children

TEN BUCKS FOR A RUNAWAY BARLOW BOY

Jeff Elliott Leave a comment

Wanna make a sawbuck in 1908 Sonoma County? Capture a kid trying to escape the workcamp at the Barlow ranch near Sebastopol.

Every summer, the “The Boys’ and Girls’ Aid Society” – a San Francisco institution for boys “not sufficiently wayward to require assignment to the reform school, and too hard to manage to be placed in family homes or orphanage” – forced dozens of boys, some as young as seven, to work in West County fields and canneries. Earlier essays have described the child labor situation here, but the 1908 newspaper coverage provided much additional detail.

The program was expanding every year; in 1908, “the Aid” brought here 170 youths, up from 130 the year before. In 1907, they had worked for the Barlows and two neighbors, picking 125 tons of berries. The following year they were hired out to 22 growers between Sebastopol and Forestville and picked 157 tons, plus “many tons” of peaches and plums. So popular were the child workers that still more farmers were planning to take advantage of the boys and not hire adults. One of the Santa Rosa papers reported, “arrangements are now being made for next year’s picking by several who have heretofore depended on Japanese help, or any who came along.”

Both local papers consistently portrayed the experience as a pleasant treat for the kids (“a delightful outing for many of them who otherwise could have had no vacation”), but the number of attempted escapes suggests differently. At least a dozen boys tried to flee the workcamp in 1908, including Raymond Onion and George Springer, who were named here earlier as possible suspects in the arson that destroyed the barns of Harrison Finley and another farmer that summer. If caught, the escapee was taken back to the camp in handcuffs, and the captor was paid a ten dollar reward. In one potentially dangerous situation, a couple of young men held a group of boys captive with a shotgun, only to find that they were ordinary and worthless runaways from their parents, not the workcamp.

The papers always trumpeted that the boys were allowed to keep some of their earnings, but here it was mentioned for the first time that the boys apparently had to pay their own railway fare between the camp and the area where they were required to work, and that their puny paycheck was docked “a small charge for camp expenses.” (There was no mention of who paid the $10 bounty hunter reward, but we can safely guess it wasn’t “the Aid.”) And although it was expected that “nearly all will subscribe for magazines” with some of their earnings, the money mainly was spent on clothing and dentistry. Clothes I can perhaps understand, but the kids had to pay for their own dentistry?

Included below are also a couple of bonus juvenile escape tales: A boy who fled St. Vincent’s Orphanage in Marin County and stole a horse and buggy was to be sent to Preston School of Industry at Ione (AKA San Quentin for Kids) and a pair of boys at the “Home for the Feeble Minded” in Glen Ellen used a rope made of blankets to get away from that institution. A few years later, Jack London wrote about a similar escape by two boys with epilepsy in a short story, “Told In the Drooling Ward.”

MORE BOYS RUN AWAY
Five Escapes from Aid Society at Sebastopol

On Thursday three of the boys of the Boys’ and Girls’ Aid Society camped at the Barlow ranch made their escape from the camp and up to this morning the officers had been unable to locate them. On Friday morning sometime between one and three two more of the lads left the camp, and in doing so, stole clothing from some of the other boys. It was thought that the first three lads had gone toward Occidental and taken the narrow gauge road from there to the city, but no trace of them could be found, and the officers are keeping a sharp lookout for them.

It will be remembered that a few days ago two little boys left the camp during the night in their night clothes. These later returned of their own accord regretting much that they had attempted to regain their liberty. There are 130 boys in the camp this year and many of them become very restless after they have been in camp awhile, and want to get off for themselves.

– Santa Rosa Republican, July 24, 1908
ROBBED FATHER AND RAN AWAY
Boy Who Crossed Continent is in Hands of Law

The boys who escaped from the camp of the Boys’ and Girls’ Aid Society on the Barlow ranch on Thursday and Friday of last week are all back in the camp. Two of them, Raymond Onion and George Springer, were brought in by ranchers in the vicinity and the other three came back voluntarily and reported in.

Raymond Onion is the boy who it will be remembered escaped on the 5th of the month and was picked up in Santa Rosa by the crew of the local train who very generously forebore collecting the usual reward of $10 offered by the Society for the return of wanderers from Camp.

This boy is an Eastern lad who stole a large sum of money from his father and traveled across the continent to San Francisco, where he was relieved of the remainder of the money by his traveling companion. Left penniless in San Francisco he was taken to the Juvenile court and sent to the camp temporarily until his parents could be communicated with. His father refused money to pay his fare back and it was intended to secure him passage on a sailing vessel. He and the Springer boy, who is a friendless orphan who was discharged from an orphan asylum, because of his bad temper, have been the instigators of most of the trouble which the management of the camp has had during the past three weeks. They each made two attempts to escape and were brought back each time and all the others returned voluntarily. They were returned on Saturday to the custody of the juvenile court for such disposition as Judge Murasky may think best. It is the desire of the Superintendent, Mr. Turner, to have the boys stay at the camp voluntarily and much is done to make it pleasant for the boys in his care.

The major part of the earnings at the berry picking is paid to the boys on their return to San Francisco each year and spent by them on clothing, magazines, dentistry, and pocket money or put in the bank. This summer the Society has cared for a large number of city boys during the summer vacation of the public schools, affording a delightful outing for many of them who otherwise could have had no vacation.

Over 40,000 trays of berries have been picked thus far and the boys are being engaged for prune and peach picking which will soon commence. One or two squads will be needed in the Sebastopol cannery when peaches begin to come in.

– Santa Rosa Republican, July 28, 1908
USED SHOTGUN IN CAPTURE
Youths Held Up by Boys While Officers are Called

It was reported Wednesday that four boys have escaped from the Aid Society Camp near Sebastopol and the officers were kept busy looking for the lads during the forenoon. It was stated that they were seen near the depot about nine o’clock and Officers Boyce and Yeager started after them post haste but when they reached the freight house they boys were gone and on going down the railroad they found two lads at the freight cars on the siding below the trestle. These boys were arrested but were found to be other than the ones wanted and were allowed to go again. The officers started on down the track but learned that the boys had preceded them to Bellevue.

Two boys near the Ice Factory learned of the runaways and hitched a horse to a cart and drove to Bellevue where they headed off the lads and one of them remained while the other came back and notified the police. He stated that his companion was holding the other boys at the point of a shotgun and wanted to know what to do with them.

– Santa Rosa Republican, July 29, 1908
ESCAPES WERE NOT AID SOCIETY BOYS

The article in Wednesday’s paper to the effect that four boys who were supposed to have escaped from the Aid Society Camp near Sebastopol were arrested by two Santa Rosa lads near Bellevue, left the impression that the boys were escapes, whereas they were only suspects, and it is learned from the officials of the Society that there have been no escapes for over a week, or since the dissatisfied ones had been sent back to the city. The four boys mentioned were strangers here, and were evidently well started on the “vag” route.

– Santa Rosa Republican, July 31, 1908
THE GOOD WORK DONE BY AID SOCIETY BOYS

The boys of the Boys’ and Girls’ Aid Society passed through Santa Rosa Friday afternoon in two special cars en route to the home in San Francisco. There were 125 boys in the party, some having gone ahead.

The season has been very enjoyable and quite successful financially. Over 39,000 trays of ninety-seven tons of blackberries have been picked; 24,000 trays, or sixty tons, of loganberries, raspberries and mamoths, and many tons of peaches and plums gathered by the boys. They have been of great assistance in saving the enormous crop of peaches, having worked for twenty-two different growers between Sebastopol and Forestville, and have to their credit the sum of $4000.

The amount is credited to the 170 individual boys, who have enjoyed the benefits of the summer outing, and will be paid to them, less a small charge for camp expenses. The money is used for the boys for clothing, dentistry and in useful channels. Many put part in the bank and nearly all will subscribe for magazines on their return to the city.

Not all of this money is taken out of the county, however, as might be thought, as the expenses of maintaining the camp each year are heavy. About $2500 has been expended for supplies in the local markets at Sebastopol, Petaluma and Santa Rosa, it being the policy of Mr. Turner, the superintendent, to favor local dealers whenever he can do so without detriment to the society; $1500 has been paid out in salaries through a Sebastopol bank, a portion of which is spent right here and over $200 has been spent in local travel on the electric line.

More and more are the boys being recognized as a real help in handling the berry and fruit crop, and their reputation for thorough work is well established. When a berry patch is picked by the boys, the grower can depend on having it picked from start to finish at a uniform rate. With the growth of the work and the increased number of boys cared for each year, a larger amount of work is possible.

Originally only the berries on the Barlow ranch were picked, but now the society is in a position to handle the crops on 100 acres of blackberries, and arrangements are now being made for next year’s picking by several who have heretofore depended on Japanese help, or any who came along.

– Santa Rosa Republican, September 11, 1908

WILL GIVE THE BOY ANOTHER CHANCE
On Witness Stand in Justice Court Frank Silva Freely Tells of His Escapade

Frank Silva, the youth who escaped from St. Vincent’s Orphanage on more than one occasion, will be sent to the Preston School of Industry at Ione, and will there be given another chance to make a man of himself. He recently stole a horse and buggy from a Petaluma man, was captured and brought here. He was given an examination before Justice Atchinson yesterday, and was held over to the higher court. He told his story frankly and admitted everything. This lad has been give a number of chances, and it is hoped that when he goes to school he will make good.

– Press Democrat, August 22, 1908

BOYS ESCAPE BY MEANS OF BLANKET

Two of the boy inmates of the Home for the Feeble Minded at Eldridge escaped from the institution on Monday. The lads were named Holley and Boem, and made a rope of their blankets by knotting the corners together and letting themselves from the dormitory window. As soon as the escape was discovered the attendants at the Home started a search and the sheriff’s office was notified. It is believe that the boys are in hiding on the farm of the home, and will be found in the woods there. This is the third effort of young Boem to gain his liberty from the place.

– Santa Rosa Republican, October 13, 1908

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AND WHEN THEY WERE BAD THEY WERE AWFUL

Jeff Elliott Leave a comment

Anyone who believes kids were better behaved in the “good ol’ days” answer this: How often do today’s ten-year-olds attempt to derail passenger trains?

This is the third and final item on Santa Rosa’s juvenile delinquents, class of 1908. Earlier installments covered lesser crimes, such as vandalism and burglary. Misbehavior, to be sure, but nothing like 1907’s summer of the incorrigibles, when kids were hustling stolen eggs, hijacking buggies, and starting fires. But the miscreants of 1908 were generally younger and their crimes more serious; aside from the aforementioned attempted train derailment, some of our great-grandfathers when young were robbing, stealing horses and bicycles, and riffling through the pockets of drunks.

The train incident involved a pair of boys, age ten and eleven. This was no spontaneous prank; they had planned it for a week, and wore blackface to disguise themselves. They placed the four-foot length of steel (apparently a scrap of old track) on a blind curve near Penngrove. “Fortunately the engineer of the Camp Vacation special noticed the obstruction and applied his brakes,” the Press Democrat reported. “He could not stop in time to prevent hitting the piece of old steel rail, but fortunately the wheel of the ‘poney trucks’ [sic] threw it to one side” (the “pony truck” is the two-wheeled leading axle of a steam locomotive, unconnected to the engine).

Thwarted in their “fun train wrecking,” the boys hung around the tracks until another train passed by, when they threw stones to break windows. Shattered glass cut passengers, and a San Francisco woman was hit directly in the face by one of the rocks. Chased down by two men, the boys were captured and sent to the county jail in Santa Rosa, where they were allowed to play outside their cells (although the jailer gave the 11-year-old and another boy a spanking “just to make them mind”). The 10-year-old was permitted to go home after a stern lecture; the other boy was sent to reform school.

Another 10-year-old was caught trying to sell a rented horse. The court turned him over to the custody of his father in Healdsburg, but soon he was in trouble again, this time for stealing a purse with $17 from a woman who gave him a lift in her buggy. The PD lamented that the young hooligan was probably going to reform school this time, even though “this youngster is a mere slip of humanity, who, when he goes to set himself in a chair has to step on the rung.”

Then there was the gang of five boys who had a stolen bicycle ring. Plan A was to rent bikes from local cycleries and pedal as fast as they could out of town. Somehow the storekeepers got wind of this, and the boys were chased back to Santa Rosa, getting no farther than Kenwood. No charges were pressed, but a few days later the group was in court for stealing “a number of bicycles and numerous other articles” around town. Apparently in their future likewise loomed the Preston School of Industry, the reform school that was a sister institution to San Quentin.

UNGRATEFUL BOY STEALS A PURSE
Healdsburg Ten-Year-Old in Trouble Again–Dilemma as to Know What to Do With Him

A ten-year-old boy is in trouble again. Some time since he hired a saddle horse from a Healdsburg liveryman and rode to Petaluma, where he tried to dispose of the animal. He was turned over to the custody of his father, who promised to take care of him in San Francisco, and find a place for him. It seems that he may have been remiss in the fulfillment of this promise to care for the lad.

At any rate the boy came back to Healdsburg and the other day, in response to a request, a lady gave him a ride. On the buggy seat was her purse containing seventeen dollars. The boy is charged with purloining the cash and the purse. Among other things he bought a bicycle for a dollar and a half, and shortly afterwards left for San Francisco.

District Attorney Lea will have the boy brought to Santa Rosa on Friday and will then ascertain what is best to do with him. Mr. Lea dislikes to send children of such tender years to any state institution for fear that their contact with boys whose characters are worse than theirs may contaminate them. This youngster is a mere slip of humanity, who, when he goes to set himself in a chair has to step on the rung.

– Press Democrat, August 21, 1908

ATTEMPT TO WRECK A TRAIN JUST FOR FUN
Two Naughty Boys Are Landed in the County Jail
Place Obstruction on Track Near Penngrove, Hurl Rocks Through Windows of Passing Train, Severely Hurting Woman

Two children, would-be train wreckers and hurlers of rocks through the windows of passing trains, occupy an upper room at the county jail on Third street, where they were landed shortly after noon on Monday. One is ten-year-old Austin Davis Studerbaker, and the other is eleven-year-old Henry Fehler. They do not realize the enormity of their offenses, and to the charge of attempted train wrecking they plead “only fun.”

The boys, who claim that when they put a four-foot length of heavy steel across the rail on a dangerous curve between Ely’s and Corona, near Penngrove, they did it just for fun to see what a big engine would do if it struck it, never thought, they say, that they were imperiling many human lives by their act. Fortunately the engineer of the Camp Vacation special noticed the obstruction and applied his brakes. He could not stop in time to prevent hitting the piece of old steel rail, but fortunately the wheel of the “poney trucks” threw it to one side.

After putting the obstruction on the track the lads went further down the road and hurled rocks through the windows of the passing train. Then they ran back into the fields and escaped detection for some time. One rock thrown through a car window struck Mrs. T. J. Boone, a San Francisco woman, in the face and painful lacerations resulted. Splinters of glass also struck and cut other passengers. The crashing glass and splinters occasioned considerable excitement aboard. When Penngrove was reached A. J. Ronshelmer was notified, and in company with another man, he started in pursuit and captured the boys. Later Deputy Sheriff and Jailer Joe Barry went down from Santa Rosa and brought the boys to jail.

In their frolic and to give their deeds a touch of the dime novel flourish the lads disguised their faces with the application of black crayon.

When District Attorney Lea saw the boys and took their statements they admitted having put the obstruction on the track, stating that they desired to see what the “cow catcher” on the locomotive would do when it hit the same, and that they did it all for fun. It was only in a childish frolic–a decidedly dangerous one–so they say, that they threw the rocks through the windows of the passing car.

The elder lad will probably be sent to a reform school as his conduct has been bad. What will be done with the other lad remains to be seen.

– Press Democrat, August 18, 1908
BOYS IN FROLIC AT THE COUNTY JAIL
Youngsters Have No Idea How Near They Came to Wrecking the Camp Vacation Train

Detective Helmore, of the Northwestern Pacific railroad, was in this city on Wednesday, and called at the jail to see the boys who placed an obstruction on the tracks near Penngrove, and came near wrecking the Camp Vacation train. He heard their stories and will report the same to General Manager Palmer.

When a Press Democrat representative called at the jail the boys were having a fine frolic in the room they are occupying there. The lad’s merriment was catching, and as Sheriff Smith remarked, they are “Just kids.” The youngsters have no idea of the enormity of their offense, even though it has developed that they talked over the matter for a week before they blackened their faces and sallied forth on their “fun train wrecking” escapade.

– Press Democrat, August 20, 1908
“TRAIN WRECKER” TO REFORM SCHOOL
Decision of District Attorney Regarding Older of Boys–Spanking Follows “Game of Jail Break”

District Attorney Lea has decided the best thing to do with the elder of the two lads who attempted wreck a train near Penngrove several days ago, and who threw rocks through the windows of another passing train, is to send him to the Preston School of Industry at Ione. He will be given an examination before Justice Atchinson today and Judge Seawell will be asked to commit the boy to the school. Mr. Lea has not decided what is best to do with the younger boy. He will see what his home conditions are. The little fellow is the best behaved of the two, and as Jailer Joe Barry says: “He tells the truth.” Barry was overheard telling the boy yesterday afternoon: “Tell the truth, my boy, whatever you do. I do like a boy who tells the truth, and I never punish one when he does.” Pretty good advice.

On Thursday night, during the temporary absence of Jailer Barry, the two boys and another also confined in an upstairs room, thought they would have some more fun by playing at jail breaking. The trio, on account of their youth and good behavior, had been allowed the freedom of the corridor upstairs. They managed to tear loose the upper portion of a wire screen above the bars at the top of the stairs, and were having a game of hid and seek when Jailer Barry arrived. To their stock in trade the boys had added some old keys. They quickly scampered back to bed and the two older ones were given a spanking by Barry just to make them mind. Whatever intentions the boys had in their game of attempted jailbreaking, they came off second best, for yesterday they were denied the privilege of the corridor and had to remain in their rooms in solitude.

– Press Democrat, August 22, 1908
TEN-YEAR-OLD IS GIVEN HIS LIBERTY
Youngster Who Played Train Wrecker is Turned Over to His Relatives on Monday

“Now remember, I want you to be a good boy. Do every thing that your father tells you to do. Don’t let foolish things come into your mind that will lead you to be a bad boy. You are going to be allowed to leave jail with him and make up your mind never to come back here or anywhere else on account of bad behavior. Let this be a lesson to you.”

Under Sheriff W. C. Lindsay gave this good advice to ten-year-old Austin Davis, before turning him over on Monday to the care of his foster father, Mr. Studebaker, who resides near Penngrove. The lad promised obedience and good behavior in the future. He left his room in the jail with the broadest smile of satisfaction on his face, poor little chap. He was one of the duo who placed a bar of iron on the track in front of the Camp Vacation train, “just for fun and to see how the train would look going over the embankment.” The older lad will go to the reform school.

– Press Democrat, August 25, 1908
LADS TAKE BIKES; COME BACK QUICK
Three Youngsters Do Not Proceed Far With Plan to See World Before They Are Balked

Three small lads named Allen, Ray and Davis, bethought themselves that they would leave their homes in Santa Rosa and strike out for themselves on Monday afternoon. They had arranged things pretty well to carry out their intentions, but they reckoned without the fast automobile that was to take after them and bring them back.

The lads chose the bicycle as the means of putting miles between their Santa Rosa homes and some other part of the country. Accordingly each lad went to a different cyclery in Santa Rosa and secured a wheel for a short time. Each boys had once in a while rented a bike and so the cyclery proprietors let him have one again readily enough.

The lads had a good hour and a half’s start before word came to Proprietor Henry Jenkins of the Acme Cyclery that the boys did not intend to return with the bicycles unless they were brought back. Word was also passed to the Cash Cyclery and to Burmeister’s Cyclery. The boys had been seen heading down the Sonoma road and Mr. Jenkins got out his automobile, and accompanied by Burmeister, gave chase. The automobile went the speed limit and one mile this side of Kenwood the boys were overtaken. Jenkins told them to “right about face” and head for Santa Rosa again as fast as they could ride. The automobile kept right up behind and the lads were not allowed to lag, but were encouraged by the men in the automobile to “keep going.” And they did so.

Finally, when still a number of miles from town Davis jumped from his wheel and bounding over the fence was last seen heading towards the hills. His wheel was placed in the auto and Ray and Allen went it alone the rest of the way to town. While riding down Fourth street the Allen boy came into collision and fell from his bike and got in under the front wheel of the automobile. Beyond getting his suit muddy it was ascertained that he was not hurt.

All the cyclery men wanted was their bicycles and will not prosecute the lads. Jenkins and Burmeister both agree that the race the boys put up in making time after their capture was in itself worth the price of the trouble they were put to in getting their bicycles back.

– Press Democrat, December 15, 1908

BICYCLE THEFTS TRACED TO BOYS
Five Lads Arrested Here Thursday Afternoon and Will be Detained for Examination

The theft of a number of bicycles and numerous other articles within a few days past in this city was traced by the police to a gang of young boys Thursday and late in the afternoon five were in jail pending an examination for their offenses.

John and Willie Allen, Henry Davis, Ernest and Russel Rhea are those accused of causing all the trouble. Three bicycles were recovered in various parts of town where they had been left by the boys, as well as a complete camp outfit, where they had made their rendezvous.

Several of the lads are old offenders, having been in trouble numerous times. They are well known to the police and it is probable that they will be sent to the reform school. The boys will be taken into court probably this morning to answer to the charges against them.

– Press Democrat, December 18, 1908

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THE PROTO-CRIMINAL WHIPPER-SNAPPER

Jeff Elliott Leave a comment

Santa Rosa’s kids were in the news in 1908, and usually not in a good way. From burglary to malicious mischief to escapees from Barlow’s work camp in Sebastopol, it seemed like barely a week went by without a story about coppers nabbing some young miscreant, as introduced in an earlier post.

But there was another kind of newspaper item that was aimed directly at kids, where the news was delivered varnished with a useful falsehood. Today, stories of this sort might announce with a wink that Santa Claus was coming to a downtown department store or the Easter Bunny had hidden eggs in the park; back then, the message was that the police were on your trail and soon would throw you in the clink, if not reform school.

Headlined in the heavy, boldface font also found in the reporting of major crimes, the items below report little kids picking flowers, playing around trains in the railroad yard, and dropping orange and banana peels on the sidewalk (a particular obsession of the Press Democrat). Consequences were dire: pulling up flowers was “one of the dirtiest piece of work that has been done in the city for some time.” Boys caught hopping aboard the slow-moving boxcars faced jail time. Police would enforce the anti-littering ordinance after “a gentleman carrying a baby in his arms stepped on a peel and narrowly escaped falling with the child” with the PD adding ominously, “such an accident would probably result in injury to one or both.”

Doubtless when these articles appeared the same scenario played out over many a breakfast table.

“Well, will you look at this! You don’t play with these bad children, do you Horace?”

“Oh, no, maw, I’m a good boy,” he replied, hoping she didn’t remember the muddy footprints he left on the stairs the night the flowers were trampled.

BOYS WRECKED THE FLOWERS
Mean Trick Played on Sonoma Avenue Residents

During Monday night and there was considerable mischief wrought in a number of yards of the residents of Sonoma Avenue and E street, which has been which has caused indignation among the people of that vicinity. The families involved are the Turners, Loughrins, McDaniels and Delaneys.

At the home of Mr. and Mrs. Turner the youngster started in with the dahlias near the front gate and continued all along the front fence and across the corner of the yard, where they completely wrecked the beds of poppies and dahlias. In the center of the dahlia bed a large barefoot track can be plainly seen, and this same track was visible in the front yard of the Loughrin home across the street. Here there was a pulling up and destroying of the flowers.

At the Delaney home a large bed of pinks was pulled out of the ground and all piled together near the edge of the sidewalk. From here the miscreants seem to to go to the McDaniels place just around the corner on E street, and there pulled out the flowers from the front yard.

Officers Boyes and Boswell were notified and went to the place early Tuesday morning and took measurements of the tracks. It is thought that the guilty parties are known and if they are caught it may not be so pleasant for them. The officers style the affair as one of the dirtiest piece of work that has been done in the city for some time and just punishment will be meted out the boys, should their identity be definitely learned.

– Santa Rosa Republican, May 19, 1908

CHILDREN SHOULD BE KEPT FROM THE RAILROAD YARDS
Still Persist in Jumping on and off Trains

Police officer John Boyes gathered in six boys who were engaged in dangerous practice of jumping on and off on moving freight train in the Northwestern Pacific yards in the city on Wednesday afternoon.

The officer played a little ruse to capture the offenders. He went up as far as Body’s Crossing and here jumped on the incoming freight himself; at first some twenty boys, who jumped on the train a little further down the line, did not see him. When they did they made a hasty jump from the cars. The officer jumped too, and grabbed a half dozen of them, and brought them up town to the police station where they were locked up for several hours, and later in the evening dismissed with severe caution as to their future behavior, together with a reminder of the danger they take in jumping on and off moving trains.

Almost every afternoon when school is dismissed, many of the boys hasten to the railroad track for the purpose of stealing a ride on the freight trains. Either parents or school teachers should give lads who are known to be doing this foolish act some stern advice regarding the matter, and it may be the means of preventing death or maiming of some of them under the wheels of the cars. There have been enough accidents.

Lads who got caught jumping the trains will not get off with a few hours in jail, the punishment given the offenders today, but will most likely have to spend the night in jail.

– Press Democrat, January 23, 1908

FOOLISH PRACTICE MUST BE STOPPED
Danger of Throwing Orange and Bananas Peelings on Sidewalks is the Subject of Complaint

There has been considerable complaint recently about the carelessness of persons in throwing orange and banana peelings on the sidewalks. Yesterday a gentleman carrying a baby in his arms stepped on a peel and narrowly escaped falling with the child. Such an accident would probably result in injury to one or both.

There is an ordinance providing a fine of not less than five dollars for the throwing of peelings and the sidewalks and the police are going to enforce it.

– Press Democrat, January 1, 1908

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