TEW MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Wednesday, Dtetabr 1, 1954
Love-Crazed North Bend Man Killed By Cops
While Caressing Picture of Dancing Girl
Los Angeles (U.R) A love
crazed Oregon man was shot to
death today in a gun fight 'with
police who tried to arrest him as
he stood on the stage of a de
serted burlesque theater and
caressed pictures of a dancer he
called "my red-headed angel."
Police identified the man from
a driving license as Roger Wing
Whittier, 26, North Bend, Ore.
They said he apparently was
driven into a distraught state of
mind by his unreturned love for
a beautiful red-haired stripper.
The dancer, shapely Loretta
Miller, 25, appears nightly at the
theater, the New Follies. She
said she never had met : Whittier
but had received two rambling,
two-page letters from him in
which he expressed his love for
her.
The first letter arrived Friday,
Miss Miller said. Part of it read:
"I've been worshipping you
from afar. I have a gun and 300
rounds of ammunition and I
will force my way backstage
just to hold you in my arms. I
don't want to go through with
it though, as I won't want to put
fear in you. I don't want to see
terror Jn your face."
Miss Miller had police protec
tion that night. A second letter
Force laboratories in Washing
ton. ; :.
Sylacauga Mayor Ed J. How
ard, apparently unaware of the
Air Force's- plans, said the nine
pound object would be placed
in the state Museum of Natural
History at the University of
Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
But the 32-year-old Mrs.
Hodges : and her husband said
they planned to demand that the
Air Force return the stone-like
object to them as a souvenir.
Heard Explosion '
She said she was lying on her
sofa when she heard the explo
sion that was plainly visible to
persons from Atlanta .to Green
ville, Miss. A few seconds later
she said, the meteorite came
tearing through the roof of her
home.
Mr. Hodges, who was, later
treated for shock and bruises,
said she ran outside after re
gaining her composure and saw,
about a mile up, "a kind of boil
ing smoke."
Alabama Woman, Struck by Meteorite,
Demands To Keep Object as Souvenir
Sylacuaga, Ala. U.R Mrs.
Hulett Hodges, the first known
person ever struck, by a falling
meteorite, demanded today that
the Air Force return the one
that ripped into her home and
injured her.
The meteorite, six or eight
Inches in diameter, fell through
her roof leaving . a three-foot
hole and struck her on the hip
and hand Tuesday afternoon.
She was only slightly injured,
however, by the object that may
have been one of many that fell
from a 40-mile high explosion
visible in three states.
Crew Examines Object
A helicopter crew from Max
well Air Force Base, Ala., flew
to Mrs. Hodges' home to exam
ine the object and the Air Force
said it would be taken to Air
Bomb Discovered
In Engine Room
Of British Sub
,m .
EXAMINING EARS OF CORN which had been declared tops &t
Chicago's International live Stock Show, these judges are about
to disqualify entry because some of kernels were glued to cob.
From left: Floyd Kiner, Harry T. Ryan, J. C. Hackleman, Carl
Borgeson, E. S. Dyas and Lewis C. Saboe. (hUernatiomd
London (U.R) A saboteur
planted a bomb in the engine
room of Britain s round tne
world" submarine- Artemis at
sea last week, endangering the
lives of all the 60 men aboard,
it was reported today.
The explosive charge was dis
covered in time to prevent what
might have become an unex
plained disaster like the sinking
of the Artemis sister ship Af
fray in the English Channel
three years ago. Seventy-five
men perished when the Affray
went down.
Tampering Confirmed
The Admiralty confirmed that
the main engines of the Artemis
have been tampered with," but
added "there was no damage."
Naval officers declined further
comment except to say the 1120
ton submarine has been ordered
back to its Scottish base pending
an investigation. T;- ; ; . .
The Artemis, a long range,
snorkel-equipped submarine op
erating out of the Firth of Clyde,
was cruising the Atlantic west of
"Britain when the bomb was dis
covered last Wednesday. It was
not certain whether the sabotage
charge was planted before or
alter it sailed. I
arrived Saturday. It warned her
that she might . "get a thrill
knowing that as you dance on
stage there will be a gun on
you." Officers arrested a man in
the audience over the 'week end.
They told the dancer they had
the letter-writer, but she refused
to press charges when she learn
ed he was unarmed.
"After all," said the dancer,
"the letters were rather am
biguous and lead one to the con
clusion that the writer was defi
nitely neurotic."
She said today's gunfight on
the stage was "amazing."
The gunfight occured at 6 a.m.
Whittier apparently climbed over
an iron gate to enter the theater
through the front door... Only
the police and Whittier were in
the theater.
Received Phone Call
An anonymous telephone-call
sent police to the theater where
officers saw Whittier - on the
stage. Detective Ronny Nathan
said Whittier, holding a .32 Span
ish automatic, was "caressing"
a picture of one of the theater's
dancers. Whittier threatened to
kill anyone who bothered him,
Nathan said.
When police ordered Whittier
to drop the gun, he fired a shot,
nicking Nathan's left ear. The
detective and uniformed officer
R. L. Raymond fired three times.
One shot struck Whittier in' the
heart and another hit him in the
head.
Whittier, described by police
as "ruggedly handsome" and
about 6 feet 2 inches, had scrawl
ed three inscriptions on the
stage in chalk. The inscriptions,
in foot-high : letters, read, "Lo
retta, dearest angel face, good
bye angel face."
Real Shooting Match
Penciled across the pictures
which he had torn from a bill
board in the theater foyer was:
"Angel face, all I can do is wor-
hip you."
Polics said Whittier had 100
rounds of ammunition on the
stage.
"It looked as if he were set
for a real shooting match." said
one officer. ... '
In a pocket police found a six-
inch hunting knife, honed to
razor sharpness. Whittier also
had a bus ticket for San Fran
cisco. A bullet ripped through a
timetable in a shirt pocket.
;, ltyearslNotyears!
H$& Imagine! f 10 ' ,t
F " i ?'
C Iji i Wli,, j i tteZowjj gives V- Weca"se thu t OnLA.C" jTMi f 4
tilwy ' i'"'
s;TTie;Bourbon-man'8 Bourbon ' T
BHE STRAIGHT 60VS80N WHISKER PBOOFeUfcQUAXER DISTIUIUS COIWWVUWBCHCUUHVWAN
JUST
NORTH
OF
MEDFORD
i Nobody
But
Nobody
Can Afford
Not To
SHOP
DUNHAM'S
: If W f 'Sfc
. .MPm&,,r ' ' it SWh '' .
, Your Billy and Ruth
"AMERICA'S FAMOUS TOY CHILDREN"
TOY STORE FOR
SOUTHERN OREGON
HEY KIDS!!
This Week You Will
Be Getting Your
BIG
FULL COLOR
52 Page
TOY BOOK
from
Billy and Ruth
All the Wonderful
Toys You Can See at
DUNHAM'S
5
CHARM-AID ,
GLASSWARE ; I fSW'KW '
TV SET J pH WmTO'
v&r Jlslll KJSv?
0 8 Light Series ScX
SET Um Bulbc...
0 7 Light 75c
JUULTIF'LE SET. Im. hulk. ' M W I
o Aero Snow QSc S
' 1 ' Putli Button FUkM, all colon W y S-
MANY X ml
SALE ITEMC
Still Available , V V.
They Make Wonderful IVHSv V
GIFTS lvC5I
and Oh So Reasonable ', NWj! I
At DUNHAM'S "
8"
...bcLGCiionc!
Stainless Steel Flintware Serving
Forks each 99c
Black Iron Candle Holder by Ekco, pr. 98c
o Futuramic Toy Jet Cars ................-98c
o Large Plastic Cars ... ........... ....59c
Hand Puppets ;...98c
O S. F. Cable Car ............... ......86c
o Antique Cars ... ......69c to 98c
o Skip Ropes . 29c
o Brass Trivets .1 ..............89c
o Leather Wallets :...99c
o Shawnee Tea Pots
Finest China ...........89e
. Shawnee China Pictures
numerous sizes ....45c to 98c
o Aluminum 2-cup Perk ..94c
o tgg Poachers ....;........:79c
mnn's more
Delightful Holiday
GIFTS
OPEN .
TONIGHT
And Every Night
DUNHAM'S OF COURSE