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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Dec 26, 1957
Page
1
A fragmentary diary record offers short glimpses into daily life with personal reflections and fleeting observations. The readable portions hint at routine events, social contacts, and domestic details typical of a private notebook.
Decatur city police logged a peaceful Christmas with no vehicle crashes. Arrests were made for reckless driving and other offenses as residents and visitors attended church holiday events and community gatherings.
The Alabama highway patrol credited cooperative weather and enforcement for a Christmas 30 hour period ending midnight Wednesday that saw only two highway fatalities. Additional deaths occurred in non traffic incidents including a shooting, a fire, and a shotgun accident. Police pursuits over drag racing near Tuskegee preceded a fatal crash on Highway 14 near Eutan.
Charles Pathé, a founder of the French film industry, died in Monaco at age 94. He began presenting shows with Kinetoscope and motion pictures at Paris fairs in 1894, and in 1896 co founded Pathé Cinéma with his brothers.
American editors choose the ten top news stories of 1957 in a backward glance with a missile emphasis. The preview signals a series covering scientific feats and major policy areas across business politics civil rights foreign affairs and defense.
Moscow reports show the Soviet Union advancing a seven point peace plan to rivals while denouncing the Western call for a foreign ministers disarmament conference. Pravda labeled Eisenhower and Dulles defense of peace as a cold war sermon.
Two wrecks near Cullman Alabama during the holiday weekend caused no injuries. A 1957 Mercury driven by Donald Qualls hit the rear of a 1955 GMC Semi trailer truck on Highway 287 about 3.2 miles east of Cullman, damage $500 to Qualls car. A 1957 Chevrolet station wagon driven by Scotty Cole collided with a 1949 Chevrolet pickup driven by Chester Skinner on Lone Stone Road near Jones Chapel. damages $150 and $50 respectively. Both incidents investigated by Patrolmen Chunn and Clemmons. no charges filed.
Cullman grammar school near Highway 69 was completely destroyed by a bus origin fire early this morning. A janitor sustained slight burns but was not hospitalized.
Advertisement notes all wool carpet sold by Bigelow’s located at Robinson’s on Second Avenue, price listed as 11.50 per yard.
Nationalist Chinese warships sank three of four Communist gunboats in a ten minute engagement off the Red China coast, near Tsinkiang Bay forty five miles north of Quemoy. One gunboat escaped and the Nationalist vessels were reported unscathed by headquarters.
Gerald Sarracini a 30 year old Toronto actor who played Romanoff in the Broadway show Romanoff and Juliet died of injuries from a Christmas Eve beating. His assailants have not been apprehended.
The body of Eugene Farris, 31, Geneva auto mechanic, was recovered in the Choctawhatchee River today near the earlier drowning site where he and his two sons, 5-year-old James and 8-year-old Harold, disappeared when a fishing boat overturned on December 14. Harold’s body was recovered that night, while James remains missing.
A Florida East Coast Railway passenger train crashed in Cocoa injuring up to ten people though no major injuries were reported. The 18 car Florida Special en route to Miami derailed eight cars, with tracks torn up blocking traffic.
President Eisenhower and Mrs. Eisenhower will spend about a week at their Gettysburg Pennsylvania farm over the New Year holiday to focus on the State of the Union and other messages to Congress. He will confer with Budget Director Percival Brundage and possibly other officials and will return in time for the January Civil Rights Commission meeting.
Morgan County sheriffs jailed seven for public drunkenness after a calm Christmas Day. Fire incidents were minor with one total car loss from a Courtland Road blaze and several non damaging fires due to soot and faulty flues. Police reported no injuries or traffic mishaps and a generally quiet holiday.
Night sky outline for Friday December 27 notes Moon at apogee around 11 04 p m and Venus Jupiter Mars and prominent stars Sirius and Regulus rising or visible in southwest sky with specified rise times and positions. Observations reference local celestial times and general sky visibility for observers.
Tennessee River reading at Keller Memorial Bridge this morning 17.10 feet with a 0.75 foot drop in 24 hours. Sea level reading 551.40 feet. High yesterday 58 at 3 pm. low 40 at 6:30 am today. At 10:30 am today 46. Rainfall 0.25 inches in 24 hours to 7 am. Forecast sunny and cool with NW winds. tonight clear and cold. Friday partly cloudy and cool with NW winds 20-30 mph diminishing tonight. turning SSW 12-18 mph Friday. Legal waterfowl shooting times Friday 6:25 am to 4:14 pm. Saturday 6:25 am to 4:14 pm.
Readable weather table lists high and low temperatures with rain indicators for Atlanta and Birmingham. Details show unspecified values and partial symbols.
A Christmas BB gun incident injured three year old Jackie Looney above the eye. She was treated and released from Decatur General Hospital. Seven year old Warren Mitchell Mayes fractured a bone playing football at home and was also treated and discharged.
Congress returns to work January 7 to face sharp defense spending increases and a likely rise in the national debt ceiling. Tax cuts are unlikely despite possible minor adjustments as lawmakers, up for re election, brace for a costly defense push and Russia's advances. Secretary McElroy indicated the Defense Department seeks another billion dollars.
United Engineering & Foundry Co said it received an order to build a hot strip mill for Reynolds Metals in Sheffield Alabama. The mill will be the largest ever built for rolling aluminum and is set for delivery in 1959.
The world resumes daily life after the holiday with Christians returning to routines. Refugees and troops face ongoing struggles as Christmas blends into New Year celebrations. In Singapore camps Dutch refugees await passage to the Netherlands, while a measles threat looms for Dutch children. At the South Pole a synthetic tree marks gifts for Navy personnel. Bethlehem hosts about five thousand pilgrims for a birth reenactment.
Deputies investigate theft at Dixie Home Feeds two miles east of Athens on Highway 72. Manager Mays Montgomery says birds had been missing before, locks were added to pen doors, and a wire fence was cut to gain entry.
Former President Truman criticized Eisenhower and Dulles Monday night TV remarks as gobbledygook. He said no policy statement was given and condemned the NATO Paris conference outcome. Truman, visiting with daughter Margaret Daniel, expects a Democratic win in 1960 and plans to return to Independence, Missouri Saturday.
More than 200 people died in auto crashes during the Christmas holiday period, with 219 traffic deaths, 27 in fires, and 26 in other causes for a total of 272. The toll exceeded nonholiday norms and national estimates, prompting calls for safer highway behavior and a lower New Year toll.
Chattanooga criminal court Judge Raulston Schoolfield warned attendees of his Nashville wake to ensure there is a corpse for the foregather. The remark followed a three hour closed door meeting Gov. Frank Clement held with investigators legal advisers legislative leaders and Chattanooga officials regarding payoffs in six cases from Schoolfield's court. Clement ordered an intensive inquiry by the Tennessee Bureau of Criminal Identification and a special prosecutor for Hamilton County.
Santa delivered gifts as two families welcomed newborn daughters yesterday. At 7:54 a.m. a Parker daughter arrived at Baugh-Wiley-Smith Clinic, Somerville 1, while at 10:00 a.m. a daughter joined the Eysters at Decatur General Hospital, 1501 20th Ave. SE. It was the Parkers’ fifth child and the Eysters’ first.
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