The Maycomb TribuneEditor in Chief Bob Underwood Volume 4 November 3, 1934

Tom Robinson Trial

Tom Robinson Found Guilty

Bob Ewell's Death

On Halloween night, Sheriff Heck Tate

found Bob Ewell stabbed under a tree

near the Radley Place. Police are investi‐

gating as to why Bob Ewell was stabbed,

but latest reports indicate that the wound

was self in#icted. Sheriff Heck Tate states

that “Bob Ewell fell on his knife. He

killed himself ”.

Ewell was allegedly going aer 8-year old

Scout Finch and her brother, Jem Finch.

Both escaped relatively unscathed, but

Jem Finch “got his arm badly broken at

the elbow” according to Scout Finch.

When interviewed, Scout Finch retold

the events to her father, the sheriff, and

the doctor who was treating Jem. e

sheriff then concluded that Bob Ewell

would’ve killed Scout Finch had it not

been for her Halloween costume, be‐

cause her costume had a slice in it. More

news will be given as received from po‐

lice.

Halloween Pageant

e Halloween Pageant at Maycomb

County was just a few short days ago. It

took place in Maycomb’s High School

auditorium, and there were booths lined

up on each side of the main hallway.

Children thought all the games were

great fun, and adults said they had a

good time.

A few booths which were the highlights

were the House of Horrors, where kids

could touch a dead man’s “innards”

which were really food. Judge Taylor put

of a booth selling some “homemade di‐

vinity”, and Mrs.Merriweather was sell‐

ing taffy. ere was also a booth where

you could bob for apples.

However, the highlight of the entire pro‐

gram was, of course, the pageant. e

“Maycomb County Ad Astra per Aspera

Pageant”, translating to Maycomb Coun‐

ty From Mud to the Stars Pageant.

Adults and children alike dressed up to

reenact the history of Maycomb County.

Mrs.Merriweather states that “she

seemed to have a hit”, and there will

most likely be another one next year.

Biography: Atticus Finch

Atticus Finch was a white man descend‐

ed from the great “fur trappin’ apothe‐

cary” Simon Finch, who created Finch’s

Landing long before Atticus was born.

Growing up, Atticus was the best shot in

town, known as one-shot Finch. He

could hit any target in one shot. at

characteristic carried with him into his

later life, when he shot the rabid dog that

terrorized part of the neighborhood he

lived in.

Later in his life he decided to go to Law

School in Montgomery and become a

lawyer while his younger brother went to

Boston to study medicine. His younger

sister, Alexandra, stayed a housewife on

the Finch Landing. Recently, Atticus has

been quite involved in the community

through events such as the court trial of

Robinson vs. Ewell.

Atticus has been supportive of race

equality for a long time, a characteristic

that sets him apart from the rest. He tries

to make sure his children, Jean Louise

and Jeremy Finch, don’t grow up feeling

that all races aren’t equal. Atticus Finch

is very supportive of Tom Robinson, and

he is proud to defend him in court, even

though he knew he wouldn’t win, which

also sets him apart from the rest. Atticus

is a very unique man who we hope will

continue to do what he is doing to sup‐

port this community.

Tom Robinson Trial

Tom Robinson was charged not too long

before the Halloween Pageant for the al‐

leged rape of a 19-year-old girl named

Mayella Ewell, daughter of Bob Ewell. In

the court case, Mr.Gilmer defended Bob

Ewell while Mr.Finch defended Tom

Robinson.

Mr.Gilmer’s prosecution was that Robin‐

son forced himself upon Mayella and she

screamed. Ewell, hearing the noise, then

went inside and Robinson then #ed the

scene. Ewell later called Sheriff Heck

Tate who testi&ed Ewell’s prosecution.

Mr.Finch’s defense was that Mayella

Ewell called Robinson into the house

and tried to tempt him, when Ewell saw

the scene and came in. Robinson then

#ed the scene, scared of what might hap‐

pen to him, and Ewell beat his daughter.

He later prosecuted Robinson saying it

was rape.

2 e Maycomb Tribune

Mug Shot of Rosa Parks

Tom Robinson

Bob Ewell Mrs.Dubose

Rosa Parks: Civil RightsObituaries

Editorial by Bob Underwood

e Tom Robinson Trial represented

something bigger than just Mr.Ewell and

Mr.Robinson, but it was a risky decision

on the part of Atticus Finch, the lawyer

who defended Tom Robinson. He was

defending a black man accused of rape,

and the odds of winning that case were

purely based on prejudice. Atticus was a

brave man taking on that case, and that

is one of the qualities I admire about

him. Honestly, in the beginning my

thoughts were that this black man stands

no chance, and I didn’t even feel bad for

him. Now that I know how much Atticus

cares for these people and their rights, I

understand a little bit of where he is

coming from, though I don’t really know

why he loves Negroes so much. I think it

was a good attempt on Atticus’s part, but

in the end, he had next to no chance, be‐

cause of the prejudice in the town.

Killing a mockingbird is a sin because

they don’t do anything to humans to de‐

serve to die at our hands. ey try to

make the day pleasant for us by singing a

song or two, but they never destroy our

plants or crops in order for them to de‐

serve that ultimate punishment. In a

way, Tom Robinson’s trial was an exam‐

ple of society killing a mockingbird, the

mockingbird being Tom Robinson, or

blacks in general. is trial made a spark

in a my head go off that made me think

back to the roots of why I hate blacks so

much. e answer is that I truthfully

don’t know. Blacks don’t get in our busi‐

ness, they don’t bother us or harm us in

any way, yet we are “killing” them by

taking advantage of their skin color to

discriminate. Blacks even help us some‐

times by doing our dirty work at mini‐

mum wage just to get by, and we thank

them by judging them and treating them

like they are not human. is trial has

truly affected my way of thinking to‐

wards blacks, and maybe they are just

human too, and maybe we should give

them a chance.

Bob Ewell

Bob Ewell, 43, was found dead near the

Radley place under a tree on Halloween

night. Bob Ewell fathered 5 children

with Judy Ewell, who died &ve years pri‐

or. His oldest daughter, Mayella Ewell,

19, is expected to care for the rest of her

siblings. e Ewell family has been in

Maycomb for generations; Bob Ewell is a

man of Maycomb. Here in Maycomb is

where he will stay. No known funeral

service will be held.

Tom Robinson

Tom Robinson, 25, was pronounced

dead seconds aer he was shot down.

During the daily prisoner’s exercise rou‐

tine, Tom Robinson began to run for his

life toward the fence, his barrier to free‐

dom. He was shot down by the May‐

comb police when he showed no sign of

stopping. Prior to his crime, Robinson

was a husband and a father. A hard

working man, known for working for

Link Deas. He married a woman by the

name of Helen at the age of 21, and with

her had three children. Born in May‐

comb, married in Maycomb, a father in

Maycomb, and died in Maycomb. May‐

comb is where he will lay for eternity. A

funeral will take place November 2nd to

honor his life in First Purchase Church

from 3:00 until 6:00.

Rosa Parks Bus Boycott

On the &rst of December, 1955, a black

lady, Rosa Parks, was arrested for refus‐

ing to give up her seat to a white. On the

same night of the arrest, a woman, Jo

Ann Robinson, released a mass amount

of #yers throughout the black communi‐

ty. e #yer explained the blacks to boy‐

cott buses that Monday. It continued to

say how blacks make up majority of the

riders of buses, and it is unfair that they

are forced to stand when there are many

empty seats available.

To the surprise of the public, many

blacks went through with the boycott.

Black taxi drivers lowered their fare to

that of a normal bus ride (10 cents),

many blacks began to carpool, and some

went as far as to hitchhike to work. e

boycott was effective, as the loss of peo‐

ple has caused serious economic distress

to the transit system.

In protest to the black’s boycott, mem‐

bers of the White’s Citizen Council re‐

sorted to violence; they &rebombed

houses and churches and boycotters

were attacked randomly. In response,

Martin Luther King Jr., a well-known

black activist, gave a speech to around

300 people. He and boycott leaders were

to be arrested for conspiracy. e move

back&red, with the event causing a mass

amount of public outcry, bringing even

more attention to the civil movement.

Mrs. Dubose

Mrs. Dubose, a lady whose age has been

lost in time, was found dead in her bed

by her caretaker at 8:00 am. Her age pre‐

ceded many; she was present for at least

three Maycomb generations. A brave

woman, she fought her morphine addic‐

tion until her very last second. Widowed

aer the death of her husband, Joe Du‐

bose, she held on to life when most peo‐

ple would have quit. She was a good

woman, and her loss will be felt in the

society. Funeral will take place in the

Maycomb church at noon until 4:00 pm.

3e Maycomb Tribune

4 e Maycomb Tribune