Odd and Curious News > The Most Widely Read Newspaper in Centre County. SECOND SECTION A Visitor in Seven Thousand Homes Each Week. Che Centre Democrat NEWS, FEATURES VOLUME 59 . BELLEFONTE, PA. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1940, Motorists May Sing The motorist with any “regard for his future abode” should sing hymns as the speedometer climbs upward, the Rev. L. C, Miller sald 12 a safety sermon at the Mennonite | church in Manitou Springs, Colo., recently. His selections at the dit ferent speeds: “At 25 miles per hour, I'm But A Stranger Here, Heaven Is my Home;™ at 45 miles, “Nears My Mod to Thee" at 55 miles, Nearing the Port and Will Be At Home." 65 “When The is Called Up Yonder I'll Be There," al 7 miles, “Lord, I'm Home.’ ————— Furnished ‘Heat’ G. Kelleher, managing director of a hotel at Clearwater, Fla, con- firmed a report of his heating ar- rangements in the recent cold wave and added the practice will be resumed whenever needed Here's what he did: “Offered to each guest a bottle of rye, scoteh or gin as a means of maintaining the heat t©0 which every person in Florida is entitled, It is under- stood that guests were found pray- ing for a continuation of the arctic wave.” Baby Drowns When Mrs. Thelma Condon slip- ped on the bathroom floor of her New York home and was rendered unconscious, she dropped her 13- months-baby, Thelma Frances, into the bathtub. Hearing groans issu- ing from the Condon the superintendent of the building found the child drowned in bathtub and the mother from a possible concussion brain. the Le Fire Sends Own Alarm | Noticing a light flickering on switchboard, a telephone op ralor at New Britain, Conn. notified p lice hesgiquar.ers. A squad to a clothing store discove: building on fire. I‘ ii believed tl the switchboard light when flames reached a cord. Divorce Granted A divorce court Mrs Loretta C. Ruehl, 26, hicage entitled to a divorce from her hus- band when sghe testified that 1 had insisted on wearing his clothes. | . shoes and all to bed. In he even added an overcoat muffler, she sald. Why Not? settle the question of a proper’ 2 ge a North Carclina village | after various persons had asked why not name i for this or that hero; a compromise wad reached and the village received its name Whynot, Robbers Return $1000 Three days afer two masked men at Worcester, Mass, robbed Mrs. Mary Monopoly, 89-year-old widow of $1300 insurance money one of the men returned tn tre scene of the crime and gave back £1,000, SHAMOKIN MAN 1€ and “Tm | Soon | Rol. | coming | | were apartment, | winter | NEIGHBORS TO EXTING USE SNOW UISH BLAZE AS TWO HOMES BURN Soren Persons Made Homeless As Two Dwell- | | Sealing residents | Run, near eniipabur. | used chunks of snow | flames that licked along i the Andrew \Watral home es were destroved by fire a loss of $4.000 and ren persons homeless The roperty ndr acdde In to rub out the walls of Two hous- wtatling dering seven starting in ed by Mr read rapidly fire WCU nearby home of the John family. Both were completely ed to the ground and a third home owned Watral and lo- cated acr } aught fire but was extinguished without much damage While firemen were responding » alarm, neighbors compelled to resort to garden e, bucket now to ( al treet, « Woman Unhurt as Stove Blows Up Beech Creek Home Scene of Unusual Accident on hen eniire front out when steam in the water front cold not escape because of a froz- en pipe leading to the range bolier Two griddies were hurled 0 ihe ceiling, one piece of iron struck and knocked off a closet door and broke off the handle of a broom altars it hit the was nocked off a i Mrs. Mill h ET ale not 4 pur QOOT wees & Vek There CALLS “HELLO, JOE, AS HE GOES TO DEATH SEAT Each of two men spoke two words Just before dying In Rockview's electric chair Monday morning, one addressing a newspaper witness and the other the Deity Andrew Schurtz, 48, of Shamokin, recognized Joseph AgOr, as news- paperman from his home town, order.” and a 12-year-old fred in desperation when Fisher threat- ened loss of his job william Kelly, 34-year-old Phila- deiphia Negro. followed Schurtz to the chair. Unlike the S8hamokin man Kelly shrank back from the electric chair and guards had to push on a ———— Sp ——— —————————— ———————— —— ANDREW Who Paid the Suprme heme I Si TT ] SCHURTZ Penalty For the Slaying of Road Foreman. gc opis 3 og among the withesses in the execu- | into ft. They tightened skrops stout! y tion chamber, and called out: Hep, {him quickly and were startied to] Joe.” Schurtz, the first to be executed, | appeared thin from a liquid diet he | ‘had adopted recently. shad said he might have Physicians been suf- fering from a stomach cancer. He | walked the “last mile” quietly, car. before that “11 keep my chin up.” | He was convicted of shooting, in the back, Lieut. Edwin ©. Fisher, National Guard officer and foreman on a WPA project. His atforney eon- | tain his wife “far above his social | | i Philadelphia policeman, rying out his promise of a few days | r the condemned man yell: “Al- fous Allah!"—the name of the su- preme being in his Mohammedan religion. Kelly was convicted and condemn - ed to die for killing Henry Berry, during a jewelry store robbery Both men spent their last day life reading the Bible or gleeping; neither made any last requests, and | Kelly ate heartily of the regular prison fare. Neither wrote any let-| tended Schurtz, disturbed by finan- ters nor received any visitors other operating, : ‘oial reverses and inability to main- than prison officials and thelr spir«| home in Stillwater. Both legs were | | fractured at the ankle, : tual advisors, ings Burn to Ground at Hawk Run, a Nearby Philipsburg Yilege of Hawk on Saturday | t! Spring Is in the Air £6 | PETTER " GLY nN ALON ue Exp TIN DELIVERY AT Bb THE FARM «wr “ 'TTLE RED HEN” COMES TO LIFE AT BELLEFONTE SCHOOL J mot Mrs. F aught wa removed damage was estimated at § Fowler property damage was at $800. No Hrance was cf (Conti 200. The fixed ing i wed or page five) roniem thel Crider is teacher of the a red nee at the choo) and y made her in a big box In for the ought nest A nest a corner of me of the children t placed in the } Wi ng from the chick ! following displayed box me lone ud- t. The Lo created keen room well as and CIASS As the school (Continued on Page 6) NUMBER 9 SLAYER ENDS LIFE IN CELL OF JAIL ON EVE OF HIS EXECUTION | Yeager, Father of Eleven, Cheats Justice With Smuggled Gun a Few Hours Before In- tended Removal to Rockview hot ame | turday in his cell in at Danville less he was to be penitentiar «lf to death Ba Montour county than 48 hours be! execu it Rockview fall ore od i rer and father warmer and fath to have » victim, a ft children, wa ht Monday tty delermin- Mon! our county of- of the relative ‘ mmediately s theorized one re. riends who bade Y may have smuggled the weapon RReT tioned y wd Yeager almost knocked Night Guard lam Gros: off his bench 1 whi { away, i re he was sling oniy sounded like going of.” He ran to Yeager on Lhe the the mel iounac ceu wi orhyt gn LEGEND OF A LEAP YEAR DUEL ome were as Of many handed it marriageabie ds ughter s of about the ame age Louise Weim was a young lady of blond features, while the other gif! ip 10 as Mar- garet Downing, was of the brunette type. Both in ove with man by the name of sont of a York counts had sett than a cited fell oung, the farmer who unity J ied Centre y THe rival comment in the of thelr youn year before much munity quarrel B mans nt to a social gather iss Weimm While danc- the intense excitement I» Miss manner OeArante of a We sonia ¢ drama. Bud- aim EDWIN C. FISHER Victim of Schurtz’s Mur- Schurtz’ body was claimed by his widow. Kelly, whose family resides in Cleveland, will be buried in the prison graveyard today. I Pennsylvania's new executioner, Frank Lee Wilson, of Pittaburgh, op- [erated the dials and . pulled | switch. He received $350 for the job po | UNHAPPY END OF OUR OWN SHERLOCK HOLMES | ! Strange story of American's per- i sonification of A. Conan Doyle's cel ehrated hero. who brought criminals {to justice only to make one tragic | mistake that landed the modern {sleuth in a prison cell. Don't miss | this feature in the March 10th issue iof The American Weekly, the big | magazine distributed with the Bal- | timore American, on sale at all | newsstands. - Logarion Boy Injured J0n Person, 13, of Loganton, was treated at the Lock Haven Hospital { Thursday evening following a sled- ding accident in which he cut a gash in his face. The boy was slid- ing and tan into a sled, i ‘was re- ported. The wound was sutured and he returned to his home. Fractures Both Legs Paul Ribble, in his thirties, was taken to the Bloomsburg Hospital i for treaiment of injuries received i f LAH overt near his the when a Snow plow Which he was assembiage was’ She entered ground 0 ich seabed open dhe door go saw her rival dr a : iva the en ang = sitting bs het or ha 0A wring Mil Dow Welmm Rescues Sleeping Brother from Fire Battles Way “Through Burn- ing Home to Victim's Bedroom resid t No Philipsburg we herolsm of his bro- who battled his way smoke-filled house and sieeping victim down- of the house a few into who ire, near owes iif ther, John through a the re the house burst the downstal Sunday, Clement no- through the brother, Peter, Indiana county, rs of smoke tise. Realizing his from Commodore who was visiting him, was asleep upstairs, Clement battled his way through the stinging smoke 10 the bed where his brother was lying Failing to arouse him from his sium- ber he seized his brother and car- ried him downstairs and out of the smoking building which soon burst into flames Quickly spreading through the two-story frame house the flames enveloped the entire strueture while neighbors of the Hawk Run terri- tory saw the third dwelling in that vicinity burn to the ground within two days. Nothing with the exception of a small cedar chest could be saved from the raging blaze which lighted up the entire countryside, a— We have heard some preity poor sermons in our day but we still sal it i= a good idea to go to church rte ne MP ————————— ~Wani ads bring results The nex Weimm a stunning with the clu hich staggered assailant, and foliowed it second biow which felled her 10 the ground Mise out struck low on ih J Welmm soon assuming mpaled Miss Downing fork Lie and offensive hands on Again she head from her (oo Le var Liem poi the prongs of the received a biow of she jlo Mis (Convened ‘on page six) Two Escape In Kylertown Crash Skvway Hitech Hiker and Pilot Unharmed in Ac- cident Horst, of Chicag 20th birthday thodox style when which he and a were riding deve and cracked u Lviertown { in Unor- the planes in skyway hiteh hiker Joped engine trouble p on the show-covered airport field where Horst piane down the pla ck on the field it nosed down and 1 flopped over. Horst and the at- mospheric ride thumber, known to Horst only as “Sandy.” crawled out immharmed from the wreckage of the pia ne The extent of the damage wrecked plane could not be ought his ne stn the deep ther to the imme- diately estimated by Horst who ex- plained that his crackup dilemms came on his 20th birthday Horst explained he was flying from New York to Chicago when he stopped off at the Allentown-Betli- lehem Airport. While he was there “Sandy,” said to be a commercial pilot from the Chicago Horst took off. It was smooth flying until engine trouble developed while the, ! Van Bickle, Calawissa, pair were traveling in this area Hearing the spluttering of his en- gine, Horst decided to land and cir- cled over the airport field. As the plane landed in the deep snow, the front end of the plane downward, Striking with a force the plane then flopped over on its back. | Br — The Centre Democrat $1.5¢ 5 year Allentown region! asked Horst for a ride with him to! assented and he and ‘Sandy’ short of it.” plunged NEW SERVICE SEEN AS AID TO NIGHT FISHING a de- gentie- comes the man with help thsoe tireless who fish at nights Walter E Eich of Fred- ericksburg, lebanon county, who hag developed a lantern that flaghes § # automatically as s00n as a fish be- | have bad a “roaming urge™ gins tinkering around the bait. Bich, a fshing enthusiast, the idea after discovering that of the greatest difficulties of nigm ng is finding out what the fish are going The lantern, intended for still fishing. can be mounted either on a boat or on shore Tt is elevated about resting across a fork gn starts the lantern flashing. The harder the fish tugs at the bait, the brighter the flashes. When the fish actually is hooked, the lantern glows so bril- | liantly jt provides enough light for landing operations, this ating additional lights Long and Short Two Columbia county cousins of | A Can- | at the her | ip with 81 | the highway with considerable force it it one | 0 definite reason {in to investigate the boy a foot, with the fishing pole! in comact | with a tension screw so delicately adjusted that the slightefl nibble! lantern | ple. The fi bulance arrived According to Bheri walt, Yeager was Rockview penitentiary in a couple irred at 4:25 a Was irmer died elo fT Asa Bleiger- ave started for t Bellefonte shooting 10 1} of hours Oe m Restless anoted ’ 1] cq * that no intimation 10 Go erwalt ud all earched WAS about Belg been carefully packages delivered ed ma were visitors had and all to the condemns examined. The only (Continued om Page 8) Bh Ea Cargo Accident Spills Contents on Lawn at Lock Haven Teachers’ College motor police were ng Ww ascer- Coc per- Jarre tt irday huge carrying Wn Cargo- raller truck a ten aence <x Haven Teachers’ how al nother re R owned by) over an emban Bucktall Trail of Beootac The 17 OOD. ound 1 carrying a 13 { freight The Lock Haven police he driver of the egg truck, ¥. Barr, of Omeha, Neb ure 0 Sop at a stop sign ing guilty to the charge police he lost control foot of Busguehan #% he was about to make tun onto Water street The large vehicle must have left arrests Clarenc for fall Plead Barr wold uck Avenue the left rinos a good sized tree was reduced (Continued on Page 6) iim — LL —————— Missing Drifting Boy Back Hemme Located in New Jersey After Reported Missing For Four Davs r Gays Bias vast old son of Mr. n 1 woywder stating where he was going finally located in New Jersey before he reached the home of relatives after he had been reported missing for four days : Although Marvin was believed to acoord- | resident, could be estab- lished for the boy's action | Clearfield motor police were called | s absence, | ing 0 a Cooper township A —— Explosives Safe Explosives with which a large! truck was loaded failed to explode when the machine struck a rut, whith threw it against an empty | auto convoy trailer truck at Renovo. | The left front tire of the convoy! was blown out. however, and the | sedan of Dr. J. M. Dwyer, parked | in front of his home, was con. | siderably damaged when the con. tyvoy was wedged against it elimin- | Sr —— gp p—— Auto Hits Abutment i Damage placed at $300 to a car driven by Michael Dancho, Jr. of | Osceola Mills, resulted from a crash the same age are the “long and the | early Sunday morning on route 53, There is Sickie. son of Mr. and Mrs, Emory who is six feet, four inches tall, towering more than a fool above his cousin, Ken- neth Hess, Washington Hess, of Bloomsburg who measures only five Toot, three inches. Each observed his 17th birth- day this month pana Farmers, a hopeful class, are still looking for prosperity. John Van | | There were no injuries. son of Mr. and Mrs. | two miles west of Philipsburg when | {the operator's car skidded on the | {icy highway and struck a concrete | abutment, state motor police said. | Old Gen Kills Child Severely wounded when ber 8-| year-old brother, Roland, the trigger of a 75-year-old Civil War musket with which they were | playing, Alice Russell 4, died two days later at Muskegon, Mich. | Random [tems | package on | tonight | at least one youngster who is go- | ing to be badly disappointed with » | PUBLIC SHRINE? A Bellefonte columnist weer shed a fow crogodile Leas Over Lhe fact that the Bellefonie borough poor home may be sold and may be come what he werns a nares ne Alleging that It one Lt ree mos. hist LOT Liu he suggest take I chasge and shrine Bellefonte 1 Ang begin and the town will Jat Lown SURPRISE: Unless members of 1 board are a whoie about wihal pockets than ey re going w run one of these nw a pockel, a sip of paper, motion written on the dangerous one, Imagine a sche embarrassment happen to offer as a molion that his last ths ice bill was due; his summons for jury duty, an emply package of cigar- ettes, Or a newspaper clipping on how to make a cheap bul effective wax! CIGAR: Attorney R. Paul Campbell, some- thing or other over this newspaper s acoount last week that he was pass~ ing out, “big, black, cigars” in hon- or of the arrival of & daughter in his family, Saturday breezed inio this office, pisced a long slender the editor's desk and departed, mumbling something that sounded lke ought you!” Removing the wrapping an infernal machine but a foot-long cigar, nearly 2 inches in diameter. Up to this hime we've been completely baffled We don't know whether to smoke the darned thing or to save 1 a3 a museum piece, IDLE THOUGHTS: Wonder if Centre County's fa- mous “Phantom Lake™ out Dear he Bellefonte airport will make its appearance this year. It hasnt tiwrned up since the St Patrick's Day Sood four years ago, but with all ¢he snow now on the ground and th the earth frozen to an unu- sual depih is possible thal a quick thew would bring the Jake into being. ...It is rumored that i heads of six members of ihe Belle- COO) careful Lhe hdd Gay fishing i he mon floor -y hold we found not it av | ‘onte public school faculty may fall under the sxe of the Belelonle School Board. We even heard ihe names mentioned | NEW ROAD: The new road which is scheduled [10 be bullt between Bellefonte ani State College this spring, is not be- ing constructed before it §s needed. The present road has suf] heav- ily during the past winter, and is rough and badly eroded by the weather, The new route will be considerably shorter than the pres- ert one and will be of modern ma- cadam design. NEWSPAPER: The discontinuance of The Cen tre Reporter leaves the communil] of Centre Hall without a home town newspaper. The Reporter was a newsy, readable paper and served the area creditably for a long Span of years, The files of the Reporier valuable records of the community's history, have been placed in ihe custody of W. W. Kerlin, prominent Centre Hall resident, for safe-keep- ing. They are not {or sale and are to remain forever as a part of the little town whose activities {urnishe ed the news that filled its pages BANQUET: We hope they serve ice cream and cake at the annual her ana Son banguet at the Y. M. C. A If they don't we know of | an event which has been his chie” topic of dbnversstion weeks, SNOW: Did you notice during the recent heavy snow storm how the Statue of Governor Curtin on the Diamond was covered with a white mantle? for three | The statue woked not unlike one of he famous white-robed Finnish sk! troopers, who have been giving Russia many a headach. (Continued on page five) -. “Mystery” Pipe Line A pipe constructed of hollowed eight-inch pine logs connected with iron “slip-ing” has been unearthed a; Emporium, Cameron County, but | cidest residents don't know when it was laid, or for what reason. is more than 70 years old, and may have been a spring system. ‘KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES’ —For fvenesseaBut Too Late!
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers