em like they used to…
December 12, 2014 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
How many things can you think of that are simply not made to the same quality standards as they once were? It would be fun to comprise such a list. However, when someone makes the statement, “They sure don’t make’em like they used to”, it is interesting to note the assumption that the object in question is no longer made as well. However, as the following article from a November 21, 1858 National Intelligencer reveals, thankfully, there are a few things which buck this assumption. Please enjoy… and feel free to send on your own list of things that are actually made better than they were in the past. Let’s transform this common phrase from a negative to a positive.
Note: The Hadley Falls Dam disaster (above), in what is currently Holyoke, Connecticut, drew considerable attention in the 19th century. In 1896, a Harper’s Weekly writer reflected, “The engineer took great pride in his work, and when it was finished, and the gates shut down, he is said to have irreverently exclaimed: ‘There! Those gates are shut, and God Almighty himself can not open them!’” Yet another example of man underestimating the power of God… or perhaps overestimating his own. 🙂