Paragraphs disappear after I save .txt file as .odt

[ej]

I used CoolTerm (and a serial to USB adapter) to transfer a .txt file from an old TRS-102 computer to my mac. When I open it in LO, paragraphs appear as they should. If I save and reopen it (still as a text file), it remains okay. If, however, I save it as .odt, after I reopen it, the paragraphs are all run together (as a wrapped single paragraph). Each end-of-paragraph appears as a raised dot (".") – the same as spaces and unprintable characters (when the Show Invisible Characters button is clicked).

Clue (?): When I used CoolTerm to view the file in HEX, each end of paragraph appears as Hex “0D”, which is supposed to signify a Carriage Return. Why does the paragraph structure disappear when I reopen a file saved as .odt? And how can I recover it?

BTW: 1) Paragraphs appear properly if I open the .txt file in TextEdit.
2) I don’t see where at the moment, but L.O. is set to use UTF-8 as the character set.
3) The transfer has worked in the past, with ZTerm and LO; using CoolTerm is new. (ZTerm is incompatible with OS 10.9.)

Thanks! Eliot L.O. 4.2.6.3 (Writer), Mac OS 10.9.5. CoolTerm 1.4.3 .

[ej]

Not very elegant – I hope someone can improve upon this – but it works:

1. Create a new, empty file in TextEdit.

2. Save it (as) .odt.

3. Open in TextEdit the .txt file that was saved from CoolTerm (or from anywhere, I presume).

4. Copy and paste it into the new empty .odt file. Save.

5. Double clicking on it now (in Finder) opens it in L.O. and it looks fine: big, beautiful paragraph marks!