Editor’s Note: This is the first in a twopart series exploring the deadly 1919 confrontation between Judge Franklin Pierce Divelbiss and newspaper editor Bob Lyon in Richmond, Missouri, and the far-reaching consequences that followed. On April 7, 1919, the courthouse in Richmond was like any other day. At 10 a.m., the judge of the Seventh Judicial Court, Franklin Pierce “Frank” Divelbiss, entered the office of the Circuit Court Clerk, Charles Moyer, on the third floor. While talking with his clerk, the owner and editor of the Richmond Conservator Newspaper, Bob Lyon, entered. Divelbiss immediately left as he did not wish to be around someone he considered an enemy. He went to the sheriff’s office, speaking to the people there until he felt like enough time had passed for Lyon to complete his business and began walking back to the clerk’s office. There were no witnesses to what exactly happened next. Each side would offer different scenarios. The only thing we know for sure is that…