Timeline From The Past: Missing Mountain Climbers, Raid At Tippy Dance Hall
From the Files of the Kosciusko County Historical Society
Editor’s note: This is a retrospective article that runs a few times a month on InkFreeNews.
July 31, 1967 — A former Syracuse man numbers among a group of skilled mountain climbers still missing today as air and ground search parties continued rescue efforts off snow-shrouded Mt. McKinley near Anchorage, Alaska.
Hopes that Jerry Clark, son of the late Dr. Fred Clark, a longtime practicing physician in Syracuse, and his companions were still alive appeared to be fading as rescuers pressed their search. A wind-swept snow storm on Mt. McKinley today smothered most of the hopes. The storm was expected to last up to 72 hours.
Aug. 5, 1967 — “There is no hope anyone is alive.”
Art Hayes, chief ranger at Mt. McKinley National Park, thus brought to a close today the saga of former Syracuse resident Jerry Clark, 31, and five other men who scaled the 20,320-foot mountain, only to be lost as near-tornado winds swept the icy slopes of the highest mountain in North America.
Aug. 2, 1965 — In a crackdown on illegal possession and transportation of alcoholic beverages by minors, the county sheriff’s department organized a raid at the Tippecanoe Lake Dance Hall near Leesburg Saturday, and 33 young men were cited in less than 50 minutes.
Sheriff Howard (Sam) Holbrook said about 30 officers and special deputies surrounded the area at approximately 8 p.m. and checked every car entering and leaving the area.
– Compiled by InkFreeNews reporter Lasca Randels