This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
This newspaper page contains 19 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Athens Messenger
Location
Athens, Ohio, United States of America
Date
May 17, 1954
Page
1
Peabody Massachusetts faced millions in damage after a dam at The Flume failed flooding downtown and nine schools. Leather tanneries and plants released chemicals into floodwaters while 150 Coast Guardsmen aided evacuations. City called for water boil alerts and inspections as two square miles flooded.
Fire destroyed the J Foster Smith hardware store and lumber yard at Alger Hardin County late yesterday causing about 125000 in damage. Alger Fire Chief Dwight Marshall sought state arson investigators after a mysterious explosion prior to the blaze. The stock including TV sets and appliances was lost along with three acres and three carloads of lumber. Volunteers from Lafayette Harrod Westminster Ada Mc Guffey aided local firefighters.
In Moultrie Georgia Tom Williams a 45 year old paroled murderer was captured near a swamp edge after three days of terror following four brutal slayings. Lt W E McDuffie identified him and Williams confessed to killing Warden Rowland and his wife plus slashing two intruders. A .22 rifle was found near Williams home.
Virgil Brown from Meigs County is elected president of the Ohio Junior Chamber of Commerce at the Jaycees annual convention closing session. He serves as Meigs County clerk of courts and runs coal operations in Gallia County.
In Huntington West Virginia a man identified as James Calvin Fortner twenty two fled from officers during a drunkenness arrest. He ran to the Ohio River bank and jumped in. Capt Azel T Bryan reported he apparently drowned before rescue crews arrived.
The Associated Press reports fourteen people were killed in Ohio traffic crashes last weekend in three separate accidents, with two fatalities in each incident. Police and investigators called the events tragic and urged caution on highways.
Defense Secretary Charles E. Wilson and several top U. S. officials met briefly with South Korean President Syngman Rhee during Wilsons three day visit. He said the trip would be spent listening and very little talking.
Western powers push for a quick cease-fire as the Geneva Indochina conference enters a restricted session with nine delegations. U S Under Secretary Walter Bedell Smith and French Foreign Minister George Bidault steer efforts amid plans for Viet Nam and Cambodia Laos arrangements and discussions on intervention terms. Bao Dai meets Smith to seek independence assurances and a strong Viet Nam army.
President Eisenhower formally directs the Defense Department to seal from public inquiry any talks within the executive branch about the McCarthy Army dispute. The move bars testimony or production of documents related to such advice before the Senate Government Operations subcommittee.
The French broadcast dusk ultimatum to Vo Nguyen Giap demands rapid repair of the Dien Bien Phu airstrip to speed evacuation of wounded. If refused, Paris warns all out air attacks on Vietminh forces moving toward the Red River Delta and Hanoi.
Joseph Victor Wells aged 53 was killed instantly in a farm tractor accident on his brother in law Woodrow Bowen’s property in Wilkesville. He served in World War I and leaves a widow Hazel M. Wells and three children Victor Leland and Hazel Marian. He also leaves three brothers and four sisters. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
In Trenton Illinois a car carrying six teens home from a dance collided with a Baltimore and Ohio passenger train. Five occupants died Raymond L. King 22 Marlin J. Goff 19 Horace H. Hooks 19 Kenneth Ray Stewart 18 Eleanor Clark 16. One passenger was critically injured.
Three badly wounded survivors recount the final hours of Dien Bien Phu on May 7 as French defenders under Brig. Gen. Christian de Castries faced a Viet Minh siege. Nurse Genevieve de Galard Terraube and others were captured. Champougny describes the hospital battle, dwindling ammunition, and surrender.
Luis Taruc, leader of the Huk rebels, surrendered to a Manila Times reporter as President Magsaysay claims a major victory in the anti Huks campaign. Army units hunt Taruc's elite guard while Jesus Lava is targeted as the top communist leader.
An east side grocer and his sister helped curb a robbery when Benjamin T Stanley held up the cashier. Sidney Nagelbush grappled the robber, pinned him, and was aiding another suspect until bystander William Jackson intervened. Stanley was fatally wounded and died attempting to flee.
The Citizens Planning Conference in Columbus opens its five day golden anniversary session with a reception at General Laushe’s home. National planners from U.S. and Canadian cities will speak on expressways mass transportation and water conservation.
In Williamsburg, Secretary of State Dulles said the United States efforts to negotiate a world atom pool for peaceful purposes have stalled. He added that limited scope agreements remain possible and that negotiations should continue concerning Germany Austria Korea Indochina and atomic energy.
Ann Brownell daughter of the U S Atty Gen and Mrs Herbert Brownell Jr suffered a dislocated shoulder yesterday when a calf with a rope around its neck tripped her and threw her to the ground in Phoenix Arizona.
Dr Willard L Sperry 72 dean emeritus of Harvard Divinity School and noted Protestant clergyman and author died Sunday in Boston.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.