The Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 190, Ed. 2 Saturday, December 24, 1949 Page: 1 of 10
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«
FAIR AND
WARMER
KOL. LXIX, NO. 190
Associated Press (AP)
he Abilene Reporter
"WITHOUT OR WITH OFFENSE TO FRIEND OR FOES WE SKETCH YOUR WORLD EXACTLY AS IT GOES Byron
s
ABILENE, TEXAS, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 24, 1949 TEN PAGES
EVENING
FINAL
‘Twas the Night
Before Christmas
FEW LEFT IN WARD
Polio Patients Get Best
Yule Gifts - Visits Home
PRICE, DAILY 5c; SUNDAY 10c
Yule Sales Soar to
New Peak in U. S.
• By the Associated Press ers for Christmas buying, reports
Cash registers in the nation's indicated, was in the last few
> department and other retail stores weeks. November sales of chain
played a merry Christmas tune stores and mail order houses were
during the holiday shopping sea- about 2 per cent below November,
son. indicating record sales both 1948, the U. S. Department of
in unit and dollar volume. Commerce said. But the Federal
ers for Christmas buying, report!
last few
Commerce said. But the Federal
This week’s last minute shoppers Reserve Board reported depart-
swarmed the country’s stores for meat store sales jumped to a new
purchases and sales in many cities
soared above last year’s record
record high in the week ended
business.
a PUSH COMES LATE
“The big push to the store count-
Detroit Blast
Break Hinted
DETROIT Dec 24 in Police
and the FBI operated virtually
“and in hand today in Detroit’s
big bomb plot inquiry.
An official report of "new de-
sriopments" in the Keuther Broth-
er shootings was made meanwhile.
Strictest secrecy still prevailed,
how ever.
Wayne (Detroit) County’s prose
tutor, Gerald K O Brien, re-
marked of the “developments in
the attempted assassinations of
Walter and Victor Reuther.
But he refused even to hint at
Chat he meant
in one of Michigan’s biggest
criminal investigations, the FBI
and local authorities are trying to
root out the origin of Tuesday
night’s attempted bemnb.ng
A dynamite bomb which failed
to explode, was planted at a door-
way of international headquarters 1
of the CIO United Auto Workers
Dec. IT.
A spot survey of major stores
in cities across the country showed
only one city reporting a drop in
Christmas buying compared to last
year. The Retail Merchants Asso-
ciation in Detroit Mid Christmas
sales were about 10 per cent less
than in 194g. There was less de-
mand for household appliances
and liquor in the motor city, the
association said
But no such falling off in Christ-
mas buying was reported in stores
in New York, Chicago, Boston,
Los Angeles, San Francisco. Kan-
sas City, Atlanta, Minneapolis,
Richmond, Va., Dallas and Seattle. |
In Denver, unit sales at Daniels
and Fisher, the city's leading
store, showed a 15 per cent in-
crease over last year with dollar ,
volume about the same.
But in Dallas, dollar volume at
Sanger's Department Store was 1
per cent higher, Sears. Roebuck s
retail store also reported between
T and 8 per cent more business
than last year. Business at the
Neiman - Marcus specialty store
was reported "a little better both
in units and dollars, and people
seemed to be better satisfied with
prices.”
Santa Claus won't find many
stockings to fill tonight at the polio
ward at Hendrick Memorial Hos-
pital.
Only eight patients will remain
in the hospital during the holi-
days. They'll be allowed to have
visitors all day Christmas Day.
Fourteen persons were allowed
to go home for Christmas. Four
of them took their discharges with
them and won't return to the hos-
pital.
The patients began leaving for
home early yesterday morning.
Some of them will return Tuesday
and others the following Friday.
For the patients left in the ward
there is a big Christmas tree in
n Antonio s Worst
Kills 6
the hall and many of them have
trees in their own rooms. . . , .
Those discharged are Tommy A ■
Moser of Big Spring, Dan Ortiz, ■ ___■ — ?
242 Bois D'Arc Jean Th HEE A *■ ■ g e o ■ me me
of Odessa, Janie Lynn Brinlee ■ som ■ ■ • ■ o • ■ t 1
of Midland. A IITTTT
Others home for Christmas are! - - “ ■ ■
Belinda Casper, Abilene; Larry
Cochran. 609 Locust St.; Helen El-
liott. 1221 North Eighth St.; Ken-
neth Isbell. Hawley: Don Lay,
Lubbock: Odell Leslie, 1541 Low-
den St.: Mrs G. A. Loveless, Colo-
rado City: Don Matthews, Big
, Spring: Steve Rhineheart, 2110 For-
rest Ave.; Bobby Shackelford,
Colorado City; Herman Smith.
O'Brien; and Gary Wilhelm. 1034
Pecan St.
Death Near for 2
Others in Family
SAN ANTONIO. Dec 24. W —I
One of the worst residential fires'
Ex-Wife Shoots
Prof, Secretary
ATHENS, Ga., Dec. 24. — Five Just before Drewry, author and
bullets fired by a middle-aged di-
vorced wife last night felled her
former husband. Dean John E.
Drewry of the journalism school
at the University of Georgia, and
critically wounded his pretty for-
mer secretary.
Police Chief Clarence Roberts
said Mrs. Kathleen Drewry was
taken into custody at her home
as she telephoned friends of shoot-
ing her 47-year-old husband and
Miss Miriam Thurmond, a tall at-
tractive brunette
Miss Thurmond, wounded twice
in the stomach, and Drewry, who
received three bullets in the chest,
were taken to Athens General Hos-
pital.
Dr. Harry Talmadge reported
that the dark-haired former sec-
retary was in a more critical con-
dition than Dewry, but that both
were "doing all right and are ex-
pected to pull through "
Chief Roberts said Mrs Drewry
would probably be questioned at
length today for details and mot-
ives of the shooting.
Mrs. Drewry was put to bed
and treated for shock as soon as
she was taken to St. Mary’s Hos-
pital last night. Physicians advised
against any lengthy questioning at
that time.
Mrs. Drewry is 45. The former
secretary, whose home is on a
quiet fashionable street of this
North Georgia university town, is
28.
university administrator of the
George Peabody Award—radio’s
Pulitzer Prize—was wheeled into
the operating room, said Roberts,
he told this story :
He and Miss Thurmond were
talking quietly in the living room
of her home when Mrs. Drewry
entered, gun in hand.
Before anyone could utter a
word, Mrs. Drewry raised the
pistol, aimed and fired. She put
the gun, a pearl handled .32, in
her handbag and left, even closing
the door
MOTHER ENTERS
Miss Thurmond’s horrified moth-
er. sitting in an adjacent room, ar-
rived just in time to see Mrs.
Drewry leave.
Roberts said that Mrs. Drewry,
the former Kathleen Merry, calm-
ly motored home and telephoned
several friends. One managed to
keep her talking while his wife
notified police.
In the conversation with this
friend, Roberts related, Mrs Drew-
ry said she intended to "take
something.”
After she was taken into cus-
POPE READS CHRISTMAS MESSAGE—Pope Pius XII
(center) reads his annual Christmas message before the
Sacred College of Cardinals in Vatican City. He urged the
world to make the 1950 Holy Year a turning point towards
peace. (NEA Radiophoto).
Bell-Ringing, Riots
Launch Holy Year
in San Antonio history took six
lives here early Saturday morning.
A 37-year-old mother, three of
her daughters and two of her sons
died in flames. Her husband and
another daughter were critically
burned. One daughter escaped
without injury.
The tragedy occurred near 2:20
a m. Saturday at their home, 1604
N W. 18th Street, on the western
edge of the city.
The dead were listed as:
Mrs. Maria Montelongo, 37,
A son, Alejandro, 10.
A daughter, Andrea. 7.
A daughter. Yolanda. 5.
A daughter, Alicia. 4.
An infant son, Carlos, 1,
Ascension Montelongo, 36, the
husband, and the eldest daughter,
Francisca, 13 were in Baptist Me-
morial Hospital suffering from
third-degree burns and were near
death.
Miss Thurmond's mother, Mrs.
Dewey Thurmond, remained with
her daughter at the hospital
throughout the night.
tody. Mrs. Drewry was placed in
another hospital, not far from the
one where surgeons were admin-
istering to her former mate and his
one-time secretary.
She was treated for shock, and
was being held on an open charge,
under armed guard, the police
chief said.
The Drewrys. who married in
1925, were divorced last summer.
- They have one son, Milton, a fresh-
man at the university.
White Christmas in Prospect
For Northern Part of Nation
WASHINGTON. Dec 24 (—The
Weather Bureau predicted white
Christmas for the central part of
the nation, and a mighty cold one
for most other sections.
"Typical winter weather will
ern Rockies southeastward to Kan-
sas and Missouri and Increasing
cloudiness followed by snow in
Iowa, Illinois and Indiana with
snow spreading eastward to the
Appalachian area by Sunday night.
Fair weather is expected in New
VATICAN CITY, Dec. 24. —
Pope Pius EXIl opened the 1950
Holy Year of the Roman Catholic
Walter Reuther is the UAW’s
president. Victor is also a UAW
a ' 1_______________
Collision Bounces
Auto Into House
1 1 ristmas got off to a “shaky”
start for the C M. Gillis family.
1482 Merchant St.
A car driven by Mitchell
Ja kson Knee. 56, Rt 5. bounced
- he side of the Gillis home this
* ing following a collision in a
nea by intersection.
Occupants of the house were
at rd I but unhurt Damage to a
Truman Will
prevail over most of the nation England and along the East Coast
Christmas the weather Bureau re- and form the Gulf States westward
ported, and gave this forecast:
"Temperatures will be below
normal from the Rockies eastward
through Arizona and California.
hedge which the car rolled through
and to the scratched house and
ken window screen was esti-
mated at $60, police said.
- nee was. Involved in a collision
with a car driven by John Guitar,
HI 20, 1802 Merchan. St., at the
section of North 14th and
* chant Sts
Both drivers suffered minor in-
juries but were not hospitalized
Talk Today
INDEPENDENCE, Mo., Dec 24
—Free from the burdens of state
for a few days. Pit ident Truman
planned to get in al it more visit-
ing today with relatives and old
friends.
There was only one formal event
scheduled for the day—a speech
at 415 p.m. (CST) extending
Christmas greetings to the na-
tion
Mr Truman will speak from the
rambling Truman home here and
throw a switch lighting a big
Christmas tree on the White House
lawn in Washington.
through most of the Middle West
and northeastern and east central
states
Extreme cold will continue in
the upper Great Lakes and Upper
Mississippi Valley areas and west-
ward through the Dakotas and
Northeastern Montana.
Moderating temperatures are ex-
pected in the Southeast and
through the Gulf states and near
normal in the far Southwest and
most of the West Coast although
It will be moderately cold in north-
ern California.
Snow is expected from the nortb-
Bolmy Weather
On Tap Here
Springtime weather is on
here for Christmas.
The mercury will hang up in
the 55 to 60 degree area during
the afternoon today and will get
no lower than 3g to 40 tonight.
THE WEATHER
O. s. DEPARTMENT or COMMERCE
WEATHER nt REAU
ABILENE AND VICINITY— Mostly
clear skies and a little warmer today
and tonight: Sunday partly cloudy with
. ne important temperature changes High
Hollis Wilson, 16, and Ruth Her-tempeEnture today 55 to 8 low tonicht,
rington, 14. both Abilene High WEST TEXAS Fair this afternoon
school students were treated for and tonight Sunday partlycloudy
"1- ... Colder in Panhandle Sunday afternoon
minor injuries last night at Hen- or night
drick Memorial Hospital following I
an automobile collision this afternoon and tonight Warmer to
The accident occurred at South MSRcrMlurdaxeertsO"t-hasTodenom|
Vih St. and Sayles Blvd when Maximum temperature 2-hour period
Wilson’s car was involved in a enine.ha ".m.l..Kiure. 21 hour period
collision with a vehicle driven by
Students Injured
In Auto Accident
Hayden L. McDonald, 31. 3232
South 11th St. McDonald escaped
injury.
Wilson, son of Mr. and Mrs. L.
D Wilson. 1425 South 31st St.,
was treated for a fractured finger.
His companion. Miss Herrington,
of 1742 Edgemont Dr . suffered
abrasions over the left eye, hip
red legs, hospital attendants re
Ported.
ending IN
FR. P. M.
ture 24-hour period
am.* 37. ___
TEMPERATURES
.....1g .....
SAT. A. M.
40 11:30 ........... _
18 Midnight
Sunrise today 7:38: sunset tonight 5
| Barometer reading at 9 30 ■ m 28.39
Relative humidity at 9:30 a m 60%
Church today amid the joyous
ringing of church bells and the
angry clatter of Communist-led
disorders.
Scarcely had the Pontiff unsealed
the holy door at St. Peter's Basil-
ica with three symbolic strokes of
a silver hammer, when Commu-
nists ordered and then cancelled
a general strike in Rome Province.
And in the heart of ancient
Rome, as the 25th jubilee year of
the Catholic Church began, a Com-
munist-led crowd stoned the Span-
| ish Embassy, crying "Death to
Franco.”
Tens of thousands thronged the
Vatican Basilica for the solemn
pageantry of the opening Hun-
dreds took part in the Communist
demonstrations. The short-lived
strike was called to protest strong
police precautions against possible
incidents between pilgrims and
Communists meeting near the Bas-
ilica of Santa Maria Maggiore,
where a cardinal opened another
holi door
U. 5 AUTO OVERTURNED
Riot squads dispersed the anti-
Franco demonstrators who were
protesting the presence in Rome
the great bronze bells of the basil-
ica ring the tidings that the jub-
ilee year had begun.
In his Christmas address yester-
day Pope Pius had said that in
opening the holy door with three
$320 Loot
Taken in 2
Burglaries
Loot valued at about $320 was
taken last night in two local bur-
glaries, the Abilene Police Depart-
ment reported this morning.
The Drake Hotel Coffee Shop,
130 Cypress St., and the Jumbo
System, 1157 Butternut St., were
the victims of the burglars.
P L. Johnson, manager of the
Drake Coffee Shop, reported the
theft of $140 in cash and two suits
of clothes. He valued the suite at
$89.50 and $60.
Entrance to the coffee shop was
gained through a ventilator fan in
the back of the building, accord-
ing to City Detective George Sut-
ton The burglary was discovered
this morning about 6:30 by John-
son and a Negro cook.
WORST OF SEASON
The Montelongo's 9 - year - old
daughter, Josefina, escaped the
blaze without injury, firemen said.
Veteran members of the San An-
tonio Fire Department said the
fire was the worst Christmas sea-
son fire here within their memory.
Deputy Fire Chief M. L. Butler
corroborated their statements.
“It was the worst residential
fire in San Antonio’s history,” he
said.
It was believed by investigating
fire department officers that the
flames started from a fire, left
burning in a wood stove
WALL NEWLY-PAINTED
A newly - painted nearby wall
was believed to have led to its
cause.
strokes of the hammer we shall
be conscious of performing no
mere traditional act but a sym-
bolic rite of high import not only ter and that a nickelodeon box had
for Christians but for the whole
Henry Leach, owner of the Jum-
ho System, told detectives that $25
was missing from his cash regis-
human race.”
He asked for union within the. . ,.,-
Catholic church of all Christians| Sutton said
to meet the "effrontery with which
the united front of militant athe-
ism advances"
been forced open
The burglars entered the build-
ing by prying open the back door.
A suspect in the coffee shop bur-
glary was questioned and then re-
leased. Sutton said.
GIFT FROM JUDGE DOSS
It's Merry Christmas in City
Court; 7 Prisoners Released
The inside of the residence had
been painted Friday. The inside of
the home was almost completely
filled with flames as soon as the
first wall caught, firemen believed.
The stove apparently had been
left burning because of the just
above, freezing weather outside.
The family has been making
plans for a merry Christmas.
Nine - year - old Josefina, who
would be the only survivor of her
nine-member family if her father
and older sister succumb as a re-
sult of their severe burns, was a
heroine in the tragedy.
Nervous and almost hysterical
at times, Josefina told the follow-
ing story:
She awoke to find the houM in
flames, jumped out of bed and
ran to arouse her father and moth-
er. The father awakened Francis-
ca. 13. While flames licked over
the bodies of father and mother
and Francisca. Josefina unlocked
the front door when the parents
were unable to do so Josefina led
the three out. Francesca and her
father, although critically burned,
got clear of the house behind the
little girl
MOTHER COLLAPSES
The father was leading the
mother by the hand, but she col-
lapsed several steps outside the
front door, where she perished
The three who got out of the
house made several fruitless ef-
forts to re-enter the roaring In-
ferno to rescue the others, but the
flames drove them back.
Merry Christmas, Judge.
Most of the prisoners young and
old alike, sat throughout the
The bewhiskered prisoner sham-
bled forward to City Judge A. K Christmas Eve session of court
of Spanish Foreign Minister Mar-
tin Artajo, here for the holy door
ceremony in the disorders an
tap | automobile owned by a U. S. Em-
bassy official was overturned
near the Spanish Embassy.
But the Incidents failed to Inter-
the Abilene weather station pre-
dicted. Sunday may be partly
cloudy, but there will be no im-
portant changes in temperature
Friday night the low reading
was 32 degrees.
rupt the Holy Year inauguration
ceremonies at St. Peter’s.
A crowd of 50.000 persons inside
the basilica cheered as the Pontiff
strode alone through the door into
the vast church, seat of the re-
ligion of 400,000,000 persons of
which the Pope is the temporal
head. Outside 300.000 more gath-
ered in St. Peter s Square heard
Does this morning in corporation
court, shook his hand and wished
him season's greetings.
He had every right to feel like
wishing somebody a merry Christ-
mas. His fine, along with those of
six other prisoners, had just been
suspended by Judge Dou.
The “merciful judge" used
simple, carefully chosen words to
tell the seven offenders, one of
with downcast eyes. One blinked
back a near-lear. Another looked
A
SLEET STORM HITS MIDWEST — A paralyzing sleet
storm struck Sedalia, Mo., and moved northeast into Illi-
nois Tons of ice brought power and telephone lines crashing
to the ground Many Missouri towns were cut off from power
and communications.
them on crutches, the story of
Christ
"We can't forgive you for the
trespasses against yourselves but
we can forgive you for your tres-
passes against man-made laws."
Judge Doxa said.
320 Families Get
Goodfellow Visits
Abilene Goodfellows today dis-
tributed gifts to more than 320
needy families of this city.
Beginning at 6:30 o'clock this
morning, more than 150 Goodfel-
lows, including about 60 Boy
Scouts, loaded trucks at the Good-
feller storage trucks at the Good-
and turned over to local firemen
who repaired them
Meanwhile, Goodfellow
dona-
tions Saturday have increased to
$3,537.14, with donations still com-
ing in. officials said. Latest con-
tribution was $10, made by A. E.
building at 925 South First St.
• etting 20 trucks loaded by 7:45
a. m., the group delivered in less
i than two hours gifts “of clothing.
Frazier
Boy Scouts assisted the volun-
teer workers this morning in de-
livering the Christmas packages.
_ Robert B. Wylie had charge of
food and Christmas (presents to volunteer trucks and drivers The
the deserving persons of Abilene | following firms furnished a truck
Loaded with the gifts were trucks and a driver: Texas Coca-Cola
furnished free of charge by local
firms.
Loaded with the gifts were trucks and a driver Texas
Bottling Co., West Texas Products.
Humble Oil and Refining Co.,
Western Cottonoil Co., Wilson
Included in the donations this
morning were 180 garbage cans.
260 Christmas dinners in several
sizes -depending on the size of the
family—and "several hundred dol-
lars worth of toys for the chil-
dren "
The toy estimate was made by
Nib Shaw, chairman of the drive,
who said it was impossible to de-
termine the exact worth The toys
were collected during the drive,
Transfer and Storage Co., J. D.
Moore Transfer and Storage Co.,
Merchants Fast Motor Lines West
Texas Utilities Co., Dr. Pepper
Bottling Co., Sunset Motor Lines,
Wilson and Co., Kimbell-Abilene
Co., Cannon Feed Store, G. W Jut-
son, Abilene Storage Co., Inc.
Seven-Up Bottling Co . Clayton
Chemicals, Banner Dairies. Frazier
Tractor and Implement Co.
resentful.
All but two murmured "thank
you, judge" as Doss told them
they were free to go home. They
wasted no time leaving.
The judge's last words held a
stern warning. "Let's not have
a reunion here Monday morning
because 1 can guarantee you it
might not be a happy one "
Only one person remained in
the city jail Saturday. He was an
out-of-towner being held for in-
vestigation.
The judge believes his policy of
releasing all prisoners possible on
Christmas Eve pays off. Last year
several habitual offenders were
released. Not a one of them
showed up again for five months."
he grinned
Texans Urged to
Exercise Caution
AUSTIN. Dec 24. mn — "Extra
caution, common sense and cour-
tesy” were urged on Texans today
by Gov. Allan Shivers to meet the
extra traffic hazards of the yule
6 Die in Car,
Truck Crash
CHILDRESS, Dec. 24. VA
loaded gasoline transport truck
and a farm family's automobile
smashed together near here late
Friday night and exploded into
flames Six persons were fatally
burned, five members of a single
family.
Trapped in their burning auto-
mobile were Roy Lee Blake, about
35, his wife, LoulM, and their
three children, Vivian. 8. Hoyt, 6,
and Nelda, 2.
Carl P Leatherman of Amarillo,
driver of the truck, died in a hos-
pital here at 2 25 a m today.
The accident occurred about 9
p m. near the Estelline Commun-
ity. about 15 miles northwest of
here
The Blakes lived near Childress.
The truck overturned on the
automobile and trapped the Blake
family in their car. It exploded
into flames.
season.
“We must accept individual re-
sponsibility for avoiding accident
situations that might bring death
or Injury to ourselves or others,”
the governor said.
Inquest Underway in
Sergeant's Death
KILLEEN. Dec. 24 (—An in-
quest was being held today la the
death of Sgt. George C. Bell.
Bell was found dead in his bar-
racks at Camp Hood Friday. His
throat had been cut and a pocket
knife was lying by his side.
Camp Hood officials Mid Bell
came to Camp Hood a few days
ago from Fort Knox, Ky. His wife
was listed as Irene Wilma BeU.
Summersville, W. Va.
No Reporter-News Dec. 26
In observance of its annual holiday The Reporter-
News will not publish either Morning or Evening edi-
tions. Monday. December 26
Regular publication will be resumed with the Morn-
ing edition of December 27.
The Reporter News wishes its readers, advertisers
and other friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year
The business Office will be open from 7:30 to 9:00
Sunday Dec 25. to receive circulation calls.
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The Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 190, Ed. 2 Saturday, December 24, 1949, newspaper, December 24, 1949; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1647195/m1/1/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Public Library.