For my primary source I am using newspaper articles from the Special Collections section of the Library. These newspaper articles are authentic because they are from Plainfield, Wisconsin’s newspaper provider (The Sun) at the time of Ed Gein’s horrendous crimes. I chose to start with a primary source because primary sources enable researchers to get as close as possible to what actually happened during a historical event. These newspaper clippings provide a first hand account of what was going on in the town of Plainfield during the grave robing’s, murders, and cannibalism actions of Ed Gein.
This source shows rhetorical distance because this source is a newspaper article. Newspaper articles are informational and are used to educate not voice opinions, therefore this source is stating facts. Newspapers are used to report news so they inform it’s audiences through third person and formal word choice versus first person. The newspapers found in the archieves is kairotic because they were printed right after Ed Gein was caught for murdering Bernice.
The articles I found are from a few short days after the slaying of Bernice Worden. Bernice was Gein’s final victim. Bernice’s death was the key to Gein’s capture because Bernice’s son was a deputy that became suspicious of Gein and authorized a search of his house where they found skulls being used as bowls, organs in the refrigerator, and human skin used as upholstery for the furniture. The article took you through the sequence of events that led up to Bernice’s death and well through the order of Gein capture. On the day of Bernice’s murder she was operating the Worden Hardware and Implement Co. that her husband had left to her after he had died. On November 16, 1957 the store was unusually closed. The community members knew that if she ever left the store it was locked so they initially didn’t think much about it. Bernice’s son Frank was hunting so he wasn’t around to look after the store either, therefore there was no need for alarm. But by late afternoon when the store was still closed people began to wonder. When Frank returned he grabbed the extra set of keys from his house, unlocked the store doors, and entered finding a pool of blood on the floor, and the cash register and truck missing. Frank turned his suspicions to Ed Gein who had visited the store the day prior around closing time and questions Frank about if he was going hunting the next day. Gein had concluded the conversation by telling Frank he would be back in the morning for anti-freeze. The store records showed that anti-freeze had been sold the day of Bernice’s death. Police officers eventually found Gein in a car, near a store he visited frequently, and taken into custody. After being taken into custody Gein insists the skulls are from when he dug up and robbed the graves. Gein acknowledges coming to the store and buying anti-freeze and dragging the Worden’s body to the truck but has no recollection of hitting or striking her.
I believe that all of the information provided in this source is accurate and credible. I am confident in this because this newspaper article was printed the day after Bernice Worden’s murder and Ed Gein’s arrest. I am also confident that this information is accurate because the newspaper is from Plainfield, Waushara County, Wisconsin where Gein committed his horrendous crimes. I found that the journalist that published this piece added interesting questions and fears that the county had. A majority of these questions based off of whether or not Gein had been the one responsible for the unsolved Mary Hogan murder in addition to whether or not he was going to be pleading insanity or not.
I feel as though I learned a lot of valuable information about the process of how Gein executed his final murder. It was very beneficial to learn how his last murder went because it was because of Bernice Worden that he got caught. I also learned through the article that Gein didn’t remember hurting her he only remembers dragging her body to the truck and then later switching trucks. I think that this is a very interesting point because it hints at very deep psychological issue with Gein. This source has value because it’s a primary source and because it has authenticity from not only the correct time frame but also from the actual location. The article I found is missing information about the actual proof and evidence of why they believe Ed Gein was responsible for Mary Hogan’s murder because originally they hadn’t been able to solve her case. The only evidence they include is that Worden’s murder looked a lot like Hogan’s murder. With this in mind they began to try to explore the possibility of Gein being the common denominator. From this point I would like to move towards a documentary source that will go more into depth about his thoughts prior to his murders. I would also like to explore his mental health and the psychological side of Gein. I think it would be beneficial to learn information about the type of killer he is and compare those traits with others like him.