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CHARACTERS

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Science fiction guru: Robert Heinlein, a former Colorado Springs resident who wrote about water beds long before their invention, died at age 80 in Carmel, Calif. Heinlein's science-fiction writing explored the future while questioning the morals and beliefs of the present. He was among the greatest practitioners of his craft; his work was ranked with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. He and his wife, Virginia, moved to Colorado Springs in the early 1950s after visiting here on a brief vacation. They wanted to spend the rest of their lives in Colorado but moved to California in the early 1970s because Virginia suffered from altitude sickness. (May 10, 1988)

Prep man: A weekly feature of The Gazette in the late 1980s was called ``Slice of Life,'' which focused on a community member. A story on Joe Nolan, funeral director at Nolan Funeral Home, examined one of the challenges of the funeral business. ``You always heard that the undertaker could work wonders, no matter what,'' Nolan told the paper. ``But that was the old days, when the speed limit was 35 miles per hour and people drove around in cars built out of 18-gauge steel. Nowadays, we ride around in plastic deathtraps that can go 85.'' (Sept. 26, 1988)

Space man: People joked about the kooky astronaut who went to the moon and found God, but Jim Irwin clearly was never the same after the Apollo 15 mission in July 1971. He moved to Colorado Springs a year after the mission and until his death in 1991, told of the impact the flight had on his life. ``I realized after the flight was over that I'd lived really a very selfish life for the most part,'' he told The Gazette. ``I lived to go high and fast, to fly airplanes and fly spacecraft. It seemed like God used that desire to bring me back to serve others.'' (July 16, 1989)

Beyond bizarre: It was one of the most unusual stories ever to see print in The Gazette. Charles Daugherty, a 26-year-old man, impersonated a 17-year-old girl to enroll in Coronado High School, where he joined the cheerleading squad. He entered his guilty plea in court as Shannon Ireland, the girl he impersonated. ``I wish I had just been allowed to leave school peacefully,'' he said, crying quietly. ``I meant no one harm. I just wanted to go to high school. I never graduated.'' (Jan. 4, 1991)

Mayor Bullfrog: The city's only popularly elected mayor, Robert Isaac, surprised the masses when he announced his resignation after 18 years. The announcement came in typical Isaac style: quick, blunt and unexpected. The Gazette's report: ``I have a feeling that the chemistry isn't right on council, and I think it's time for me to let somebody else take a shot at it and maybe bring things together a little better,'' he said to six stunned council colleagues.'' (Oct. 8, 1996)

Nicely put: An editorial in the paper said one of George Bush's speech writers deserved a bonus for a line the president delivered that week in South Dakota. Bush said, ``You in South Dakota know what it takes to plant a tree. It doesn't take a federal program. It doesn't take a new federal bureaucracy. And it doesn't take some fancy new study. It takes a shovel.'' The editorial went on to congratulate GreenSprings for planting thousands of trees in the region. (Sept. 21, 1989)

Ugly mug: Ted Delaney, a former writer at The Gazette, wrote about what readers thought of his column. ``Not what I expected,'' Delaney wrote. ``The message came through that famous font of intellectual grist, `Tell it to the GT.' This item didn't make it into print, but was directed my way by a friendly editor. See the picture of me, over there? The one that runs with each column? The caller said this: `Please get rid of that horrible face. Please find something much nicer looking to fill the space. Or I cancel my subscription.''' (Aug. 12, 1990)

Special status?: A Gazette editorial examined the fallout of Amendment 2, the controversial amendment that would have banned laws protecting gays from discrimination. ``Just what did the voters of Colorado do on Nov. 3 with the passage of Amendment 2? Did we repeal the bill of rights as it applies to homosexuals? Did we sentence some of our fellow citizens to the gas chamber, as anti-2 ads implied would happen if it passed. ... As the full text of Amendment 2 indicates, the amendment does not take away anyone's basic constitutional rights. The Bill of Rights and all other universal legal protections for individual Americans still apply as they should, to all people in Colorado regardless of sexual orientation.'' (Dec. 18, 1992)

Road-kill entrepreneur: Darby Lippincott, a Colorado State University student, started her own business in the late '80s. Her goal: to find a dead deer and shoot it -- with a camera, that is -- and use it on a Christmas greeting card. At the time The Gazette reported the story, Lippincott said the caption would probably go something like this: ``Rudolph the Dead-Nosed Reindeer.'' (Oct. 16, 1989)

Wide circulation: About 1,300 copies of the Desert Shield Edition of the Gazette Telegraph were sent to Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War -- enough copies for roughly one per local soldier. The edition was small, just four 81/2-by-11-inch pages, but jammed with local stories. ``The soldiers over there can get USA Today and Stars and Stripes, so they have access to national and international news. But we're the only publication that can tell the troops from Fort Carson what's happening in Colorado Springs,'' said Phil Witherow, the paper's research director and editor of the special edition. (Jan. 13, 1991)

The champ: Andrew Maynard, in his usual way, charmed writers and broadcasters during interviews at the Olympic Village in Seoul before he won the 1988 gold medal in the light-heavyweight division. An Army soldier from Fort Carson, Maynard told part of his story this way: ``People told me not to box. I was real polite, always smiling. My sister used to say I was a pretty black man. And boxers are supposed to be the ugliest sight known to man. But I didn't have to look like Joe Frazier. Man, I'd hate to wake up in the morning looking like that.'' (Sept. 18, 1988)

Too hot to handle: Cassandra Peterson was burned at the stake. The Colorado Springs woman -- better known as ``Elvira, Mistress of the Dark'' -- spent 31/2 hours a day for five days tied to a stake while hundreds of movie extras holding burning torches chanted for someone to light a fire at the star's feet. Peterson told the paper about her role: ``I was completely covered in spray-on fire retardant, and the stuff itched like crazy. My arms were tied behind me, and I pulled an arm out of the ropes and dislocated my shoulder.'' (Oct. 7, 1988)

Inspired Buffs: Darian Hagan had a premonition. The University of Colorado quarterback wasn't surprised at all when he suffered a serious knee injury just before halftime in the Orange Bowl. During intermission, as the Buffaloes pondered how to recover from a 9-3 deficit, Hagan approached his backup, Charles S. Johnson, whose second-half performance would determine CU's fate against Notre Dame. ``Darian told me he had had a vision during the week,'' Johnson told the paper. ``In the vision, I came in and led the team to victory.'' That's exactly what happened. Johnson threw the winning touchdown and led Colorado to a 10-9 victory over the Fighting Irish, giving CU the national championship. (Jan. 2, 1991)

New disease: AIDS was new on the horizon; the first case in El Paso County was reported in 1982. And a year later, a Gazette news story on the number of cases appeared. It said that one man and one woman died of the disease in Colorado Springs hospitals in the past year, and one other man living south of Denver has AIDS. The people who died had moved to the area recently from the New York City area, and the current victim ``moves around a lot.'' The story went on to say that statewide, the disease was spreading rapidly, with 24 cases -- compared to 16 reported between April 1982 and June -- now confirmed. Six of those people had died. The first case of AIDS in El Paso County was reported in April 1982; the disease claimed its first two lives in the county in 1983. (Aug. 22, 1983)

Five killed: The paper chronicled the worst shooting in city history. Gilbert Eugenio Archibeque, a customer at the Grand View Lounge on Union Boulevard, shot four people, then set fire to the bar. He then went next door to a convenience store, where a store camera recorded him killing two sisters. One bar patron survived, but five people died. Police officers tracked Archibeque, who stole $518 in the robberies, to his apartment, where he killed himself the next day. (May 18, 1986)

Futile search: About three weeks after 7-month-old Christopher Abeyta disappeared from a crib in his parents' bedroom between 12:30 and 6 a.m. on July 15, 1986, city employees drained Quail Lake to search for the missing boy. ``I absolutely have no substantial information to suggest that it is the repository of the child,'' police chief James Munger said in The Gazette. But, ``it costs very little satisfy our curiosity.'' Said Gil Abeyta, the child's father: ``Let them do it. I'm not going to think like that. It's too eerie to us.'' The case has not been solved. (Aug. 7, 1986)

End of era: After 70 years, The Broadmoor hotel was on the verge of being ruled by someone without the last name of Penrose or Tutt, and with no connection to the El Pomar Foundation. Ed Gaylord, owner of Oklahoma Publishing Co., agreed to buy controlling interest in the Broadmoor and the paper recorded the changing of the guard: ``We are excited about carrying on the tradition set by Spencer Penrose and the Tutt family, and look forward to working with the hotel executives in building a great future for the Broadmoor,'' Gaylord said. (July 10, 1988)

Smirk, smirk: After winter break, classes at Colorado College reconvened with a weeklong seminar on intimacy. The Gazette's report: ``Sex becomes just one more way to go out to dinner,'' said Ellen Gilchrist, a writer who spoke at the symposium. ``But you've got to be careful who you go to bed with, because once two people take their clothes off and hold each other in their arms ... they've tapped into one of the oldest and deepest and most powerful relationships there is. Once you do that, you're riding that damn wild horse again.'' (Jan. 8, 1989)

Sedatives, anyone?: David Brower, who served as the Sierra Club's first executive director in the 1950s, spoke in Colorado Springs as part of Earth Week activities. The paper's account: Colorado Springs, Brower said, is ``a slow motion disaster'' where ``there should be open season on developers. ... I'm not saying kill them. Just tranquilize them.'' (April 18, 1989)

Job hunting: At the height of the city's economic slump, employment was hard to find. When Pioneer TeleTechnologies Inc., began offering 420 jobs selling long-distance services, an estimated 1,000 people applied, the paper reported. The pay: $5 an hour. (Nov. 29, 1989)

Darkest days: Tragedy struck Colorado Springs like never before on March 3, 1991, when a United Airlines jet from Denver crashed in Widefield Community Park at 9:45 a.m. The 737 disintegrated, killing all 25 aboard. The Gazette's report: ``There was a huge fireball, black smoke and orange flame,'' said Army Sgt. Maj. Leo Martinez, one of many who witnessed the crash. ``There's nothing left, just debris, very small debris. I don't think there's anything larger than a suitcase.'' A day later, while the city was still reeling from the air disaster, calamity struck again. Ten elderly women were killed when a fire swept through Crystal Springs Estate, a Colorado Springs nursing home. Another 14 people were injured in the city's deadliest fire. It took 30 firefighters six hours to control the blaze, which caused $500,000 damage to the 35-room boarding home. (March 4-5, 1991).

60 Minutes: In a segment on the national television news magazine ``60 Minutes,'' Frank Aries dispensed some important financial information: When borrowing money, never sign your name to the loan document. Aries used $235 million borrowed from Western Savings to buy the massive Banning-Lewis Ranch, got the city to annex it, then handed the land over to federal regulators in 1989 when his company missed a loan payment. Aries himself was not liable for the debt when his company could not make the payments. CBS promoted the segment with the teaser, ``Do you know that you, the American taxpayer, own one-third of all the real estate in Colorado Springs? ...'' (April 20, 1991)

Roots: The city's forestry division, attempting to prevent further outbreak of Dutch elm disease, eradicated dozens of diseased elm trees, the paper said. Included in the purge were many trees planted 90-100 years ago by Colorado Springs founder Gen. William Jackson Palmer. (Feb. 20, 1994)

Flying start: Colorado Springs' new airport opened with a mild crowd and a few glitches, the paper said. The first flight out was an America West Boeing 737 that left amid a bit of fanfare: All 62 passengers received free coffee and rolls on the concourse, and students from four classes at Oak Creek Elementary School gave teddy bears to passengers. (Oct. 23, 1994)

Keep Carson: After months of speculation and nail-biting, Colorado Springs finally could relax. The word from Washington: Fort Carson wasn't closing. It was not among 35 military bases targeted for possible closure. ``We're in the clear,'' Ryer Hitchcock, a leader of the Keep Carson initiative, told The Gazette. ``There's nothing on the list that will affect Colorado Springs. It's over and it feels terrific.'' (May 11, 1995)

Amendment 2: After four years of legal maneuvering, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Amendment 2 as a violation of the 14th Amendment to the federal constitution, the paper reported. The decision was the final blow to Amendment 2, approved in November 1992 by 53 percent of the state's voters. It would have prohibited state and local governments from granting gays ``any minority status, quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination.'' John Miller, a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs professor, who joined the plaintiffs in their effort to overturn the initiative, said, ``I just screamed, `Oh great,' and just jumped up.'' (May 21, 1996)

Romper remembrance: The children's show ``Romper Room'' was first seen on KKTV in 1970, with Miss Susan as the teacher/host. Colorado Springs celebrated the 10th birthday of the show on the children's floor at Penrose Public Library. Mother Goose and Raggedy Ann, as well as Miss Jan and Mister Do-Bee participated, the paper said. (March 9, 1981)

Comfy undies: The fashion section featured a story on women's underwear, noting that the selection in the lingerie department had been ``fairly staid: Nylon this and lace-trimmed that.'' The world of women's underwear had been getting a good ``shaking up,'' the paper reported. In the last two years, the story said, millions of women have purchased men's-styled underwear for themselves, including boxer shorts with an open fly front. (Sept. 11, 1984)

Moo-tilations: During the mid-1970s, many ranches in eastern Colorado -- including some in Elbert and El Paso counties -- reported mysterious cases of cattle mutilations. There were four popular theories as to the mutilations' origin: satanic cults, UFOs, secret government tests and natural predators. Whatever the cause, mutilations occurred again in the '80s and '90s. Here's a Gazette report from 1986: ``Two months ago, 80-year-old Eldon Butler found one of his Hereford cows dead on his ranch on Murphy Road. Its mutilated carcass and reports of a helicopter hovering near Butler's ranch the night before the death was discovered parallel the hundreds of reported cow mutilations that plagued Western states in the early and mid-1970s. The cow's belly had a 14-inch hole cut `by some type of sharp cutting instrument,' according to an El Paso County Sheriff's Department report. The animal's sex organs were missing. The only answer investigators could offer was `it's the work of predators.' ... But Butler doesn't buy it. `That kind of makes you sore when you can see with your own plain eyes a butcher couldn't leave such a clean hole,' Butler said. `Coyotes would leave teeth marks.''' (Feb. 2, 1986)

Snow day: The Gazette didn't publish on Feb. 26, 1987, because up to 24 inches of snow fell in some parts of the city.

Laughing matter: Facilities were so bad for Colorado Springs police, officers used humor to try to help them cope and to convince voters to say yes to a $10 million bond issue to build a new Police Operations Center. One sergeant, Bob Kean, told The Gazette the story of the department's pet mouse: ``We had it for a long time and then it started eating the cables to the polygraph machine. We thought there was somebody in the building messing with the machine, but then we found out it was a mouse. That's when (retired Capt. John) Collins set a trap and murdered it. Mouse-o-cide.'' (March 26, 1989)

Down under: It might be one of the most unusual jobs available in the Pikes Peak region. Brent McPherson completed the obnoxious task in 1989 -- steam-cleaning the Cave of the Winds. Wearing a rainsuit, hard hat and headlamp, he worked each evening after the cave closed, disappearing into a hot, subterranean fog as he scoured dirt and lint from cave walls with a machine he described as a portable car wash, the paper said. (May 8, 1989)

In the cross hairs: A controversial deer hunt at the Air Force Academy was held to control the species, which had overpopulated the academy grounds and caused dozens of traffic accidents. The paper reported that a few hunters couldn't understand what all the controversy was about or why protesters were on the grounds. One woman shared a question her 8-year-old daughter asked about the hunt: ``Are you going to kill Bambi and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?'' (Oct. 21, 1989)

Flying stork: Tabitha Bennett went into labor about 10 p.m. and she and her husband Tim Harmon got into a 1974 Pontiac Firebird in Hugo, about 100 miles east of Colorado Springs. As soon as she did, the contractions became more severe and Harmon roared up to a pay phone and called 911. The Flight for Life helicopter came and Amia was born at 2:11 a.m. in the skies above Ellicott. Her sister, Betty Lou, was born at 2:16 a.m., right above Peterson Air Force Base, the paper said. (Feb. 4, 1995)