Change Afoot: The Advent of Free Mail Delivery

Posted on June 29, 2010 by SCblogger

As always, June has flown by and July is peeking around the corner.  And, as always, on July 1st, new laws and regulations will be passed across the country.

We found one change that occurred on July 1, 1873, that affected everyday life for citizens within the city limits of Davenport – the day the Davenport branch of the United States Post Office started free mail delivery to homes and businesses.

U.S. Post Office free city mail delivery had actually begun nationally on July 1, 1863 with service in 49 branches within the union (southern states were part of the confederate government, and so were not included). Up to that time, a person could either retrieve their mail for free by going to the post office or pay a private company to deliver mail to a home or business. The free mail delivery experiment was a success and began to be adopted across the country.

The only stipulation the post office department had, prior to 1887, was that the population of the city being served had to be over 20,000 people. Davenport finally reached a population of 20,000 in 1870—reports state 20,038 to be exact. Soon the local postmaster began to work on bringing free delivery to the city;  rural delivery would not be started nationally until the 1890s.

On April 2, 1873 at the Davenport city council meeting Postmaster Edward Russell requested the renumbering of houses and renaming of streets in preparation for July 1st. He had found that streets in newer parts of the city had the same names and house numbers as those in older areas. Russell also asked that longer streets be divided into north, south, east and west to help with delivery. The city council approved these changes. Postmaster Russell also ordered uniforms of gray cloth (by now the standard color for the carriers), leather carrying bags, and 24 additional mail boxes to be added to the nineteen already in use on the streets.

For their part, citizens were being asked to put numbers on their houses to make delivery more efficient. Newspaper articles described how residents needed to address their mail and that postage was now mandatory for mail to be delivered. If mail arrived at the post office without a house number and street, a clerk would look up the person on an address list to assist in delivery.

The city of Davenport was divided into five districts, which were posted in the newspaper. The names of the first five mail carriers were held in secret until the first of July.   District No. 1 carrier was postal clerk Robert Osborne, District No. 2 was served by John D. Tichenor who previously served as a janitor at the court house, District No. 3 was the route of former shoemaker Jacob Felger, District No. 4 was covered by former mason Samuel Hoffman, and District No. 5 had William Preston, a former grocer. According to the census of 1870, all the men were in their 30s or early 40s when hired. All but one of the men were still employed in Davenport as letter carriers in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census; William  Preston and his family relocated about 1879 to Wheatland, Kansas to farm.

Early on the morning of July 1st, the first round of mail delivery began. The newspapers reported that it took about two hours for each carrier to do his route. They then returned to wait for mail to arrive by the eastern train to do another round in the evening; this meant twice daily delivery six days a week.  For those without personal mailboxes, which were not required by law until 1916, the letter carriers would knock (using a small wooden knob to save their knuckles), ring the bell twice, or sometimes blow a whistle to let people know they were at the door.

The start of free mail delivery also meant changes at the post office, which was located on the southwest corner of Third and Perry Streets. The Daily Davenport Democrat reported on June 28, 1873, that within a month of the start of delivery, the post office would be renovated to allow for new use of some areas.

The federal government, it seems, had been greatly concerned about the mixing of male and female patrons within the post office up to this point. Before home delivery, many women had to collect their mail from the post office (this number went up greatly during the Civil War). The government encouraged postmasters to create ladies’ only letter windows or ladies’ only rooms at the post office so they would not be disturbed by male patrons. Women were also served by female staff members in these areas, which helped to keep female and male employees separate as well. Some post offices even went as far as to have male and female entrances for patron comfort.

But now, Davenport ladies could wait for mail at home. The Democrat reported that the Davenport post office’s “ladies’ letter delivery” would be changed into a room for the carriers (Daily Davenport Democrat, June 28, 1873, Pg. 1). With no further description, we are left wondering exactly how seperate this ‘ladies’ letter delivery’ might have been. Another mystery to solve!

Now a daily event in our lives that goes by largely unnoticed, one can imagine the twice daily arrival of mail for the first time with the sounds of wooden rapping or whistles blowing carrying through the streets. News from beyond the neighborhood carried by five dedicated men leaving a lasting legacy we remember.

(posted by Amy D.)

Posted in Local History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The More Things Change . . .

Posted on June 21, 2010 by SCblogger

On June 21, 1923, the Davenport Public Library formally opened the new addition to its Main Street location.  The eighteen-year old building—the largest Carnegie library west of the Mississippi at the time of its construction—was already in sore need of more elbow room.

The addition was on the east side of the library and included a new stack room,* a cataloguing department, an office for the librarian,** and something called a ‘special library room.’  The stack room in the original building was turned into a reference room, and the children’s room was given a small parent-teacher reference room and stack area of its own.  The library also gained enough new basement space for a new smokeless boiler, bigger coal bins, and fire-proof rooms for the newspaper archives and documents collection.

These renovations were the brainchild of Miss Grace Rose, former Davenport librarian, and her successor, Miss Grace Shellenberger.**

The library opened in the afternoon and visitors, explored the renovations amid flowers sent by supporters of the library.  Music was provided by the Apollo Mandolin Club and the Orphans’ Home band.

The Davenport Democrat trumpeted the opinion of Julia A. Robinson, secretary of the state library board, in the evening edition:

“The Davenport library, as it stands completed today, is without a doubt the best equipped and most conveniently arranged of any library in the state.  Even Des Moines has to take second place now.”

Johnson Brigham, president of the board, agreed:

“Your library is one of the city’s great big assets and should be appreciated by every Davenporter.”

Isn’t that nice?

And now, eighty-eight years later, we are poised to open our third location so that we may better serve the east side of our city.  The Grand Opening of the Eastern Avenue Library is scheduled for early July.  Unlike Miss Shellenberger’s dream library, Eastern has meeting rooms, study rooms, computer workstations for all ages, a teen area, and a café.   It will also be LEED certified, with a geothermal heating and cooling system, stormwater management systems for the roof and parking areas, energy efficient lighting, and plenty of sunlight.

Because, in the further words of Miss Robinson:

“The library today is doing more than just handing out books over the loan desk.  It has a greater and more far reaching field than that.”

In Davenport, some things never change.

___

*The term ‘stacks’ is libraryspeak for an area of dense shelving which is often, but not always, closed to the public.

**The position of librarian in the early 1900s was equivalent to the current position of director.

Sources Used:

Coughlin, Betty.  History of the Davenport Public Library.  ([Cleveland, Ohio]: Western Reserve University, School of Library Science), 1952.

“Davenport library now the best in state say visitors form Des Moines.”  Davenport Democrat and Leader, 21June1923, p.4.

(posted by Sarah)

Posted in Library, Local History | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Yearbooks: Embarrassing or Awesome?

Posted on June 17, 2010 by SCblogger

The Davenport Community School System has three high schools.  The original Davenport High School took up residence in its current Main Street campus in 1904.  It was renamed Central High School after West High was built on West Locust in 1960.  Twenty-five years later, North High School opened on West 53rd Street.

 And while we are missing a few years here and there, our library boasts a collection of yearbooks from these schools from 1916 to the present.*  That’s a lot of books.

Our patrons have used these books to search for old friends and relatives, prepare for reunions, complete homework assignments, reminisce about the glory days, and to find images of their loved ones to blow up for birthday and retirement parties.  Kids in particular like to look up their parents and grandparents and, well, snicker.

But yearbooks are far more than senior photos and candid shots.

Unlike some histories that were written decades after the events they list, yearbooks were created to be personal reminders of a single year in time—primary resources and freeze frames not only of young people about to be launched into adulthood, but of the local, national, and world events that formed them.

There are questionable fashions in these books, to be sure, and interesting nicknames and inside jokes, but as one moves from the oldest to the more current, one can see the definitions of youth and education changing, as well as the social mores and opinions of each succeeding class of graduates.

So whether you’re looking for memories, history, or humor, our collection of high school yearbooks are a fascinating, if occasionally embarrassing, look into the past.

___

*

Posted in Genealogy, Local History | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Once Upon a Fairy Night

Posted on June 10, 2010 by SCblogger

Imagine a fairyland of delights only a trolley’s ride away from the center of the city’s downtown,  a welcome escape from the heat, dust and smells of summer in a crowded river city. Imagine families picnicking in the cool shade underneath old-growth trees as live music plays from a nearby pavilion. Young couples wait in line for amusement rides while those bearing the marks of passing years tell stories of their childhood homes and first loves.  

It sounds almost too good to be true, but it existed once in Davenport.

Schuetzen Park, twenty-two acres of paradise, was dedicated on June 12, 1870 by the Davenport Schuetzen Gesellschaft in northwest Davenport.  Founded by German immigrants, the Schuetzen Gesellschaft was a target shooting club with local origins dating from around 1862, when it was known as the Davenport Schuetzen Verein.  It became the Davenport Schuetzen Gesellschaft from 1868 to 1890 when it the name was changed again to the Davenport Shooting Association.  Despite the official name changes, the club was commonly known as the Schuetzen Verein.   A tradition brought over from Germany by Davenport’s early immigrants, the Schuetzen Verein combined target shooting, target shooting festivals, and socializing. 

Schuetzen Park was created in celebration of all three. 

On opening day, the park featured natural woodland, drives, walkways lined with hedges and flowers, a dining hall, coffee and lunch houses, shooting gallery, refreshment stand, music area, and even a prize temple.  An estimated 5,000 people arrived to help celebrate the park’s dedication.

Not only were members of the Schuetzen Verein at the opening, but also members of the local Turner’s Societies, other German organizations, and local officials.  Speeches were made, music was played, songs were sung (most likely in German and English), and refreshments consumed on that Sunday afternoon.  Why Sunday?  As most individuals still worked a six day a week work week; Sunday was considered not only a day for religion or rest, but also a day for socializing with friends and family. 

Over time, an inn, trolley station, athletic field, music pavilion and small amusement area that featured a four-story roller coaster were added to the park.   It truly was worth the price of admission, based on the reports that up to 12,000 people a day would attend special events.

Fortunes changed for Schuetzen Park with the advent of World War I.  Even an overwhelming German population could not escape anti-German sentiments and the call for patriotism in every part of life.  Early in the war, Schuetzen Park was renamed Forest Park.*  German songs and traditions were replaced by Red Cross and war bond fundraisers at the park.  Economically,  people were not able to spend money on large events simply for entertainment’s sake.  Galas and large picnics slowly faded away during the war years, and did not return.

A World War changed the fate of Schuetzen Park, but the war against alcohol may have affected the park as well.  On July 1, 1917 Iowa became one of 23 dry states.  This was a big change for a park that thrived on German traditions, including the tradition of beer drinking, and profits from its sale.

Negative feelings toward German-related traditions, state prohibition (plus the coming of the 18th Amendment in January 1920), decreased revenue, and economic hard times hitting both patrons and the park—insurance was costly for a roller coaster that tended to have accidents—eventually led to the closing of Schuetzen/Forest Park after 45 years.  

Schuetzen Park was sold in 1923 to the Chiropractic Psychopathic Sanitarium for $35,000, with the understanding that the public could still use what remained of the park and the shooting society could use their shooting range until the final payment was made.  That final payment occurred in 1938 and the shooting club moved to a new location in Princeton, Iowa.  Slowly, woods and hospital expansion erased the beauty that was Schuetzen Park.   The only remaining landmark is the trolley pavilion, which became a local historic landmark in 1998. 

In 1960, the Good Samaritan Society bought the property from the Sanitarium to use as a nursing home and assisted living residence.  However, Schuetzen Park was not forgotten and in the early 1990’s, the Schuetzen Park Gilde was formed to help preserve what remained of the original park. 

Now, through the Gilde’s efforts, Schuetzen Park is once again a twenty-two acre nature park with a picnic shelter and area for bands to play.  Music programs, a Schuetzen Verein-style (wooden) bird shoot, and other outdoor events have been held during warmer months.

Why not venture out sometime?  Maybe amongst the sounds of nature one can still hear the laughter and music of the past.

As I began work on this blog I realized that 2010 is the 140th anniversary of the founding of Schuetzen Park.  Then I spotted a news release that Schuetzen Park Gilde is planning to celebrate the momentous event on, of all days, June 12, 2010.  Please visit http://www.schuetzenpark.info/ for more information.  The park is located at 700 Waverly Road, Davenport, Iowa.

___

* Tellingly, the Davenport Democrat and Leader, which had many readers of German descent, still called the park Schuetzen Park, while the Davenport Daily Times referred to it as Forest Park. 

(posted by Amy D.)

Posted in Local History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Closed for Memorial Day, Open for New Hours

Posted on May 29, 2010 by SCblogger

The Davenport Public Library will be closed on Memorial Day. Please join us in remembering those who gave their lives so that we could have the opportunity to live ours in freedom.

Scott County Soldiers’ Monument

We will be open on Tuesday, June first—and introducing new hours of operation.

The new hours at the Main Street location (which includes our Center) aren’t a big change, but if you’re planning a trip to see us, please take note:

Monday : 12 – 8
Tuesday – Saturday : 9:30 – 5:30
Sunday : 1-4 (October through April)

Posted in Library, Local History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Living Memory History: The Robin Hood Flour Mill Explosion

Posted on May 24, 2010 by SCblogger

History is full of landmark events—world, national, local— which bring people together to compare notes:

Did you see it?  Did you hear it? What were you doing?  Were you there?

Those in downtown Davenport experienced their own landmark event around noon on May 23, 1975, when a massive explosion on the riverfront shook the city.

Doors flew open from the percussion and windows shattered, throwing jagged spears of glass to the sidewalks.  People ran outside to find out what had happened—most thought it was an earthquake, some thought it was a bomb.  Others worried that the Rock Island Arsenal was the source of the blast.

Sirens filled the air and a helicopter flew in and stopped near the Mississippi River.  The curious ran in that direction or headed for high vantage points—the upper floors of the Blackhawk Hotel or the Kahl Building—to get a better view of East River Drive.

And what a view there was.

Half of the International Multifoods complex seemed to have lifted up and collapsed onto the other half.  The large profile of Robin Hood on one of the riverside buildings—which had given the place its local nickname, the “Robin Hood Flour Mill”—appeared to have launched itself into the Mississippi.  Pieces of reinforced concrete had been thrown at least a hundred feet in every direction.  A grain barge near the edge of the river had sunk under the debris.

But what could have caused such destruction?

Such a simple thing:  a spark had ignited the dust inside a grain silo—one of the big ones, with a capacity of 1.8 million pounds of wheat —which had exploded with devastating force.

Seven people were trapped on the remaining roofs of the complex and the firefighter’s ladders couldn’t reach two of them—one was in an area that was at risk for a second explosion.  A military helicopter came to assist.   Five ambulances, plus one from Arsenal Island, took the seriously injured away to the disaster stations, where all area doctors had been told to report.  Five employees were in critical condition and were later moved to burn centers.

One body had already been found in the wreckage:  Ferrell Cleeton of Davenport. By the time the Quad-City Times came out that evening, his was the only confirmed death, though three people were still reported missing.  It was thought that one man had been blown into the river.

By May 26, cranes were clearing the rubble and an auger was expected to soon clear the still-smoldering grain from the bottom of the silo.  Only one worker was still unaccounted for:  Leon Robinson of Milan, Illinois—the man who had been seen in a control tower on the levee barely a minute before the blast.  His fellow workers protested the machinery, wanting to hand-search the wreckage in case their friend was still alive.

But time was passing, and the next day, a barge from the U.S. Corps of Engineers carried a crane from LeClaire to help lift debris from the sunken barge.  On May 29, the bucket of the crane pulled Mr. Robinson’s body from where it had been trapped underneath the wreckage.  The Scott County medical examiner reported that he had died before he and his tower had hit the water, though this was scant consolation for his family and friends.

Total damages to the complex were estimated to be three to five million dollars.  Although a new grain elevator would take almost a year to build, flour mill operations resumed the week after the disaster, as that part of the complex had been the least damaged.   The plant was able to keep a large number of its employees occupied with cleaning and salvaging work—over 400,000 bushels of grain needed to be removed from the undamaged silos.  Soon, the only evidence of the disaster was the absence of the familiar logo, which was not replaced.

So, where were you when Robin Hood Flour blew up?

International Multifoods several years before the explosion.
DPL Volume 279. 89-002057. International Multifoods during the 1965 flood.
The Quad-City Times, May 24, 1975. Pg. 25. After the explosion.

____

Sources:

“Explosion at Mill!” Quad-City Times, May 23, 1975, p.1

McGrevey, Michael.  “‘No Dust Peril at Mill.'”  Quad-City Times, May 27, 1975, p.1.

McGrevey, Michael.  “Part of Workforce Back on Job at Mill.”  Quad-City Times, May 30, 1975, p.17.

McGrevey, Michael.  “Relatives Keep Riverside Vigil.”  Quad-City Times, May 29,1975, p.1.

Vogel, David M.  “Cranes Clear Wreckage at Mill.”  Quad-City Times, May 26, 1975, p.1.

Wundram, Bill.  “‘Thought it was an Earthquake.'”  Quad-City Times, May 23, 1975, p. 14.

(Posted by Sarah)

Posted in Local History | Tagged , , , | 39 Comments

Calling All Genealogists (and Historians): Free Stuff!

Posted on May 17, 2010 by SCblogger

Genealogists (and historians) love free stuff. I think that’s because almost everything genealogists do costs money—copies of vital records, paying for research in some far off place, gas money to travel to the cemeteries or a great library (ahem).

Well, here’s a discovery you’re sure to love: several interesting Iowa history books can be found online FOR FREE at www.genealogysearch.org/free/bia.html

You can access full text images of a gazetteer by Nathan Howe Parker called Iowa as it is in 1856. (He also wrote one in 1855. Just FYI)

There is also a link to Iowa Map Collection – a nice collection of county atlases and plat books.

A really fascinating resource called Legal Status of Women in Iowa by Jennie L. Wilson was published in 1894. She summarized the legal status of women during that time period.  We’ve come a long way baby…or have we?

Any ancestors from western Iowa? You might find some interesting clues to their life in Early Settlement and Growth of Western Iowa or Reminiscences [1906] by Rev. John Todd.

There are also full text images specific to some of Iowa’s counties. Local residents might find the 1878 History of Cedar County helpful, or Franc B. Wilkie’s Davenport, past and present,  which was published in 1858.

Gotta love it – it’s all FREE!

(posted by Karen)

Posted in Local History | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Davenporters of Note: Samuel Francis Smith

Posted on May 10, 2010 by SCblogger

  Son of the highly respected man who composed the
  lyrics to “America”; one time Mayor of Davenport,
  charter member of Davenport National Bank,
  organizer, director and attorney for Union Savings
  Bank; president of the Iowa Bankers’ Association;
  vice-president of the Iowa Sons of the Revolution;
  past Davenport city council member;
  president of the Davenport Business Men’s
  Association; president of the Children’s Home
  Society of Iowa; director of Davenport’s Academy of
  Science; Director of Davenport’s Ladies’ Industrial
  Relief Association; director of Davenport Library
  Association; attorney; husband, father, and
  resident of one of the most resplendent mansions
  in all of Davenport.

.

All of these things describe Samuel Francis Smith.

So does the phrase “convicted embezzler”.

Smith was charged with larceny and willful and corrupt perjury in 1904 for the misappropriation of at least $65,000 from the estates his friends had trusted him to administer for their bereaved widows. Smith is said to have creatively borrowed at least another $40,000 from charitable organizations he was affiliated with. The New York Times reported on June 23, 1904 that an accounting found trust funds under Smith’s supervision short $125,000.

Convicted in October of 1904 at the age of 68, Smith was sentenced to eleven years in prison at Anamosa, Iowa. Once perhaps the wealthiest man in Davenport, he claimed to be penniless at his trial. Poor health expedited his release in August of 1909. He died of a heart attack shortly thereafter.

(Posted by Karen)

Posted in Local History | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Feeling a Little “Bugged”: Part IV

Posted on May 3, 2010 by SCblogger

 (Part I may be found here; Part II may be found here; Part III is here)

When last we left our less-than-happy band of Socialist politicians; the conservative socialists were worried about radicals taking over not only the Socialist Party, but also the City of Davenport.  Re-election time for city supervisors was approaching and something had to be done.

Re-election time for city workers came in early December of 1921.  With a majority vote, the Socialist aldermen expected another easy sweep for Socialist employees of their choice to fill prime positions.  What they didn’t know was a revolt had taken place within their party.  The conservative Socialists had met, condemned the radical direction the party was taking, and selected Third Ward Socialist Alderman George Koepke to make a deal with the three Republican Aldermen to make sure the radicals were not kept in office.

Not surprising, the one request the Republicans had was for the ousting of Harry Strong, who was up for re-election for position of City Electrician.  A deal was struck.  Now with the vote running four against four, Mayor Barewald would hold the deciding vote on three major employee re-elections at the December 8th council meeting.

The remaining four Socialist aldermen did not have a clue what was coming.  They sat in stunned silence as Alderman Koepke, who did not have a desire to be re-elected as an Alderman in the 1922 election, sided with the Republicans.  Barewald followed suit by siding with the Republican nomination for commissioner of public works, street commissioner, and city electrician.  Losing Sam Murray, the commissioner of public works and a radical Socialist from Milwaukee, and James Selman, the commissioner of streets, was a major power loss to the Socialists.  

The newspapers reported Mayor Barewald had a small smile throughout the process.   

The Socialist party continued to spiral downwards.  On December 13, 1921, newspaper headlines accused the remaining four Socialist aldermen and soon-to-be-former Commissioner Murray of graft and giving preference to I.W.W. (Industrial Workers of the World) members over local residents for city jobs.  City Attorney Screechfield and Harry Strong now changed direction and sided with the city against the Socialists.  Everyone was out for the radical Socialists.  Murray and Alderman George Peck (considered the head of the radical branch) were top targets.

Commissioners Murray and Selman were suspended immediately from their jobs.  A special council meeting was called for December 21st to decide the fate of the two men and others who were accused in charges.  The meeting opened with Mayor Barewald serving as Justice of the Peace while the aldermen served as jury.  Every sordid detail possible was outlined against the men.   Charges including threat of kidnapping an alderman to keep him away from a council meeting to “protection” offered to establishments serving alcohol illegally were presented. City employee after city employee testified about these charges and more.

But after two days, the aldermen suddenly voted to drop the charges—even before the defense had even presented their case.  Alderman Koepke, who had switched political sides to help roust the men from their city jobs, had apparently switched back to side with the Socialists.  A majority conviction was impossible.  The Republicans agreed if the Socialists allowed Murray and Selman to be fired immediately they would drop the case (instead of waiting until their terms expired on December 31st). 

City Attorney Screechfield and Mayor Barwald seemed at a loss to explain what had occurred over the two days.   All the frustrated citizens knew was that the city had spent $500 on a “whitewash” trial.*

On April 3, 1922, the Socialist party was officially swept out of office.  Republican Alfred Mueller, mayor from 1910 – 1916, won by 795 votes over Mayor Barewald, who was now a Democrat.  Socialist Lucy Claussen came in last place with only 1,377 votes.  Police Magistrate Harold Metcalf was the only Socialist re-elected in 1922, largely because he had not participated in the chaos of the previous administration. 

First Ward Alderman Peck, Third Ward Alderman Koepke, and Aldermen-at-Large Feuchter and Stout did not run for re-election.  Only Second Ward Alderman Bracher ran for another term; he came in last in his ward with 423 votes compared to 1,176 in 1920. The Socialist power house was finished; the city had turned to the Republican Party to lead them on a quieter path.    

After the 1922 election, now former Mayor Barewald returned to his medical practice.  He remained a well-liked fixture in the community before passing away on April 14, 1932 from a heart attack while at work.  Both papers ran front page headlines reporting on his death and even carried full funeral coverage.  Walter Bracher lived a quiet life working as a truck driver for the Kohrs Packing Company until his death (also from a heart attack) on March 13, 1947 while driving on his route.  Harry Strong stayed in the newspapers for various run-ins with the police over the years.  He worked for many years as an electrician for private companies.  He passed away on June 4, 1967 in Davenport. 

As for the infamous light in the mayor’s office, it is long gone as well. 

One wonders how many people in 1967–the height of the Socialist scare–remembered the political events of 1920 – 1921.  Did they remember the drama and emotion that took place during what must have been considered by then to be the “good old days?”  

One thing is certain: there is no need for embellishment in these posts–Davenport history is never dull! 

(Thanks for staying “tuned in” to this blog article.  I didn’t know when I started that the Socialist council would be so lively!)

_____

*Davenport Democrat and Leader and Davenport Daily Times, December 23, 1921, Front Page.

(posted by Amy D.)

Posted in Local History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feeling a Little “Bugged”: Part III

Posted on April 26, 2010 by SCblogger

 (Part I may be found here; Part II may be found here, Part IV may be found here)

Last we read, Socialist City Electrician Harry Strong was being fingerprinted and questioned by Police Chief Charles Boettcher in Mayor Charles Barewald’s office in connection with wiretapping the Mayor’s office. It was evident that Strong and Bracher would not be suffering from regret any time soon.

At first, Strong refused to speak. When he did eventually talk,  Strong initially said he only placed the device in the mayor’s office at the command of Alderman Bracher. He argued that he had to follow the directive as Bracher was one of his bosses. Strong stated that he had worked on the light fixture one week earlier when the mayor was out of town. The device he created came from parts found in city hall, an old phone from his home, and two dry cell batteries.

Strong also admitted he knew he was breaking the law—not by installing a secret device to listen to the mayor’s conversations, but by violating a city ordinance and state law forbidding running additional wires through a light fixture, as it created a fire hazard. At the end of the conversation, Officer Passno returned to say the fingerprints on the Dictograph and Strong’s fingerprints was a match.

Alderman Bracher was brought into the Mayor’s office next. Strong identified Bracher as the man who ordered him to install the device. Bracher was then released. He immediately went into a meeting with his legal counsel—who happened to be Socialist City Attorney U. A. Screechfield.  Strong soon sought counsel from Screechfield as well.  Mayor Barewald immediately issued a statement that this was a conflict of interest on the part of City Attorney Screechfield.

Over the next several days, the mayor and police chief accused all Socialist aldermen of being in on the plot. Bracher responded by saying the police chief’s office had also been bugged. Strong eventually stated that wasn’t true, but he was in the process of planning to plant one in a clock when caught. The other Socialist aldermen denied knowing about the devices or plans, although the Socialist headquarters was rumored to be active with meetings during this time with aldermen and city workers present.

By January 30th, the commotion had not died down. Socialists now turned on Strong and Bracher, denouncing their behavior and calling for a Socialist investigation. Mayor Barewald retained his own legal counsel for himself and the city in the person of attorney W. M. Chamberlin. Barewald stated a distrust of City Attorney Screechfield as the reason behind his decision to hire Chamberlin.

Hundreds packed the  City Council meeting on February 2, 1921, waiting for some resolution to the situation, but once again the public left disappointed as only city business was presented at the meeting. In mid-February, Mayor Barewald and Attorney Chamberlain presented information to Scott County Attorney John Weir in an attempt to remove Alderman Bracher and Electrician Strong from their positions. Those proceedings failed and charges were never brought against the men.

Under these unusual circumstances, life continued at city hall. Each side continued to accuse the other of wrongdoing. Rumors began to circulate about new employees being hired to work in the city. These individuals were from out of the area and the rumors were they were actually radical Socialists being brought in to take over the party. Conservative Socialists who had joined the Socialist party to help local citizens began to worry.

(Stay tuned for Part IV!)

__________

(posted by Amy D.)

Posted in Local History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments