This week, our show brings you the story of what might be the only example of someone “going postal” in the air. We’re discussing a bizarre 1989 incident involving a North Shore man, a veteran and postal worker. Alfred J Hunter III had always wanted to be a pilot, and thirty years ago this summer, he got the chance. He murdered his ex-wife, stole a plane at gunpoint, and then flew around shooting up the city of Boston with an assault rifle.
The Cessna Strafer
- NBC News coverage of the strafer, plus some raw footage
- Hat tip to Craig Fitzgerald for this Bang Shift article where I first learned about the strafer
- Going Postal, by Don Lasseter
- Background on Hunter’s criminal record, their marriage breakdown
- Documents from Hunter’s 1998 appeal that describe the crime scene
- Initial coverage of the strafing from the Globe on May 10 and May 11, 1989 and from the New York Times on May 11
- An overview of the flight from the Deseret News, including the suggestion to send up a helicopter to shoot down the plane
- A wire service story that includes more details of how Hunter stole the plane
- Hunter found incompetent to stand trial in June 1989, then competent in December
- Hunter is sentenced in 1992, but then his conviction is overturned in 1994 because of errors committed by the judge
- Hunter’s retrial took place in 1995, and he was convicted again. His 1998 appeal was unsuccessful
- Hunter’s crime spree and trial played out against the background of a debate over banning assault rifles, including this call from the Boston City Council for a citywide ban and better care in revoking gun permits after the holder commits a crime
- By 1981, Hunter’s father owed over $40,000 in back taxes
- Our featured image is a fanciful imagination of the strafing from an issue of Yankee Magazine that I’ve never actually gotten my hands on.
Boston Book Club
Since this week’s story of the Cessna Strafer is set in the 80s, it made sense to choose a book club selection from the 80s, as well. Boston Venue: The Channel Story is a new podcast about one of Boston’s premier rock venues of the decade, opening in 1980 and finally shutting down in 1993. The Boston Venue podcast is assembled around the memories of Harry Booras, who founded the Channel, built its reputation, and was eventually forced out of the organization in a mob takeover in 1991. As of this writing, the fourth episode was just released, and already there have been stories of corrupt cops, Southie extortionists, and pay-to-play, not to mention some of the biggest names in punk, hip hop, and reggae. Here’s how the team behind Boston Venue describes their show, and how you can contribute to their narrative:
This podcast tells the true and complete story of the Channel nightclub in Boston, bringing the truth to light! Based on a book in progress containing the vivid recollections of club founder Harry Booras, they cover the too-true-to-believe tale from the club’s beginning in 1980 to its inglorious end at the hands of Boston’s most ruthless mobsters. Over the years, there’s been a lot of rewriting of the club’s history. Harry led the operation of the club for eleven and a half of its twelve years of existence. It’s time to set the record straight once and for all.
This podcast is Harry’s story…but it is also YOUR story!
If you were there — as a performer, audience member, employee, roadie, tech or media member, please share your memories, impressions, and observations. We’re looking for the ones most representative of the true Channel experience to include in the narrative.
All comments are welcome.
Subscribe to Boston Venue in your favorite podcast app, or check out their website.
Upcoming Event
While we take trade with China for granted today, except when our president is trying to start a trade war with them, things weren’t always this easy. Boston’s connections to China began in the early 19th century, then flourished as Boston merchants made fortunes in trade in the middle of the century. As you might remember from our interview with Steven Ujifusa about his book Barons of the Sea, the China trade even inspired Donald McKay to build the fastest ships in the world in his East Boston shipyard.
An upcoming talk at the Massachusetts Historical Society by Caroline Frank of Brown University and Dane Morrison of Salem State University, moderated by Gwenn Miller from College of the Holy Cross will explore these connections. Titled “The Legacy of the China Trade in Massachusetts: Families, Fortunes, & Foreign Luxuries,” here’s how the event page describes it:
We live in a society where Chinese-made commodities are a part of everyday life. But dependence on foreign goods is not a modern American phenomenon. The economic, political, and social dimensions of early trade with China were felt on the domestic and individual levels, as reliance on tea, silks, and other materials sourced from China became staples in early American households. Massachusetts merchant families were able to capitalize on a hunger for these goods to shape the city as well as their own fortunes.
The talk will take place at the MHS on Boylston Street on July 30 at 6pm, with a reception beginning at 5:30. Advanced registration is required, and there is a $10 fee, unless you’re an MHS member or EBT card holder.