Elyse: WE'RE THE HISTORY DETECTIVES, AND WE'RE GOING TO INVESTIGATE SOME UNTOLD STORIES FROM AMERICA'S PAST.
THIS WEEK, WHAT CAN THIS TWISTED PIECE OF METAL TELL US ABOUT ONE OF AVIATION'S MO ST FAMOUS UNSOLVED MYSTERIES?
AS SHE APPROACHED, THEY GOT TENSER AND SHE GOT TENSER, AND THEN THERE WAS SILENCE.
Tukufu: HOW DOES THIS 19th-CENTURY DOCUMENT CONNECT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO A NATIVE AMERICAN ACCUSED OF MURDER?
IF YOU GET A PARDON FROM THE PRESIDENT IN THE 1850s, SOMEONE'S PROBABLY FIGHTING A TREMENDOUS BATTLE FOR YOU BEHIND THE SCENES.
Gwendolyn: AND WAS A RAILWAY CAR BUILT INTO THE BASEMENT OF THIS SUBURBAN DENVER HOME?
WE'D LIKE TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.
Elvis Costello: ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ I GET SO ANGRY WHEN THE TEARDROPS START ♪ ♪ BUT HE CAN'T BE WOUNDED 'CAUSE HE'S GOT NO HEART ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
Elyse: OUR FIRST STORY INVESTIGATES A FRAGMENT OF METAL AND THE DISAPPEARANCE OF AN AMERICAN ICON.
JULY 2, 1937, NEWSPAPERS ALL OVER THE WORLD REPORT THE SAME EVENT: AMELIA EARHART'S AIRPLANE DISAPPEARS OVER THE PACIFIC.
THE DISASTER AND PRESUMED DEATH OF THE BELOVED 39-YEAR-OLD HEROINE GRIPPED THE PUBLIC.
FOR DECADES, HISTORIANS HAVE DEBATED HOW AND WHERE THE AVIATOR DISAPPEARED.
BOTH SCIENTIFIC AND MORE FANCIFUL THEORIES ABOUND.
SOME SURMISE SHE LANDED ON UNINHABITED GARDNER ISLAND.
OTHERS SUGGEST SHE WAS CAPTURED AND EXECUTED BY THE JAPANESE.
LESS SCRUTINIZED IS AN ACCIDENT SHE HAD A LITTLE MORE THAN THREE MONTHS EARLIER DURING TAKEOFF FOR HER AROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT.
DID THAT CRASH SOMEHOW CONTRIBUTE TO EARHART'S DISAPPEARANCE?
OVER 70 YEARS LATER, JON OTT FROM SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, BELIEVES HE HAS A PIECE OF AMELIA EARHART'S LEGENDARY AIRPLANE, A SOUVENIR FROM THE RUNWAY ACCIDENT.
WHEN MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME WHAT I WANTED AS A GIFT, I SAID THIS.
THE MYSTERY OF AMELIA'S FINAL FLIGHT HAS LONG CAPTIVATED AVIATION HISTORIANS.
NICE TO MEET YOU, COME ON IN.
THANKS.
HERE IT IS.
AND WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND IT?
I THINK IT'S A PIECE OF AMELIA EARHART'S LAST AIRPLANE.
BUT HER PLANE GOT LOST IN THE PACIFIC.
IT DID, BUT BEFORE SHE TOOK THAT FINAL FLIGHT AROUND THE WORLD, SHE ACTUALLY HAD A CRASH IN HAWAII.
AND MY GRANDFATHER WAS THERE TO PICK UP A PIECE OF THE WRECKAGE.
JON EXPLAINS THAT HIS GRANDFATHER, DAN STRINGER, WAS IN THE ARMY AIR CORPS.
FAMILY LORE SAYS HE WAS A FIRST RESPONDER TO AMELIA'S CRASH.
ALONG WITH THE TWISTED PIECE OF METAL, JON'S KEPT HIS GRANDFATHER'S WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE DAY AMELIA CRASHED.
"I OBTAINED THIS SOUVENIR AFTER THE ACCIDENT."
WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU WANT ME TO FIND OUT?
IT WOULD BE GREAT TO FIND OUT IF THERE'S SOME WAY TO PROVE THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY A PIECE OF AMELIA EARHART'S AIRCRAFT.
I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN FIND OUT.
THANKS SO MUCH.
BE CAREFUL WITH IT.
THE FIRST THING I NOTICE IS THAT IT'S VERY LIGHT.
YOU CAN SEE THE JAGGED EDGES, THAT IT WAS DEFINITELY TORN FROM SOMETHING.
I'M NOT SURE IF IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE STRAIGHT OR BENT.
THERE APPEARS TO BE SOME TYPE OF MAYBE A RIVET HOLE HERE.
MAYBE ONE WAS HERE AND IT WAS MISSING, BUT I'M NOT REALLY SURE.
ACCORDING TO JON'S GRANDFATHER'S ACCOUNT, THE CRASH OCCURRED AT LUKE FIELD, HAWAII, WHEN AMELIA WAS ATTEMPTING THE SECOND LEG OF HER AROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT ON MARCH 20, 1937.
JON'S GRANDFATHER, DAN W. STRINGER, "WAS A MEMBER OF THE MILITARY SERVICE "WITH ASSIGNMENT IN THE 50th OBSERVATION SQUADRON, LUKE FIELD, HAWAII, 1936-1938."
THERE'S A PHOTO WITH THE LETTER, WHICH JON TOLD ME HIS GRANDFATHER HAD TAKEN THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT.
I NEED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE DAY THIS PHOTO MAY HAVE BEEN TAKEN.
LET'S SEE WHAT HISTORIANS HAVE REPORTED.
HERE'S SOMETHING.
IN 1937, AMELIA EARHART BEGAN HER AROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT IN A LOCKHEED ELECTRA L-10E.
THIS CERTAINLY LOOKS LIKE THE AIRCRAFT PICTURED IN THE AFFIDAVIT.
AMELIA CHOSE THE L10-E BECAUSE IT HAD THE LARGEST ENGINES OF THE L10 LINE.
ONLY 15 WERE EVER MADE AND ONLY TWO PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS OWNED ONE, EARHART AND AVIATION MOGUL HOWARD HUGHES.
THE L10-E COULD CARRY 250 GALLONS OF FUEL.
BUT EARHART REPLACED THE PASSENGER SEATS WITH FUEL TANKS, ENOUGH TO CARRY 1,200 GALLONS -- 10 TIMES THE ORIGINAL CAPACITY -- SO SHE COULD FLY LONGER DISTANCES.
AND SHE CALLED IT THE FLYING LABORATORY FOR ITS EXPERIMENTAL NATURE.
AMELIA EARHART RODE IN HER FIRST AIRPLANE AT AGE 23 AND LATER WROTE, "AS SOON AS I LEFT THE GROUND, I KNEW I, MYSELF, HAD TO FLY."
EARHART WAS COMMITTED TO DEMONSTRATING TO THE MALE-DOMINATED AVIATION WORLD THAT A WOMAN PILOT COULD BE AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN A MAN.
A YEAR AFTER SHE GOT HER PILOT'S LICENSE, SHE SET HER FIRST ALTITUDE RECORD.
IN 1928, EARHART'S FAME SPREAD WHEN SHE BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO FLY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC AS A PASSENGER.
NINE YEARS LATER, SHE WAS THE FIRST WOMAN PILOT TO FLY NONSTOP ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, THE FIRST TO FLY FROM MEXICO CITY TO NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, AND CAPTURED SEVERAL SPEED AND ALTITUDE RECORDS.
"AFTER CHARLES LINDBERGH, "AMELIA EARHART WAS THE SECOND PERSON "TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC SOLO, AN IMPRESSIVE FEAT BY ITSELF, BUT BECAUSE SHE WAS A WOMAN, SHE BECAME WORLD-FAMOUS."
IN 1937, SHE SET OUT TO PILOT HER L10-E AROUND THE WORLD FROM EAST TO WEST.
HER ROUTE BEGAN IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, AND THE FIRST LEG STOPPED IN HONOLULU.
ON HER WAY, SHE SET A SPEED RECORD.
THE WHOLE WORLD WAS WATCHING.
AT DAWN ON MARCH 20, 1937, AMELIA PREPARED FOR THE SECOND LEG, AN 1,800 MILE FLIGHT ACROSS THE PACIFIC FROM THE LUKE FIELD MILITARY BASE IN HAWAII TO TINY HOWLAND ISLAND.
"AS THE ELECTRA ROARED DOWN THE RUNWAY GATHERING SPEED, "IT SWUNG SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT, "WHEREUPON AMELIA THROTTLED DOWN THE LEFT ENGINE.
"THE PLANE THEN STARTED SWINGING LEFT, "AND AS IT DID, IT TILTED OUTWARD, THROWING ALL ITS WEIGHT ONTO THE RIGHT WHEEL."
THE ELECTRA CAME TO A CRASHING HALT.
THE HISTORY DETECTIVES OF FICE HAS ACQUIRED AND SENT ME THE OFFICIAL MILITARY ACCIDENT REPORT.
THIS IS AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT.
"THE RIGHT-HAND LANDING GEAR SUDDENLY COLLAPSED "FOLLOWED BY THE OTHER, AND THE AIRPLANE SLID "TO AN ABRUPT LEFT-HAND SKID ON ITS BELLY.
"A SHOWER OF SPARKS SPURTED FROM BETWEEN THE AIRPLANE AND THE MAT."
WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD ONE OF THOSE SPARKS BREACHED THE MASSIVE FUEL TANKS?
AMELIA AVERTED TOTAL DISASTER BY QUICKLY CUTTING THE ENGINES.
BOTH SHE AND HER NAVIGATORS WERE UNHARMED, BUT THE CRASH PUT HER LOCKHEED ELECTRA OUT OF COMMISSION.
REALLY INCREDIBLE.
THERE'S NOTHING HERE ABOUT ANYONE AT THE SCENE SALVAGING FRAGMENTS OF METAL FROM THE CRASH.
ACCORDING TO THESE REPORTS, THE SKIN OF AMELIA'S ELECTRA WAS MADE OUT OF AN ALUMINUM ALLOY CALLED 2024.
I'M HEADED TO CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY.
I'VE SENT JON'S PIECE TO TREVOR HARDING, AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MATERIALS ENGINEERING, TO ANALYZE ITS METALLIC MAKEUP.
FIRST TREVOR CUT A SMALL PIECE FROM JON'S PART.
NEXT HE PLACED IT IN A SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS A SERIES OF SPECTRA.
SPECTRA ARE THE VARIOUS ENERGIES OF X-RAYS THAT BOUNCE OFF THE METAL WHEN WE HIT ELECTRONS ONTO THE SAMPLE.
WE WANT TO SEE IF THE COMPOSITION, OR THE ELEMENTS, PRESENT IN THE SAMPLE THAT YOU BROUGHT MATCHES UP WITH WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT FOR VARIOUS AIRCRAFT ALLOYS.
TREVOR EXPLAINS THAT ALUMINUM ALLOYS ARE CREATED BY ADDING ELEMENTS WHICH MAKE THE METAL STRONGER.
SO WHAT DID WE FIND OUT, WHAT WERE OUR RESULTS?
NOT ONLY IS THIS THE CORRECT ALLOY COMPOSITION FOR 2024 ALUMINUM, IT'S ALSO VARYING COMPOSITION, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT EXISTED ON 24S IN THE 1930s.
GREAT.
SUSAN BUTLER IS AN AMELIA EARHART BIOGRAPHER AND AUTHOR OF EAST TO THE DAWN.
SO, SUSAN, I HAVE THIS PART THAT I BELIEVE MIGHT BE FROM AMELIA'S PLANE.
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF ANY PARTS FROM HER PLANE COMING?
NO, I NEVER HAVE.
I'M -- I'M AMAZED.
YOU KNOW, I'VE NEVER HEARD OF AMELIA'S CRASH IN HAWAII.
WHY ISN'T IT BETTER KNOWN?
WELL, BECAUSE IT WAS A BLIP.
IN TERMS OF HER LIFE AND IN TERMS OF HER ACHIEVEMENTS, IT JUST SET HER BACK.
THE CRASH SET HER BACK BY TWO MONTHS, AND THE CONSEQUENCES FOR HER FLIGHT PLAN WERE FAR-REACHING.
AFTER THE PLANE WAS REPAIRED IN CALIFORNIA, AMELIA WOULD REVERSE COURSE AND NOW FLY AROUND THE WORLD IN AN EASTERLY DIRECTION IN A BID TO STAY AHEAD OF EXPECTED SEASONAL BAD WEATHER IN THE CARIBBEAN AND AFRICA.
ONE OF THE MOST DEMANDING LEGS OF HER JOURNEY, FINDING THE TINY HOWLAND ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACIFIC, WOULD NOW TAKE PLACE NEAR THE END OF HER JOURNEY.
SO SHE HAD TO LAND ON THIS LITTLE DOT OF AN ISLAND.
IT'S LESS THAN TWO MILES BY A MILE.
THE CRASH IN HAWAII HAD ANOTHER MAJOR EFFECT: EARHART'S SECOND NAVIGATOR, HARRY MANNING, WASN'T AVAILABLE TO CONTINUE AFTER WAITING OUT THE REPAIR.
EARHART WOULD NOW FLY WITH ONLY ONE NAVIGATOR, FRED NOONAN.
COULD YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY?
SHE AND FRED NOONAN TOOK OFF FROM LAE, NEW GUINEA, AND IT WAS A 2,500-MILE FLIGHT TO HOWLAND ISLAND.
AS SHE APPROACHED, EARHART AND NOONAN WERE SENDING RADIO COMMUNICATIONS TO THE COAST GUARD CUTTER ITASCA ANCHORED OFF HOWLAND ISLAND.
AND THEY WERE RADIOING HER BACK.
THIS SHOULD HAVE ALLOWED AMELIA TO USE THE ITASCA'S RADIO WAVES TO GUIDE HER PLANE LIKE A TRACTOR BEAM DIRECTLY ONTO THE ISLAND.
I THINK PART OF THE PROBLEM WAS THAT HER RECEIVING EQUIPMENT WAS SHORTING OUT, SO SHE SAID, "PLEASE, TRY AGAIN."
NOW RUNNING OUT OF FUEL HIGH OVER THE VAST PACIFIC, AMELIA WAS DESPERATELY HUNTING FOR A SIGHT OF THE ISLAND.
SO AS SHE APPROACHED, THEY GOT TENSER AND SHE GOT TENSER.
LET ME GIVE YOU HER LAST RADIO COMMUNICATION: "WE ARE ON THE LINE OF POSITION 157 DASH 337.
"WILL REPEAT THIS MESSAGE ON 6210 KILOCYCLES.
WE ARE NOW RUNNING NORTH AND SOUTH."
AND THEN THERE WAS SILENCE AND SHE WAS NEVER HEARD FROM AGAIN.
THE MILITARY LAUNCHED THE WORLD'S LARGEST EVER SEARCH EXPEDITION.
THEY CAME UP EMPTY-HANDED.
WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED TO AMELIA?
I THINK SHE RAN OUT OF GAS AND WENT DOWN IN THE SEA.
SUSAN TELLS ME THAT FANCIFUL NOTIONS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO AMELIA HAVE FLOURISHED PARTLY BECAUSE HER PLANE WAS NEVER FOUND.
THE SEAS AROUND HOWLAND ISLAND ARE OVER 17,000 FEET DEEP, MAKING A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OF THE OCEAN FLOOR AROUND THE ISLAND DIFFICULT.
THERE'S ALSO A THEORY EXTANT RIGHT NOW THAT HER PLANE LANDED IN THE PHOENIX ISLANDS.
THERE HAVE BEEN EXPEDITIONS OUT THERE, AND THE PIECES OF METAL AND THE HEEL OF A SHOE HAVE BEEN FOUND, BUT THESE ARTIFACTS HAVE NOT BEEN ACTUALLY LINKED TO EARHART OR TO THE PLANE.
OKAY, WELL, YOU'VE GIVEN ME A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU.
WAS DAN'S GRANDFATHER NEAR LUKE FIELD DURING THE TAKEOFF ACCIDENT?
THE HISTORY DETECTIVES OFFICE HAS LOCATED AND FORWARDED ME DAN STRINGER'S MILITARY RECORDS.
HERE'S DAN'S ENLISTMENT RECORD.
HERE HE IS AT LUKE FIELD, HAWAII, ON MAY 14, 1936.
HERE'S A MEDICAL RECORD, AND LISTEN TO WHAT IT SAYS: "STRINGER, DAN W. "RANK: PRIVATE, 50th OBSERVATION SQUADRON AIR CORPS.
"DATE OF ADMISSION: MARCH 4, 1937.
CAUSE OF ADMISSION: NASAL PHARYNGITIS."
SO HE MUST'VE HAD A COLD.
THIS RECORD PLACES DAN STRINGER AT LUKE FIELD ONLY 16 DAYS BEFORE EARHART'S CRASH.
SO JON'S GRANDFATHER COULD'VE BEEN ON HAND WHEN AMELIA HAD HER TAKEOFF ACCIDENT, BUT DID THIS PIECE COME FROM HER PLANE?
OF THE 15 LOCKHEED ELECTRA L10-Es EVER MADE, I'VE TRACKED DOWN THE LAST SURVIVING PLANE TO THE SANTA MARIA AIRPORT IN CALIFORNIA.
I'M MEETING GRACE McGUIRE, LONG-TIME PILOT AND ELECTRA RESTORATION EXPERT, AT HER HANGAR.
HERE SHE IS, HUH?
YES.
SHE'S A BEAUTY!
THANK YOU, ELYSE.
WHY ARE YOU SO INTERESTED IN AMELIA EARHART?
WELL, I WANTED THE SAME CHALLENGE AS AMELIA.
I WANTED TO FINISH AMELIA'S FLIGHT FOR HER AND DO IT THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY.
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AN EXACT DUPLICATION USING THE SAME TYPE AIRCRAFT.
AS SOON AS SHE TESTS HER ENGINES, GRACE PLANS TO REPLICATE AMELIA'S FLIGHT FROM NEW GUINEA TO HOWLAND.
WE'RE JUST ABOUT -- JUST ABOUT READY TO FLY HER.
I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A NICE TRIBUTE TO AMELIA AND FRED.
SO THIS IS THE KIND OF PLANE AMELIA EARHART FLEW?
IDENTICAL, YES.
WE DUPLICATED EVERYTHING EXACTLY.
IF WE HAD TO REPLACE, SAY, A PIECE OF ALUMINUM OR A PIECE OF SKIN, IT WAS THE IDENTICAL TO THE ORIGINAL.
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED TO AMELIA?
THEY HAD THE WRONG INFORMATION.
YOU SEE, THEY HAD THE WRONG COORDINATES.
BASED ON HER OWN PREPARATIONS FOR HER FLIGHT FROM NEW GUINEA TO HOWLAND ISLAND, GRACE HAS COME TO BELIEVE THAT AMELIA'S MAP WAS OFF BY FIVE TO SIX MILES.
SO THEY WERE ACTUALLY CIRCLING OVER A POINT NORTHWEST OF HOWLAND ISLAND, AND THAT'S WHY THEY DIDN'T MAKE IT.
GRACE, I HAVE THIS PIECE, AND I'M HOPING THAT YOU CAN HELP ME PROVE THAT IT CAME FROM AMELIA'S PLANE.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
WOW, ELYSE, UH... WELL, IT LOOKS FAMILIAR.
GRACE LEADS ME ON A TOUR OF HER PLANE, WHICH SHE NAMED MURIEL AFTER AMELIA EARHART'S SISTER.
A 55-FOOT WINGSPAN... WE'RE LOOKING FOR A PLACE ON ITS SKIN THAT MAY BE A MATCH FOR JON'S FRAGMENT.
WITH SUCH A SMALL PART, IT'S DIFFICULT.
AT THE LANDING GEAR, SHE ASKS ME TO STOP AND TAKE A CLOSER LOOK.
WHAT GRACE SHOWS ME NEXT GIVES ME SOMETHING VERY INTERESTING TO TAKE BACK TO JON.
THE FIRST THING I NEEDED TO DO WAS CONFIRM THE FACTS, AND ON MARCH 20, 1937, AMELIA EARHART'S PLANE DID CRASH IN HAWAII.
YOU WERE RIGHT.
I TELL JON THAT THE ACCIDENT DAMAGED MORE THAN AMELIA'S LANDING GEAR, IT ALSO PROFOUNDLY ALTERED HER FLIGHT PLANS.
ACCORDING TO MILITARY RECORDS, JON'S GRANDFATHER COULD'VE BEEN THERE WHEN AMELIA'S ACCIDENT OCCURRED.
THAT IS PHENOMENAL.
THERE WAS JUST ONE MORE TEST I HAD TO PERFORM.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT?
OKAY, WE'RE LOOKING AT -- THIS IS THE MAIN LANDING GEAR.
THIS IS CALLED A FAIRING, AND THIS IS WHERE THIS -- THIS PIECE FIT.
THIS PIECE HAD TWO FASTENERS, ONLY TWO.
AND IT WOULD GO THERE?
IT WOULD GO RIGHT THERE, YES.
GRACE KEPT THE ORIGINAL LANDING GEAR COVERING THAT SHE HAD TO REPLACE.
DETACHED FROM THE PLANE, IT'S EASY TO SEE EXACTLY HOW JON'S PIECE FITS.
AND IF WE COULD FLATTEN THIS OUT, IF YOU ROLL IT OVER, OKAY, IT WILL LINE UP PERFECTLY.
YEAH, IT'S A MATCH!
NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT WE ARE HOLDING A PIECE OF HISTORY.
TAKE GOOD CARE OF IT.
THAT IS UNBELIEVABLE.
THAT'S INCREDIBLE THAT YOU FOUND SUCH A MATCH.
THIS MEANS A LOT TO HAVE THIS PIECE, AS PART OF THE FAMILY AND KNOW THAT THE STORY WAS TRUE AND HAVING MY -- HAVING PLACED MY GRANDFATHER THERE.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A COUPLE PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT DO BELIEVE THAT THEY MAY HAVE FOUND PARTS OF AMELIA EARHART'S PLANE, AND YOUR PIECE NOW IS A CONTROL PIECE, IT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY COMPARE IT TO; WE HAVE SOME CONCRETE EVIDENCE.
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO SHARE THAT WITH THEM?
YEAH, THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC IF I COULD PLAY A ROLE IN HELPING UNRAVEL THAT MYSTERY.
AMELIA EARHART PUSHED FOR THE FULL INCLUSION OF WOMEN IN FLIGHT, INCLUDING MILITARY AVIATION.
IN 1934, HELEN RICHIE, A FRIEND OF AMELIA'S, BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO FLY FOR A COMMERCIAL AIRLINE, BUT HER TENURE WAS CUT SHORT WH EN THE ALL-MALE PILOTS' UNION WOULDN'T ACCEPT HER.
COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT REMAINED DOMINATED BY MALE PILOTS THROUGHOUT THE 20th CENTURY.
TODAY, OVER 7,000 WOMEN HAVE COMMERCIAL PILOTS' LICENSES.
FEMALE FIGHTER PILOTS WERE GRANTED THE RIGHT TO FLY INTO COMBAT IN 1991.
AND IN 1999, EILEEN COLLINS TOOK ANOTHER GIANT STEP, BECOMING THE FIRST WOMAN TO COMMAND A SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION.
FOR MORE OF MY INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN BUTLER, VISIT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.
CHARLES LINDBERGH'S DRAMATIC FEAT MADE HIM THE MOST FAMOUS AVIATOR OF AN AVIATION-CRAZED ERA.
THERE WERE OTHER FIGURES, TOO, LESS WELL KNOWN BUT NO LESS VENTURESOME.
FRUSTRATED BY RACIAL PREJUDICE IN THE 1920s, AFRICAN AMERICAN BESSIE COLEMAN WENT TO FRANCE TO STUDY AVIATION.
SHE BECAME THE FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN WITH AN INTERNATIONAL PILOT'S LICENSE.
SHE THEN RETURNED HOME TO BECOME A POPULAR BARNSTORMING PILOT AROUND THE MIDWEST, AND SHE BEGAN RAISING MONEY FOR A SCHOOL FOR BLACK AVIATORS.
IN 1926, AT A REHEARSAL FOR AN AIR SHOW IN FLORIDA, COLEMAN'S PLANE SUDDENLY LURCHED INTO A TAILSPIN, FLINGING HER 2,000 FEET TO HER DEATH.
THE COLORFUL ROSCOE TURNER COMBINED SKILL WITH SHOWMANSHIP TO BECOME AN AUDIENCE FAVORITE AT AIR SHOWS IN THE 1930s.
WHEN HE WASN'T GRABBING ATTENTION WITH HIS STRIKING UNIFORM AND HIS OCCASIONAL COCKPIT PARTNER, A LION CUB NAMED GILMORE, TURNER WAS SETTING TRANSCONTINENTAL SPEED RECORDS.
IN 1933, WILEY POST MADE THE FIRST SOLO FLIGHT AROUND THE WORLD.
TWO YEARS LATER, POST WAS ON A JOURNEY WITH THE BELOVED AMERICAN HUMORIST WILL ROGERS WHEN THE PLANE CRASHED OFF THE COAST OF ALASKA, KILLING BOTH MEN.
THE TELLING OF HISTORY CAN SOMETIMES BE MYOPIC, FOCUSING SOLELY ON A FEW HEROES.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THOSE OTHER PIONEERS WHOSE COURAGE AND SACRIFICE WERE OFTEN JUST AS COMMENDABLE.
Tukufu: OUR NEXT STORY INVESTIGATES AN 1851 DOCUMENT THAT MAY HAVE SAVED THE LIFE OF A NATIVE AMERICAN ACCUSED OF MURDER.
BY THE MIDDLE OF THE 19th CENTURY, A VAST NEW TERRITORY FROM NEW MEXICO ALL THE WAY TO CALIFORNIA BECKONED SETTLERS AND HOMESTEADERS.
BUT AS THEIR WAGON TRAINS RUMBLE WEST FROM MISSOURI ALONG MAJOR ARTERIES SUCH AS THE SANTA FE TRAIL, THEY CUT THROUGH THE HEART OF INDIAN COUNTRY AND COME UNDER FREQUENT ATTACK.
THE VIOLENCE ON BOTH SIDES IS SAVAGE.
THE TERRITORY IS THE ANCESTRAL HOMELAND OF MORE THAN 100,000 NATIVE AMERICANS WHO REGARD THE SETTLERS AS DANGEROUS INTRUDERS.
IN WASHINGTON, THERE IS POLITICAL PRESSURE ON THE NEW PRESIDENT, MILLARD FILLMORE, TO PACIFY THE NATIVE TRIBES AND FORCIBLY RELOCATE THEM ONTO GOVERNMENT RESERVATIONS.
MORE THAN A CENTURY AND A HALF AFTER THESE VIOLENT EVENTS, JEFF MANDEL OF PORTLAND, OREGON, TOOK A CLOSER LOOK AT A FRAMED DOCUMENT IN HIS FATHER'S OFFICE.
THE OLD PAPER SHOWS PRESIDENT MILLARD FILLMORE ENGAGED IN WHAT APPEARS TO BE AN UNUSUAL ACT FOR THE TIME, SPARING THE LIFE OF A NATIVE AMERICAN CONVICTED OF MURDER.
I'VE HAD THIS DOCUMENT IN MY FAMILY SINCE THE MID-1950s.
I JUST CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT COULD BE HAPPENING HERE.
I'M ON MY WAY TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT JEFF'S FAMILY MYSTERY.
SO WHAT DO YOU GOT FOR ME?
I'VE GOT A DOCUMENT HERE, AN HISTORICAL DOCUMENT.
IT'S DATED TO 1851.
IT'S SIGNED BY MILLARD FILLMORE, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND HE HAS GRANTED A PARDON TO AN INDIAN BY THE NAME OF "SEE SEE SAH MAH."
IT SAYS RIGHT HERE, "THE SENTENCE OF DEATH IS HEREBY COMMUTED TO IMPRISONMENT FOR LIFE."
SO THIS IS ON ONE SHEET OF PAPER.
YES, IT IS ONE SHEET OF PAPER, BOTH SIDES.
SO WHERE DID YOU GET THIS DOCUMENT FROM?
I GOT THIS DOCUMENT FROM MY FATHER, WHO WAS AN ATTORNEY HERE... JEFF SAYS HIS FATHER RE CEIVED THE DOCUMENT YEARS AGO FROM A CLIENT IN LIEU OF PAYMENT.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN TELL ME?
I NEVER FOUND ANY TRIAL TRANSCRIPTS THAT WOULD RELATE TO THIS CASE.
I DON'T KNOW WHO SEE SEE SAH MAH IS, I DON'T KNOW WHO THE MAN IS THAT HE KILLED.
IT'S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN A NATIVE AMERICAN CONVICTED OF MURDER AND THE MOST POWERFUL POLITICIAN IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAVE LEFT HIM BAFFLED.
WHY WOULD THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TAKE THE TIME AND PROCESS A PARDON, OR COMMUTATION OF SENTENCE, FOR THIS INDIAN?
MISSOURI WAS ON THE FRINGE OF THE SETTLED UNITED STATES, AND I DON'T THINK THE INDIANS WERE HELD IN THE HIGHEST REGARD AT THAT TIME.
I'LL GET BACK TO YOU WHEN I HAVE SOME ANSWERS.
I CAN'T TELL HOW OLD THE DOCUMENT IS.
THERE'S SOME KIND OF CURIOUS MARKING, POSSIBLY A SEAL OF SOME SORT, ON THE BACK.
ALTHOUGH THE PRESIDENT CLAIMS "GOOD AND SUFFICIENT REASONS" FOR INVOLVING HIMSELF IN THE CASE, THOSE REASONS AREN'T SPELLED OUT.
"SEE SEE SAH MAH WAS CONVICTED OF MURDER ON THE SANTA FE ROAD."
THAT'S GOT TO BE THE SANTA FE TRAIL.
THE PRESIDENT COMMUTES THE SENTENCE IN MAY OF 1851.
THE PARDON DIDN'T MEAN HE GOT OUT OF JAIL.
IT WAS A COMMUTING OF THE SENTENCE OF DEATH TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT, AND IT WAS SIGNED BY PRESIDENT FILLMORE AND SECRETARY OF STATE WEBSTER.
I CAN'T LOCATE ANYTHING ABOUT THE PARDON ONLINE, BUT WHAT I DO FIND MAKES ME MORE CURIOUS.
MILLARD FILLMORE CAME TO POWER IN 1850 AFTER PRESIDENT ZACHARY TAYLOR DIED IN OFFICE.
HUGE NUMBERS OF SETTLERS WERE MOVING THROUGH INDIAN COUNTRY, AND THE PRESIDENT WAS UNDER POLITICAL PRESSURE TO PROTECT THEM FROM ATTACK.
THIS IS HIS STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS THAT HE DELIVERED IN 1850.
"TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO ARE SURROUNDED "BY POWERFUL TRIBES OF INDIANS "WHO ARE A SOURCE OF CONSTANT TERROR AND ANNOYANCE "TO THE INHABITANTS.
"THE GREAT ROADS LEADING INTO THE COUNTRY ARE INFESTED WITH THEM."
AS PRESIDENT, HE APPROVED A NUMBER OF TREATIES THAT RELOCATED NATIVE AMERICANS ONTO DESOLATE RESERVATIONS FAR FROM THE SETTLERS OF AMERICA'S NEW FRONTIER.
THIS GUY WAS NOT A FRIEND OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS.
HIS CHARACTERIZATION OF THEIR BATTLES AND FIGHTS TO BASICALLY MAINTAIN THEIR OWN TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY IS VERY DEGRADING AND NEGATIVE.
SO WHY WOULD HE SIGN A PARDON LIKE THIS?
MY FIRST TASK IS TO CONFIRM WE HAVE A GENUINE ITEM.
P.S.
RUCKMAN, JR., IS A SCHOLAR OF PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS.
SO HERE'S THE DOCUMENT THAT I MENTIONED TO YOU.
WE DO HAVE AN AUTHENTIC PARDON, HE SAYS.
THE UNUSUAL EMBLEM ON THE SIDE IS A PRESIDENTIAL SEAL.
THIS IS AN ACTUAL CLEMENCY WARRANT FROM THE 1850s SIGNED BY PRESIDENT MILLARD FILLMORE.
WHAT YOU HAVE IS ACTUALLY ONE OF TWO COPIES.
HE SHOWS US AN IDENTICAL DOCUMENT CURRENTLY ON FILE IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.
WHEN PARDONS WERE GRANTED IN THIS TIME PERIOD, TWO COPIES WERE MADE.
AND ONE WAS KEPT IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, AND HERE'S THE FIRST COPY, AND THE SECOND WAS DELIVERED TO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS BEING PARDONED, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE THERE.
SO THIS WAS ACTUALLY GIVEN TO SEE SEE SAH MAH.
THAT'S RIGHT.
HE DOESN'T KNOW THE DETAILS OF THE CASE BUT SAYS THE DOCUMENT IS EXTREMELY RARE.
BY 1851, ONLY A HANDFUL OF PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS HAD BEEN GRANTED TO NATIVE AMERICANS.
THROW THAT IN WITH THE FACT THAT IT'S A MURDER TRIAL AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT PRETTY LONG ODDS AGAINST GETTING A PRESIDENTIAL PARDON.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUT SEE SEE SAH MAH AND HIS CASE BY LOOKING AT THIS DOCUMENT?
IF YOU GET A PARDON FROM THE PRESIDENT IN THE 1850s, SOMEONE'S PROBABLY FIGHTING A TREMENDOUS BATTLE FOR YOU BEHIND THE SCENES AND THEY KNOW SOMEONE THAT'S CONNECTED WITH SOMEONE ELSE THAT HAS ACCESS.
WHO WAS FIGHTING TO SAVE THE LIFE OF A SOLITARY NATIVE AMERICAN AND HAD ACCESS TO THE PRESIDENT?
THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS CLEARLY GOING TO LIE BEYOND THIS DOCUMENT AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO INVESTIGATE COURT DOCUMENTS, THINGS MORE SPECIFIC TO THE TRIAL.
COOL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
MY PLEASURE.
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, HOLDS RETIRED RECORDS FROM THE FEDERAL AGENCIES AND COURTS IN THE GREAT PLAINS STATES.
THE LIBRARY'S ARCHIVIST HAS TO PORE THROUGH A WEALTH OF OLD WEST HISTORY TO UNCOVER A MERE HANDFUL OF DOCUMENTS.
OKAY, SO HERE'S THE INDICTMENT.
"SEE SEE SAH MAH, AN INDIAN OF THE SAC AND FOX TRIBE, DID STRIKE, CUT, AND STAB THE SAID NORRIS COLBURN."
THE STORY GOES THAT IN MARCH OF 1847, TWO TRADERS, NORRIS COLBURN AND HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, EUGENE LEITENSDORFER, WERE TRANSPORTING MONEY ALONG THE SANTA FE TRAIL.
THEIR MULES GAVE OUT IN INDIAN TERRITORY JUST 65 MILES WEST OF THE MISSOURI STATE LINE.
LEITENSDORFER CLAIMED HE WENT ON TO ST. LOUIS FOR HELP, TAKING THE MONEY WITH HIM, AND WHEN HE RETURNED, COLBURN WAS DEAD.
STRANGELY, IT TOOK TWO YEARS FOR SEE SEE SAH MAH TO BE ACCUSED OF THE MURDER.
AND ALTHOUGH HE CONFESSED, THE DOCUMENTS HAVE SOME DISTURBING DETAILS.
OKAY, LISTEN TO THIS; YOU GET A SENSE OF THE TRIAL HE HAD.
"DEPUTY MARSHAL, HE FURNISHED SAID JURY WITH WHISKEY THREE TIMES A DAY."
ALL RIGHT, HERE ARE THE NAMES OF HIS LAWYERS: F.P.
BLAIR AND B. GRATZ BROWN.
THE TWO ATTORNEYS WRITE FORCEFUL APPEALS ON BEHALF OF SEE SEE SAH MAH.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY SUGGESTING THAT THERE WAS COERCION IN GETTING HIS CONFESSION, THAT, "SAID FIRST CONFESSION WAS MADE UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES OF TERROR AND OF FRIGHT."
BUT IT'S CERTAINLY NOT CLEAR FROM THE RECORDS WHY THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF INTERVENED.
SANDRA MASSEY IS THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER FOR THE SAC AND FOX NATION, THE TRIBE SEE SEE SAH MAH WAS FROM.
I NEVER HEARD OF THIS CASE OR THE MAN UNTIL YOUR INVESTIGATION.
SHE SAYS OUR QUESTIONS MAY BE RESCUING THE STORY OF SEE SEE SAH MAH'S PARDON FROM GENERATIONS OF OBSCURITY.
IT'S OPENED A DOOR TO A WHOLE PART OF OUR HISTORY THAT WE NEVER KNEW BEFORE.
TO KNOW THAT THERE WAS A WHOLE ELEMENT THAT WENT ALL THE WAY TO WASHINGTON, D.C., AND THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE IS JUST ASTOUNDING.
SHE'S NOT SURPRISED TO SEE A SAC AND FOX NAME IN THE TRIAL RECORD, HOWEVER.
THE MURDER SITE ON THE SANTA FE TRAIL WAS IN SAC AND FOX TERRITORY, AND IN 1850, SHE SAYS THE ENCROACHMENT OF THOUSANDS OF WHITE SETTLERS HAD CREATED A POWDER-KEG ATMOSPHERE.
THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO REPORTED CASES IN MISSOURI WHERE WE DID KILL PEOPLE FOR TRESPASSING OR FOR UTILIZING OUR SALT MINES FOR A COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE.
WHY WOULD PRESIDENT FILLMORE HAVE TAKEN A SPECIAL INTEREST IN THIS CASE?
I REALLY COULDN'T ANSWER EXCEPT TO SAY THAT HE DID HAVE A SPECIAL INSIGHT TO THE PROBLEMS THAT WE HAD.
SANDRA THROWS SOME NEW LIGHT ON PRESIDENT FILLMORE FOR ME.
SHE SAYS THAT WHILE IN OFFICE, HE APPEARS TO HAVE SOFTENED HIS STANCE TOWARD NATIVE AMERICANS.
IN HIS SECOND STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS IN DECEMBER 1851, WHICH IS THE SAME YEAR OF THE PARDON, HE DID STATE THAT BY BEING PUSHED OUT OF OUR NATURAL HOMELAND, WE'RE BEING FORCED TO STARVE OR PLUNDER AND THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SHOULD BE MORE UNDERSTANDING AND FORGIVING.
OUR TRIAL WAS HELD IN ST. LOUIS.
AT THE MISSOURI HISTORY MUSEUM'S LIBRARY AND RESEARCH CENTER, THE LIBRARIAN HAS ME SEARCH FOR A BOOK ENTITLED THE BEGINNING OF THE WEST.
IT CITES PERIOD NEWSPAPERS.
THERE'S NO REFERENCE TO SEE SEE SAH MAH.
MAYBE I CAN FIND SOMETHING ABOUT NORRIS COLBURN.
LET'S SEE.
OKAY, THERE HE IS; GOT HIM.
IT SEEMS THE TRIAL GO T ONLY LOCAL PRESS ATTENTION, PROBABLY NOT ENOUGH TO CATCH THE EYE OF A PRESIDENT, BUT I DO FIND A STARTLING DETAIL ABOUT A POSSIBLE OTHER SUSPECT IN THE MURDER OF NORRIS COLBURN: HIS TRAVELING COMPANION.
WOW, LISTEN TO THIS: "BY REPORT, PEOPLE ON THE FRONTIER THOUGHT "HE HAD NOT BEEN KILLED BY INDIANS.
"FOR A TIME, SUSPICION FELL ON LEITENSDORFER, HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW."
WELL, THIS CLEARLY SHOWS WHY THERE WAS SOME DOUBT ABOUT THE GUILT OF MR. SEE SEE SAH MAH.
WHO WAS ABLE TO GET THIS CASE IN FRONT OF THE PRESIDENT?
BILL FOLEY IS PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF HISTORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI.
I'VE SENT HIM A COPY OF THE PARDON ALONG WITH WHAT LITTLE I WAS ABLE TO DIG UP.
WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR ME TO FIND ANYTHING WHICH WOULD EXPLAIN WHY FILLMORE GOT INVOLVED IN THIS CASE?
MILLARD FILLMORE IS ONE OF THE MORE OBSCURE U.S. PRESIDENTS, OBVIOUSLY, SO PEOPLE HAVEN'T SCOURED HIS PAPERS.
ALSO, THE 1850s WERE A TIME WHEN SLAVERY AND NATIONAL EXPANSION WERE VERY MUCH IN THE FOREFRONT, AND INDIAN AFFAIRS HAD MOMENTARILY RECEDED...
HE HADN'T COME ACROSS THE PARDON EITHER, BUT BILL SAYS THAT I STILL SHOULD HAVE COME UP WITH MORE IN THE KANSAS CITY ARCHIVES.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT TO FIND IN A CASE FILE WOULD BE A SYNOPSIS OF THE TRIAL, NOTES OF A JUDGE, AND OTHER KINDS OF SUMMARIES.
SO THAT GOT ME TO THINKING, WHERE MIGHT THEY HAVE GONE?
AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES IN COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND, BILL DISCOVERED A BOX OF MISCELLANEOUS CASES FROM 1789 TO 1860 LABELED "PETITIONS OF PARDON."
SURE ENOUGH, IT HELD THE COMPLETE CASE FILE.
SO THAT'S WHAT A GOOD HISTORIAN DOES, THEY FIND THINGS WHERE THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE.
SO WHAT DID YOU FIND?
HERE'S A SYNOPSIS OF THE TRIAL.
IT INCLUDES A REPORT FROM THE CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR.
HE DESCRIBES A TRAIL OF TRACKS LEADING AWAY FROM THE BODY.
HE SAYS HERE THAT THE TRACK WAS MADE BY A BOOT OR SHOE, WAS NOT A MOCCASIN TRACK.
HIS INTERPRETATION AT THE TIME WAS THAT A WHITE MAN DID THE DEED.
BUT THAT DOESN'T EXPLAIN WHY PRESIDENT FILLMORE TOOK A PERSONAL INTEREST.
THE KEY IS IN THE DEFENSE TEAM, FRANK BLAIR AND GRATZ BROWN.
BILL TELLS ME FRANK BLAIR'S FATHER, FRANCIS PRESTON BLAIR, SR., WAS AN ADVISER TO ANDREW JACKSON, MARTIN VAN BUREN, AND LATER, ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
THE BLAIR HOUSE SAT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, WHERE IT REMAINS TODAY.
WHY WOULD THESE TWO PROMINENT LAWYERS TAKE ON A CASE LIKE THIS?
BROWN OBVIOUSLY HAD A LOT OF CONCERNS.
AND, FRANKLY, I THINK HE WAS HORRIFIED BY THE PROSPECT THAT AN INNOCENT MAN MIGHT BE EXECUTED.
LOOK AT THIS.
"HONORABLE CRITTENDEN, GET REPRIEVE FOR 60 DAYS "FOR SAH MAH INDIAN TO BE HUNG AT JEFFERSON CITY.
WILL BE A FOUL MURDER TO HANG HIM."
SIGNED BY OUR GUY, GRATZ BROWN.
WHO IS CRITTENDEN?
JOHN CRITTENDEN WAS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.
BUT THERE'S MORE.
WHAT BILL FOUND BURIED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES FINALLY GIVES ME THE ANSWER FOR JEFF.
BEFORE THIS CASE, NONE OF THE EXPERTS I SPOKE TO KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT SEE SEE SAH MAH OR THIS PARDON.
I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT.
I MEAN, HERE IS A LEGAL DOCUMENT THAT'S CIRCULATING OUT THERE.
I TELL JEFF ABOUT SE E SEE SAH MAH'S UNFAIR TRIAL, ABOUT THE SUSPICIONS SURROUNDING COLBURN'S BROTHER-IN-LAW, AND THE DIFFICULTY I HAD FINDING EVIDENCE OR DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE.
UNBELIEVABLE.
IT'S AS GOOD AS HOLLYWOOD COULD WRITE.
WHAT YOU REALLY WANTED TO KNOW IS WHY PRESIDENT FILLMORE TOOK A PERSONAL INTEREST IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE.
I HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU.
HERE IS CRITTENDEN'S MEMO TO THE PRESIDENT ABOUT THIS REQUEST.
"I AM WELL ACQUAINTED WITH MR. GRATZ BROWN.
"I VENTURE TO RECOMMEND THAT THE PRESIDENT GRANT THE REPRIEVE REQUESTED BY MR.
BROWN."
AT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S RECOMMENDATION, THE PRESIDENT SENT A FATEFUL TELEGRAM TO ST. LOUIS.
LITERALLY 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE SCHEDULED EXECUTION.
THE MARSHAL HAD ALREADY BEGUN ESCORTING SEE SEE SAH MAH TO THE GALLOWS.
IN THE END, THERE REALLY WEREN'T ANY VICTORS IN THIS CASE.
SEE SEE SAH MAH WAS SENT TO THE MISSOURI STATE PENITENTIARY, WHICH WAS A NOTORIOUSLY HORRIBLE PLACE, WHERE HE DIED PROBABLY NOT LONG AFTER HIS INCARCERATION.
AND IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, THE ACTUAL KILLER WENT SCOT-FREE.
I CAN'T BELIEVE REALLY -- REALLY THE TRAGIC ENDING OF IT ALL.
THIS DOCUMENT REPRESENTS ON ONE HAND THE FIGHT FOR NATIVE-AMERICAN JUSTICE, AND ON THE OTHER HAND, THE AMBIGUOUS NATURE IN WHICH THEY WERE TREATED BY PRESIDENTS LIKE FILLMORE.
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR DOCUMENT NOW?
WELL, YOU'VE REALLY ENHANCED THE PROVENANCE, AND I HAVE A LOT OF STORYTELLING TO DO FROM HERE ON TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
IN 1854, THE BLAIR FAMILY HELPED FOUND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ON THE IDEA THAT FREE MARKET LABOR WAS SUPERIOR TO SLAVERY.
BENJAMIN GRATZ BROWN BECAME A U.S.
SENATOR AND EVENTUALLY THE GOVERNOR OF MISSOURI.
CONSTITUTION FRAMER ALEXANDER HAMILTON ARGUED FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL RIGHT TO PARDON.
HE BELIEVED AFTER TIMES OF REBELLION, PARDONING INSURGENTS COULD HELP THE NATION HEAL.
EVEN SO, MANY PARDONS HAVE PROVOKED CONTROVERSY.
GEORGE WASHINGTON PARDONED TWO LEADERS OF THE WHISKEY REBELLION.
SENTENCED TO HANG FOR TREASON, WASHINGTON ARGUED THAT ONE MAN WAS A SIMPLETON AND THE OTHER INSANE.
AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON GRANTED PARDONS TO CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS, PROVIDED THAT THEY SWORE LOYALTY TO THE UNION.
IN 1893 AND 1894, ANTICIPATING UTAH'S ACCEPTANCE INTO THE UNION, PRESIDENTS HARRISON AND CLEVELAND ISSUED BLANKET PARDONS TO MORMON POLYGAMISTS.
IN 1974, GERALD FORD PARDONED RICHARD NIXON FOR HIS WATERGATE CRIMES.
ON HIS SECOND DAY IN OFFICE IN 1977, PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER ISSUED A FULL PARDON TO ALL VIETNAM-ERA DRAFT DODGERS.
GEORGE H.W.
BUSH ISSUED THE FIRST OFFICIAL TURKEY PARDON IN 1989.
EVERY NOVEMBER SINCE THEN, THE PRESIDENT PARDONS TWO TURKEYS, SAVING THEM FROM SERVICE AS A THANKSGIVING ENTREE.
Gwendolyn: OUR NEXT STORY INVESTIGATES A HOUSE WITH AN UNDERGROUND PAST.
TEN MILLION AMERICAN SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN CAME HOME WITH THE CLOSE OF WORLD WAR II, EAGER TO TURN THEIR ENERGIES FROM FIGHTING TO BUILDING A MODERN POSTWAR NATION.
AN EMERGING NETWORK OF INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS WOULD ENCOURAGE A NEW SCALE OF HOUSING IN LARGE NEW SUBURBS, PLACES LIKE LEVITTOWN, NEW YORK, WHERE THE COMPANIES FACTORY-PRODUCED ONE FOUR-ROOM HOUSE EVERY 16 MINUTES IN 1950.
BUT THE BUILDING BOOM TAKES A WHILE.
THE DEPRESSION, FOLLOWED BY THE WAR YEARS, HAD LEFT THE NATION WITH A CRITICAL HOUSING SHORTAGE.
WHERE WOULD THE ARMY OF RETURNING G.I.s LIVE?
NOW THE STRATHEARNS OF LAKEWOOD, COLORADO, HAVE MADE A DISCOVERY WHICH MAY OFFER A UNIQUE LOOK AT HOW NECESSITY BECAME THE MOTHER OF INVENTION IN POSTWAR AMERICA.
WHEN I DISCOVERED WHAT WAS DOWN IN THE BASEMENT, IT MADE THE HOUSE THAT WE'RE LIVING IN MUCH MORE INTERESTING.
I'M MEETING KATHY AND BILL TO GET THIS INVESTIGATION ON TRACK.
YOU MUST BE KATHY AND BILL.
HI, GWEN, IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU.
NICE TO MEET BOTH OF YOU.
OH, REALLY LOVELY.
THANKS.
THE BASEMENT'S RIGHT THIS WAY.
HERE WE ARE.
WELL, THIS CERTAINLY ISN'T YOUR USUAL BASEMENT RAFTER, IS IT?
NO, THAT'S WE THOUGHT WHEN WE FIRST LOOKED AT THE HOUSE.
IT IS AMAZING.
THIS IS SEVERAL HUNDRED POUNDS OF STEEL LOOKING AT YOU, AND THERE'S ANOTHER ONE AT THE OTHER END.
SO WHEN DID YOU FIRST SEE THIS?
WELL, WE CAME ONE AFTERNOON TO LOOK AT THE HOUSE AND IMMEDIATELY NOTICED THIS BECAUSE I'M BASICALLY A RAILROAD BUFF.
KATHY AND BILL BELIEVE THAT THE BEAM IS THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF A RAILROAD CAR.
THE DEED SAYS THEIR HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1949.
BILL HAS A PLAN OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, KNOWN AS DANIELS GARDENS.
IT'S DATED 1939.
SO TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT YOU'D LIKE FOR ME TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR HOUSE.
NOT SURPRISINGLY, IT'S THE BASEMENT ROOF THAT HAS KATHY AND BILL MYSTIFIED.
WE'D LIKE TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT'S HERE.
WELL, IT'S CERTAINLY AN INTRIGUING STORY.
THESE BEAMS CERTAINLY LOOK LIKE THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF SOME KIND OF TRAIN CAR.
WELL, MEASUREMENTS ARE USEFUL.
I'LL GET MY TAPE MEASURE.
EIGHT FEET.
I'M NOT SURE, BUT THIS SEEMS A LITTLE NARROW FOR A RAILROAD CAR.
IN ANY CASE, THIS ISN'T A FASHION STATEMENT ABOUT THE BEAUTY OF INDUSTRIAL OBJECTS, IT'S A REAL PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT'S HOLDING UP THE HOUSE.
WELL, IT SEEMS TO BE COVERED WITH GREASE AND DIRT AS IF IT WAS TAKEN RIGHT OFF THE TRACKS AND PUT DOWN ON THIS LOT.
[ shutter clicking ] WELL, THIS MUST BE THE EDGE OF THE UNDERCARRIAGE.
HUH, LOOK AT THAT, "ONLY."
THE UNDERCARRIAGE IS DIRECTLY BELOW THE KITCHEN.
THERE'S NO INDICATION THAT THERE WAS ONCE ANY KIND OF TRAIN CAR RIGHT HERE OR THAT THERE'S AN UNDERCARRIAGE OF A TRAIN RIGHT BELOW MY FEET.
IT'S CLEARLY RECENT, ALTHOUGH THE FACADE EVOKES AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE OF A CENTURY AGO.
A MIX OF SHINGLE-STYLE AND CRAFTSMAN-STYLE AMERICAN HOUSES.
BILL TOLD ME THE HOUSE HAD UNDERGONE RENOVATIONS.
I WONDER WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE BEFORE.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THIS MAP NOW.
SO, DANIELS GARDEN ADDITION, 1939.
THESE LOTS ARE VERY NARROW AND QUITE DEEP, AND THIS DEPTH MAY BE SUGGESTING THAT PEOPLE HAD SMALL VEGETABLE AND EVEN FRUIT FARMS IN THE BACK.
AND HERE'S OUR PLOT RIGHT HERE, 21.
OH, LOOK AT THIS.
"NO LOT OR TRACT MAY BE USED FOR FOX, MINK, SKUNK, OR HOG FARMS, DOG KENNELS, JUNKYARDS, OR SALVAGE PLACES."
THIS SEEMS LIKE IT COULD HAVE BEEN A WORKING-CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND HERE WE HAVE LEONARD ZALL, OWNER AND SUBDIVIDER.
SO WHO WAS LEONARD ZALL?
I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EARLY RESIDENTS OF DANIELS GARDENS.
I'VE ARRANGED FOR A TOUR WITH KATIE THORSHEIM.
SHE'S CO-AUTHOR OF FIFTY CENTS DOWN, A HISTORY OF THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
WELL, I CAN SEE THAT ALL THESE PLOTS ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME SIZE.
SO WHO WAS LEONARD ZALL WHO DID THIS?
HE WAS A TURKISH IMMIGRANT.
WE BELIEVE HE CAME FROM DETROIT.
HE FOLLOWED A FAIRLY COMMON MODEL OF THE TIME, WHICH WAS TO DIVIDE THE LAND IN LITTLE PIECES, HOLD THE TITLE, AND SELL THEM TO PEOPLE WHO WOULD THEN BUILD.
KATIE SAYS THE MAP IS ZALL'S ORIGINAL SITE PLAN.
THE LAND IS JUST 10 MILES FROM DOWNTOWN DENVER.
ZALL BOUGHT IT IN 1938, LAID OUT THE PLOTS, AND PRICED THEM TO SELL.
HE HAD A BIG BILLBOARD ON COLFAX RIGHT UP HERE AND A LITTLE TIN SHACK UNDER IT, AND ON THE BILLBOARD WAS A HEN AND A BUNCH OF CHICKS, AND IT SAID, "50 CENTS DOWN, 50 CENTS A WEEK."
THAT'S 50 CENTS A WEEK, 11 AND A HALF YEARS FOR A $300 LOT, PLUS THE COST OF BUILDING A HOUSE.
THE ECONOMY HAD IMPROVED, BUT MONEY WAS STILL TIGHT.
THIS WAS A HIGH-RISK DEAL FOR THE EARLY RESIDENTS.
IF YOU DIDN'T PAY THE MONEY, ZALL WAS KNOCKING ON YOUR DOOR.
IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE IT, YOU'RE OUT OF THERE.
EVEN IF YOU HAD BUILT PART OF A HOUSE OR A WHOLE HOUSE, HE WOULD GET THE WHOLE THING AND COULD SELL IT AGAIN?
THE WHOLE THING BACK, YES.
WHO CAME TO LIVE HERE?
ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM WAS THE CHILD OF A HOMESTEADER.
THEY HAD HELPED THEIR FAMILY ESTABLISH SOMETHING, USUALLY IN THE EASTERN PLAINS, WHERE THE DUST BOWL CAME.
KATIE TELLS ME THAT LE ONARD ZALL GOT LUCKY IN 1941.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BUILT A MUNITIONS PLANT JUST A MILE FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AT THE HEIGHT OF THE WAR, IT EMPLOYED 20,000 PEOPLE.
THE MANAGERS BUILT A SMALL RAIL LINE TO BRING IN RAW MATERIALS AND CARRY OUT THE FINISHED PRODUCTS.
THEN WE SEE PEOPLE WHO WORKED AT THE MUNITIONS PLANT WHO DROVE THROUGH DANIELS ON THEIR WAY HOME AND THEY WENT, "HONEY, WE COULD BUY A HOUSE!"
SO WE HAD BOTH THE MUNITIONS PLANT FEEDING US PEOPLE AND THE MUNITIONS PLANT PROVIDING WAGES FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WERE ALREADY HERE.
DANIELS GARDENS RESIDENTS WHO WORKED IN FACTORIES RETAINED THEIR RURAL ROOTS, PLANTING GARDENS AND RAISING LIVESTOCK.
THAT'S STILL HAPPENING TODAY.
NOW, I'M SURE THAT MOST OF THESE HOUSES HAVE CHANGED A LOT SINCE THEY WERE ORIGINALLY BUILT, BUT HOW WERE THEY FIRST PUT TOGETHER?
WELL, YOU'RE STARTING WITH BARE LAND, SO YOU STARTED WITH A LITTLE SQUARE HOUSE.
KATIE'S DESCRIPTION OF A NEARBY FREIGHT TRACK THAT SERVICED THE MUNITIONS PLANT HAS CAUGHT MY ATTENTION.
WAS OUR HOUSE BUILT FROM ONE OF THOSE RAIL CARS?
HAVE YOU HEARD OF ANYTHING LIKE THAT?
KATIE EXPLAINS THAT FARMING ROOTS AND DEPRESSION-ERA FRUGALITY MEANT DANIELS GARDENS RESIDENTS WERE CREATIVE BUILDERS WHO MADE THE MOST OF AD HOC RECYCLED MATERIALS, BUT SHE'S NOT FAMILIAR WITH OUR HOUSE.
BECAUSE YOU WERE TRYING TO AVOID SPENDING TOO MUCH MONEY, THE PREFERRED MATERIAL WAS PACKING CRATES OR RECYCLED WOOD.
THERE WERE A LOT OF LITTLE KIDS WHO SPENT THEIR LIVES PULLING NAILS FOR THEIR DADS.
IF THE MATERIALS WERE AVAILABLE, YOU'D MAKE A HOUSE THAT WORKED AROUND THOSE MATERIALS.
IF SOMEBODY HAD A SHED, GLOM IT ON.
I'M MEETING SARAH JO PETERSON, AN EXPERT ON WHAT SHE CALLS URBAN HOMESTEADING.
SARAH JO EXPLAINS HOW WORKING-CLASS NEIGHBORHOODS JUST OUTSIDE LARGE CITIES EXPANDED DURING THE NATIONAL HOUSING SHORTAGE.
I BROUGHT THIS TO SHOW YOU REALLY THE SEVERITY OF WHAT WAS GOING ON.
THIS IS A CHART OF NEW HOUSING, STARTING IN '25 AND THEN ENDING WITH OUR HOUSE IN '49.
THE GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED HOME BUILDING DURING WORLD WAR II.
A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT RATIONING DURING WORLD WAR II, AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RATIONED SUGAR, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RATIONED GASOLINE, BUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALSO RATIONED NEW HOUSES BECAUSE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS HAD TO GO TO THE WAR.
AN EASY WAY TO THINK ABOUT IT, IN THE 1930s PEOPLE HAD NO MONEY AND IN THE 1940s THEY HAD NO MATERIALS.
BUT DURING THIS ENTIRE TIME, THE POPULATION IS GROWING.
THE CRISIS REACHED ITS PEAK WHEN THESE 10 MILLION G.I.s RETURNED HOME FROM THE WAR, MOST OF THEM STARTING NEW FAMILIES.
YET FOUR YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE WAR, THE PRIVATE SECTOR STILL WASN'T BUILDING ENOUGH HOMES.
AND THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE BABY BOOM.
THESE G.I.s ARE COMING HOME, THEY GET MARRIED, AND THEY HAVE BABIES RIGHT AWAY.
THAT'S RIGHT, AND THEY WANT TO HAVE PLACES OF THEIR OWN, AND THEY JUST AREN'T AVAILABLE.
AND THEY'RE LIVING IN THEIR PARENTS' GARAGES AND THEY'RE DOUBLING UP WITH THEIR YOUNGER BROTHERS, AND WHAT THE COUNTRY NEEDS TO DO IS BUILD A LOT OF HOUSING, A LOT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, FAST.
THE EVENTUAL RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS WOULD BE MASS SUBURBIA, PLANNED COMMUNITIES THAT TOOK ADVANTAGE OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDING MATERIALS AND STANDARDIZED DESIGNS.
THE 1949 HOUSING ACT HELPED LAUNCH THESE LARGE-SCALE SUBURBS.
ONE OF THE FIRST, KNOWN AS LEVITTOWN, WAS BUILT BY WILLIAM J. LEVITT AND SONS IN LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK.
LEVITT'S HOUSES START BEING OPENED IN 1949, AND BY 1951, HE HAS PUT UP AROUND 17,000 HOUSES USING THIS MASS PRODUCTION.
NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE DANIELS GARDENS, WHERE PEOPLE BUILT THEIR OWN HOUSES OUT OF UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS, WERE ALSO COMMON.
TODAY, WE THINK THAT A BUILDER BUILDS A HOUSE AND THEN YOU GET A MORTGAGE AND THE HOUSE IS ALL DONE AND YOU PAY FOR IT OVER TIME.
THEY INSTEAD BUILT A HOUSE OVER TIME AS THEY COULD AFFORD IT.
SARAH HASN'T HEARD OF HOUSES BEING BUILT OUT OF RAILROAD CARS, BUT SHE SAYS IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE.
THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE PERFECT SOLUTION TO THE HOUSING MATERIAL SHORTAGES.
TO FIND SOMETHING THAT HAD THAT KIND OF STRUCTURE THAT YOU COULD MOVE RIGHT INTO, YOU COULD BRING IT ON THE SITE, AND THEN YOU MAKE IT YOUR HOME.
MY OFFICE HAS PUT ME IN TOUCH WITH FLINT SCHMEICHEL, THE PREVIOUS OWNER OF OUR HOUSE.
NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO.
WE BOUGHT IT SEPTEMBER 14, 2001.
THESE ARE PICTURES OF THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE WHEN WE FIRST BOUGHT IT.
THIS IS BASICALLY A RECTANGULAR HOUSE, AND THERE WAS A BOXCAR THAT WAS BASICALLY HALF THE HOUSE.
RUNNING LENGTHWISE.
YEAH, RUNNING LENGTHWISE.
WHEN FLINT BEGAN REMODELING, THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE ATTACHED TO KATHY AND BILL'S BASEMENT CEILING BECAME VISIBLE.
THIS IS LOOKING DOWN THROUGH THE OLD RAFTERS ONTO THE ROOF OF THE TRAIN CAR, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THIS IS THE WHOLE TRAIN CAR RUNNING RIGHT ALONG THE SIDE OF THE WALLS, WHICH WAS OUR KITCHEN AND A SMALL BEDROOM.
SO THIS WAS THE CEILING OF THE TRAIN CAR HERE?
YES.
SO YOU DID THIS MAJOR EXPANSION?
YEP.
I COMPLETELY REMODELED THE WHOLE HOUSE WITH ADDING A TWO-CAR GARAGE AND A SECOND STORY AND TEARING OFF THE OLD ROOF.
FLINT THINKS THAT THE KITCHEN ONCE HOUSED A DIFFERENT KIND OF EATING ESTABLISHMENT, A DINING CAR FROM A PASSENGER TRAIN.
YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT THE WALLS WERE KIND OF ARCHED AND HAD THESE SPECIAL WOOD BEAMS AND WINDOWS ON THE END OF IT TO MAKE IT A SPECIAL DINING CAR.
BUT SOMETHING BOTHERS ME HERE.
FLINT THINKS OUR RAILROAD CAR WA S ORIGINALLY PART OF THE LINE THAT SERVICED THE NEARBY MUNITIONS PLANT, BUT WHY WOULD A DINING CAR HAVE BEEN RUNNING ON A FREIGHT LINE?
I HAD MY OFFICE CHECK THOSE MEASUREMENTS I TOOK IN THE BASEMENT.
AN 8-FOOT WIDTH IS NARROWER TH AN A STANDARD-GAUGE RAIL CAR.
COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM ARCHIVIST KENT FORREST HAS AGREED TO MEET ME AT THE HOUSE.
THANKS FOR COMING OUT HERE.
LET'S GO INSIDE.
OKAY.
IT'S IN HERE, KEN.
LET ME SHOW YOU.
NOW, THIS DOES SEEM TO ME TO BE THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF SOME KIND OF TRAIN -- OF A CAR, RIGHT.
WE CAN TELL BY THIS THING HERE, WHICH IS CALLED A BOLSTER, AND THIS IS WHAT HELD THE WHEELS TO THE CAR.
NOW, WOULD THE PROPORTIONS OR THE SIZE OF THESE GIVE YOU ANY INFORMATION?
FROM THIS WIDTH, I CAN TELL IT'S A NARROW-GAUGE CAR.
BUT HE'S NOT CERTAIN THE BASEMENT STRUCTURE WAS EVER A RAILROAD CAR.
HE SPOTS THE WORD "ONLY," WHICH PROMPTS HIM TO SHOW ME SOMETHING IN THE MUSEUM'S ARCHIVE.
THE CURIOUS STENCILING IN BILL AND KATHY'S BASEMENT HAS GIVEN KEN OUR ANSWER.
"EXIT ONLY;" IS THAT OUR "ONLY" SIGN?
I BELIEVE SO.
LET ME GET IT OUT: LET'S SEE... OH, IT IS THE SAME TYPEFACE.
"ONLY" AND "ONLY."
I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU SOME PICTURES OF SOME DENVER TRAMWAY TROLLEY CARS.
HERE THE PASSENGERS WOULD ENTER IN THE FRONT OF THE CAR, AND THEN WHEN THEY LEFT THEY WOULD GO BACK HERE.
HERE IS THE FLOOR, AND WHERE WE WERE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE "ONLY," THAT WAS THE EXIT DOOR.
IN DENVER, AS IN OTHER AMERICAN CITIES, HORSE-DRAWN RAILWAYS PROVIDED THE EARLIEST PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
THEN, FROM THE TURN OF THE CENTURY UNTIL THE 1950s, A NETWORK OF ELECTRIC TROLLEY CARS REPLACED THE HORSECARS, CRISSCROSSING DOWNTOWN AREAS AND PUSHING SUBURBAN GROWTH OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS.
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE TROLLEY CARS?
RIGHT AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THEY STARTED GETTING RID OF ROUTES AND REPLACING THEM WITH BUSES, WHICH AT THAT TIME WAS THE MODERN THING TO DO, BECAUSE NOW YOU HAD NEW HIGHWAYS.
WHAT KEN SHOWS ME NEXT GIVES ME THE INFORMATION TO COMPLETE MY INVESTIGATION.
WELL, KATHY AND BILL, I CAN TELL YOU THE ORIGINS OF YOUR HOUSE AND A MUCH LARGER STORY THAT IT REVEALS.
I MET WITH AN EXPERT AT THE COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM, AND HE TOLD ME THE KEY IS THAT "ONLY" SIGN DOWNSTAIRS ON THE WALL.
"EXIT ONLY," YES.
LOOK AT THAT.
I'LL BE DARNED.
SO, BILL AND KATHY, YOUR HOME WAS ORIGINALLY A TROLLEY CAR ON THE DENVER TRANSIT SYSTEM.
I EXPLAIN THAT THE STORY OF THEIR HOUSE BEGINS WITH THE DEMISE OF THE DENVER TROLLEY CAR SYSTEM JUST AFTER WORLD WAR II.
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE TROLLEY CARS?
AFTER THEY CONVERTED TO BUSES, THEY SOLD THEM FOR SCRAP OR THEY SOLD THEM TO PEOPLE.
HOW MUCH DID THEY SELL THEM FOR?
WELL, I JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE A LITTLE PIECE OF NEWSPAPER HERE FOR YOU.
HA, LOOK AT THAT.
AND HERE THEY'RE SELLING THEM FOR $100.
SO THEY WERE $100.
LOOK AT THIS!
"FOR SUMMER CABINS, GRAIN STORAGE, TROUT HATCHERIES, PLAYHOUSES, WAITING ROOMS, ET CETERA."
RIGHT.
WERE THERE OTHER HOUSES THAT YOU KNOW OF?
OH, YEAH.
THIS IS THE COMPANY MAGAZINE, TR AM TOPICS, IN 1950.
AND HERE IS A PICTURE OF A DENVER STREETCAR AND THEY ADDED A LITTLE PORCH IN THE FRONT, PUT SOME SCREENED WINDOWS IN, AND YOU CAN SEE THEY'RE ALL JUST SITTING AROUND HERE ENJOYING THE SUMMER BREEZE.
AND THEN HERE IS ONE WHERE THEY PUT TWO TOGETHER AND THIS MADE A CHAPEL.
[ laughs ] A HUNDRED DOLLARS.
OH, MY, LOOK AT THAT.
A LOT CHEAPER THAN A HOUSE.
I'LL BE DARNED.
THAT REALLY IS NEAT.
YEAH.
YOUR HOUSE IS FASCINATING.
IT ALSO CONNECTS US TO A MUCH BIGGER STORY.
AT THE VERY TIME THAT THIS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM WAS BEING DISMANTLED, CITIES LIKE DENVER COMMITTED THEMSELVES ENTIRELY TO BUILDING NEW ROADS AND HIGHWAYS, AND HERE IS A REPORT FROM THE DENVER PLANNING OFFICE OF THEIR VISION FOR THOSE NEW HIGHWAYS.
SIX-LANE HIGHWAYS WITH CLOVERLEAF INTERSECTIONS; THE HIGHWAYS WE KNOW TODAY.
AND THAT'S RIGHT OUT HERE, FEDERAL BOULEVARD TO CLEAR CREEK CANYON.
YOUR HOUSE HAS QUITE A STORY AND IT TELLS US ABOUT A TRANSFORMATIVE MOMENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
TO HAVE A TROLLEY CAR IN YOUR BASEMENT AND BE A RAILROAD BUFF AT THE SAME TIME IS KIND OF EXCITING.
THIS IS REALLY A REMARKABLE HOUSE, AND THE STORY IT OPENS UP IS GREAT.
AFTER 1950, SUBURBS GREW AN AVERAGE OF 10 TIMES FASTER THAN CITIES.
THE NEW MASS SUBURBS CHANGED THE LANDSCAPE OF AMERICAN SOCIETY.
UNLIKE CITIES, ALMOST EVERYONE HERE LOOKED ALIKE: YOUNG WHITE COUPLES WITH LITTLE CHILDREN.
EARLIER SUBURBS ALWAYS HAD SOME FORM OF PUBLIC TRANSIT, BUT NOW SUBURBAN HOMEOWNERS NEEDED THEIR OWN CARS TO GET TO WORK.
TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEW CARS AND EXPAND NEW OUTLYING NEIGHBORHOODS, CONGRESS PASSED THE FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY ACT OF 1956, PAVING THE WAY FOR MORE SUBURBS FURTHER AND FURTHER OUTSIDE CITIES.
ENTERPRISING HOMEBUILDERS HAVE ALWAYS REPURPOSED EXISTING MATERIALS, BUT ENVIRONMENTALISTS HAVE GIVEN RESOURCE RECLAMATION NEW URGENCY.
AS CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY WASTE APPROACHES 136 MILLION TONS A YEAR, GREEN BUILDERS ARE PROMOTING WHAT THEY CALL "UNBUILDING."
INSTEAD OF DEMOLITION, TEAMS OF UNBUILDERS TAKE A BUILDING APART, ATTEMPTING TO SALVAGE EVERYTHING FROM NAILS AND SHINGLES TO SHEETROCK AND CABINETRY.
A GROWING NETWORK OF BUILDING REUSE STORES SELL THE USED BUILDING MATERIALS AT REDUCED COST.
RECYCLING UNUSUAL BUILDING MATERIALS IS ALSO IN VOGUE, WITH SHIPPING CONTAINERS HIGH ON THE LIST.
A TRADE IMBALANCE WITH ASIA HAS CREATED A SURPLUS OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THESE STURDY METAL STRUCTURES.
THEY'RE USED TO SHIP DRY GOODS AND INCREASINGLY AS FOUNDATIONS FOR MODERNIST HOMES, SCHOOLS, AND EVEN JAILS.
SOME RESOURCEFUL INDIVIDUALS HAVE EVEN REFITTED AIRPLANES FOR RESIDENTIAL LIVING.
AND ON THE INSIDE, INSPIRED DESIGNERS ARE REPURPOSING A VARIETY OF MATERIALS, SUCH AS OLD BARN WOOD TO MAKE FURNITURE, USED SODA BOTTLES TO MAKE COUNTERTOPS, AND BLUE JEANS FOR INSULATION.
HISTORY DETECTIVES WILL RETURN IN A MOMENT, BUT FIRST... 10,000.
15?
15, YOU THINK?
20-, 21,000.
600.
20.
18,500.
24.
IT'S AT LEAST 40.
FORTY-FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND.
650.
20.
650.
This textile would be worth about a half a million dollars.
HALF A MILLION?
NO WAY!
I KNEW IT.
IT'S JUST A BLANKET.
Laying on the back of a chair.
Well, sir, you have a national treasure.
Wow.
A national treasure.
Congratulations.
I can't believe this.
ON THE NEXT NEW HISTORY DETECTIVES, DID A WORLD WAR II G.I.
RETURN HOME WITH MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER?
YOU WOULD NEED EXTRAORDINARY PROOF TO TIE IT TO MUSSOLINI.
LISTEN TO THIS.
DID A FORMER SLAVE FIND FREEDOM IN AFRICA?
YOUR QUESTION LED ME ON A FANTASTIC JOURNEY.
I DISCOVERED A POWERFUL STORY.
WOULD THIS BOX SAVE AMERICANS FROM A NUCLEAR ATTACK?
[ buzzes ] WELL, THIS DOES GET YOUR ATTENTION.
NO SECRET IS SAFE, NEXT TIME ON HISTORY DETECTIVES.
Tukufu: BE A HISTORY DETECTIVE YOURSELF.
GO TO pbs.org AND LEARN MORE ABOUT INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES OR SUBMIT YOUR OWN MYSTERY TO THE TEAM.
YOU CAN ALSO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TONIGHT'S INVESTIGATIONS ONLY AT pbs.org.
THIS EPISODE OF HISTORY DETECTIVES IS AVAILABLE ON DVD.
THE COMPANION BOOK TO THE PROGRAM IS ALSO AVAILABLE.
TO ORDER, CALL PBS HOME VIDEO AT... OR VISIT US ONLINE AT... Captions by LNS Captioning Portland, Oregon www.LNScaptioning.com Elvis Costello: ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ Gwendolyn: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
WE ARE PBS.
[ New Radicals' "You Get What You Give" plays ]