Research

[queenisme1]

Imogene was still in her school clothing when she stepped over the threshold of the library doors and held them open for the shoemaker with the crutches behind her.

She remembered, in the back of her mind, telling Gabe she would show him the location of the World's End library months and months before, before the war and the mess that had gotten

Comments

[wizardofaus]

[Sterling Daily Gazette, Tuesday, February 16, 1954]

... among the newest additions, Gene's Jet, on Jubilee Island, is currently among the largest roller coasters in the country, at 180 feet high and 3560 feet long. On its first week of operation, park manager Eugene Burgess estimates that an average of 1246 people rode Gene's Jet per day. The ride is rapidly becoming one of Jubilee Island's most popular attractions, and is recommended for risk-takers with a quarter to spend.

[vavarner]

Val adds Gene's Jet to the list of attractions, along with the notation that it's a roller coaster. Looks like they charged folks an extra quarter to ride - and here he thought that 'pay extra for this super special part' was a modern marketing strategy.

"Hum, so in Feb of 54, everything was still running smooth looks like..." He makes a note of that too, the date, before clicking on to the next newspaper article.

[wizardofaus]

[Chicago Tribune, Monday, July 4th, 1960]

Jubilee Island Claims More Victims

A police patrol boat found Andrew Williams, 17, floating in Cavell Lake yesterday, suffering from malnutrition, multiple fractures and lacerations, and apparent hysteria. Friends of Andrew said that he and three other teens (Rebecca Thompson, 16; Mark Jones, 18; and Susan Caldwell, 15) had planned to venture out to Jubilee Island via private boat to 'spend a night at the haunted park' on Friday evening, and none of them had been heard from since. Andrew Williams has been detained for questioning related to the disappearance of his companions, but no charges have yet been filed.

[vavarner]

"This one's after the date the park closed..."

A good four years after - on fourth of July, in fact. "I wonder if this guy's still alive--"

He makes a note of the name - Andrew Williams. Maybe they can ask about him when they go there, if he stayed in the area. Or look him up in a separate search, see where he got to.

He clicks on to see if there's any more articles to be found.

[a_peaceful_aura]

"Or if the others were found." Taiki adds.

[wizardofaus]

[Rapid City Journal, Sunday, May 12, 1985]

Jubilee Island Punch A Big Hit!

The next time you want to throw a party, why not try this recipe for Jubilee Island Punch? Your guests will love it, and your tastebuds will dance for more!

Ingredients:
1 oz white rum
1 dash grenadine syrup
4 oz orange juice
4 oz pineapple juice

Instructions:
Fill a collins glass with ice. Add the white rum. Fill with equal parts of orange and pineapple juice. Add a dash of grenadine, and garnish with cherries. Serve.

[vavarner]

Val jumps about a mile because he didn't realize Mr. Kayashima was right behind him. Like rightright behind him. "--heh, didn't see you come up there. How long have you been here? Did you see the other things we got?

This one's only useful if we're throwing a party."

[a_peaceful_aura]

Casually bending just out of the way when Val jumps, thank you sixth sense. It wouldn't do to bite his tongue...

"I saw." He nods. "We need a map of the area. Also to search for the four teenagers -to include Andrew Williams- and Eugene Burgess. It would also be nice if we could find out more about the years 1954-1960, as well. With the size of the incident, there should be police reports and investigations."

... "Also, I apologize for scaring you so thoroughly."

[wizardofaus]

[It does appear as if you can refine a search if you want more specific data, such as a specific year, or a targeted keyword, or a name; likewise, you can begin a new search with whatever keywords you want.

The cursor blinks patiently.]

[vavarner]

"It's alright-- should've been more alert."

Mister Ellis would've known Taiki was behind him. Val needs more training in the art of observation still. Being aware of your surroundings is a good thing, he thinks.

"Okay let's start by refining our search here--"

He goes into Advanced Search Options, and tries typing in the years in question. Good place to start while they're already in this search. Then it'll be a map, and the names.

[a_peaceful_aura]

Does knowing and feeling someone looming over your shoulder make things better or worse?

Because it's still happening.

Silent reading and note-taking going on just inches behind your shoulder, Val. He won't leave unless asked because... he can't work the machines.

[wizardofaus]

[Now that you've cut the range of searches down and sorted by date, you notice that most references to 'Jubilee Island' are from the same three papers - the Sterling Daily Gazette, the Chicago Tribune, and very frequently in the Reeling Daily. Most of the articles are between 1954 and 1955 (over 20 pages - so roughly 200 articles - apparently someone was putting some major effort into keeping the word out) - and then there are only eight articles between 1956 and 1959. There are twelve articles for 1960.]

[vavarner]

Val sifts through the articles to read any that happened right around the closing date - and just prior to it, to see if anything bad happened that lead up to it.

He then starts checking out the articles between 56 and 60.

After that, he'll move on to researching the names of the teenagers, and the owner.

(Compressing a little due to time constraints with the adventure starting tomorrow and all hee)

[wizardofaus]

[Around the closing date, there doesn't seem to be anything unusual - just the usual press release puff pieces and adverts - but several days after the 'Night of Terror', there is an article with an official police report. According to the police report, in addition to the official reported count of 40 dead, 85 injured, the body of Eugene Burgess, the park owner, was found floating facedown in the water. In addition, major park figure Thomas Andrucci was found murdered in his trailer; and Vern Carlyle, puppeteer and builder, is missing and unaccounted for; police are looking for him for questioning

[vavarner]

Val does another couple of searches - this one for the missing puppeter's name, and then another for Andrew Williams to see if he might still be alive and what mental institution he got sent to. Talking to him might be of use- if he's not totally insane.

[wizardofaus]

[Vern Carlyle... hmm, interesting. Apparently mentions of Vern Carlyle don't seem to exist at all beyond the Jubilee Island carnival itself, despite the ads referencing him as a world-renowned puppeteer - no mention of him before it opened, and no further mention of him after the 'police findings' article.]

[Andrew Williams generates a lot of unrelated chaff; some careful refinements (using the mental institution's name) - bring up an article about his committing suicide on May 27th, 1962, by throwing himself out of a window. Apparently it claims that he frequently heard voices and thought things were talking to him, and would visibly panic around teddy bears and other stuffed animals.]