The Next Adventure in This Week In History

Up until Hurricane Rita blew in as the story of the century last September, I'd been writing my little This Week in History column religiously every week for about four years. It appeared down the left corner of the Region page every Sunday since I started it in 2001
The post-storm shoving around of furniture, including the microfilm file cabinets and antique microfilm machine, prevented me from culling historical items for the weekly feature until a couple of months ago. I suppose I could have produced This Week in History for May, but I was busy and didn't get around to it.
I got back on the historical horse last week, I toted my coffee and yellow notepad into the library and renewed my foray into the past.
But things are a little different now.
Before Rita, I did the research in the office of Tom Taschinger, Enterprise editorial page editor. Using an old-time hand-crank microfilm machine, I'd pull Enterprise and Beaumont Journal items from one year, five years, 10 years and then every decade after that all the way back to the teens. I've tried to make it all the back a nice, even 100 years, but the microfilm images are spotty, and interesting items hard to find. I guess newsmakers took a breather after their turn-of-the-century revelry.
Tom and I spent quality time together, laughing over the bizarre and discussing some of the big news stories of the past. I often found terrific story ideas, such as the 30th anniversary of the terrible Elmer Wayne Henley serial killings and myriad long-forgotten stories that needed updating.
I've never gotten much reader feedback on This Week in History. For all I know, hardly anyone reads it. Occasionally, I'll make an error and hear about it. Then there was the item about a beauty queen from many decades ago. The beauty queen still lives here, and she called to thank me for reviving her moment in the pageant sun. I thought that was pretty cool.
Anyway, I'm sad to report that my time with Tom is over. The microfilm files have been moved to the library, which is Terry Maillet-Jones' turf, and the old-time microfilm machine has been moved to some mysterious building corner, with it's resting place possibly the newspaper lobby.
So now I'm using a fancy-pants high-tech microfilm machine and spend my quality history time with Terry. She likes a good laugh, and some of the things I find in the archives are funny, like the quack medicines, wrestling bears and elephant rampages.
I generally shoot for a nice blend of Huge Old News, the humorous, the bizarre and the horrific. By the end of this year, I will have looked at half of the Enterprise front pages published over the last 90 years. It's a pretty good community education.
Below is a sample, which ran Sunday. Maybe I'll post the feature in my blog every Monday:

Five years ago this week, Tropical Storm Allison formed suddenly in the Gulf and soaked Southeast Texas, causing widespread flooding and damage. The storm remained on the Top 10 list of most destructive storms in U.S. history until last year.
In other items that appeared during the week of June 21-27 in The Beaumont Enterprise and Beaumont Journal:

2005

* A painting that belonged to the wealthy Stark family of Orange fetched $4.72 million at an auction. The painting of a sleeping dog was by Dutch artist Gerrit Dou.u Hip-hop star Nelly performed at Ford Park.
* Two people were shot in the head at a Beaumont car wash off Washington.

2001

* A fire broke out on the junk- and tire-strewn property of Shelby Bush of Vidor.

1996

* Jefferson County Justice of the Peace Paul Brown faced removal because it was believed he “automatically resigned” when he decided to run for a school board position.
* Owners of Ohmstede Inc. of Beaumont decided to sell the 91-year-old company.

1986

* Rip Tyler invited all challengers to come wrestle his 7-foot-4, 800-pound bear, Ginger. The wrestling matches were at the Silver Spur bar in Silsbee. Ginger, a 13-year-old black bear, was undefeated.
* Heavy rains sparked widespread flooding in Southeast Texas.
* Leadership Beaumont graduates celebrated with a trip to Hawaii.

1976

* A Beaumont woman was held on a $50,000 bond after being accused of shooting a Jefferson County deputy.
* Veteran politician Carl Parker won his first term to the Texas Senate.
* A tornado obliterated houses in Nederland.

1966

* The 18,500-btu window-unit air-conditioners were on sale at Fingers for $249.95.
* Lamar registered 3,319 students for the summer session.
* "Doctor Zhivago" was playing at the Windsor.

1956

* Beaumont Mayor Jimmie P. Cokinos formed a group to study the city's water problems.
* U.S. Rep. Jack Brooks alleged a cover-up in a Cuban nickel plant probe.

* A posse in Leesville cornered an alleged kidnapper from Orange.

1946

* A 69-year-old man was charged with stabbing his son.
* Beaumont residents voted 2,795-1,508 to annex 21 square miles, adding 20,000 people to the towns population.
* "Son of Dracula," starring Lon Chaney, was playing at the Tivoli.

1936

* A man was sentenced to five years in prison for killing another man during a Silsbee dance hall fight.
* The owner of the Cadillac Bar in Beaumont broke his neck when he slipped and fell in his bathtub.u Camel cigarettes were advertised as being helpful to the digestive system.

1926, 1916, 1906

Managing Editor's note: The key to the microfilm to the years 1926 and earlier got lost in the post-Hurricane Rita cleanup of the third floor of The Enterprise. A locksmith is expected to address the problem soon. We apologize for any vacuum of entertainment this mishap has caused you and your family.