MUSIC DURING WW 11

NORMAN  V.  KELLY                                                                                                  

1942   

1943   

1944    You’re In The Army Mr. Jones.” Once The Japs hit Pearl Harbor over 25,000 men were soon gone from this area. Hundreds and hundreds of women volunteer for all kinds of services, from the WACS to the WAVES.

 

“Bell Bottom Trousers.”     ( coat of navy blues.)

 

“Keep ‘Em Flyin”                “The Marine Hymn”  

 

“Ma! I Miss Your Apple pie.”      

 

“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy From Company C.”

 

Women left behind became factory workers…the Rosie Riveters

“Pistol packin’ Mama”

 

“I don’t want to walk without you.”

 

“Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me.”

(Till I come marchin’ home.)

 

Blackouts and rationing.

 

“When the lights go on again all over the world.”

( when a kiss won’t mean goodbye but hello to love.)

 

propaganda…Tokyo Rose… (Iva)

 

Moral…Peoria had 5 USO clubs…including one for the black.

“Stage door canteen”  with a girl named Irene  …she handed out donuts…wow.

 

Marriages were UP…Morals were Down. All the good guys were GONE..   another terrible song.  “ Girls don’t refuse to kiss a soldier.”  ( Let him smell your powder…girls…please.)

 

“Praise the lord and pass the ammunition”  ( And we’ll all stay free)

 

The blacks fought…and we paid them back by keeping the army segregated…

 

Over paid  over sexed  and over here…that’s what the Br

its said of our GI’s.

 

Our gals were singing:  “They’re either too young or too old.”

But not all of them…believe you me…some lady’s were not about to wait for their GI.

 

Europe…bomber after bombing on Germany…terrible losses on both sides.

 

June 6, 1944…D Day..songs changed a bit…

 

“You’d be so nice to come home too”  ( so nice by the fire)

 

“Wonder when my baby’s coming home?” 

 

1945 Iwo Jima…over 6,000 Americans died thee…they took that American Flag there…and we cut it out of the paper and put it in our window. We had little flags in the window..blue and gold for the men killed. We had 3 blue stars in ours. Right next to our Ice signs,

 

 

April 1945…we hear Hitler is Dead…

“When that man is dead and gone”

 

he was ‘satin with a small mustache.’

 

President Truman told us that on August 6, 1948 and on the 9^th. we hit Japan with 2 atomic Bombs.

 

“Atom  and Evil.”  Silly song…(if Evil gets his hands on the Atom…we will all fall down and go boom.)

 

The Japs Surrender…war is over. We all go downtown and I mean the entire town. We even get to kiss girls…real live girls and a few women…and a couple of grandmothers.

Another silly song..  “Doug…Doug…Douglas McArthur.”

 

Guys are coming home…and Peoria is excited beyond words…

 

1945…

 

“I’m Gonna Love That Guy Like He’s Never Been Loved Before”

 

“Sentimental Journey” SURELY the SONG…1945

(got my bags and got my reservations.) why did I decide to roam?

 

“Waiting for the train to come in”

 

“Kiss me once and kiss me twice”…it’s been a long, long time.

So kiss me once and kiss me twice and kiss me once again….

It’s been a long, long time. How about ‘them’ lyrics?

 

“My guys’ come back.”

 

1921 AND 1922

Norman  V. Kelly

 

People like to talk about and listen to stories of the Roaring Twenties here in Peoria, Illinois. Truth is they are really interested in booze, speakeasies, gangsters, flappers and our wild night life.  After all, I guess Roaring Twenties has to have something to do with booze and getting illegally drunk…you think?

 

I have written a lot of those stories and I can tell you they are fun to think about. Truth is, that here in Peoria during the 13 years of actual Prohibition, we were a lot tamer as a city than most people realize.  Don’t get me wrong, this was the hot spot to be, don’t ever doubt that. 

 

I think the biggest myth that I have heard over the years were the speakeasies.  You see the truth is we didn’t even have any here in town.  I can hear the readers of this article calling me an uninformed fool…and a lot worse I am sure. You see...the fact is that those readers that know all about speakeasies here in town got all that information from their father’s and grandfathers.  Truth is…our dad’s and grandpas were supposed to tell us stories…and they did.

 

Actually Prohibition on Peoria began in September of 1917 here in Peoria when the Lever Act shut down all of our distilleries and breweries.  This phony Conservation Act, perpetrated by the Temperance people led by Wayne Birdwell Wheeler cost this town a ton of jobs. It was all phony because when WW1 began in April of 1917, we did not need to conserve.  America could easily feed itself and its troops, but that did not stop the DRYS.  We lost those distilleries and breweries but at least the taverns stayed open…that is until January 16, 1917.

 

I have pretty much covered the effect of Prohibition in other stories so I thought that I would just fill you in on what it was like here during the first two years of Prohibition.  Maybe some statistics are boring, but remember this is your town, and believe me the folks here, some of them your relatives, were far from being bored, I an tell you that.

 

                              THE  DAWN  OF 1920

 

Peoria is now at the ripe old age of 75 years-old, a sturdy, growing young lady to say the least.

AFTER PEARL HARBOR

“Let’s remember Pearl Harbor,” most Americans at least 78 remember where they were when Pearl Harbor was hit. That song about Pearl Harbor was heard in very early 1942. 

“This Is The Army Mr. Jones,” also a song of 1942. As many as 23,200 men from this area went off to War and hundreds and hundreds of women volunteered for everything from the WAVES to WACS. At least 662 men from this area lost their lives in WW 11. Of course many came back wounded.  It Might surprise you to know that hundreds of divorces were granted in 1946 here in Peoria after the war.  That is a sad statistic I have never heard any so-called historian talk about.  Some other songs we sang during the war were these ditties:

“Bell Bottom Trousers,” (Coat of Navy blue )

“Keep ‘Em  Flying.”

“From The Halls Of Montezuma To The Shores Of Tripoli.”

“Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition.”

WW 11 here in Peoria brought thousands into this area to take the jobs that were here in our factories. Rosie The Riveter…Peoria house wives, did a remarkable job helping our war effort…and got paid less than men to do the same job. There was a song about them that was extremely popular called “Pistol Packin’ Mama.” Now thousands of folks were pouring into Peoria and the draft was on. Songs like “Mom I Miss your apple pie” were among the big hits.

Artie Shaw enlisted with his entire band and a lot of famous movies stars went off to war.  Another song sang by the Andrews sisters was “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company C.”  Here is a song we loved to sing on hayrack rides.   “Good Night Irene,” and Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree With Anyone Else But Me.” For dancers the big song was “I Don’t Want To Walk Without You”.  Of course my age group was a bit too young to get too ‘smoochie,’ but we caught on later. 1942 also brought us “Right In The Fuhrer’s Face.”  It was a silly novelty song that we all got a kick out of singing.

“Lilli Marlene,” never really caught on here, but the GI’s liked it while they were in England.  This song was written in the 30’s, and I think it was a German song. We had five USO places operating here in Peoria and one of them was designated’ For Coloreds.’ Sad, but that was who we were here in Peoria.

“I Left My Heart At The Stage Door Canteen” was a major song in 1943. The Stage Door was Huge in New York, but we had things like this in every major city in the United States.  All the live acts that played Peoria featured this song and many other patriotic songs that kept our morale up during those scary times.

“Marriages were UP…Morals were Down.”  That was a phrase we heard here in town.  Many young men about to go overseas married their high school sweet hearts. Sadly as I mentioned when they came back home to Peoria that high school girl had grown up and simply changed her mind about her ‘man.’  ‘Dear John’ letters were popular…or should I say unpopular during the war.

All of the critical Peoria war factories worked three shifts and most of our 242 taverns stayed open twenty to twenty-two hours a day.

A large portion of our army and air force was stationed in England preparing for ‘The Big Push.’  Brits were quoted as saying this:  The Yanks are over sexed, over paid and over here.” Good thing they were there…not only for them but the entire World.

Here is a song we liked: “They’re Either Too Young Or Too Old.” A sad lament from the ladies…most of the men 18-35 were long gone. As for the guys back here in Peoria there were some that the gals would not look at twice at one time…now they were ‘Kings.’

By 1943 there was some good war news but by the then casualties were mounting.  I remember the little flags in the windows. There were three at my house and sadly we saw some of them turn from blue to gold. In fact 662 were lost from this area in that war. Penicillin, a product of Peoria, Illinois was in mass production and saved countless lives.

Iwo Jima was ghastly and here in Peoria I think every household cut out that picture of the American Flag being raised on a mountain top there and put it on the front window.

After D-Day, June 6, 1945 a few new songs were popular. I remember them all.  “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To.” And one the ladies loved:  “Wonder When My Baby’s Comin’ Home?”

There were a quite a few songs about Hitler…and at the carnivals we threw baseballs at Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini stuffed targets. We rejoiced in 1945 when we heard Hitler was dead.  Truman announced that Japan had been hit with two Atomic Bombs and we knew that the war was finally going to be over.  My three brothers were going to come home and Peoria let loose with a great parade and party downtown on V. J. Day. I was there for all of it. The World was safe for the moment.

Editor’s Note:  Norm is a Peoria historian.  norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net

A Long Time Ago

On May 24, 1878 there was a bit of excitement downtown because the old courthouse that was built in 1836 in Peoria, Illinois was being torn down. 

People stood around the perimeter or sat on old chairs or boxes and just watched.  Now there were no bright yellow Caterpillars tearing up the place just men and a few mules and all kinds of tools lay around. But still, there was movement over there and for the older men of Peoria that beat just sitting on a bench telling lies.  There were rumors that there might be treasure of some kind hidden in the walls or a maybe something interesting in the old corner stone that was put in place so many years ago.

 

One of the workers was along side the building virtually working alone.  A few younger men watched and suddenly they moved up a bit closer.  The man held a bottle in his hand momentarily before he quickly tucked it inside his jacket.  Now that was curious the men thought so they called out to him to show them what he found.  That frightened the worker and off he ran away from the courthouse yard and ran down Jefferson Street with the men chasing after him.  Within a few blocks they gave up but the younger man named Mike Brady was persistent and finally caught up with the fleeing worker.  Witnesses said that the two men talked for a few moments before the worker handed over the whiskey bottle to the Mr. Brady and grabbed the twenty-five dollars he was offered and disappeared.  Triumphantly the new owner of the old whiskey bottle went back to his friends and proudly held the bottle up in the air.  “I got it,” he said, with a huge grin on his face.

 

The small group gathered beneath one of the old elm trees as Brady carefully opened the bottle, sniffed its contents then poured a small amount of the whisky in his palm.  That action brought a round of laughter from the men and an angry reaction from the young man.  “It’s just water! Twenty-five dollars for a bottle of water. I’m gonna go find that guy.”

Only then did the young man look at the label.  The label clearly stated that the bottle was from a local distillery and dated 1878.  The trick made the local newspapers and Mike Brady stayed away from the courthouse from then on, according to his ‘friends.’

 

If there was a peak time for our distilleries and breweries in Peoria before the turn of the century it was probably 1878. There were 14 distilleries in Peoria at that time distilling thousands of gallons of ‘booze’ into bottles and barrels and shipping it ‘Hither and yon,’ as folks used to like to say.  We had a lot of wealthy whiskey and beer Barons here and their product, at least the whiskey was often referred to a ‘High Wines.’  Do you think High Street might have gotten its name from that phrase?  The owners bragged about the high taxes they were paying and that comment was hurled at the do-gooders and anti-whiskey people that were relentless in their attacks on ‘Demon Rum.’  All during the Civil War our local beer and whiskey makers paid well over thirty-five million dollars annually to help support the Union cause, and they were proud of that fact. The local farms in Peoria and surrounding counties virtually lived off the massive tons of grain these distilleries bought, and yet even some of them, especially their wives and church members continued their assault on the liquor industry. Those attacks eventually led to the dreaded Prohibition Era.

 

In 1878, Valentine Jobst was awarded the contract to build a City Workhouse and promised he could do it for $10,791. I am assuming he was the same Val Jobst that did so many construction jobs around here.  Well, I feel certain it was a relative at least.  The site for the building was at the foot of Grant Street. The workhouse was a unique building and it was built to house people who owed the city money in the form of fines.  They even had an area for women.  To me it was totally unconstitutional but it lasted for over forty years and was never challenged.  The city fathers got tired of having the police officers arrest a person for some kind of violation, having trials and the people simply did not pay the fines.  Now the courts would sentence the man or woman to the workhouse where he or she would work off the fine.  The prisoners were paid fifty cents a day so some of them were incarcerated for up to six months.  Most of the men and women sentenced in booze related charges went in and out of the ‘jail’ for as long as they lived.  They closed the doors the day Prohibition began in 1920.

 

On June 9, 1878 thousands of people flocked to the river to watch a boating classic called the Mississippi Valley Rowing Association held on the Peoria Lake. Later a grand ball and reception were held with Governor Cullom as the guest of honor. “A hot time in old Peoria, Illinois”

Editor’s Note:   Norm is a Peoria Historian and author and monthly contributor to 50 Plus NEWS & VIEWS.      norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net

 

 

Old Settlers Association

OLD SETTLERS ASSOCIATION NORMAN V. KELLY We have quite a few companies here in town that has been around at least 100 years and many of them are still thriving quite well. During Prohibition for some obvious reasons a lot of local Service Clubs formed and they too are still alive and kicking. Now Peoria became a city in 1845 and one group that began here in Peoria on July 4, 1867 was the Old Settlers Association who had its first meeting and from that brief get together in the Peoria County Courthouse The Old Settlers Association was formed. There were twenty-two original signers of the Constitution they agreed upon that day. However over the months hundred more signed up including the very first original seven men that permanently settled here in our area in 1819 and led by Josiah Fulton. The dues were to be a whopping one dollar a year and for the life of me I cannot see any written proof that they were ever raised. Actually they had a rather long winded title which was The Old Settlers’ Union of Peoria and Vicinity. This group became an association to honor and remember all the citizens who resided here in 1835 the very year that Peoria was incorporated into a Town. Mr. John Hamlin presided and the basic idea was presented to the group of twenty-two men present at the old courthouse. Thus began this remarkable association that built three cabins and a large stone monument as the group began to flourish and continue their long lasting organization that pretty much used the Glen Oak Park as their meeting place. Basically it was an annual picnic, meeting place and annual reunion of old friends that rarely saw each other at all except for the annual picnic they held to renew old friendships and meet new friends. They had a few rules as to who was eligible to become a member. Mainly the applicant had to be of good moral character and was a citizen that had lived in Illinois at least on or before 1935. They further stated that an applicant had to have lived here in Peoria County during the last ten years. The charter members at that first meeting amounted to twenty two members. John Hamlin became its first president and among the group were men that would eventually guide and lead this group for years to come bettering this community as they went along.

c. 1912

Lake at Glen Oak Park c. 1912

As the group grew into a more sociable, a more party-like group turned the one day a year into a day that thousands of folks looked forward to. Naturally the ladies took over the food aspect of the picnic as all kinds of competitive games were formed and in the early evening ‘Old Fashioned Dances’ were held as the day long activities kept every one happily busy. The original meeting place was where the zoo area is located today and just down the road was the small lake that still exists to this day. Horse drawn teams were parked among the shade trees, and folks came from all over the State of Illinois for the festival. The old men would get situated under the trees, talking of farming and the Civil War which was still a topic of interest. As the years changed our history there was always some major topic to discuses while the children played and the wives gathered to make sure there was plenty of food for everyone. Beginning in the early 1930’s yet another Abe Lincoln replica cabin was dedicated. They built it as closely to the original plans as possible. The cabin was to replicate the birth cabin of Mr. Lincoln, and all the labor and supplies were donated within the group itself: many of the members belonged to most of the local unions. From Stone cutters, carpenters and experts of all kind they worked together to build the cabin that drew folks from all over the State of Illinois to marvel at the workmanship and to discuss the popular Civil War President. For you that may have forgotten, the original cabin of Abe’s birth was in Hodgenville, Kentucky, circa 1809. On this day in 1930 past president of the Old Settlers, Historian and early Settler, Ernest East gave the dedication speech. I believe that the third and final cabin was dedicated on August 1, 1959. Each new cabin was begun with the demolition of the previous cabin as it grew old and unsafe. The builders stuck pretty much to the original plan, building the cabin seventeen feet long by thirteen feet and eleven logs high. The roof was shingle, which they called ‘Shakes.’ There was the front door, five foot eight and a space hone out for the fireplace. There was one two foot square window with the rest of the walls having no open spaces at all. Unlike Lincoln’s home, which had a dirt floor, the Settlers made the floor from gravel and a smooth concrete surface. As far as I can ascertain the three cabins were built during 1893, 1927 and finally in 1959. THE STONE MONUMENT Way back in 1812 President John A Bush suggested that the Old Settlers build a Stone Monument very close to the cabin and a discussion about the monument went on for several years. Sadly most of the men that originally planned the monument died and it was not until October 9, 1930 that the first stone was put into place and the shaft was not competed until November 15, 1930, On December 5, 1930 the Old Settlers Stone Monument was finally completed and dedicated. The site of the old cabin and the fresh new monument was a tourist attraction for decades and was even refurbished in the 1980’s. All the stones, in some cases boulders were collected from many Townships n the area. In all Just over 15,000 were part of the monument while thousands more were used for the foundation. The old monument can still be seen inside the ZOO compound over at Glen Oak Park. I have not seen it in years but it is still there. I wonder if it’s worth restoring? I used to know a lot of members of the Old Settlers group but sadly most of them are no longer with us. It certainly is part of Peoria’s history and I could have written 5,000 words about it, but magazine space is limited. At one time it was the oldest man made monument we had and it drew thousands of folks to the park over the years. Editor’s Note: Norm is a Peoria Historian, Author and true-crime writer. Norm is a monthly contributor to ASO. norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net

1932 IN OLD PEORIA

1932 IN OLD PEORIA

NORMAN V. KELLY

I was born here in Peoria in 1932 and thought that I would tell you what was going on here in our old river city. Prohibition was still going on, but by now it was old hat, and our soft drink parlors were all most nonexistent. Through the thirteen years of Prohibition Peoria managed to have all the whiskey they could possibly drink. The Great Depression was hurting many Peorians and life was not very easy here for many people. However, some folks made a lot of money during Prohibition and the depression so I called these two things the ‘Destructive Duo.’ When I was born I was the ninth child, wow, can you imagine that? How we got fed and housed is still a mystery to me. The good news, or rumor, or just plain hope was the FDR would repeal Prohibition and our mighty distilleries and breweries would open up and bring jobs back to Peoria, Illinois. History soon revealed that to be true. By 1935 Hiram Walker opened the largest distillery in the world here, and we were on our way back to the top. The jobs the building of that distillery created was like a gift from Heaven, I can assure you of that.

The local taverns were mostly out of the Soft Drink Parlor business and beginning to come to life as saloons and taverns. By April of 1933 they were open and by December of 1933 whiskey was being made and sold here just like in the ‘Good Old Days.’ Peoria was back on top and since gambling had gotten a very strong hold on downtown Peoria, Illinois, especially during Prohibition. It became much more entrenched in our local culture and of course grew as money began to jingle in a lot of pockets with the new jobs in the revised and revitalized ‘booze business.’

In early 1930 Peoria had a rash of kidnappings, mainly of rich gambling guys, but ‘gangsters’ also kidnapped Dr. Parker who was a Peoria dentist, and not a very wealthy one at all. His disappearance upset a lot of Peorians because of his occupation, you know, a dentist. We were used to trouble between the gamblers and the thugs, but the professional men and women had been pretty safe throughout our history. Kidnappings and bombings and threats of violence belonged among the local hoodlums. The kidnappers kept the good doctor for 18 days and all during that time the folks in Peoria were talking about Dr. Parker and expecting him to “Turn up dead or drowned in the river.” Not true: he simply walked back home across the bridge from East Peoria to Peoria. Later a jury convicted 12 people, including some family members and most of them from East Peoria, Illinois. A few of them were sentenced to forty-five years. It sure put a dent in the myth that gangsters were behind all the Peoria kidnappings.

Radio was our saving grace here In Peoria, Illinois with so many great shows, including comedy, mystery and a lot of folks like George and Gracie Allen and Peorians ‘Fibber McGee and Molly and Charles Correll. All those folks became household names later on in their careers. Music kept a lot of Peorians going, and dancing was very popular in Peoria. Songs like, Night and Day, I’m Getting Sentimental Over You, How Deep is The Ocean, Tiger Rag, 42nd. Street, and You Are getting To Be A Habit With me. Boogie Woogie was in and folks were dancing the “Big Apple” Peorians lit their ‘Fags’ with a ZIPPO lighter and eating MOUNDS, a popular candy bar. Open cars and touring cars were in and you could buy a Hupmobile for $795.00.

Chief Coy a local celebrity and strongman entertained the folks downtown by pulling automobiles along the streets by his teeth and tearing thick telephones books in half with his bare hands. The Annual Fall Festival was in Peoria and an estimated 60,000 people attended the festivities. The unfinished Cedar Street Bridge is attracting folks with suicide on their minds and is dubbed ‘Lover’s Leap.’ There are some folks in town that are very depressed, jobless and with little hope. Here is just a sample of one that the local newspapers wrote about a man that shot himself to death. Mr. Allen left a note telling folks that he was just tired of the way things were going here in town.

Homer Ahrends is our new mayor, nothing really happened while he was in as far as the city went, but it still was a great time to have lived here. Later, Ahrends would step off the curb into the street and was hit by a car. The driver of the car was a member of the city council. Billy Sunday is in town telling his followers what a great success Prohibition has been. Most people laugh out loud when they heard his idiotic statements. Over a one month period Peorians are scared to death of bombs that have been going off around town. The sheriff tells folks that it is “Just a scare tactic among gamblers and local thugs and no one will be injured.” He was right. Income Tax passed in Illinois here in October of 1932 and of course folks griped to high heaven, but the truth is that very few people had a job that paid them enough to worry very much about ‘income’ taxes. Lucky Strike has a big ad in the local newspapers telling folks that they have a filter that will stop all impurities from entering the smoker’s lungs. So…at least we had that going for us.

President Hoover makes a stop here in Peoria and thousands rushed down to greet him. All the hopes, prayers and rumors helped Roosevelt become President and it looks like most of Peoria rejoices in that fact. They are certain that FDR will appeal Prohibition. They were right and In April 1932 beer is the first to get back into production, less alcohol, but it helps and by December of 1933 good old Peoria whiskey back. Hiram Walker announced that they will build the largest distillery here in Peoria, Illinois and on July 4, 1935, 70,000 people visited the open house and Peoria is back on its feet once again. In 1932 Bradley Park is opened and soon Bradley Golf Course is named Newman Golf Course. Over on Sheridan Road they were building Buehler Home and life iwas good here in good old Peoria, Illinois. I stayed in diapers from April 24, 1932, until WW 11 began, but that is a different story for another time. Editor’s Note: Norm is a Peoria Historian and author and a monthly contributor to ADVENTURE SPORTS OUTDDORS. norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net

MURDER IN A DOWNTOWN BANK

MURDER IN A DOWNTOWN BANK

NORMAN V. KELLY

On a cold and peaceful Sunday Morning, December 23, 1917 folks in downtown Peoria, Illinois were in a joyful spirit as they left the churches and window shopped as they strolled by the decorated stores. There was talk of a white Christmas and although most of the stores were closed, the restaurants and hotels were quite busy. Over at the Jefferson Hotel, Edward Strause stood with two other men talking before he turned and walked out of the hotel. He was headed for the State Trust and Savings Bank on Jefferson Street next to the hotel. He seemed to be in a happy mood as he spoke to folks on his way to the bank. Just slightly ahead of Mr. Strause was Berne Mead who said goodbye to his friends over at the Creve Coeur Club, heading for the bank just minutes ahead of Ed Strause. No one saw them enter the bank but what went on in that bank between those two prominent business men brought them to the attention of the entire population of Peoria, Illinois which was about 71,000 in 1917. In fact they would be the center of attention for the next three years and beyond, drawing folks from all over the area to Peoria, Illinois and the Peoria County Courthouse and the one in Bloomington as well. Two friends stood in front of the bank there at Jeffersonand Liberty Streets talking, later they would remember it was just going on noon when they heard a shot coming from within the bank. Alarmed they hurried over to the glass door of the bank and peered in; it was at that time that they distinctly heard the moan of man obviously in pain. Both of the men banged on the door but heard nothing further. Other people stopped to see what was going which attracted other passersby. Over at City Hall where the police were headquartered a lady driving an electric car pulled up in front of the police station and told an officer she thought the bank was being robbed. Moments later Detective Couch pulled up in front of the bank got out and with gun in hand demanded the crowd move out of his way. Detective Couch banged on the door and peered inside the bank. At the moment two shots rang out and immediately the folks around the door moved back to the curb, some of the ladies screaming as they took cover. Couch used the butt of his revolver to knock on the door, preparing to break the window with his gun to enter the bank. He saw a man walking toward him inside the bank as the crowd began to gather again behind the brave detective. The door opened!

Detective Couch moved quickly forward blocking the open door and slipped inside closing the door behind him. Couch looked at the man, “What’s the trouble here?” The man, whom Couch recognized as the president of the bank, was Edgar A. Strause! “I had trouble with one of my men, He shot at me first.” Together the two men walked to the interior of the bank. As they got near one of the teller’s cage the officer saw the body of a man lying in a pool of blood, his head resting up against the cage. “What’s this?” Couch said, pointing his gun at the body. “Oh, I had trouble with one of my men. He shot at me first.” It was then that the officer realized that the man was in some kind of nervous shock and would later describe in detail how Strause looked and what he said. Those words spoken to the first officer on the scene would be the last words that Strause was ever quoted as saying, and the ordeal ahead for him was just beginning. Within three days President Edward A. Strause would be forced to resign his lofty position and find himself in a situation that no person that had ever known him could possibly have imagined.

Outside a huge crowd had gathered and as more police arrived, an officer was placed to guard the door, allowing only physicians and officials to enter the bank. The word had spread like wild fire and once the local newspaper photographers and reporters arrived the place was up for grabs. More police were called when some of the folks in the crowd began to fear that somehow the bank was in financial trouble and they wanted their money now. All hell was breaking loose, and more officers and firemen were called to handle what looked like to police was about to become a riot. A special edition from The Evening Star hit the streets later and it was sold by screaming men and boys yelling ‘EXTRA! EXTRA! The headline: “PEORIA ASTOUNDED AT TRAGEDY WHICH COST THE LIFE OF BERNE M. MEAD.

The folks in Peoria, Illinois were still buzzing about the murder of the bank cashier, Berne Mead, by the bank’s President Edgar Strause of the State Bank and Savings. Now, on December 26, 1917 it appeared that most of the townsfolk were either in the courthouse or milling around outside. All of them hoped to get into the coroner’s inquest but space was very limited. Even some of the reporters and photographers were waiting out on the courthouse steps. Inside, there were at least twenty-four witnesses that the coroner wanted to talk to, and the excitement was still running high over this shocking murder. Edgar Strause was sitting in the chief’s office over at the city hall, while the victim Berne M. Mead’s body was being held in a vault out at Springdale Cemetery. He would be buried the next day in Chillicothe, Illinois.

Coroner Elliott stood behind his desk watching the crowd: with a wave of his hand, the bailiff closed the door and the coroner banged his gavel. Coroner Elliott called his first witness and for three days they came and went one after the other. The question in everyone’s mind that heard about this killing was simply ‘Why?’ Murders in Peoria were typically domestic or in connection with a robbery certainly not between to prominent businessmen. Theories were rampant, but the newspapers were always ready and willing to tell the reader far more than what they actually knew. Mr. Strause was the president and Mead was the cashier. Meade held more of the stock shares than anyone and he felt he should be the president…not Strause. On that Sunday morning the two met and Strause asked for Mead’s resignation. Mead went a bit berserk and the two men fought, Meade fired the first shot at Strause and the president fired his own weapon striking Mr. Mead in the mouth and through the eye, killing him. Clearly a case of self defense. It was that simple…or so the newspaper editors said.

Strause hired two local lawyers and they tried to intervene in the hearing whenever they could, but the coroner kept a strong grip on them. As the witnesses told their stories the real story of what went on inside that bank was never clearly presented. After all, there was only one person who knew what really happened and he was not at the inquest. After three days the coroner’s jury handed its verdict to Coroner Elliot. The reporters almost knocked down the folks standing out side the coroner’s room when the verdict was read. They had a story to write and the whole town wanted to read it.

December 28, 1917 Peoria Evening Star

Young men in a dozen areas of the city were racing around selling the newspapers the moment they had a bundle of them in their arms. Most folks would get the paper at their homes, but they bought a copy anyway. EDGAR A. STRAUSE HELD WITHOUT BAIL FOR MURDER OF CASHIER BERNE M. MEAD!

Murder? Most Peorians had followed every word of the coroner’s Inquest daily for three days. To them and most folks at the courthouse the evidence sounded like self defense to them, so the word ‘murder’ pretty much surprised them all. Less than a half-hour after the verdict Strause was in hand cuffs and on his way to the Peoria County Jail. He went through the booking procedures, was required to take a shower and outfitted with the clothes of a county jail prisoner. Another shocker was that the jury recommended that he be held without bail until his trial. That gave the folks in Peoria something to talk about and as it turned out the Mead and Strause shocking story would be in their minds for over two years.

On a beautiful day in May in 1918 Edgar Strause sat in the Peoria Courthouse with his two attorneys waiting for the trial of the decade to began. The place was packed and hundreds stood outside, unable to get inside. It had been a terrific struggle to pick the jury and everyone was anxious to get things started. When the trial ended the defendant was found guilty of murder and sentenced to twenty-five years in the State Prison. The Supreme Court over turned that verdict and remanded it to Peoria for another trial. The second trial was held in Bloomington, Illinois and the jury was dead locked. A third trial was held there and again the jury was deadlocked.

So, three trials, at the cost of $40,000, and countless hours of wasted time and what was the result? Zero! I hope before this summer is over that I can put on my blog the entire story, since we are limited here by space restraints. Mr. Strause stayed here in Peoria and remained the owner of five cigar stores. He died here on November 2, 1935 and was never tried again for the murder of Berne Mead. I know you, dear reader, have a hundred questions which I could answer, but it will have to be another time and in another place. Editor’s Note: Norm is a Peoria Historian, author and monthly contributor to NEWS and VIEWS. norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net