President Ronald Reagan led the ceremonies to unveil the newly restored Statue of Liberty tonight. He appointed a commission to "save, restore and preserve" the statue in 1984, and after a $66 million restoration process, Liberty was returned to her glory.
"The 150-foot-tall Statue of Liberty will stand cloaked in darkness. President Reagan's finger will touch a button on Governor's Island and send an arrow of laser light across the hushed waters to illuminate the tablet in the statue's left hand, bearing the date of independence. Then the light will spread, to the crown and face, to the body, and finally to the right arm lifting the torch, and the entire reconditioned statue, the world’s best-known symbol of freedom, will glow in brilliant white light," the Syracuse Herald Journal reported on July 3, 1986.
NOTE: It took nine years to construct the Statue of Liberty, and after money was raised for the base, the massive statue was dedicated in 1886. One hundred years later, Americans celebrated the cherished monument that continues to be a symbol of refuge to the world.
Dillinger and Purvis
John Dillinger and Melvin Purvis are back in the public spotlight with the Friday release of Michael Mann's
Public Enemies. Johnny Depp is playing the role of Public Enemy John Dillinger, while Christian Bale is his FBI pursuer Melvin Purvis. While the movie will surely be entertaining, the coverage in newspapers during the '30's was almost more sensational....
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Links to the Past
Bluffton Bank Holdup Laid To Prisoner
The Lima News, September 28, 1933
Sarber Killers Identified
The Lima News, October 19, 1933
Bandit-Outlaw Prisoner Uses Wooden Pistol
The Lincoln Star, March 3, 1934
First National Bank Robbed
Mason City Globe-Gazette, March 13, 1934
Two Men Killed As Dillinger Escapes
Stevens Point Daily Journal, April 23, 1934
Feds End Dillinger Career
The Brainerd Daily Dispatch, July 23, 1934