Mondo Lizzie Borden

It snowed today all day in Fall River. Probably about 6-8 inches on the ground before the sun went down. These photos were taken around 1 pm today, New Year’s Eve. There was more snow to fall. The wind is howling now, with gusts expected between 25-40 miles an hour. Who knows what the snow will look like when the morning comes. It has been a long long time since I have been in the north during the winter. It never ceases to amaze me how stunningly beautiful and treacherously nasty snow can be.

Happy New Year. May 2009 be full of health, wealth, and happiness.

Here is a quick update regarding the Alice Russell house.

Alice Russell was Lizzie Borden’s friend. Alice was the first person Lizzie sent Bridget for after the doctor was not at home that fateful day in 1892. Alice stayed the night with Lizzie and Emma on August 4-5, and it was Alice who spoke out to the grand jury about Lizzie burning a dress a few days after the murders. It was Alice’s last minute testimony to the grand jury that prompted them to issue their indictments.

Now the Alice Russell house, the home she lived in for many years in her adulthood, is slated for demolition. Not for progress, but for a parking lot. The house is over 120 years old and dates from the 1880s.

Save Our Neighborhoods is meeting with SouthCoast Hospital group in early January to express our desire to see Charlton Hospital build their parking lots up instead of out, thereby avoiding the elimination of entire blocks of single and multiple family homes. The destruction of the neighborhoods is the prime focus of the meeting. It includes the Russell house because that house is on this block, slated for demolition.

Al Lima and I will be present at the meeting with SouthCoast’s VP of Marketing and Public Affairs. I will let you all know how it goes.

If any of you would like to submit letters of support in this regard, please mail them to me at : PearTree Press, P.O. Box 9585, Fall River, MA 02720. You can address the recipient in the letters as SouthCoast Health System.

Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Join in the discussion on the Alice Russell house here.

While browsing through magazines at a bookstore recently I happened upon an article on the Lizzie Borden case. It appears in issue No. 70 of Murder Most Foul, “Britain’s No. 1 True Crime Quarterly.”

This sort of thing happens pretty frequently, as more and more magazines, journals, books, and online sources discover Miss Lizzie Borden and find her story worthy of telling.

This one appears on page 46. The short 13 paragraph, half-page summary of the case averages almost an error every paragraph, with some “new” facts presented as well. The most interesting reconfiguration is this:

“The trial received huge national publicity and became a landmark in media coverage of legal proceedings. One newspaper even made up an advertising jingle that entered popular culture as a playground rhyme: ‘Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother 40 whacks, when she saw what she had done she gave her father 41.’”

The doggerel was not created as an advertising jingle, but, instead, was invented by an unknown person after the murders and was supposedly sung or chanted outside the courthouse where Lizzie was on trial for the murders in 1893 in New Bedford, MA.

Link to the magazine’s site.

Bailey the Unknown Reindeer.

Boston University Broadcast Journalism major Ryan McCune has posted his final project on Vimeo. Like his partner, Karlyn Smith, Ryan detailed the trademark infringement lawsuit filed against the True Story of Lizzie Borden in Salem by the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum in Fall River.

In this assignment, he had to present whatever story he told without his own voiceover, relying on the real people to tell the tale. He interviewed Lee-Ann Wilber, Leonard Pickel, and me, Stefani Koorey, for the project.

It came out really well! I hope you enjoy it too!

The Battle for Borden from Ryan McCune on Vimeo.

Link.

Here is another high production value short video on the Lizzie Borden case. This one is by Jaime Arvizu, a digital design student at Vancouver Film School.

He had eight hours to make the video and prove Lizzie Borden innocent.

During the last slam I had the opportunity to work with Iván Cruz, Ed Ferguson and Rae Aberdeen, our mission: to prove Lizzie Borden was innocent of the murder of her parents, to find the real murderer and finally to make a small piece to show the audience what really happened on the famous case of the Hatchet Murders, all this in only 8 hours…

at the end of the day we won the slam! both the audience and the judge’s choice awards. Enjoy!

Lizzie Borden was innocent from Jaime Arvizu on Vimeo.

Link.

In a short video by Max Wu posted on vimeo.com, Emma Borden confesses to murdering Andrew and Abby Borden.

It is really well done. You have to see it!

Lizzie Borden from max wu on Vimeo.

Link.

I had heard this was in the works a few months ago. It now seems certain. Kewl!

By Will Richmond
Herald News Staff Reporter

Fall River —

Despite immense pressures and at times suffering through controversies, the commonwealth’s Superior Court system has aged rather gracefully.

With thousands of cases heard and too many verdicts handed out to even count, Bristol County law officials announced plans to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Massachusetts Superior Court with a series of events planned for 2009.

With cases that have captured the attention of people beyond even the commonwealth’s borders, the county’s role in the state’s Superior Court system offers a full array of cases that will be brought back to the bench.

Events for the commemoration, which will continue throughout the year, include a mock trial that will re-examine the legendary case of Lizzie Borden, with the audience this time determining the outcome.

The Borden case, backed by its popular interest will be held at all three Bristol County Superior Court houses, with the first scheduled to take place Sept. 24 in New Bedford.

Other events include a series of symposiums based on past cases, including the last public hanging in Bristol County, cases related to the 1874 Fall River Great Mill Fire, the Big Dan trial and the Watuppa Water Rights cases from 1889.

The events, organizers said, will also pave the way for educational opportunities for students and the general public not traditionally available.

Link to the article in the FRHN.

Boston University Broadcast Journalism majors Karlyn Smith and Ryan McCune invited me to participate in their final exam project one cold day just this last October. It was a pleasure meeting these two gentlemen. I was impressed by their professionalism and they won me over immediately when they brought me a large hot chocolate for the shoot.

According to their project rules, the story they wanted to tell could not be narrated by them, but had to be entirely told through live interviews and photographic evidence.

The story they chose was the trademark lawsuit filed by the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum in Fall River against The True Story of Lizzie Borden, Gift Shop and Museum in Salem, MA. All the parties involved agreed to be interviewed, which was a huge coup for Karlyn and Ryan.

The first of the two projects has been completed (they assisted each other, but submitted individual works for their grades) and it was posted today on Vimeo.com. Karlyn has granted me permission to embed the video here for you to see.

I invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy these two excellent filmmaker/journalists do their thing.

Starring Lee-Ann Wilber, Leonard Pickel, and me, Stefani Koorey.

A Tale of Two Lizzies from Karlyn Smith on Vimeo.

Today’s Fall River Herald News. Emma and I made the front page!

Click the images for larger versions.

Mondo Lizzie Borden has always endorsed a blogger’s code of ethics. It is great to see more and more online journalists taking this all to heart and joining in the commitment.

Our rules have always been simple:

Our commitment to professional behavior, even when the cause is a controversial one, is paramount. Our reputation is at stake and we know it.

From CyberJournalist.net:

A BLOGGERS’ CODE OF ETHICS
Be Honest and Fair
Bloggers should be honest and fair in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
Bloggers should:
• Never plagiarize.
• Identify and link to sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.
• Make certain that Weblog entries, quotations, headlines, photos and all other content do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.
• Never distort the content of photos without disclosing what has been changed. Image enhancement is only acceptable for for technical clarity. Label montages and photo illustrations.
• Never publish information they know is inaccurate — and if publishing questionable information, make it clear it’s in doubt.
• Distinguish between advocacy, commentary and factual information. Even advocacy writing and commentary should not misrepresent fact or context.
• Distinguish factual information and commentary from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.

Minimize Harm
Ethical bloggers treat sources and subjects as human beings deserving of respect.
Bloggers should:
• Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by Weblog content. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
• Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
• Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of information is not a license for arrogance.
• Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.
• Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects, victims of sex crimes and criminal suspects before the formal filing of charges.

Be Accountable
Bloggers should:
• Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
• Explain each Weblog’s mission and invite dialogue with the public over its content and the bloggers’ conduct.
• Disclose conflicts of interest, affiliations, activities and personal agendas.
• Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence content. When exceptions are made, disclose them fully to readers.
• Be wary of sources offering information for favors. When accepting such information, disclose the favors.
• Expose unethical practices of other bloggers.
• Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.

My recent find of the Emma Borden photograph has sparked some interesting discussion on the Lizzie Borden Society Forum.

But one of things I adore about this image is that the lighting was such that we get a clearer view of her eyes. The older Emma photograph that we know shows a dark and sad Emma—dark eyes, I mean.

The new one shows eyes that are remarkably like her sister Lizzie. Don’t you think?

Emma is on the top of the photo, Lizzie the bottom. Family resemblance?

Deborah Allard penned a sweet piece about my most recent discovery of Lizzie Borden’s sister Emma’s portrait photograph.

Here is a link to the story. When the paper comes out, I will post a photo.

Turns out, facial hair styles have names. Andrew Borden’s facial hair, which remained pretty much the same throughout his life (as evidenced in his photographs), sported what was called a “Jawbristle.”

CLICK ON BEARD POSTER IMAGE TO SEE FULL SIZE.

Link.

This is the view this morning in Fall River of Lizzie Borden’s Maplecroft.

Thanks to MB for the wonderful images!