True Grit Award: Marion Pitchford Cuts Off Arm
A North Carolina man, Marion Pitchford, severed four inches of his arm after it was caught in a fabric stretching machine. He calmly used a pocket knife to free himself and then traveled toward the hospital with a friend before a taxi helped finish the trip after a flat tire. The tale is hailed as outstanding courage.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Charlotte
North Carolina
Marion Pitchford
Pitchford
Bolles
Idi Amin
Don Bolles
Uganda
England
America
Henry Woodward
Carolina
Lords Proprietors
Albermarle Point
South Carolina
Virginia
Rhode Island
Delaware
Appalachian Mountains
Linda Babble
Tommy Rott
United States
Les Reason
Shlock
Miss Babble Babble
Spencer Tracy
Babble
Backwater
Tommy
Danish man lives with thousands of embedded thorns
Tjens Jensen, a 63 year old from Denmark, has received 32,131 inch long thorns from a barberry hedge over six years. He is to return for more removals as doctors previously pulled 261 thorns from his arms and legs, with future visits planned.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pitchford
Tjens Jensen
Denmark
Jensen
Backwater
Shlock
Barney Blatz
Hamlet
Melvin Muckle
Adolph Eichmann
Auschwitz Concentration Camp
Media fascination with Idi Amin and distant outrage
The piece argues that U S editors revel in anger over Idi Amin while preferring to avoid close to home corruption stories. It notes Africa’s remoteness reduces legal risk and assigns blame to journalists like Don Boles of the Arizona Republic for highlighting this dynamic.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Idi Amin
Wilbur Mills
the Foxe
Martha Mitchell
Amin
Mitchell
Mills
Africa
Idi
Atec
Don Boles
Arizona Republic
Don Bolles Remembered for Fearless Pursuit of Truth
A tribute recalls Bolles’s fearless investigative work and willingness to confront powerful figures. A friend’s recollection of a heated basketball exchange hints at his sharp, combative integrity and commitment to exposing wrongdoing.
Family Ties and a Century of Echoes in a Journal Entry
A narrator recalls Big John and a long-gestating family history spanning the Bishops Murphys and McSwiggens. He traces Cornelius Murphy of Cork to Mary Murphy and a web of relatives across Ireland, America, and Australia, linking a personal memoir to 1960s generation gaps and television talk shows.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cornelius Murphy
Cork
Mary Murphy
Straits of Gibraltar
Big John
Sergeant Murphy
Mary Grannel
Farren Ferris
Ireland
Queenstown
America
New York
Quakenbush
Denver
Ellen Higgins
Milchester Goldfields
Australia
Anastasia Downey
Jim Bishop
Fulton Avenue
Jersey City
Diphtheria Toll in 1894 Irish Family Chronicle
Jim Bishop and family from Scoby Enniscorthy County Wexford endured multiple diphtheria deaths during Christmas Week 1894. The narrative follows Mary Murphy Bishop, Big John Bishop, and relatives, detailing migration to America, labor hardships, and family tensions surrounding birth and marriage.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Scoby
Enniscorthy
County Wexford
Big John
John Bishop
Margaret Dwire
Margaret
Jim
America
Mary Murphy
Mary Murphy Bishop
Jackson Avenue
Roots debate warns against myths in American history
A columnist argues that the Roots drama should not distort history with positive images or myths. The piece stresses facts about slavery, appreciation for colonial roots, and America’s founding virtues while cautioning media to avoid guilt or sensationalism.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alex Haley
America
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
South Atlantic Seaboard
Also Mentioned on This Page
Columbus
Jim Fiebig
United Feature
Don
Berry's
NEA
Citizen Smith
By Dave Gerard
Butler Communication
D. Gap
Shaffer
Dad
Bishops
Murphys
McSwiggens
Tiers
Jerry Shlock
Funky Joe” Backwater
Mary Bishop
Momma
Anthony Harrigan
Mississippi
North America
British Isles
Prince of Wales
Congress
OPEC
CIA
Carter
Senator
Mr. Carter
Mr. Ford
Rott
Roger
Will Rogers
Bryan Sterling
Rep
Virginia Smith
Longworth
Washington, DC
Sen
Carl Curtis
Dirksen
Washington DC
Ed Zorinsky
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