HEADLINES: Headlines, they are on every story and are what catches the eye of the reader.

The same has been true throughout the history of newspapers. And we must say, looking back through Era archives, some headlines certainly caught our eyes.

“One-armed man kills one-legged man” brought us to a halt. It wasn’t Richard Kimble they were talking about, but a one-armed man in Indiana who was being held up by a one-legged man when he brought the incident to a close with some Smith & Wesson assistance.

“Congress gets ready to hurry” was another eye-opener. It was about legislators doubling down in the final weeks of session to make sure important legislation was passed.

“Taunts and jibes goad probers and others to riotous pitch” was another favorite. It was regarding the federal prosecution of Gaston B. Means, a con artist and spy in 1924.

“Fourteen barrels of alleged beer taken, three men arrested.” This was during Prohibition, and the story was quite something. “The arrest followed an all-night vigil by the officers who had been tipped off to the concealment of beer in the woods skirting the road.” One of the three scallywags was driving a truck loaded with beer from St. Marys to Jamestown when he ran into a ditch. He unloaded the barrels and hid them, going to find some helpers to get his truck back on the road. “While he was away, he hired a farm boy to watch the cache. Information about the frothy consignment leaked out through the boy and the county detective soon arrived on the scene.” The officers waited until the men loaded the beer back in the truck before making the arrest. Good thinking.