Back only a short while from a tour of South and Central America as a photographer for the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs and for the Army, Kenneth I. Richter '44 of Bridge water and Kirkland House briefly recapitulated his trip through a land where he spent more than a year on leave from the University.
He was arrested 23 times on suspicion of being a Nazi agent, once in the Panama Canal Zone by his own countrymen, where it took some careful explaining to get himself out of the detention camp in which he was lodged for a short while.
His picture-taking led him into really serious trouble in Ecuador when he asked to take pictures of the Nazi Consul in the capitol. He was knocked down and severely beaten in a street riot, but was saved by a group of students who wanted their pictures taken.
To travel the 1500-mile Trans-Andian Highway, he had to rebuild an old jalopy whose wheels came off repeatedly throughout the trip. Narrow roads were common, and at one point he had to telephone ahead 20 miles to make sure that the road was clear of ears coming in the opposite direction.
Richter plans to return to Central America next Summer, and is looking for someone who can speak Spanish who would like to go as an assistant.
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