40 years ago

Meira Gebel Detroit Free Press Published 6:00 AM EST Nov 16, 2018 Odell Rhodes was fairly “closed-mouthed” when it came to recounting his experience in Jonestown. Eugene Smith is writing a memoir about his. And Anthony Hicks was just 12 when he died, alongside his brother, mother and aunt, during the historic massacre that happened 40 years ago this Sunday — all Detroit natives. More than 900 people died on Nov. 18, 1978 in the mass murder-suicide, known as the Jonestown Massacre, the largest, worst cult suicide in modern history.  The event stunned the world. Families in Michigan, and across the country, scrambled for answers as news of the event made its way to the forefront of national conversation. Relatives lined up at air force bases hoping their mother, daughter or nephew caught up in the counterculture of the '70s would be identified among those found in Guyana.  "I realize that the majority of so-called survivors were traumatized … [Read more...] about Detroit’s role in the Jonestown Massacre — 40 years ago

Forty years have passed since Mercedes-Benz and Bosch presented the anti-lock braking system in Uterkheim, from 22nd to 25th of August 1978. Thus the ABS system was available as a world premiere in the then-new S-Class (model series 116) starting with the end of 1978. The system was especially fitted in the car to maintain steering even under emergency braking and avoid wheels locking. The system was developed by Mercedes-Benz and Bosch and it was introduced 40 years ago exactly, on the test track at the Daimler-Benz plant in Untertürkheim. A brochure from four decades ago explained the principle of the ABS:  “The anti-lock braking system uses a computer to monitor the change in rotational speed of each wheel during braking. If the speed slows too quickly (such as when braking on a slippery surface) and the wheel risks locking, the computer automatically reduces the brake pressure. The wheel accelerates again and the brake pressure is increased again, thereby braking … [Read more...] about The anti-lock braking system debuted 40 years ago with the S-Class

Matthew Dolan Detroit Free Press Published 9:05 p.m. UTC Jul 29, 2018 Not without my brother.  That's what Marisa Lesko shouted as Michigan State Trooper Harry Norman struggled to free the 3-year-old while her older brother was also trapped inside their burning car in Livonia nearly 40 years ago. Miraculously, Norman complied, extracting both young children at once before they all tumbled back into the wintry mix covering the busy freeway.  "I still remember the cold slush on my back and legs," Norman recalled Sunday. "My face and hands were burned." Norman pieced together his memories of the daring rescue for the first time before nearly all of the survivors - mother Alicia Van Pelt, son Andy Lesko, sister Marisa, (now Marisa Downs) and brother William - at a reunion brunch at the Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle. A fourth sibling was unable to make the occasion. It was an intimate, heartfelt event to honor Norman, who arrived from … [Read more...] about Family thanks the trooper who saved them nearly 40 years ago