The Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 178, Ed. 1 Sunday, December 18, 1955 Page: 1 of 86
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Eagles State Champs 2nd Yeai
ow; See Pg.
FAIR,
COOL
The Abilene Reporter-32e1s SUNDAY
VOL. LXXV, NO. 178
"WITHOUT OR WITH OFFENSE TO FRIENDS OR FOES WE SKETCH YOUR WORLD EXACTLY AS IT GOES---Byron
Amoelated Pen = , ABILENE, TEXAS, SUNDAY MORNING, DEC. 18,1955-EIGHTY PAGES IN SIX SECTIONS —
PRICE DAILY Sc, SUNDAY 10c
Eagle Fans Roar
Salute to Champs
By LEO LAMBERT
Reporter-News Staff Writer
Abilene’s greatest day in recent football history was
unreeled Saturday not only on the playing field but in the
stands as more than 7,000 loyal Eagle boosters traveled to
Cowtown to see the Warbirds take the state championship
over Tyler.
It was a big day for everybody from the Key City and
West Texas, including the
more than 900 fans who rode
the special train to Fort
Worth.
Teenagers said it was the
greatest day of their lives
as far as high schol activities
are concerned and parents
and fans said the Warbird
squad of 1955 far surpassed
any high schol team they’ve
seen in a long time.
Everybody went wild at the final
gun in TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium
Saturday afternoon. It was the re-
alization of a climax that had been
building up all year.
From the time the Eagle Special
pulled out of the T&P station in
Abilene at 7:30 a.m. until the game
ended late in the afternoon, nobody
from West Texas even thought of
defeat Some were only skeptical
enough to say. “It will be a good
game "
That was the understatement of
1 - the year
Spontaneous pep rallies broke out
at intervals on the train as Eagle
■ students and pep squad leaders
marched through the coaches lead-
ing veils and chanting Warbird
fight songs.
Pep Rally to Depot
PIERSON AWAITS
TEXAS RANGERS
SYRACUSE, N.Y., Dec. 17 in
—Howard Merrit Pierson, char-
ged with the murder of his
mother and father, Texas Su-
preme Court Justice William
Pierson, to 1935, was held by
police today awaiting the ar-
rival of a Texas Ranger and
a Texas county sheriff.
Pierson, who has twice es-
caped from state mental hos-
pitals to Texas, lured his par-
ents to a lonely road near Aus-
tin and killed them.
35 Killed Over State
Series
When the 19-car special pulled
into the Fort Worth depot, high
school students staged a loud 15-
minute pep rally in the T&P lobby.
Special city buses carried the 900
Eagle boosters to Amon Carter
Stadium at noon. And for two
hours, until game time, the 28,000
fans from East and West Texas
and the Fort Worth area, filed into
the stands.
Tension was high on both sides
as Tyler’s huge band and colorful
majorettes presented a pre-game
marching exhibition on the field.
The Tyler High School girls
marched on the dusty turf to the
music of the Blue-and-White band.
The Eagle Band was equally col-
orful as were the majorettes. The
Eagle and Lion bands performed
at halftime.
But, once the game got under-
way, the color quickly shifted to
the gridiron as Abilene let fast and
hard
Coach Chuck Moser and the
champion Eagles were kings for a
day Saturday along with the other
Abilene coaches—Wally Bullington,
Hank Watkins, Bob Groseclose,
I Shorty Lawson, Tommy Morris, B.
L Blackburn and Nat Gleaton.
Superintendent A E Wells said
after the game, "They're the great-
art bunch of boys not only in foot-
I ball but scholastically, too.
“I think they played the greatest
game today that any group of boys
could ever play,” he added
Dozens of Eagle Boosters waited
outside the dressing room and
cheered each player and coach as
they came out, ___
77,
Aishaps
-pro 18 Persons
e Die in Four
— Accidents
" . them BEAUMONT, Dec. 17 (B—A wave
I T-n- of fires and multi-death automobile
mhs J am crashes yesterday and today killed
35 persons in Texas. .
In four instances of tragedy
alone, 18 persons were killed. To
this were added other fire deaths
to make the total from that cause
16, and automobile traffic deaths
totaled 15. Miscellaneous violent
death causes accounted for the
others.
The multi-death instances were
these:
Four elderly people burned to
death when fire leveled a rest
home at Beaumont.
Five Grid Fans
Five Weslaco high school foot-
ball fans en route to a big game
at Waco died ■ a headon crash
near Halletsville in South Texas.
In another headon crash near
Belton, five more were killed to-
th
THE WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION — The Abilene
Eagles defeated Tyler, 33-13, Saturday afternoon to win
the Class AAAA state schoolboy football championship
their second in succession and fifth in history. Members := M-padeh
of the 1955 team are: BOTTOM ROW. (left to right - Yanen Mntddn
Manager Roy Reid, Charles Bottoms Guy Wells, Hubert ____________-
Air Base Housing
Bic
pening Set
WORTH, Dec. 17—The project at the Abilene base was the
first of its kind authorized under
the Service Housing Act of 1965,
successor to the Wherry Housing
Act, which limited cost per unit to
an average cost of $8,100. Under
the new act, the cost per unit can
FORT
Federal Housing Authority Satur-
day approved plans for 94 bousing
units at Abilene Air Force Base
and issued a certificate of
eligibility. Approval was granted
by Edward Dee, district FHA di-
rector, to Fort Worth.
Capt. J. W. Noll, purchasing and
contracting officer tor Carswell Air
Force Base, announced he was in-
viting bids on the project. A pub
le bid opening will be held at Cars-
well AFB on Jan. 26, he said.
Dee said the $12.5 million housing
average $13,500.
Plans and specifications tor the
housing area may be otained from
the purchasing and contract officer
at Carswell AFB.
The Air Force will own the
houses and collect rent from them
to retire the FHA loans on the
houses. The FHA loans are for 100
per cent, and the Defense Dept,
guarantees private investors.
Five hundred and sixty-six of the
units will be assigned to airmen
and their families. The rest will be
occupied by officers and their fam-
ilies. With the arrival here of the
complete wing personnel, Air
Force officials estimate there will
be more than 600 Air Force fami-
lies housed in the city after the on-
base houses are occupied. The
houses on the base will be occupied
by officers and airmen whose jobs
require them to be near their work.
Bullets Riddle
Tax Employe
EAGLES BEAT TYLER! - That’s what Dorothy Kemp,
er center along with other Abilene High School
students pictured on the special trainto Fort Worth
Saturday Dorothy $ lettered dress speaks for me "hole
student body. She is the daughter of Mr.ond Mrs How
ard a Kemper of 1140 Matador St. ^ Photo
PH-== 6===es
THIRD ROW — Manager Bill Teague, Mike Pelfry, Ger-and Harold---------------------------
NEWS INDEX
SECTION A
Obituaries ......
04 ........
SECTION a
Albany Nativity ....
City Hell Best -
Book news .......
Editorials ......
SECTIONC
Holiday Brides
Christmas Belles
Fashionably Speaking
Abilene Club Open Hour
Women of the Year
Hollywood Beouly .
Campus Chatter
Abilene Datebeck.
11
12-13
: id
..14
SECTION D
Spe-.-.-.. 1-23445
Form news............11
Church news..........1
Redie, TV logs........12
Bonds Voted
By Knox City
KNOX cm. Dec. n INS)-
Voters of the Knox City Independ
ent School District approved 1
$200,000 bond tama here Saturday
99 to n.
DESTITUTE FAMILY JUST ONE CASE
Many Here Will Be Hungry,
Cold Without Goodfellows
“It’s time," said Mr Goodfellow,
“to take off the kid gloves "
“You read Friday about am
bunch of starving, shivering kids
in Abilene. That’s just one case.
There are hundreds in Abilene
who’ll feel the bite of the cold wind
on their backs Chris.mas Day.
They’ll feel the bite of an empty
stomach. Where your children will
look at a pile of new toys—they ll
look at a bare space on a rotting
Money from the bond issue will
be used both for remodeling and
new construction at the high schools
and for new furniture and equip
ment tor the school system.
Plans call hr removal of the
upper story of the present high
school building, construction of ad
ditions on the east and west of
the building, construction of a
cafetorium, remodeling of the gym-
By with more than six people gets
$25.
“That’s the only way we can
stretch our budget to give a little
Christmas to more than 700 fami-
lies who live right inside Abilene.
Road to Main Gate
Al Air Base May
Little Goodfellewa, Pr. IC
They re folks hungry and cold
each day, and we know them by
name. If we reach all we know
about, we’ve got to get $8,500 from
the Goodfellows who live and give
to Abilene.
*od do you thank
you could buy for nine people with
$12,507 That’s how much script we
give families with nine people.
That’s all we can give any one
family even if there’s a dozen to
the family
“If there’s just am person, we
give to worth of food script: for
two, $5; for three, $6; tor four, W:
. for five, $. for six, $9: and for
. seven, $10 How many manto can
you get of that money? _____.
‘"Look at the clothing allotment
we give. One person living alone
gets $5: two people get $8.50; three
get $12; four get $15.50; five get
$19; six get $22.30 and every fam-
WICHITA FALLS, Tex., Dec 17______-_____
un—A bullet-riddled body of a 26- nasium, new furniture and equip
year-old city tax office employe ment, and possibly construction of
was discovered today by two a dressing room at foe Greyhound
youths who were hunting about one athletic field.
mile west of here. The election was held in the
identified by a laundry mark on American Legion Rail. C. C Hoge,
• Jacket be was wearing Jack election judge, was assisted by
Spangler was found lying on his Claud E. Reed.
back in a shallow diehcat theinde Christmas shopping was credited
Kron NeT YAM FARM RoWE with being tin man cause tor the 2
Officers said there were marks |nsht vote. __________mos
near the body indicating it had
torn dragged about M feet from a
car parted on the nearby read.
General s Mom Dies
BELTON, Tex., Dec. IT un—Mrs.
Sam S. Walker, abort 86, mother
of Gen. Walton H Walker, forme.
*h army commander who was kill-
ed in a jeep accident to Korea to
December, 1950, died here today at
her home.
THE WEATHER
As autopsy revealed that Spang
tor had been shot four times to
the chest with a38 gun and struck
at least once on the head with an
unidentified object Justice of the
Peace HM (Doe) Newman said
it appeared Spangler had been shot
elsewhere and taken to the spot
where the body was found
The autopsy also revealed Spring
ler had been killed some time last
night. J
“It’s only six days until Christ-
mas. Please can’t you sit down
Sunday and write us a check. R
will take $500 every day all this
week to make enough money to
feed our people in Abilene. * will
soon be gone, but we can help
them have a happier Christmas
than they thought possible.
“It’s not just children, but
they’re the main ones. It’s a lot of
older men and women, whose pen-
sions have been exhausted long
ago. And some of our citizens are
Open Wednesday
Sometime soon, possibly this
week, workers at Abilene Air Force
Base can forget about the booe
jarring ride over dirt roads.
Air Force Information Service
Office said it hoped the connecting
road from U.S. Highway 80 west
of Abilene would be opened Wednee ---------
day. The read, underpassing the alone, to family and not old
south lane of U.S. 80 west, connects enough for a pension check,
with the main gate and access
road for the base _ ,
Jake Roberts, district highway pays so little.
engineer, said to hoped foe State “We’re desperate. Just as des
Highway Department could open perate as the folks we must help,
the road before Christmas, too the Think of those children and old
opening depended upon for con- folks today, and how you
tractor’s finishing work on the four-
lane divided highway.
•* BRTAFTEEPT SEASONNERCE
HIH**H
TEIAS
SHOPPING
UDAYS LEFT s
r--Help Fight T-3 1
LAY
FM
day.
At McAllen to South Texas yes-
terday, * gas explosion burned
four small children to death.
Fire which raced through a 10-
room, frame nursing home at
Beaumont killed Mrs. Emma Harp-
er, 82; Mrs. Malathann Cox, 80;
Mrs. O E. Per 7 e Ma
MFre cher steve oConor called
* the most tragic happening in his
17 years’ service. Six other elderly
residents of the home were res-
cued. Mrs. Etta Redman, 77, was
severely burned. O Conor blamed
the fire on a defective heater.
Mrs. Doris Woodall, operator of
the home, said her first inkling
the place was on fire came when
she heard someone calling tranti-
cally from the rear of the house
about 4 a.m.
Four of Family
The five killed at Halletsville
were on their way to the Weslaco-
Hillsboro championship game.
They were James Holmes, 48; his
wife, Clementine, 46; Re ert Mar-
tin SR g E A
Mrs. Thomas Martin.
Four members of a Greenville
family were among the five killed
to the headon two-car crash 10
miles south of Belton. They were
Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Love: their
sons, Rufus Jr., 15, and Sammie.
13; and Sgt. Joseph Lyvers. *
Loretta, Ky., a soldier at Fort
Hood. Love, sa. war a Greenville
manufacturer. Lyvers was in the
other car. .
Burned to death to fire which
swept their quonset hut tome near
McAllen yesterday were Maria
Moncerrata, » months old; Mario
Moncerrata, 2; Amadeo Mercado,
7 months old, and Eva Mercado,
3. They were children if two fami-
lies living to the quonset.
Fell Asleep
Mrs. Lorayne Friedlander, 51. of
Tyler, was fatally burned at Tyler
Friday in a fire apparently caused
by a cigarette which fell on her
bed. Justice P. C. Pinkerton said
she apparently fell asleep while
smoking in bed. ._____
Hardin Collins, 35, burned to
" " death Friday night in a fire which
CM.TNI destroyed his home at Palmer,
See NEEDY, Pr. 15 A. Cal. 1 I south of Dallas.
“We see them all...widows, with
a houseful of kids and a job which
Christmas Buying
Hits Record Pace
All signs pointed toward a merry
and expensive Christmas for sea
son-conscious Abilenians Saturday.
A 11 out of 13 stores contacted
Saturday afternoon, Christmas
sales were running from 10 to 28
percent above 1954, with the peak
period in buying yet to be reached.
At the other two stores, sales were
equal to last year’s level. .
This was the r port of officials
of the Abilene business firms, who
said. “We’ve sold a lot of men’s
furnishings, shirts, ties, underwear.
Automatic washers and television
sets are the major items to ap-
depleted the stock of different ar
ticks of merchandise at two local
department stores where managers
reported an increase of at least M
percent to sales over 1955.
Women De Buying
Firm officials also agreed that
buying was general and that from
7 to 8 percent of the sales were
“The women hold the purse
strings these days," a firm manag
J. R. Dumas, assistant manager
of Sears, Roebuck h Co., reported
• * percent increase to sales over
1954 and said that Saturday’s shop
pers probably would pooh store, ***-=
sales close to the total 1954 Decem- service check stands have been in
pliances.”
Buyers are not nearly as “price-
conscious" this year, according to
oner, who said that business is run
ning about to percent above NM
at the total store.
“People are buying steadily and
without hesitation,” he said. ‘The
toy business has been good, and
we re selling a lot of-all elect
*===
agreed: _
1. That the average family has
more money to spend this year.
1 That buying started earlier and
to heavier.
s. That Abilene’s increased popt
lation to a major reason for the
4 ======______________________
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The Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 178, Ed. 1 Sunday, December 18, 1955, newspaper, December 18, 1955; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1653950/m1/1/?rotate=90: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Public Library.