The Maycomb Press

The Maycomb PressDecember 13, 1939 Providing news & opinion to the citizens of Maycomb, Alabama since 1919Trial Leaves Courtroom Unsatisfiedby: Katie K.Last Sunday a jampacked court room watchedas the trial of Tom Robinsontook place. Tensions wererunning high and everyonewas hoping for a fair trial.Robinson, a residentof Maycomb was beingtried for the rape and abuseof Mayella Ewell, a 19girl also from Maycomb.Defending Robinson wasAtticus Finch and the judgeTaylor was present also.Three witnesses were calledto the stand.Both Mayella and herFather, Bob Ewell, bothclaimed that Robinson allegedlyhit and then tookadvantage of Mayella insideof her house after she hadasked him to chop somefirewood for her. Whenquestioned Robinson deniedany of the accusationsLawyer Atticus Finch and his client Tom Robinson at his trial for rape. Submitted photo.against him, he said he “feltsorry for the girl, and onlywas helping her out.” Aftera very long afternoon ofdeliberating the jury foundthe defendant guilty of allcharges.“A fair trial definitelydid not take place today,”says Finch, “In that courtroom stood and innocentman. They had no right toaccuse him, let alone chargehim, with any of the thingshe was found guilty oftoday.”Even though Robinsonwas found guilty a secondtrial still could be takingplace.Local Fire Destroys Houseby: Lexi A.On a chilly evening last TuesdayMiss. Maudie Atkinson’s house of 269Buttercup Lane caught fire due to herleaving her stove on to long. Whilethey weren’t successful in savingMaudie’s house they were successfulin preventing the fire to spread to otherhouses nearby.“Everyone tried their hardest tosave as much as they could.” saidMr. Avery who helped salvage Miss.Maudie’s belongings. “As I feel badfor Miss. Maudie herself, I know thatmembers of the community will helpsupport her but I’m just very glad thatno one was hurt tonight.The fire started around 1 am andended around 4 o’clock am. The firetruck was present to help prevent thespread of it. Despite this tragedy we’reglad that Miss Maudie is able to lookat it with a positive perspective.“My house was just too big andempty for just myself. I now planon building a smaller house so I canhave a larger garden.” Said Maudie.“Because of the freezing weather andsnow I moved some plants inside andset them next to the stove and I justleft it on to long I guess.”Miss. Maudie is very lucky thather neighbors caught it right away andhelped salvage her important belongings.

December 13, 1939 Page 2Letters to the EditorMastheadDear Mr. Underwood,I was at the courthouseyesterday to witness the casewhere Mr. Tom Robinson endedup being convicted guiltyof raping Mayella Ewell. Afterbeing shown all the evidencethat Atticus Finch presented tothe courtroom and listening toTom’s story, I couldn’t believethat the jury could still possiblyfind Tom guilty. I wouldjust like to say that I stronglydisagree with the verdict. Tome, I think that it should bereconsidered.I am convinced that everyonecould see right throughthe transparent and unconvincingstory the Ewells made up.Everyone heard Mr. Heck Tate,Bob Ewell, and Mayella agreethat it was Mayella’s right eyethat was bruised. Atticus thenproved that in order for thatto happen the person inflictingthe hit must use their lefthand (because the tendency ofhumans is to swing across theirbody).Then Tom Robinsondisplayed to the courtroom thathis left arm is disabled andhas been since he was a child,so he could not have committedthis crime. Not just thatbut Mayella’s hesitation whenbeing asked if her father did infact hit her. That is just a clearsign that it does happen andprobably often. I think that itshows a pathetic reflection onthe community of Maycombthat just because the color ofsomeone’s skin they will diefor something they clearly didnot do. Maybe if people wouldreconsider their values theywould see the justice, for it isright in front of them.God be with you,Reverend SkyesMaycomb Press6925 Broadway StreetMaycomb, ALProduced for Ms Hogue’s CyberEnglish class, Sheboygan FallsHigh School, Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085by Lexi AHenry Layfayette DuboseMrs Henry LayfayetteDubose at age 80died today aftersuffering from along life of illnessin her older years.She was commonlyviewed asa fine memberof the Maycombcommunity. Shealways enjoyedgardening duringher life, especiallyher camellias. She was opinionatedin the topic that shefelt that boys should never bedisrespectful and girls shouldact like ladies. She was alsonot well liked by some becauseof her unruly mouth, while inreality most people just didn’tunderstand her. She reallydidn’t know a lot of the thingsshe said due to her health.Mrs. Dubose’s healthhad steadily declined over theyears. Within a few years shewas wheelchair bound for therest of her life. Because of herhealth the drug morphine wasprescribed to her to relieve herconstant pain. Unfortunatelyshe soon had become addictedto it. Her lastwish before herpassing was to getover her addictionto this powerfuldrug. Shewas often heardvowing that shewould leave thisworld “beholdento nothing and nobody”.With thatshe spent her lastdays in bed, suffering painfullythrough morphine withdrawal.This was perhaps the most difficulttime in her life, in waysunimaginable but she gatheredup enough strength to resistany more use of the morphine.She will always be known as acourageous woman.There will be a visitationfor Mrs. Dubose tomorrowfrom 5-7:30 PM and Saturday9-11 AM at the MaycombFuneral Parlor located onMain Street. Burial will be thisSunday morning at 10 AM atMaycomb County Cemetery.Also a prayer service will beheld at gravesite.Editor: Lexi AReporter: Katie KLocal Pagent is a Hitby Katie KFor Halloween this yearMaycomb decided to trysomething a little less traditional.Instead of walkingfrom house to house asking forcandy the city decided to havea “Halloween Party” at thehigh school. One of the mainevents was the pageant.Ms. Merriweather, ateacher at Maycomb, decidedto put on a pageant as part ofthis year’s festivities. The pageantincluded many of the localstudents as well as adults andteenagers from the area. All ofthem were dressed the part andeach had a role.“This pageant was meantto show the history of Maycomb.I wanted to show howwe became a town but in a funway.” said Merriweather.Included with the pageantwere many different booths orstations that children could stillreceive their candy, or bob forapples, or do many other funactivities provided.“One of the best parts ofthe night had to be when littleScout Finch forgot to come outduring her part in the pageant.It gave everyone a goodlaugh!” added Merriweather.Everyone seemed to reallybe enjoying themselves and thepageant was definitely a hit.There is already talk of doingthe same thing next year.