I need some help on a personal research issue...

[bush_is_wacko]

Can any of you researchers tell me how I'd find information on a 1983 story regarding a High School Break in and student death in 1983 in Kansas. This is not a CONSPIRACY THEORY so PLEASE do not read anything into it.

I am having a very difficult time locating a newspaper archive research engine that pre-dates the Internet!

[flyarm]

1. go to kansas city star..try there..or kc times...

they are now one but they used to be separate!

do you know what town or school??
i used to live there..but there are many little towns..

fly

[bush_is_wacko]

7. Stillwell ,Kansas, Blue Valley High School. I used to live there too

but I can't remember how well this story was covered. I went to school there.

[flyarm]

13. oh my ...

my son went to b v h!! but we left in 1982!

[bush_is_wacko]

16. How old is your son? I was there in 1982 as well.

[flyarm]

2. go to kansas city star..try there..or kc times...

they are now one but they used to be separate!

do you know what town or school??
i used to live there..but there are many little towns..

fly

[flyarm]

14. try johnson county court records..n/t

[Spinzonner]

3. You'd probably have better luck

contacting the research department of a newspaper in the city in question.

[serryjw]

4. What do you already know?

male of female? the name of the HS?

[Warpy]

5. Call the local newspapers

All of them have a "morgue" and will do a search for a fee, which generally covers a copy of the story you have in mind.

[bush_is_wacko]

9. I'm not sure there was a local newspaper back then. We are talking

a population of only a few thousand at most. The town is HUGE now, from what I understand. I won't post the name of the kid here, because I don't want someone to start researching this poor kid thinking it will lead them to something connected to chimpy or something, plus I don't know if this kids family still lives there.

[thinkingwoman]

6. when looking for old newspaper articles

I find local libraries to be the best source available. Many of them have their local papers archived on microfiche (spelled right?).

[Infomaniac]

12. Local Libraries

Ditto. I googled the Topeka public library and came up with the following link to Kansas newspapers:

http://www.tscpl.org/usefullinks/directory/DirViewInCat.asp?ID=203

You can check with the local libraries to see what their holdings are and how you might be able to research them from a distance. Most libraries provide research services for a small fee or can recommend a local research bureau.

[SmokingJacket]

8. I once had to research an event that happened pre-internet, and

in a town whose local paper wasn't indexed. Since I didn't know the exact date, I'd have had to looked through maybe three thousand pages of the newspaper on microfilm.

I ended up calling the local police. They remembered the event and gave me an approximate date, so then I headed to the library to look at a few months of newspapers on microfilm. Bingo!

But if you go to the library, I bet you'll find that most major papers ARE indexed. That's where I would start.

[bush_is_wacko]

10. I'll try this. I'm thinking there was a little local paper back then for

two small towns of Stanley and Stillwell and I am pretty sure one of the major paper's covered it as well. Thanks!

[flyarm]

15. try leawood..or praire village ..they had local papers then!

[DulceDecorum]

11. If you live in that general area

try going to the local library and asking them about it. They might just show you their microfiche collection of old newspapers but you would need to go through them one by one unless you knew the date.

If you do not live in the same general area, go over to the nearest big university library and try the same trick.

Or, simply take a shortcut and call your local library and ask to talk to the research librarian. naturally it helps if your town/city is fairly large because some of the smaller place don't necessarily have trained research librarians.

I would put my money on a trained, and willing research librarian against a private eye any day of the week.

Support your local library.
The life you save may be your own.

[bush_is_wacko]

19. I'm a long way away from there and no offense to Kansans

THRILLED I got away. I was really just thinking about this story and was curious what ever happened.

I hear the school is now some sort of model for schools around the country. If that is the case it has accomplished something I never would have expected.

[flyarm]

17. try this..it may help you!!

http://landing.ancestry.com/newspapers/newspaper.aspx?html=shortc&o_xid=12767&o_lid=12767&sourcecode=12767


Product benefits

• Find specific names and events using keyword searches and advanced features like text highlighting.
• Browse more than 500 newspapers from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
• Enjoy a continually growing collection of titles dating from the 1700's through 1900's.
• Learn more about your ancestors’ lives through legal notices, community events, wedding and birth announcements, and obituaries.

[bush_is_wacko]

18. MAN, I can't find a thing on this story! I have tried death certificates

regional newspapers, police and court records. One big fat zilch. It's probably just because it is pre-internet but I'm discouraged!