2 May24,2008 NewsHopperTM www.NewsHopper.net
FOR LOAN OR PURCHASEAitkin High School Yearbooks circa 1909/10 - 1914/15
for research of WARREN WILLIAM KRECH, Broadway and Hol-lywood actor, born and raised in Aitkin, 1894 - 1916.
Contact Connie at the NewsHopper, 218-927-6990; [email protected]
Also looking for other old historical books on Aitkin County.
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Sunday, June 16:30 8:30 p.m.
By PhiliP Neese When John Henry and
JamesGraycombinedforcestheydecided to do a caperthat would set them up forlife.
Their first crime was toholdupatruckcontainingsixwomenandachestthatwassupposedtocontainalargeamountofjewelry.Theyweresurprisedwhentheyopenedthe chest and found that itcontainedcandy!
In 1937 in Lake Geneva,WI, the two held up thehusbandandwifewhowereowners of a local café andkidnappedthewifeandheldherforransom,however,thehusbanddecidednottopay.JohnandGrayhadhiddenthewifeinavacantbarn.Itwascold,thesearchwasgettinghot,andinadditiontheywererunningoutoffood.Johnsawnoreasontokillthewifesoheletheroutofthecarnearhermother’shome.
Theyplannedseveralotherkidnappingsincludingthatofthebaseballpitcher“Dizzy”Dean and some of his fel-low players. Kidnapping abaseballplayermayjusthavebeenadreamormaybethey
realized that it would besmarter to approach thosewhowerelessabletodefendthemselves.Inanycase,thetwodroppedthoseplans.
John was convinced thatthey needed a hide out sothey could hide the victimforsometimeandbeabletowrite their ransom letters, aplacethatwouldbehiddenandsomewhatcomfortable.
Theyremodeledacabinina secludedarea inWiscon-sinandalsofixedupanoldfarmhousethathadfalleninnearEmily.
Theywerereadyforthebigcaseanddecidedtheywouldtryoutafewhigh-classres-taurantsoutsideChicagoandlook for some rich people.OneeveningataswankplacetheyobservedacouplepullupinashinynewLincolnandwhentheoccupantssteppedout John couldn’t help butnotice that they were bothdressed fit to kill.The ladyhad on a nice fur and themanwasallsuitedup.John’seyeswidenedwhenthemanplaceda$5tiponthetable.Charles Ross of Chicagoseemed like the ultimateprize.JohnandJimGraygot
In the end, the crime didn’t pay, Part 4intheircarandfollowedtheshiny Lincoln.This was go-ing to be the big one.Thisdecisionultimatelyledtothedeathsofallthree.
With everything going asplanned,themoneyreceived,greedor stupidity reared itsuglyheadandJohnGrayandCharles Ross lost their livesat thehandsof JohnHenry.Aftertakingcareofthebod-ies,Johnwentonaspendingspree, ultimately ending inhisarrest.
JohnHenryadmittedtothekidnapping and killing thetwomenandwassentencedtodeath.Hewasexecuted,in1938,inChicago,IL.
Growing up in Ironton,JohnHenrywasanaveragekid.The Depression and ashortencounterwithagang-ster would change his lifeforever.
Inatimewhenjobswerescarce and gangsters weretrendy, JohnHenrytookthegangster way — the easyway.Unfortunately forhim,in theend, thecrimedidn’tpay. Even his burial lackeddignity;hisbodywasbroughtinto theKlondikeCemeteryatmidnightandhewaslaid
torestwithonlythemoonasawitness(Thefamilyfearedthe notoriety of a daylightburial).
Robberyisacrimethatusu-allyphysicallyhurtsvictims,their friends and families.Another troubling aspect ofthese terrible crimes is theeffect of the behavior onthe perpetrators friends andfamilies. Often criminalsturntopeoplewhoarecloseto themforhelpwhen theyare in troublewith the law.How strong are these obli-gations?The law states thatitisacrimetoaidandabetasuspectedfelon.Yet,manytimescriminalsareaffordedfoodandshelterbyfamiliesorthoseclosetothem.WhohelpedJohnHenryandpro-videdhimwiththefoodandequipment that was hiddeninthatModel“A”carbyMudCreekSchool,whichcausedWoodytobesocurious(seefirstarticlefordetails).
Woodystated,“Ihaveal-waysrememberedthatinci-dentandhavebeenamazedthat such unusual crimeswereoccurringrightnearourschoolhouse.”
The house in Ironton where John Henry grew up.
John Henry’s headstone, revealing his last name.
John Henry
Get It, Read It, Love It… tHe NewsHoPPeR
I haven’t done much con-cerning searches of McGrath‘shistory.WhatI’vedoneisscanhundreds of pictures into mycomputer,cleanthemupinmypaintand/orphotoprogramasbestIcould,thensendthemdi-rectlytoCarolBaileyandCarolDanielsontohelpsupporttheirMcGrathprojects.Bothwomenhave contributed weeks uponweeksofpersonalhourstowardthe McGrath Historical Bookand the McGrath Historicalquilt.Theirresultswillbetrea-sured.
Having just worked on thepictures, I’ve learned muchabout the history of McGrath.I’vecomeacrosssomanynames,events,datesandpeopleofinter-est.I’msuretherearehundredsmorethatI’mnotyetawareof.
I have recently read theon-going debates concerning the
actual year that McGrath wasrecognized and accepted as atown.Somesayitwasin1908,otherssayitwasnotuntilincor-porationin1923.WhatIseeisawin/winsituationforbothsidesofthisdebate.
McGrathcameintoexistencein 1908. I’ve worked on thepictures that showMainStreetatthattime,thenalloftheotherpicturesrightuptothepointofincorporation.TheMcGrathPostOffice,theMcGrathStateBank,the McGrath High School, theMcGrathTrainDepotwerewellestablished and accepted longbeforethedateofincorporation.This is not folklore, but fact.Federal and State acceptanceandrecognitionwerenecessaryinorder tobenamedas such.Otherwise, they’d have beennamed Minnesota Post Office,Bank, High School,Train De-
the debate of McGrath’s existencepot,etc.TheexistenceoftheseestablishedMcGrathstructurescannot logically or reasonablybedenied.
On the other hand, withMcGrathhavingbecomeincor-poratedin1923,itsimplygivesMcGrathjustonemorereasontocelebrateitshistoricalsignifi-cance.Iseeverygoodreasonforourtownandsurroundingareato celebrate both significantdates and events. Both ‘sides’are correct as far as I can telland McGrath could rightfullycelebrateitsanniversariescon-cerningbothdates,harmingnoone in the process. Let’s buildeachotherupandsupportoneanotheronourquestsforthehis-toryofMcGrathandthecelebra-tionssurroundingtheevents.
Submitted by Deb NassMcGrath
letter to the editor
Summer is just around thecorner. Do you have homerepairs that need to be donebefore another winter rollsaround? USDA Rural Devel-opmenthasa1percenthomerepairprogramforlowincomehomeownerstofinancebasichomerepairs,installessential
homefeaturesandtoremovehealthandsafetyhazards.
Households must meet in-come guidelines, own andresideinthehome,havestableanddependableincome,meetcreditstandardsandshowre-paymentability.Themaximumloanamountis$20,000witha
Need home repairs?termof20years.
Grantfundsmaybeavailableforeligiblehouseholdsover62yearsofagewhodonothaverepayment ability for a loanandneedahealthandsafetyhazardremoved.
For more information callRural Development at 218-
829-5965, extension 4, orstop into the office at 7118ClearwaterRoad,Baxter,MN56425.
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