The Maycomb Tribune

The Maycomb Tribune
Editor in Chief Bob Underwood
Volume 4
November 3, 1934
Tom Robinson Found Guilty
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.
Tom Robinson Trial
Bob Ewell's Death
Tom Robinson Trial
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 inflicted. Sheriff Heck Tate states
that “Bob Ewell fell on his knife. He
killed himself ”.
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.
Ewell was allegedly going aer 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.
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 fled the
scene. Ewell later called Sheriff Heck
Tate who testified 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
fled the scene, scared of what might hap‐
pen to him, and Ewell beat his daughter.
He later prosecuted Robinson saying it
was rape.
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.
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.
e Maycomb Tribune
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Rosa Parks: Civil Rights
Obituaries
Tom Robinson
Tom Robinson, 25, was pronounced
dead seconds aer 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.
Tom Robinson
Bob Ewell
Mrs.Dubose
Bob Ewell
Mrs. Dubose
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 five 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.
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
aer 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.
Rosa Parks Bus Boycott
On the first 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 flyers throughout the black communi‐
ty. e flyer 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 firebombed
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
backfired, with the event causing a mass
amount of public outcry, bringing even
more attention to the civil movement.
Mug Shot of Rosa Parks
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.
e Maycomb Tribune
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e Maycomb Tribune