| The Call of December 8, 1950 STROMBERG VERDICT IS MANSLAUGHTER Schuylkill County's reputation for leniency with persons charged with killings was upheld this week when the jury hearing the Stromberg case turned in the lightest possible verdict beyond outright acquittal, voluntary manslaughter, which carries a penalty of from six to twelve years in prison. The jury of nine women and three men returned the verdict late Saturday night after deliberating four hours and thirty four minutes. The Commonwealth had asked for a first degree verdict with the death penalty with its contention that Sidney Stromberg acted with premeditation in the shooting to death of Harold "Red" Rowe, 37, of Reading behind a billboard at Connor's Crossing on August 13, 1948. The defense, maintaining Stromberg was entirely innocent of the slaying asked for acquittal. The jury had five possible verdicts to render, first degree murder with the death penalty, first degree murder with life imprisonment, second degree murder with a ten to twenty year sentence, voluntary manslaughter and acquittal. The verdict was reached on the seventh ballot. On the first, four jurors wanted to convict Stromberg of first degree murder and two wanted to acquit him. When the verdict was announced, Attorney James J. Gallagher, recognized as the leading criminal lawyer in the county, moved for a new trial on behalf of Stromberg. Judge Curran withheld imposing sentence. Attorney G. Harold Watkins, Republican County Chairman and Attorney Gallagher were defense council for Stromberg. Deputy District Attorney David W. Bechtel represented the commonwealth. |
| The Call of March 9, 1951 YOUTH SENTENCED TO COUNTY PRISON Albert Reager, who pleaded guilty to six charges of larceny, was sentenced by Judge Curran to serve from eleven to twenty two months in the county prison. The defendant was ordered to pay the costs, restore the stolen goods or their value of them and to serve four consecutive sentences of two to four months on each of five counts. On the sixth count he was sentenced to serve from one to two months in jail. A burglary charge in connection with one of the thefts was nol prossed. John Williams of Port Carbon who was implicated in the thefts with Reager, pleaded guilty February 15 and is awaiting sentence. Chief of Police Frank Deibert charged the two youths with the following crimes: theft of two pumps worth $1400 from the C. and T. Construction company on Saint Charles Street, November 24, 1950; theft of a $300 home light generator from the premises of James Yoder; theft of a $100 grease gun from the Berlanti Construction Company on November 9, 1950; theft of a truck battery and ten gallons of gasoline from the J. Robert Bazley Construction Company at Mount Carbon in October, 1950; theft of a large wrench and fire extinguisher from Harvey B. Moyer in North Manheim Township in October, 1950. |
| The Call of March 30, 1951 MICHAEL WHALEN CONFESSES SETTING TWO BARN FIRES; SENTENCED TO 11-22 MONTHS Michael Joseph Whalen, 23, of 323 South Garfield Avenue, is serving from eleven to twenty two months in jail as a result of pleading guilty to charges of burning down two North Manheim township barns which he said was "to wake up people in Landingville to the need of supporting their fire company." On February 24, he burned down the barn of Paul Fritz and a similar structure on the farm of Lynn Moyer on March 12. In both cases, Whalen notified the Landingville Fire Company, of which he is a member, of the fires and was the first on the scenes. He was taken into custody Monday by Corporal Thomas Brace, State Police fire marshal attached to the Reading barracks and admitted the crime after being questioned for two hours. Suspicion was thrown on Whalen after it was revealed that both fires were started about 3:45 in the morning and reported by him. He started the fire at the Fritz barn with matches and at the Moyer barn with a cigarette and straw. He was on his way home from work at Pottstown, where he is employed as a brakeman by the Pennsylvania Railroad, when he started the blazes. Prior to taking up his residence in town two years ago, he resided in Landingville. At that time he was employed by a dairyman and he has been employed by the railroad since last October. Mr. Whalen is married and is the father of a year old daughter. He was given a hearing on the two charges of arson before Squire Ernest Singer on Monday evening and court action was taken on Tuesday. |
| The Call of November 2, 1951 BURGLAR NEEDED HUNTING GOODS A burglar or burglars who must have been badly in need of clothes and hunting equipment took $555.45 worth of loot from Abe's Working Men's Store at 4 East Main Street, between 12:30 and 1:00 a. m. on Sunday. Chief of Police Frank Deibert said that the burglary was discovered at 6:00 p. m. Sunday by the Henne family who reside on the second floor of the store. Admittance to the store was gained by breaking a window in the rear of the store. Harry Gabrolovich of Pottsville is the owner of the establishment. It was found that shotgun shells, long rifle shot, hunting coats, pants and shorts, dungarees, boots, work shoes and socks were stolen. |
| The Call of December 28, 1951 RAINBOW HOSE COMPANY ROBBED ON CHRISTMAS Officer Percy Bubeck is investigating the robbery of $150 from a closet in the Rainbow Hose Company between midnight and eight in the morning on Christmas day. Chief of Police Frank Deibert said that the robbery was reported to him about 8:30 a. m. Tuesday by Edward Brown, secretary of the fire company. The money, including $100 in wrapped cash, twenty one dollar bills and some change, had been taken from a closet in the grille room of the company. An undetermined amount was also taken from the cash register. An outer lock had been broken on the closet and a lock on a smaller closet inside was also broken to find the money. The cash register tray was found lying beside the highway near the Schuylkill Airport but the fingerprints were smudged. |
| The Call of December 28, 1951 CAUGHT BURGLARS OF ABE'S STORE Daniel Young of Hotel Street in Pottsville, who was arrested along with seven other young men, has been charged with the burglarizing of Abe's Workingman's store in Schuylkill Haven on October 28. Young and Richard Bainbridge, also of Hotel Street in Pottsville, are charged with nine burglaries that began as early as July 12. Arrested on charges of receiving stolen goods were George Acaley and William Beach of Llewellyn and Norman Barket of Pottsville. Three juveniles were included in the arrests, charged with burglary, and two of them have been sent to Kis-Lyn Reformatory. |
| The Call of May 9, 1952 TWO GAS STATIONS BURGLARIZED SATURDAY About seventy dollars in cash, along with chewing gum, cigars and cigarettes were stolen when burglars broke into two gas stations over the weekend. An attempt was also made to rob the A & P store. On Saturday evening the Parkway Service Station at Main Street and Parkway was entered and twenty dollars in change, a carton of chewing gum and cigars were taken. Owner Bill Campbell discovered the robbery Sunday morning when he opened the station. Entry had been made through a rear window. Some time during Sunday night a rear door was broken into at the Frantz Service Station, centre Avenue, and fifty dollars in bills and twelve cartons of cigarettes were taken. Herbert Frantz, owner, discovered the robbery Monday morning. During the weekend an attempt was also made to rob the A & P store. A side door leading to the store room was forced but the burglars could not gain admission to the store. Nothing was stolen. |
| The Call of February 20, 1953 CRIME WAVE ENDS - FOUR SIXTEEN YEAR OLDS ADMIT LOCAL ROBBERIES A two year crime wave in the Schuylkill Haven area came to an end this week with the arrest of four sixteen year old boys who admitted a series of robberies and car thefts dating back to March 26, 1951. Three Schuylkill Haven boys and one Pottsville youth admitted the crimes and have been put into custody of their parents pending action of juvenile court authorities. An investigation has been underway by state trooper Jonah Reese and Chief of Police Frank Deibert. The last attempt at burglary came Monday evening when two of the youths tried to enter the local A & P store. Albert Evans, manager of the store received a call about 10:15 o'clock from someone in the area who heard a noise at the store. He notified the police who immediately went to the scene. When officers Deibert and Honicker arrived, the boys ran and the one was caught when he fell at the American Legion hut. They had been trying to enter the store from the east side where they broke a 25 by 28 inch window. On Tuesday State Trooper Reese was notified and the other boys were taken into custody. Trooper Reese stated that the series began when the youths broke into the Walter Tobash service station in Schuylkill Haven R. D. 1 on March 26, 1951, when they obtained fourteen cartons of cigarettes. Other robberies and burglaries they admitted included: burglarizing of the Paul Keller service station on April 18, 1952 when they stole a camera valued at $40.00 and four flashlights. At the Sinclair service station, Herbert Frantz, proprietor, on May 4, 1952 they stole $50.00, one hundred pennies and twelve cartons of cigarettes. On May 14, 1952, they entered Campbell's Parkway service station, getting twenty dollars in change, a carton of gum, candy and cigars. May 22, 1952, the Frank E. Mickey service station in the Schuylkill Haven R. D. in which they stole $2.90 in cash plus two and a half cartons of cigarettes. On January 4, 1953 they again broke into the Campbell property and attempted to open a soft drink machine but were unsuccessful. On the same day they stole about ten dollars from the Globe Cleaning Plant on Route 122, in addition to a bottle of whiskey. January 14, 1953 they entered the Sinclair service station, William Schoener, proprietor, and stole fifty pennies, a checkbook, a bank book, several checks and ten cigars. On the same date they robbed the Franklin Felty Oil Company office at Connor's Crossing. They broke open a safe and stole a .38 caliber revolver which was discovered Wednesday in the woods near Adamsdale. In addition to the robberies the four also admitted the theft of four automobiles. On November 30, 1952, they stole the car of Glenn Greenawald, 301 Dock Street from in front of his home and it was recovered December 2 in the woods near Connor's Crossing. December 10, they stole a vehicle owned by Leo Wingle of 333 Haven Street which was recovered December 13 at the foot of the Schuylkill Mountain. The car of Robert Dallago of 122 Broadway, was taken on Christmas Day from Wilson Street where it was parked and was found the next day, wrecked on the Pottsville Boulevard near the Pottsville Drive In Theatre. On January 3, 1953, they stole a car owned by Fred Gauker of Cressona. It was found wrecked on January 6 near Gap Rocks on the Duncott- Heckschersville road. They stole a Savage high power .30-.30 rifle which was later recovered by police. |
| The Call of June 12, 1953 HOLZER ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT ON BOROUGH MANAGER As the aftermath of an altercation at Town Hall on Tuesday morning, Walter Holzer, Stanton Street, was held under $500 bail for grand jury action on three charges preferred by Borough Manager Richard Davis. The charges are assault and battery, aggravated assault and battery and surety. The charges grew out of an alleged assault upon the borough manger in his office shortly before 8:30 a. m. The trouble started after Davis informed Holzer, who at one time was superintendent of the light department, that his services were no longer required. Davis claims Holzer said, "I'll get you," as he started to leave. Davis testified he asked, "What do you mean by that?" whereupon Holzer reentered the office and grabbed hold of the borough manager. In the scuffle that followed both men received cuts, Davis a lacerated finger and possibly aggravated a previous spinal injury, and Holzer a cut at the left temple and a bruise beneath the left eye. The hearing was held Wednesday morning at the office of Alderman William A. Thompson in Pottsville. Holzer secured the required $500 bail. |
| Pottsville Republican of June 10, 1953 HAVEN MAN IN $500 BAIL ON BOROUGH MANAGER CHARGES Richard Davis Jr., Schuylkill Haven Borough Manager, charged Walter "Westy" Holzer, also of Schuylkill Haven, with assault and battery, aggravated assault and battery and surety of the peace at a hearing before Alderman William Thompson, Pottsville this morning. Davis testified that Holzer attacked him in his office at Schuylkill Haven borough hall at 8:20 a. m. Tuesday, after Davis had notified Holzer of his dismissal as a borough employee. Holzer, a former superintendent of the electrical department of the borough, had been working as a lineman under Davis and according to Davis' testimony, had refused to climb poles because of his age. Davis said he informed Holzer in March of this year that if he would not climb poles he was no longer needed by the borough and asked him to sever his connections with the electrical department. Davis said Holzer refused to quit. Knowing that the building of the temporary power substation was pending, Davis testified he did not press for Holzer's dismissal. Last Thursday, Davis said, Holzer did not report for work and did not return to his duties until Tuesday morning. Then according to Davis' testimony this is what happened: Davis told Holzer that his services were no longer required by the borough and that he would receive his final paycheck in several days. As Holzer turned to leave the office he said, "I'll see you", in an angry tone of voice. He then repeated the phrase in a louder tone and turned back to Davis grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him to the floor. During the tussle Holzer said, "I've got you" and "You'll be taken care of." Davis lifted himself and Holzer from the floor and threw Holzer against the wall of the of office where Holzer lay. The borough manager asked Holzer, "Do you have enough?", to which Holzer made no reply. Chief of Police Deibert was notified and conducted an investigation. Davis said that he helped Holzer up and picked up Holzer's glasses which had been broken in the scuffle. Attorney Donald Dolbin represented Holzer at the hearing. He asked for a dismissal of the charges but Alderman Thompson ruled that in view of the evidence he would have to hold Holzer in $500 bail for court. After the hearing Davis said he had requested Chief of Police Deibert to prosecute the case and that Deibert refused. Deibert's comment when asked about this was, "That's right." |
| The Call of April 15, 1954 DRAGNET OUT FOR KIDNAPPED SAFETY COP The school safety policeman pictured in last week's issue of The Call as doing duty at the corner of Paxson Avenue and Dock Street was kidnapped some time late Sunday night or early Monday morning. The search for the missing safety patrolman continued relentlessly until word was received Wednesday morning from the Pottsville police that the missing standard was recovered in that city. The stolen policeman was returned to Schuylkill Haven today and is expected to be back on duty when students return to school Tuesday morning after the Easter vacation. In a story last week we stated that the traffic signs were given by the Coca Cola Company to the school district. The glistening policemen were given to the borough. |
| The Call of May 12, 1955 INVESTIGATING NIGHT SHOOTING OF PET DOG Investigations are being conducted as a result of the shooting of a pet collie and shepherd dog owned by the Earl Dreher family of 116 Columbia Street. The dog was shot while in the back yard of the Dreher home on April 28. The Drehers heard the shot at about 11:45 p. m. but thought it was a car backfiring. When Mrs. Dreher found the dog lying on the side porch at 9:30 the next morning, he was taken to Dr. Herring in Friedensburg who discovered the animal had been shot with a shotgun. State and local police were notified. Neighbors saw a car pulling away from the rear of the Dreher home after hearing the shot. The dog was very friendly and the reason for the shooting can not be determined. |
| The Call of October 13, 1955 POLICE BREAK DOOR TO MAKE ARREST George Buller of 110 Pennsylvania Avenue was arrested Monday evening after Schuylkill Haven police were forced to break down a door to gain entrance to his home. Earlier in the evening Constable Saul Klahr had read a warrant for his arrest to Buller and had been ordered out of the house. About 7:30 Klahr returned with officers Lorin Honicker and Earl Deatrich. When Buller refused to open the door and submit to arrest, they removed a screen door and forced open a kitchen door. They took a hatchet from Buller and handcuffed him. He was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Reber and charged with cruelty to animals. Buller posted bail for court. Buller's arrest was on complaint of Clarence Dress of 126 Pennsylvania Avenue. Buller is alleged to have run over and injured a dog owned by Dress on September 28. |
| The Call of July 19, 1956 JERSEY MEN FINED FOR DISORDERLY CONDUCT Seven young men from New Jersey were fined for disorderly conduct at a hearing before Justice of the Peace Jack Reber on Sunday evening. Six of them each paid $21.50 in fines and costs and the seventh, who was charged $57.50 in fines and costs was confined in the county jail overnight until the money was raised. The charges grew out of a disturbance at the VFW home on Columbia Street. Officers William Goetz and Earl Dietrich report that the seven beat up two Philadelphia soldiers who are stationed at Indiantown Gap. The soldiers were given medical treatment by Dr. Shantz. The young men involved were Anthony Clark, James Banta, Robert Foley and Eugene Demarest of Jersey City; Thomas J. Mahon of Bayonne, New Jersey and Harry McCord and Charles Gurski of town, who are working in New Jersey. Banta, who is reported to have provoked the altercation, was arrested at the higher fine. The soldiers were John Lynch and Harry Kimmel, both of Philadelphia. |
| The Call of August 9, 1956 ATTEMPTED TO MOLEST GIRL Joseph R. Wagman of 1145 North George Street in York, was committed to the county jail on Saturday in default of bail for a hearing on Monday on charges of assault and of surety of the peace following an alleged attack on a local girl. According to testimony presented at a hearing before Justice of the Peace Jack Reber on Monday night, the girl was returning to her home on Parkway the previous Monday at about 10:15 in the evening when she was accosted by a man in a car. He demanded she get in the car. When she walked away he circled the block and again accosted her. Four times he drove around Parkway to accost her before she arrived at her home. He was able to drive away without being apprehended but the father and brother of the girl obtained the license number. A state police check revealed Wagman as the owner of the car. On Saturday, Officer Larue Mengle, the investigating officer and Constable Saul Klahr went to York and took Wagman into custody. In default of bail he was locked up in the county jail to await a hearing on Monday when Reber held him in $500 bail for surety of the peace. Bail was presented. |
| The Call of February 10, 1958 STATE POLICE RAID BINGO GAME Schuylkill Haven state troopers won the jackpot awards at bingo games Sunday at Willow Lake. They confiscated the various mechanisms used in operation of the games, arrested the operators and seized merchandise at the establishment. Scheduled for arraignment today on charges of setting up and maintaining gambling devices and conspiracy to commit an illegal act will be Mrs. Theresa Senkus, 43, and George W. Bensinger, 60, of 117 Market Street, both in Mount Carbon. They will be given a hearing before Justice of the Peace Edward Singer at Schuylkill Haven. Mrs. Senkus and Bensinger were arrested at the Willow Lake bingo game in North Manheim Township about 5:30 p. m. Mrs. Senkus is the woman who reported a $1,500 armed holdup to police on January 17. She said she and her son, Sonny, age seventeen, were ready to start their car when an armed man took a metal box containing the money. The cash was to be used to operate a weekly bingo game at Port Carbon American Legion run by Mrs. Senkus and Bensinger. The bandit had not been apprehended although police are continuing their investigation. In the Schuylkill Haven raid the police confiscated an electrical sign board which showed the numbers called and a device which selected the numbered balls for play. Corporal Jonah Reese conducted the Willow Lake raid aided by troopers William Hines, John Mazak and Donald Ravina. |
| The Call of October 31, 1957 BREAKS GLASS WINDOW TO STEAL RIFLE An early morning burglar broke a hole through the plate glass display window at Jim's Sport Shop and stole a high powered rifle. Nothing else was taken from the window. A hole about six inches in diameter was made by throwing a large stone through the plate glass window about two feet above the lower window level. The crash was heard by Mrs. Marne Bubeck who was feeding her infant child in the kitchen at the rear of the apartment above the store. She went to the front bay window and looked around but saw no one or anything suspicious. It was at 4:00 a. m. The robbery wasn't discovered until 8:30 this morning when Jim Brobst, owner of the store, and George Manbeck of town noticed the broken window. At first it was thought merely broken by an overzealous Halloweener but when Jim saw two metal clips torn from the gun display board, he realized that one of the rifles had been taken. The stolen rifle was a Remington Model 712A 30-06 with serial number 391663. The bolt action rifle sells for $95. It was the second cheapest of the eleven rifles and guns valued at over $1,000 displayed in the window. An attempt was made to take one of the other rifles but the thief couldn't pull it from the display board. Jonah Reese of the State Police investigated and took the disturbed rifle to check it for fingerprints. None of the other items displayed - binoculars, scopes, flashlights, hunting clothes, cleaning equipment and boots - was taken. A reward of fifty dollars is being offered by Jim's Sport Shop for information leading to the recovery of the stolen rifle and the arrest of the person stealing it. |
| The Call of February 6, 1958 YOUTH PAYS HEAVILY FOR DISTURBANCE A New Ringgold youth, Leonard Grube, age eighteen, paid $47.70 in fines and costs for creating a disturbance at a dance at the Schuylkill Haven high school. At the hearing before Justice of the Peace Jack Reber, Parkway, on Saturday morning, it was stated that Grube and two other youths started the trouble by entering the school smoking cigars. Charles Borden, custodian with police powers, told the boys that smoking wasn't allowed in the building. They disposed of the cigar. Some time later Borden smelled smoke in the building and upon investigating found that the three were smoking again. This time one of the boys put up an argument. Borden went for assistance. When he returned, the youths had left and he found a window in one of the back doors was smashed. An investigation was made by local police officer Larue Mengle and the arrest of Grube followed. Grube admitted breaking the window with his fist. Dr. Paul Christman preferred charges against Grube for disorderly conduct and malicious mischief. On the malicious mischief charge, Grube was ordered to pay damages of $10.00 and costs of $16.00. On the disorderly conduct charge, he was fined $10.00 and assessed costs of $11.70 making his total payment $47.70. As a further penalty the superintendent of schools has barred Grube and his associates from attendance at Schuylkill Haven school affairs. |
| The Call of August 7, 1958 YOUNG MEN WITH NO PLACE TO SLEEP CAUSE RUMORS The mysterious appearance of two young men around town last week set off a wave of wild rumors that expanded as police were summoned and sought to question them. The two were noticed several days and nights in the vicinity of the old Pennsy station. When the police were summoned, they picked up the young men. The one gave his name as Howard Johnson. The other quickly responded to a phoney last name but had trouble trying to think of a first name. When the police attempted to take them to Town Hall, the younger of the two broke away and made his escape out Willow Street, down Garfield South Avenue and out through Feeser's. The other one was taken to Town Hall and questioned. He first denied knowing the other youth. His wallet revealed his true identity and he began giving more truthful answers. The young men, 27 and 18, were brothers by the name of Markavage. They had been living at Pottsville RD. When their father died, the stepmother broke up the home and the brothers went out on their own. Out of work, they were drawing compensation checks totaling $44.00 between them. They pooled their money and used it to purchase food. They slept in the old station and one rainy night beneath the Pennsy Railroad bridge on upper East Main Street. In checking around, the police discovered they had been eating at Atkins store and at Bill Gehrig's but at both places had been conducting themselves properly. No complaints could be found against them. They said they had tried to run away from the police because in Pottsville they had been picked up for loitering. The rumors grew from petty robberies to major burglaries and battles with the police. Actually it was a routine police investigation. |
| The Call of October 16, 1958 ATHLETICS, MINES, DETECTIVE WORK HELPED PREPARE HONICKER FOR CHIEF OF POLICE The long arm of the law in Schuylkill Haven is definitely entitled to that title, particularly when reference is made to the Chief of Police, Lorin Honicker. Standing six foot two and tipping the beam at 220 pounds, he is not only the chief, but also the biggest man on the local police force. With a background of sports participation, previous work in rock tunnels in the mines and employment with a detective agency, Chief of Police Lorin Honicker has had a life that hardened him physically and provided him with experience that well qualifies him for the position he now holds. In addition to his work with the Heiser Detective Agency, he has added to his knowledge of police work by attending four different schools conducted by the FBI. Honicker is originally from Saint Clair. His father, Fred Honicker is dead, but his mother is living in Saint Clair. He was one of a family of three boys. A brother, Robert, lives at Willow Grove and another brother, Frederick, is a Schuylkill Haven resident. He was graduated in 1935 from Saint Clair High School where he played tackle on the football team and was a member of the track and basketball teams. "After graduation, I loafed for two years, depression you know." But finally there was a job opportunity at the Saint Clair Coal Company doing rock work in a tunnel. He took it and worked there for two years before going with the Heiser Detective Agency. After three years of agency work, mine pay again looked good and he began working at Salem Hill. When that colliery shut down, he started work at Indian Head and when that colliery also closed, went to Knickerbocker in Shenandoah in the rock tunnel. While working at Salem Hill he lived in Pottsville. Fourteen years ago, he and his wife, the former Evelyn Joy of Pottsville, and their three year old son, Lorin Jr., moved to Schuylkill Haven. Lorin Jr., now seventeen, is a senior in high school and like his dad is a tackle on the football team. The family lives in an apartment at the West Main Street and Union Street intersection. Honicker continued to drive back and forth to work in Shenandoah until September 5, 1952 when there was a vacancy on the local police force. He had considered working as a part time policeman while continuing to work in the mines, but Chief of Police Frank Deibert talked him into taking the full time job. Upon the retirement of Frank Deibert on March 16, 1955, Lorin Honicker was named Chief of Police. Working under Chief Burgess Mark Bast, Chief Honicker and his police force of men and women with a new police car and radio communication equipment give Schuylkill Haven an efficient and smooth working police force. Chief Honicker maintains his membership in the Evangelical and Reformed Church in Saint Clair. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association and the Fraternal Order of Police. |
| The Call of January 1, 1959 AUBURN YOUTH PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING HAVEN AUTO Clayton Minnich failed to heed the warning of Justice of the Peace Jack Reber a year ago when he was in the toils of the law on a charge of larceny. Leniency was shown to the youth who was then 17, but Reber told him that if he appeared before him again, he was going to get the full penalty of the law. Monday night, Minnich, now 18, made his appearance before Reber on a charge of larceny of an automobile and made a repeat appearance on Tuesday night to answer a charge of malicious mischief. On the first he was committed to jail to await the regular term of criminal court and on the second charge he was placed under $300 bail after pleading guilty. The charges grew out of the theft of a 1948 Chevrolet automobile belonging to Ken "Butch" Reed of Schuylkill Haven. The car was stolen Tuesday night of last week from West Main Street and was found Monday in the possession of Minnich by Constable Joseph Hasenauer of Auburn. The arrest for the stolen car came about when Hasenauer held Minnich for theft of tires and wheels from a car in Auburn. Minnich was seen removing the wheels from the car and was later found to have the tires on the freshly painted Chevrolet when he could produce no owner's card. Hasenauer questioned him and was told that the car had recently been purchased in Rehrersburg. Checking with the dealer named, Hasenauer learned the car had not been purchased there. Further checking revealed it was the car reported stolen from Reed, even though it had been stripped of much of its extra equipment and the brown color had been changed to a two tone blue. Reed, not too well pleased with the paint job, says "it looks like they threw the paint on the car and then spread it around with a broom." At the first hearing Minnich at first denied taking the car but later admitted taking it and implicated a juvenile from Auburn. At the second hearing on malicious mischief charges preferred by Reed before Justice of the Peace Reber, the juvenile appeared and satisfied officers and the prosecutors that he merely helped paint the car and had no part in its theft or mutilation. Missing from the car were tools and plastering equipment used by Reed who is a carpenter employed by Gordon D. Reed. |
| The Call of July 2, 1959 WILD CHASE THROUGH TOWN John Robert Gradwell, 19, Pottsville RD3 and Frederick Satterwhite, 28, Pottsville RD3 were arrested by Officers Deatrich and Hale on Monday evening on charges of disorderly conduct and motor violations. Chief of Police Honicker reported that the officers were standing on the corner of Main and saint John Streets about ten o'clock Monday night, when a car approached the intersection and did not halt at the stop sign. When the officers gave chase in the police car, the headlights of the car, driven by Gradwell, were turned off and then turned off Main Street and up Dock Street at a terrific rate of speed and in a reckless manner. The police finally caught up with them at the intersection of Berger and Dock Streets. When hailed by the policemen, the other two men became very abusive and were given a hearing before Squire Elmer Koch. They were both committed to Schuylkill County prison for thirty days on the disorderly conduct charge. |
| The Call of August 20, 1959 SHOTS HALT YOUNG SPEEDSTER DRIVING 95 MILES AN HOUR With sirens roaring and traveling at a speed of 95 miles an hour, Officers Goetz and Deatrich chased Wayne Schaeffer, 18, of Cressona, nearly into Friedensburg Sunday morning at three o'clock. In order to bring Schaeffer to a halt, it was necessary for Officer Deatrich to fire one shot in the air. The pursuit began on East Main Street when Schaeffer attempted to pass a car on the right hand side of the Reading Company railroad tracks. Failing to do this, he passed the car about a block away on the same street by going through a barricade where the street is being repaired. The officers, who were cruising in the police car at the time with Goetz at the wheel, saw Schaeffer's actions and gave chase. Schaeffer went speeding out Columbia Street and passed through a red light at Stoyer's Garage. Using the loud speaker on the police car, the officers ordered Schaeffer to halt. Failing to do this, they continued to chase the Schaeffer car until about one half mile east of Friedensburg, they caught up and pulled along side Schaeffer's car and fired one shot into the air. Officer Goetz said Schaeffer will be given a hearing on six counts: reckless driving, driving too fast for conditions, passing on a railroad crossing, failing to stop at the command of a police officer, speeding and going through a red light. |
| The Call of October 8, 1959 YOUTHS JAILED FOR STEALING, WRECKING CAR James W. Burke, 212 west Main Street and Robert Sheriff, 238 North Berne Street, pleaded guilty to stealing an automobile at a hearing last night before Justice of the Peace Ernest Singer last evening and were ordered sent to the county prison to await trial. Bail will be set by the county courts. The two youths admitted stealing the 1949 Studebaker sedan owned by Mrs. Michael Chrin of 408 East Main Street shortly after midnight on Sunday. The car was parked near the East Ward Social Club. In it was Fuller Brush merchandise valued at $108 which was to be delivered by Mr. Chrin on Monday. The boys drove around town, out toward the 40 and 8 and Minersville and Saint Clair. At Pottsville they stopped and bought fifteen cents worth of gasoline. They stopped at several restaurants and diners, taking turns at driving the car. While traveling on the old road to Orwigsburg, Burke took a curve too fast and the car overturned. In the crash, which demolished the car, Burke sustained a leg injury but Sheriff escaped without injury. A friend happened along after the crash and took them home. Chief of Police Lorin Honicker and Officer William Goetz suspected the two youths because they had noticed them hanging around the Chrin neighborhood. They went to the Burke home and suspecting that the persons involved had suffered injury, found Burke with the injured leg. He confessed and implicated Sheriff. |
| The Call of November 26, 1959 BURGLARS BREAK INTO VFW HOME TUESDAY NIGHT The VFW post home on West Columbia Street was burglarized Monday night between 1:30 and 8:00 in the morning on Tuesday and cash in the amount of $65 removed from a cigar box in the grille. Nothing else was removed or touched. The robbery was discovered by Norman Rhen, steward, who lives in an apartment in the rear of the building on the second floor when he opened up about eight o'clock Tuesday morning. He immediately notified the local police. Chief of Police Lorin Honicker and Patrolman Larue Mengle, who investigated, said entrance was gained through a window on the side of the building, just off the street. The window was pried away from the window frame. A cloak room was entered first. From there the culprits went to a rear room and crawled under a leatherette curtain which separates this room from the barroom. Evidently force was used here for the curtain is completely ruined. Most of the cash taken was in large silver denominations. A drawer on the cash register was broken opened and scattered small change left there was not touched. The local police are continuing their investigation. |
| The Call of December 3, 1959 BURGLARS ENTER EAST WARD CLUB The third robbery of a club in this area in as many weeks occurred Saturday morning between 3:10 and 8:00 at the East Ward Social Club at Green and Wilson Streets and $50 removed from a steel desk in the meeting room. Nothing else was removed. The burglary was discovered by Guy Werner, steward, who was notified by a neighbor, Mrs. Guy Reber, that a rear window to the building was smashed. Entrance to the building was made through this smashed window. The drawer containing the money was forced open and an attempt was also made to break into the back end of the safe. The safe, however, has a steel casing on the outside and concrete on the inside. Chief of Police Lorin Honicker and Trooper William Hines of the State Police are making an investigation. |
| The Call of October 10, 1959 STEALING CAR PUTS ONE BEHIND BARS, OTHER ON PAROLE Robert Sheriff, 18, of North Berne Street, who was arraigned in court on Monday on charges of stealing and wrecking a car, was given a one to two year prison term by Judge Vincent J. Dalton, but was also given an immediate parole. James W. Burke, 19, of 212 West Main Street, who was also arraigned with Sheriff, was refused his plea for a parole. The young men were charged with stealing the car of Dorothy Chrin of East Main Street on October 5 and wrecking it. They were also charged with throwing from the vehicle, cosmetics and toilet articles valued at $108.74. Prosecution was filed by Chief of Police Lorin E. Honicker. The 1949 model car was damaged to the extent of $150 with an additional charge of $16 for towing service. Burke's previous record indicated that he had served a year in White Hill Industrial School for a motor violation. He was ordered to pay the costs of prosecution and also for one half of the damages to the car and for the loss of the cosmetics and toilet articles, in addition to his sentence at the Schuylkill County prison. Sheriff's record showed that he had served thirty days on a road gang imposed on a speeding charge in Georgia while he was a member of the armed forces. He was ordered to pay costs of prosecution, one half restitution for the car and merchandise and to serve one to two years in the Schuylkill County prison, with immediate parole. Judge Dalton warned the youth, "This is a chance for you. Do not violate your probation or you will be returned here and sent to jail." |
| The Call of January 21, 1960 ADMITS MORE ROBBERIES Joseph Dabashinsky, 25, of 132 Center Avenue, who was charged with robbing and unlawfully entering the American Legion Home in Port Carbon last Wednesday, has been charged with other burglaries in Schuylkill Haven and Orwigsburg. Chief of Police Lorin Honicker of town, reported that Dabashinsky confessed to entering the East Ward Social Club on November 28 and the VFW Club on November 24. He made the confession while being questioned by Honicker and State Trooper Hines at the Schuylkill Haven State Police barracks. Dabashinsky was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Ernest Singer on two counts of burglary and was lodged in the county prison without bail to await court action. He also pleaded guilty to burglarizing the Friendship Hose Company in Orwigsburg on December 24 and was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Charles Jacobs of Orwigsburg. The charge in this instance was preferred by Chief of Police Howard (Sharkey) Rehrig. Dabashinsky was held without bail for court. |
| The Call of February 4, 1960 THIEVES ENTER FOUR CHURCHES A new low in the caliber of petty robberies plaguing the community for the past several months was reached over the weekend when four churches were broken into. Fortunately for the churches, no serious damage was inflicted and the total money stolen from poor boxes totaled less than a dollar. The intruders used an ice chopper to force open the lock of a door to the office of Saint Matthew's Church on Dock Street. The office is located to the rear of the Sunday School section of the church. A filing cabinet was forced open and the contents thoroughly searched, as were several shelves nearby, and then strewn on the floor. The burglars also entered the church proper. Burned out matches and covers of book matches were discovered. Apparently they were careful not to start a fire. SEXTON MAKES DISCOVERY Henry Otto, the church sexton, discovered the burglary at eight in the morning on Saturday when he reported for work. He immediately summoned Pastor Butts and the police. Saint Ambrose church had three poor boxes burglarized but no property damage. Entry was made through an unlocked front door. The janitor discovered the theft. Entry at Saint James Episcopal Church was made through a coal bin in the cellar. Whoever broke in went upstairs and broke off the top of a door leading into a kitchen and pulled a poor box off the wall at the main entrance to the church. At Messiah EUB Church on Main Street, entry was also made through a cellar window. The window, frame and sash were completely smashed. A metal ventilator which goes from a rest room in the cellar to the window that was smashed, stopped the intruders from entering the main part of the church. Here again, burned matches were found. The discovery of the broken window was made by Officer Clifford Mengle Saturday night while on a routine patrol. Nothing of value was removed and no money is ever kept in Messiah Church. Investigation of the robberies of the churches on Dock Street is being handled by Officers William Goetz and Clifford Mengle. Mengle and Officer Earl Deatrich are investigating the robbery at the Messiah Church. |
| The Call of November 17, 1960 OFFICER MENGEL FIRES SHOTS TO CAPTURE CAR THIEF Police officer Cliff Mengle captured a 24 year Old Cressona man wanted for the theft of fourteen cars during the past two months, after firing two shots to bring him to a halt when he attempted to escape. Clyde K. Ehlinger of 47 River Street, Cressona, was apprehended as he fled along the railroad bank leading towards the Acme Market Saturday night. Local police suspected Ehlinger of previously reported car thefts. In most of the thefts, he is reported to have taken the cars, gone to taprooms and then abandon them along the Gordon Nagle Trail. On one occasion local police gave chase to a car being driven through town late at night, only to have the driver jump from it while it was still moving and escape by foot. The car ran up on the church lawn at the Church of the Nazarene on West Main Street. They discovered the car was stolen. POLICE CHIEFS ALERTED On Saturday night the car of Michael Melinchock was reported stolen from Arch Street near Second Street, shortly after 10:00 p. m. in Pottsville. Police Chief Joseph Wollyung notified the State Police, Chief Lorin Honicker of Schuylkill Haven, Chief Kenneth Berger of Cressona, Chief Howard Rehrig of Orwigsburg and Reynard Thomas of Minersville. The stolen car was easy to identify, being a 1957 cream and lavender Belair. Local police cooperated with the state police in setting up road blocks and covering the area along the Gordon Nagle Trail. Ehlinger took the stolen Melinchock car to the Renninger dance hall at the Orwigsburg cutoff. Leaving there he picked up a hitchhiker and headed for Schuylkill haven. Officer Mengel spotted him on Center Avenue and attempted to stop him. Ehlinger and the hitchhiker jumped from the car, leaving it in gear with the engine running. The car ran into the Ford station wagon owned by Ernest Felton of 312 East Union Street, which was parked at 303 Center Avenue and caused damage estimated at $250. SECOND SHOT EFFECTIVE Ehlinger ran down South Garfield Avenue and hid momentarily at an unfinished garage. When Mengel followed in pursuit, Ehlinger again began to run, going through the railroad arch and running along the bank in the high weeds and grass toward the Acme store. Mengel called for him to halt and when he continued running fired a shot in to the air. Ehlinger kept running but when the second shot came uncomfortably close, he halted. When Mengel reached him he was sprawled out on the ground with his arms outstretched. Mengel took him to the light near Kimmel's store and snapped the handcuffs on him. Patrolman Davies of the state police, who was stationed at the Acme store, came to the scene and assisted in taking Ehlinger to the state police barracks. Ehlinger was locked up and questioned on Sunday. He admitted taking the fourteen cars, detailing how he stole them, then went in taverns in the surrounding area, and later abandoned the cars. Most of the cars were taken in Pottsville. Included among the victims were Paul Smith of 7 Penn Street on October 16 and Harold Betz of Pine Grove Township on September 28. He took Betz's car after first stealing the automobile of Reverend Emil Weber of Pottsville, driving to Mary's gas station in Pine Grove Township and abandoning it there after burglarizing the service station. Police officer Mengel stated this is the fourth time Ehlinger has been in the hands of the law. SERIES OF HEARINGS Ehlinger was arraigned before Alderman William Purcell of Pottsville on Monday and charged with the theft of eleven cars in that city. He was held under $1,000 bail on each separate charge for a total bail of $11,000. Next he went before a Minersville justice of the peace where he was charged with one car theft and bail of $1,000 was set for this offense. He was then taken to Schuylkill Haven justice of the peace Elmer R. Koch and charged with the theft of Smith's car and driving while the license was suspended. Bail was set at $1,500. A final charge of stealing an automobile was preferred on Wednesday by Trooper John Mazak for the theft of Harold Betz's car. Bail was fixed at $1,000, making a total of $14,500 bail for the fourteen thefts and driving after his license was suspended. He was committed to jail in default of his bail. |
| The Call of October 5, 1961 Whew-w-w, A Close One - OFFICERS GOETZ AND LASCALA HAD CLOSE CALL, FOUND OUT ABOUT IT TWO WEEKS LATER Local police officers William Goetz and Nick LaScala had a narrow escape from possible death a month ago but didn't realize it until two weeks ago. The story began to unfold on the night of September 23 when Officers Goetz and Keith Murray received a police call at 11:15 o'clock to go to 34 William Street to pick up a man who had called and asked that he be picked up as a parole violator. When Officers Goetz and Murray arrived at the address, no one answered their knock on the door. Upon patrolling the area, they found the wanted man, late identified as Garry G. Hooper, 25, of Idaho, was hiding in the basement. They called in and asked him to come out. There was no answer so Goetz went into the basement while Murray guarded the front door. Hooper resisted the arrest but was subdued by Goetz assisted by Murray who came to his assistance when he heard the commotion. HOOPER QUESTIONED Hooper was taken to the police station. To verify his earlier admission about being a parole violator from Idaho, the police called Pocatello, Idaho for verification. Hooper was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. At a hearing on September 26 at the office of Justice of the Peace John Reber, he pleaded guilty on both counts. In default of $1,000 bail he was committed to the county prison for 30 days for disorderly conduct and will then be placed on trial for resisting arrest. A letter received from Idaho authorities on September 26 confirmed that he was a parole violator since January 12, 1961 from an original charge of armed robbery. When questioned by local police and State Police Officer John Mazak, Hooper stated he was a passenger in a car that had been halted by Officers Goetz and LaScala on September 10 about 3:40 in the afternoon at the Dock and Center Avenue intersection. At that time the two officers were at the traffic light directing traffic and operating the lights manually. When a 1953 Nash pulled out of the lane on Dock Street and passed three cars that had stopped for the light, Goetz halted the car. In checking the driver's and owner's cards, Goetz discovered that the driver had a 1947 Maryland driver's license made out to Donald Hicks, Maryland and an owner's card in the name of Joseph Morris, Philadelphia. Goetz told the driver of the car, which had another man as passenger, to follow the police car to the squire's office. As Goetz went for the police car, the driver drove off in the direction of Pottsville. LOST CAR IN CHASE Picking up LaScala, Goetz followed but the car was out of sight. LaScala called police headquarters at town hall and requested a general alert be radioed to neighboring and state police. Later, the car was stopped in Pottsville, but as the driver was being taken to city hall, the driver again escaped. He was alone in the car. Hooper, when questioned at town hall, admitted he was a passenger in the car. When Goetz went to the police car, Hicks told Hooper that he was "hot." Hooper replied that he was too. So they drove away. Instead of proceeding toward Pottsville, they turned off on the road that leads to the Cotton Club where they stopped. Hooper claims Hicks told him he was wanted for murder and if the cops closed in, he was going to shoot it out. He had, Hooper claims, a revolver that "looked like a .38 and a .22 rifle." He told Hooper to stay with him or he would kill him. Hooper, however, broke away and ran through a cornfield to escape. Hicks has not been apprehended although state and local police and the FBI are investigating. |
| The Call of February 1, 1962 OFFICERS GOETZ AND MURRAY NAB BURGLAR IN CLEM HOME Local police officers foiled a bold daylight robbery attempt late Saturday afternoon when Raymond John Matthews, 23, of Eagle Hotel in Pottsville, broke into the Robert Clem home at 206 West Main Street in an attempt to burglarize the home. Mr. Clem was a patient in the Good Samaritan Hospital at the time. Officer William Goetz said the police were tipped off by Mrs. John Aulenbach, neighbor of the Clems, who lives at 204 West Main Street. According to Goetz, Matthews was first seen by Nancy Klahr who works at the Klahr Cleaning establishment and Karen Reber who operates a dress store, both located across the street from the Clem home. They saw Matthews go on the front porch of the home and knock on the door. When no one answered the door he tried to pry open the window with a screwdriver. Then he went around to the rear of the house. At this point the girls phoned the neighbor Mrs. Aulenbach and told her what they saw. Mrs. Aulenbach went to the rear of her home and could see Matthews crawl through a rear window at the Clem home. Knowing that no one was home at Clems she phoned the Clem Drug Store in Pottsville to see if they had been expecting anyone. She then called the son of Mr. and Mrs. Clem who lives in Mechanicsville and was told to call the police. Officer Goetz stated that when he and Officer Keith Murray first arrived around 5:05 p. m., he saw Matthews come down the inside stairs carrying a loaded automatic pistol. Murray went to the front door and Goetz went around to the rear. Goetz found a window unlocked and as he was crawling through the window, Matthews came down the stairs. When Matthews saw Goetz he backed away upstairs. Goetz unlocked the front door to leave Murray in and the two of them went upstairs where they cornered Matthews in a front bedroom. Matthews went out a front bedroom window onto a porch roof in an attempt to hide but when he spotted Saul Klahr standing on the pavement below he went back in the house. Although Matthews did not know it, Klahr is also a police officer being desk man on a third shift but was not in uniform at the time. According to Goetz when Matthews was taken downstairs and searched, he did not have a gun on him at the time. He was then taken to police headquarters and searched. Police found two wrist watches and $60 on him. The money was hidden in a shoe and in his pocket they found two shells. When Goetz later went back to the house he found a gun, a .25 calibre gun that fires eight bullets, in a drawer. He said it was loaded with six bullets. According to Goetz, the gun had been unloaded but Matthews loaded it with shells he found in the drawer. Later Chief of Police Honicker reported the gun was a souvenir and the firing pin was missing. Taken before Squire John Reber, Matthews pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary and was committed to the Schuylkill County prison. |
| The Call of February 8, 1962 BURGLARS BREAK INTO LEGION, VFW AND PEPSI COLA Three burglaries were reported to the local police this morning when upon opening of the Pepsi Cola plant, the American Legion and the VFW, it was found that thieves had broken into these three places and stole money as well as an undetermined amount of liquor. Elsie Strause, who runs the kitchen at the Legion, discovered the place had been entered when she reported for work there around 9:00 this morning. The thieves had jimmied the doors into the meeting room then jimmied the doors open into the bar where they smashed the cash register, broke into the liquor cabinet and stole between $125 and $150 in cash. It has not been determined just how much liquor was stolen. The Legion had been locked up around one o'clock this morning. At the VFW entry was made through a kitchen window and the large folding doors into the barroom were jimmied open and a desk broken into. It is not yet known if any liquor was taken here. Entrance into the Pepsi Cola plant was made through a rear window and about $48 in cash was stolen. The local police are conducting an investigation. |
| The Call of August 23, 1962 FIND BURGLARY TOOLS IN CAR While on patrol early Tuesday morning local police Officer Earl Deatrich apprehended two men sitting in a car at the Legion lot. When Deatrich made them get out of the car, he found burglary tools in the car. Radioing for assistance, officer Keith Murray arrived and the pair, Clyde Meador, 43, 706 Center Street, Mount Carbon and George Holley, 20, Plaza Hotel, were taken to the police station. After questioning by Chief Honicker, State Police Trooper Mazak, sergeant John Becker of Pottsville and Deatrich, the men admitted they had broken into several milk machines in the area. About one dollar was taken from the dispenser at Connor's Crossing and four dollars from the machine at Deer Lake. Damage to each machine amounted to about $75. Officer Deatrich charged the men with possessing burglary tools and conspiracy. Trooper Mazak charged them with larceny and malicious mischief. Total bail for each man is $4,500. |
| The Call of July 2, 1963 STATE POLICE RAID BUD'S SMOKE SHOP, FIND NUMBERS Charles "Bud" Kauffman, owner and operator of Bud's Smoke Shop on West Union Street, was arrested Friday afternoon after Schuylkill Haven State Police raided the establishment and confiscated numbers books and plays. Police found numbers slips with over 400 plays which indicate that Kauffman had a take of $50 per day's plays. Kauffman, who told police he operated the numbers business since the days of the WPA, was charged with lottery, traffic in lottery and operating a gambling establishment. After he pleaded guilty, Justice of the Peace Ernest Singer fixed bail at $1,000 on each of the charges. Conducting the raid was Corporal James Marks and Troopers Eugene Garren, Stephen Andrusian and John Morrow of the Schuylkill Haven State Police substation and Schuylkill Haven Chief of Police Lorin Honicker. |
| The Call of August 15, 1963 CAR STOLEN FROM CENTER AVENUE Newly elected Schuylkill Haven high school teacher Leo J. Wingle had tough luck last Friday night when his 1955 green and white Oldsmobile was stolen from in front of his home on Center Avenue. The theft occurred around midnight and to date the car has not been found. Three youths were seen in the vicinity of the Wingle home at that time hitchhiking a ride in the direction of Reading. The Schuylkill haven State Police and local police are investigating. Wingle recently moved to the Center Avenue home after being elected a teacher, assistant track coach and an assistant football coach at Haven High. |
| The Call of February 6, 1964 DRIVER LEAVES TRAIL OF DAMAGE Dennis McGeeney, 17, of 14 East Union Street, was fined $25 and costs of $5 on a charge of reckless driving at a hearing before Justice of the Peace Jack Reber, Parkway, on Tuesday evening. The charge, brought by local police officers, resulted from damages caused by McGeeney, a high school senior, while driving the family car on East Union Street between saint John and Green Street on Saturday night at 10:15 o'clock. According to a police report, the car he was driving struck a parking sign at the corner of Saint Peter and Union Street, hit another sign and a tree across from Reppert's store at Margaretta Street, crossed to the left side of the street and hit the 1964 Cadillac owned by Peter Bruzofsky and parked in front of his home. The McGeeney car came to a stop at Green Street. McGeeney suffered head and chest injuries and was taken to the Pottsville Hospital. Damage was estimated at $700 to the Bruzofsky car, $450 to the McGeeney car and $60 property damage. Police officer Cliff Mengel investigated. |
| The Call of August 13, 1964 YOUTH BREAKS INTO 4 PLACES, GETS TWO CUPCAKES, 80 PENNIES A 14 year old boy from Summit Station was picked up at his home yesterday morning and charged with breaking into four business places along Main Street early Monday morning. Local police officer Cliff Mengel found the boy in front of the Messner and Hess store Monday at 1:45 a. m. Not knowing that burglaries had been attempted, he took the boy to Town Hall and after learning his identity, called his father who came and took the boy home. When the burglaries were reported, arrangements were made with the state police to take the boy into custody. With John Mazak of the state police, Mengel went to the boy's home and they brought him to Schuylkill haven where he admitted breaking into or attempting to enter the four places. He told police he left home early Sunday afternoon and hitchhiked to Reading. He hitchhiked to Schuylkill Haven and arrived here about 7:00 p. m. From that time until he was picked up by Mengel at 1:45 a. m., he wandered about town. The first place he entered was the Haven Pizza shop on Saint Peter Street. Being hungry he took two cupcakes. He broke into Bill Campbell's service station at Parkway and West Main Street and took eighty cents in pennies that had been left in the open cash register. He tried to open a cigarette machine but was not successful. Taking a screwdriver from the service station, he went to EconoCare where he tried to open the Pepsi machine. Again he failed. At the Messner and Hess store he broke a piece of glass out of the entrance door with a stone but the burglar proof lock again foiled him. At this point he was apprehended by Officer Mengel. He will be charged on four counts in juvenile court. |
| The Call of February 1, 1962 FORMER POLICE CHIEF DEIBERT DIES The community this week paid final tribute to one of its most highly esteemed citizens, W. Frank Deibert, retired police chief, who died last Friday at 6:30 p. m. at his home, 18 Saint Peter Street, at the age of 77. Death was caused by uremic poisoning. Mr. Deibert had been in failing health for the past eight years and a month ago entered the Pottsville Hospital for treatment of a kidney ailment. Following his retirement almost six years ago, his eyesight began to fail and when meeting friends on the street, he was sometimes unable to recognize them. Upon returning from the hospital, he lost his sight completely. Death brought an end to an illustrious career of a well known baseball player and a beloved police official. His baseball days went back to the 1910 era when baseball was at its peak in this area. He played with Schuylkill Haven's greatest ballplayer, Jake Daubert, who later played major league ball with Cincinnati and Brooklyn, and the famous Mickey Conley, who later became a sensation in Texas League, Red Seiple, Roy Chase, Jim Mellon, Harry Sattizahn and Bob Hoffman. Mr. Deibert was a right handed pitcher as well as a fleet footed outfielder. The games played on the Island drew fans from all over the region and the name Deibert became well known. Along with Sattizahn and Hoffman, he later played with a Cape May team. As a young man he learned his father's blacksmith trade but before engaging in it had a try at operating a coal and supply business, later taken over by Harry Loy. He then worked as a blacksmith at the Reading Company car shops in Schuylkill Haven until he was named chief of police March 28, 1926. He was the entire police force for several months until Percy Bubeck was added to the department. "Cop" Deibert as he was affectionately known, served for thirty years until his retirement March 15, 1956. Deibert will always be remembered for his love of children and his efforts in guiding them in the right direction and teaching them to have a friendly respect for the law. During World war Two many young men in the armed services wrote to thank him for setting them straight or for the many courtesies he showed them when they were of school age. He answered all their letters personally. Although many of his charitable acts went unheralded, it is known that he often gave food to the needy in town and clothing to poorly clad vagrants he met upon the street. During his thirty years as chief of police, Schuylkill Haven had no juvenile delinquency, no vice and no organized crime. Following his retirement, a testimonial dinner was held in his honor May 26, 1956, sponsored by the local Junior Chamber of Commerce and joined in by all the town's civic and social organizations. The honored chief was presented a plaque bearing the retired officer's gold badge at the top and inscribed "In Recognition of Meritorious Service as Police Chief of Schuylkill Haven, Pa, May 28, 1926 to March 15, 1956 by Citizens of Schuylkill Haven," as well as a $500 savings bond. At this testimonial, the Reverend Carl Leinbach as speaker joked about Deibert's "educated thumb" in directing traffic. Chief Deibert's one weak spot was his difficult to see thumb motion to direct traffic. The speaker closed his tribute to Deibert by saying, "No preacher has ever done more to keep people on the right track than Frank Deibert has by his high ideals and influence on others." Further honor came to Chief of Police Deibert when the Rotary Club selected him for its "Outstanding Citizen Award." Born in Washington Township in 1884, Mr. Deibert was the son of frank and Mary Stump Deibert. He resided in Schuylkill Haven most of his life. Mr. Deibert was a member of Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church, the Pottsville Lodge Fraternal Order of Police and the Rainbow Hose Company. He was married to the former Emily Shappell of Schuylkill Haven March 31, 1904. She survives along with two sons and a daughter, Willis, Center Avenue, a former member and past president of Borough Council; Charles, Avenue E; and Mary, wife of Irvin Freeman of Columbia Street. Also surviving are five grandchildren, three great grandchildren and two sisters, Mrs. Gertrude Neiman and Mrs. Tillie Loy, both of Schuylkill Haven. An honor guard composed of local members of the police force stood guard during the viewing at the Bast ans Detwiler Funeral Home on Monday evening. Among the many friends who attended the viewing was a large group of girls and boys. Final services were held Tuesday afternoon from the funeral home with the Reverend William Butts, pastor of Saint Matthew's Church officiating. Mr. Deibert was buried in his Chief of Police uniform at Union Cemetery. The Fraternal Order of Police of Pottsville conducted graveside services. |
| The Call of September 24, 1964 SEVEN CHARGES BROUGHT OVER ATTEMPT TO RECLAIM DOG A series of charges arising over a dog dispute resulted in two agents for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals being held in bail for appearance at trial in the county courts on four counts of being found guilty of disorderly conduct at a hearing conducted by Justice of the Peace John Reber, Parkway, last night. Mr. and Mrs. Roy Kissinger, SPCA agents of Minersville, were each held in $300 bail on charges of larceny of a dog brought by James Guldin of Saint James Street. Mrs. Kissinger was held on $300 bail on assault and battery charges preferred by Mrs. Guldin and Mr. Kissinger was held in $300 bail on assault and battery by automobile charge made by local police officer Edward Webber. Mr. and Mrs. Kissinger were each fined $10 and costs of $13.10 on charges of disorderly conduct brought by Patrolman Webber. Terry Baker of 308 Charles Street was found guilty of disorderly conduct and fined $10 and costs of $11.90. The charges grew out of the action of Kissingers in taking a dog, obtained from the SPCA four years ago, from the Guldins after complaints had been received of neglect and cruelty to animals. According to testimony presented at the hearing, the SPCA agents went to the Guldin home on September 19 to reclaim the female boxer and when Mrs. Guldin refused to give up the dog, Mrs. Kissinger held Mrs. Guldin while Mr. Kissinger took the animal. Testimony as to what took place differed. Justice of the Peace Reber decided the issue should go to court and set bail at $300 each. Officer Webber, who lives across the street from the Guldins, testified on the assault charges that he saw Mrs. Kissinger hold Mrs. Guldin by the arms and struck at her in a scuffle. Both parties testified. Reber set bail at $300 for appearance of Mrs. Kissinger at court on the charges. On the assault and battery by automobile charge made against Mr. Kissinger, Webber testified he was bumped twice by the SPCA truck as Kissinger drove away. Kissinger waived a hearing and bail was set at $300. Terry Baker was fined $10 and costs of $11.90 when he was found guilty of the disorderly conduct charges made by Patrolman Webber. The officer cited interference and angry words when he, Webber, went to the home of Mrs. Robert Frickert to explain the shooting of a dog owned by her. He also testified to a telephone conversation by Baker in which abusive language was used. Testimony at the multiple hearings revealed that the female dog of the Guldins was in season. According to the Kissingers, complaints were received of the dog running loose at times and being tied to a post in the Guldin yard. Male dogs were attracted. A dog owned by Mrs. Frickert was shot by Patrolman Webber because, as he testified, it was acting viciously. The Kissingers claimed that under the contract signed when the Guldins received the female boxer from the SPCA the animal could be reclaimed if it was neglected or treated cruelly. |
| The Call of December 17, 1964 HEARING TODAY FOR MEN INVOLVED IN STOYER HEIST Three men who allegedly roughed up the attendant at the Earl Stoyer garage in Schuylkill Haven and robbed the cash register of $40 Tuesday night, were apprehended and interrogated yesterday and will be arraigned this afternoon. The suspects, Joseph Shaw, 717 North Second Street, Pottsville; Kenneth Fishburn, 22, Eagle Hotel, Pottsville and Jervis Shook, 25, Seltzer City, are in custody and will be arraigned Before Justice of the Peace John Reber late this afternoon. They will be charged with robbery and will be prosecuted by Lorin Honicker, chief of the Schuylkill Haven police. Shaw was apprehended in Auburn RD. Fishburn and Shook were apprehended by Pottsville police. Fishburn and Shaw will also be charged with burglary at the hearing today. Trooper John Mazak of the Schuylkill Haven detail of the State Police, will prosecute the pair for the burglary of a home in West Brunswick Township. Fireplace equipment valued at $50 was stolen from the house on December 9. The home, owned by Huntingdon McLaine, whose last known address is East Falmouth, Massachusetts, was not occupied. The suspects allegedly drove up to the Earl Stoyer garage on Columbia Street at 6:45 p. m. Tuesday. One of the men roughed up the attendant, Randall Breslin, 25, of 19 River Street, Cressona, while the other emptied the cash register of about $40. According to Schuylkill Haven police the man left when another car entered the station for service. The attendant was treated for shock. He was unable to give police a good description. Witnesses, however, thought two men entered the station while an accomplice, thought to be female, remained in the car. The long hair style of a suspect, however, could account for the mistaken identity. |
| The Call of December 17, 1964 MUSIC HAVEN ROBBED A robbery occurred Monday night in the Music Haven, 111 East Main Street, where a tape recorder and two radios valued at $200 were stolen. The store is owned by Marne Bubeck. Police report that three Negro men entered the store about 6:40 p. m. Monday and inquired about a used colored television set. While one of the men kept the clerk busy in the rear of the long narrow store, the second man supposedly passed the recorder and radios out the front door to the third man. The theft was discovered shortly thereafter. The description of the man and their method of operation seems to match that used to steal a transistor radio from the shop of Allen Mortimer, 117 North Centre Street, Pottsville, Tuesday. Another incident involved the beaking of a skylight by someone on the roof of the apartment building adjacent to the Haven Hardware store on Saint John Street Saturday night at 11:00. The hardware store was not entered however. |
| The Call of February 11, 1965 THEFT AT FEHR STORE TAKES PLACE SHORTLY AFTER OWNER LEAVES The heavy plate glass of the display window at the John P. Fehr Jewelry Store on East Main Street was shattered and thirteen rings valued at an estimated $1,000 taken early this morning. The looter or looters struck only fifteen minutes after Fehr left the store at 12:15 a. m. and made a quick getaway. At 12:30, Harry Naffin, manager of Messner and Hess Store, who lives above the store about a half a block from Fehr's, heard the loud crash of glass. He reported that he immediately went to the front bay window and looked up and down Main Street to see what had happened. He saw no one and no cars. He then went downstairs to his store and seeing that none of his windows was broken, called the local police department. Within a matter of minutes Officers Clyde Manbeck and William Goetz were on Main Street. Remembering that a Minersville jewelry store had been robbed by smashing a display window, they checked on the Fehr store immediately and discovered that it was the scene of the robbery. Fehr was notified and was at the scene at 12:45. William O'Neill who conducts the Kustom Kraft leather goods store alongside Fehr's, also was working late last night. He noticed two young men walking past Fehr's store three or four times and stopping to look in the windows. Early in the evening John Fehr had gone to Reading where he visited his wife, who had entered the Reading General Hospital the day before for treatment of a displaced disc in the spine. Upon returning to Schuylkill Haven shortly after 11:00 p. m., he went to the store to work on watch repairing. He talked briefly with O'Neill who left shortly afterward for his home. Fehr worked until 12:15 and then went home. He was there only a short time before he was notified of the breaking of the store window. A section of glass approximately 18 by 24 inches was broken out of the lower display window. Fehr reported that three diamond rings and ten wedding bands were missing. The one diamond ring was valued at $400 and the others at $175 and $100. The ten wedding rings were valued at approximately $325. The loss of the jewelry is the latest in a series of misfortunes to come to the Fehr family. Last August, a daughter, Barbara, was a patient in the Geisinger Memorial Hospital at Danville for repair of a ruptured eardrum. A son, Alan, was hospitalized for several weeks in December with osteomyelitis. On Tuesday of this week, Mrs. Fehr entered the Reading Hospital and underwent an operation today to correct the displaced vertebra disc. On Tuesday night, another son, Curt, while playing basketball with the Schuylkill Haven Jayvees at Minersville suffered a badly cut and bruised lip that required hospital treatment. |
| The Call of April 22, 1965 SURPRISED BURGLAR AT HILL FARM ESCAPES THROUGH WINDOW A burglar surprised in the act of robbing the Hill farm Dairy early Saturday morning escaped by throwing an addressing machine through a window and jumping out to join an accomplice in running away. Mrs. William Schwartz surprised the burglar in the salesroom of the dairy, held him at bay with a revolver and herded him into the office while she attempted to phone her son Reynold and the police. For several months someone has been entering the garage portion of the dairy and causing damage to trucks by ripping out wires. In an attempt to catch the person responsible for this type of vandalism, the Schwartz families, operators of Hill farm Dairy, kept watch in the building. Last Friday night and early Saturday morning, Mrs. William Schwartz and her daughter in law, Mrs. Reynold Schwartz, took guard duty. About 2:15 a. m. they heard someone moving around inside the main part of the building and assumed it was Reynold Schwartz who had come to work early. The elder Mrs. Schwartz went to the salesroom to talk to Reynold and accosted the stranger. He had picked up Mrs. Schwartz's handbag which she had left on the counter in the salesroom and slowly dropped the bag to the floor. Mrs. Schwartz, who had a revolver, commanded him to put up his hands. She moved him to the office and closed the door so she, remaining in the salesroom, could call for assistance. The burglar smashed the window with the addressing machine and jumped out and with his accomplice ran to a car parked nearby. Unable to get the car started they abandoned it. About 4:00 a. m. the car of Kenneth Gilbert was stolen in Cressona and later recovered on Reading. Police believe that the persons who broke into Hill Farm Dairy stole the car. The registration of the car abandoned by the burglars was traced to Reading. It also is believed by police to be a stolen vehicle. It is believed entrance was gained by way of a coal chute. Local police office Clifford Mengle investigated. |
| The Call of July 22, 1965 ESTIMATE CHURCH DAMAGE AT $200 The parish building of Christ Lutheran Church was damaged to the extent of approximately $200 when office doors in both the church and church school were broken down and entered. No money is kept at the church but severe damages were incurred. One door had a wooden frame which was smashed and pushed out, while the other office door had a steel frame. There the wooden door was smashed. Although police are investigating, there seems to be no indication who caused the damage. During the past months vandals also caused nearly $400 damages by breaking thirteen windows in the parish building and one of the huge storm windows of the church. Vandals also wrecked the Boy Scout Troop 125 cabin near the Green Goose playground. |
| The Call of September 2, 1965 WAVE OF VANDALISM HITS SCHUYLKILL HAVEN Halloween is a long way off but the type of vandalism usually associated with that time of year is already taking place in Schuylkill Haven. Five different reports of mischievous incidents were made during the past week. Irvin Godshall, who has temporarily been taking care of the Lions Community Ambulance building since the death of Harry Kerschner, reported a deliberately clogged drain in a lavatory and messed up floor in the public men's room. At the sewer treatment plant on Charles Street, vandals climbed the fence , picked tomatoes from the vines growing in the sludge beds and threw them against the treatment plant. Nelson Shollenberger reported that someone had thrown a lighted cigarette on one of the canvas top trailers parked at the trucking terminal on Penn Street and burned a hole in the canvas. The Haven Manor residents who have been victims of lawn furniture stealing the past several years, now are plagued with vandals taking furniture from one home and turning it on the lawn of another. The latest report was at Saint John's United Church of Christ on Main Street early last evening. A window had been found broken at the boiler room the night before. The janitor last evening discovered that someone had entered the church through the window and ransacked the classrooms of the children's department. Materials were taken from the cabinets, broken and scattered about the room. The vandals in this instance are believed to be small children. Local police are patrolling the trouble spots. |
| The Call of September 23, 1965 BREAK IN AT SCHUYLKILL HAVEN SCHOOL At Schuylkill Haven High School, Principal Robert Hawkins reported that $10 to $12 was taken from his desk. The money represented ring deposits turned in late in the day and petty cash. The glass in the door of the main office was broken and a search made of the main office and that of Dr. Paul S. Christman. Nothing appears to be missing. It is believed the theft took place between 4:00 and 6:00 Saturday. Custodians went home for dinner at 4:00 and returned to the school at 6:00 when they discovered the broken glass in the doors. |
| The Call of September 23, 1965 POLICE PICK UP BOY, 13, FOR THEFT OF THREE CARS Local police last night apprehended a 13 year old boy driving a stolen automobile and brought to a halt a two day wave of auto thefts. Patrolman Rollin Naus first noticed the boy driving the car that had been reported stolen earlier in the evening, but before he could get to the police car and pursue him, he was gone. A short time later Naus again saw the car and pursued it. He stopped the youthful driver on Saint Peter Street in front of the Haven Pizza Shop. The boy admitted stealing three cars on two days. On Monday he stole the 1964 Chevrolet Impala owned by Jack Hoffman of Pottsville, an Acme employee, from the Acme Market parking lot. This car was abandoned at the south end of Avenue B. Yesterday afternoon he stole the 1963 Chevrolet black sedan of Lamar Haslam of Pottsville, who works at the Alpha Mills. He abandoned that car below the Argo Mills and took a 1960 Chevrolet convertible owned by Kathryn L. Hammond of 44 S+Chestnut Street in Cressona, from the Argo parking lot. The boy was driving this car when apprehended about 9:00 p. m. In the one car the glove compartment was broken into and $25 in cash was taken. Jackets and a raincoat were taken from another car. The boy claims he gave the jackets and coat to two other boys he had picked up near Pottsville. He claims the boys also took the money. |
| The Call of September 30, 1965 BOY'S RECORD - FIVE STOLEN CARS AND THREE BURGLARIES The one boy crime wave that hit Schuylkill Haven and surrounding area came to a brief halt this week but broke out in Levittown when the boy, released in the custody of his parents, ran away from home. Only 13 years old and a resident of town less than a month, the boy was picked up last week while driving a stolen car. He readily admitted two other car thefts and thefts of money, jackets and other items from cars. He also admitted the burglaries at the Schuylkill haven and Blue Mountain High Schools and the Argo Mills. He was apprehended at his home Friday night and then released in the custody of his parents, pending juvenile court action. On Monday the boy's mother called the police department and told Chief of Police Lorin Honicker that the boy had run away. On Wednesday Honicker received a call from the Levittown police informing him that the boy had been picked up for stealing two automobiles. Honicker and Officer Rollin Naus, who investigated the car thefts and robberies, stated that the boy admitted entering the Argo Mills building on September 11 through a rear window. He took $10 from a machine repair room and ransacked an office without finding anything. He entered the office by jimmying a window. He took a supply of shirts he distributed among companions. Others were found in his possession. On September 18, according to police, he entered the Schuylkill haven High School building through a window and took several dollars in change from high school Principal Robert Hawkins' desk. He gained entrance to this office and Dr. Paul S. Christman's office by breaking the glass in the door. At Blue Mountain he broke in to the building on September 20. Information on this offense was turned over to the state police. |
| The Call of October 14, 1965 CULPRIT STRIKES AGAIN, TAKES SAME CAR TWICE The one boy crime wave continued this week as the thirteen year old boy, released in the custody of his parents after a series of car thefts and robberies, stole the same car twice in one day and was picked up for breaking into the Willow Lake skating rink and dance hall. The 1960 red Corvair belonging to John Paul, 24 Center Avenue, was stolen Sunday morning from the parking lot at First United Church of Christ while the Paul family was attending Sunday School. The car was later found at the Little League field and returned to its owner. Later in the day Mrs. Paul drove to the Medical Arts Building. When she came from the building, she found that the car was missing. It was found on Pennsylvania Avenue at 4:34 p. m. Officers Rollin Naus, who has been working on the series of thefts by the boy, and Keith Murray apprehended the boy. He admitted stealing the car both times. The first time he said he found the keys in the car. He kept the keys thus finding it easier to steal the car the second time. Last night the local police received a report that ten packs of cigarettes were found along the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks. Investigation uncovered several rubber stops used on the front of shoe skates. These items tied in with the burglary of the Willow Lake building. In less than one month the boy has compiled the following record, according to charges placed against him by police: three thefts of cars in Schuylkill Haven, breaking into the Schuylkill haven and Blue Mountain High Schools and the Argo Mills, theft of two cars at Levittown, theft of the same car twice at Schuylkill haven and burglary at Willow Lake. His taste in cars runs to one make, Chevrolets. The first three cars taken were Chevrolets and the last one a Corvair, made by Chevrolet. Because Schuylkill County has no detention home and juveniles are not committed to jail on charges of theft, the boy was released after each escapade in the custody of his parents. Local police last night stated that state police will lock him up to stop his impulsive stealing until he appears in juvenile court. |
| The Call of October 22, 1964 PARKWAY MAN HELD IN $500 BAIL FOR SHOOTING PRANKSTER Morris O. Ketner, 73, 120 1/2 Parkway, is free under $500 bail as a result of charges brought against him for shooting at John Robertson, 223 Parkway, a 12 year old knick knacker. According to a statement made by Ketner to Justice of the Peace John Reber, who held the hearing Friday night, Robertson was one of several pranksters who last Thursday evening kept raising a set of movable steps at Ketner's home. The steps which led to a second floor apartment, when in a raised condition cut off entrance and exit to the apartment. Ketner stated he had warned the boys to stop. He decided against calling the police because they would have arrived too late to apprehend the boys. Ketner fired a spread shot .22 calibre rifle at the boys and struck Robertson in both arms and the middle finger of the left hand. Robertson was given pellet removal treatment and tetanus shot, as well as xrays to determine the extent of his injuries. Reber reported Ketner admitted the shooting and will face a charge of aggravated assault and battery with intent to maim before the grand jury, probably in early December. |
| The Call of June 23, 1966 JOHN FEHR CAR STOLEN, FOUND The 1962 Buick sedan owned by John Fehr and stolen last week, was recovered late last Thursday evening parked near Molino, along Route 895 near the intersection of 895 and Route 61. The car had been parked in front of Fehr's home, 153 Avenue C, and was taken sometime between 12:00 midnight, June 14 and 12:45 a. m. June 15. Late last Thursday evening the local police department contacted Fehr and informed him that a car thought to be his was found parked alongside Route 895. When Fehr went to investigate he found his keys, owner's card and S & H green stamps safely within the car. Fehr believes whoever took the car was forced to abandon it when the fan belt broke. |
| The call of July 7, 1966 POLICE RAID BEER PARTY Saturday around 9:35 p. m., Schuylkill Haven State Police acting on an anonymous complaint, raided a beer party in a field along Route 61, one mile east of Schuylkill Haven. Two empty half barrels, one cooling system, five cases of twelve ounce bottles containing twelve full bottles were picked up. Four juveniles will be cited for consumption and possession of alcoholic beverages. Justice of the Peace Lester Potts will issue summons for Earl McGoey, 18, 408 Hess Street, Schuylkill Haven; Michael D. Anthony, 18, Schuylkill haven RD 1; Robert C. Bicht Jr., 20, Hatfield, charging them with consumption and possession of alcoholic beverages. John M. Moegalis, 18, Minersville and Robert M. Anthony, 19, Schuylkill Haven RD1, were arraigned before Potts charged with consumption and possession of alcoholic beverages. Each waived a hearing and paid a $25 fine and $11 costs of prosecution with Trooper John Mazak the prosecutor. |
| The Call of September 22, 1966 MISSING BOY STABBED IN CHICAGO A stabbing on the streets of Chicago disclosed the whereabouts of Charles Detweiler, who had been missing from his home in Schuylkill haven since June 25. The youth's parents, Dr. and Mrs. S. B. Detweiler, 33 Saint Peter Street, received a telephone call shortly before midnight on Saturday, September 10, from the Henrotin Hospital in Chicago informing them that their son had been stabbed in the back and brought to the hospital. After receiving emergency treatment he was being xrayed and if an emergency operation was necessary, parental consent had to be obtained. The Detweilers left the next morning by plane for Chicago. Arriving at the hospital, they learned the knife wound was not serious. The weapon struck the lowest rib on the left side of the spine. A half inch to the right, the knife would have struck the spine and half inch higher or lower it would have penetrated vital organs. A two inch gash was cut into muscle tissue. The stabbing took place in a Negro section through which young Detweiler and a friend were passing. Two young men with switch blade knives jumped them. Detweiler was stabbed but his friend escaped with lesser knife cuts. Bleeding profusely, Detweiler was directed to the hospital four blocks away by another Negro boy who walked there with the two injured youths. After leaving Schuylkill haven Detweiler went to Chicago where he obtained employment with the National Safety Council in its inventory control unit. On his earnings he was able to fly to Miami for the Labor Day weekend and also built a sizable savings account. He returned home with his mother by plane on September 15, when he was released from the hospital. His father drove his automobile to Schuylkill Haven. |
| The Call of April 27, 1967 YES, IT CAN ALSO HAPPEN HERE - Sawed Off Shotgun, Bayonets Found in Car An arsenal of weapons was confiscated from a car that led local police on a seven mile, high speed chase through Schuylkill Haven before it was finally halted by the firing of warning shots at Sculp's Hill near Landingville on Friday night. Found in the car were a twelve gauge double barrel sawed off shotgun, a Winchester twelve gauge shotgun, two Wilkinson twenty inch bayonets, a jackknife and a small scissors. Occupants of the car were Larry Lee Schneck, 21, owner, Bear Creek Street, Auburn; Gary M. Caravan, 19, Auburn; and Craig Henry, 19, 103 saint John Street, Schuylkill Haven. At a hearing before Justice of the Peace George Orwig on Tuesday night, Schneck accepted full responsibility and stated that Caravan and Henry had hitched a ride with him from Auburn and knew nothing about the weapons found in the car. The felony charges under the Uniform Firearms Act against Caravan and Henry were dropped. Schneck pleaded guilty and was returned to Schuylkill County Prison under $500 bail was obtained. On Friday night at 10:25 p. m., police officers Cliff Mengel and Edward Webber were on routine patrol of Columbia Heights at the intersection of Washington and South Berne Streets. They noticed that a 1956 black Ford coming from the Schuylkill Mountain did not have registration plates. They attempted to halt the car on South Berne Street but the driver refused to stop. The chase went to Columbia Street, a right turn to Charles Street, a left to Penn Street, a right to Parkway, a left to Williams, a right to East Liberty and on towards Adamsdale. The local patrolmen put in a radio call to headquarters and asked for State Police assistance. At the crossroads at Adamsdale, the fleeing car turned towards Landingville, took a right turn at the Pennsy arch and a hard left and then hard right up to Sculp's Hill. With Officer Webber at the wheel, Mengel fired three warning shots and the car stopped. The three occupants were ordered out of the car. Because of the attempt to elude police, the local officers suspected a felony and made an immediate search of the car. They found the mentioned items. The state Police, near Pottsville when the summons for assistance was received, arrived on the scene shortly after the fleeing car was halted. Possession of the sawed off shotgun (any shotgun with a barrel less than 24 inches) is a felony under the Uniform Firearms Act. The three occupants of the car were taken to Justice of the Peace George Orwig for arraignment. They were cited under section 628 of the Pennsylvania Criminal Law, Uniform Firearms Act. In default of $1500 bail each, they were committed to Schuylkill County prison, and Tuesday night was set as the time for a preliminary hearing. It was at this hearing that Schneck absolved the other two of any knowledge of the weapons in the car. Schneck was cited for five violations of the Motor Vehicle Code in addition to the charge on the firearms: failure to have his car registered, reckless driving, driving too fast for conditions of the highway, failing to comply with lawful order to stop and running through a stop sign. These charges are still pending. Under the Firearms Act, the penalty for violation is a fine not less than $3000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years or both. |
| The Call of February 1, 1968 ROBBER TRIES TO HOLD UP HILL FARM An attempted robbery took place last evening about eight o'clock at Hill Farm Dairy Bar when an unknown youth entered the establishment and asked for a cone of ice cream. The youth took out what appeared to be a 22 revolver and pointed it at the attendant, David Guitas, of Cressona. The youth told Guitas to put the paper money into a paper bag but was scared off when a car pulled up outside. Reynold Schwartz, owner of the Hill farm Dairy, reported the incident at borough hall at 9:30 last evening, having been told about it when he arrived at the dairy bar a short time earlier. Officers Cliff Mengel and Ray Krammes responded. A description of the youth was given the police who are investigating. |
| The Call of June 22, 1967 POLICE CAR CRASHES DURING CHASE Schuylkill Haven police officer Cliff Mengel remains a patient ion the Pottsville Hospital where he has been confined since being injured in an accident Tuesday morning about 7:30 o'clock on West Columbia Street. Mengel suffered two broken ribs in the accident. His condition is listed as good. Officer William Goetz, also injured in the accident, returned to his home this morning. Goetz suffered a head injury and lacerations of the hands. According to the officers, the two policemen in the new borough police car, were pursuing a speeding white panel truck that ran a red light at Columbia Street. As they approached Guldin's Hill on Columbia Street, Mengel, the driver, thought a car nosing out from a side street was going to pull out in front of him. As Mengel applied the brakes hard, the police car went into a skid and crashed into the left front fender of the 1963 Buick owned by John Bayliff, 309 Dock Street. Mengel and Goetz were rushed to the hospital in the Schuylkill Haven ambulance. Damages to the police car were estimated at $400 and to the Bayliff vehicle $150. |
| The Call of August 8, 1968 DR. LOEPER HOME RANSACKED The Dr. Peter Loeper family, returning last Saturday from a week's vacation at the seashore, found their new home on Avenue A in shambles. Vandals had entered their home during their absence and ransacked the place. Entrance was gained by jimmying sliding glass doors at the rear at the rear of the home after an unsuccessful attempt had been made to open a smaller window. Holes were punched in the screen at the window and marks indicate that the vandals had tried to pry open the windows. Marks on the window and sliding doors indicate that a two inch wood chisel blade was used. All bedrooms and the living room were ransacked. Drawers were pulled out and their contents strewn about the floor. Missing are 30 stereo records, 24 books of green stamps, a portable typewriter and a brown suitcase. A fireproof metal box containing receipts was broken into and the contents strewn about the room. Four pictures, fastened with contact tape, were ripped from the walls. In describing the havoc, Dr. Loeper stated, "It looked like they had a party. Beer from a six pack was sprayed on the walls and furniture." The vandals were evidently looking for money, yet they did not take any jewelry although the jewelry box contents were dumped on the floor. Silverware and other valuable household items also were not taken. A neighbor, given a key to the home, had checked it on Thursday and found everything in order. The culprits believed top be youngsters, broke into the house sometime between Thursday evening and Saturday at 1:00 p. m., when the Loepers returned from a week's vacation at Stone Harbor, New Jersey. Dr. Loeper, local optometrist, and his family moved into their newly constructed home on Avenue A slightly more than a year ago. The loss is fully covered by insurance. |
| The Call of February 20, 1969 ARMED BURGLARS TIE UP, ROB RUBRIGHTS Three gunmen, one described as a policeman and the other two wearing masks, tied up the Dr. H. C. Rubright family and ransacked the house last Thursday night. They took $250 from the doctor's wallet, jewelry including a $2500 diamond ring belonging to Mrs. Rubright, a watch, two 12 gauge shotguns and a .22 caliber rifle with scope. The Rubrights did not get a good look at the armed burglars, but noted that one wore a ski mask and the other a plastic Halloween mask. They were white. Dr. and Mrs. Rubright and their two sons, Herbert, 16, and Harry, 14, had returned to their home at 11 Hillcrest Avenue about 9:45 p. m., only a short time before the armed men entered the house. Dr. Rubright and the two boys were upstairs in the boys' room watching television and Mrs. Rubright was in the kitchen when the uniformed man knocked at the back door. When she opened the door, the three came in and drew revolvers. At gunpoint, she was forced to go upstairs and join the rest of the family. The gunmen told the doctor to tell the boys not to struggle and for all of them to lie down and not look at them. They tied all four members of the Rubright family with electric cords taken from lamps, the sweeper and a heavy duty extension cord found in the basement. Dr. Rubright was tied to a chest of drawers, with the drawers taken out so that the cord could be secured around the partitions of the chest and then replaced. Mrs.. Rubright was tied to one bed, Harry to the other bed and Herbert Jr. to the door. Mrs. Rubright told the men her arm was becoming numb because the wire was too tight on her wrists. One of the men removed the cord and massaged her wrist, then retied her. The three men entered the home shortly before 10:00 p. m., spent an hour ransacking it and were gone almost an hour before the victims were able to release themselves. Before leaving they said they would notify the police in half an hour. They didn't. Herbert Jr. gradually worked himself to a position where he could open the door and release the cord from the other side. He worked his way over to his father, who managed to untie the boy, who then freed his father. They united the other victims and notified the state police. The state police called the Schuylkill haven police and both investigated. |
| The Call of February 20, 1968 BURGLARS GET $450 AT COUNTRY SQUIRE More than $450 in cash was taken from the Country Squire Restaurant, Route 61, Schuylkill Haven RD1, sometime between 1:00 and 7:00 Tuesday morning. According to state police, the burglars broke a window to enter. They jimmied open a desk drawer in the office where the money was kept. |
| The Call of February 27, 1969 POLICE PICK UP SUSPECT William A. Carson, 43, Pine Grove RD3, was arrested yesterday for the armed robbery which took place February 13 at the home of Dr. Herbert C. Rubright, 11 Hillcrest Avenue. Schuylkill Haven state police, conducting the investigation, report Carson was arraigned before Alderman William Purcell of Pottsville and committed to Schuylkill County prison. Bail has not been set. Three gunmen, one disguised as a policeman and the other two wearing masks, entered the home and at gunpoint tied up the doctor, his wife and two sons. The men entered the home shortly before 10:00 p. m. and spent an hour searching the home before leaving. It was almost an hour later before the doctor's son Herbert Jr. was able to free himself and work his way to his father who managed to untie the boy. A $2500 diamond ring, a watch, two 12 gauge shotguns, a .22 caliber rifle with scope and $250 in cash was taken. |
| The Call of March 20, 1969 BURGLARS CAUGHT, TRIED TO ENTER LOAN OFFICE A series of thefts and burglaries in the area was solved this week when Patrolman Nicholas LaScala, Tuesday at 2:30 a. m. apprehended two men attempting to remove a pane of glass from the rear of the Panther Valley Loan Company building at 107 East Main Street. LaScala was checking the rear of the business establishments on Main Street and when he put his spotlight on the Panther Valley building saw two men, alter identified as Kenneth Koehler of Pottsville RD3 and Robert Deibert, 623 North Warren Street in Orwigsburg, removing the glass. Koehler was taken to Schuylkill Haven borough hall where he admitted he was trying to enter the loan office to get money. He was arraigned before Justice of the Peace George Orwig, committed to prison, but is now on bail. Deibert fled the scene but LaScala had recognized him and alerted Orwigsburg Police Chief Walter Duinn who picked him up and turned him over to the Schuylkill Haven Police Department. Under interrogation by Officers LaScala and Rollin Naus, Deibert admitted several burglaries but said Koehler was not involved in any except the one they were attempting when caught. Deibert said he knew LaScala recognized him. LaScala said that Deibert had been under surveillance since January. Deibert admitted to LaScala and Naus the following thefts: Campbell's' Service Station, February 18, case of oil; Jacoby's American Station, February 17, $75; Hummel's Buick, March 14, tools valued at $300 and $49 in cash; Berks Welding, March 14, equipment valued at $289. Orwigsburg police charged him with the theft of miscellaneous merchandise and tools valued in excess of $1,000 from Spanro Corporation on North Lincoln Avenue on January 23. Pottsville City police charged Deibert with the burglary March 9 at the David Derbes garage, 18th and Market Streets, when loot valued at $543 was stolen. These charges were filed before Alderman Purcell. State Police charged Deibert with the burglary of the Nancy Lee Diner on March 3 and Country Squire restaurant on February 18. All stolen merchandise has been recovered but not the cash. Deibert was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Orwig, Orwigsburg Justice of the Peace Jacobs and Pottsville Alderman William Purcell. He was committed to prison where he is awaiting grand jury action. The burglary at the Hummel Buick garage and the adjoining Berks Welding Company on Center Avenue took place early Friday morning. At Hummel;'s the thieves took mechanic's tools valued at $300 and $49 in cash. At Berks Welding, the loot included two torches, a cutting attachment and 100 feet of hose valued at $181.25 and $44,72 in cash. Entry to both buildings was gained through side windows. |
| The Call of June 19, 1969 DRINKING GIRLS UPROOTED TREES The mystery surrounding the uprooting of the newly planted evergreen trees in pots in the Main Street business section was cleared early this morning when local police caught two girls, 16 and 15, when they returned to complete their job. The young girls, both under the influence of alcoholic beverages, admitted pulling out seven trees on the north side of Main Street last Friday between two and three in the morning after a drinking bout. They also admitted to uprooting five trees on the south side of the street last night between 11:00 and 11:30. Officers Nick LaScala and Rollin Naus, working the night shift, were keeping Main Street under surveillance since the first act of vandalism on Friday. When one drove the police car on patrol, the other remained in the Main Street area. Naus was patrolling and LaScala was on watch when the two girls returned to Main Street at 1:00 a. m. LaScala saw the older girl try to pull out a tree and the younger girl try to prevent her from doing it. He apprehended them and with Patrolman Naus took them to police headquarters. They admitted the vandalism. In tracing their movement, police learned that the girls had been drinking early last night. A motorist from Orwigsburg saw them pulling out the trees and noting their condition took them to the Gateway Diner for coffee. He then took them to a residence at the rear of Dock Street, where they were living. Later the girls again went to Main Street and were caught by the police. Because they are juveniles, the one girl who is 15 was released ion the custody of her parents and the other on the custody of her husband. Since the trees were uprooted last Friday, local merchants have been keeping a night watch on Main Street, taking turns to check periodically on the trees. They figured the culprits would return to work the other side of the street. But they missed the action of the girls last night and this morning. The firm from which the trees were purchased sent two men to report the trees this morning. Damage is estimated at $30. |
| CRIME |
| LAST UPDATED: OCTOBER 21 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| This page contains all Crime stories from 1930 forward. All articles previous to 1930 remain on the original Crime page. |
| PAGE 2 |
| The Call of September 18, 1969 FIND CARSON GUILTY OF DOCTOR THEFT Following a four hour debate last Thursday afternoon, a jury returned a verdict finding William A. Carson, 43, Pine Grove RD#3, guilty on two counts in the armed robbery of Dr. Herbert Rubright and his family, Hillcrest Avenue, last February. The other three men were never found. Judge George Heffner, trial judge, received the verdict at 5:15 p. m. When Carson's counsel stated that a motion for a new trial would be made, Judge Heffner doubled the bail from $10,000 to $20,000. Carson was committed to jail pending entering of bond. The Commonwealth charged Carson was one of three armed men who entered the Rubright home the night of February 13, 1969, tied up the doctor, his wife and two sons and ransacked the home. Over $4,000 in personal property, mostly jewelry, was taken. Dr. Rubright and son, Herbert Jr., made positive identification of Carson as being the only one of the trio not masked and that he wore a policeman's uniform as a ruse to gain entrance to the house. Mrs. Rubright said Carson resembled the man. Carson denied being in the Rubright home and said that night he went to pick up his wife who worked in a factory in Pine Grove. He said he waited in his car until she finished her shift at eleven o'clock. He stated he slept in the car. |
| The Call of October 23, 1969 VICE SQUAD RAIDS APARTMENT, ARRESTS BET TAKER, RESIDENT Members of Reading Troop L vice squad on Saturday at 3:00 p. m. raided an apartment at Mayfair Apartments, May Drive, Schuylkill Haven, where James Whitaker, 29, of 1734 West Market Street, Pottsville, was taking bets over the telephone when raiders entered. Also arrested was Diane Luscavage, 26, in whose apartment the bets were being taken. Whitaker and Miss Luscavage were charged Sunday before Schuylkill Haven Justice of the Peace Lester Reber, with traffic in lottery, establishing a gambling place, conspiracy, poolselling and bookmaking and a general charge of lottery. Whitaker is free on $2,000 bail and Miss Luscavage posted $2,000 bail also. Whitaker is the son of Matthew Whitaker, Pottsville, who has been in numerous racket cases. State Police Sergeant Donald Holloway, head of the vice squad, said several thousand football pool tickets and horse bets were seized along with $397. He said the football tickets circulated in Schuylkill, Berks, Luzerne, Lebanon, Dauphin and Northumberland counties. The FBI, which conducted raids Saturday afternoon in Biloxi, Mississippi and Providence, Rhode Island, served search warrants on Miss Luscavage's apartment to locate information pertaining to violations of the gambling statuettes. |
| The Call of January 15, 1970 BURGLAR BREAKS WINDOW, TAKES DIAMOND RING The ringing of the burglar alarm yesterday at 2:30 a. m. Is believed to have scared off a burglar, or burglars, who broke the window at Fehr's jewelry store on Main Street and fled with a diamond dinner ring valued at $250. A box containing an engagement and wedding ring set was found in the middle of the pavement, evidently dropped by the fleeing thief. The box, which contained the dinner ring, was found in the gutter in front of the store. Harry Naffin, of Messner and Hess, heard the alarm and looked out the window toward the jewelry store but saw no one in sight. He called the police and Patrolman Cliff Mengel immediately came on the scene. A tire jack, used to smash the window, was found in front of the Schuylkill Haven Trust Company. Fresh footprints in a snowbank in front of the bank lead police to believe the thief crossed the street from Fehr's to a car in the vicinity of the bank. Mengel was assisted in the investigation by Patrolman Clyde Manbeck. |
| The Call of August 6, 1970 GIRLS WIELDING KNIVES ARRESTED Three girls, two sisters of Palo Alto and one girl of Schuylkill Haven RD#1, all under seventeen years of age, were picked up by Schuylkill Haven police Saturday evening at the Econo-Care Laundromat after the police had received complaints regarding the actions of the girls. One of the girls allegedly pulled aknife on a small boy. Police took knives from two of the girls, a paring knife from one and a butcher knife from the other. The mother of the sisters took the girls to the hospital where they were tested for the influence of narcotics. Police said one of the girls admitted smoking hashish the previous Sunday. |
| The Call of August 6, 1970 HAVEN GIRL HIT WITH BOTTLE, THIEF STEALS $13 A youth, about five feet four inches tall, wearing a red bandanna over his face, hit a seventeen year old Schuylkill Haven girl over the head with a soda bottle and robbed her of her purse, containing $13, as she was on her way to work Tuesday about 7:50 a. m. The girl was on her way to work at Alpha Mills, walking along the cinder bank between Caldwell Street and the Reading crossing on Main Street, when she heard a rustling in the bushes. When she glanced behind her she saw the boy tip toeing towards her. The youth, wearing a print shirt and thought to be about sixteen years old, hit her over the head and as she ran away he picked up her purse and lunch and fled. She was taken to the hospital where she was xrayed and released. Alpha Mills is offering a $50 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the boy. Schuylkill Haven police are investigating. |
| The Call of August 13, 1970 THREE HELD ON DRUG CHARGE The scene was the Stine's corner at Main and Saint John Streets, Schuylkill Haven. The time was 2:30 a. m. Wednesday morning. Three out of towners were uselessly milling around on the street corner. Schuylkill Haven Patrolmen Nicholas LaScala and Clifford Mengel asked the three young people for identification and asked the reason for their being in Schuylkill Haven at such a late hour. One man said they were out for a drive while another admitted not having any identification on his person. This led to suspicion by the policemen. A jar of liquid was seen lying on the back seat of their car. From there, LaScala and Mengel conducted a "search on sight." Arrests were later made on the young people for possession of certain narcotic drugs and certain prescription drugs. A closer inspection revealed that 24 year old Robert Ned Simpson and two sixteen year old youths, all from Pottstown, had in their possession about ten fixes (could be any type of speed) some neatly wrapped in individual packets, a pill, a two and a half ounce quantity of liquid in a container, believed to be LSD diluted with alcohol or vodka, two needles with a disposable syringe and needle and two marijuana joints. Positive identification will soon be known. The drugs are now being processed in Harrisburg. All three are in Schuylkill County prison. Simpson is held under $5,000 bail and the youths are being constrained until arrival of Pottstown juvenile authorities. |
| The Call of October 22, 1970 CYCLISTS CAUSE STIR AT LAKE Twenty young persons, including two girls, members of a Lebanon motorcycle gang, created havoc Saturday evening between 10:30 and midnight in the Willow Lake area. Several times in the past few months, these cyclists are said to have created disturbances on Garfield Avenue and Saturday evening when several of the gang were again banging and scratching parked cars, several residents asked them to move along. This they did, only to return a short time later with additional members of their group. Bent on destruction, the youths are reported to have ripped off fence pailings, pulled down mail boxes and trampled on shrubbery. When the occupants with the homes pleaded with them to leave they attacked one of the home owners, Bill Killian. Bill's son, Arnold, was injured as he tried to aid his father. Also injured in the fracas was Romeo Lopez, who with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Romeo Lopez, live in that area. One member of the motorcycle gang was knocked unconscious and laid in a pool of blood on the Richardson porch for over half an hour. The state police were called since the area involved is located in the township. Three cars full of state police, two Schuylkill Haven policemen and the Schuylkill Haven ambulance arrived on the scene. One of the injured cyclists was taken to the hospital in the ambulance. According to a spokesman for the local residents involved, prosecution will follow. |
| A new series of articles has just been added including: an attack at the Almshouse, Cressona youths raid Schuylkill haven stores, two boys sent "up the river," and several other stories including a car theft. |
| The Call of January 19, 1940 DOG THIEVES PAY SCHUYLKILL HAVEN A VISIT A new type of thief has been visiting in Schuylkill Haven lately. It is a dog thief or thieves. Three dogs have already been stolen and attempts made to steal additional dogs. Owners awakened by the barking of their dogs, in several cases probably averted additional thefts. Last Saturday evening, the valuable bird dog, an all white male pointer with lemon ears, belonging to Edwin Becker, was stolen from his yard on West Main Street. A black and tan female, hound, belonging to Paul Bubeck, was stolen from his yard on Dock Street two weeks ago. No trace of this dog has been found. A hunting dog belonging to Mr. Casey on Dock Street was stolen from a locked building two weeks ago. Several days after the theft, the dog came back with a broken jaw. Barking dogs on the premises of John Cake of Dock Street arouse Mr. Cake. He investigated and at the pen of the dogs found one fur lined glove indicating that someone had been disturbed in attempting to make away with the dogs. Friday evening last, while the Antler Hunting Club was enjoying a banquet at the Carpenter Hotel on Columbia Heights, the dogs of Mr. Carpenter set up quite a commotion. Mr. Carpenter armed himself with a shotgun and, going outside the building, noticed shadows in the vicinity of the kennel of the dogs. He let drive a few shots and the shadows disappeared. Dog owners, particularly those with hunting dogs, have been arming themselves with shotguns and lying awake nights with the hope of getting a chance to try their marksmanship. The matter is being investigated by the police but no clues have been picked up as of this date. |
| The Call of January 19, 1940 WATCHMAN MURDERED NEAR CONNORS Robert D. Evans of Pottsville, night watchman at the Walton Coal Breaker, a short distance above Connor's Crossing on the old Schuylkill Haven-Pottsville Pike, was murdered sometime between two and seven o'clock on Thursday morning. Robbery evidently was the motive, for the man's pockets and money bag in which were placed payments made by purchasers of coal, were rifled. The discovery was made by William Gradwell of Cape Horn when he reported for work shortly before seven o'clock Thursday morning. Examination of the body showed that the man had been struck twice over the head. The body was lying underneath a bench. The man had been dead about six hours when the discovery was made. An autopsy was performed by Dr. Glenney of Pottsville at the D. M. Bittle Funeral Home on Thursday morning beginning at eleven o'clock. The same was completed at 3:30 Thursday afternoon. Dr. Henry Prescott of Cressona, Deputy Coroner, was present for a time. The cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. The small building occupied by Evans had been entered and robbed several weeks ago while Evans was loading a coal truck nearby. He is survived by his widow and three children. He and his family came to Pottsville from Mount Carmel eighteen years ago. |
| The Call of March 1, 1940 POLICE RAID DOCK STREET GAMBLING PLACE ON SUNDAY MORNING The police of Schuylkill Haven, having obtained knowledge of gambling being carried on in the property of Nick Lascala on Dock Street, Schuylkill Haven, raided the place on Sunday morning at one o'clock. In the second story of a building used as a garage, they found a number of young boys engaged in playing cards and gambling. Money was found on the tables and other evidence of the games having been in progress for some time. At a hearing before Squire Singer, the sentence was suspended on the boys after the Burgess had given them a reprimand and pointed out the embarrassment to their parents that would follow their names being returned to court through the record of the Squire's office. Lascala, the proprietor, was found guilty on two charges and fined. The raid was made by officers Deibert, Bubeck and Reinhart. |
| The Call of March 7, 1941 THREE YOUTHS HELD IN STORE ROBBERY Three youths are being held in connection with the robbery of the Dusty Soda Shop, conducted by Ethel Rhoads at 328 Dock Street, sometime between eleven o'clock Saturday evening and eleven o'clock Sunday morning. The boys, all parolees, are: Richard Jones, 18, of Schuylkill Haven R. D., John Walters, 20, and Creighton Reigle, 16, of Pottsville. Walters was committed to the county prison, Reigle is in the house of detention and Jones in the custody of a probation officer. Local officers, who joined with Pottsville police in working on the robbery, report that entrance was gained to the store through an outside cellar door. The reported loss was five dollars from the cash register, three dollars from a cigarette box, three cartons of cigarettes, two boxes of chewing gum and a five dollar camera. The youths were picked up by Pottsville police for loitering in a hallway. It was learned that one of them had been selling cigarettes for ten cents a pack and inquiry was made of any robberies reported in the area. Chief of Police Deibert of Schuylkill Haven reported the robbery in town and aided the Pottsville officers in getting the boys to admit their guilt. |
| The Call of May 29, 1942 ROBBERS BREAK INTO TWO STORES Chief of Police Frank Deibert is conducting a thorough investigation into the pair of robberies which took place early Wednesday morning in the western section of town. Two business places were visited and money to the amount of fifty dollars was stolen by the thief or thieves. The robberies were perpetrated on the properties of Herman W. Schaeffer at 200 North Berne Street, where entry was made on the side porch after the screening was loosened and entry forced. Here the cash register was emptied with the exception of nickels and pennies. The exact amount stolen was $24.37. The store of Ray Flail at 549 Columbia Street was entered by forcing a key from the inside of the door and then picking the lock. Here again the thieves rifled the cash register of five dollars but overlooked and envelope containing fifteen dollars which was on top of the register and the thieves apparently thought it unimportant. Then they went into the room to the rear of the store and looted a desk of twenty dollars which was placed under some papers. The exact time of the robbery was set at 4:28 in the morning by Mrs. Mary Flail, who heard the noise made by the intruders but thought it was her aged father, James Guldin, who makes his home with them and who habitually rises at night. Not until she heard the thief or thieves making a hurried getaway did she realize what was happening. Chief Deibert immediately began his investigation upon being notified. This is the first instance of robbery since 1939 when the store of R. R. Sterner was robbed. |
| The Call of June 4, 1943 SOLDIER HELD FOR AUTO THEFT Private Thomas A. Harris, of Indiantown Gap, was committed to the county prison in default of $1,000 bail on charges of the larceny of an automobile and reckless driving on Wednesday afternoon. The stolen automobile was owned by Harvey V. Ritter of 120 East Union Street in Schuylkill Haven, which had been parked on a parking lot on Center Street in Pottsville. Officer Rehnert of the Pottsville police noticed Private Harris driving recklessly on Centre Street and gave chase. Thomas struck and damaged a truck parked in front of the Journal office. He failed to stop and at Centre and Mauch Chunk Streets struck another car. State police joined Officer Rehnert in the chase. The car was abandoned by Thomas on South Centre Street and he was finally caught in the railroad yard. |
| The Call of September 21, 1945 PARKWAY AND HAVEN MOTORS ROBBED A small crime wave hit Schuylkill Haven in the last week. Early Saturday morning between one and six, the Parkway Restaurant was broken into and robbed of about twenty dollars. Entrance was made through a window on the west side where a screen was open and about twenty dollars taken. An attempt was made to break the cigarette machine but the robbers left before that was accomplished. So far no clue has been found which might lead to the culprits. In a daring robbery between 7:30 and 11:20 Tuesday evening, Haven Motors was entered and fifteen tires values at $280 were taken from the show room. A window on the east side was pried open and entrance gained to the garage. The tires were taken from the large display room in the front of the building. |
| The Call of May 3, 1946 BURGLAR ENTERED ACME STORE THROUGH SKYLIGHT, STOLE $119 FROM SAFE The Acme Supermarket at 16 East Main Street was broken into early Thursday morning and $119.26 in change was taken from the safe. The robbery was discovered by Miss Violet Weaklen of Pottsville, manager of the store, and Elmer Horning, head of the meat department, who opened the store at 8:20 in the morning. Horning called in Chief of Police Frank Deibert who made an investigation. Entrance to the store was made through a skylight. The burglar climbed a fire escape at the side of the store and climbed onto the back porch of Mrs. Warren Hagner, who since the recent death of her husband has not been staying overnight at the apartment. From the back porch a section of clothesline was taken. Going to the skylight, the burglar removed a small section of glass, tied the line to a wooden post and began climbing down about eleven feet from the floor and into the store. The rope broke and he fell into a metal pushcart loaded with mustard jars. The pushcart was crushed and seven jars of mustard smashed. No blood was found anywhere in the store. The safe, located at the front of the store, only a few feet from the large plate glass windows, had its combination smashed. The burglar chiseled off the outer combination ring and manipulated the tumblers to open the door. For all his trouble he got only $119.26. Wednesday's receipts were deposited by the manager who left only the amount needed for change for the next day. Nothing else was taken. The burglar left the store through a door at the loading platform at the rear. Chief of Police Deibert found fingerprints on the skylight section that had been removed and called in a fingerprint expert of the state police who photographed the prints. |
| The Call of January 24, 1947 WIFE KILLED, SON HIT BY HATCHET BEFORE MENTALLY ILL MAN IS SUBDUED - Samuel Aulenbach Died Monday; Son Fred Will Not Be Held Wielding a hatchet, mentally unbalanced Samuel P. Aulenbach ran amuck at his home on Liberty Street last Saturday morning and murdered his wife, Helen, fifty nine, and attempted to kill his son Fred. In his struggle with his son, the crazed man was finally knocked unconscious and died two days later. An autopsy on Monday night revealed that death was caused by pneumonia and a cirrhosis condition. Mr. and Mrs. Aulenbach were alone in the kitchen, with son Fred, aged twenty nine, an engineer on the Buffalo train, asleep in an upstairs bedroom, when the elder Mr. Aulenbach went berserk. He attacked his wife with the hatchet, striking her about the head and body and inflicting injuries which later resulted in her death. Leaving her lying in a pool of blood, the elder Aulenbach went upstairs to the room of his son. The young man heard his father enter the room and saw the hatchet in his hand but was unable to get clear of the bed covers before he was struck across the face with the blunt end of the weapon. He got out of bed and grappled with his father. They wrestled down the stairs to the bloody scene on the first floor. It was then the older man was subdued by being knocked unconscious. Young Aulenbach then called Dr. Theodore Tihansky and the police. According to the report of Chief of Police Frank Deibert, he responded to a call from Mrs. Tihansky who said there was a killing at 203 East Liberty Street, the home of the Aulenbachs. Entering the dining room he found Fred Aulenbach sitting on a chair very much excited, holding a towel on the right side of his face. Mrs. Aulenbach was lying on her back in a pool of blood, her face resting on a cushion, slightly to the left of the door leading to the living room. She was moaning and unconscious. Turning to Fred, he asked, "Who did this?" The young man replied, "My father." Chief Deibert then asked where he was. The son replied, "In the kitchen." Mr. Aulenbach was found lying on his right side with his head near the stove and unconscious. Calls were placed for the D. M. Bittle ambulance and the Warne Hospital for an ambulance. Dr. Tihansky cared for the injured and Mrs. Aulenbach was removed to the Good Samaritan Hospital and Mr. Aulenbach to the Warne Hospital in Pottsville. Fred was taken to the Good Samaritan Hospital where he was treated for a large contusion of the right cheek, severe bruises of the big toe of the left foot and bruises of the arm and body. After being treated he was discharged form the hospital. Chief of County Detectives Louis D. Buono and detective Bruce Clayton and Corporal William Keuch of the state police investigated. No charges will be brought against the younger Aulenbach. Questioning Fred Aulenbach as to what happened, Deibert was told that he had come home from work about three in the morning. He was reading the newspaper in the kitchen and his mother called to ask, "Is that you Fred?" He replied yes. After he finished reading the paper he went to bed and didn't remember anything else until he heard his bedroom door open shortly before ten o'clock. He saw his father coming into the room with a hatchet in his right hand. He jumped out of bed as his father struck him in the face and grabbed hold of him. The two wrestled down the stairs to the dining room where he saw his mother lying on her back in a pool of blood. It was then that he hit the crazed man with his fists several times. He knocked him unconscious in the kitchen. The murder weapon was found in the front bedroom which was bloody, lying alongside the bed. Blood spots were found on the rug in the living room, on the kitchen floor, oil cloth, table cloth and walls. Chief Deibert called County Detective L. E. Buono and arranged to meet him at the Warne Hospital. Corporal Keuch of the state police went to the Good Samaritan Hospital and was met there by the other investigators. Mrs. Aulenbach died Saturday at 5:30 in the evening at the Good Samaritan Hospital without regaining consciousness. An autopsy was performed at the D. M. Bittle funeral home on Saturday evening by Dr. W. R. Glenney. She had been struck on the head six times and once on the shoulder. Death was caused by a fractured skull. Mrs. Aulenbach was a quiet and reserved woman, well liked in the neighborhood in which they lived for more than thirty years. She was born in Schuylkill Haven, the daughter of Frank and Kate Moyer Hummel and lived here her entire lifetime. She was a member of Saint John's Evangelical and Reformed Church. Surviving are six children: Margaret, wife of Howard Kimmel of Schuylkill Haven; Sara, wife of Charles Zuber of Baltimore Maryland; Frank, Easton; Myer, Doylestown; John, Schuylkill Haven and Fred at home; nine grandchildren; a brother, Myer Hummel of Schuylkill Haven and three sisters: Mrs. Bertha Murphy of Kirkville, New York; Mrs. Emily Fetter of Philadelphia and Mrs. Mae Snyder of Pottsville. Funeral services were conducted Wednesday at the convenience of the family from the D. M. Bittle funeral home with the Reverend Dr. Russell C. Eroh, pastor of Saint John's Reformed Church officiating. Burial was made in the Union Cemetery. Mr. Aulenbach, sixty seven, died in the Warne Hospital on Monday at 1:20 in the morning. The primary cause of the death was lobar pneumonia. He was admitted to the hospital in an unconscious condition and did not regain consciousness. His condition was too critical to permit him to be moved for x-rays. Mr. Aulenbach had developed a mental condition in recent months and was under the care of Dr. Tihansky but up to the time of the attack had not given any indication of becoming violent. He was affiliated with the Jehovah Witnesses sect. Born in Landingville, Mr. Aulenbach was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Pierce Aulenbach. He was a carpenter by trade but for the past year had not been working. He was a member of the Jehovah Witnesses and at one time was active in the group. He is survived by a sister, Mrs. Frank Hoffman of Tamaqua and a brother. An inquest will be conducted by Deputy Coroner Dr. J. F. Matonis at Town Hall on Tuesday. |
| The Call of January 31, 1947 INQUEST VERDICT IS THAT MRS. AULENBACH DIED OF WOUNDS, HUSBAND OF LOBAR PNEUMONIA The coroner's inquest into the death of Samuel and Helen Aulenbach was held at Town Hall on Tuesday evening by Deputy Coroner Joseph F. Matonis. The verdict returned was that Mrs. Aulenbach died January 18th of wounds inflicted by her husband who died two days later at the Warne Hospital and that his death was the result of lobar pneumonia. Dr. T. B. Tihansky was the first witness called. He stated that he was called to the home by the son, Fred, and saw Mrs. Aulenbach lying in the dining room almost unconscious. She had head wounds and contusions. This was at 10:15 in the morning on January 18. An ambulance was called immediately and she was sent to the Good Samaritan Hospital where she succumbed to her wounds the same day at 5:30 in the evening. Several minutes later he found Mr. Aulenbach in the kitchen. He had head and face injuries and body contusions. He was hospitalized at the Warne Hospital for intercranial injuries, heart failure and dehydration. He testified that death was caused by cardiac failure and lobar pneumonia. Cross examination was conducted by District Attorney Whitehouse. Dr. Tihansky said the first time he had seen Mr. Aulenbach was on January 13 and he diagnosed his condition as dementia senilis. He considered him to be mentally unsound. Chief of Police Frank Deibert was the second witness called. He first saw Mrs. Aulenbach at 10:05. He stated that Fred, the son, was holding his head and evidently in pain from injuries. Mrs. Aulenbach was lying in a pool of blood. A hatchet was found on the floor upstairs in the bedroom. There was blood on the kitchen floor and walls. The cross examination was conducted by Mr. Whitehouse. Chief of Police Deibert told of the statements made to him by Fred Aulenbach to the effect that he had been sleeping and was wakened by his father entering the bedroom with a hatchet. He could not avoid the full blow of the hatchet wielded by his father. Grappling with the father, they wrestled down the stairs and then suddenly he saw his mother, he said. A further tussle with his father resulted in the latter's falling to the floor. Fred Aulenbach was the next witness called. He was informed by Dr. Matonis that he did not need to testify. Mr. Aulenbach waived his rights and testified. He stated that his father seemed to be in good physical condition prior to the day of the assault but that his mental health did not seem good for several months previous. The son stated that he had reached home about three in the morning from work on the railroad. He spoke to his mother who called down to him, read the paper for a short time and then retired. He was awakened by the sound of the door to his bedroom opening and saw his father holding a hatchet. The father struck a glancing blow on the side of his face. The witness said he then grappled with his father, trying to hold him but no blows were struck because he knew of his mental condition. They wrestled down the stairs and he saw his mother lying on the floor. With a break in his voice, he told of his father's size and strength, told of his asking his father what he had done to the mother and f further wrestling on the first floor of the home which resulted in the father's falling to the floor. No further blows were struck. The witness related he immediately called Dr. Tihansky and Police Chief Deibert. Dr. Tihansky was recalled to the stand. He testified to the injuries to the son which could have been made by a hatchet. He also observed further injuries later in the day to a toe, finger and left arm. Deputy Coroner Matonis then gave the jury a report on the autopsy findings with respect to Mrs. Aulenbach. There were evidences of severe blows to the head by a heavy instrument, severe contusion to the head and scalp, and head fractures and severe cerebral hemorrhages. The post mortem examination of Mr. Aulenbach indicated that death resulted primarily from lobar pneumonia and that there were contusions of the head and chest and a fracture of the right cheek bone, together with evidence of hardening of the arteries. The members of the jury were Roy A. Scott, Hugh H. Hoke, Francis Lecher, Warren Brown, Richard Pflueger and William J. Harner. |
| The Call of May 2, 1947 STATE POLICE WILL BE STATIONED HERE Announcement was made on Tuesday by Captain Edwin Griffith, commanding officer of the West Reading troop headquarters of Commissioner C. M. Wilhelm's approval of location of a state police barracks at Schuylkill Haven. The new substation will be located at the home of Mrs. Helen Howell, 29 West Main Street, a three story frame dwelling now occupied on the first floor by the Higgins Company and on the other floors by roomers. The home is between the Parkway Restaurant and the Reading Railroad alongside the taxi stand. Captain Griffith stated that between twelve to fifteen state policemen, depending on the number available, will be quartered here within the next three or four weeks. A nearby parking lot will be available for the use of these troopers. Sixteen men had been stationed at the substation when in Pottsville. After more than ten years, it was discontinued April 1 when the Amvets moved into their quarters. These men were distributed to the other three substations at Frackville, Tamaqua and Pine Grove and to the Hamburg, West Reading and Lebanon details. Decision to locate at Schuylkill Haven was reached after a committee of investigations was unable to find a suitable location in Pottsville. The citizens of Schuylkill Haven who were instrumental in getting the state police to locate here are to be commended for their efforts. The addition of this law enforcement group to town is another step in the progressive advance being made in Schuylkill Haven. |
| The Call of May 2, 1947 STOLEN COAL TRUCK UPSETS AT CUTOFF Theodore Reed, 27, of 752 Garfield Avenue, is in the county prison in default of $700 bail, after having been arrested by Squire Milford D. Klahr on a charge of larceny of a Ford truck and a load of coal. According to the statement Reed made to the police, he had been drinking and on his way home about 3:30 on Wednesday morning, he saw the new 1946 Ford truck loaded with coal and the keys being in the truck, he took it and drove south on Route 122 and at the "Y" at the Orwigsburg cutoff, in attempting to get on the old highway to Orwigsburg, the truck upset. He crawled out from under the wreckage and walked home in the dark and went to bed. The truck was owned by John Spleen of Haven Street, who had parked it at the quarry on Garfield Avenue for the night, together with another truck, ready for a trip in the morning. The entire load of coal, valued at $104, was lost. Damage to the truck was estimated at about $200. The accident was investigated by Police Chief Frank Deibert of the Schuylkill Haven police force assisted by Private Francis D. Gavaghan and Earl S. Klinger of the Hamburg State Police and Officer Percy Bubeck of the Schuylkill Haven police force. |
| The Call of May 9, 1947 BODY OF INFANT GIRL IS FOUND IN SCHUYLKILL RIVER The badly decomposed body of an infant girl was found floating face down in the water at the shore of the Schuylkill River behind Miller's Pond, about one hundred yards below Manbeck's washery by three young men of town Tuesday afternoon. Alan Knarr, Charles Brown and Paul Hornberger went to the river on Tuesday afternoon to try out a recently installed polychoke on the shotgun owned by James Brobst, manager of Fink's Sport Center. On their return about 2:45 in the afternoon Alan found the baby girl lying face down in the water. A phone call was made from the Casket Factory and Chief of Police Frank Deibert was summoned. Since the body was found in North Manheim Township, outside the borough limits, Chief Deibert called County Detectives Louis D. Buono and Bruce Clayton. The state police were also notified. Dr. Matonis, deputy coroner, was called. Because the body was so badly decomposed, the cause of death could not be determined. Dr. Matonis stated the infant was about two days old but how long it had been in the water was not known. Because of the high water the past two weeks, the child might have been thrown in the water quite a distance above where it was found. The body was released to the D. M. Bittle funeral home. An investigation is being conducted by the county detectives and state police. There were no clues to give them a lead. The infant wore no clothes and because of the state of decomposition, nothing could be learned from viewing the body. |
| The Call of August 13, 1948 HAROLD "RED" ROWE, SMALL TIME BOOKIE OF READING, SHOT THROUGH HEAD The body of a man, later identified as Harold "Red" Rowe of Reading, was found early this morning with a bullet through the head along side the road leading to the Esso plant at Connor's Crossing. Francis Kachura of 607 Ridge Avenue, Pottsville, discovered the body at 3:40 a. m. while on his way to work. He is employed by the Reading Company as a railroader and was going from Connor's Crossing toward the old car shops near where he would get on his train to go to Mine Hill. About seventy five yards from the main highway at Connor's Crossing, he found the body lying face up in a pool of blood. It was lying along side of the dirt road, directly behind the large highway billboards. Kachura went to the local state police barracks and notified them of his discovery. Sergeant Keuch and Private William Hines went to the scene. They found the man dead from a single shot that had entered his head directly above the left ear and emerged through the right temple. The murder weapon was not at the scene. The only clues apparent were tire marks believed to have been made by the car that brought Rowe to the spot. The state police later made plaster of Paris casts of the prints. County Detective Lewis D. Buono was notified and Dr. J. F. Matonis, deputy coroner, was called. Dr. Matonis stated that from the condition of the body, the man had been dead not much more than an hour. As almost an hour had passed since the discovery of the body, it is believed Kachura happened upon the scene shortly after the murder had been committed. The victim was a heavy man, weighing 240 pounds and ranging five feet, ten and a half inches tall. Identification was not definitely made until eleven o'clock this morning. It was made possible through a single identification card found on the body. It was a membership card in the Moose organization at Reading. Sergeant Keuch immediately got in touch with the Reading state police and gave them the description of the man and the name found on the card. The Reading police investigated and became reasonably certain that the victim was Harold Rowe, 37, of 19 North Eighth Street. Richard Rowe, a brother of Reading, came to Schuylkill Haven and identified the body at the Bittle funeral home as that of his brother. Richard Rowe, when questioned by The Call about the occupation of his brother, very sketchily replied that he worked for Consumer Credit and for Textile Machine Works. Through a reliable source in Reading, The Call learned that Red Rowe, the victim, was known as a small time bookie who worked as doorman for a numbers writing place. The same source stated that the numbers gang in Reading, hearing that the numbers writing was paying better in the Pottsville area, was attempting to muscle in on the racket. An autopsy is being performed this afternoon by Dr. W. K. Glenney of Pottsville at the Bittle funeral home. |
| Pottsville Republican of August 13, 1948 MAN SLAIN AT CONNOR'S CROSSING RACE HORSE BOOKIE Body with Bullet Wound in Temple Found by Railroader Early Today-No Evidence of Struggle;Unaware That He Was To Be Killed A Reading man, said to be a race horse bookie, whose body was found early Friday morning near Connor's Crossing along the road that leads to the Standard Oil Company bulk plant - a bullet hole drilled through his skull - was described as the victim of a typical gangster slaying by Schuylkill County detectives and Schuylkill Haven State Police seeking a clue to the identity of the assassins. The victim was definitely identified as Harold Rowe, 37, of 19 North Eighth Street in reading, by a brother, Richard at the D. M. Bittle funeral home in Schuylkill Haven seven hours after the body was discovered by Francis Kachura of 609 Ridge Avenue of this city, a Reading Railroad employee enroute to work at 3:40 a. m. Chief of County detectives Louis Buono, discounting the possibility of a suicide or holdup motive by virtue of evidence at the murder scene, theorized that Rowe was "taken for a ride and slain without a whimper." The brother, Richard, told Buono and Sergeant William Keuch of the Schuylkill Haven state police that Rowe had been employed in Reading at a race horse bookie room and previously worked as a collector of bad debts for a loan company. Investigation in Reading revealed that Rowe, also a former textile worker, married and father of a seven year old son, had a minor police record of disorderly conduct and trespassing charges and in 1932 spent fifteen days in Berks County prison on a trespassing count as a result of picketing activities at a striking textile plant. Buono and Keuch agreed on the discounting of any possibility of suicide. There was no evidence of any weapon at the scene and no abandoned car in the vicinity for Rowe to reach the spot alone. Likewise they eliminated the possibility of attempted robbery on finding forty five dollars untouched in the victim's trouser pocket. But piece by piece of the evidence available they outlined the possible action of Rowe being taken on a gangster ride, forced out of the car at a darkened spot amidst low brush and trees and shot with a revolver pointed at his left temple as he lit a cigarette. A fresh cigarette, the one end barely charred by fire was found by the side of his mouth. The scene of the slaying was some 240 feet from the Cressona road that veers off the Connor's Crossing and just six feet off the macadam road enroute to the gasoline storage depot just ahead. Auto tire tracks, of which plaster of Paris casts were made, indicated clearly in the mud along the road that the slayers had backed the car around in a small clearing off the roadway, narrowly missed bumping the edge of a corrugated steel fence around the oil plant and then halted the car at the point where the body was found. Kachura, who normally parks his car near the Standard Oil plant each morning and then boards a Reading train for his daily work at the Mine Hill yards, spotted the body with his car headlights, stopped quickly to examine the corpse, then dashed to Schuylkill Haven to notify the state police. He told police the corpse was lying face up, his arms stretched out like a cross and his head bloody. Dr. Joseph Matonis, deputy coroner of Schuylkill Haven, arriving on the scene an hour and ten minutes after the discovery said that Kachura probably missed the actual shooting by mere minutes since Rowe's body was still warm, blood was trickling from the wound and was not yet coagulated and the corpse was still limp with no rigor mortis evident at the time. The bullet, apparently of small calibre revolver size, entered Rowe's left temple about three quarters of an inch above the ear, pierced through his skull and emerged on the right side at a similar point above the ear. Dr. Matonis said from powder burn marks evident on Rowe's temple, the death gun was pointed close to his head when the shot was fired. No trace of the fatal bullet had been found by police and detectives until early this afternoon, although county detective William Dimmerling and State Policeman William Hines scoured the area all morning. Buono said from the size of the wound, it was presumed to be either a .32 or .38 calibre bullet. Arrangements were being completed this afternoon to secure a state police magnet to search the area in an attempt to retrieve the bullet in the immediate area. Rowe was cleanly shaven and attired in a green sport shirt with long sleeves, brown slacks, tow tone brown and white shoes. His body showed no signs of bruises and his clothing revealed no indications of a scuffle. Likewise the lack of any marks on the ground of his body being dragged to the spot or any indications of blood dripping from the presumed death car, convinced police and detectives that the shooting took place on the scene after Rowe left the automobile. Brother Richard Rowe's testimony to police that the victim was a fighting man and would have tried to lick a dozen men if the need arose and the freshly lit cigarette also led county authorities to believe that Rowe was unaware of his fate and that he unwittingly might have thoroughly trusted his assassin companions. First indication of the dead man's identity came when Buono discovered a Reading Moose Lodge Number 1472 paid up membership card with Rowe's name in the dead man's pocket. Information was forwarded to Reading State Police who immediately launched an investigation there and turned up with the dead man's brother. Deputy Coroner Matonis announced that Dr. W. R. Glenney of Pottsville, would perform a post mortem examination of the body this afternoon. Until early this afternoon no other clues had been uncovered. Buono said no witnesses were known to have seen such a car or heard the fatal shot, although careful check was being made especially among watchmen at plants and railroads in the area. Reading police were checking on the possibility of a racket feud among the city's gamblers and bookies. There was no evidence to indicate that Rowe was connected with any of the rackets in Pottsville. A native of Reading, Rowe is survived by his wife Catherine, a seven year old son, Mickey, his father Arthur Rowe, brothers Arthur Jr. and Richard and a half brother. Richard who identified the body was attempting to reach the dead man's wife, vacationing at the seashore and his father, on a cross country tour and last heard from in Tennessee, to complete plans for burial. |
| The Pottsville Republican of August 14, 1948 UNCOVER NO NEW CLUES IN RIDE SLAYING - Wife Too Upset to Give Any Help at Reading Barracks Police questioning of the victim's widow and continuing exhaustive investigation by State Police and County Detectives here and in reading have failed to reveal any new clues in the slaying of Harold Rowe, 37 year old Reading victim, believed "taken for a ride," whose body was found near Connor's Crossing Friday morning, State Police Sergeant William Keuch said at Schuylkill Haven this morning. What light Mrs. Catherine M. Rowe, his widow, might shed on the crime was not actually revealed by police. She went to the Reading barracks Friday after learning of the shooting but became too upset to give any details to reporters. She told how she and her husband had gone to the seashore during the weekend, that he returned Monday and she on Tuesday. Mrs. Rowe said her husband went out as usual Thursday night and that she wasn't worried when he did not return because he often stayed out late. Reading police were making a thorough check of Rowe's companion - he was said to be employed at a race horse bookie room - and attempting to learn with whom he was last seen on Thursday night. Latest trace of his whereabouts, according to Sergeant Keuch was at seven in the evening when he apparently was enroute to his apartment. A thorough checkup of possible witnesses in the Connor's Crossing area by State Police and County Detectives has failed to uncover a single person who either saw the car or heard the shot. Nor has the spent bullet that pierced Rowe's left temple and emerged through the other side of his skull been located. State Police swept the entire murder scene area with a magnet Friday without a trace of the slug. An autopsy on Rowe's body by Dr. W. R. Glenney Friday afternoon merely substantiated that a high calibre bullet, probably .32 or .38 calibre, entered Rowe's head above the left ear, passed through and emerged on the right side about the same point. Sergeant Keuch said the fact that Rowe's slayer or possibly a group of several men committed the deed on a comparatively unknown, remote road wasn't necessarily an indication of the fact that they were familiar with the territory here. "When killers are looking for a lonely road, they usually spot one," he commented. State Police and County Detectives continue to maintain that Rowe was taken for a ride probably by a friend or friends whom he trusted and that the slaying probably was the result of a grievance. |
| The Call of January 28, 1949 CLOTHESLINE THIEVES OPERATING AGAIN The clothesline thieves are at it again. Numerous complaints are being received by the local police of thefts from back porches and back yards. In the Broadway section of town, meats, eggs and other foodstuffs have been stolen from back porches. In the central part of town between East Main and East Union Streets, clothes left hanging on wash lines at night have been taken. Chief Burgess Harner and Chief of Police Frank Deibert warn house wives not to leave laundry hanging on wash lines after dark. The police force will keep a closer watch on patrol at night time in an effort to catch the thieves. |
| The Call of February 18, 1949 SAFE CRACKERS GET $2500 AT FAREL BECKER GARAGE Safe crackers who broke into the garage of Farel Y. Becker on Centre Avenue early Monday morning and broke open a safe in the showroom made off with approximately $2500 in cash. This was revealed by Chief of Police Frank Deibert as the amount in the safe as reported by Mr. Becker. The intruders gained entrance by smashing a rear window of the garage. They ransacked the garage shop to secure the tools they needed using a portable electric drill, tire irons, screw drivers and a six foot crowbar. Police Chief Deibert, State Police Sergeant William Keuch and Detective Steve Homa, whose agency protects the Becker property, agreed that the intruders either drilled through or forced off the combination knob, then after drilling and prying with the irons and crowbar, forced open the door. The safe was turned on its side but its fall was carefully cushioned by magazines and calendars. It was badly battered and fireproof concrete that lines the door was spilled around the showroom. The door hinges were still intact and connected to the safe. The tools were left neatly in order by the safe when the job was finished. Warren Kramer of 149 Haven Street, a Becker salesman, who was called out early to open the garage for the arrival of new cars at 7:40 a. m. on Monday, discovered the theft. Mr. Becker was attending an automobile show at Atlantic City at the time of the robbery. After entering the garage, the intruders jimmied a lock on the parts desk entrance, ransacked several cabinets containing only supplies and then proceeded to go to work in the showroom which faces Centre Avenue. It was pointed out by Chief Deibert that sufficient light for the job was provided by a street light directly in front of the Becker establishment. The valuables were evidently carted to the rear of the shop for examination. A cigar box and a leather folder, both of which contained cash, were found on the floor of the garage. Valuable records were left behind. Sergeant Keuch expressed fear that an organized gang of safe crackers is at work in Schuylkill County as this was the second garage job in five days. The same pattern was followed here as at the Firestone store in Pottsville last Thursday morning. Two similar safe robberies were performed in reading recently, which leads police officials to believe that an organized gang is perpetuating thefts in this two county area. |
| The Call of April 1, 1949 TWO YOUNG MEN GIVEN JAIL TERMS FOR OWLS ROBBERY Leo Donatti, 25, and Louis Canfield, 24, yesterday were sentenced to serve not less than eleven months nor more than twenty two months in the county prison for robbing the Owls nest in Schuylkill Haven on February 28. The arm of the law reached far to bring about the conviction of the two young men. They were apprehended in Florida and were brought back to the county on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning they pleaded guilty before Judge Curran and were sentenced immediately to the jail terms. Some time between 10:30 p. m. on February 28 and 8:30 a. m. March 1, Donatti and Canfield broke open the Owl's cash register valued at $1500 and stole $185. According to the story told to Chief of Police Frank Deibert by the two young men, they got a taxi to take them to Pottsville but got off at the Elmer Johnson service station at Mount Carbon. They hitchhiked a ride by truck to Philadelphia where they boarded a bus for Florida. Arriving in Miami they split up. Donatti went to Jacksonville and Canfield went to the section around Fort Lauderdale. Donatti, unable to secure work, soon spent his part of the loot and even sold a sweater to procure money. He walked into a police station in Jacksonville and confessed committing the robbery in Schuylkill Haven. The Jacksonville police contacted Chief of Police Deibert to verify the story. Deibert requested them to hold Donatti until the other man was apprehended. Finally, Canfield wrote home asking that some of his clothing be sent to him. The address was secured and arrangements were made with Florida police to have him picked up. Canfield secured employment in Florida, working for the police. Chief Deibert left last Thursday morning with County Detective William Dimmerling and John Purdy by automobile for Fort Lauderdale. They picked up their prisoners and arrived back in Pottsville on Wednesday at ten o'clock in the evening. The prisoners readily confessed and pleaded guilty the next day. Donatti, who boarded at Danny Ditzler's at 24 West Main Street, had previous minor scrapes with the law. Canfield, who lived with his mother on Caldwell Street had been in trouble with the police on several occasions. A checkup by local police after the robbery revealed that both young men had left town and suspicion immediately fell upon them. |
| The Call of April 18, 1941 PALM READERS WANTED HERE CAUGHT IN SOUTH Chief Burgess Roy Scot, together with Assistant District Attorney Harris, County Detective Bruce Clayton and Corporal Keuch of the Motor Police, left on Wednesday for Hampton, South Carolina, to arrange for the extradition of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Buckman, wanted for larceny in Schuylkill Haven. Last May the Buckmans rented the Fisher apartment on Main Street and engaged in the business of palm reading. They remained for nearly a month. On the evening of their abrupt departure, Mrs. Buckman allegedly received the sum of $500 from Mrs. George Meade, 74, of Pottsville. Mrs. Meade gave the money in two payments, first $200 and then $300. The final payment was made on May 13th at 7:30 o'clock. At 8:00 Madam Jane and husband left for parts unknown. The fraud was not made known however until fifteen days later when Mrs. Meade returned to Schuylkill Haven and found the fortune tellers and her money had departed. She reported the matter to the police. Teletype messages were sent out in Pennsylvania and neighboring states. A number of times the palmists were located but departed before being apprehended. They were last known to be operating in South Carolina and finally a telegram arrived stating that they were being held in Hampton. Mrs. Buckman will be charged with larceny by bailee and her husband will be held as an accessory after the fact. |
| The Call of June 13, 1947 SAFECRACKERS ROB STOYER GARAGE Safecrackers broke in to the Earl Stoyer garage last Friday night and broke open a safe in the offices located at the rear of the showroom and stole a small amount in cash. It is not known how entrance was gained. An expert job was done on the safe, with only the combination mechanism broken by a small charge of explosive. All the contents of the safe were thoroughly rifled but only cash was taken. Nothing else in the garage was touched. |
| The Call of August 26, 1971 YOUTHS CONFESS TO STRAMARA ROBBERY Within less than six hours after Stramara's Restaurant was broken into and robbed, an eighteen year old youth and three juveniles confessed to the felony. Frank Stramara, owner of the restaurant, who was on the upper floor of the building, heard the noise below. When he came downstairs to investigate, the juveniles inside the building fled. He called the local police at 1:54 a. m. Friday. The three juveniles were picked up within three hours and they confessed to breaking into the restaurant. About 7:30 a. m., they arrested Michael Parnell, 18, of 112 Parkway. The one juvenile lives in Schuylkill Haven and the other two listed their homes at Pottsville R. D. 1, in the Minersville-Llewellyn area. They signed statements admitting the burglary. Entrance was gained through a rear window. The smallest boy was hoisted through the window and he opened the side door to admit the other two. They took $29 from the cash register, cigarettes from behind the counter and beer from the cooler. All of the money and most of the cigarettes were recovered. Parnell was arraigned before Magistrate Lester M. Reber and remanded to prison in lieu of bail. The juvenile authorities were contacted and the juveniles committed to the county prison. Charges against the four include breaking and entering, robbery, conspiracy, accessory to the fact and receiving stolen goods, with all being charged on one or more counts. |
| The Call of October 14, 1971 POLICE RAID APARTMENT, STUDENTS FINED Local police in full force staged a raid last night on an apartment occupied by a group of students from the Schuylkill Campus of the Pennsylvania State University. The raid at 9:09 p. m. followed numerous complaints received about activity at the apartment. A search warrant was issued by Magistrate Lester M. Reber for Schuylkill Haven police to check the second floor apartment at 16 Saint Peter Street, in a building owned by Harold C. Roeder and rented by Robert Milisits of Northampton. It is located behind the McCord Beauty Shop at 39 East Main Street. The warrant read in part, "There is now being concealed, namely: minors consuming and possessing intoxicating liquors which is in violation of Pennsylvania Penal Code section 675.1." The search revealed that no drugs were involved but that beer and wine were being served to six males and six females over eighteen and three female juveniles. Fines of $25 and $11 costs were assessed on summary conviction. The place had been under surveillance by local police. Participating in the raid were Acting Police Chief William Goetz and Patrolmen Rollin Naus, Ray Krammes, Cliff Mengel, David Mengel, Clyde Manbeck, Boyd Hale and Robert Llewellyn. The students offered no resistance and cooperated with police. |
| The Call of December 9, 1971 JUVENILES CHARGE WITH $1,250 THEFT Two juvenile boys from Minersville, a dark haired boy of fourteen and a light haired boy of sixteen, were picked up by Schuylkill Haven police officers Rollin Naus and Ray Krammes yesterday and charged with stealing $1,250 from the Messner and Hess store in Schuylkill haven on Saturday evening. The sixteen year old boy was apprehended in Minersville on Tuesday and held overnight at the detention home in Pottsville. Denying his guilt, he was released Wednesday at 2:30 p. m. Working since 8:30 a. m. yesterday, Officers Naus and Krammes journeyed to Cleona where they picked up the fourteen year old boy. He admitted his part in the theft. When the sixteen year old boy was again picked up early last evening, he too admitted participating. According to the local police, the younger boy stole the money while the older boy distracted the counter girl near the office. About $620 of the stolen money was recovered. The older boy claims he lost $195 while running home after he and his partner had spilt the take in Minersville. The younger boy claims he spent over $300. These are the same boys who were apprehended in Tremont for a similar type store theft last Thursday. The one boy was nabbed with most of the stolen $128 in his possession. He said he lost the rest of it. No charges were pressed by the Tremont police nor the store owner. The one boy returned to Tremont Saturday night to repay the balance of the money stolen. |
| The Call of December 9, 1971 MESSNER AND HESS LOSS AT $1,250 Thieves and burglars made a lucrative haul in Schuylkill Haven this past weekend with the theft of $1,250 from the Messner & Hess store between 5:00 and 5:10 Saturday evening. Harry Naffin, owner of Messner & Hess, was counting the day's receipts in his office on the second level toward the rear of the store when he was called to the front. He had counted and banded two stacks of $500 and one of $250 in bills and placed them in a filing cabinet drawer. Other uncounted paper money and checks were placed in another drawer of the filing cabinet. Betty Kramer was also called form the office at the same time. When he returned to the office ten minutes later, he discovered the banded money was missing. Earlier in the week, two young boys, one with dark hair and the other with light hair, were noticed acting suspiciously in the store. On Friday, Naffin was called from the office and the dark haired boy entered the office. He failed to see Miss Kramer, who asked him what he was doing there. He replied he was looking for the men's room. On Saturday afternoon, the light haired boy was observed at the rear of the store near the office. No one recognized the boys as having been in the store before. |
| The Call of July 6, 1972 LONE BANK ROBBER GETS ABOUT $7,000 AT HAVEN TRUST COMPANY An armed bank robber held up the Schuylkill Haven Trust Company branch office on Route 61 yesterday morning and escaped with approximately $7,000. According to the FBI and Trooper James McCann of the Pennsylvania State Police, the holdup man was a white male about 40 years of age, had dirty blond hair with sideburns down to his jaw, was about 5" 8" in height, weighed 155 to 170 pounds. He was wearing a dark blue jacket, a pale yellow or green sport shirt and dark trousers. He wore a Band Aid above the right eye and two down along the right side of his face. He entered the lobby and walked to the teller window served by Mrs. Lee Llewellyn of Pine Grove RD 2. He produced a pistol and demanded that Mrs. Llewellyn take the money from the drawer and put it into a green plastic bag. She complied. The holdup man is believed to have left in a medium blue 1972 Chevrolet automobile with horizontal rubber strips on the bumper. The direction of the getaway is not known. Lewis Hummel, manager of the Route 61 branch, left the main banking area at 11:00 a. m. and went to a back room. In departing from the back door, he almost walked into the car believed to be the one used by the bank robber. It was parked directly in front of the door, alongside his car. Hummel left without knowing the robbery was in progress. Time of the holdup was set at 11:05. When the alarm was sounded, Acting Schuylkill Haven Police Chief William Goetz, state Police and the FBI came to the scene. The bank lobby was closed while they checked for clues, but drive up and walk up business was continued. Anyone having information about the bank robber or the getaway car is asked to contact the local barracks of the State Police or the Allentown office of the FBI. |
| The Call of October 5, 1972 BURGLARS HIT THREE HOMES Three homes on Avenue E off East Main Street were burglarized early Friday evening. The loss included furs, jewelry, money and the contents of a safe. Police believe that the Robert C. Dinger and Ruth Maberry homes were entered first and the Robert Hand home last. All three families were away at the time. Mrs. Robert Hand returned to her home at 8:45 p. m. and probably caused the burglars to flee. The kitchen door was forced and damaged beyond repair but nothing was taken from the home and there was no evidence that the burglars had gone beyond the kitchen. She immediately called the police. While the police were at the hand home, the Dingers returned and found their home had been thoroughly ransacked. Entrance was gained by forcing the locks on a storm door at the kitchen door. Missing were a mink jacket, Eastern Star ring of white gold with diamond star points, an opal ring, a white gold ring with a star sapphire and a Masonic ring with diamonds. A small business safe was wheeled to the door but the culprits were unable to move it farther. They broke a hole through the top and took the contents. These were recovered on Sunday in a field near the Bedway Market near Orwigsburg. The burglars entered the Maberry home by forcing the lock on the kitchen door on the sun porch. Taken were a mink jacket, a white gold ring with four pearls in the setting, a gold ring, a string of pearls and some money. Every room and the attic were ransacked. |
| The Call of November 28, 1947 GIRLS MOLESTED AT NIGHT The local police joined by a group of enraged citizens last night conducted a manhunt for several hours without success after three girls reported being molested by a young man on the streets of town. Police riding with parents and the girls, traveled through the streets and alleys of town endeavoring to find the person molesting the girls. Neighbors and friends joined in the hunt and continued searching until after midnight. The first report of girls being accosted was made at 10:20 in the evening by two girls returning to their homes on upper Main Street and the Fairmount section after seeing a friend to the station. They were walking up Union Street when a young man who had been following behind them, suddenly grabbed the two girls who are of high school age. The girls struggled free and ran into the home of the one which is near where the attack took place. The girl's father ran out immediately but the attacker was not in sight. Half an hour later a girl walking along Paxson Avenue was molested as she passed a young man who was standing beneath the street light at the home of Frank Reider. She screamed and he ran away. From a good description given by all three girls, police think that the same person was responsible for both attacks. The girls described their molester as a young man, tall and slender, black hair, wearing a blue suit and having neither a topcoat or hat. |
| The Call of December 9, 1949 POLICE WARN OF MOLESTERS Local police have received a number of complaints in recent weeks of young girls being molested and young women being offered rides in automobiles with strangers. In a case last week a twelve year old girl was forced into a car and driven to an isolated spot where she was molested. A suspect was picked up by the police but when the girl was unable to make a positive identification, he was released. Chief of Police Frank Deibert urges parents to warn young girls against accepting rides and also asked that any young woman approached by a motorist offering a ride make a note of the license number of the automobile and report it to the police. The police are almost certain of the identity of the two drivers of the cars and need only positive identification either of the car or the driver to make an arrest. |
| The Call of July 6, 1951 ATTEMPT TO ROB HI-WAY MOTORS FAILS County state police are looking for two men who made an unsuccessful attempt to rob the Hi-Way Motors garage on the Schuylkill Haven-Orwigsburg highway yesterday morning about 2:55 o'clock. The men were scared away by George Ferns, of Pottsville, a night watchman and Carl Anthony, one of the brothers who operate the firm, as they tried to enter a new car parked on the sales lot. The watchman was making his rounds when he saw the men who had a kit of tools and a flashlight. One was attempting to open the car door and the other was sitting in a car near the highway with the motor running. Ferns shouted to the man who was attempting to open the door while Anthony, who was in the office, turned on the flood lights. The men got in their car and drove towards town. The incident was reported to the local state police who, in turn, notified Pottsville city police. A roadblock was set up on the boulevard in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the men. Anthony and Kerns were able to furnish the state police with good descriptions of both men. |
| The Call of January 11, 1952 SAFE STOLEN FROM HOME A safe containing valuable papers was stolen from the home of Saldy Saunders, 416 Orchard Avenue, Schuylkill Haven, last Friday evening while the family was away. It was later found in a battered condition in a wooded area near Llewellyn on Saturday. The safe did not contain any money but the papers are missing and the remains of a fire nearby indicate that some of them have been destroyed. Mr. Saunders told police that he discovered the theft of the three hundred pound safe from a second floor bedroom when he and other members of his family returned home on Friday evening. Police said it had been dragged down a flight of steps and then transported away in an automobile. |
| The Call of April 11, 1952 SERIES OF PETTY THEFTS HITS TOWN Residents of Schuylkill Haven are urged not to leave articles hang on their clotheslines overnight and to keep car doors locked as a wave of robberies has swept over the town in the last week. It has been reported to Chief of Police Frank Deibert that on Wednesday evening thirty three keys, thirty keys on one ring and three on another, and twenty club cards were stolen from the compartment of a car owned by Jimmy Miller of 33 Center Avenue. On the same night the keys and owners and operators cards were stolen from an automobile owned by A. M. Stubrich of 142 Pennsylvania Avenue. Also on Wednesday night, Mrs. Guy Mengle of 32 Saint John Street, had two dresses and a chenille spread valued at $21 stolen from her clothesline. Mrs. Paul Kerschner, off the same address, had three dresses valued at $12 stolen from the line. On Wednesday, sometime in the afternoon, Mrs. Sadie Phillips of Auburn RD, who is employed at the Argo Mill, had groceries valued at about five dollars stolen from the trunk of her car, which was parked in front of Heffner's at 18 North Berne Street. Cards were stolen from a car owned by Ray Hoffman of 15 High Street, on Thursday, and three polo shirts were taken from the compartment of the car owned by Joe Schlachter of Haven Street, on the same night. |
| The Call of January 30, 1953 DEWALD HOME RANSACKED WHILE OCCUPANTS ARE IN FLORIDA The home of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey E. Dewald at the corner of Margaretta and Market Streets in Schuylkill Haven, was broken into and ransacked while the occupants were vacationing in Florida. The person or persons committing the robbery were scared off when Richard Brown, son of Mrs. Dewald, on Tuesday night went to check on the home. When he entered the house he heard someone running out the cellar way and through the high weeds and woods beyond the rear of the house. It is believed the thief was scared off without taking anything although every room was ransacked and a safe in one of the rooms had been moved. |
| The Call of May 12, 1955 YOUTHS ARRESTED FOR GARAGE THEFTS A series of garage thefts in the area came to a halt early Wednesday morning with the arrest of three Schuylkill Haven youths. One, a juvenile, is in the Schuylkill County detention home. In Schuylkill County prison, awaiting arraignment, are James Reed, 21, of Garfield Avenue and Richard Myers, 19, of 873 Garfield Avenue. They are charged with larceny involving thefts of gasoline and truck accessories. The youths were arrested at about 12:20 a. m., Wednesday when they were caught while in the act of stealing gasoline and truck accessories at the McKinley Hoover garage in Cressona. Investigations have been underway by the Schuylkill Haven state police in a series of thefts from both the Hoover and the MYM Motors garage. The youths have admitted several thefts at both places. |
| The Call of December 22, 1955 BURGLARS BREAK INTO GARAGE, STEAL $50 Approximately $50 in cash was stolen when someone broke into the Goas and Shaw garage on Weest Main Street sometime Monday night. Entrance was gained by breaking a window at the rear of the building in the furnace room. The theft was discovered by the owners Tuesday morning. The garage was entered about a month ago and at that time only the coins were taken. Officer Manbeck investigated. |
| The Call of December 22, 1955 CHARGED AS DISORDERLY An Auburn man was arrested by Schuylkill Haven police about 12:10 o'clock Saturday morning and charged with disorderly conduct. Oran W. Berger was fined $10 and costs of $9 by Justice of the Peace John Reber after being arrested by police officers William Goetz and Clyde Manbeck. They said Berger was driving on Center Avenue when he stopped his car to heckle a woman who was crossing the street. The officers told Berger to be quiet and move on. When he became abusive they took him to the justice of the peace. |
| The Call of February 16, 1956 DEER LAKE MAN CHARGED WITH DISORDERLY CONDUCT John Anthony, Deer Lake, was charged with disorderly conduct by police officers Clyde Manbeck and Lorin Honicker, for failing to halt at a stop sign at Main and Saint John Streets and failing to stop on police signal. The officers chased him up Main Street with the police siren wide open at two o'clock on Sunday morning. He became abusive when they managed to stop him at the extreme end of East Main Street. He had to pay twenty dollars and costs in the office of Justice of the Peace Jack Reber. |
| The Call of February 16, 1956 HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT A two tone tan station wagon collided with the porch of Mrs. Grace Wenrich of 432 East Main Street at four o'clock Saturday morning. Mrs. Wenrich told the police the car did not stop. The left front fender or the left side of the vehicle is believed to have been damaged. Investigation revealed tghe vehicle had been traveling west on East Main Street. It skidded thirty two feet before striking the porch. Four steps and the side of the porch were damaged. Damage is expected to reach $100. |
| The Call of November 29, 1956 CRESSONA YOUTH HELD FOR HIT AND RUN Charles Zimmerman, 18, of Cedar Street, Cressona, is under $300 bail for a continued hearing tomorrow evening on a charge of hit and run driving brought before Justice of the Peace Jack Reber. He is specifically charged with failing to stop and reveal his identity at the scene of the accident. The arrest was made by Officer Larue Mengle. According to the charges made at a hearing Monday night, Zimmerman, driving a car owned by John Dagostino of Pine Grove, is claimed to have struck the car of William Oakman of Deer Lake while attempting to pass on East Main Street near the Hornberger store. It is charged that after scraping the car, he continued to drive out East Main Street until reaching Avenue C where he turned and drove in alongside the new Medical Arts building which is under construction. Oakman, who was following the other car, pulled in behind the other car which he claims had turned off its lights. He called the police and Officer Mengle made the arrest. |
| The Call of January 3, 1957 HUT ROBBED NEW YEAR'S Eighty dollars was stolen from the American Legion hut when it was broken into sometime on Tuesday morning. Discovery of the robbery was made by Joseph McGlinchey, president of the organization about 10:30 Tuesday morning. The robbery took place, according to Frank Reber, the steward, some time after 2:45 a. m. on Tuesday morning, when the place was closed Tuesday morning, following the New Year's Eve celebration. Entrance was gained by battering in the door in the boiler room. The thieves then made their way to the grille, where they smashed open several pinball machines and tried to pry open the cigarette machine. The robbery was reported to the borough police. |
| The Call of September 26, 1974 BURGLARS STRIKE AGAIN - HIT HAVEN MANOR HOMES Three homes in the Hill Farm area were entered recently with the thief, or thieves, taking a foreign money collection valued at $800 from the Luther Eifert home at Hillcroft Avenue and Saylor Street. The robberies took place on Saturday evening, September 21, at the Eifert home and the home of Attorney W. Alan Williams of 42 Blossom Lane. Although the home of Harry Borden at 427 Hillcroft Avenue was also entered, nothing was reported missing. The Eiferts were away from their home from 4:45 until 8:15. When they returned they discovered someone had entered their home by prying a door on the rear patio. They found their bedroom ransacked. Missing are an astronaut proof set, coins, various denominations of silver coins and foreign money, Christmas sets, Japanese invasion money and paper, pesos, French mixed silver and paper, German paper marks, US silver dimes, copper pennies, buffalo nickels, Indian head pennies, silver quarters and other cash with a total value of $800. At the home of Attorney Williams, a metal bar was used to pry both a window and a rear door. Attorney and Mrs. Williams were away from their home from Saturday at 8:00 a. m. until Sunday at 8:30 p. m. All drawers and cabinets were ransacked and $40 dollars was taken from a drawer in the master bedroom. A bottle of wine had been taken from the refrigerator and placed on the dining room table. At the Borden home entry was made through an unlocked cellar window sometime between 6:00 and 8:30 p. m. when the Bordens were away. Although the rooms were ransacked, nothing was taken. About three weeks ago, Attorney James Williamson's home at 71 Avenue D was broken in to for the second time. This time a portable television was taken. |
| The Call of October 31, 1957 STOLEN CAR HITS CAR A stolen car driven by a Shenandoah youth hit a parked car on Center Avenue and then crashed into a utility pole near the Broadway intersection about 1:00 a. m. Sunday. Two of the four boys, aged from 13 to 16 years of age, were apprehended on Dock Street by Officer William Goetz. The other two youths were picked up by Troopers Donald Ravina and Stanley Pijar at East Market Street and the boulevard in Pottsville on Sunday evening. All were taken to the county detention house to await action by authorities. Two of them have had previous records. A .22 calibre rifle with a supply of ammunition was found in the car. The boys, who were on their way to Florida, told Officer Goetz that if a policeman tried to stop them, they were going to shoot him. The car which was badly damaged and had to be towed away, was owned by Mitchell Chapliasky of Ringtown. He had parked the car in Shenandoah on Saturday night. |
| The Call of November 7, 1957 ADAMSDALE YOUTH HELD FOR STEALING HUB CAPS Ronald Brommer, aged 18, Adamsdale, was committed to Schuylkill County Prison in default of $500 bail by Justice of the Peace John Reber, when he admitted participation in a wave of hub cap thefts. On October 26, at 1:45 a. m., officers William Goetz and Larue Mengle noticed several youths acting in a suspicious manner in the Liberty Street section. Officer Mengle, who leaped from the patrol car to question the youths, slipped and twisted his knee. Officer Goetz managed to catch one of the youths and questioned him. He denied any illegal actions. Further investigation resulted in a hearing before Justice Reber Friday evening. Brommer denied under oath that he was implicated in the thefts but later admitted was involved with three other boys, all juveniles. Two of the boys were 15 and the other age 17. One is from New Ringgold and two are from the Orwigsburg RD. The boys would drive in to Schuylkill haven and the 15 year old boys would steal the hub caps while the other boys waited in the car. Because Brommer lied under oath, Justice Reber set bail at $500. The three juveniles are in the custody of their parents waiting action in juvenile court. |
| The Call of February 19, 1959 YOUTHS STEAL PURSE OF PARKWAY WOMAN Schuylkill Haven's first case of purse snatching in years was reported last week. Two young thugs accosted Mrs. George Yoder of 8 Parkway as she was crossing the railroad tracks at Union Street on Friday at 8:45 p. m. They snatched a black purse which she had been carrying under her arm and ran off, one on one direction and one in the other. The purse contained a wallet with $16.00, house keys and papers. The empty wallet was found several days later but the black bag has not been recovered. Local police investigated but no trace has been found of the two boys, described by Mrs. Yoder as being in their mid teens. |
| The Call of November 19, 1959 SERIES OF ROBBERIES HITS THREE PLACES IN THIS AREA A series if robberies in this vicinity within the past month should alert all business people to being extra cautious with funds. Particularly so, during the coming holiday season when more money than usual will be in circulation. Last week thieves broke in to the Summit Station firehouse and stole $1400 from a safe. The burglars entered by breaking the lock on a window and smashed the safe with a fire axe to remove the money. Prior to that, the American Legion home in Schuylkill Haven was robbed of fifty dollars by thieves who broke into the establishment during the night. The juke box, cigarette machine and other mechanical appliances were broken into and the money contents removed. The office of Hummel Buick was ransacked recently during the night and money left in a locked drawer in Mr. Hummel's desk removed. The drawer was forced open with such force that the desk is completely ruined. The State Police are investigating the Summit Station robbery while local police are conducting an investigation of the local robberies. |
| The Call of December 17, 1959 SERIES OF INCIDENTS RESULTS IN ARREST Elwood Wenzel, 34, of Orwigsburg was committed to the county prison on two charges of indecent exposure and a charge of disorderly conduct preferred by Schuylkill Haven police. The arrest grew out of a series of incidents on borough streets early Monday evening. The first was at the corner of Saint John and Market Streets, at 6:05 p. m., when a 19 year old girl on her way home from work was accosted by a man. Upon reaching home she told her father and he reported the incident to Officer Clifford Mengle at Town Hall. Chief of Police Lorin Honicker and Officer Larue Mengel went to look for the man. They received a report by radio on the police car about 7:15 p. m. that man answering the same description had repeated his actions before three high school girls on East Union Street. A third report was received about 8:35 p. m. This time the offense occurred before three juvenile girls near Railroad and Wilson Streets. Chief Honicker contacted Constable Sharkey Rehrig of Orwigsburg and Wenzel was taken in to custody and brought to Schuylkill Haven. At a hearing before Justice of the Peace Jack Reber, Wenzel admitted that he was the man that committed the acts as charged. He was also charged with disorderly conduct for making indecent remarks to a girl on December 2 near Saint Peter and Union Streets. Chief Honicker preferred the first charges and Officer William Goetz pressed the second. Reber arraigned him and ordered him committed to the Schuylkill County prison. |
| In September, 1939, The Call ran a special edition highlighting information on the town. This included pictures of members of the police department as seen below. Click on each picture for clarity. |
| The Call of January 4, 1935 ROBBERY WAS THWARTED HERE The alertness of Police Chief Frank Deibert of Schuylkill Haven, probably frustrated a robbery of Price Jewelry Store or the Sausser Hardware Store, both on Main Street in Schuylkill Haven early on Saturday morning. His picking up as suspicious characters at this time also resulted in the robbery of a number of places in Pottsville being solved. Francis Hyland admitted six charges of robbery and Charles O'Donnell admitted three attempted robbery charges and were held without bail by a Pottsville magistrate, after they were turned over to the Pottsville police by the Schuylkill Haven police for further questioning. Pottsville police have for some time, been making an effort to run down clues to a number of recent robberies in different parts of the city. Monday morning, shortly after two o'clock, Officer Deibert noticed two young men standing on Main Street, one in front of the Price Jewelry Store and one in front of the Sausser Hardware Store. On the arrival of the police chief, both began to walk away. They were stopped in front of the Moser building. They stated they had come from the movies and were waiting for the last car for Pottsville. It was then a little after two in the morning. Officer Deibert then took them to his home. On the way to the home of the officer, nearby, Mr. Deibert thought he heard something drop or fall but could not see anything. Several hours thereafter, however, the officer discovered a large stone which, it is believed one of them had been carrying and had intended to use to smash the window of either the jewelry or the hardware store. When taken to the home of Officer Deibert, the boys gave their names as Charles O'Donnell and James Williams. Williams however, later turned out to be Francis Hyland. The following day O'Donnell told the officers that Williams resided in Schuylkill haven and he had only met him by chance. They went to the place where O'Donnell suggested they might find Williams but Williams could not be found. O'Donnell was then locked up in the Town Hall and it was then that he told the officers that Williams was Francis Hyland of Pottsville. The boys, after further questioning, signed a confession admitting the robberies of various Pottsville businesses. In the confession it is also admitted they intended to rob the Price Jewelry store on Main Street in Schuylkill Haven but that they were held up in this when Officer Deibert happened along in an automobile and alighted where they were standing. |
| The Call of January 4, 1935 HELD FOR THEFTS AT WILLOW LAKE At a hearing recently held before Squire Kline, Lester Killian of Schuylkill Haven was committed to the county jail in default of $500 bail, to await action of the court on charges of breaking, entering and larceny, to which he pleaded guilty. The case was entered against him through the activity of the local police and state police for thefts of various kinds at Willow Lake. During July and August, the refreshment stand at this resort had been broken open nine times and various articles such as tobacco, confectionery, and chewing gum were stolen. The loss was about twenty five dollars. The thefts were reported to the state police but no clue to the robberies could be found. Later, the lock on the ice house at Willow Lake, of which James Mellon is proprietor was broken and two half barrels of beer were stolen. Shortly thereafter, the Elliot cottage at Willow Lake was broken into and numerous items such as light fixtures, dishes and pans were taken. The thefts were reported to the state police. Last Sunday,the local police and state police visited the Killian home and took Killian to the Town Hall where he was questioned at length. He denied all knowledge of any of the thefts. Police, however, procured many articles from the Killian home that had been stolen and confronted Killian with them. He admitted the theft of articles from the Mellon property. On the Elliott bungalow theft, he implicated two others and on the theft of the beer he included Paul Ney. Settlement was made before the squire in the theft of beer, upon the payment of $23.40. On the Elliott breaking and entering charge, Mr. Elliott withdrew the charges and Killian was released. |
| The Call of March 1, 1935 THIEVES ROB CASH REGISTER AT KETNER GARAGE Between 1:30 and 8:00 o'clock in the morning on Sunday, the garage office of E. S. Ketner Company on Columbia Street, was broken open and the contents of the cash register, consisting of $12.35 was stolen. Clues are being followed by the local authorities and arrests are expected shortly. John Ketner, a partner with E. S. Ketner, and who resides in the apartment above the garage stated he had put away his car about 1:30 and found everything in the office and garage in order. Sunday morning, however, when E. S. Ketner arrived in the garage, he discovered the cash register had been taken into the repair department and pried open and contents removed. Two persons were mixed up in the robbery from evidence and clues at hand. Police were not notified until an hour or more after the discovery. Officer Deibert found footprints in the snow outside the building, in the garage, and footprints were traced in the snow for several blocks from the garage but were then lost because persons were on their way to Sunday School. Several years ago, the local authorities advised, through these columns, that the drawers of cash registers should be left open at night, this in order to prevent damage being done to the cash register by thieves. This damage is sometimes heavier than the amount of money taken from the register. Again the local authorities wish The Call to urge that firms and individuals permit the cash register drawer to remain open at night, be there money in the register or not. |
| The Call of March 1, 1935 LOCAL WOMAN JAILED FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT For failure to distribute to the heirs, funds entrusted to her as administratrix, and appropriating the money for her own use, Mrs. Howard Koenig of Becker Street, Schuylkill Haven, was the fore part of the week, sent to jail for contempt of court and for failing to have carried out the orders of the Court. Judge Gangloff of the Orphan's Court, in ordering the woman placed in prison, stated he regretted the action necessary but that the woman had abused the privileges and opportunities given to her over a period of six months or more, to make restitution of the shortage shown in her account. Mrs. Koenig was the administratrix in the estate of her brother and on January 8, 1934, the account was before the court for audit and showed a balance of $2,369.85. Judge Gangloff, on January 15, 1934, confirmed the account and Mrs. Koenig was directed to pay the money to the estate of her mother, Susannah Steele, of which William A. Steele was the administrator. Failure to make distribution as directed by the court, on June 21, 1934, pursuant to a petition presented by the estate of Susannah Steele, deceased, ordered Mrs. Koenig to show cause why she had failed to make distribution of the money in her possession and why she should not be held in contempt of court. The rule was made returnable July 2, 1934. Mrs. Koenig made no answer to the court. Again on September 10, 1934, William Steele, the brother of Mrs. Koenig, presented another petition alleging these facts and praying for an attachment for contempt of court. As the result of this petition, Mrs. Koenig admitted in court she had spent the entire fund with the exception of $1.93. Most of the money is said to have been used by her personally. In the opinion as issued by Judge Gangloff, Mrs. Koenig practiced a fraud upon the court when she made affidavit to and filed her final account of having a balance of $2,369.85, she had but an actual balance of $539.37 and but $359.23 on the day the account was called for audit. The court's opinion also states that she did not claim she needed the money for necessities, although that would not even be an excuse for her conduct, and it appears that her husband not only fully supported his family but he also made installment payments right along out of his earnings, on an automobile. In short, the woman embezzled the money and does not even offer extenuating circumstances in explanation of her action. |
| The Call of March 1, 1935 LOCAL THIEVES CONFESS GUILT The two young men who early Sunday morning entered and broke open and robbed the cash register of $13.00 in the Elmer Ketner Garage on Saint Charles Street, confessed their guilt during the week. In addition to confessing to the local robbery, twelve robberies in all, throughout this section of the state were cleared up. The robberies were perpetrated at Hamburg, Millersville, Valley View, Jonestown and Schuylkill Haven. The boys, David Zimmerman, twenty of Orwin and Melvin E. Carl, nineteen of Muir, were caught the fore part of the week stealing gas by the siphoning method on the streets of Norristown. Brought to Schuylkill County, State Police confronted them with evidence and they began to admit robberies at various places. Following the robbery at the Ketner Garage, a piece of red handkerchief was found. While the boys were being questioned, one of the officers asked one of them for a handkerchief. When the same was produced, part of it was missing. The missing part held by the local police fit exactly and it was then that they confessed to the Schuylkill Haven robbery. |
| The Call of April 10, 1936 ADMITTED STEALING KNIT GOODS FROM LOCAL MILL Howard Gordon of Columbia Street, Schuylkill Haven, confessed on Thursday afternoon to the robbery of knit goods from the mill of Edward Sharadin of Schuylkill Haven. He confessed having taken from the mill, over a period from May of 1935, the sum of two thousand pounds of knit goods. He was arrested Wednesday evening and at a hearing before Squire Singer on Thursday confessed to the theft. He was sent to jail for a hearing before the court. For a long period, shortage in the rolls of knit goods, some bleached and some unbleached, was noted by Mr. Sharadin, owner of the mill. Efforts to apprehend the thief were unavailing but the shortage continued. Gordon had been an employee of the mill and was , therefore, fully acquainted with it in every way. In his confession, he admitted taking the rolls of knit goods, weighing from twenty five to forty pounds each from the mill at various hours of the night or morning. He would place them in his automobile, keep them in his garage for a time and then take them to a junk dealer in Chester, where the goods would be disposed of at various prices, which averaged about fifteen cents a pound. The cost to manufacture the goods is on average fifty to sixty cents per pound. The loss , therefore, to Mr. Sharadin was approximately a thousand dollars. Gordon also admitted having disposed of some of the goods to Pottsville garages at the rate of fifteen cents per pound. He was placed under arrest on Wednesday evening at 11:30 o'clock by Officer Bubeck. |
| The Call of June 26, 1936 JAILED FOR ASSAULT RESULTING IN FRACTURED SKULL As a result of a fight at the Brinich Saloon, corner of Dock and Willow Streets, Monday evening of last week, Francis Brinich, the proprietor, is in the county jail on the charge of assault and battery and the victim, Guy Frehafer, also of Schuylkill Haven, is a patient in the Good Samaritan Hospital at Pottsville. Frehafer is suffering from the effects of a badly fractured skull. He had been unconscious for several days. Thursday afternoon his condition was reported improved. He has regained consciousness but not any great amount of encouragement is given to the outcome. It is understood the fracture is over three inches across the base of the skull. Fluid taken from the spinal column contained blood which is an indication of a serious condition. The x-ray pictures show plainly the fracture and it is believed a small piece of bone has been pushed into the brain cells. Charges of assault and battery, assault and battery with intent to kill, were entered against Brinich and a hearing was given him before Squire Allen Klahr. As a result, Brinich was held without bail for later developments in the condition of his victim and in the event Frehafer dies, Brinich will be formally charged with murder. Quite a number of persons gathered at the squire's office as the case was in progress. There were numerous sharp clashes between the witnesses, the attorney for the defendant and the Burgess, this because the manner in which Attorney Knittle attempted to cross examine the witnesses. At the hearing Friday afternoon, six witnesses were heard, who presented evidence concerning the affair. The defense, represented by Attorney Knittle of Pottsville, presented no testimony. The first witness who gave testimony was the wife of Mr. Frehafer, who stated that her husband left home about eight o'clock. He was brought home about 12:30 o'clock by Brinich and another man and appeared to be badly injured. Miss Naomi Ney testified she heard the men arguing. She saw Brinich holding the other man down. His head was on the sewer grate. She saw Mrs. Brinich come out and throw water over the man and saw them working over the man. She saw them carry the man into the hotel. Mrs. Miles Ney testified that her bedroom is directly across from the hotel. She saw Brinich and Frehafer run from the hotel. Frehafer threw up his hands and cried, "My God, I'll take it back." Brinich said, "Take this back". She saw Brinich hit him in the face and knock him down. The head of the man was on grating covering the sewer. He held the man there for some time. Brinich took the man by the hair and bumped his head several times on the sewer grating. Mrs. Brinich came out of the hotel and cried, "My God! What did you do". Brinich said the man ran into a post and then fell into the street. Mrs. Brinich got some water and tried to revive him. Another man came out of the hotel. Frehafer was carried into the saloon. Four machines stopped and occupants asked what happened. Brinich told them the man ran into a pole. Sylvester Hainley testified that about 11:30 he saw Frehafer lying in the street with his head over the sewer. He saw Brinich and his wife trying to revive him. He saw them take him onto the porch and Brinich and another man helping Frehafer to leave. Mrs. Samuel Ney's testimony was practically the same as that of the preceding witnesses. She said Frehafer was badly injured and could not help himself. Dr. Lyons stated he was called but could not respond to the call. Dr. Heim called next day and examined the man and found him in a drunken state. The next day, Dr. Lyons called and found Frehafer's condition very poor. He could give no explanation of what had happened to him and he found his skull fractured. The next morning found him in great pain and willing to go to the hospital. An x-ray showed a fracture of the skull in two places. These fractures could not have occurred by falling upon the grating. From the nature of the bruises they must have been caused by being knocked on the head several times. |
| The Call of November 13, 1936 CAUGHT ROBBING LOCAL MILL OF MACHINERY But for the timely discovery of a neighbor, thieves last Friday evening, about 10:30 o'clock, would have made away with nineteen sewing machines valued at $5290 from the Edward Sharadin Knitting Mill. Police placed under arrest three men, giving their names as Michael Burke, Irving Smith and a Samuel Stine, all of New York City. At a hearing at Schuylkill Haven, they pleaded guilty, but later changed their plea in court to not guilty. They have been remanded to the county jail to await trial by jury at the January term of court. Up to this writing, bail had not been furnished but it was expected it would be, most any day, by friends of the trio from New York City. The fourth man in the group, said to have been the directing head and employee for this particular job of the other three is missing, having, according to the story told by the three men arrested by the police, made good his getaway. As the story goes, it was a bold idea and came very nearly succeeding almost completely. Had it not been for the fact that Warren Moyer, residing near the Sharadin Mill, made the discovery of bags lying near the mill and noticed one or two men prowling about, nothing might never have been known about the robbery until the mill was opened for operation the next day. The police being summoned, Officers Deibert and Bashore arrived on the scene and noticed one of the men and promptly placed him under arrest. It was at first thought there was but one in the group but within a few minutes another man was picked up on Columbia Street and then a third man, who had come in search of the others, was arrested. The three were taken to the Town Hall and there admitted their guilt and gave several different stories of the affair. They insisted they were employed by the fourth man, who they claim got away, to come to Pennsylvania, to haul some material to New York. Two of the men are boxing trainers and one is a boxing promoter. Entrance to the mill was made by forcing a window on the first floor with the use of a heavy screw driver. The machines were removed from the sewing machine tables on the second floor of the building. From the fact that the machines were fastened to the tables with wood screws, all that was necessary was to give the machine a vigorous bump or jar and they came loose easily. This made it possible then, for the men to work without light and without making any noise to attract attention. The machines being loosened, were carried out a rear door and along side of the mill, on the inner side of the lot, to the fence and dropped along the fence on the Union Street side. Machines were also piled up on the plot of ground opposite the Sharadin Mill. Three bags were filled with machines and five machines, without covering, had been piled up and were all ready to a waiting Chevrolet two door car that was parked near the home of Sylvester Eiler on Parkway, several blocks away from the Sharadin Mill. When the officers, Deibert and Bashore, arrived, the one man first arrested was found on Union Street, near the machines. He offered no resistance and was unarmed. Officer Bubeck and Burgess Scott were also summoned and arrived just after the first man had been arrested. Saturday the three were fingerprinted and photographed in the Town Hall, as it may be possible to connect them with other thefts or crimes. Police in other towns and cities are being contacted in an effort to locate the fourth man. Several conflicting stories were given as to the manner and method of robbery but all stories connect a fourth man with it. Checking some of the stories by police shows that the man came to town about ten o'clock having stopped at the Eagle Wing Filling Station on the Orwigsburg Pike near Bowen's Grove and left a wheel and tire at the station, saying they would be back for it in half an hour. It has been learned that the men stopped at a garage in Allentown at seven o'clock, the same evening and had a new generator placed in their machine. |
| The Call of January 15, 1937 THIEVES STRIP WASHERY OF MACHINERY HERE Schuylkill Haven industries seem recently to have quite an attraction for thieves. Some months ago, sewing machines were taken from a plant in the heart of town. Quite recently suspicious persons were noted at one of the town's shoe factories. Sunday evening, machinery of various kinds used in the operation of one of the Manbeck washeries was being carted away by thieves in an auto, when the auto broke down. Two brothers, Francis Barnes of Port Carbon and Charles Barnes of Schuylkill Haven, are being held as the result of a hearing, for action of court, on the charges of robbery. They may later be held on several additional charges. Fortunately, the machine which was being used, became mired along side of the highway leading from the lower Manbeck washery and then a tire went flat. The machine, loaded with about fifteen hundred pounds of various kinds of machinery, stripped from one of the Manbeck washeries, could not be moved. The men, however, reported their auto had been stolen and of course, Monday morning, it was found abandoned along the river near the washery loaded with the washery machinery of a value of almost a thousand dollars. |
| The Call of February 12, 1937 ILLEGAL LIQUOR SEIZED IN TOWN The latter part of last week, agents from the state Liquor Control Board visited Schuylkill Haven and raided several places on the charges of having illegal liquor in their possession. The agents had several weeks previously made a visit to Schuylkill Haven and were accompanied by a member of the local police in plain clothes. It is understood a number of other places in Schuylkill Haven and immediate vicinity where liquor and beer is sold illegally, are to be visited very shortly. The home of Arthur and Catherine Romberger on South Berne Street produced two twenty gallon stills, a ten gallon can and small quantities of alleged illegal liquor. On the premises of James Morrow of Jacques Street in the West Ward, Schuylkill Haven, small quantities of illegal illicit liquor were seized. At the place of Reuben Hoffman on Wilson Street, Hoffman and one giving his name as David Brooks, were placed under arrest on the charges of possession of liquor on the premises licensed only for the sale of beer. The name of David Brooks was found to be fictitious and the address given as 207 East Main Street was a vacant lot. |
| The Call of February 19, 1937 TWO LOCAL PLACES RAIDED THURSDAY Four officers from the State Liquor Control Board were sent to Schuylkill Haven Thursday about the noon hour and, with Officer Frank Deibert, raided two places on Garfield Avenue, where illegal liquor was confiscated. At the place of Charles Geschwindt, 737 Garfield Avenue, thirty six bottles of home brew were taken, also eighteen empty cases and a twenty gallon stone jar containing liquid that was in a state of fermentation. This is the second time the Charles Geschwindt place was raided. The second place visited by the officers was the home of Herbert Geschwindt, 731 Garfield Avenue. Here six cases of home brew were taken. Both men were ordered to appear before Alderman Kalbach of Pottsville for a hearing next Friday. |
| The Call of July 9, 1937 SCHUYLKILL HAVEN BOYS CAUGHT STEALING RADIATOR CAPS Two Schuylkill Haven boys whose names the Call could not learn this morning, were given a hearing Thursday midnight, at the office of Squire Moyer in Cressona, charged by the Cressona police with the theft of auto radiator caps. The radiator caps were taken from cars at the Auction Sale at the Fairgrounds. The boys were committed to jail for a hearing before the court at the next session. It is understood that bail would be provided for the boys during the day, which will give them their freedom. It is believed the two arrested are a part of a group of boys and men who have for some time been stealing and carrying away almost the entire automobile from the Fairgrounds, on the occasion of the weekly auction sales. Last evening, there was an entire row of a dozen or more cars parked, from which the radiator caps had been stolen. Tires have, heretofore been stolen, gas taken from cars, contents of unlocked machines rifled and things stolen. Batteries have even been removed from faraway parked cars. Fog lights have been stolen from cars, as have also horns. It is said that hundreds and hundreds of automobiles have been molested in some manner by the thieves for a period of a number of weeks. Last evening the boys were apprehended by the Chief of Police of Cressona and several special officers he had sworn for duty. |
| The Call of August 6, 1937 GETS THIRTY DAYS FOR ATTACK ON GIRL Bernard Kripas of Palo Alto drew thirty days jail sentence on the charge of disorderly conduct in Schuylkill Haven , which really consisted of an attempted attack on a Schuylkill Haven girl, Miss Mary Summers, daughter of Jacob Summers of Columbia Street in Schuylkill Haven. Had it not been for her companion Alberta Strause of North Berne Street, who phoned for the police, bodily harm may have been done the girl. The first intimation the local police knew of the affair was when a telephone call came from the Strause girl about 8:30 o'clock and the message was that a man was attempting to drag off a girl in the vicinity of Wilson and Fairview Streets. Officers Clayton Bashore and Charles Reinhart were sent to the scene on the borough police department motor patrol, the C. and A. Taxi. After a minute's search in the vicinity, they noticed a man dragging a girl across the lawn of Earl Stoyer, residing at the corner of Main and Fairview Streets. The man jumped down over the bank at the Stoyer property and ran across Main Street and onto the fields nearby. He released the girl but continued to run across the field. The officers, in the darkness, lost sight of the man. Both officers quickly returned to police headquarters and brought the girl and her companion with them. After getting their story of having been suddenly attacked by the man, Officers Deibert and Bubeck set out to find the man. They drove out East Main Street, crossed over to the highway and coming in on Centre Avenue, noticed the man seated on the wall of the Borda property in front of the traffic light. Deibert grabbed the man and without any resistance, he accompanied the officers. The man did not hesitate to relate quite a "lone" sufficient to provide the background for movies or fast selling novels. One of the reasons he assigned for his attack on the girl was that he had been in attendance at two weddings Saturday afternoon and was pretty well liquored up. In default of bail, Squire Singer, before whom the case was heard, sent him up for thirty days. |
| The Call of May 13, 1938 LOCAL GAS STATION ROBBED FRIDAY MORNING Thieves, early Friday morning, visited the Felty Gas Station on Columbia Street, and made off with a number of articles. The first item was a two gallon can of oil, then a carton of cigarettes and then their auto was filled up with gas. Entrance was gained through one of the windows of the gas station. They were rather shrewd in that they first forced from the outside of the window frames, the wooden strip. This made it possible to pull the upper portion of the window out and unfasten the catch that held the top part and the lower part together. Bold they were too. The several gas pumps at the station are operated with electric switches from the inside of the station. Switches were thrown and this started the motor. It was then an easy matter to get gas from any of the several pumps. This they did and then left the motor running. It was this fact that caused the discovery of the theft early in the morning, for one of the members of the Felty family, residing nearby, upon awakening, heard the motor running. Prompt investigation was made and the police notified. No clues were left as it appears that wherever anything was touched, it is smudged as if with muddy fingers. |
| The Call of May 20, 1938 IN TOILS OF POLICE TWENTY FIVE MINUTES AFTER THEFT OF AUTO Twenty five minutes after local police were notified about an auto theft in Schuylkill Haven, four Schuylkill Haven boys were in the hands of Officer Bubeck. The auto was stolen from in front of the Stump Garage on South Garfield Avenue near Dock Street. Discovery was made at 12:20 Thursday morning. Twenty five minutes later, Officer Bubeck had three of the four thieves. The officer in one of the C. & A. taxies, headed up the pike. He used the old turnpike road. With him was one of Mr. Stump's sons. An approaching auto, southward bound, attracted their attention by reason of the lights. Bubeck stopped the car. As soon as he did so, one of the boys leaped out and jumped down over the embankment to the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks below. The other three, he brought back to Schuylkill Haven. The identity of the fourth boy was soon learned and Officer Bubeck, visiting his home, roused him from a deep slumber from his bed. Disposition of the case has not as yet been made. One of the boys is from a family of nine, with the father unable to work because he is almost blind. Two of the boys are from another large family and are on the WPA. The fourth is also on the WPA. It is likely, however, that all will be taken to court and placed on probation with a suspended sentence. One of the boys, the driver, will no doubt be arrested for various violations of the auto laws, namely, driving without a license. |
| The Call of November 18, 1938 EXHUME BODY OF WILLIAM HUEY FOR AUTOPSY The body of William Huey of Schuylkill Haven was exhumed on Thursday evening of last week to satisfy rumors and reports that perhaps he had died as the results of blows delivered in a fight. Huey was found dead Wednesday morning, October 5th, near Garfield Avenue and Coal Street. The autopsy was performed on Thursday evening in the operating rooms of the D. M. Bittle Funeral Home by Dr. W. A. Glenny of Pottsville, in the presence of Dr. Lenker, deputy coroner, showed that the diagnosis of Dr. Lenker, made at the time he was called as deputy coroner, was correct. The exhuming of the body and autopsy was ordered by the District Attorney's office. Late on Thursday afternoon of last week, word was telephoned to Undertaker D. M. Bittle that the body was to be exhumed. Due to the lateness of the notice, the opening of the grave did not get started until five thirty and it was not until eight that the seal on the outer casing in the grave was broken and the casket slowly raised to the surface of the earth, by the dim light of oil lanterns at the scene. The autopsy required several hours time. It was not until after midnight that the same had been completed. Friday, the body was again dressed, placed in the casket and interred in the Union Cemetery. Ever since the man's death, reports had been gaining in number and the story connected with the finding of the body was growing in details so that suspicion was being cast on others who were in the Republican Club Headquarters on Coal Street. Last week, local police took the matter in hand. At least a half dozen witnesses were summoned and testimony taken. Five of them testified that they saw Huey in an argument with another man but that no hard blows were struck. One of the witnesses testified he saw Huey receive two blows, one on either shoulder and he dropped to the floor. This same witness had called Dr. Lenker at three o'clock in the morning and told him he knew what caused Huey's death. He also called the County Detective at the same hour of the morning and told him the same story. These telephone calls were placed, it is understood, following a hearing at the squire's office, on charges growing out of a fight, in which the witness and the man charged with delivering the blows to Huey, were the principals. The exhuming of the body of Mr. Huey was the first to occur in Schuylkill Haven since July 4, 1920, when the body of a lad buried in the Union Cemetery was exhumed. This was not for the purpose of an autopsy but for the purpose of identification. The boy had been killed on a wreck on the Reading Railroad in Schuylkill Haven on May 7, 1919, when a coal train left the rails near the Williams Street crossing. The boy had been riding on the train. There was no means of identification. More than a year later, a man thought the boy might possibly be his son. He had the body exhumed but it was not that of the missing son. |
| The Call of November 22, 1935 FINED FOR HAVING BOYS SELL CHANCE CARDS Arrest was made by local police, this week, of a local resident, for distributing and having circulated "chance cards" by children. A fine and costs was paid. The arrest was made as a result of a lad approaching one of the officers and asking him to take a chance and revealing the fact that the winner would be given a turkey and also a turkey would be given to the boy selling the chances or for "filling up the card." The proceeds would be turned over to the individual having the cards distributed. A none year old boy innocently made a clean breast of the entire story, telling how he went to the business place of the owner of the cards and obtained the card and had his younger brother do some soliciting for him. |
| The Call of May 26, 1939 FINED FOR SUNDAY GAMBLING Sunday evening at 10:15, the Schuylkill Haven police raided the pool room of Cyril White on East Main Street. Five men from Schuylkill Haven, all over 21, were found gambling. Each one was fined three dollars and costs at the hearing held before Squire Singer on Monday morning. All paid their fines, excepting one, who preferred to spend time in the county jail. After an hour in jail, his friends paid his fine and costs and he was released. The gaming tables were smashed by Officers Deibert, Bubeck and Reinhart, who made the raid. The proprietor was charged with setting up and maintaining gaming tables. White, on January 18th, 1932, was arrested and fined on the same offense for $14 and costs. Therefore, the Squire, on this, the second offense, doubled the fine. |
| The Call of June 2, 1939 THIEVES VISIT R. R. STERNER'S TIRE STORE Thieves some time early Saturday morning visited the tire and accessory store of R. R. Sterner Company on Center Avenue and took six dollars in change from the cash register. The thieves were rather selective for they chose only the half dollars, quarters and dimes and left the nickels and pennies remain. No part of the stock was disturbed and no other article was reported missing. Drawers in the desk were opened. In one was a purse containing cash but this was not taken. In another drawer was an envelope marked, "Poppy Sales" which contained some cash. This was not disturbed. Surrounding the robbery is quite an air of mystery. This for the reason that it seems impossible to tell how entrance was gained. No windows were broken or forced. Everything had been locked up tight. All doors were locked in the morning as this was carefully checked when the robbery was discovered. |
| The Call of June 2, 1939 POLICE IN FINE NEW UNIFORMS The Schuylkill Haven police, the fore part of the week, donned their summer uniforms, which by the way, are quite new and natty looking and considerably lighter in weight. The trousers are of blue serge full flare leg. The coat is of the same material and color. The caps are eight point police regulation caps of blue serge. The four officers have been outfitted, namely: Police Chief Frank Deibert, Percy Bubeck, Charles Reinhart and Clayton Bashore. The change from the winter and old uniforms to the new ones is quite a contrast in appearance. The heavy Sam Brown belts of the winter uniform with the heavy holster and revolver and the puttees or boots have been discarded. Small holsters are used and the gun is on the officer's left instead of the right. New guns have been procured. They are .32 long police positive pistols with .38 frame and two and a half inch barrel instead of the former six inch barrel gun. The uniform is the same style as is worn by the New York and Detroit police forces. |
| The Call of January 10, 1930 BANK CLERK MUST SERVE TWO YEARS Elmer Moyer of Schuylkill Haven was sentenced to serve not less than two years or more than seven years by Judge Hicks, Tuesday afternoon on several charges growing out of his connection with the State Bank of Schuylkill Haven. Evidence against Mr. Moyer was presented to a crowded courtroom by the state bank examiner. V. J. Dalton, Moyer's attorney, made a strong plea direct to the court for leniency, reviewing the facts of Moyer, aged twenty four, being married and father of two children, son of parents always held in high repute, of the character of the defendant, himself, of his eight five dollar per month salary, regarding his habits, etc. Judge Hicks, before sentencing Moyer, reviewed the case and commented on the plea made by his attorney but stated that judges are chosen to administer the law and that the law must be upheld. He took occasion to remark that so very frequently not until after a crime is committed is thought given to its after effects upon and the sorrow brought upon the parents, relatives and loved ones. The court took occasion to interrogate Moyer as to what he did with the money taken, as to whether he gambled, drove an auto etc. Moyer replied he could not remember just what the money went for outside living expenses, excepting the sum of four hundred dollars invested in stocks and which took a drop after he had purchased. Moyer was sentenced on three charges: on the charge of forgery in the sum of one hundred dollars on a check of Sam Mature, he was given the costs, a fine of one dollar and not more than one and one half years or less than six months. On the charge of embezzlement of $621 he was sentenced to a fine of one dollar, the costs and to serve not more than two years or less than one year. The two sentences to run concurrently. On the charge of making false entries in items approximating $690, he was sentenced to the costs, a fine of one dollar and not less than one year or more than five years, this sentence to begin at the end of the other sentences. He is also to return to the bank the amount of the sum involved, being $1321.50. There was deep silence in the large courtroom as the words of the sentence fell from the judge's lips. Moyer, standing in front of the bar, swayed slightly, but did not collapse. The grief stricken wife came to his side as he was about to be led from the courtroom by a deputy sheriff. He began his sentence shortly thereafter. A number of Schuylkill Haven persons were called before the court to attest to the character of the defendant. |
| The Call of January 10, 1930 HELD FOR POSSESSING LIQUOR As a result of the hearing before Commissioner Reese of Tamaqua on Saturday, A E. Meitzler of Schuylkill Haven, was held under $3000 bail on the charges of possessing and maintaining the devices for the manufacturing of intoxicating beverages. He will be given a hearing at a later date before the Federal Court. Meitzler denied all knowledge of what the building was being used for, claiming and submitting in evidence a lease signed and executed before Squire Fred Reed on November 1st and witnessed by Elmer Schaeffer, that the building was leased by him, Meitzler, to a party by the name of Plank, a resident of Atlantic City. He denied all knowledge of the existence of a still in this building. Meitzler was represented by Attorney J. Rothstine. |
| The Call of January 10, 1930 BALLPLAYER WHO SKIPPED BAIL BOND BROUGHT BACK Kenneth Simondinger of Philadelphia, charged with skipping his bail bond in an assault and battery case, was placed under arrest last Saturday and brought back to Schuylkill Haven upon a capias issued by Judge Hicks, in favor of Harry Schumacher of Schuylkill Haven, who went on Simondinger's bond. The assault by Simondinger occurred at a ballgame at Connor's, August 11, 1921, between the Cressona Tigers and Cumbola, when during the fourth inning, Simondinger was hit in the ribs by a pitched ball. Words were exchanged and after taking first base, he was enraged after being caught off the bag that he struck the first baseman Devlin upon the jaw, breaking that member. S only a mere accident that Mr. Schumacher learned of the whereabouts of Simondinger after all efforts of police and detectives had failed. It was through the reading of a newspaper account of an auto accident in which Simondinger had figured, that his address in Philadelphia was learned. Schumacher, having obtained a capias from the court, it was turned over by the sheriff to the local officers to bring him back to the county. This was done late Saturday evening. |
| The Call of February 7, 1930 DISORDERLY CONDUCT COSTS $25 It cost a forty year old man of Schuylkill Haven just twenty five dollars fine and five dollars costs for disorderly conduct on charges brought before Squire Kline, upon complaint of parents of a fifteen year old girl of Schuylkill Haven. Other and more serious charges which would have sent the man's case to court were held up for the time being. Names are withheld from publication only because of the possible embarrassment that would have to be borne by a daughter attending high school in another town. The police for the past month and a half have had complaints from five different women, several being young girls, about the man indecently exposing himself before them and making insulting remarks. In each case, however, the complaintants refused absolutely to appear as witnesses against the man. At the hearing, when presented with these complaints by the authorities, he admitted his guilt. The circumstances surrounding the case of the fifteen year old girl were to the effect that about seven o'clock in the evening the fellow grabbed the girl by the arm and insisted that she take a walk with him. The girl broke away, but at Union Street was held up on account of a passing coal train. On the other side of the railroad, she was again grabbed hold of, but broke away again. Later other members of her family came up town with her and the girl identified the man. |
| The Call of March 28, 1930 GOT SIX MONTHS FOR OPERATING STILL IN SCHUYLKILL HAVEN On the charge of manufacturing and possessing intoxicating liquor, brought by authorities of Schuylkill Haven against A. E. Meitzler, Philip Cappelino and Isadore Rubin, all were found not guilty excepting Cappelino. The case came before the Federal Court in Philadelphia the fore part of the week. All three, when arraigned, pleaded not guilty and the hearing of evidence had been started. After a sidebar conference, it was decided that Cappelino should enter a plea of guilty. That was done. It was then decided that each one of the three be tried separately. The jury was then directed to bring in a verdict of not guilty against Meitzler on account of his not having been on the premises at the time of the raid by local authorities. On Cappelino's plea of guilty, he was sentenced to serve six months and pay a fine of one hundred dollars. On the case of Rubin, the jury which retired Tuesday afternoon at four o'clock, brought in a verdict of not guilty. Little evidence was permitted to be presented by the local authorities. The case grew out of the discovery of Police Chief Deibert, of a still in operation at the rear of the premises of the Meitzler garage early in December and the raiding of the same by the local authorities assisted by Federal men. |
| The Call of June 27, 1930 MOUNTAIN GAMING PLACE RAIDED The building on top of the Schuylkill Mountain, outside the borough of Schuylkill Haven, which in years gone by was used as a blacksmith shop, was raided early on Sunday morning by County Detective Buono, assisted by Schuylkill Haven authorities. As a result, the proprietor, Benjamin Reber, was required to pay a fine and costs amounting to $19.60 on the charge of setting up and maintaining gambling devices. The charges were preferred by County Detective Buono before Squire Kline. The raid was the result of many complaints that have been lodged with the Schuylkill Haven authorities. These complaints have been of various natures, some being concerning drunkenness of boys and men, and there being some coming down the mountain road, complaints from mothers about their girls being insulted and threatened. A checkup and investigation convinced the authorities that all was not as it should be on top of the mountain. Recently a young girl from Berne Street was found on the mountain almost nude, her clothing having been stripped from by unknown young men who assaulted her. The officers at the Reber place found several bottles which were said to have contained whiskey, several bottles of gin and two tubs of iced bottled beer. The gambling device taken in the raid was destroyed by the local authorities,and the money therein, amounting to about thirty four dollars was turned over to the Red Cross of Schuylkill Haven. |
| The Call of June 27, 1930 DEMENTED MAN CONFINED HERE Tuesday afternoon, Officer Deibert was called to Spring Garden, where he found one Joseph Linert, of Republica, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, acting very strangely. He had made a purchase at one of the stores and refused to accept the change and threatened to shoot the proprietor if he offered him the change. It was found the man was without a gun and after being taken to the town hall, definite evidence was given as to his mind being unbalanced. He created quite a nuisance in the town hall. He was successful in putting his fist through seven panes of glass from his cell. Late on Tuesday evening, the nuisance created was of the nature that he had to be removed to the county prison. He had on his person a driver's card and auto license. His car was later found abandoned in Tamaqua on June 15th. His relatives were communicated with through the police department and his wife and two other relatives came on. They abandoned their idea of having him accompany them home after interviewing the man. As a result they had Officer Bubeck accompany them to their home in their car, the party leaving on Thursday morning. The man will be confined to an institution in his home county. |
| The Call of October 10, 1930 ARRESTS WILL BE MADE FOR PRE-HALLOWEEN PRANKS This is the month in which Halloween is celebrated. Few residents of Schuylkill Haven need to be told or advised of this fact. They already know the Halloween season is here. This because of the unusual activity and deviltry shown by the younger folks. However, from all accounts, the tricks of the youngsters are being played upon a scale that has already brought dozens and dozens of protests from citizens and property owners. Stones are hurled at front doors, youngsters are thrown or pushed into hedges, garbage pails are upset, automobiles "soaped" and "chalked", fences and sides of houses marked with crayons, etc. It would require quite a bit of space to describe some of the depredations and carryings on that have already become popular and have been carried to extremes. The police find it difficult to catch those guilty of the destructive and annoying practices. It is understood that the extra policemen of the department are to be put into extra service immediately and there is going to be a grand surprise for someone. A number of property owners, whose property has been damaged in some way or another, have declared they will prosecute to the limit if they themselves or the police can lay hold of the guilty persons. The police have announced that, while they would ordinarily hesitate to make arrests for the usual Halloween pranks round and about the Halloween period, the young folks have themselves spoiled it by their unusual destructive and altogether too previous Halloween tricks. From this date on, arrests and prosecutions will be made on the charge of creating a nuisance. This charge carries with it fines ranging up to twenty five dollars for each offense. The Police department wishes the Call to set forth plainly the facts as above given. The Police Department also desires the cooperation of parents in warning their children of what the consequences are going to be and to urge them to refrain from the altogether too destructive Halloween stunts. This warning is issued to parents in good faith for it is the parent who usually is required to pay the fines. Arrests will be made of all offenders and with all arrests will go a hearing before the squire and the resultant fine. Citizens and police are agreed that drastic action must be immediately taken in order to prevent wholesale heavy damage to private and public property alike. |
| The Call of October 10, 1930 JEWELRY STORE ROBBERY A BOLD ONE As details of the robbery of the J. L. Price Jewelry Company jewelry store, last Friday morning, are being made public, the robbery proves itself to have been an unusually bold one. It occurred about four o'clock Friday morning. It is believed the same pair that robbed this store, robbed a jewelry store in Mauch Chunk early in the week, using the same method of breaking the display window glass, namely, a brick. Several Schuylkill Haven persons noticed the automobile, a complete description having been obtained, standing on Saint peter Street, pointed toward Union. The rear of the car was over the crossing on Main Street. The engine had been left racing and one of the thieves evidently remained in the car while the other broke the window and robbed it of its contents. Dr. L. D. Heim is said to have noticed the car and occupants. Miss Carrie Bowman also noticed the car, being attracted by the noise of the motor of the car. Agnew Fisher passed by on his way to work and noticed but one of the occupants of the car. That the thieves headed toward Reading is evidenced by the fact that empty jewelry boxes bearing the firm name were found along the highway at Pine Dale and also a number on top of the Red Church hill. |
| The Call of October 10, 1930 THIEVES STEAL LOCAL AUTO Thieves, last Friday evening, stole the Chevrolet coupe belonging to Ira Imboden of Centre Avenue, and abandoned it at Orwigsburg for the auto truck of Butcher Wuchter and in turn abandoned this near the Sanitarium in Hamburg. The first notification the Schuylkill Haven police had of the affair was when Charles Snayberger of Centre Avenue told them of his experience. It was to the effect that upon hearing a noise at his garage, he investigated and was confronted by two men, one of whom held a revolver and ordered him into the house. The officers, assisted by several of the Highway patrol, quickly went to the scene and surrounded the particular square. The thieves, however, had gotten out of that particular section, crossed the street and broke into the garage of earl Hunter. His car was locked so they could not move it. The Imboden garage, however, was unlocked as one of their cars had just been driven out. Report is to the effect that Charles Borda also residing on Centre Avenue was surprised Saturday morning to find a road map spread out on the seat of the car in his garage. Albert Lengle also found the doors of his garage open the next morning, instead of being locked as usual. Up to this time, no trace of the thieves has been picked up. |
| The Call of October 10, 1930 TOWN WOMAN HELD UP AND ROBBED A bold holdup of Miss Bridget Gray was staged on Saturday evening about 11:30 at a point near the railroad bridge near Main Street. The holdup men relieved Miss Gary of the change in her handbag with the exception of three cents, which they returned to her and insultingly told her to put in the church collection next morning. Miss Gray was returning to her home on the West Ward when at a point where a pathway along the railroad tracks joins with a pathway to the houses in that section, she was confronted by two men. The shadow of boxcars nearby prevented her from getting a good description of the men, although there was bright moonlight. They first asked Miss Gray for a match, then a cigarette and then the price for cigarettes. They were rather flippant in their remarks and finally demanded her handbag and after examining its contents, removed a sum of money from a small purse. They were later joined by two more men and the four surrounded her. They inquired where she lived and then told her to get going. As she turned to leave, another two came toward her at the foot of the embankment. These two were intoxicated and they were assisted up the bank by the other four. The police were not notified of the holdup until late Monday evening. |
| The Call of November 14, 1930 HIS PAROLE CAME TO AN ABRUPT END By his own actions, the three year parole of Paul Bensinger, twenty six, of Schuylkill Haven, came to an abrupt end this week. Bensinger had served two years of a five year sentence for being implicated some time ago in the theft of wire. He had been on parole for a year. He latter part of last week, the theft of the coin boxes or cans of the Salvation Army were reported from the Plaza Restaurant, the Schuylkill haven candy Kitchen and Michel's Confectionery Store. Officer Bubeck, within a short time after the theft of the box from the first named business place, found the can on the person of Bensinger. He confessed to the theft and also confessed to taking the can from Michel's earlier in the evening and breaking it open on Wilson Street and extracting the coins, four cents. That of the Plaza Restaurant contained twenty four cents. He denied having taken the can from the Candy Kitchen. Bensinger was turned over to the Probation Officer with the result that he was again remanded to the county jail to serve the balance of his term, three years. |
| The Call of January 9, 1931 POLICE GET ARTICLES TAKEN FROM LOCAL MILL By unusually clever and tactful work as well as a great amount of it, the Schuylkill Haven police located the loot taken from the Thomas Knitting Mill on Wednesday, December 31st. It consisted of silk and cotton underwear and was located in a home in Pottsville. The supposed thieves, sons of the family wherein the loot was found, have not been home since the robbery. Their whereabouts is said to be unknown but the local police expect to take them in hand very soon. The two, after the theft, did not go to any great effort to conceal the stolen goods. Most of the pieces of underwear could be identified by the Thomas Mill label on the same. Then too, the two cardboard boxes in which the goods had been placed were those that at one time had been shipped to the Thomas Mill and bore the name and address. Entry to the mill was made by forcing one of the cellar windows and after once inside, the thieves worked with little concern of being discovered. They gave the office a complete ransacking, opening desk drawers and scattering papers and supplies. In the stock room and about the mill many boxes of underwear were opened and the garments left in them. This is believed due to the fact that search was being made for certain sizes. However, as the Thomas Mill manufactures garments for women and boys, they procured evidently very little that they desired. The thieves found a number of boxes of candy in the office, surplus packages from the gifts Mr. Thomas gave to the employees. These boxes were given due attention and the wrappers about each piece of candy were scattered about the mill. Their sweet tooth proved their undoing, for by reason of their discarding some of the confection near Connor's Crossing, the police were enabled to pick up a clue which led to the recovery of the goods. |
| The Call of March 6, 1931 MILL ROBBERS GET JAIL SENTENCE Mike Welsky and Peter Kerezsi, both of Pottsville, were sentenced to jail by the court this week for the robbery of the Thomas Knitting Mill in Schuylkill Haven. The former stood trial and was found guilty byte jury and was given thirteen months and a fine of one dollar and costs of the stolen goods. Kerezsi pleaded guilty and drew a sentence of nine months to three years together with a fine of one dollar and restoration of the value of the goods. The case was bitterly fought and was listened to by a courtroom packed to the doors. Cyril Kilker, recently admitted to the Schuylkill County Bar, was appointed attorney to represent the defendants. In his defense he was assisted by his father, Attorney M. A. Kilker and Attorney Cyrus Palmer. Attorney Gallagher represented the District Attorney's office. The charge was brought by Burgess Scott of Schuylkill Haven. The evidence produced and the witnesses furnished wove a clear cut case about both men. The case was given to the jury on Tuesday afternoon at four o'clock and a verdict was arrived at several hours thereafter. Upon presentation to the court of the verdict, a motion was made to have a new trail for Welsky. This plea was later withdrawn byte trio of legal lights, representing the defendant. Judge Houck then pronounced sentence. In connection with this case, the District Attorney's office highly commended the Schuylkill Haven police officers for the splendid manner in which the case had been prepared and handled throughout. It will be remembered that the only clue to the robbery the officers had was the statement by a local resident of having seen someone walking up the railroad with a bundle or box early on the morning of the robbery. With this small bit of information, the officers set out and after scouring the railroad section they came upon small scraps of a post card and some candy on the highway near Connor. Piecing the postcard together they noted the address to whom it was sent. But upon calling at the address in Pottsville, little information was at first obtainable. Considerable additional work was necessary. Neither of the two men suspected could be located in Pottsville. Some of the stolen goods were finally found at the home of one of the men and upon his return to Pottsville, he was picked up and when confronted with the evidence, confessed. The second man was taken several weeks ago but stoutly denied all knowledge of the theft although charged with it by his partner. It required several hours of severe grueling on February 16th before any kind of a confession was obtainable. |
| The Call of July 10, 1931 FIVE PAY FINES FOR TRESPASS In a suit for trespass this week, brought by James Rooney, five men each paid ten dollars and costs after being found guilty by Squire Kline before whom the case was heard, Wednesday of this week. Squire Kline's office had the appearance of a courtroom with many witnesses and others in attendance. The case was one of trespass brought against Wilson Hollenbach, Alvin Messer, James Gallo, Francis Ginter and Constable Michael McKeone. These men were employed by the Buechley Lumber Company to build a shed. The shed, when completed, was carried onto a piece of land in the West Ward, the ownership of which is in dispute. Mr. Rooney claimed he purchased the land from the Reading Company and held a deed for it. The Buechley firm also purchased land from the Reading Company, situated in the West Ward and claimed ownership of the land. The prosecutor was represented by Attorney V. J. Dalton, while Attorney Joseph Moyer represented the defendants who were employed by the Buechley firm. All the defendants furnished bond pending an appeal being taken to court from the decision of the Squire. |
| The Call of August 14, 1931 WOMAN ATTACKED BY FRESH AGENT During the week, a married woman residing on Main Street, Schuylkill Haven, was attacked in her house by a magazine solicitor who forced his way into the home, when the woman answered the knock at the door. After presenting his story about obtaining a certain number of magazines for a specified price, the man deliberately insulted the woman and followed up the insults by an attack. The man was warded off but chased the woman through the home and terrified at his threatening attitude, told him to come back within a half hour. The fellow was back within the half hour but the woman then had all doors and windows securely locked and entrance could not be gained. Friday, there were four men working in Orwigsburg and one of their number, it was expected, would be placed under arrest before the end of the day and brought to Schuylkill Haven for identification by the woman. It so happened that the Schuylkill Haven police, at the time of the attack, were within a short distance of the house. They were not notified until several hours after the attack for the woman had no phone and was fearful to leave her home until the husband returned. |
| The Call of January 15, 1932 ROBBER TAKES CASH IN TWO HOMES Two robberies have been reported during the week to the police of Schuylkill Haven and every evidence points to the one and same thief operating at both houses. Two places were entered and ransacked from top to bottom but the only article taken was money. At the William Bolton home on Union Street several dollars in change was picked up ands at the Miles Crossley home on Stanton Street, $4.35 was taken. It is believed cash money is all that the thief is after, for at the Crossley home, three rings valued at $1,000, were pushed aside in order to obtain the cash. Several coins of ancient coinage were not taken as the thief, perhaps, well knew that to exchange them would result in his arrest. The thief takes every precaution. Bolton property, all the shades on both the first and second floors were drawn. In order to accomplish this, several plants had to be removed from the window sill. Drawers in the dining room and upstairs rooms were pulled open and ransacked. The contents however were again returned and the drawers closed. However, some edges of articles were left protruding and this fact and that of the blinds having been drawn led to the immediate discovery that the home had been visited, promptly upon the return of the members of the Bolton family. Similar conditions were discovered at the Crossley home and in both cases the families declare all doors had been securely locked. No evidence can be found of any windows being forced, therefore, it is believed a skeleton or master key is being used. In two other parts of town come reports of a prowler in the neighborhood. At one home was left evidence of numerous burned matches on the porch. At another place, the thief happened to be disturbed and beat it across the back fence. At the Bolton home, a neighbor noticed an auto stop and a man get out and walk up the street and later return and drive away. The general public is asked to cooperate with the police in immediately notifying them of any strange characters loitering in the neighborhood and also to immediately get in touch with the department in the event they find their home has been visited, ransacked or robbed. |
| The Call of June 9, 1933 ALLEGED CRUEL CHILD TREATMENT Pleading guilty to the charge of disorderly conduct, Mr. and Mrs. Wellington Reed of Penn Street, were Tuesday evening before Squire Klahr, fined the sum of one dollar and costs. The charges of assault and battery upon their three year old daughter was withdrawn. The case was the result of complaint having been made by neighbors and persons visiting in the neighborhood to the Police Department. Burgess Scott preferred the charges. Miss McCaffery of the Child Welfare Association, of Pottsville, was present at the hearing. A number of neighbors who promised to testify were also present at the hearing. Upon Mr. and Mrs. Reed pleading guilty after the charge was read, no evidence was taken. The second charge was then withdrawn. Neighbors, on Sunday, called Officer Deibert to investigate alleged cruel treatment to the three year old child. t was made that the child's hands were tied behind her back and the child tied to a radiator. When Officer Deibert arrived he found the child was crying but was not tied. Deep marks on the arms were in evidence, however, and supposedly were made by the rope or cord or whatever was used to tie the hands behind the back. Misconduct on the part of the child was given by the mother as the reason for this method of chastisement. Miss McCaffery, however, warned the parents that the organization she represents would take the matter in charge if there were any more reports along this line. |
| The Call of February 2, 1934 POLICE RAID PLACE FOR GAMBLING AND FIND SIXTEEN ON HAND The Theodore Umbenhauer place of business on Columbia Street was raided on Sunday evening by the Schuylkill Haven police, on the complaint of parents and other persons that gambling was being followed. On the charge of setting up and maintaining devices, to which Umbenhauer pleaded guilty, he was fined $14.00 and costs. The charges were brought by Burgess Scott and were heard before Squire Klahr about 12:30 o'clock, Monday morning. The most serious charge against Umbenhauer was in fact a double charge, namely that of selling beer without a license and also of selling on Sunday, was presented by County Detective Ferns. At the hearing before Squire Klahr, Umbenhauer was held under bail for appearance at court. At the hearing, a number of frequenters of the Umbenhauer place testified they had purchased beer on Sunday. District Attorney Enterline announced during the week, that the double charge of selling beer without a license and selling on Sunday, was the first of its kind to be preferred in Schuylkill County. The raid took place about 9:30 o'clock and was the direct result of a number of complaints received by the Burgess from parents and other persons regarding large sums of money that were lost in the gambling at the Umbenhauer place of business. The gambling room is on the second floor of a small frame building on Columbia Street, between Charles and saint James Streets. The first floor room is used as a store, connected with the first floor storeroom and communicating to the gambling room was an ingenious electric signal system intended to warn of the appearance of officers. Police Chief Deibert and Officers Bubeck and Singer visited the place and found fifteen men and boys and the proprietor in the second story room playing cards at a number of tables. In this same room was found a bar and beer on tap. In another rear room on the second floor was found a half barrel of beer. The entire party was taken to the town hall in the bus of Charles Faust. The name of each person was taken and all were ordered to report for a hearing at Squire Klahr's at 12:30 o'clock on Monday morning. Officer Bashore was kept at the Umbenhauer place and County Detectives were called and Detectives Buono and ferns soon put in an appearance and ordered all of the bar fixtures and other equipment used in connection with the sale of beer taken to the town hall. In addition, two slot machines were lifted by the local authorities and removed to the town hall. |
| The Call of April 6, 1934 ARRESTED FOR SELLING WITHOUT LICENSE Charles Geschwindt was placed under arrest, Sunday evening, by local officers for operating a speakeasy, saloon, or what not, on Garfield Avenue without a license. The raid was engineered by Officers Deibert, Singer and Bashore, and apparently was complete in every detail for the amount of goods, wet and dry, was sufficient to require a large auto truck to move it to town hall. There were four and one half barrels of wine, about two hundred gallons together with thirteen cases of home brew, brought into the town hall. One of the barrels had the bung knocked out of it and on Monday morning, and for some time during the week, the entire building had the odor of a combined brewery and saloon. Twenty six cases of empty bottles were also brought in and stored in the basement. Charges were preferred by the District Attorney's office for selling intoxicating liquor on Sunday and for selling without a license. Squire Kline held Geschwindt on bail for appearance in court. This is the second place raided in Schuylkill Haven within a short period on the charges of operating and selling illegally. As the report of the state Liquor Board shows only five places in Schuylkill Haven are operating with licenses, and as there are known to be other saloons or combination saloons or restaurants in operation here, additional raids and arrests through the District Attorney's office and state authorities can be expected any day or night. |
| The Call of April 13, 1934 CAUGHT PROWLER IN THEIR CELLAR Early last Friday morning, Mr. and Mrs. L. J. Mauer of Hickory and Coal Streets, Schuylkill Haven, were awakened about one o'clock by an unusual noise in the cellar of their home. Upon hasty investigation, there was unmistakable evidence of a prowler in the cellar. Armed with a revolver, Mrs. Maurer opened the cellar door and was about to go down into the same when her husband detained her. A command was then given to the unknown marauder or marauders to come out or be shot. Without much hesitancy, a form came into view and was covered. The local police were summoned and took charge of the matter. Friday, shortly before noon, before Squire Kline, Paul Bensinger of East Liberty Street admitted being guilty to breaking and entering, but claimed he must have done so not knowing what he was doing. To the police, he admitted being the person they have been looking for, for some time, on complaints of prowling about in yards, on porches, etc. Sentence was suspended and the charges referred to court, as Bensinger was out on parole following his conviction in connection with the wire thefts of some years ago, also the theft of Salvation Army boxes here, two years ago. |
| The Call of June 8, 1934 FIENDISH ATTACK ON EIGHT YEAR OLD GIRL On the charge of assault and battery, rape and sodomy, Fred Holzer of North Manheim Township, residing in the Schuylkill Mountain valley, was committed to jail without bail by Squire Kline, Wednesday evening, following a hearing of the charges preferred by the local authorities. The victim was an eight year old girl, also a resident of North Manheim Township. Holzer gave his age as fifty years old and unmarried. The attack, one of the most brazen, fiendish and horrible in local police records, was perpetrated on Wednesday afternoon about four o'clock. The child was returning from a store in Schuylkill Haven where she had gone on an errand for her mother. Halfway up the Schuylkill mountain Road, and walking along unsuspecting the intent of Holzer, she noticed him seated on the fence railing a short distance ahead of her. Just as she passed him, Holzer grabbed her by the arm and dragged her over the bank, which is rather steep at that point. Marks on the girls neck indicate that he attempted to stifle her outcries by a brutal hand. The girl must also have been struck viciously in the eye and across the face, for within an hour after the attack, the girl's right eye was swollen almost even with her nose. Two large lumps were on her forehead. Her legs were badly scratched from the brush through which she was dragged. The child's clothing was almost in tatters when she reached home. The parents of the girl were horrified when she stumbled into the home and it was with some difficulty at first that a coherent story could be gained from the child's lips. She suffered greatly from fright. The parents hurried the child to a local physician, who, upon examination found the child had been fiendishly attacked and may have been internally injured. The physician gained the confidence of the child and obtained a number of details of the horrible crime. The parents then took the child to the local authorities and a further story of the crime with more harrowing details was learned. Officer Deibert was quickly sent to the man's home, where he promptly placed him under arrest without much ceremony. Holzer denied all knowledge of the crime. He was brought to the squire's office where the girl readily identified him as her attacker. |
| The Call of July 20,1934 LOCAL MAN HELD FOR PASSING COUNTERFEIT MONEY Ernest Ruzzoti of Schuylkill Haven, stepson of Gabul Luongo, Saint John Street, and Robert Romeo Mosca of New York City, recent orchestra leader at Farm View outside of Cressona, were held under heavy bail Thursday for a hearing in Federal Court on the charge of issuing counterfeit ten dollar bills. Bail in the sum of $7500 was fixed for Ruzzoti while the bail for Mosca was fixed at $2000, Thursday afternoon at the hearing before U. S. Commissioner Reese in Tamaqua. The charges were preferred by Norwood Green, a United States Secret Service employee out of the Philadelphia District. Suspicion on Ruzzoti was first directed against him when he made an effort recently, to pass a ten dollar bill at White City Park. The cashier however, refused to accept the counterfeit bill. The Secret Service Department was notified and an investigator was sent to Schuylkill Haven on Tuesday. Ruzzoti was visited by the investigator, Burgess Scott and Officer Bubeck and said the ten dollar bill had been given him by his stepfather and was taken from the cash register. He was taken to Pottsville, where an employee of a shoe shine shop identified him as being the man who passed a counterfeit ten dollar bill on him. A clerk at the Walgreen Drug Store also identified him as being the man who passed a worthless ten on him. Ruzzoti denied all charges. He was held in the Town Hall for further questioning. Wednesday afternoon, on cross examination by Sergeant Reese of the State Police, he admitted the fact that he had received in a letter which he found in the mail box, but that had not been sent through the mail, and which contained ten ten dollar bills. He did not know where they came from. Admitted he passed three of them and that he destroyed the others. Information was also presented to the effect that Ruzzoti was on a ten year parole from Jacksons Prison, Michigan on the charge of robbery. Mosca, upon cross examination, stated he had only met Ruzzoti a week ago and had been with him on each occasion when he passed the counterfeit bills but that he did not know the same were counterfeit. Ruzzoti was also identified by a Tamaqua man as having passed a counterfeit bill on him. Due to reports concerning counterfeit bills being passed in various parts of the county, state Police are detaining him in Tamaqua. Thursday afternoon, following the first hearing given Ruzzoti, another one was held at which time Nicholas Ballet of Tamaqua preferred a charge of passing counterfeit ten dollar bill on him and Ruzzoti's bail was increased by $5000, making the total bail $12, 500. |
| The Call of August 7, 1934 HIGHWAY PATROL RECOVERS MANY STOLEN AUTOS Sixty five stolen automobiles were, within the past week or ten days, recovered by State Highway patrolmen from this locality. A string of automobile thieves, it is thought, has been broken up by the arrest of Samuel Stramara, proprietor of Sammy's Graveyard, outside of Schuylkill Haven. Frank Stramara, operator of Sammy's Garage at Hometown, Arthur Meitzler of Schuylkill Haven and Frank Callelo of Freeland. Evidence may be produced to connect this quartet with the theft of at least seventy five or more cars. All are being held under bail for presentation of the evidence to the Court through the proper channels. During the week, a big section of the William's Garage, Schuylkill Haven, was required to house the many autos that were removed by patrolmen. Many of the cars were practically new ones while others were used but a short time. The ring operated under an especially good scheme; in most instances through the purchase of a wrecked car of the same style and year as the one stolen. Plates of the wrecked cars were then placed upon the stolen ones. Title having been obtained by the purchase of the wrecked car, it was easy to give title to the stolen car. It is understood exorbitant prices were paid by the ring to owners of wrecked cars, regardless of their condition. Machines were stolen from all parts of the county and nearby counties. The discovery of the operations by this particular group came as the result of the arrest of Callelo of Freeland. The investigation thus begun gave evidence of producing so much information concerning auto thefts that the state patrolmen from several sectors were called in. Directed by Sergeant Graeff and Lieutenant Ehly, a large number of the troopers combed a wide area, Friday night last, Saturday and Sunday, and by Monday had produced such a mass of evidence as well as recovered such a large number of stolen cars, that the mere announcement of the facts has astounded the general public to a greater degree than any similar event of this nature for some time. The outcome is awaited with great interest and there is much conjecture as to just how heavy a sentence can be imposed by reason of the number of cases with which it is expected the men will be implicated in. |
| The Call of October 5, 1934 WAS PLACED UNDER $10,000 BAIL Sam Stramara, operator of Sammy's Auto Graveyard, near Schuylkill Haven, has been placed under $10,000 bail on several charges of violation of State motor laws. The charges have been preferred by Sergeant Graeff of the Schuylkill Haven detail of the Highway Patrol. The hearing was held before Squire W. C. Kline Monday evening. Stramara denied his guilt on each charge but evidence presented by the patrolmen was sufficient to have the Squire hold him for hearing at court. The charges preferred were the outgrowth of arrests made by the Highway Patrol several weeks ago, as a result of the operations of a ring of automobile thieves, said to have been composed of Stramara, his brother and A. E. Meitzler. Between sixty five and seventy autos were recovered by the police. Before Squire Kline on Monday evening, Stramara was charged with receiving stolen goods, removing serial and engine numbers without a license, having in his possession autos with altered or removed serial numbers, passing certificate of title and selling or offering for sale vehicles with engine numbers removed or altered. |
| The Call of October 5, 1934 LOCAL MAN SENTENCED TO SERVE THREE TO SIX YEARS On the charge of larceny of automobiles, A. E. Meitzler of Schuylkill Haven was, the fore part of the week, sentenced to serve three to six years on his plea of guilty to the charge in the Lehigh County Courts at Allentown. The charges were preferred by the Highway Patrol and are a part of the mixup that Meitzler and Sammy Stramara, also of Schuylkill Haven found themselves in as the result of allegedly operating an auto stealing racket. |
| The Call of November 2, 1934 JURY FINDS TRUE BILLS AGAINST STRAMARA The November Grand Jury found true bills against Sammy Stramara of Sammy's Auto Graveyard, near Schuylkill Haven, the fore part of the week. He was indicted on twenty seven counts involving five separate and distinct charges, namely: fourteen separate charges of receiving stolen goods, seven charges of removing or transferring numbers on motor vehicles, two charges of passing title certificates of stolen cars or motor vehicles, three charges of possessing motor vehicles with numbers altered, one charge of offering numbers altered and one charge of offering numbers. Sammy set the high mark in Schuylkill County Courts thus far for having had returned against him the largest number of counts by the Grand Jury. There are forty four additional charges to be presented against him., either to the present Grand Jury or that of January. The charges are similar to those already presented against him. |
| Pottsville Journal of December 31, 1930 SCHUYLKILL HAVEN MILL ENTERED BY BURGLARS Some time during the night, burglars invaded the Thomas Knitting Mill at Schuylkill Haven and rummaged around in the boxes of merchandise, tearing open boxes and scattering the contents. No particular damage was done and the safe was not touched. E. L. Thomas, the owner, said that a careful check would be necessary to ascertain if any merchandise was stolen. Chief of Police Deibert, of Schuylkill Haven, is investigating and has several clues. The burglars, believed to be amateurs, entered the mill by breaking a basement window. The mill is near the Reading Railroad tracks. |
| Pottsville Journal of January 10, 1931 CHIEF DEIBERT NABS FOUR FOR MANY THEFTS - Series Of Robberies Occurring Since October Solved At Schuylkill Haven - Confessions Are Filed A band of thieves that has been raiding the premises of farmers in the vicinity of Black Horse was arrested yesterday by Chief of Police of Schuylkill Haven, Frank Deibert, following some quiet work over a period of several weeks. The young men placed under arrest were Robert Bernheisel, Charles Hain, Howard Bernheisel and George Koperna, all of Wayne Township. They were given a hearing before Squire Kline last evening when pleas of guilty were entered by each of the four following which they were held without bail for court and lodged in the county jail. Chief Deibert, being apprised of the robberies, which dated back to early October, had these men under surveillance for some time. On Friday morning Robert Bernheisel was picked up on suspicion when he came to Schuylkill Haven to make a purchase at a local store. After some questioning he admitted some thefts. Charles Hain, also in town with Bernheisel, was found shortly after the latter was detained. Hain, being confronted with the confession of Bernheisel, admitted other thefts and implicated Howard Bernheisel and Koperna. The latter two were arrested around noon and all lodged in town hall. The band admitted to stealing pigs, ducks, chickens, turkeys, potatoes, apples, and about a thousand heads of cabbage over a period of more than three months. The stolen goods is estimated to have had a value of around $300. It is alleged that the goods were sold to a man in Minersville. The last theft occurred in the night of January 6th from the farm of henry Schwartz of Washington Township. Other farmers robbed included George, Morgan and Frank Zerbey of Washington Township; John Barr of North Manheim Township; Theodore Reber, Allen Marburger, Charles Luckenbill, Mrs. Harry Deitrich, William Krammes, George Wildermuth and Ed Bernheisel all of Wayne Township. Following the hearing last evening other residents of the vicinity appeared to enter charges against the quartet but the hearing had been concluded on the evidence presented and the acceptance of the confession which Chief Deibert had secured from the men earlier in the day. Chief Deibert was assisted by Corporal Graeff of the Highway Patrol, Officer Bubeck of Schuylkill Haven, and Private John McDevitt of the State Police barracks in Tamaqua, the latter appearing as the prosecutor in the case. |
| Pottsville Journal of June 23, 1930 E. B. MOYER ASKS PAROLE Elmer B. Moyer, of Schuylkill Haven, who has served five months and twenty days of a sentence of from two to six years for embezzlement of $1,321 from the State Bank of Schuylkill Haven, was before Judge Hicks for a parole hearing today. Among the witnesses who testified in his behalf were the Reverend John L. Heister, of Schuylkill Haven, who gave him an excellent character, and Isaac Plaster, a garage owner of Lebanon for whom Moyer worked for several months following his arrest. Plaster says he has employment for Moyer and will be glad to give him a position as a substation operator. John W. Barrett, a representative of the State Banking Department, appeared in opposition to the parole and stated that the department was of the opinion that Moyer should at least serve his minimum sentence of two years. Since his arrest at which time he earned a salary of $100 per month in the bank, and paid $28 per month of this sum for rent, his wife has been supporting herself and two children by working in a factory in Schuylkill Haven. Judge Hicks reversed decision. V. J. Dalton represented Moyer, who had entered a plea of guilty at the time he was arraigned in court. James J. Gallagher, of the District Attorney's office, also opposed the parole. |
| Pottsville Journal of October 4, 1930 THREE CARS ARE STOLEN AND THEN ABANDONED Three motor vehicles were stolen and later abandoned in this section last night by thieves and authorities are now attempting to link the thefts with the robbery at Price's Jewelry Store in Schuylkill Haven early yesterday. At seven o'clock last night, Arthur Morton, of Blackwood, reported his coupe had been stolen from New Minersville. Two hours later, Schuylkill Haven police located the car in that town. Then a call was received from Charles Snayberger, of Center Avenue, that he confronted a prowler near his garage. Displaying a revolver, the intruder effected his escape. Schuylkill Haven police responded and while searching that neighborhood, learned that an attempt had been made to steal George Fisher's car. The garage had been broken into but the car was locked. Ira Imboden, who lives near Fisher, discovered his coupe had been stolen. At midnight, the Imboden car was found abandoned at Orwigsburg. Thieves apparently tried to steal two other cars from garages in Orwigsburg but were unsuccessful. But Nevin Wuchter's butcher truck was missing. This vehicle was found abandoned this morning in Hamburg. Schuylkill Haven police report that the trays of the Price Jewelry Store were found by the road side seven miles east of that town on the Reading Pike. By smashing a window in the store early yesterday, robbers secured $450 in jewelry and tossed out the trays while fleeing toward Reading. The car stealing epidemic was not believed to have been staged by the jewel robbers according to Schuylkill Haven authorities. However, some think the men may have doubled on their tracks, being bold enough to return to Schuylkill Haven last night and got away with automobiles. |
| The Call of May 23, 1930 FIND TOWN GOOD PLACE TO BEG Authorities in Schuylkill Haven are making an effort to put a stop to the frequent and annoying begging done by men on various pretexts and excuses. One of the reasons for Schuylkill Haven being visited by so many of this type person was learned during the week when the burgess asked one of the men placed under arrest a few pointed questions. The burgess was told that Schuylkill Haven was considered a splendid town in which to beg, that the people are very generous, either in giving money or food, or in buying various articles. He also stated the town was the best between Wilkes Barre and Philadelphia for begging. When pressed as to what section of the town was best in which to beg, the fellow pointed in the direction of the upper end of Main Street and Fairmount. Burgess Scott and Officer Deibert ask The Call to ask the general public to help them break up the nuisance. This can only be done by informing the officers of the presence of beggars when they are in town. Do not wait until a few hours or a day or two after your home has been visited. Call either the burgess or Officer Deibert immediately so that they can get on their trail immediately. Six were arrested for begging recently. Four were ordered out upon promise to remain out of town. One was left go because he was ill. One was sent up for ten days. This same fellow who was sent up and about whom there had been many complaints, attacked Officer Deibert while he was in the cell in town hall and was about to lock up his buddy. Officer Deibert overpowered the fellow. |
| The Call of June 27, 1930 FOUR SCHUYLKILL HAVEN PLACES RAIDED THIS WEEK Prohibition agents made four raids in Schuylkill Haven this week. Places visited were Benjamin Luckenbill, of Dock Street, where a pint of whiskey was procured; Andrew Rizzardi, of corner of Coal and Dock Streets, where there was confiscated two half barrels of beer and a pint of whiskey; Gus Menas Pool Room on Main Street, where a pint of whiskey was taken and Ed Willard, of Main Street, where one and one half pints of whiskey was taken. The proprietors will be required to appear before Commissioner Reese of Tamaqua to answer the charges. |
| The Call of July 18, 1930 CHARGED WITH SERIOUS DRIVING OFFENSE Harry Fox, of Paxson Avenue, was hailed before Squire Kline by Officer Ditchfield of the Highway Patrol on the charge of operating an auto while under the influence of liquor. He was held for appearance at court on $500 bail. His companion who also was under the influence of drink, was locked in the town hall overnight. Fox was driving on the wrong side of the road and is said to have left the road and smashed up against a tree in a wheat field. He sustained some injuries and it was believed he cracked one of his ribs. |
| The Call of January 30, 1931 BROKE WINDOW IN CHURCH TO PLAY BASKETBALL In order to gain entrance to the gymnasium of the Strunck Memorial Hall at Schuylkill Haven, a window was smashed by one of the boys, who crawled through it and admitted forty or more boys. After playing basketball, other games and having a general good and rough time of it, the kitchen adjoining was visited. Here their mischievousness led them to some nasty and dirty pranks such as putting cigarette butts in the sugar bowls and mixing things in general. Just when a general good time was being enjoyed, the janitress, Mrs. Reber, arrived and ousted all. Names were procured but local authorities can not enter prosecution unless the church board so orders. |
| The Call of January 30, 1931 ADMITTED ROBBERY OF LOCAL MILL Pete Kerezsi, of Peacock Street in Pottsville, was paced under arrest by the Pottsville police upon return to his home after an absence of several weeks. The charge preferred against him was burglary at the Thomas Knitting Mill at Schuylkill Haven. The hearing before Squire Kline resulted in his pleading guilty but blaming the major portion of the theft on his pals, who also have been known to the local police for some time and whose arrest may follow most any day. Kerezsi was sent to jail to await court's sentence. |
| The Call of February 20, 1931 SECOND MAN HELD FOR LOCAL ROBBERY Mike Whelsky, 19, of Pottsville, was placed under arrest on Monday in Pottsville, and before Squire Kline was charged with breaking and entering and burglary at the Thomas Knitting Mill on December 30th. He was committed to jail for trial at court. His partner in the burglary was caught several weeks ago by the local police and admitted the theft when confronted with the evidence of stolen property found in his home. He too is awaiting trial at court. He implicated Whelsky in the crime. The latter, however, stoutly denied having had anything to do with the theft. For more than two hours he was given a severe grueling and cross examination in the mayor's office by the local police and Chief of Police Dewald of Pottsville. It is believed he and his partner can be connected with a number of crimes in Pottsville and vicinity but nevertheless he denied all knowledge of any of them and protested his innocence of the Thomas Mill robbery. |
| The Call of October 9, 1931 FINED FOR DISTRIBUTING HAND BILLS For the promiscuous distributing of hand bills and circulars in Schuylkill Haven, one Joseph Pothering of Mount Laffee, was arrested by Schuylkill Haven police this week, paid a fine of five dollars and costs of $4.75. A number of other persons in the act of distributing circulars were warned about the manner of said distribution and one or two other persons were compelled to go over the portions of the town which they had covered and pick up those on the porches, in yards, hedge and on pavement. The borough ordinance permits distribution of circulars when placed securely in the mail boxes or underneath the door of the home. |
| The Call of October 9, 1931 COMMITTED FOR ROBBERY At a hearing before Squire Kline on Thursday morning, Miles Ney, 28, and John Whitman, both of Schuylkill Haven, were committed to jail on the charges of larceny and forcible entry, brought by Mrs. Davenport. Following their commitment, Mrs. Davenport changed her mind in the matter and requested that the charges be withdrawn. This course will have to be taken through the district attorney's office, and it is expected the release of the two men will be obtained. The two were placed under arrest by Officers Deibert and Singer on the mountainside to the rear of Eaton Street, when residents of that section complained men were loitering there. Constable Shappel, of North Manheim Township, had been notified that two men had been seen entering and leaving the Davenport bungalow at Willow Lake. The men were noticed walking along with a porch swing and some blankets. They admitted their guilt. The Davenport bungalow has been broken into several times and much of the furnishings stolen and destroyed, but no trace was ever obtained of the guilty persons. |
| The Call of October 16, 1931 FAKE TREE AGENT ARRESTED During February of this year, a number of local persons were induced to place an order for trees and shrubbery by a smooth talking salesman. They were also induced to pay part cash for the amount of the order. Payments of sums ranging from $2.50 to $20.00 were made and at least a dozen Schuylkill Haven persons were victimized. Shortly thereafter, it was learned from that particular nursery company whose order blanks had been used, that the man was no longer in their employ. Monday of this week, however, one of the victims noticed a man about town who bore every resemblance to the tree salesman. Police Chief Deibert was notified and spotted the man, placed him under arrest, and confined him in the Town Hall cell room. To Burgess Scott and Officer Deibert, on Tuesday, he confessed his guilt and he was given a hearing before Squire Kline, Tuesday noon, on the charge of accepting money under false pretense. He plead guilty to the charge and was remanded to jail to await action by the court. The fellow operated under several names: Bowers, Dible and Shoener. At first he denied all knowledge of the charges and maintained he had never been in town before. He finally admitted his guilt and also admitted that he had been playing the game for some time. Recently, however, he had discontinued this tree and shrubbery order taking and in Schuylkill Haven was soliciting scissors to be sharpened. |
| The Call of October 30, 1931 POLICE RECOVER VALUABLE WATCH Wednesday evening of last week, one William Pronick of Shamokin was a night lodger at the home of Mrs. Teter on Dock Street. The next day, another boarder, Jay Hoffman, found he was short a pair of trousers, also a watch valued at $105. The matter was taken up with the Schuylkill Haven police. Tuesday Police Chief Deibert and Officer Bashore motored to Shamokin and returned with Pronick, he having been picked up in Shamokin and the local police notified. He was brought back to Schuylkill Haven on Tuesday and at a hearing before Squire Kline on Wednesday was held for court. Hoffman did not get his trousers back as the man had given them away but of more concern was the watch and this was returned to Hoffman. Pronick had been about town selling shoestrings, lead pencils, needles, thread, etc., last week. His movements were traced by the local authorities, his home town learned and the Shamokin authorities informed to be on the watch for him. Fortunately, the man had not sold or pawned the watch. |
| The Call of November 6, 1931 LOCAL BARBER FRUSTRATES HOLDUP Harry Eiler, Spring Garden barber, frustrated an attempt at robbery late on Saturday evening just before he was ready to lock up his shop for the night. Mr. Eiler happened to be standing before a mirror and shaving himself when he heard someone say, "Stick 'em up!" He thought it was some masquerader and he paid no attention. Again came the command, "Stick 'em up!" and glancing into the mirror saw a figure wearing a mask and holding a revolver in his hand. Mr. Eiler wheeled quickly about with upraised razor in his hand. The would be bandit was as much surprised as was Mr. Eiler and made a hasty retreat. For a time, however, Mr. Eiler was uncertain about venturing outside, fearing he might be lying in wait. A friend happened by and he was summoned but no trace of the would be hold up man could be found. |
| Harrisburg Telegraph of December 31, 1932 ALLEGED CHICKEN THIEVES ARE SHOT Two men were shot and a third was captured early today, police said, as they were caught stealing chickens in Schuylkill Haven. Charles Bitzer and George Heffner, both of Schuylkill Haven, were wounded in the legs by buckshot fired by a man whose identity is not known. Police said Francis Hemerly of Schuylkill Haven was caught as he sat in an automobile nearby. Pottsville police, the first notified of the shooting, told Chief of Police Deibert of Schuylkill Haven. Deibert is trying to learn who fired the shots. |
| The Call of July 24, 1931 POLICE CALLED TO GET ROBBERS During the heavy electrical storm of Tuesday evening, Officers Bubeck and Deibert were called to Hess Street by Hess Street people who were sure robbers were at work at a neighboring home. The storm had temporarily put out the electric lights in that section. Distinctly could be seen the circle of light made by a flashlight from one part of the house to another. Robbers was the first thought. The officers found that the house was occupied by youngsters whose parents were away, and they, rather than while away their time in the darkness, procured the family flashlight to get about the house. Both officers were soaked to the skin as they responded during the heaviest downpour. |
| The Call of September 23, 1932 HELD FOR STEALING VEGETABLES Charles Coller of Schuylkill Haven was held under $300 bail for appearance at court to answer the charge of larceny preferred against him by Harry Loy and Harry Fenstermacher. The hearing was held before Squire Kline. Coller was caught during the day in the act of stealing vegetables from a truck farm of Harry Loy near the Lehigh Valley Railroad bridge. Truck and vegetables in large quantities have been disappearing from both the truck farms of Loy and Fenstermacher and a watch was set up with the above results. |
| The Call of September 23, 1932 SOME DOG OWNERS SENT TO JAIL Several owners of dogs in Schuylkill Haven spent fives days in jail during the week rather than pay the fine for failure to purchase a dog license. However, after spending the five days in jail, a license must be purchased anyway, otherwise the owner will again be arrested and be subject to a higher fine. The drive on having all dogs licensed was made during the week by a representative of the State Agricultural Department, Mr. Parr. He made a visit to different parts of town and found a number of dogs without license tags. Making further investigation, he had the owners placed under arrest. Hearings before Squire Kline during the week were of a large number. In each case the owner was required to pay the fine of five dollars and costs and also to procure a dog license. With the activity of Agent Parr in Schuylkill Haven and Cressona, business in the Tax Department of the treasurer's office in the courthouse increased. In fact, the pick up in business was so marked that it attracted the attention of the clerks. Inquiry as to the cause was answered in various ways but the truth finally leaked out that an agent of the department was in this locality. Agent Parr intends making another visit to Schuylkill Haven in the very near future and will make a more thorough inspection of all parts of the town. |
| The Call of November 4, 1932 STOLE SEVENTY GALLONS OF GASOLINE A case of attempted larceny before Squire Kline, brought by the owner of a gas filling station located near Schuylkill Haven, against a party from Conshohocken, resulted in guilt being admitted. The case was settled by payment of sufficient to cover seventy gallons of gas and the costs. The owner of the station caught the man in the act of carrying two five gallon cans to the filling station. The man had been missing gas all along. When confronted with the charge that he had stolen this amount of gas, it was admitted. |
| The Call of January 13, 1933 JACK THE HUGGER GIVEN SIXTY DAYS IN JAIL Paul Ditzler was sentenced on Monday to sixty days in jail by Judge Houck on his pleading guilty to having portrayed to perfection the role of "Jack the Hugger" in Cressona and Schuylkill Haven. His sentence followed within 48 hours after he had been arrested by Police Chief Deibert on the old baseball diamond in Schuylkill Haven. He was placed in the Town Hall and kept there until Monday morning, when he was taken before Squire Kline and the charges of indecent exposure and disorderly conduct were preferred against him. The man gave as his residence a half dozen or more towns. He was committed to the Berks County jail on November 14th by Justice of the Peace Gordon of Hamburg, on a similar charge, namely indecent and disorderly conduct. He was released on December 13th. Last week he had been in Cressona and on several evenings had offended young girls and women in that town. The first report of his activities in Schuylkill Haven was received on Friday evening, about 8:30 o'clock, by the local police, he having approached three young girls in the vicinity of the South Ward school building. Another complaint was later received by the local police from three married women of Schuylkill Haven, who had been insulted Wednesday evening, January 4th, on Union Street between Saint John and Saint Peter Streets about 7:45 o'clock. A description was given by these women folks and, Saturday morning, a man answering his description was noticed loitering on the baseball diamond. When approached by Officer Deibert and confronted with the charges, he admitted his guilt. |
| The Call of February 10, 1933 ARRESTED ON BIGAMY CHARGE Irvin Dixon, of Pottsville, in default of bail was committed to the county jail on the charge of bigamy, falsifying marriage application and adultery. Dixon was married in Schuylkill Haven by Reverend E. B. Messner on November 16th in 1932. He married Miss Mary Karpinecz. His first marriage was to Florence Stein in 1922. The discovery of the bigamist was brought about when Dixon was arrested on a non support charge by his first wife. |
| The Call of January 12, 1934 NOT GUILTY OF STEALING POTATOES After demurring from the evidence and raising a question of law, Attorney Vincent J. Dalton, representing five defendants from Saint Clair on larceny charges, succeeded in having his clients adjudged not guilty of the charges, by Judge Houck, last Friday morning. For the first time in the history of Schuylkill County, this issue was raised, in which Attorney Dalton claimed that one partner who was the prosecutor in this case cannot arrest another partner. Judge Houck sustained the demurrer and freed the defendants. The case was that of Arthur Jackson of Pottsville, a Negro, the prosecutor and his partner; Nicholas Miship; also Joseph Mallet, John Sturnak, John Trunitzka and John Ferrorchick, who were hired by Miship, as the defendants. Jackson claimed that he and his partner, Miship, rented a plot of ground in North Manheim Township, across from the Schuylkill County Almshouse. Potatoes were raised on the land but before the crop could be harvested, a constable from Port Carbon levied on the growing crops with a landlord's warrant, to further complicate the matter. The latter partner is then alleged to have hired the other defendants in the case to dig out the potatoes, amounting to 280 bushels. Attorney Dalton argued there can be no charge of larceny as far as Jackson was concerned and if such a charge was to be brought, it should have been brought by the constable as it was from him the potatoes had really been taken after he had made the levy. Attorney J. G. Seesholtz of Tower City represented the prosecutor. |
| The Call of April 27, 1934 THIEF MAKES AWAY WITH SUM OF MONEY A thief, Monday two weeks ago, about one in the morning, entered the home of Roy Trout on William Street and stole a purse containing $32 from a cedar chest in a room on the second floor. The Trout family had gone to Reading at the time and th only person in the home was the mother of Mr. Trout. She was awakened by a noise and saw a thief. She screamed and the thief made off through a rear second story window which opened onto a rear porch. Local authorities have picked up several clues but have as yet not made any arrests. |
| The Call of June 1, 1934 POLICE CHIEF BRAVES SHOTGUN Braving a shotgun in the hands of Bob Dallago, of Broadway, Sunday afternoon, Police Chief Deibert forced him to surrender in the back yard of the Dallago home, where for some time he had been creating a nuisance and threatening to shoot anyone who came within distance. His conduct had attracted quite a large number of people who lined up at a safe distance and watched the affair which had lasted some time before the officers were called. Several charges were preferred against Dallago. The Burgess preferred the charge of disorderly conduct, on which charge he was sent to jail in default of $500 bail. The wife of Dallago preferred the charges of assault and battery and surety and on these charges, in default of $300 bail, the squire committed him. |
| The Call of June 15, 1934 LOCAL MAN CHARGED WITH JURY TAMPERING Constable James A. Sauers of Schuylkill Haven has been charged with tampering with jurors of the June Grand Jury and was served with a warrant by Detective Harvey Smith. He is the fifth defendant to be similarly charged. The information against Sauers was filed by Harry McGoey, a member of the June Grand Jury, who stated that on June 3rd, Sauers came to his home and suggested that he, McGoey, use his influence with other members of the Grand Jury to have a certain case thrown out. Daniel McLaughlin, of Tamaqua, was similarly charged by a Tamaqua juror, as was also former Sheriff Phil Ehrig, special sheriff's deputy Howard Eddinger and Dr. J. J. McDonald, of Tamaqua, dentist. All defendants have been held under $1,000 bail. |
| The Call of June 29, 1934 ONE WEEK $1000 FINE FOR DRUNKEN DRIVER Walter S. Mintz, of South Manheim Township, who was arrested by Schuylkill Haven police for having operated his automobile on the evening of April 23, while under the influence of liquor, was sentenced this week to serve a week in jail and fined $100. The jury, in convicting Mintz, attached to their verdict a recommendation for mercy. He was represented by Attorney G. M. Paxson and Attorney Bechtel, while the Commonwealth was represented by Assistant District Attorneys McGurl and Ryan. Mintz, it will be remembered, crashed into the Hahn truck of William Renninger and continued down Main Street, driving in a reckless manner. His machine stalled on the Main Street crossing, a short time before the Flyer was due. Police and bystanders were enabled to move the car before the train arrived. Officer Deibert then took Mintz to the office of Dr. Albert Fegley, who pronounced him under the influence of liquor. |
| The Call of September 28, 1934 ATTEMPTED BURGLARY AT SCHUYLKILL HAVEN (as recounted from The Journal of August 18, 1873) Saturday morning about one o'clock, a man passing by the store of Robert Jones near the navigation docks at Schuylkill Haven, saw a light shining within. Surprised at so unusual an occurrence, he very properly and thoughtfully went to Mr. Jones and notified him of the circumstances. Mr. Jones, knowing something was wrong, took his revolver and proceeded to the store, where he found and captured two boatman's helpers, William Brady, better known as Toy and John McKinsley. They were taken before Squire Ketner, who committed them to jail. Constable Stitzer brought them to Pottsville on Saturday morning and the walls of the Fort now encompass them about. |
| The Call of May 22, 1936 GIVEN TEN DAYS FOR SLEEPING IN THE STREET Clayton Donton, of Schuylkill Haven RD, was given ten days in jail for his insistence in using the highway near Brommerstown for a place in which to sleep. Donton came near being run over by autoists, who happened along and discovered him sound asleep in the middle of the road near Brommerstown at midnight, Wednesday, May 13th. The Highway Patrol was summoned by the motorists and Donton was placed under arrest and lodged in the Town Hall at Schuylkill Haven. He was given a hearing the next morning before Squire Allan Klahr, on the charge of being drunk and disorderly. |
| The Call of May 29, 1936 FINED FOR DISORDERLY CONDUCT Seven young men of Schuylkill Haven were arrested by the local authorities on the charge of disorderly conduct, the fore part of the week. At a hearing before Squire Singer, each was found guilty and with the costs and fine, a total of five dollars each was paid. It is understood the charge was the result of the boys pulling a rather contemptible trick. They drove their auto to the public dump and gathered in a quantity of rotten oranges and other fruit. This they brought up to town and threw at pedestrians. They also threw some of the fruit against the house on Margaretta Street and badly messed it up. Those in the group were Travis Maberry, Elton Huey, Aaron Dewald, Russel Coover, Joseph Yenosky, Allen Bohrman and Russel Repp. |
| The Call of July 31, 1936 FINED FOR STEALING AUTO RADIATOR CAPS Two Schuylkill Haven boys, William Buddy Brown and James Knarr, were fined and paid the costs on the charge of disorderly conduct as the result of their theft of auto radiator caps and caps for auto gas tanks. The boys removed the tops and caps from autos parked on Liberty, William, Saint John Streets and Parkway, sometime around midnight on Saturday. They took off twenty one radiator caps and a number of the gas tank caps. The hearing was held before Squire Milford Klahr and the charge was preferred by the local police. Owners of cars have been found for all of the caps, excepting three, two radiator caps and one gas tank cap. Owners may have these three caps by proving property to Police Chief Deibert. |
| The Call of August 14, 1936 UNDER $500 BAIL FOR RIPPING OUT WINDOW SCREENS, ETC. For ripping out the window screens, pulling hair, throwing about and damaging clothing, etc., etc., Mrs. Beulah Wertman, of Pottsville, was held under $500 bail for appearance before court, as a result of a hearing held before Squire Allen Klahr. At the hearing there were all kinds of fireworks. The charges against Mrs. Wertman consisted of assault and battery, illegal entering, malicious mischief and surety of the peace. They were preferred by Mrs. Claire Mullins of Dock Street in Schuylkill Haven. Mrs. Wertman is alleged to have entered the home of Mrs. Mullins. The suit was the aftermath of a similar suit preferred against Mrs. Mullins by Mrs. Wertman, before a Pottsville squire in which the bail posted by Mrs. Mullins was $300. |
| The Call of August 14, 1936 ARRESTED FOR DUMPING RUBBISH ON RIVER BANK The first arrest in the campaign of the Schuylkill Haven Board of Health to stop the promiscuous dumping of garbage, rubbish and ashes on the banks of the river, to the rear of Main Street, was made by Health Officer Roan this week. The victim was a woman residing on West Main Street. The fine if $25 which could have been levied under the state law on which the charge was brought, was not placed on the woman by Squire Singer, before whim the case was heard, for the reason that she was told she would be permitted to place her rubbish and garbage over the river bank by the owner of the apartment in which she resides. It is understood the Board of Health will continue vigilant along this line and all future arrests will carry with them the full amount of the fine together with the costs. |
| The Call of September 18, 1936 FAMILY SQUABBLE AGAIN RESUMED Resumption of a family squabble that dates back several months, was had this week, when before Squire Allen Klahr, Bertha Frantz, of Schuylkill Haven, brought suit against her husband, Lewis Frantz, for breaking and entering property and for disorderly conduct. The hearing was held with both litigants being represented by counsel. Mrs. Frantz retained as her attorney, V. J. Dalton, of Schuylkill Haven, while the defendant has as his representative, Attorney Knittle of Pottsville. Frantz was sent to jail for appearance at next term of criminal court. Months ago, Mrs. Frantz occupied the home on Liberty Street in Schuylkill Haven while her husband lived separate and apart from the family. Mrs. Frantz brought suit against her husband for non support of herself and children. The court ordered Frantz to contribute $64 per month for their support. Frantz then discontinued his saloon business and moved to Minersville. Later he came back to Schuylkill Haven and attempted to force his way into the property on Liberty Street and take possession of a bungalow and garage at the rear of the yard which had been maintained as a beer garden. The wife made objections and barricaded the property. Frantz then went into court for an injunction to restrain his wife and son from interfering with his possession of the building. The court granted a preliminary injunction, restraining the wife from interfering. Several days later, however, the injunction was dissolved and dismissed by the court. |
| The Call of September 25, 1936 THIEVES STEAL MANY VEGETABLES FROM GARDEN Thieves of a mean type, stole seventy five heads of cabbage and about five bushels of tomatoes and a large quantity of carrots from the vegetable garden of Joe and George Fidler, the fore part of last week. It has been expected that some trace of the thieves and arrests could be reported this week but no such luck as yet. Monday evening of last week, seventy five heads of cabbage were taken and then, on Wednesday evening, all the carrot plants were pulled out and made off with and the tomatoes stolen. The plot was located on Haven Street near Main Street. Wednesday evening, a neighbor noticed someone with a flashlight moving about in the plot. Mr. Fidler was notified and he came to the plot from his home on East Main Street but th thieves had already made off with the vegetables. As both men worked hard and toiled long hours during the summer and had looked forward to supplying their family and perhaps obtaining a little extra money from the sale of their surplus, their loss is keenly felt and they have the sympathy of their friends. |
| The Call of January 8, 1937 MAY HAVE BEEN ATTEMPT TO ROB MILL What may have been an attempt to rob the Miller Shoe Factory was discovered Saturday evening about eleven thirty o'clock. Attention was called to the fact that at the rear of the mill there was a truck and two men. Police were called at once, but upon their arrival, within a few minutes, there was no sign of the truck or the men. Investigation and examination, however, showed that a large key in the rear door of the mill had been pushed out of the lock. The police made a thorough search and made a check at all factories in town at midnight, another at one o'clock, and again at two o'clock, without finding anything to warrant action. |
| The Call of January 29, 1937 THIEVES VISIT REFOWICH THEATRE Thieves visited the Refowich Theatre Wednesday evening. This time they were not movie actors and had no part in the screen make believe story. They were actual human beings with a purpose none other than to appropriate any monies that were about. Fifteen dollars in change was taken from the ticket machine. Stamps to the value of two dollars were taken from a desk. That is all of value that was stolen, but not the extent of the damage that was wrought. First of all, the ticket machine was smashed and then too, the office safe was damaged. The combination on the same was broken off and the handle, too, was knocked off, in the efforts to open it. After the safe was opened, papers and the contents were hurriedly examined and then strewn over the office floor. A steel cabinet was pried open. The cabinet contains theatre tickets but not a one was stolen. Mr. Epler's heart sank when, when inventorying the loss, he came to his desk and found on top of it the lid to a box containing an electric razor which he kept in a drawer. He felt sure the razor was gone. Imagine his surprise when on opening the drawer, he found the razor secure in its case. The thief or thieves had merely examined it, after opening the box, and forgot to put the lid on again. It was the first time the Refowich Theatre has been visited by thieves. Fortunately, some good clues were left and the police department may very shortly make arrests. The robbery occurred between 12:30 and 7:30 in the morning. This fact is established by reason of the manager being at the theatre until 11:30 p. m. At 12:30 a. m. the film delivery service man visited the theatre and found everything okay. At 7:30 on Thursday morning, upon the arrival of the woman who does the cleaning, the discovery was made. She promptly notified Mr. Epler, who came at once to Schuylkill Haven from his home in Hamburg. Examination showed that one of the exit doors was open, and also that the rear door, entering the stage, had been forced. |
| The Call of February 19, 1937 PAINFULLY BEATEN LAST FRIDAY EVENING John Cooper, of East Main Street, was set upon and painfully and brutally beaten last Friday evening by Robert Fenstermacher and Robert Dietrich, both of Schuylkill Haven. He was left to lie in the middle of the street in an unconscious condition. Had it not been for the neighbors who had been aroused by the fight, who came to his assistance, Cooper might have been run over by passenger autos. Cooper was attacked on his way home about ten o'clock. He was walking alone at the time when the men jumped at him. Cooper thinks there were three men, but could only recall the names of the two. He was badly bruised about the face and body. Suit was brought in the charge of assault and battery, before Squire Singer, who held both men for appearance at court. |
| The Call of March 12, 1937 COAL TRUCKER IS GIVEN THREE MONTHS Leroy Jackson , of Laureldale, Berks County, who was arrested in Kupko's saloon on Dock Street in Schuylkill Haven, on January 12th after he had struck and injured a man on Pottsville Pike, was given three months and a fine of $200 by Judge Houck on Wednesday. Sentence followed the finding of the jury against Jackson on a charge of being a drunken driver. It acquitted him on the charges of assault and battery and being a hit and run driver. Charges were preferred by Patrolmen Labinski. Jackson, while operating a coal truck, forced a bus off the highway and also struck a Minersville man who was walking along the said highway. He continued on, and stopped at the Kupko Hotel, where he was placed under arrest by Officer Bashore. Jackson contended that he was not under the influence of liquor while operating the truck, that he did not hit anyone, and that while in the Kupko saloon, had taken several liquors and had become drunk there. |
| The Call of January 7, 1938 GET YEAR FOR THEFT OF SEWING MACHINES On their plea of guilty, three New York men, arrested on November 6, 1936, by the Schuylkill Haven police, while preparing to haul away sewing machines from the Sharadin Knitting Mill, were given a jail sentence of a year the costs and a $25 fine. The sentence was imposed by Judge Paul. At the May 1937 term of court, the defendants were tried before Judge Palmer and the jury was discharged after they were unable to agree on a verdict. The bail, however, under which they were held, was increased from $2,500 to $5,000 each. Their names were Irving Smith, Samuel Stein and Michael Burke. Smith could not procure bail and he was in jail since May of 1937. He will, therefore, only need to serve several months of the year term. Burke claimed he had no part of the robbery and was picked up in a machine parked on Parkway, some distance from the scene of the robbery. He was left off with a fine of $25 and costs. Stein, therefore, is the only one who has a year term to serve. The case was hard fought and pressed by Burgess Scott and the local officers. It required considerable investigating as the desire had been to learn the identity of the man who prompted the above named trio to come to Schuylkill Haven for the machines. The trio had maintained there was a fourth man implicated. |
| The Call of February 4, 1938 THIEVES TAKE CLOTHING AND FOOD OF WELL KNOWN MAN Thieves, last Friday evening, visited the hut of Ezra Helwig, in the grove back of the First Reformed Church, while the owner was shopping and visiting in town. Upon his return, he found the place had been ransacked from top to bottom and that food had been stolen, also some of his clothing and some knives, forks, etc. Later, a pair of trousers and a coat were found lying in the poor house field nearby. However, he is still short a good coat and several pairs of trousers and other clothing. Mr. Helwig has resided in this grove for the past eleven years. The building, a small one story affair, was originally built as a clubhouse. By reason of his physical condition, he has not been able to do any work for some time. He is dependent almost entirely for his food, clothing, etc., upon the charity of his friends and therefore, feels the loss all the more keenly. |
| The Call of February 11, 1938 STOLEN GOODS OF LOCAL PEOPLE RECOVERED A quantity of the household goods stolen recently from the summer homes of Schuylkill Haven people at Deer Lake has been recovered. Thursday, a number of the wives of the homeowners were taken to the homes of the men convicted of the theft. They identified and obtained quite a number of articles such as blankets, pillows, quilts, carpets, etc. In addition to the list of articles that had been recovered last week, two of the five bathing suits taken were on the list, also one of the seven stoves stolen, a tent, some rugs, dishes, silverware, bed clothing and a refrigerator. The stove was found in a Saint Clair home. Since the conviction of the three robbers, it has been learned that an Auburn girl was a member of the party and it is understood was soon to wed one of the party. It is believed they used this method of obtaining or "merely collecting" household goods to go to housekeeping. |
| The Call of March 18. 1938 SCHUYLKILL HAVEN THEATRE CASE IN COURT Thursday, the present operators of the Rio theatre, formerly the Refowich Theatre, in Schuylkill Haven, were on trial before Judge Palmer, charged with forcible entry and detainer and malicious mischief. Charges grew out of the mix up that occurred at the theatre on the night of December 18th, when the new owners took possession of the theatre. After the prosecution had presented its case, the defense demurred on the evidence, and the contention was upheld by the court, which ordered acquittal. In September of 1935, the Refowich Theatre Company leased the theatre, formerly known as the old opera house, from the Schuylkill Haven Trust Company, for a period of a year at a time, with the lease being automatically renewed in 1936, and again allegedly renewed in 1937, for another year at a monthly rental of $100. The defendants, John and Peter Skubish of Birdsboro, Samuel Gross of Philadelphia, John Morgan of New York City, and Harry Sork of Philadelphia, manager of the theatre, deny that they forcibly took possession of the building and claim that they were acting for the owner of the property who purchased the same from the bank and claim that the lease under which the theatre had been operating had not been renewed. Assistant District Attorney Charles W. Staudenmaier represented the Commonwealth, with J. B. McGurl of Minersville and J. L. Stauffer of Schuylkill Haven appearing as the defense counsel. It is understood further litigation will follow upon counter charges by the present lessees on various charges. This is because the theatre was given quite a thorough cleaning out of equipment and furniture, so much so that the annual Christmas morning show for the children had to be postponed and the theatre remained closed for some time. |
| The Call of April 1, 1938 ARRESTED FOR STEALING GASOLINE John Polischeck, formerly of Port Carbon, now of Stowe, and Charles Reynolds of Saint Clair were arrested for stealing gas from a parked car on Centre Avenue, admitted their guilt and will be sentenced today by the court. The two men were discovered on Centre Avenue, early Wednesday morning on March 30th by Carl Loy. Their actions became suspicious as Mr. Loy was putting his auto away. On closer examination he found they were taking gas from a parked car. As soon as he made effort to get their license number, they moved on. Loy followed them and found the truck parked on the Orwigsburg highway. He got the numbers and then came to town and secured Officer Bashore, who placed the two under arrest. Upon weighing their truck, filled with coal, they found it to be 4820 pounds overweight, the total being 17,820 pounds. The car is now stored at the Williams Garage and when the men are released there may be a fine for driving overweight and also rental charges on the truck. |
| The Call of June 17, 1938 THIEVES STEAL FLOWER PLANTS Thieves have been getting in their work in the vicinity of Saint Peter Street and on Union Street and have aroused the ire of housewives, with the result that if any of them are caught, it will go much harder with them than if the law were to take its course through an arrest and prosecution. The dastardly deeds being performed are those of removing from porch or window boxes, growing plants. In some instances, rare plants have been taken. No trace of the thieves has been found, but most women folks will keep a more careful watch on the same. |
| The Call of July 15, 1938 THIEVES TAKE BEST OF BATHING SUITS Thieves, about town, Sunday evening, showed a liking for bathing suits. They also showed they were rather choicy. From a line in the yard of H. A. Reber on Saint Peter Street was taken the white satin bathing suit of Miss Jeane Reber. Others on the line were not touched. Even the clothespins which were used to attach the suit to the line were taken. The theft occurred between eleven in the evening and midnight. From a line in the yard of Charles Ziegler on High Street, was taken an expensive blue silk bathing suit belonging to Mrs. Ziegler. The suit was picked from a group of four, the suits of Mrs. Ziegler's two daughters and the suit of her husband having been on the same line. Window screens from the bay window of the house of Mrs. Amaza Sterner on High Street were also stolen on Sunday evening. Prospect Hill residents claim the above thefts are the first to occur in that section of town for many years. |
| The Call of August 8, 1938 TO JAIL FOR STEALING AUTOMOBILE John Saylor of Parkway and Raymond Sweigert of Fairview Street, both of Schuylkill Haven, are cooling themselves these hot days in the county jail as a result of having appropriated for themselves an auto not belonging to them, and taking a sixty mile auto drive through the nearby country district between midnight and 5:30 Wednesday morning. The two took the auto of Burt Ney of Saint Charles Street and drove to Adamsdale, to Landingville, and then up through the country district, endeavoring to rout out farmers enroute for refreshments, etc. The car was accidentally driven off the road and got mired in a ditch. Both then decided to take several hours sleep. Early in the morning, a farmer came along and helped them out of the ditch. Driving the car down the Schuylkill Mountain Road, they abandoned it on Washington Street, off of South Berne Street. Here the car was found by Officers Deibert and Bubeck, who had been touring the countryside in search of the same for several hours, after the owner had reported the same stolen. The car was not damaged. On the charge of larceny, the two were sent to jail to await the sentence of the court. |
| The Call of September 9, 1938 QUICK WORK ON PART OF POLICE Prompt action on the part of Burgess Scott and Officers Deibert and Bubeck on Labor Day evening, resulted in the landing of an eighteen year old boy in the Town Hall jail, twenty five minutes after he officers were summoned. The Burgess received a telephone call from the gate keeper at the County Almshouse. It was to the effect that a girl had been attacked by an unknown youth. The girl was placed in the car of the Burgess and with the police they started south on the Orwigsburg Highway. A short distance outside of town, the girl recognized the man walking along the highway. He was brought back to the Town Hall. At first he denied the charges and later admitted the same. The girl, Clara Jodeck, 19, of Shenandoah, was returning from her home in Shenandoah to the Hospital for the Insane, where she is employed. The fellow first asked her to carry her suitcase. When refused, he continued to follow her and demanded he be permitted to carry the case. He attempted to hug and kiss her. He grabbed her rather roughly and she broke away and ran screaming toward the gatehouse. The attack took place at the entrance off of the highway. The girl had been thrown to the ground. She was bruised about the face and body but had not been otherwise attacked. Charges of assault and battery with intent to rape were entered before Squire Klahr by Detective Louis Buono. In default of $500 bail, the man, George Shollenberger, 18, of Pinedale, was sent to jail to await a hearing. |
| The Call of November 18, 1938 THIEVES MAKE AWAY WITH CIGARETTES Thursday morning, Cyril White, upon opening his cigar and tobacco store on Main Street, discovered that thieves had forced a rear door and made away with several cartons of cigarettes. The cigarettes, however, was not what the thieves had broken into the place for. They were in search of a box of Liberty head nickels, which Mr. White had been saving for some time. They failed to find the box of nickels, although the place was given a thorough ransacking. Mr. White states its now too late to get the nickels as he banked the entire box of them on Monday morning. |
| The Call of April 28, 1939 YOUNGSTERS MAKE HAUL FROM LOCAL STORES An apparent systematized method of stealing from Schuylkill Haven stores and selling to others the said merchandise, was uncovered recently by one of the instructors in the Cressona schools. The instructor somehow or other had his suspicions aroused when he noticed quite an abundance of various articles being displayed by various students. As the result of his suspicions, he became more attentive and one day noticed a group of boys, when another older one approached them, suddenly disappear behind a building. Later he noticed another youth coming up the railroad and on closer inspection, noticed the boy had his shirt front stuffed out unusually full. Watching carefully, he noticed all kinds of articles being distributed among the boys. The haul was gathered together and brought to the Freeman Department Store in Schuylkill Haven. It consisted of toy wrist watches, wallets, novelty jewelry, chewing gum, pocket knives, locks, tools, etc., etc. A checkup showed some of the merchandise was taken from the Freeman store. Mr. Messner, of Messner and Hess, the new department store, was called in and was able to say definitely that a number of the articles had been taken from his store. Neither one of the local merchants cared to bring prosecution for the thefts thus far. However, it is understood that any further thefts will be followed by arrests and full prosecution. The two Cressona boys said to be involved in the thefts, evidently have established quite a business as "fences." Their wares were much in demand, perhaps because of the fact that the prices at which they were sold were far below the prices asked for the same articles in the various stores. Another evidence of thievery was nipped in the bud recently at the Freeman store when a fifteen year old girl was caught in the act of getting away with a pair of roller skates. |
| The Call of May 19, 1939 THIEVES PAY LOCAL STORE A VISIT The Kimmel grocery store on Centre Avenue in Schuylkill Haven, last week was paid a visit by thieves who made away with fifteen dollars taken from the cash register. Entrance was forced through a screen in a basement window. The screening was cut and the latch lifted and entrance thus gained. Money was the only object evidently, as nothing else but the fifteen dollars taken from the cash register was reported missing. The police have several good clues and may make a surprise visit to certain neighborhoods one of these days. |
| The Call of June 30, 1939 TOWN BOYS SENT TO REFORMATORIES Lester Reed of Garfield Avenue in Schuylkill Haven and Earl Neiswender of Naffin Avenue in Schuylkill Haven were sent to reform schools by Judge Houck last week. Both of them had pleaded guilty to larceny of the automobile of Mrs. Mary E. Michael of 410 Hess Street in Schuylkill Haven. The auto was taken from Willow Lake on June 16th of this year. Judge Houck sent Reed to the Huntingdon Industrial School and Neiswender was sent to the Philadelphia Protectory in Phoenixville. Reed's sentence was left open until the previous charge of larceny of an automobile can be investigated. |