PA PA - Bedford, 'Mr. Bones' WhtMale 30-35, 585UMPA, 30-06 rifle, gold dental wk, camping equip, Oct'58

[docwho3]

The 03, after the introduction of the M-1 Garand, was used as a long-range sniper rifle, if that tells you anything. Think of a shoulder-fired cannon.

My grandfather had one but I was too young to remember much about it. It sounds too powerful to bounce back at someone but as I said I really don't know.

 

[shadowangel]

My grandfather had one but I was too young to remember much about it. It sounds too powerful to bounce back at someone but as I said I really don't know.

Actually a high-velocity round is more likely to ricochet.

 

[Richard]

When it comes to ricochets, they are usually very unpredictable. One shot might be absorbed by a tree, while the next one might send it right back at you. The most likely way to have a bullet ricochet is to shoot at a rock or metal, or at the surface of water.

I remember reading once about a guy who was shooting at a dump. He saw an old TV and decided to take a shot at it. As soon as he pulled the trigger, he felt and heard something whizz by close to his head. He took another shot, and again the same sensation. He shot a third time, and again, the same noise, only this time it struck a tree behind him. He realized that his bullets were being sent back at him each time he shot the TV set. This was because of the shape of the tapered metal backing on the old picture tube.

 

[shadowangel]

When it comes to ricochets, they are usually very unpredictable. One shot might be absorbed by a tree, while the next one might send it right back at you. The most likely way to have a bullet ricochet is to shoot at a rock or metal, or at the surface of water.

I remember reading once about a guy who was shooting at a dump. He saw an old TV and decided to take a shot at it. As soon as he pulled the trigger, he felt and heard something whizz by close to his head. He took another shot, and again the same sensation. He shot a third time, and again, the same noise, only this time it struck a tree behind him. He realized that his bullets were being sent back at him each time he shot the TV set. This was because of the shape of the tapered metal backing on the old picture tube.

You think he'd get the hint after the first two...

 

[Richard]

It has been mentioned that one of the three books identified as being among the possessions of this unknown man was titled "Reading Poems: An Introduction to Critical Study". I have recently obtained a copy of this book and here is a bit more information about it.

"Reading Poems..." was copyrighted in 1941. My copy of the book is dated 1956 and it is stated to be the 15th printing. This means that by 1956, the book had been reprinted (on average) every year.

The book is a hard bound book with no indication/ mention of having been printed in soft cover version by 1956. It measures 6 inches by 8 inches, and is 1.5 inches thick, containing 781 pages.

It appears to be very much a college text book in both structure and content. In fact, the opening sentences of the Preface states: "This book is intended, in general, for anyone who wishes to develop the skills needed in the intelligent reading of poems, and, in particular, for teachers and students in undergraduate courses in English and American poetry who may wish to emphasize the skills of reading rather than the history of poetry. It has grown out of several years of experimental work in the classroom and of study in modern criticism."

The book is a collection of poems arranged according to reading difficulty, each identified only by title. To learn who the authors of the poems are, one has check a cross-reference table at the back of the book. The stated reason for this is that it is intended as a teaching tool, rather than just an anthology of poems.

The Authors/Editors of this book are identified in the front as:

Wright Thomas, State University of New York Teachers College at Cortland (NY)
and
Stuart Gerry Brown, Maxwell Graduate School of Citizenshiip and Public Affairs, Syracuse University (also in NY)

The book was published in New York by Oxford University Press, and the Authors make a special acknowledgement to assistance and support provided by their friend Mr. Howard F. Lowry, formerly of Oxford University Press and now (1941) Professor of English in Princeton University.

The stated purpose of this book, the credentials of the authors, and the fact that there had been so many annual printings, indicate that it was published for and distributed to colleges as a text book.

This book and the others mentioned seem to point to a connection of this man with a college as a either a student or teacher - or possibly a connection between him and someone at a college.

 

[shadowangel]

Did your contact ever get back to you about any notes and/or underlining in the book found with our mystery man? Or, although this would seem much too obvious, a stamp by a college bookstore?

 

[Richard]

Did your contact ever get back to you about any notes and/or underlining in the book found with our mystery man? Or, although this would seem much too obvious, a stamp by a college bookstore?

I have not spoken with him in a few weeks, although he said that he was going to have a personal look into the evidence locker to check out some of the suggestions, particularly regarding the books.

The book "Reading Poems...", which I recently acquired is in excellent condition, and likely has resided on someone's book shelf for the past 49 years. It does, however have many pencil notes in margins, a lot of page numbers written in front, and many check marks on various poems, perhaps as reminders to the student of which ones were assigned or read. There is no owner's name in my book, and there are no stampings or markings to indicate what book store or college it was sent to.

Each of the three books had undergone numerous reprintings. I feel that this unknown man's books were probably published within a year of each other - and such dates would tend to help investigators focus on a time frame better. For instance if the newest book was dated 1955, then they would know that his death occurred sometime after that book was published. Also, by knowing the publishing date, and by contacting the publisher, maybe it could be learned what colleges had received shipments of those books in that specific year.

From there, perhaps some leads could be developed regarding missing persons who might fit this man's description. It is interesting that there were some addresses fitting the key's inscription in New York and New Jersey, and that there are some New York Connections with the book's authors and publisher.

 

[shadowangel]

Is it possible the publisher might know if this book were on the required curriculum for any schools? Possibly they made large shipments to certain schools? It doesn't seem to be a book that would be a requirement for "Poetry 101", but a more advanced level.

 

[Richard]

Is it possible the publisher might know if this book were on the required curriculum for any schools? Possibly they made large shipments to certain schools? It doesn't seem to be a book that would be a requirement for "Poetry 101", but a more advanced level.

I think it is highly likely that the publisher of "Reading Poems..." knew what schools were requiring it. That is the very nature of textbook publishing. You have to know how many books to print each year, and where they are going. The number of printings would tend to indicate that they were printed on a scale dictated by demand.

I don't believe that this book went through any revisions or changes during those 15 years, but the current tendancy of textbook publishers is to change them slightly, and require that ONLY the latest edition be used. This ensures the authors and publisher a more continuous flow of profit on the pretext that the whole book is the very latest information. In this manner, older editions are disposed of, rather than sold as used books, to compete with sales of new books.

 

[shadowangel]

In light of your observations, a review of the actual book might yield some very important clues. I assume notations made by a student would be different from those of an instructor. There may be further clues as to the institution where this particluar book was used (differing curriculums may highlight different aspects of the book). The amount of notations may help nail down the time of year ---minimal notations would likely indicate early semester work, September/October possibly, while more extensive notations (in the same handwriting, of course) might point more toward the end of a semester.

 

[Yaya]

Could this young man have been a follower of the "Beat Generation", which was rapidly gaining popularity at the time? The dress is one indicator, a motorcycle jacket and dungarees...Very similar to the style of "counter-culture" dress made popular by characters portrayed by actors such as Marlon Brando (The Wild Ones, 1953) and James Dean (Rebel Without a Cause, 1955).

I am coming into this discussion really late... sorry I just got here to WS. But we all gotta start somewhere. Hope you won't mind.

I personally think Shadowangel is on the right track with the above statement... but with a different twist. I think the young man may have traveled to the north seeking his fame and fortune as the next James Dean. I don't think he had the contact lenses or the dental work when he left home. I feel he may have worked to earn money to improve his appearance after he reached his destination to become an actor. This may be one reason his family never made the connection based on news reports of the remains being found. Also it could be the reason he was never associated with a missing persons report by LE if one was made.

I think this would also explain the books found with him... studying to improve his speach for auditions he would be going on and to help him with talking to the more intellectual people he would come in contact with in the business.

I feel he may have become discouraged and depressed when his dreams of fame did not pan out... for this reason I think suicide is plausible. If I were investigating this case my first thoughts would be to go back and recheck all missing persons cases and not rule out any that would fit his basic height and age.

PS. Richard & Shadowangel you really impress me with your attention to detail. :clap: I have enjoyed reading your post here.

 

[shadowangel]

I am coming into this discussion really late... sorry I just got here to WS. But we all gotta start somewhere. Hope you won't mind.

Welcome! You've come up with an interesting scenario...He could have been working his way east to NYC, destined for the theater district?
Thanks for the kind words, also. :blushing:

 

[Yaya]

You are very welcome for the kind words. It is easy to give praise when well deserved.

I was actually thinking more that he had already been to NYC and left after a valiant but failed attempt to become an actor. Maybe he was heading home and decided he could not face his family and have to admit failure. The state he was found may also be another clue to the area he may have been trying to return to or atleast a nearby state. It is really a sad scenario but I think plausible.

My greatuncle left home at the age of 16 to seek his fame as an actor and my grandmother told me he was never heard from again. There were rumors he wound up in Chicago and lived the remainder of his life there. My grandmother died before I recieved this information.

 

[shadowangel]

You are very welcome for the kind words. It is easy to give praise when well deserved.

I was actually thinking more that he had already been to NYC and left after a valiant but failed attempt to become an actor. Maybe he was heading home and decided he could not face his family and have to admit failure. The state he was found may also be another clue to the area he may have been trying to return to or atleast a nearby state. It is really a sad scenario but I think plausible.

My greatuncle left home at the age of 16 to seek his fame as an actor and my grandmother told me he was never heard from again. There were rumors he wound up in Chicago and lived the remainder of his life there. My grandmother died before I recieved this information.

The acting scenario is truly one I had not even considered. I had thought of an unrequited love-the attempt to improve his appearance through the dental work and contacts, studying poetry-rejection of his intentions resulting is his rejection of society then suicide...But this scenario seems too formulaic.

 

[Yaya]

Man Seeking to be Actor Theory...

Two scenarios concerning the key that was found with Mr. Bones. I am trying to prove or disprove my theory.
1. In New York they use an alphabet system to keep track of the streets so vendors can report their taxes. They name the streets by Avenue ABC and so on. I don't think Mr. Bones would have needed a key though to do a vendors job. My experience with them have been they come while the business is open.

2. (My Favorite) The subway is listed alphabetically and by numbers. Here is a section of NY, NY subway map Section A notice the numbers of the streets. 195 would fit right in there. Could the key have been for some type of storage locker in the area? The real question is… how much has it changed since the 1950’s. They had lockers for use in the subways years ago. Could the key be to a locker in the subway?

Division A (IRT) consists of the 1 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local, 2 Seventh Avenue Express, 3 Seventh Avenue Express, 4 Lexington Avenue Express, 5 Lexington Avenue Express, 6 Lexington Avenue Local, 7 Flushing Local, and S 42nd Street Shuttle.

Just a thought...

 

[shadowangel]

Man Seeking to be Actor Theory...


2. (My Favorite) The subway is listed alphabetically and by numbers. Here is a section of NY, NY subway map Section A notice the numbers of the streets. 195 would fit right in there. Could the key have been for some type of storage locker in the area? The real question is… how much has it changed since the 1950’s. They had lockers for use in the subways years ago. Could the key be to a locker in the subway?

The key being to a locker is interesting, but would the location be stamped on the key? If the key-holder lost it....I thought of the same thing with the key being to a safety deposit box, but in that case I would think the person would need an account number or something to access the box.
The address on the key (if that's what it is) is an active address in Manhattan.

 

[Yaya]

The key being to a locker is interesting, but would the location be stamped on the key? If the key-holder lost it....I thought of the same thing with the key being to a safety deposit box, but in that case I would think the person would need an account number or something to access the box.
The address on the key (if that's what it is) is an active address in Manhattan.

:waitasec: I thought of that also. I had a post office box once and it had the info engraved on the key so I am not sure if a locker key would have the info on it or not. This is a good question and definantly something to look into further.

You just had to pop my bubble shadowangel :razz:

Well I guess I know what I will be doing after my Panthers beat the Jets tomorrow.

 

[shadowangel]

:waitasec: I thought of that also. I had a post office box once and it had the info engraved on the key so I am not sure if a locker would have the info on it or not. This is a good question and definantly something to look into further.

You just had to pop my bubble shadowangel :razz:

Well I guess I know what I will be doing after my Panthers beat the Jets tomorrow.

Bubble-popping is what we do best! (I feel so loved some times... ) It makes us all think, to really work over the theories and scenarios we develop. That's why I like it here so much, most folks who post are very intelligent and creative thinkers. It would be nice to actually see the key-it may have a shape which makes it readily identifiable with 50 years of hind-sight.

I'm a Raiders fan. Now, the Yankees on the other hand...

 

[docwho3]

Bubble-popping is what we do best! (I feel so loved some times... ) It makes us all think, to really work over the theories and scenarios we develop. That's why I like it here so much, most folks who post are very intelligent and creative thinkers. It would be nice to actually see the key-it may have a shape which makes it readily identifiable with 50 years of hind-sight.

I'm a Raiders fan. Now, the Yankees on the other hand...

Is it possible that key collectors might know about such a key?

 

[Yaya]

Bubble-popping is what we do best! (I feel so loved some times... ) It makes us all think, to really work over the theories and scenarios we develop. That's why I like it here so much, most folks who post are very intelligent and creative thinkers. It would be nice to actually see the key-it may have a shape which makes it readily identifiable with 50 years of hind-sight.

I'm a Raiders fan. Now, the Yankees on the other hand...

You're right about having many intelligent posters here. I'm glad I found the site. I had heard about it awhile back and finally decided to check it out. I actually joined in October and have been reading a lot. Finally decided to start posting. It's nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of and meet people with similar interest.

I am an aspiring true crime writer and have received the copyright for my first and more than likely last true crime book. It is very hard to get true crime published... I would not advise anyone to waste their time writing true crime unless they have a journalism degree, crime reporting experience, or a very good connection into the publishing world. I can say it was a rewarding and fascinating experience. I think the best thing about the whole experience was meeting new and interesting people.

I would love to see Mr. Bones identified and this case closed.