22L
www.news-sentinel.com
S A T U R D AY, O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 1 7
NEWS-SENTINEL COMMEMORATIVE EDITION: THE REPORTERS
Former police reporter remembers blast that killed two in 1966 By SHERYL KRIEG skrieg@news-sentinel.com
Most people remember the first day they settle into a new job. For Sam Satterthwaite, he will never forget
his second day on the job at The News-Sentinel in which a natural gas explosion at Phelps Dodge in New Haven killed two people. Satterthwaite was hired on Aug. 22, 1966, and began
THANKYOU!!
Voted Top Nail & Hair Salon! We have been serving the Fort Wayne community for 19 years. Our goal is to give our guests the best consultation they have ever had and follow with quality results. We teach our guests how to maintain their services at home with the professional products we use and recommend.
Instant Online Gift Certificates – SouthWestHairSpa.com
FIND YOURSELF SOUTHWEST 6610 W. Jefferson Boulevard • Fort Wayne
rounds the very next day. Living in Huntington at the time, he said he’d stop at the Indiana State Police post at Time Corners first before stopping at the jail in what is now the History Center, as well as visiting the vice squad and courts in the downtown area. That Tuesday, however, his rounds were interrupted by word that there was an explosion at the Phelps Dodge building in New Haven. Satterthwaite went to a pay phone to tell his editor what he was working on when a man pulled up in a car that looked as if it had been shot up. He asked if Satterthwaite was a reporter. When Satterthwaite said yes, the man said he’d give Satterthwaite a first-hand account of the explosion after he called his wife to let her know he was alive.
Satterthwaite gave the pay phone to the man and ran across the street to use another pay phone to inform his editor what was happening. The man said he had gone to lunch with a friend and was standing by the car talking to each other when the natural gas explosion took place, Satterthwaite recalled. The two men ducked underneath the car as glass penetrated the exterior of the car. Satterthwaite said he worked on front-page coverage of the explosion that killed two people until 9 p.m. — his byline misspelled by the copy desk may be due to his just being hired. When he retired 20 years ago, he received a framed copy of that Aug. 23, 1966 front page. During Satterthwaite’s
Need to sell your home? I can do it! Rick Widmann ®
Broker/RealtoR /Marketing Specialist 260-704-6565 email: widc21@gmail.com
By Sheryl Krieg of The News-Sentinel
Sam Satterthwaite shows one of two Reporter of the Year awards from the Fraternal Order of Police and a framed front page of the second day that Satterthwaite worked at The News-Sentinel that he received when he retired 20 years ago.
seven years of covering public safety, he garnered the Fraternal Order of Police’s Reporter of the Year in 1967 and 1970. Later he became a jackof-all-trades — typing obituaries and TV listings and working in the library. He hobnobbed with celebrities at newspaper conventions in New York and Minneapolis, which included stars who fought to keep their show on the air. When “Barney Miller” was dumped its first year, Abe Vigoda, Hal Linden and Gregory Sierra gave a pleth-
Travis Auto Service provides top-notch service with a smile! Providing Trusted Service Since 2006!
Thank you to our customers, Family & Friends. 260-486-3953 | 7515 Maplecrest Rd. | Fort Wayne, IN | Hours: 8am to 5pm M-F
ora of newspaper interviews to save the show. “They got enough newspaper coverage to stay on the air,” he said. Times were simpler in the 1960s as he recalled only one murder in 1967 and officers were a bit freer with showing him evidence that would be presented in court or speaking more freely about crimes that had taken place. He said it was not unusual to see vice squad officers watering marijuana plants as they waited for trial. Another time an Indiana State Police trooper pulled him aside to tell him about a counterfeiting operation that had just been busted. Two or three men were counterfeiting company checks with various company logos. Their downfall? “The ink wasn’t dry when they took a check to the Brass Rail,” he said. “The check smudged when the bartender touched it.”
Businesses face constant risk. You can’t afford to get it wrong and you don’t have time to waste. The Gibson Protection System (GPS) is a game changer, utilizing an ongoing process of assessment and planning to keep you ahead of the curve. Most agents and brokers see quoting insurance as the only solution for risk. At Gibson our quest goes beyond a policy. We navigate the landscape of risk, guiding you securely to your destination using GPS.
www.GibsonIns.com