Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Arthur Lynn, 32, was walking home from his job as a singer in a motion picture theater (yes, in those days live entertainment was interspersed with the short subjects).

He was walking up Lincoln Street past Second Avenue when he saw two men rushing toward him in the darkness. They “whirled and each grabbed me by an arm,” he said. One of them raised his hand in the air, and Lynn just had time to notice that the man’s fist contained a rock. Then everything went black.

The next thing Lynn knew, he awoke in a deserted old house near the same corner. He was able to stumble out of the house and make his way home, just two blocks away. 

His wife treated the two gashes on his head, and then he discovered that his gold watch and his $14 in cash were missing.

The two chops he had purchased for dinner were still in his pocket, which led Lynn to conclude his mysterious assailants were looking only for money.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1973: War erupted in the Middle East as Egypt and Syria attacked Israel during the Yom Kippur holiday.

1979: Pope John Paul II, on a weeklong U.S. tour, became the first pontiff to visit the White House, where he was received by President Jimmy Carter.