Life is Complicated

Looking at history
we often conjure up an idealized view of the past or one that is scornful and
appalled at the poor conditions of the time. A hundred years ago in Quincy,
people were coping with the remnants of the Spanish Influenza, the aftermath of
a World War, an economy struggling to adapt to peace time, an army of men
returning to civilian life, and more. And the streets were not exactly safe.

In the early
1920’s newspapers regularly reported armed robberies of citizens. On Saturday,
Dec. 11, 1920, the Daily Herald reported that the chemist walking home from Hermann’s
drug store at 730 S. Sixth Ave was followed by two men. They caught up to him.
One man aimed a revolver at him and ordered his hands into the air. The other
man rifled his pockets. The chemist managed to remove his diamond ring and
while raising his hands threw it into the yard behind him. The robber searching
his pockets took a $5 bill but left a watch and a diamond stick pin. The two
robbers fled. The chemist, Mr. Konantz, called the police who sent two
officers. The mayor was driving by, saw the commotion and stopped. A search of
the yard revealed the missing diamond ring which was returned to Mr. Konantz.

Mr. Konantz’s
description of the robbers did not match the description of another pair who
had robbed Alderman Goessling on South Eighth Street a few nights before. However, a few days later the Chief of Police,
Tom Ryan, received a taunting Christmas card from “The Hold Up Man.” The signer claimed responsibility for all the
latest robberies and said he was not finished yet because he had not “get much
from his victims so far.”

Monetary inflation
rate calculates show that a 1920 dollar’s value would be about 13 times greater
now. A five-dollar bill would equate to about $65 today.

In early January
1921, Mayor P. J. O’Brien, walking home from a council meeting, was near Oak on
North Sixth when he heard screams from the Herman Drug Store. He ran up and
Mrs. Herman reported that a robber had just fled west on Elm Street. The Mayor
gave chase using the Herman’s car, accompanied by Mrs. Herman. She said that
the man had entered the store while her husband was in the basement tending the
furnace. The man requested a male salesperson, so she called Mr. Herman back upstairs.
The robber then pulled a gun crying, “Give me your money.” Mr. Herman reportedly
replied, “Go to Hell!” and made his way
to the prescription counter where he kept his own gun. Mrs. Herman began
screaming. The shrieks unnerved the robber who turned to flee and tripped over
a chair, ripping his pants at the knee then managed to escape to the street.

The mayor and the
druggist’s wife spotted the robber near Fifth and Oak where he was preparing to
board a streetcar. He was arrested, disarmed, and taken back to the drug store
where a carload of police had arrived. The robber, Lawrence Laaker, aged 19,
later confessed to a string of recent robberies and to sending the greeting to
the chief of police.

Laaker reported
that he had worked for Swift and Company in Chicago, Detroit, and Kansas City,
where he had noticed many successful street robberies. He decided to give it a
try in Quincy, using a man named Goetsch as his partner. In the custom of the
time, the names of both men’s parents as well as their home addresses were printed
in the newspapers for all to see.

Laaker claimed to
be the leader of the pair and took credit for most of the stickups. He also admitted
that the pair had made future plans to rob Sturhahn Jewelers at Eighth and
State Streets.

Walking the
streets was not the only danger. Harry Duffy, a good Samaritan, was stopped by
a pitiful man who claimed to be homeless and starving. Duffy took the man to
his little shack on the west side of Quincy Bay and fed him. He also gave him
some socks and underclothes which were accepted with profuse thanks. After the
meal and some conversation, Duffy’s guest picked up a shotgun which Duffy
himself had loaded that very morning, and pointed it at his host, requesting
money. Duffy provided seven one-dollar bills that he had withdrawn from his
bank account that very morning. The robber ordered Duffy to stay inside and
left. The next morning, the shotgun was discovered near the house, but the
stranger was long gone.

Not all robbery
stories ended so well. Schroeder’s
Grocery at 741 S. 12th Street was known as a place that kept large
amounts of cash. Mr. Schroeder did not believe in checking accounts but
preferred to pay cash for his supplies. Two young men, both out of work with
parents in ill health and families struggling to survive, decided to rob the
grocer. They tried stopping him on his way home one night, but he kept walking,
thinking the call to stop and throw up your hands, was a joke. The two
returned, this time to the store itself. Mr. Schroeder again refused to agree
to be robbed and was struck over the head and shot. The bullet hit his collar
bone and fragmented, one part lodging in his neck where it could not be safely
removed by surgeons at that time. He spent six weeks in the hospital slowly
recovering from paralysis before returning home for further recuperation.

The busiest night
for armed robberies in 1921 was October 23, when five separate holdups were
reported within one hour. Most were young couples walking home after the end of
the dance at the Eagles’ Hall. Several might have been overactive imaginations.

It is hard to
compare life now with life before. Some things we take for granted did not
exist and others, considered usual occurrences for the time, would outrage us
now.

Sources:

“Boy Suspects Confess They Fired Shots.”

Quincy Daily
Journal

, 26 September 1921, 3.

“Good Samaritan Robbed by Stranger Whom He Befriends.”

Quincy
Daily Herald

, 7 January 1921, 17.

“Highwaymen Put In Busy Night In Quincy.”

Quincy Daily
Journal

, 23 October 1921, 1.

“Hold Up Men Caught By Mayor.”

Quincy Daily Journal

,
4 January 1921, 1.

“Hold-up On North Sixth Last Night.”

Quincy Daily Herald

,
11 December 1920, 1.

“John Schroeder Shows Steady Improvement.”

Quincy Daily
Journal

, 6 November 1921, 9.

“Plans Had Been Made to ‘Kick In’ Store, Too.”

Quincy
Daily Journal

, 4 January 1921, 3.

“Quincy Man Shot By Hold Up Men.”

Quincy Daily Journal,

25 September 1921. 1.

“Xmas Greetings from Hold Up Man Came From Laaker.”

Quincy
Daily Journal

, 4 January 1921, 1.