100 Year Old Weblog

May 19, 2025 ~ DR. PAUL PAQUIN VERY ILL.

May 19, 2025

DR. PAUL PAQUIN VERY ILL.

Health Director Believed to Be Threatened with Meningitis.

Dr. Paul Paquin, director of the public health, is very ill in his room at the new tuberculosis hospital, where he took up his temporary residence for the purpose of directing the beginning of the work at the institution. His symptoms indicate that he is threatened with cerebral meningitis, it is said. Dr. W. L. Gist, Dr. Paquin's assistant, and Dr. W. W. Duke are in attendance and declare his condition as serious.

It is believed that Dr. Paquin's illness is due to his unflagging attention to the cause of public health and the various plans he has been earnestly promoting toward protecting it. Hi has not been well for some time and became bedfast on Tuesday.

May 19, 2025 TO CURB SMOKE NUISANCE.

May 19, 2025

TO CURB SMOKE NUISANCE.

City Counselor Is Drafting Ordinance Requiring Abatement.

The city counselor's department is busy on the draft of an ordinance to be introduced in the council providing for the abatement of the smoke nuisance from the manufacturing and heating plants.

City Counselor Harzfeld, as president of the City Club, has for a number of months had experts at work compiling data for the ordinance. It embraces the results obtained in twenty-eight cities that claim to have mastered the smoke situation.

May 19, 2025 ~ COPS IN NEW "DUDS" MAY 25.

May 19, 2025

COPS IN NEW "DUDS" MAY 25.

Chief Hammil Issues "Easter" Order for the Force.

Chief Hammil has grown tired of waiting for the weather to turn warm and yesterday issued an order to the police to blossom forth in their new summer uniforms on May 25, regardless of temperature. If the chill breezes still prevail, so much the worse for the "finest."

Those policemen who had been slow about giving the order for their new clothes yesterday rushed to the tailor in order that they may be ready on Tuesday, which will be the force's "Easter."

May 19, 2025 ~ FIRE WRECKS 4-STORY WALNUT ST. BUILDING.

May 19, 2025

FIRE WRECKS 4-STORY WALNUT ST. BUILDING.

$30,000 Damage Is Done to Old Morledge Place; Water Pressure Weak.

A spectacular fire in the four-story building at 808 Walnut street attracted 10,000 spectators at midnight. The streets for blocks were black with people, who cheered the firemen and freely offered advice.

The building was occupied by Schooler & Cleveland with a fish and oyster market and restaurant. It was for year previously occupied by Morledge's restaurant. To the south of the building is the bunting-Stone hardware Company's building and to the north is a three-story brick structure, the first floor of which is given over to a furniture auction house, the upper stories being vacant.

A private watchman, who discovered the blaze, said it originated on the third floor, above the fish and oyster restaurant. Fire companies responded promptly, but for nearly half an hour it seemed impossible to obtain strong water pressure. the streams thrown from the nozzles fell short of the fourth floor and in the meantime the flames mounted rapidly.

The entire top floor was soon roaring, waves of flame mounting high in the air and great showers of sparks falling like spray. A water tower was put in position, but the pressure still remained so weak that it was useless.

Damage to the building, estimated at $30,000, was done by the fire before it was put under control. The floors on which it raged were occupied as store rooms and much of the space was empty.

May 18, 2025 MUEHLEBACH CELEBRATES.

May 18, 2025

MUEHLEBACH CELEBRATES.

First Anniversary Is Occasion for Many Congratulations.

Flowers, a profusion of palms, extra musical programmes and entertainment and dancing marked the first anniversary yesterday of the Hotel Muehlebach. Fireworks in the evening from the roof formed the outdoor display. The lobby and all the cafes were decorated with flowers. Kelly's orchestra played a promenade concert in the lobby from 12 until 2 p.m. A Dansant followed in the Trianon cafe from 4 until 5, and a dinner dance from 6:30 until 9:30.

Vaudeville, dancing and a concert in the Plantation grill was continuous from 6 until 1 a.m. A de luxe dinner also was served in both Trianon cafe and grill. S. J. Whitmore and Joseph Reichi received many congratulations during the day and evening upon the success of the first year of the Hotel Muehlebach.

May 18, 2025 ~ "BLACK MIKE" GETS 12 YEAR SENTENCE.

May 18, 2025

"BLACK MIKE" GETS 12 YEAR SENTENCE.

Leader of Gang, Convicted of Holdup, Is Known as Bad Man.

A jury in the criminal court brought in a verdict last night sentencing "Black Mike" McGovern to twelve years for highway robbery in the holding up of the of Herman Allman's saloon, 2515 East Fifteenth street, on the night of December 29 last. For the same offense, John F. Lanza, a member of "Black Mike's" gang was sentenced last week to fifteen years. There remains to be tried on the same charge Tom Bosco, an associate of the two convicted men.

"Black Mike" has not been in Kansas City long. But in the short time he has created a decided impression among the police that he is a dangerous character. when arrested he shot four times at Police Captain Ennis, and on the witness stand yesterday it was testified that he said after the shooting: "If the smoke of the officer's gun hadn't blinded me I would have got my man."

After getting away from the policemen into an alley he was brought out of a basement by Policeman Doarn and it was found he had thrown away his overcoat and pistol in the basement. It was also testified that McGovern, who has several aliases, was the leader in a plot to break out of jail two weeks ago. A bar was found sawed almost in two in his cell.

McGovern still faced a charge in the killing of Arch Tirado in a quarrel over a woman. He is the type of young man who wins friends easily in his chosen class of associates and he is known in the late-hour restaurants as an utterly fearless character. Testimony yesterday showed that he rented a house near Forty-sixth street and Agnes avenue at the time of the Allman holdup and that he ordered the car driven to this house on that night.

May 18, 2025 ~ WINDOW CLEANER IS KILLED.

May 18, 2025

WINDOW CLEANER IS KILLED.

S. O. Twombley Falls Four Stories at Downtown Store.

S. O. Twombley, a window cleaner, 32 years old, 1015 East Fourteenth street, was instantly killed when he fell from a fourth floor window of Kline's cloak and suit store, 1113 Main street, about 10 o'clock yesterday morning. He plunged downward, and through a steel and glass arcade over the entrance, to the sidewalk. Passers-by narrowly escaped being hit by his body. He was dead when picked up.

Twombley was cleaning the store windows and lost his balance as he stepped from one to the other. He is survived by his wife and a son, Kenneth H. Twombley.

May 18, 2025 MAN KNOWN AS 'COCKEY' DEAD.

May 18, 2025

MAN KNOWN AS 'COCKEY' DEAD.

Hospital Physicians Suspect He May Have Been Poisoned.

A man known only as "Cockey" was taken in an unconscious condition from a rooming house conducted by A. T. Myers at 1729 Oak street by an ambulance from the Emergency hospital to the General hospital at 12:20 o'clock yesterday noon. He never regained consciousness and died at 6:30 o'clock last night.

At the hospital he was entered on the records as an unidentified man. A search of his clothes failed to reveal a penny or a bit of paper that would prove a clew to his identity. At midnight last night the police had no report on the case.

At the General hospital physicians worked over the unconscious man all afternoon. They used up six tanks of oxygen in their efforts to restore him to consciousness, but without avail. He died at 6:30 o'clock. The physicians believe he was poisoned, but are not absolutely sure. An autopsy will be held this morning to determine the cause of death.

May 18, 2025 ~ HOME OWNERS OPPOSE PARK.

May 18, 2025

HOME OWNERS OPPOSE PARK.

Brush Creek Scheme Would Mean Confiscation, They Say.

Twenty-five men who are paying for their homes on the installment plan remonstrated with the park board yesterday against the contemplated revival of an effort to establish a park along Brush creek from Prospect avenue to The Paseo. They told the board that the cost of the improvement would mean confiscation of their property.

The charge was openly made that the promoter of the park is a man who owns the most of the land to be taken, and that he hopes to sell it to the city at a high price. A hearing will be given to all parties interested a week from next Wednesday.

During the Jost administration both houses of the council passed ordinances for the park, but Mayor Jost refused to sign them.

May 17, 2025 ~ DANCED AS STEAMER CRASHED INTO BARGE.

May 17, 2025

DANCED AS STEAMER CRASHED INTO BARGE.

Druggists' Outing on the River Narrowly Missed Disastrous Accident.

The festivities of the Kansas Pharmaceutical Association's outing on the Missouri river had just started at 9 o'clock last night. The band was playing and 450 men, women and children, guests of the Parke-Davis Drug Company, were aboard the steamboat Chester.

The strains of a hesitation waltz came floating over the waters and the steamer was aglow with hundreds of electric lights. The capricious dance hall was the biggest attraction to the young druggists, their wives and sweethearts. The floor had only recently been waxed and the dancers glided across the decks to the tune of "Cecile."

At the same time the chairs in the front end of the boat were occupied by those who preferred the moonlit waters of the river to the dance.

Suddenly, without warning, the steamer struck a sand dredge. Those in the dance hall noticed it but continued dancing. On the forward deck a panic was narrowly averted by Captain McCaffrey, who cooled down the passengers by showing that the dredge was a small one and that no damage was done. The dredge, cut loose from its moorings, floated in the middle of the river.

In lurching away from the sand barge the Chester nearly swerved into one of the piers of the Armour-Burlington-Swift bridge. A woman screamed and many others held their breaths. But within a few seconds the Chester continued on its trip down the river.

All of the time the passengers in the dance hall were unaware that their friends in the bow feared a tragedy. The fiddle and the horn and the flute kept on playing without any knowledge of trouble. The rest of the journey down stream and return was made without any further incident.

May 17, 2025 ~ "MONK" MISSES STAGE TREE.

May 17, 2025

"MONK" MISSES STAGE TREE.

Chimpanzee Mistakes Painted Limb for Real One and Falls.

The Jamaican Jungle training of "Napoleon," a trick vaudeville chimpanzee, nearly proved his undoing last night at the Electric theater in Kansas City, Kas., when he mistook a painted tree on the scenery for the real thing and fell on the stage after making a leap of about ten feet to one of its branches. Before Napoleon was captured seven years ago he lived with his family in the jungle. Leaping from tree to tree was Napoleon's principal occupation.

Perched on the the wood and canvas limb of one of the stage settings, the chimpanzee spied a perch on one of the "trees" on the back drop of the setting. Not trained to look before leaping, Napoleon sprang at the "limb." He crashed against the curtain and fell to the stage on his back.

For a moment he was still. His eyes flashed defiance and his demeanor changed. Clattering across the stage on all fours, he butted his head against the "trunk" of the tree. With his hands he attempted to gain a hold of it. Finally he gave up in despair, chattered disgustedly and walked off the stage. Napoleon's act was finished. He could not be induced to complete his part in the programme.

May 17, 2025 ~ SCHOOL CIRCUS IS VOTED BIG SUCCESS.

May 17, 2025

SCHOOL CIRCUS IS VOTED BIG SUCCESS.

'Poly's' Eccentric Entertainment Is Lively From Start to Finish.

"La-dees and Gentlemen! The glittering galaxy of triumphant, turbulent tumblers will now occupy the center ring."

Thus spoke Ringmaster Joseph Stein at the festival of fun and frivolity staged by the students of the Poly-technic institute's multiple school, Eleventh and Locust streets, yesterday afternoon. With a bull fight in the gymnasium and side shows in practically every room on the first floor of the school building, the fun was fast and furious. The junior college, the normal school, the high school division, the commercial and mechanical training classes each presented a convincing argument against dull care. The admission fees were 1, 2, and 3 cents to the shows.

The proverbial snake-eater, fat woman and tattooed man were superseded by a specially convincing replica of Sis Hopkins, given by Miss Velmatto Williams. Virgil Thompson, as the Hindoo seer, offered the "past, present and future shamelessly revealed."

Among the side shows given was the shoot the chutes, a popgun rifle gallery where, if you did lose the game, you couldn't lose the bullet, and the most convincing demonstration of electricity yet shown in Kansas City. The "class" to be initiated into the marvels of the electric fluid was ceremoniously seated in room 34 after an exhaustive lecture on electricity and its merits was given. Then a plea was made for contributions for the newly organized electricians' clubs and a request made that "all who will donate $5 toward the cause will please stand."

The reason why each and every one not only stood, but arose with surprising alacrity was that at that psychological moment some one threw a switch conveying certain lively portions of the current to the anatomy of every person who had been so courteously seated the few moments before.

Dancing backwards, or what appeared to be backwards, was another amusing feature. A class of normal training students tied their hair over their faces, put masks on the backs of their heads, put their clothing on backwards, and then went through an eccentric dance. The effect was uncanny.

"I told them to go as far as they liked as long as they had lots of fun and broke no bones," said Principal E. H. Rainier, who was "game" for every "stunt" pulled. "The students obeyed my instructions."

May 17, 2025 ~ SCANDINAVIAN CLUB FORMED.

May 17, 2025

SCANDINAVIAN CLUB FORMED.

Organization Outgrowth of Recent Bethany College Campaign.

Fifty residents of Kansas City of Scandinavian origin have organized the Scandinavian Business Men's Club. The organization is the outgrowth of the recent campaign for endowment funds for Bethany college. The promoters hope soon to have a membership of several hundred. The purposes are to promote the social and business interests of Scandinavian people in Kansas City, of whom it is estimated there are 8,000 to 10,000.

The officers are: President, Godfrey Swanson; vice president, Ernest O. Brostrum; secretary, N. A. Johnson; treasurer, Olaf Mattson.

May 16, 2025 ~ BENJAMIN LARKIN IS FREE ON BOND.

May 16, 2025

BENJAMIN LARKIN IS FREE ON BOND.

His Wife Remains in Jail on Charges in Baby Keller Case.

Benjamin Larkin, husband of Mrs. Elizabeth Larkin, who had been held in the county jail since January awaiting the outcome of the illness of little Helen Keller, who was almost dead from bruises when taken to the Mercy hospital last winter, was released yesterday on $1,000 bond.

The release was on agreement between Judge Ralph S. Latshaw and Prosecutor Floyd E. Jacobs and followed the statement of a number of neighbors as to the good habits and reputation of Larkin. Mrs. Larkin has maintained that her youthful husband never struck the child.

When the case came up again yesterday for trial Mrs. Larkin announced that she had no attorney, her advisers having withdrawn. Judge Latshaw appointed Francis O'Sullivan and George F. Birmingham as Mrs. Larkin's attorneys. Mr. Birmingham at once held a conference with Mrs. Larkin and then talked with many of her neighbors. As a result, he said he was willing to sign the bond for $1,000 for Larkin's release. Mr. Birmingham said Mrs. Larkin will be ready for trial when the case is called.

Attendants at the Mercy hospital say little Helen Keller will recover. The state charges the child's condition was due to beatings she received at the hands of Mrs. Larkin.

May 16, 2025 ~ ACCIDENTALLY WOUNDS GIRL.

May 16, 2025

ACCIDENTALLY WOUNDS GIRL.

Jefferson Beale Shoots "Becca" Levitt While Loading a Gun.

While customers were few last night at the "Joy Palace," 1233 Main street, Jefferson Beale, who takes post card photographs, wounded Miss "Becca" Levitt, the cashier, in the right thigh with a shot from a .22 caliber revolver. Both the photographer and the cashier declare that the shooting was an accident. The police arrested Beale, however, and are holding him for investigation. They say that other empolyes at the penny amusement resort declare the girl and the man have quarreled frequently recently.

Miss Levitt was taken to the General hospital and later to St. Margaret's. Her injury is declared painful but not dangerous. She told physicians at the General hospital that Beale was trying to load the rifle for her when it was discharged.

The cashier is the sister-in-law of Harry Fogal, who is her employer, and resides at his home, 2715 Harrison street. Beale lives at a hotel at Thirteenth and Main streets.

May 16, 2025 ~ STUDY MODERN BUSINESS.

May 16, 2025

STUDY MODERN BUSINESS.

Girl Students Make Comparisons With Ancient Methods.

Forty girl pupils of the Westport high school made an automobile tour of the city yesterday afternoon to compare modern methods of business with those of ancient times, which the girls are now studying. They inspected the General hospital, the kitchens of the Hotel Muehlbach, the city hall, the court house, board of trade and Second street and Troost avenue, where a trading post was maintained in the early days of Kansas City.

The girls were accompanied by three of their teachers, Mrs. Ada J. MacLaughlin and the Misses Ida B. Lilly and Ann Shire.

May 15, 2025 ~ MAN SWALLOWS A FROG.

May 15, 2025

MAN SWALLOWS A FROG.

John Arnold Fights Assistance Until He Ejects Live Amphibian.

John Arnold, 45 years old, swallowed a small frog while drinking from a spring near Twenty-seventh street and Spring avenue, Kansas City, Kas., yesterday. Arnold, who had stopped at teh spring to quench his thirst , was seen running through the streets, tearing madly at his clothing. Neighbors could not control him and the police were summoned.

At the Emergency hospital little could be learned by Dr. G. H. Hobson, a police surgeon, as to the cause of Arnold's misery and suffering. A stomach pump was applied in the belief that he might have tried to commit suicide. Arnold fought desperately until an emetic was given as a last resort.

The result was the ejection of a tiny but lively frog. The whale that swallowed Jonah, and John Arnold, who swallowed a frog, now will occupy rival positions in medical works.

May 15, 2025 ~ MORE TROOPS PASS THROUGH.

May 15, 2025

MORE TROOPS PASS THROUGH.

30th Infantry of Plattsburgh, N. Y., on Way to Mexican Line.

The Thirtieth infantry of Plattsburgh, N. Y., is on the way to the Mexican border. One troop train of sixteen cars, containing fourteen officers and 288 men of that regiment, accompanied by their horses and equipment, was scheduled to pass through Kansas City en route to Fort Sam Fordyce, Tex., at 2:30 o'clock this morning. Two other trains, containing the remainder of the regiment, will pass through here en route for the same destination a little later this morning.

Both these trains will consist of fifteen cars. The first is scheduled to pass through Kansas City at 5 o'clock and the second at 5:30 o'clock. All three trains left Plattsburgh last Friday and are using the Wabash road into Kansas City. From here the trains proceed south over the Santa Fe. On arrival at Fort Sam Fordyce the troops are scheduled to march to the Rio Grande.

May 15, 2025 ~ BOMB PLOT IS SUSPECTED.

May 15, 2025

BOMB PLOT IS SUSPECTED.

Man Who Got Black Hand Threats Discovers Battery "Plant."

When Frank Barbero, an Italian saloon keeper, saw a man concealing a box at the foot of a tree near his place last night, he recalled several Black Hand letters he recently received and notified the police.

Patrolman Patrick Conlon found the box contained a dry cell battery with connections and a switch. It is believed a bomb later was to be placed under the saloon and wires laid to the box.

May 14, 2025 ~ ANOTHER MUST HEAR SUNDAY.

May 14, 2025

ANOTHER MUST HEAR SUNDAY.

Unruly Boy Sentenced to Attend Evangelist's Revival.

Billy Sunday as an adjunct to the juvenile court, entered his official duties yesterday by lecturing a boy brought before Judge E. E. Porterfield for unruliness at home. Of course the evangelist didn't lecture to this boy alone, but the lad was technically "sentenced" by the judge to hear Billy Sunday's sermon to young folks.

The boy was Earl Snodgrass, 16 years old, of Independence. Court officers testified yesterday morning that he had an unruly temper and kicked over the chairs at home when angry. Judge Porterfield talked to him, telling him he didn't like to send a boy to the McCune farm who had a good home.

"You go and hear Billy Sunday this afternoon and if you promise to do this and hear two other sermons at the tabernacle, I'll release you, for I believe it will do you good," said the judge.

Earl promised.