20 Dec 1953
Page 1
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Newspaper
Council Bluffs Nonpareil
Location
Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Dec 20, 1953
Page
1
A columnist defends Christmas as a blend of gift giving, homecoming, and memories. He notes critics call it pagan and argues the season reveals the Christ we experience through acts of mercy and service. The piece insists Christmas wellness comes from doing Christ’s will rather than doctrinal debate.
Frankurt Germany 4 A German war veteran who earns $15 a week as a mechanic distributed Christmas presents Saturday to five hospitalized soldiers four Americans and a Canadian Otta Klingenberg 33 of Frankurt wrote to Maj Gen Thomas W Heiren northern area commander and visited the US Army hospital expressing yearning for fellow soldiers and home He thanked and gifted Pvt Flam Fleming Douglasville GA Cpl Joseph Cox Jumping Branch W V Sgt Walter Hill Ashland Ky Cpl James Boruk Dallas ex Airman LC Joseph Richards Prince Edward Island Canada noting he was once a prisoner of war and now poor yet free and not hungry
Newport Kentucky officers tracked a persistent taunter after a series of hoax calls to the police station. Thomas G. Watson was found at a tavern phone booth and charged with breach of the peace. He laughed as officers tapped him.
A light note on how humor and cold weather show dual sides. The piece highlights reactions where the eyes seem to win at times while the nose asserts itself at others. It blends playful wordplay with observational quirks from daily life.
Little Pamela Thomas, burned over 40 percent of her body, will spend this Christmas and possibly next in a local hospital. The item appears in a feature on The Inside pages with a land picture and page references.
In Jackson Michigan, thirteen long term convicts tunneled out of Southern Michigan Prison on Saturday night using a makeshift acetylene torch. Five seized two women as hostages and fled toward Indiana in a beige 1952 Cadillac. Six were recaptured after a car crash near Napoleon Michigan. a sixth was captured later. The escape triggered a statewide police mobilization with about 100 officers at roadblocks.
A former Boston schoolteacher described a stranger who guided her in dense fog to her home from a car via flashlight and then demanded payment. Merle Tabor told police the Samaritan offered help and then set his own payment terms after the walk home.
A mid November campaign in Harlan to restore Christ in Christmas culminates with a religious parade at 3 pm featuring non commercial floats. The inter church committee and local groups including Kiwanis cooperate, offering $100 in prizes for a caroling contest as townspeople sing traditional Christmas hymns.
A survey of stores indicates Christmas business in Harlan surpasses or matches last year, with Saturday the heaviest shopping day. R C Russell notes mixed progress, while out of town cars and prize winning choirs highlight festive activities. The nativity scene on the courthouse square, built by Harlan High School shop students, debuts with a Nov 29 lighting, and the Chamber backs a student home decorating contest. Santa visits spread over five days at a decorated storefront for local youngsters.
With only four shopping days remaining the season of the letter to Santa Claus continues. Council Bluffs youngsters write in a last minute rush seeking gifts and greeting Claus as holiday hustle grows.
Nixon will address the nation by radio and television on his 45,000 mile good will world tour with a report to Congress. The address, to be made between 10 30 and 11 00 p m CST, follows Eisenhower’s request for the report. December sales are up to expectations according to local merchants. Holiday hours in Moray and surrounding areas extend from 9 a m to 9 p m daily with some closures for Christmas eve. Local shop proprietors report mixed conditions, with better than last year in some stores and rubber footwear lagging due to lack of snow. A separate note describes Christmas letters received by the Council Bluffs Post Office and Santa’s help from children.
Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh visited Salote in Tonga on their world tour. They dined cross legged, ate roast pig and seafood with fingers as Tongan dancers performed. Natives served finger bowls as heat was tamed and a royal feast marked the Friendly Islands tradition.
The Coun cil Bluffs Mail Terminal resumed sorting Oregon mail on a temporary basis Saturday night. Postal officials say the move aims to save cost and maintain service, while clerks dispute the claim citing expected backhaul from Portland to eastern Oregon. A test run in late November sent parcels toward Pendleton with mixed routing and delays.
In Albert Lea Minnesota three nearby church ministers posted sermon subjects for this Sunday in this order: Where If fie, He is Hate, God Changes His Address. Speakers are Rev Harold O McMeyl First Baptist Rev Melford S Knutson First Lutheran and Rev Lloyd A Peterson First Presbyterian.
The U S Weather Bureau predicts mild Sunday with mostly sunny skies and high temperatures near 50. Sunday night will be cloudy but mild with lows around 32. Saturday's high reached 48 as cold conditions persisted east of the Appalachians along the Atlantic seaboard per Associated Press reports.
Dr Robert Milukan, Nobel physicist and cosmic rays authority, longtime head of Caltech, died Saturday at his home in San Marino after a long illness. He was 89.
In Versailles, deputies and senators failed to elect a new republic president on the sixth ballot. The session adjourned after a tense vote, with 397 to 23 margins in favor of the rightist candidate. The seventh ballot is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. local time.
Edna Sanford 32 mother of four from Pacific Junction died at a local hospital after a frosty morning crash that also killed Nora Keene 72. Keene, an invalid double amputee, was thrown from a car driven by Howard Sanford 39. Sanford’s group, en route to a religious service in Omaha, included four Sanford children injured but in good condition. Funeral plans for Keene and Sanford pending. Sanford and Keene survived by several relatives.
President Eisenhower concluded a three day White House meeting with Republican leaders on a 1954 legislative agenda. He said the program will protect security welfare and economic stability and judge foreign policy by does it advance the interests of America. He asserted progress and unity to resist Communist aggression and align with the 1952 GOP platform. The talks focused on taxes budget national defense gains and agriculture and labor policies.
A treatment plan signals a new era as Mills County tests water conservation methods. Details and pictures of the Mule Creek Watershed project appear on the Farm Page RC, highlighting the plan’s scope and potential impact on local farming.
A December 19 1953 report from the Associated Press notes multiple traffic fatalities tallying incidents reported in the region. The brief item lists casualties and mentions involved vehicles with terse, somber details.
Frank Cola 89 longtime resident near Harpers Ferry Iowa died Saturday at Waulson hospital from burns suffered when lamp fluid ignited. He was lighting a kerosene lamp in his shack when the fluid exploded, causing a fire that destroyed the shack.
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