Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 3

Thursday, August 1J77 jfiiitlooB (0.) journal Gantto-S said as she walked past the hundreds of wreaths that lined the fainted in the sticky heat and were revived by fire department rescue units on the scene. Many of. those took their places in UPI Kim An-, derson of Nashville was among the last to file past Elvis Presley's body Wednesdays the end of procession of 20,000 that waited through a hot, humid day. She almost didn't make it. "The crowd Just kept pushing and was in so tight that I got sick," Miss Anderson-said.

She fainted. 1 "Before I knew it I was through the gate and lying on the ground. I was so scared I innrn'l nnin nrt tnn (tint itcuhi i guui iv get iv arc Miss Anderson, 24, quickly recovered and took the long walk up the tree-lined drive to Presley's Graceland Mansion. There, in the foyer that Presley had called the music room, she saw his body in a seamless copper casket, lined with silver-colored velvet. He was dressed In a white suit, a pale blue shirt and white cravat.

"I tried to stay longer because I was last, but I was rushed out," she said. "I would do it again. It was worth it." At 10 p.m., Caroline Kennedy, daughter of Jacqueline Onassis, drove out through the gates of the mansion. Her presence in Memphis had been rumored and it was assumed she was afforded a special glimpse of the body. The vigil at the mansion started Tuesday night when it became known that the 42-year-old rock 'n' roll star was dead of a heart attack.

By the time the ornate gates "It was like losing a member of my family," a weeping Sue Denauve of West (- tr 4 i i r- -a i-. -H v. 4 Presley's record sales hit 400 million during lifetime driveJJWe went to high school together. He was such a nice person. It Just seems unreal that he Is gone.

I nope people know what they have Teri Toth, 20, of East Brunswick, had come to Memphis to attend an Elvis concert later this month. "I had planned to attend the concert for months," she said. "It seems unreal to walk past his casket and see him there." Joan Rice of Johnstown, Pa came to Memphis to "escape the flood." She said she stood in line over seven hours because, "he had offered to give a benefit for flood victims in Johnstown and I came to show that we appreciated it." "I'd stand in the line again to see him," said Ann Header of Dalton, Ga. "You better believe it was worth it. He was the king." with the heat, her eyes red-rimmed and distraught.

"It's the last time we'll get to see him, but he didn't look like the Elvis I loved. He's so still and I always saw him moving." She began to cry again and her of the mansion closed at 6:30 p.m., CDT, police estimated more than 80,000 had lined Elvis Presley Boulevard in front of the home during the day. hand moved to cover her mouth. Outside, there were some minor disturbances and two arrests, but the crowd generally was well behaved. Dozens recording for Sun, cutting "That's All Right Mama," with a fast country backing.

He began appearing in local country shows through the efforts of country and western booking agent Bob Neal who became his first manager in 1955. He came to the attention of "Colonel" Tom Parker, a country-western manager who got him his first TV appearance in March of 1955. Later that year Parker became his manager. His Sun Records material later was purchased by RCA for $35,000. He was then in a position to be promoted nationally.

His first record for RCA, "Heartbreak Hotel," reached the top of the charts in the United States and was No. 2 in the United Kingdom. Within a year, he had won six gold records. He quickly became the most potent symbol in this country and in Europe of rock music, reeling off hits like "Blue Suede Shoes," "Hound Shook Up," and "Don't Be Cruel," His first film was the Western, "Love Me Tender," in 1956, followed by "Loving You" in 1957. The next year he made two films, "Jailhouse Rock," and "King Creole." The movies he made following his release from the Army in 1960 were generally considered to be far superior to the earlier films.

They included "Flaming That Dream," and "Wild in the Country. His records during that period had a more medium pace: "His Latest Not You," and "Good Luck Charm." Some were slow ballads: "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and "It's Now or Never." Presley's albums, according to "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock," were: "Elvis You" (soundtrack), "Elvis Christmas Creole" (soundtrack), "For LP Fans Date Wih is Blues" (soundtrack), "His Hand In When Elvis Presley reported for Army duty at Fort Chaffee, in April of 1958 he got his first Army pay ($7 given to all Inductees for buying a few necessities) from L. M. Stiff of Mattoon, who was a disbursing specialist in the Finance advised ng trains line again, Presley had given Ginger Alden, his fiancee, a 15-carat diamond ring in January and the couple decided only hours before he died to be married Christmas. her mother said late Wednesday Jo Alden said her 20-year-old daughter was "heartbroken," but slowly recovering from the shock of finding Elvis' body on the floor of his spacious bathdressing room in Graceland mansion Tuesday.

Presley's personal physician, Dr. George Nichopoulos, had reported earlier that Presley's road manager, Joe Esposito, had discovered the body. But Mrs. Alden, whose daughter was at the Alden home as she spoke, indicated that may have been said to protect the young woman. "She's holding up," Mrs.

Alden said. "She's one person who can get herself under control. But she's very, very heartbroken." Ginger's mother said her daughter was watching television at Graceland when Presley told her he was going to relax in the dressing room and read a book. She said her daughter dozed off and awoke about 1 p.m. "She knocked on the bathroom door and did not get a response," Mrs.

Alden said. "She found he had fallen out of a chair on his knee with his face in the shag carpeting. for Hawaii" (soundtrack), "Pot Luck." "Girls! Girls! "It Happened at the World's Fair" (soundtrack), "Fun In Acapulco" (soundtrack), "Kissin' Cousins" (soundtrack), "Roustabout" (soundtrack), "Girl Happy" (soundtrack), "Elvis For Scarum" (soundtrack), "Frankie and Johnny" (soundtrack), "Paradise: Hawaiian Style." (soundtrack), "Spinout" (soundtrack), "How Great Thou Trouble" (soundtrack), "Clambake" (soundtrack), "Speedway" (soundtrack), "Elvis Sings Flaming Star and Others." "Elvis" (TV special), "From Elvis in Memphis to Vegas-Vegas to Stage, February in That' the Way It Is" (soundtrack), "The Wonderful World of Christmas, Letters from Elvis," Touched Me." "Elvis As Live At Madison Square From Hawaii Via Satellite, on Rock, Times," "Elvis As Recorded Live On Stage in Fun With Elvis On Stage, ''''Promised Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Te "Elvis' Golden Records." "50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong: Elvis' Gold Records, Vol. Golden Records, Vol. Gold Records, Vol.

50 Gold Award Hits, Vol. The Other Sides Worldwide Gold Award Hits, Vol. A Legendary Performer. Vol. A Legendary Performer.

Vol II, and the collection of records he made for Sun Records before signing with RCA. "The Elvis Presley Sun Collection." His most recent album, not included in the above listing, was "Moody Blues." At 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, the 4-H auction and show will be held: Beginning at 7:30 p.m., Thursday the annual Cumberland County Fair Queen Pageant will be held. Contestants are Susan Herman of Greenup, Kerry Walters of Toledo, Alisa Blade of Greenup, Deanna Barthelemy of Jewett, Lisa Miller, Patty Hardesty, Penny Stephens and Tina Miller, all of Neoga.

The new Cumberland County fair queen will be crowned by last year's queen, Susan Ban. She is the daughter of Rosemary Barz of Greenup and the late William Barz. She is a 1976 graduate of Cumberland High School and is attending Randoph Macon College in Virginia. Miss Ban was the Cumberland County Fair's delegate in the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen contest, held in January in Springfield. The Sonny James country-western" show will highlight Friday night's activities.

Two shows will be performed the first at 7 p.m. and the second to follow at 9 p.m. Reserve seats for the show are available for $3.50. A demolition derby will be field at 7 7:30 p.mr Saturday, 27, wrapping up featured grandstand events at the fair. Another activity planned for opening day at the fair is the junior 4-H horse and pony show.

The show will begin at 1:30 p.m. Monday has been designated Kids and Senior Citizens Day. Other highlights of the day include judging Presley got pay from local man Editor's Note: Last of a four-part series. By CRAIG SANDERS MATTOON "Racing trains to a crossing is all right so long as you don't tie," an old saying goes. "If you win, you'll beat the train to the crossing.

If you lose, you'll have to wait for it. But if you tie you get hit." Grade crossing accidents are as old as the railroads themselves, but with the fatality rate in Illinois increasing the railroads, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (1DOT) are all attempting to persuade drivers not to follow the old saying. All three have cooperated in launching Operation Lifesaver, a brainchild of the Illinois Railroads Association. Rati Corps. Presley autographed this picture "Thanks, I'll need It." However, it didn't last long.

Presley went back to his barracks, emptied the contents of his pockets onto his bunk while he changed uniforms and someone stole the $7. hot is currently being translated into Spanish and is available for showing to any group that has an interest in grade crossing safety. The ICG has also produced its own film entitled "Gambling With Death." Ray L. Peterson, ICC's chief railroad engineer, said "Anytime is Train Time" de-emphasizes "blood and gore" but does contain some accident scenes shot by a television station. The film was completely shot in Illinois for $10,000, whereas a film of this nature would usally costs $30,000, Peterson added.

The purpose of Operation Lifesaver is to try to convince drivers not to take chances by driving around or through crossing signals. "The ICC study showed the main cause of accidents is lack of caution by the were staged. He was to attend a "beer blast" thrown by Republicans, welcome the grandstand show of K.C. and the Sunshine Band and participate in a livestock revue at the fair's Coliseum. The fair's harness racing card featured the first of two days of grand circuit racing.

In Wednesday's top race, Speedy Somolli beat Doublemint and broke a track record set in 1967 to win the "Greyhound" review futurity for two-year-old trotters. Driven by Howard Beissinger, Speedy Somolli circled the mile track in 1:59.3, breaking the 10-year-old 2:00.1 mark. Najarian said the obstruction probably resulted from the bladder surgery or radiation treatment. He said there was no direct evidence that cancer had returned to cause the problem, but that he would not know for sure until after the operation. The surgeons planned to perform a colostomy since there was no way to cut the obstruction out of the colon.

In the colostomy, the colon is cut off above the obstruction and the remaining colon Is rerouted through a hole in the abdominal wall. A similar opening was made through the abdominal wall for urination when Humphrey's cancerous bladder was removed at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York last October. President Carter telephoned Humphrey to wish him well Wednesday. LOS ANGELES (UPI) Elvis Presley's first major record, "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956, satisfied a desire among young people for music with guts and sex appeal. It launched him into a singing career that eventually reached an estimated 400 million record sales worldwide.

Along the way, Presley made more than 30 movies. His single gold records' sales amounted to $55 million, and gold albums $24 million, with each album considered as five singles, an RCA spokesman said Wednesday. During the last three years, each gold record was considered the equivalent to 500,000 records. While working as a van driver in 1953, Presley took time off work to record "My Happiness" for his mother as as birthday present. The studio was owned by Sun Records and a year later, he began driver," Malone said.

"No matter how much sophisticated equipment you put up, any kind of crossing gate can be gotten around." Malone said he thinks the project has had some affect thus far in reducing the number of grade crossing fatalities. He said fatalities for June and July of this, year are running behind those of the same months in 1976. If the 1977 grade crossing fatality rate continues to stay below the 1976 rate, it will be the first time since 1974 it has dropped. Both the ICC and IDOT are also involved in another program of studying specific rail corriders to determine what grade crossing problems may exist. As part of this program a diagnostic team is sent into each county along the corrider to study each individual rail crossing.

Public hearings are also held to get public opinion on the existing tproblems. After the hearings and study are completed recommendations are made as to what type of protection each crossing should have. Studies are currently being done on the ICG Chicago to St. Louis line, the Chessie System line from St. Louis to Lawren-ceville and the Missouri Pacific line from Tuscola to St.

Louis via Sullivan and Pana. Amtrak passenger trains operating on the Chicago to St. Louis ICG line have been involved in more fatal grade crossing accidents than on any other Amtrak route in the U.S. IDOT has begun an experimental program of installing signs bearing the message "High Seed Trains" at some selected crossings on the ICG Chicago to St. Louis line.

The ICC's Peterson said the ICG's Chicago to Carbondale corrider is not being studied now but will be studied sometime in the future. He said the Chicago to Cabondale corrider, while having some problems, is not as bad as some other rail corriders in the state. But studies, physical improvment programs, new signs and educational presentations can only have a limited impact upon the problem. The problem of increased grade crossing fatalities is not one caused by lack of any of these but lack of caution by the driver and simple impatience. Railroad and state officials readily admit that education programs are primairily designed to make the driver aware of what could happen to him if he fails to exercise caution at grade crossings.

Part of the problem is the fact that the thought of becoming involved in a grade crossing accident is not one that many drivers think will ever happen to them. Reducing the rate of grade crossing fatalities in 1111 nols cannot be solved alone with increased expenditures for safety devices and improvements or educational programs, but only through an awareness by more drivers that "it could happen to them" if they disobey a railroad crossing signal or fail to exercise caution at a grade crossing. Fair features lottery, races Cumberland fair to open Sunday SPRINGFIELD, III. (UPI) The Illinois State Fair was to host one of the state's top harness races and be the scene of a $2 million giveaway today. The Hambletonian Preview, along with the Illinois State Lottery's awarding of two millionaire prizes, highlighted "Democratic Day" at the fair.

Captain and Tenille were to headline the evening grandstand show. The Hambletonian Preview for three-year-old trotters presents some of the top horses expected to race in the famed Hambletonian at the Du Quoin Stale Fair A film, "Anytime is Train Time," has been produced as part of the program and has been shown all around the state. Some 100 of the 150 copies of the film have been shown in schools accompanied by speakers from railroads as part of the railroads' ambassador for safety program. Frank Malone, manager of corporate relations for the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (ICG), said one ICG employee alone has made over 150 presentations on grade crossing safety since the Operation Lifesaver project started last fall. Malone said the "Anytime is Train Timj" film has been shown in commercial movie theaters and audiences have sometimes averaged between 3,000 to 4,000 persons.

He added that "Anytime is Train Time" Sept. 3. Gov. James R. Thompson and Republicans were in the spotlight Wednesday during "Governor's Day." Thompson did not arrive at the fair until noon and spent most of the afternoon shaking hands and taking part in the Governor's Day parade.

His first stop was a luncheon for Republican volunteers, committeemen and friends on the lawn of state Agriculture Director John Block. Thompson's schedule also included stops at the fair's conservation area where a tug-of-war, log-rolling and other contests MINNEAPOLIS (UPI) Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey, the Democratic "'Happy Warrior" and former vice president who has been recovering from cancer surgery last fall, underwent major surgery again today to remove a bowel obstruction. Doctors operated on the 66-year-old Minnesota senator at University of Minnesota Hospitals to remove a section of "partially blocked" lower colon, in the area where his cancerous bladder was removed last October and to re-route the remaining colon through the abdominal wall.

Cheerful despite the discomfort, Humphrey went into surgery about 7 a.m. Dr. John Najarian, head of the university's Department of Surgery, was assisted by three other university surgeons. Najarian said the operation would take three or four hours. Hubert Humphrey undergoes operation; doctors optimistic GREENUP The 89th annual Cumberland County Fair opens Sunday at the county fairgrounds in Greenup.

The fair will run through Aug. 27. Germain's Rides and Concessions from St. Louis, will be at the fair during the week. A 7 p.m.

appearance by Bob Harrington, the "Chaplain of Bourbon Street," will highlight the opening night of the fair. Appearing with Harrington will be the Shilohs. Tickets for adults will be $2. Children's tickets will be $1. Reserve seats may be secured for $2.50.

At 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 22, the south-central Illinois championship tractor pull and four-wheel drive truck pull will be held. Truck classes include hot rod, four-wheel-drive truck (stock), (modified) and NA. Tractor classes include super stock, 7,000 pound hot rod, hot rod and super stock.

There is a $15 entry fee for tractor -pull Premiums for the stock and modified trucks will be $100 for first place, $80 for second place, $60 for third place, $40 for fourth place and $20 for fifth place. A $15 entry fee is required for the truck pull as well. Fair activities scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 24, include an old-fashioned gospel sing to begin at 7 p.m. Grandseats for adults will be $1 and 50 cents for children.

-if 111 I Sen. Hubert Humphrey 1.