These are the Dionne Quintuplets. They were not born in Memphis.

“One of the most interesting stories I covered was that of a woman from Drew who claimed Dr. Lucas had told her that she was expecting quintuplets (at that time the Dionne were the only quintuplets who had survived). She apparently was a mental case and a stringer for the Memphis Press-Scimitar from Drew thought that she had an exclusive story.

“So the day she entered the hospital in Memphis, the Press Scimitar filled the paper with huge headlines and pictures saying that the birth was imminent and quoting her as saying Dr. Lucas had told her she would have five babies. I stayed on the phone all day trying to get a statement out of Dr. Lucas and finally that night they called from his office and Russell went down and picked up a statement from him and his lawyer, Hardy Lott, saying that there was no truth to the story and that she was only expecting one baby. It was one of the biggest newspaper blunders ever, and the Commercial Appeal enjoyed it immensely since they competed all the time with the Press Scimitar for fast breaking news.”

Sara spent many of her later days glued to Fox News. I think she got a charge out of their incessant “Fox News Alerts,” complete with dramatic music and graphics. She loved tracking down stories and never wanted to run up on deadline without all the facts. Fox (and all the other networks) could use a few Saras.