100 Year Old Weblog ~ News From 100 Years Ago That's New to You from Vintage Kansas City.com

March 19, 1908

MANY WOMEN WOULD

ADOPT LITTLE PAT.

THERE'S ALWAYS A DEMAND

FOR BABY FOUNDLINGS.

Post Card Picture May Lead to the

Identity of This "Doorstep

Youngster's" Mother.

Was Well Supplied.

Late yesterday afternoon little Pat, the week-old baby who was found in a hallway at 584 Harrison street at 11:45 Tuesday night, was taken from the matron's room at police headquarters to St. Anthony's home, at Twenty-second street and College avenue. Mrs. Lizzie Burns, the police matron who went with the ambulance and got the little fellow and named him Pat in honor of St. Patrick's day, remained up all day to care for the baby. She is on night duty.

The baby was found in a hallway adjacent to the home of Mrs. E. T. Pope, and her son notified the police. The child was well supplied with all baby necessaries, and was wrapped in a black cloak. In searching the cloak yesterday, Mrs. Joan Moran, the other matron, found a picture postcard. The card is addressed to Mrs. Addie Esters, 301 Kickapoo street, Leavenworth, Kas. It was mailed in that city on May 4, 1907, and on the side with the picture is signed the name of Mattie Adams. The card was turned over to F. E. McCrary, Humane agent, who said he would write to both parities and see if any information could be gained.

A boy baby is the most easily adopted, so managers of foundling homes say. After the story of the finding of little Pat got around there were several applicants for him. Mrs. Burns, the matron who went out and got him, came near keeping him herself.

Mrs. Burns became so attached to the little fellow after she had washed and dressed him yesterday morning that she insisted on keeping out a souvenir of his visit. Pat had plenty of clothes, so Mrs. Burns kept out a pair of tiny little white shoes which were immediately placed on the wall of the matron's room.

"Pat is the finest specimen of real young man that I have seen in a long while," said Mrs. Burns. "Young as he is I tickled him under the chin today and made him laugh. He is also a healthy baby, and just as pretty as can be. He deserves a good home."

Labels: children, College avenue, Harrison street, police matron, St Anthonys Home, Twenty-second street

October 3, 1907

FREE FRANKFURTERS, BOYS.

To Be Served With Speeches at Open-

ing of the Boys' Club.

All boys who like Red Hot Coney Island Frankfurters are invited to the grand opening of the Kansas City Boys' Club, Eighteenth street and College avenue, tomorrow night. Admission will be free to any boy in Kansas City, but a ticket must be secured from one of the boys who is a member of the club.

The library and game rooms will be thrown open for use Friday night. There will be speeches by Mayor H. M. Beardsley, the Rev. Daniel McGurk, Professor J. M. Greenwood and other friends of the boys.

Labels: children, College avenue, Eighteenth street, libraries, Mayor Beardsley, Superintendent Greenwood

July 18, 1907

HUSBAND FINDS HER DEAD.

Emma Woolf Had Vial in One Hand

and Revolver in Other.

Emma Woolf, 206 College avenue, Rosedale, committed suicide early yesterday morning by drinking carbolic acid. When found by her husband, Benjamin Woolf, when he returned from work in the Frisco yards at 6:30 o'clock last night, she was lying on the floor with a small vial in her right hand and whthin easy reach of her left lay a loaded 32-caliber revolver. She had evidently contemplated using the latter in case the poison failed to do its work.

Woolf noticed Coroner J. A. Davis, of Wyandotte county, who ordered the body to the Eylar undertaking rooms, Fifteenth and Main streets. Coroner Davis said last night that the body had probably lain since early morning.

Labels: College avenue, Fifteenth street, Rosedale, Suicide, undertakers

June 27, 1907

MY, HOW HE DID EAT!

For Two Weeks This Runaway Boy

Lived Like the Sparrows.

Because he was afraid he would get a whipping for running away, Fred Vogul, 12 years old, a son of Joseph Vogel, 2313 College avenue, has been sleeping in a bread box on the sidewalk at Twelfth street and Grand avenue for almost two weeks. During that time he has had nothing to eat excepting what he could pick up at random.

Last night Patrolman Charles McVay, while walking along Grand avenue near Independence avenue saw the boy picking up popcorn kernels from beneath a popcorn wagon and eating them. The officer learned that the popcorn was the only thing the boy had eaten in two days. He took the youngster to a nearby restaurant, where a square meal was given him. The way he ate would have made an epicurean dizzy.The boy was taken to police headquarters, where he was placed in the care of the police matron. His father was informed.

Labels: children, College avenue, Grand avenue, Independence avenue, police, police matron

May 14, 1907

BREAKS UP BOYS' GANG.

In the Juvenile Court Yesterday

Judge McCune Lectured the

Father When He Objected

to the Decision.

Seven little boys, from 9 to 12 years of age, charged with being the "Sixteenth Street Gang," train hoppers and coal thieves, were before Judge McCune, of the juvenile court, yesterday afternoon.

"The boys sit on the rails of the Belt line tracks," said James H. Knapp, of the Knapp & Coumbe Construction Company, a witness, "and try to scare the engineer of the approaching trains. When the engine is within a few feet of them, they jump up like frogs and get off the track. If the engineer sticks his head out of the cab to talk to them, they make finger signs at him."

There were other witnesses against the boys -- three truancy officers and W. K. Miller, flagman for the Belt line at Sixteenth street. They said that the boys made a practice of stealing coal and hopping on trains.

"I pointed out to the boys," Miller told the court, "the place where a boy was killed last year jumping on a train. It wasn't ten feet from where these boys repeat the practice. But they only laughed at me.

"They sit up on the cars and kick the coal off. Then they get down, pick it up, and haul it away in little wagons. The gang has two wagons."

The seven boys before the court were; Willie Eft, 10 years old; Martin Eft, 9 years old, both of 1511 College avenue; Henning Broman, 12 years old, of 3113 East Sixteenth street; Harry Wright, 11 years old, of 3208 East Sixteenth street, Edward Blickhan, 11 years old, and Harris Blickhan, 10 years old, both of 1612 College avenue; Earl Frizzell, 12 years old, of 3208 East Sixteenth street.

All of the boys, with the exception of Earl Frizzell, admitted that they hopped on trains and stole coal. The Blickhan boys took the coal home and the other s sold it for 15 cents a wagon load, they said. Willie Eft and Henning Broman owned the two wagons.

Edward J. Blickhan, father of the Blickhan boys, appeared to defend his offspring, but he did more harm than good. He told the court that they had been sick with tonsillitis for two weeks and could not go to school. He denied all knowledge of their bringing coal home, but the court stated that he preferred to believe the boys' own statement that they had brought coal home and put it in the box by the kitchen stove. When the Blickhan boys were rounded up by the truancy officers last Thursday their hair hung over their shoulders and they were so ragged that Miller told the officers that he thought they were orphans. Yesterday afternoon they wore new suits and had their hair clipped short.

Judge McCune turned Earl Frizzell loose, as he had been with the "gang" only one day, ordered a home in the country found for Willie Eft and released the other boys with the understanding that they attend school and quit playing among the railway yards.

When Blickhan protested against the court holding his boys, Judge McCune said:

"You don't care if your boys get killed playing in the yards, so long as they fill your coal box. I don't want to hear another word from you. You have violated the law yourself."

Henry Eft, 13 years old, a brother of Willie and Martin, now has a reform school sentence hanging over him and is at work.

Labels: Belt line, children, College avenue, Judge McCune, juvenile court, railroad, reform school, Sixteenth street

April 29, 1907

IN MEMORY OF A SON.

Mrs. Henry E. Lantry Will Add a

Dormitory to St Anthony's Home.

Mrs. Henry E. Lantry, of 318 West Armour boulevard, has announced to the directors of the St. Anthony's Hospital and Infants' home that she intended to fit up a dormitory of twenty beds in the new building in memory of her son, Henry Jordan Lantry, who died about four months ago. The cost of establishing the memorial room will be about $500.

The women in charge of the home are planning to open the new building in memory of her son, Henry Jordan Lantry, who died about four months ago. The cost of establishing the memorial room will be about $500.

The women in charge of the home are planning to open the new building formally about May 15. Already enough rooms have been fitted through the generosity of friends of the institution to warrant the regular opening. John Long recently furnished an entire suite of eight rooms, and a ward large enough to accommodate fifteen beds. Duff and Repp Furniture Company and the Peck Dry Goods Company have each furnished a reception room in cozy fashion, and the Jones Dry Goods Company are donating the furnishings for a private bed room.

It is planned to make the opening an elaborate affair, in the form of a "pound party," and the management will be assisted by the Elks and the Knights of Columbus lodges. A musical programme will be arranged for the occasion.

St. Anthony's home is a maternal hospital, an infants' home and a day nursery. It is located on Twenty-third street between Walrond and College avenues. The building movement, of which the present commodious structure was the result, was launched several months ago at a meeting addressed by Archbishop Ireland. Donations of from 50 cents to hundreds of dollars were received by the committee in charge until enough money was raised to warrant the building.

Labels: Armour boulevard, College avenue, hospitals, Jones Dry Goods, lodges, retailers, St Anthonys Home, Twenty-third street, Walrond avenue, women