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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Jan 01, 1942
Page
1
Community and mine news mix with cotton price notes from AB and holiday delays. Local weather updates mingle with public notices, obituaries and election ballot reminders. several residents and businesses are referenced in brief items, including Mrs George Burr and Miss Ollie Nelson.
Inmates rioted at Bridgewater state farm in Massachusetts killing three guards and firing at buildings as flames swept through the four story structure. Fire crews from surrounding towns battled the blaze while officials reported some inmates were removed and others herded to nearby quarters. State police and warden Warren identified the guards as Howard B. Mosley and Leo Lanary.
President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill resumed talks on world war strategy to defeat the Axis. Churchill returned from Canada and toasted victory in a New Year train dining car. He signaled intensified aerial warfare and Allied offensives across Europe Asia Atlantic and Pacific.
A report on farm program appropriations reveals sharp criticism from a national committee. Members denounce substantial reductions including hundreds of millions in emergency aid and operations funding, while agriculture officials defend targeted savings amid ongoing fiscal pressures.
A 1942 document urges citizens to defect the presency by investing in U S bonds and savings, outlining steps to purchase and promote patriotic financial support during wartime.
Casto Jarvis manager of the Alabama Dairy Products Corp. on Bank Street announced improvements costing five to six thousand dollars to add about 2000 square feet of floor space. They plan to double capacity and enlarge refrigeration to meet a milk flow surge this summer. The plant's current volume is more than triple from a year ago, with nearly $100,000 paid to about 900 farm patrons in Morgan, Lawrence and Limestone counties in the past four months.
Postmaster R T Sheppard announced Decatur postal receipts for 1941 reached 77350, the highest in three years of his tenure. Receipts were 70000 in 1939 and 72000 in 1940, with Christmas business boosting December 1941 by about 83 percent over December 1940.
Courtland residents raise a $100 cash prize for the first American aviator to bomb Tokyo. Clarence Horton, a Courtland merchant and American Legion commander, said the money was collected locally and would be awarded to the aviator who reaches the target first.
Mayor T R Harrison received a letter from Maury Maverick chief of governmental requirement branch in Washington asking what equipment is needed for Decatur air raid alarms. He expects government to furnish rent or priority rating to buy it. Decatur lacks a siren meeting the five mile audible requirement but will adopt national standard air raid regulations.
The Rev army reports recapturing Kaluga 110 miles southwest of Moscow and destroying a Nazi force of about 250 000 as it drives on Lenin grad and the Crimean fronts. It says a brigade of Hitler's Elite Guards was destroyed after being flown from Krakow to halt the advance.
London reports Britain's commando force, including Polish and Free Norwegian units, spent days on Lofoten island off northern Norway. They captured some personnel, sank a German patrol vessel, and disrupted enemy sea communications with no casualties or equipment damage.
Dewitt Mackenzie chronicles Adolf Hitler's 1918 entrance into the war year with fervor and a vision of a Europe ruled by one dominant race. The piece notes German high command and a looming great offensive on New Year’s Day as the climactic war year unfolds.
The March to victory text swelled as troops faced a dire moment. Haig’s orders urged each man to hold, fight to the end, and not retire with backs to the wall. April 11 marked a date unforgettable to those on the battlefield.
A major engagement north of Manila ongoing at 11:30 pm Manila time, with American and Philippine forces resisting the Japanese advance. The War Department reports heavy losses for the invaders as defenders hold strong positions and inflict damage. Submarine activity had shelled the area with no casualties.
A Netherlands East Indies communique reports an American freighter was attacked by Japanese planes in Northern East Indies waters. The ship was set on fire and abandoned. forty-eight crewmen were rescued, one is missing.
On New Year’s Day Admiral Chester W. Nimitz warned reporters at Pearl Harbor that Japanese forces could threaten the Hawaiian Islands if Manila and the Philippines fall. He said the Pacific fleet would do its utmost to prevent enemy control and noted the risk of submarine shelling of West Coast cities as the war progress shifts across the Pacific.
Across the Allied and Axis zones people welcomed 1942 with mixed cheer and grim resolve. In New York City crowds in Times Square celebrated under heavy police and air raid precautions while Pacific coast cities held indoor gatherings. London and other wartime cities marked the new year with modest, quiet celebrations as blackout rules and shortages shaped the mood.
A tornado hit Theodore Alabama on January 1 injuring more than a dozen and killing a Brookley Field worker identified as Mr Summerlin. The twister damaged four buildings and six others in the business district at about 7 a.m. and left several cafe patrons hurt en route to the Sugar Bowl game.
The National Safety Council reports 61 holiday deaths for the period, with 40 from traffic and 21 from miscellaneous causes. Ohio records eight New Year fatalities, while overall death toll nears 40,000 possible, a figure close to 1937's 39,643.
War Department communique reports three Hawaiian shores struck by shells and no submarines saw damage. It confirms ongoing battles near Manila with strong defense by American forces and mentions MacArthur praised as masterful amid stiff Japanese resistance.
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