Tucson Daily Citizen from Tucson, Arizona • Page 21

Radio Television MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1966 PAGE Movies Comics DON SCHELLIE Tombstone Gunfight Recreated On Canvas So it happened one crisp and sunny afternoon 85 years this month that the long-brewing troubles between the Earp factions boiled over and ended in a shooting fracas on Fremont Street in Tombstone. Mistakenly labeled the "gunfight in the OK Corral," it was to become the most publicized if myth-shrouded -Shootout in the blustery history of the American West. Unfortunately there was no photographer on hand that October afternoon the scene; it was hardly a planned affair. So when Wyatt Earp expert John Gilchriese was planning his Wyatt Earp Museum jn Tombstone, he did the next best thing. He commissioned Western painter- illustrator Don Perceval to recreate -on canvas the famous gun When the museum was officially opened this summer, the painting by the one-time Tucsonian was unveiled.

According to Gilchriese, field historian for the University of Arizona and owner of the world's most extensive collection of "Wyatt Earp-iana," Perceval's painting is the first and only historically accurate pictorial representation of those two violent minutes that followed when the Clantons and McLaurys faced the Earps and Doc Holliday. Because of the popularity of the 4 by foot painting at the museum, Gilchriese has had a limited edition of 500 lithographic prints reproduced from the original. The print, which is available fyy mail from the Wyatt- Earp Museum in Tombstone for $10, is accompanied by a schematic drawing of the fight identifying each participant, and a brief description of the gun battle, written by Gilchriese. The full-color print measures 20 by 26 inches. A few days ago Perceval was in Tucson to sign and number the prints, and took time off from the chore to talk about the "artist as historian." Perceval is a handsome man with gray thinning hair and a well-tended moustache.

His dress smacks of Ivy but with a strong Western flavor about it. "The problem with so many Western artists," he said stirring coffee, "is that they don't do their homework. "They simply don't pay the necessary attention to detail." Those artists, Perceval continued, rush to the canvas with brush in hand and come up with a dramatic and interesting picture, but one, that from an historical point of view, is "completely worthless," Not that there isn't a place for imagination. "When an artist is illustrating or depicting an actual event at an actual place, why must they rearrange the buildings, the landscape?" A good artist can show his imagination by choosing an interesting angle --a dramatic approach and yet not move the buildings around, he said. Such was the case in Perceval's Earp-Clanton painting, which is called simply enough, "The Street Fight." Perceval has been a serious sudent of Western Americana since well before he came to Arizona in 1926 to paint "up in the Hopi country." The commission from Gilchriese to paint the Tombstone incident couldn't have been more to his liking.

He spent more than a year on the project a large chunk of it in research. "And that," Perceval said, was two-thirds of the fun." As a starter the artist spent many long days discussing various aspects of the gunfight with Gilchriese, who probably knows as much about the battle as any living man. The two made many to Tombstone to visit the actual site of the battle. One of those trips was made on an Oct. 26, the anniversary of the day the scrap took place back in 1881.

The fight started at 2:30 p.m. and lasted two minutes. At 2:30 on Oct. 26 then, Perceval took note of the position of the sun in the sky over Tombstone and measured'Shadows. He noted also the color of foliage in the area and of the desert growth.

He studied old photos of Fremont street and other nearby avenues. Carefully he went over the town plat, old city maps of the silver camp, and a few sketches of the battle scene made by Earp himself. Which buildings stood then which did not? Every available eye-witness account of. the fight was read by the artist, and he checked and cross-checked references. Perceval went into the matter of constumery; it developed that Wyatt Earp had bought, on the morning of the battle, a new blue greatcoat and was wearing it when he faced down the Clan- tons.

Doc Holliday, incidentally, wore a similar new coat, gray in color. Newspapers were given careful reading. Perceval was interested not in the fight alone, but in anything that might be relative to the scene he was painting. Gilohriese and Perceval interviewed several persons who were able to shed light on the street fight; one man for instance, remembered that his father's store, which appears in the scene was painted red in October of 1881. So it went.

The even fired several 40 grain black powder bullets from a .44 caliber Smith Wesson to determine the amount of smoke at firing and the action of the smoke in the air. Every detail was checked and double- checked even to a small stretch of exposed water pipe at the edge of the street to insure complete historical accuracy. There was no photographer on hand to record the actual scene of the gunfight, but artist Don Perceval has made up for it if 85 years later. Action, Please II yon nave a question or a problem to be solved, involving any governmental agency or public matter in the Tucson area, write to Action, Please, care of the Tucson Daily Citizen. Reporters will investigate your queries and answer them in this column.

Questions must be submitted in writ- Ing and must contain your full name and address (which will be withheld from publication on request). Jet Din To Worsen QUESTION--It's about time someone questioned the noise in our city. The hot-rod cars catch heck, but the police have no chance to ticket the hot-rod jet pilots from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Yes, I know those men fight and die in those noisy things, but as a veteran of Air Force duty I understand, sorties, missions, etc. It's not the pursuit alerts that are so bad, it's those practice low-level landings and riding out their flying time that hurts.

We have not had a crash in the populated area yet, but time is running out on the luck. The helicopter treetop cruise is unnecessary over residential areas, and the hot-rod throttle-back and blast of jets can be reduced. The D-M base tells me they eliminate all unnecessary flights over Tucson. They tell me why, when wind is wrong for a landing across the desert, it is necessary for the hot rods to approach over Tucson and blast off in a circle over the populated areas. I doubt if this subject has ever been discussed at the base with the I know they support Tucson, but we support them, withheld by request.

ANSWER--This subject has been in this column on previous occasions, but not for about two years. In view of the numerous recent letters regarding same, we will answer it again in an effort to update the situation. Rehashing the situation takes up space and gains nothing, so unless there is a change in the situation we will not print the letters again. Now for the bad news. The noises will get worse.

The' stepped up training program, attributable to the Viet Nam conflict, calls for more and more flying -here. And, it will increase at night, too. Base officials explain they now are allowing student pilots to take off with a 10-knot tailwind in order to avoid the city. More than that is too risky. They must come into the wind and go over the city.

Old pilots, no. With experience, they may just go out and take-off in the direction of their destir nation. Not so with students. Base officials point out students are taught that there is a spot on the ground they must hit and they must it through the routine traffic pattern. If it must be over the city, it must be over the city.

Could be a vital piece of training. As far as running out time, that is old hat. No one has to pu't in his four hours a month now to get flight pay, according to base officials. It can be accumulative, done all at once after several months. In addition, there just aren't enough available aircraft now for "hot rods" to be doing this.

Everything is budgeted. The subject of flying over Tucson has been discussed repeatedly with pilots on the base. This we know. They don't particularly like to fly over the city either. If one has to put it down, there is no place to land in a city.

To say that reasonable attempts to avoid this are not, in evidence is wrong. As a veteran, go look at the sign in base operations. It calls for absolutely no unnecessary flying over the city. ANN LANDERS Wife Has Advice For 'Other Women 9 DEAR ANN LANDERS: You do a lot of good. Will you do something for the thousands of Other Women in the country? They deserve to know the truth.

Please let me be Ann Landers today. I want to say something to every single female who is involved with a married man. Here's my letter: Dear Other Woman: My husband hasn't asked me for a divorce because he's afraid I might give him one. Then he'd be in an impossible position because he wouldn't have any excuses for not marrying you. I must admit that my husband is telling you the truth about one thing: I'm NOT as attractive as I once was.

hard to keep your looks up when you don't have money for clothes and the beauty shop. After all, entertaining a woman as elegant as you can make a serious dent in a working man's salary. But please don't feel sorry for me. I do have a few new dresses -well nearly new. My sister cleaned out her closet six months ago, and she is almost my size.

And now for the important part of my letter. I hope my husband has been honest with you about his past. He had three other "love" affairs be- fore you came along and from the way he whistles in the morning when he shaves, I suspect he has already found your replacement. If he wasn't with you Friday and Saturday night you are already on your way out because he wasn't at home either. Sincerely yours, The Wife DEAR WIFE: Here's your letter and a superb one it is.

And now may I add a word? Dear Girls: If the shoe fits, put it on and kick the bum out of your life. DEAR ANN LANDERS: My faith in you has been shattered. I thought you had 9 knack for spotting the phony letters and I enjoyed it so much when you printed a made-up letter and then let the writer know he hadn't fooled you. So how come you fell for that crazy letter from woman who said she loved her husband but she had to divorce him on doctors orders because he gave her asthma and hives? Any idiot knows that it is not possible to catch asthma or hives. These illnesses are not'contagious.

Now if she got the measles or the flu from her husband, that -would be another matter. I hope you will correct yourself in the paper because a lot of people accept your word as law and you owe it to the public to give sensible answers. Disillusioned DEAR DIS: A person does not catch asthma or hives from another person in the same way that he might catch the mumps, but any physician will tell you that hives and asthma can be psychogene- rated which in plain English means "caused by an emotional problem." Fear, resentment, conflict and guilt can make a person so ill he is unable to get out of bed in the morning. Ulcers, headaches and backaches are only a few of the ailments that often are traced to an emotional problem. No one would be so foolish as to say an ulcer is contagious, but almost everybody who has an ulcer got it from somebody -usually a relative or a business associate.

To solve some of the frustrations, disappointments and disillusionment of married life, send for Ann Landers' booklet, "What to Expect From Marriage." enclosing with your request 20c in coin and a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope. Cowrltht Swill's Premium I I BOLOGNA Juinl MORRELL'S YORKSHIRE SALAMI Sliced or by Chunk llililiIHEKI FAMOUS I i SWIFT'S PREMIUM BOSTON BUTT PORK SALE! TUCSON OWNED OPERATED BY BILL SHARP BOB TORNQUIST GROCERY SPECIALS! PORK STEAKS PORK ROAST PORK ROAST Bmele Rolled, lb. PORK CUTLETS PORK SMUCKER'S OLD FASHIONED PRESERVES Apricot Strawberry Seedless Blackberry Peach 3 12 oz, Jars i American Beauty LONG SPAGHETTI 0 Pkg, 15 2 Layers Softness AURORA TISSUE 2 Pack Rolls Northern Waxiex WAX PAPER 4 A 19 Northern Waxtex SANDWICH BAGS Long Grain A A Ac COMET RICE 49 New Suds Centred WHITE KING "D-aSSL 59 BIG TOP PEflNUT BUTTER 18 oz. A Jar MEETER'S WISCONSIN SAUERKRAUT 5 2 Size Cans I By Kraft 3c Off AftC PARK AY New Intensified '9AC TIDE DETERGENT Gh 2SL 7Z Crispy's 4c Off POTATO (HIPS SWIFT'S PREMIUM PRO-TEN BEEF SALE! ROUND STEAK SIRLOIN STEAK lb T-BONE STEAK lb CUBE STEAK lb ROUND BONE ROAST lb CHUCK ROAST lb RIB ROAST DENVER ROAST Bondra WILSON'S SHORTENING DOUBLE AKE-RITE i STAMPS PRODUCE SPECIALS! RADISHES OR GREEN ONIONS Bunch Boston or Red Leaf Jfc Jfc LETTUCE Solid Brown 4fc 4 ONIONS SHURFRESH LARGE 'AA' EGGS Prices Effective Thru Wednesday, October I9lr, PROTECTED EVERY TUESDAY! 9 FINE FOOD GIANTS TO SERVE YOU: Broadway at Spanish Trail Prince at Flowing Wells 22nd Street at Country Club Oracle Road at Ina Road 1830 S. Alvernon at 29th St.

12th Avenue at Valencia 22nd St. Just East of Swan 1st Avenue ar Glenn Pima at Craycroft Limit Rights Reserved. We reserve the right to correct printed SPfCMKf Banquef--Chicken, Beef or Turkey MQ MEAT 15 39 Banquet All Varieties Complete Dinners Each Treesweet Florida ORANGE JUICE 5 19' Non-Dairy Coffee Creamer Rich's Coffee Rich 16 or. Cfn..