Hold Girl for Slaying Rival

1920

DETROIT, Michigan. — Eleanor Greer, 33, is dead and Birdie Bradford, 18-year-old girl, is held by police following a revolver duel, which the officers say, resulted from a quarrel over a man at a rooming house here.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 5.

Ice Boating Sure To Recover Fame

1920

WINTER SPORT BOOMS AFTER WAR LAPSE.

Many New Racers Being Fitted Out and Contests Are Now in Planning.

DETROIT, Mich., Jan. 1. — It is expected that the ice boating sport will again come into its own this winter after a lapse during the war period.

Already the announcement of a new club out Grosse Pointe way, which will foster the sport has been made and should inject added impetus to the season's prospects.

The fact that many of the skippers were overseas last winter together with the mild weather that provided little ice, served to put a damper on the sport, but the ice sailors are making more elaborate plans than ever to make up for lost time and some spirited racing is expected.

Among the new boats are the Kangaroo, built by Sid Mitchie and said to be a boat that will climb over any obstacle and leap the open water. It was designed by Mitchie himself. 100 Proof owned by Captain Bill Footes, is another and is credited with the fastest trip to Canada and return.

Frank Diegel and his Moonshine, one of the fast ones, will be in better racing form than ever and many spirited races between the Kangaroo and Moonshine have been staged in the past and probably will be repeated this season.

N. P. Neff is busy overhauling his Stonewall and expects to make her faster than ever. Charles Hilgendorf's White Lightning runs true to its name and should make trouble for the others as will a number of dark horses.

Leonard Neff will pilot the Wasp again. This boat has captured the Frontenac and Dodge Bors trophies, and is again being put in sailing trim after a two-year layoff due to the war.

The Lake Shore Ice Yacht Club is the latest addition to the ice boat club ranks and will conduct some big regattas. The Grosse Pointe and L'Anse Yacht Club, pioneers in the game hereabouts, also will make every effort to boom the wind and ice racing.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 10.

Bagpipe Music Kills a Horse

1896

The important question of whether or not the bagpipes are musical instruments has been settled in the negative by a Milwaukee jury.

William Mattham brought suit against the Wisconsin Theatre Company for damages sustained by his horse taking fright at a procession headed by a Scottish piper in full Highland costume, who was waking the echoes with "The Campbells Are Coming." The sight caused the horse to rear and plunge and finally drop dead.

The foreman of the jury happened to be a German with decided opinions on the question of music. The prosecution sought to show that the bagpipe was not a musical instrument. In this the foreman agreed. He held that it had no place in a Wagnerian symphony, and was nothing but a "doodle-sack." In consequence of these views the jury returned the following unique verdict:

"State of Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. William Mattham vs. Wisconsin Theatre Company, ss. — We, the jury in the above entitled action, find:

"1. That the doodle-sack is not a musical instrument.

"2. That the said horse, being of a nervous temperament, was scared to death by an unearthly noise made by a friend with the aforesaid doodle-sack.

"3. That the plaintiff shall recover from the defendants for said horse the sum of $125." — Chicago Times-Herald.


Wouldn't Wind His Clock

A jeweler of Tuscola, Michigan, says that during the past year one clock has been brought to him seven times for repairs, and each time all that was wrong with it was that it needed winding. Each time he explained the cause to the owner, but after a few weeks, or sometimes months, the clock, being neglected, would stop, the owner would shake it, blow in it, and then take it to the jeweler, who would astonish him by winding it and handing it back. — New York Sun.

A Woman's Odd Victory

1896

At a country fair held near Dedham, Maine, the prize offered for unhitching and hitching up again in the shortest time was won by a woman, and won under circumstances comic as well as curious.

The winner was Mrs. Linus Pond, of Dedham, who, since the death of her husband, two years ago, has carried on the work of the farm alone. She does the plowing and hauling with a Hereford bull, and works the bull just as she would a horse.

When she goes to market she hitches the bull to her wagon with a pair of traces and guides it by ropes running to a ring in its nose. In the harnessing contest she had the Hereford unhitched and hitched again in a twinkling. — New York Sun.


Deer On The Track

Three deer jumped on the railway track a few hundred yards or so ahead of a locomotive near Trout Lake, Michigan, a few days ago, and remained staring in surprise at the headlight until they were struck by the pilot and tossed from the track.

Instances of a single deer being thus attracted by a locomotive headlight and falling victim to its curiosity are not uncommon in Michigan, Maine and other regions where deer abound; but for a trio of the animals to be hypnotized in this way at one time is a novelty. — New York Sun.


Saved By A Cracked Plate

Two hundred barrels of oil, part of the cargo stowed between decks of the steel steamer W. H. Gilbert, shifted during a gale while the vessel was rounding Kenawee Point, on Lake Superior. Ten of the barrels were broken and the oil rolled down into the fire hold and was ignited by the furnace fires.

The crew turned to and fought the fire with but little impression and it was thought the vessel was doomed. The heat of the blazing oil, however, cracked one of the steel plates below the water line, through which the water poured in volumes, and, converted into steam, smothered the fire.

The pumps were started and, finding them adequate to keep the steamer afloat, she continued on her way and reached Duluth, Minn. The vessel was bound from Buffalo with a cargo of general merchandise. — Chicago Times-Herald.

Fountain Pen Saves Life

1909

Deflects Bullet Fired by Woman in Waldorf- Astoria Hotel

New York. — If you expect to be shot, carry a fountain pen in your vest pocket. It may save your life.

William D. Craig, a lawyer, was thus protected when Mrs. Mary A. Castle, a decidedly good-looking woman, tried to kill him in the crowded Waldorf-Astoria hotel and instead of a mortal wound he bears only a scratch, because the fountain pen deflected the bullet.

Craig, who is a member of the Rocky Mountain club, which has a suite of rooms in the hotel, was on his way to the club rooms to dress for dinner. Mrs. Castle, who had been waiting for him, tried to detain him, but Craig shook off the woman and went to the elevator. Mrs. Castle kept pace with him and as he was about to step into the elevator, she shot at him when the muzzle of the revolver was within an inch of his coat.

"He is the cause of my trouble. He has thrown me over," was her explanation.


Storm Panic At Circus

Roar of Lions Terrifies Crowd at Battle Creek

Battle Creek, Michigan — During a windstorm which uprooted trees, blew down fences and telephone poles here, the menagerie tent of Barnum & Bailey's circus was blown down and two women seriously injured. A large crowd was thrown into a panic. None of the animals escaped, but the roars of the lions created a panic.

Miss Adelaide Hathaway of Schoolcraft, Mich., sustained internal injuries and a fractured hip. Miss Bernice Platt of this city was severely injured. At Athletic park, where the local and Jackson teams of the Southern Michigan league were playing, Catcher Stringer of the local team was struck by lightning on the field and thrown to the ground unconscious.

Fake Beard Lands Gary Man in Cell

March 1920

Merchant-Sleuth Finally Released by Detroit Cops

DETROIT, Michigan — Wearing a false goatee and mustache, Isidor Vila, a well-to-do business man of Gary, Indiana, was arrested here.

Vila conducts a grocery store in Gary. During the strike there last summer a large number of the strikers opened charge accounts at his store. Many of them disappeared without paying their bills, some of them coming to Detroit. Vila decided to go on a collecting trip. He provided himself with false scenery, as he figured he would have a better opportunity of locating his debtors.

Detroit was the first city he visited, and five minutes after he left his hotel adorned with the camouflage he was spotted and arrested, despite his strenuous objections. The Gary authorities wired the Detroit police that Vila was a law abiding citizen and he was then released.


Weds Girl To Whom He Restored Beauty

PEORIA, Illinois — Two years ago Miss Ruth Wheeler, a Peoria school teacher, went to the offices here of Dr. Raymond C. Willett, orthodonist. An otherwise beautiful face was slightly marred by teeth which had grown crooked. She appealed to Dr. Willett to perform an operation to straighten them. Recently, in Chicago, the couple married. Miss Wheeler is the daughter of one of Peoria's prominent families. Dr. Willett is one of the best known practitioners in Peoria.

"Strangler" Lewis Under Ban in Ohio

1920

Youngstown Promoters Want Wrestler Barred From the State

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The Youngstown Boxing and Wrestling Commission took action which bars "Strangler" Lewis, the Chicago wrestler, from appearing in contests here, following presentations of a formal protest by Alex Thomas, wrestling promoter, charging Lewis with failure to appear for a scheduled bout here.

The commission also drafted a letter to all Municipal Boxing Commissions in Ohio asking their cooperation in barring Lewis from appearing in the State.

Lewis' non-appearance was his second offense here. He had signed articles to appear twenty-four hours in advance of the hour for the proposed exhibition. The match was called off when he sent a substitute.


Ball Star Grows Walnuts

"Wahoo Sam" Crawford Has Farm in California

DETROIT, Michigan — Wahoo Sam Crawford, former Tiger slugger, is no longer a barber shaving nuts in Wahoo, Nebraska. The veteran outfielder and slugger is raising 'em.

Sam is no longer a resident of Wahoo, where he entertained stove league fans between the strokes of the razor, but has moved to California, and is a neighbor of Red Killifer of the Cubs, at Hollywood.

He has eleven acres of walnuts and is making money off the ranch. Sam played with the Los Angeles club last season and battled .360.

A Terrific Explosion – The Destruction of 2½ Tons Nitro Going Off

1878

Fearful Destruction by Two and a Half Tons of Nitroglycerine — Men Torn to Pieces — Machinery and Windows Demolished

Particulars of the recent nitroglycerine explosion, near Negaunee, Lake Superior, have been received. Nearly two tons and a half of nitroglycerine had been hauled to the Chicago and Northwestern railroad track, half a mile west of Negannee, and was being loaded into a freight car preparatory to its shipment to the Republic iron mine, some fifteen miles distant. In some unaccountable manner the nitroglycerine exploded just before ten o'clock in the morning.

The people of Negaunee thought at first an earthquake was about to overwhelm them. The entire city was shaken up, and a dense cloud of smoke and dust arose. The shock was terrible beyond imagination. Where the freight car had stood the railroad track for about fifty feet was torn from its bed and the rails twisted, broken and hurled away, and a hole twenty-five feet in diameter and five feet deep excavated and the earth thrown for rods around in every direction.

Not the slightest trace of the car was visible. The locomotive and tender, which stood behind the car, were thrown back over one hundred feet. Wheels, blues, cab, tubes, bell and everything about it were wrenched, twisted and torn asunder. Long lines of ore cars, standing upon a side track nearby, were stove in and demolished, and shreds and scrape of iron, wood, tin, etc., covered the snow in all directions.

Lying on the bottom of the cab were four of the seven men who were engaged in loading the car — the engineer, fireman and two brakemen — mangled and burned beyond recognition, with their heads hanging over the edge. As soon as the horror-stricken crowd which hastened to the scene could recover their senses, they took the charred and mangled remains of these unfortunates from the cab and, laid them on the ground until a team was procured, when they were taken to the depot for recognition. Of the other three men who were engaged in handling the cars nothing could be seen, but after diligent search a few fragments of charred flesh and bones were picked up and put together. Not more than enough fragments to fill an ordinary bucket were found.

About one hundred feet from the place of the explosion is the north pit of the Jackson mine. Down into this pit were hurled a horse, cart and driver. At the engine house adjoining this pit the force of the explosion rent the roof, stove in the sides and splintered every loose board, besides shattering and breaking the engine machinery inside. The engineer in this building luckily escaped with a few bruises. At the upper Jackson location, the windows, doors, ceilings, furniture and dishes at all the houses were broken and strewn about in great confusion, and women and children were lifted from their feet and hurled among the rubbish. The location was in fact a general wreck. At the Jackson school, where the children had just been called together, when the shock came every window in the west aide of the building was crushed in with the sashes, throwing a shower of shattered glass and fragments of sash over the heads of the children, and injuring four of them.

The Marquette Mining Journal says Captain Merry, of the Jackson mine, stood near the fatal car when the men commenced loading it, but fearing an accident started to leave the spot. He had walked about one hundred feet when the explosion took place, just as he happened to stand behind a small mound, which sheltered him from the full force of the shock. As it was he was thrown upon the ground violently, but sustained no serious injuries.

C. M. Wheeler, manager of the nitroglycerine works, was standing in front of the northwestern depot when the explosion took place and fainted when he heard the report. The horse attached to the cart that was thrown by the explosion into a pit fifty feet from the fatal car, when hauled out walked off as though nothing had happened. The driver escaped with slight injuries. The shock of the explosion was felt at Ishpening Cascade, the Saulsbury mine, the Carp Hill section house and Sand Switch, fully ten miles from Negaunee.

The losses by the explosion will reach nearly $20,000. Very little work was done at any of the Negaunee mines after the explosion, as most of the miners were kept busy boarding up the windows of their houses.

No More Wash Tub Baths for Kids, Showers at School

Hurley, Indiana, 1919--

NO WASH TUB BATHS FOR HURLEY KIDS

SHOWERS IN SCHOOL BASEMENT BECOME SO POPULAR CHILDREN PREFER THEM

Instead of being bathed before they come to school, the children attending the Hurley schools are bathed before they go home.

Last February a bathing plant was installed in the school. Last week it was re-opened for the winter months of the current season. The plant in the basement of the Lincoln school includes four showers for boys and five for girls.

Is Compulsory.

Roughly the course in bathing is compulsory, but some of the children whose parents object, may elect not to participate. Each woman teacher is responsible for the bathing of the girls. She takes them to the bathing plant in their turn and supervises the operation and preserves order during the process. She also sends the boys to the plant, but William Ostrander, manual training director, has charge. When the plan was first embarked upon, many persons doubted the wisdom of the policy. Suggesting parents might object if the school assumed the responsibility of bathing their children. In fact such was the case for a short time, until the children themselves took command. They told their parents quite flatly that they preferred standing under a warm shower to squatting in the family tub. Now the school bathing plant is so popular that very few children prefer the home bath to it.

Solves Problem

A bathing plant was the solution of a problem confronting teachers in every part of the country. The question is one of having all children physically clean and consequently healthy and active. In order to correct the condition the plant was opened with a wide enough program to kill the idea that it was exclusively for those who needed ministration from outside the home.

The school furnishes soap and towels. The towels, as may be expected, are carefully laundered and individual, soap is liquid. On their bath day, the children take with them, to school, a change of underwear and stockings to be put on when the bath is over.

--Ironwood Daily Globe, Ironwood, Michigan, November 20, 1919, page 7.


SAYS HUBBY WAS TIGHT

Chicago. -- According to Mrs. Mary Sebastian, 2030 Churchill street, her husband, Jacob, 4929 North Western avenue, cigar maker, is a penurious man. She explained in detail to Judge Sheridan E. Fry of the Court of Domestic Relations the manner in which she was forced to account to her husband for every cent she spent. Judge Fry ordered Sebastian to pay $9 a week for his child's support. Sebastian, although able to speak, is deaf, but could understand his wife's testimony through lip reading.

"My husband was holding three positions at one time," said Mrs. Sebastian, "and would give me only $20 each week to run our home. Each day he would ask for a detailed account of the money I used, and if I were unable to explain where 1 or 2 cents had been used, he would 'call me' for being extravagant."

--Ironwood Daily Globe, Ironwood, Michigan, November 20, 1919, page 7.

The Baffling Case of the Missing Overalls

Wakefield, Michigan, 1919--

"I STOLE THE PANTS," SAYS GUILTY AGENT

THE BAFFLING CASE OF THE MISSING OVERALL BEFORE JUDGE FOR THREE DAYS

"I am guilty of the charge of stealing a pair of overalls," said Jake Weinstein, defendant in a case that was in its third day before Municipal Judge J. O. Gustafson, yesterday.

"Plaintiffs declare orally against the defendant, and say that before and until hereinafter mentioned they were the owners and in immediate possession of one pair of men's overalls of the value of $2.50; that on the 26th day of July, A. D. 1919, at the township of Wakefield, Gogebic County, State of Michigan, the defendant unlawfully took and converted the same to his use," says the first count against Weinstein, agent for Delco light plants. "I borrowed the pants when I put the plant in," was his statement. "But do not believe I retained possession of them."

The plaintiff is with the Bulgarian Bakery and Grocery Company of Wakefield. A Delco plant was installed in the plant which proved to be too small. It was exchanged for a larger plant, but the small one was taken out five days before the other one was put in. The company claims loss due to lack of light during that period amounted to $200, plus the cost of the overalls, $202.50.

--Ironwood Daily Gobe, Ironwood, Michigan, November 20, 1919, page 1.