Anyone Here Live Near Chico, California

[Princess]

I was wondering if there was anybody that lived near Chico. I would like to know what year Martin Smartt was the Town Crier. Here is the link to the picture:

http://keddie28.com/gal/Case%20Files/Su ... crier.html

We think that it might of been around 83 or 84, but it is real important to know the exact year. If there is anybody that lives near Chico then maybe you could look it up on microfiche in the library.

[Princess]

Thanks, but we already know how he got the job and why he got the job and what the job was, etc. We need to know "WHEN" not why and how. Here is a link: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=614&p=7712&hilit=town+crier#p7712

Here are some things that Dmac had posted about it:

Marty as "Town Crier", 1982 or 83, maybe even 84? This was part of the annual Pioneer Days:
link

[7Scarlet]

It might also be possible to get this information by contacting the people who handle the current Pioneer Day festivities.

http://www.pioneerdayparade.com/history.php

https://www.facebook.com/events/144052439051003/

Just an idea.

There are some You Tube videos of the 1983 and 1984 Pioneer Day parade.
At 1 minutes 15 seconds in there's a man who looks like Marty Smartt, but the video is so bad I can't be certain. He isn't wearing the outfit from DMac's photo either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJa9dYLFByw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5BbJnQPUoc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK0EKj5UJrM

These links might not be helpful in the least, but someone with better eyes than I might be able to pick something out.

[Princess]

I have recently met someone that is going to go to the library this weekend and check the papers for me to see if they can locate the year that Marty was Town Crier.

[Magnum PI]

Deborah,
I live near Chico.

[Princess]

Mags, do you think that you can go to the library and look up that article with Marty being the Town Crier and see what year it is. Thanks

[Magnum PI]

Deborah,
Will go today after work!

[dmac]

Historically, Pioneer Days begins one week before the first Saturday of May. I would check these years- the date following the year would be the final day of the festivities... Pioneer Day itself, when the actual parade is held for that year:

1982 (May 1)
1983 (May 7)
1984 (May 5)
1985 (May 4)

It may be helpful if you could take a printout of the Town Crier photo with you, maybe even to show library/museum staff what you're searching for.

The Chico E-R ran 6 days a week (Mon-Sat) in 81-83, and was 7 days/wk by Pioneer Day 84. This photo would have run the WEEK OF Pioneer Days, as a lead-up story to the parade, or the week PRIOR TO Pioneer Days, as a lead up to the entire week-long event.

It would be helpful to also check any area phone books they have on hand from that era. Look for Martin Smartt, Dee Jay Lake, Remona Lake, and Anthony/Tony Garedakis in any phone books from 81 forward. We know Dee lived in Chico (1267 E 10th St) and Marty had an address in the area after the murders (PO Box 3423, Grass Valley). It would be very interesting if one or more of them were living in the area in 1984, when the anonymous call was made to Butte County SO, ID'ing the skull as Tina's, prompting Crim to race back to the area and conduct the searches that resulted in more of Tina's remains being found. Note any Lakes/Smartts/Garedakises listed, as there should be very few.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

d

UPDATE:

MARILYN SMARTT POSTED: We met in Oregon City, Or. We left there and moved to Phoenix, Az. We then went back to Milwaukee, Or and I and Casey then moved to Burney, Ca trying to get away from him. Needless to say, he tracked me down and came to Burney unannounced. From Burney we came to Keddie so he could take the job of Chef at the lodge.
He was the town Crier in Chico. Dee Lake told me he thought it was in 1982-83. There is a picture of him in the Chico News and Review. He is standing on the street corner holding a piece of paper up and the caption reads, "if you want to know what's happening go see the Town Crier, he knows all."

and, at this link:

not sure » Tue Dec 28, 2010 3:26 pm
He was in Chico for a while after the murders because he had a job as the Town Crier. He was photographed in full costume and the picture was published in the Chico News and Review. Marilyn posted that Dee Lake told her about the Town Crier job after she and Marty were divorced.

I'd check the News & Review first, E-R second, and any college paper next. I don't think there were any other options in 81-85.

I just got off the phone with the News & Review. They do have an on-site archive of their issues (commonly referred to as the Morgue), but it's not open for public perusal. They were able to confirm that Chico State library does carry their back-issues on microfilm or fiche, and the Butte County Library may or may not. I'll update here after I call both libraries for details. Also, the CN&R only published once per week then, on Thursdays.

UPDATE:

CSU Meriam Library does have all issues from the late 70s to the present on film or fiche. You do not need a card to access them, but may need to buy a $1 card on their guest account to print stories. The collection is on the second floor, and that reference desk has limited hours, so ask the circulation desk and they will send someone up with you if necessary.

Main Building Hours 7:30am – 11:45pm
Meriam Library
400 West 1st Street, Chico, CA 95929
(530) 898-5862


UPDATE 1.17 pm:

BUTTE COUNTY LIBRARY has them at the Chico branch, but they are going to be shipped to the main depository in Oroville tomorrow morning! They aren't open to the public in Oroville currently, so this is the LAST DAY to access them!

I spoke with Sunny, and she was laughing because they had just decided to make space by sending the Chico News & Review archives back to Oroville depository, because nobody had looked at any of those archives in the last 15 years! They were in the bin to go out on tomorrow morning's truck, but Sunny pulled them and put them on her desk. She's there til 6pm tonight, but said EVERYONE there will know about your eminent arrival, in case she's unavailable or has left for the day.

CHICO BRANCH:

1108 Sherman Avenue
Chico, CA 95926
Phone: 530.891.2762



Great timing, or providence?

[dmac]

Mags was able to make it to Chico and meet with Sunny, and went through the available film archives of CNR. Hopefully she'll be able to specify what she found here.

[sunnyday]

Well I am dense, for some reason I have always thought Marty had the crier job right after he and Bo met.

I have seen that picture on the forums for years but my thought process was way off.

Thanks for setting me straight.

[Magnum PI]

I was able to look through the archives, I searched through the old Chico News and Review. In a nutshell, I found no photos or articles on Marty. One issue was completely unavailable, I have doubts that the photo was even taken in Chico! It, like everything else Mariloon says , is in all likelihood just another lie! For all we know, it was taken at a Fair or the Carnival! In my opinion that would be more likely.

[dmac]

I was able to look through the archives, I searched through the old Chico News and Review. In a nutshell, I found no photos or articles on Marty. One issue was completely unavailable, I have doubts that the photo was even taken in Chico! It, like everything else Mariloon says , is in all likelihood just another lie! For all we know, it was taken at a Fair or the Carnival! In my opinion that would be more likely.

Loon's recollection is four posts above, and it's fuzzy, but if you look at the photo, you can see it was cropped. Whatever sign he was holding is not in the image, nor is anything else that might, literally and figuratively, give a 'bigger picture' of the circumstances. I'm thinking my belief that it came from a Pioneer Day event is way off base:

A> Marty would have to be getting paid to do that, I'd think
B> Why would someone pay a 40 year old loser to do something a frat guy would do for free?

If you look through the Pioneer Days yearbooks I've found online, there are loads of photos of frats and college kids building and doing stuff for the event. Why would anyone pay someone to do what plenty were doing for free?

If you look closely at the photo, you can clearly see the dot pattern size, and then judge the size of the cropped image from that. There's also a fold near the top of the image, and it's a very sharp fold. If you imagine that fold was in the middle of the original photo, then the photo was tall enough to show the sign Marty's holding.

We may not know when or why, but this photo did appear in a newspaper.

[Magnum PI]

Dmac, I am wondering if it may have been taken at Railroad days in Portola? Not sure what year they started doing that but if you think its a possibility it may be worth looking into! You are correct , there would have been plenty of college kids to be the town crier and do it for free.

[dmac]

I keep going back to the source, which is Loon. Her normal pattern of lying is to include falsehoods with truths. Less often will she make up something completely out of the blue, particularly when there's no angle for her.

"He was the town Crier in Chico. Dee Lake told me he thought it was in 1982-83. There is a picture of him in the Chico News and Review. He is standing on the street corner holding a piece of paper up and the caption reads, 'if you want to know what's happening go see the Town Crier, he knows all.' "

This statement gives her no leverage in her own situation/alibi. There would be nothing gained by placing Marty back in Chico after the murders, other than to say he was 'hiding in plain sight' and LE did nothing- which we all know is true. Besides, we know Dee had addresses in Chico in the 80s (post-murders), and Marty had a PO address in nearby Grass Valley (post-murders). So what portion of the above statement would Loon lie about, and why?

We know Marty had to be getting something out of this ridiculous role he was playing- he looked like a poor man's 1870s banker wearing a 1700s tricorn! So what business would pay him to dress like that and hold that sign? And the words, if accurate... what clues do they give? Often in newspapers, there are columns dedicated to upcoming events. Back in the day, these sections were often called "The Town Crier". Maybe something like that? Maybe there was a new business opening called the Town Crier (a head shop, lol)?

Any ideas, folks?

For me, it's critical to know when Marty, Dee, et al, were living in Butte County. I also think it may tie in to 1984, because there is a reason LE 'disappeared' every copy of the voice call to BCSO, IDing the skull as Tina's: it would ID someone involved in the murders.

Does anyone recall who supplied the original (cropped) photo we're all familiar with? And, to understand the size of this photo of Marty, compare the size of the dot matrix AND the fold crease in his photo:

http://keddie28.com/gal/Case%20Files/Su ... crier.html

To the fold and, the dots in the photos, from this Keddie Murders article:

http://keddie28.com/gal/Case%20Files/Ne ... acBee.html

It's not a fair comparison. as the Sac Bee had no access to the original images/negatives of the victims, so they would used a lower resolution wire transfer fax, hence the larger dot matrix. The Crier image is probably from the staff photographer, so the resolution would have been much better. If their printing technology was up to snuff, it would have resulted in a finer matrix. Perhaps one Chico paper had that technology, and the other didn't, which again would point to the larger paper: The Chico E-R, which is also the paper Loon specifically mentioned.

PS, Mags: Sorry if the News and Review turns out to be a bum steer, but when I found out the archive was being shipped to a different (and presently closed) branch, it seemed the prudent direction in which to go.

[azucena]

Greenville in Plumas has had Pioneer days for a long time, but I can't remember if they did in the 80s

[azucena]

I mis- spoke, Greenville has Gold Digger Days

[Magnum PI]

Dmac, Not a problem on News and Review. Better to check it out, maybe I can go back and double check after the Oroville branch re-opens.