"TO KEEP UP WITH WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE WORLD"

CALIFORNIA RANCHER ORDERS COFFIN EQUIPPED WITH RADIO RECEIVER

Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) On July 18, 1925, Associated Press reports that an elderly rancher who lives in the San Fernando Valley* "has ordered" a $1200 steel coffin specially equipped with a radio receiving set."

It seems Mr. Sam R. Kimball "is convinced" that the soul lingers close to the body until the day of judgment so as he lies in his coffin awaiting that day, he can keep up with "what is going on in the world."

*San Fernando Valley is a 260 square mile area north of the Los Angeles, California Basin.  Today it is described as an urbanized valley comprising a large portion of the city of Los Angeles.

JFK+50 NOTE

The Christian belief is that the soul separates from the body after death to await resurrection of the body.  During this "intermediate" state, the soul is conscious and in God's presence.

If Mr. Sam was around today instead of a century ago, however, he might well order a coffin with bluetooth capability & instructions for an I-phone to be put in his shirt pocket tuned to his news app of choice.

SOURCE

"Orders Radio Set On Coffin to Hear Events In World," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., July 18, 1925, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

www.rawpixel.com/

KIDNAPPING OF FRANK SINATRA JR.

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 1792

FRANK SINATRA JR. TALKS WITH DAD AFTER KIDNAPPING

Lake Tahoe, California (JFK+50) Fifty-two years ago today, December 10, 1963, just two days after having been kidnapped from his hotel room at Harrah's Casino here in Lake Tahoe, Frank Sinatra's son, Frank Sinatra, Jr.,* was permitted to talk with his father by telephone.

The younger Sinatra had been taken to Southern California's San Fernando Valley.  At the conclusion of the brief conversation between father and son, the kidnappers demanded a $240,000 ransom.

Frank Sinatra, Sr. contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation who advised him to pay the ransom and then permit them to track down the kidnappers. According to the FBI, the ransom was dropped between two school buses parked at a Texaco Service Station in Sepuleda, California on December 11.

After Frank Sinatra, Jr. was released, the FBI was able to track down the three kidnappers, Barry Keenan, Joe Amsler and John Irwin, and arrest them.  In the Spring of 1964, the trio were convicted.

The kidnapping plan had originally been scheduled for late November 1963 but the assassination of President John F. Kennedy had caused the three men to reschedule the event for the next month.

*Frank Sinatra, Jr. was born in Jersey City, NJ in 1944.  He became a singer, songwriter and conductor but spent most of his career touring 47 states & 30 countries.

SOURCES

"A Byte Out of History:  The Kidnapping of Frank Sinatra, Jr.," The FBI, www.fbi.gov/

"Frank Sinatra, Jr. endures a frightening ordeal," This Day in History, December 10, www.history.com

Frank Sinatra, Jr.

San Diego, California

Photo by Phil Konstantin (2008)