[meteorite-list] NPA 08-21-1948: Norton Meteorite Land Owner Comments

From: MARK BOSTICK <thebigcollector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Sep 18 12:05:28 2004
Message-ID: <BAY4-F10toRaD689cMh0000427b_at_hotmail.com>

Paper: Nebraska State Journal
City: Lincoln, Nebraska
Date: Saturday, August 21, 1948
Page: 1

N.U. May Get Part of Record Meteor Found on Kansas Farm
By the Associated Press

     It appeared late Friday night that a portion of an anchondritic
meteorite which has been discovered near Norton, Kas., will go to the
University of Nebraska.
     In Palo Alto, Calif., Miss Helen Whitney, a teacher in the public
schools there, said it does not make much difference to her who gets the
meteorite fragment. She owns the farm on which it plummeted to earth.

     MISS WHITNEY said the announcement as to who will receive the fragment
would be made by her attorney, B. F. Butler of Cambridge, Neb.
     "I was very interested when my tenants phoned me a couple of days ago
to tell me about the discovery.," she said. "But I didn't think much about
it until I received later calls indicating that several scientists were
interested in obtaining the fragment. I couldn't go back there at this
time, so I merely turned the matter over to my attorney, who will announce
the disposition."

     IN CAMBRIDGE, Butler announced Friday night that the fragment would go
to the University of New Mexico and the University of Nebraska jointly. He
declined to say upon what the decision was bases, but said representatives
of the two universities would issue a statement Saturday.
     Two University of Nebraska geologists who had a hand in locating the
fragment were reported returning to Lincoln Friday night.
     They are Prof. E.F. Schramm, chairman of the geology department, and C.
Bertrand Schultz, associate professor of geology and director of the
university's museum.
     Dr. Lincoln La Paz of the University of New Mexico, one of a group of
scientists who found the meteorite, announced the discovery.

     THE FRAGMENT is 39 inches long and wide and about 10 inches thick, Dr.
LaPaz said, and weighs about 1,000 pounds. It still is at the bottom of the
eight-foot deep crater it plowed into a field when it fell to earth. A
heavy wooden fence has been erected around the crater to discourage the
curious.
     Dr. LaPaz said he did not when the fragment would be removed nor who
will gain possession of it.
     An anchondritic meteorite is composed largely of white and fragile
stonelike particles with a sprinkling of pea-sized bits of nickel. Dr.
LaPaz said it has considerable scientific value.

     SEARCHERS reported finding the meteorite crater near Norton earlier
this week. It fell last February on a farm owned by Miss Helen Whitney, a
teacher in the Palo Alto, Calif., schools. The meteorite dug a hole five
feet across and eight feet deep.
     Dr. LaPaz said a legal check is being made to determine whether the
fragment belongs to Miss Whitney or to tenants on the land, who discovered
it.
Received on Sat 18 Sep 2004 12:05:26 PM PDT