I sort of resolved this. I tried warming the tire, stretching them, soapy water,...there is no way the new tires were going on those rims. Which BTW I forgot to mention are folding tires...as were all the other tires I tried to mount on those wheels but would not go on. The old tires that were on the wheels were wire beads. So, I decided to see if the new tires would go onto the wheels of any of my other bikes. They did. Not really easily, but I got them on. And, I took the tires from that bike, with wire beads, and put them on the old wheels from the Vitus I was given. So I guess the problem was a combination of older wheels, new tires, and perhaps some disparity between foldable tires and wire bead tires. None of them went on as easily as I'd like them to. And I have a feeling that when the day comes that I have to repair a flat mid-ride that I'm going to be cussing myself because the tire will be so hard to get off/on.
Dan