Douglas County Past: Police officer beaten by thugs; egg hunt thrills children

Apr. 2—March 29, 1924

Masked youths stage hold-up

With red bandana handkerchiefs covering their features and brandishing revolvers menacingly, two young men entered the confectionary store of Sam Lee, 2001 Oakes Ave., at 8:15 o'clock last night and removed $60 from the cash register, making their escape.

Mr. Lee was in the store alone when the front door opened and the two young men entered quickly, shutting the door behind them.

"Throw up your hands," ordered one of the pair as he leveled his gun at Mr. Lee. While he held the proprietor at the point of the weapon, his companion rifled the cash register. They both backed out of the store and disappeared in the darkness.

Thousands marooned on Minnesota point

Severely handicapping and threatening to tie-up transportation facilities, and causing considerable damage in the first few hours it raged, the worst blizzard of the winter swept down on Superior and the surrounding community early today. The snowstorm, borne on the wings of an icy wind that had reached a velocity of 60 miles per hour, burst in all its fury on the city at 6:30 o'clock this morning.

Damage done in Superior by the high wind had reached a total of several thousand dollars by noon. Roth Brothers company suffered a loss of $500 when a huge plate glass window in the department store was crushed to bits by the fierce blast.

A number of windows in other stores along Tower Avenue, including Gatelys and Lightbody-Wingate, were also blown in by the wind. Local glass companies reported they had received more calls than could be cared for and they expected to be busy for several days repairing windows.

One thousand persons living on Minnesota Point were cut off from communication with Duluth and Superior both early today when the gale snapped the cables on the aerial bridge spanning the ship canal.

March 29, 1929

Announce winners in spelling contest

Raymond Remington, 12, student in the eighth grade of the St. Francis Xavier school, won first place in the Milwaukee Journal spelling bee for Douglas County, held at the courthouse Thursday afternoon and will compete in the district contest to be held at Ashland.

Eleanor Peterson, 12, who is in the eighth grade of the Black River school, won second place and will also go to Ashland to the district meet. She lost first place on the word "avarice."

Others who competed in the contest were Margaret Silewitah and Edward Kania, Billings school; Helen Bleskin and Pauline Zatko, Bennett; Walter Gustafson, Clare Naber and George Borgh, Lake Nebagamon; Inga Haglund and Jennie Wiljaren, Riverside school; Lucille Thompson, Erickson school; Ellen Aho and George Puhokka, Maple; Rose Corcoran, Sacred Heart Cathedral school; and Francis Lagro, Black River.

Four youths plead guilty before court

Edgar Heidtke, 21, and Clifford Heidtke, 19, entered pleas of guilty to a charge of receiving stolen property in superior court Friday morning and were sentenced by Judge Archibald McKay, Edgar to not less than one or more than two and one-half years in the state prison at Waupun, and Clifford to not less than one or more than two years in the state reformatory at Green Bay.

A younger brother of the Heidtke boys and James Knox, 18, Solon Springs, entered pleas of guilty to breaking open and entering a box car at Solon Springs and stealing over 900 pounds of butter. The youngest boy was sentenced to the industrial school for boys at Waukesha until he is 18. Knox was remanded to the custody of the sheriff.

The younger boys broke into the box car on the night of March 3, Assistant District Attorney Thomas W. Foley told the court. They concealed the butter and the next day came to Superior to inform the other Heidtkes of the theft. The older youths went to Solon Springs in a car and then took the butter to Duluth where they sold it. The younger boys were paid $5 each as their share. The value of the butter was about $548, it was said.

March 30, 1929

Chicken thieves make double raid

Rather than having Easter eggs for their Sunday dinner, one or more miscreants sometime Friday decided that they would have chicken instead for Saturday morning when I.A. Bocken, 516 Hughitt Ave., and Sam Kaner, 712 Grand Ave., went out to their chicken coops they found that they were missing six and eight chickens respectively.

March 31, 1924

Police officer, beaten by thugs

James Corbett, Superior patrolman, is in St. Mary's hospital fighting for his life following an attack upon him at 2:30 o'clock Sunday morning by two unknown assailants. His skull, according to a diagnosis made yesterday morning at an X-ray examination, is fractured in two places.

But one witness of the assault can be found by police — Rueben Salmela, 12-year-old newsboy residing at 1201 N. Fifth St. Young Salmela was selling Sunday morning papers, he stated, and saw Patrolman Corbett accost the two men between North Seventh and Eighth streets on the west side of Tower avenue.

Apparently he said something to them which they did not like for when he moved away the two men sneaked up behind him and each struck him a blow on the head. The lad was unable to state if they hit Corbett with weapons of any sort.

Dorf, Dhols and Gurnoe honored

The official all-state high school basketball team, selected by members of the University of Wisconsin 1924 champion basketball team and coach Walter E. Meanwall was announced at the banquet of high school players Saturday night. The members included Dorf, of Superior, in the first team and Gurnoe and Dhols of Superior in the second team.

April 1, 1929

Kids thrilled by egg hunt

Parents and older persons break rules but event is success

Many Superior youngsters joined in the third annual Cosmopolitan club Easter egg hunt conducted here Sunday.

Betty Quick, 1318 East Fourth St., was the first girl to bring hidden eggs to the Androy Hotel Drug store. She reported at 6:13 a.m. she was followed by Eugene Rankt, 512 Weeks Ave., who brought eggs in at 6:20.

Little Jane Welch, 1232 Catlin, who is but 2 and one half years old, was the youngest girl to join the hunt, while Bobby Smegal, 314 20th Ave. E., who is 3 years old, was reported the youngest boy to hunt for the planted eggs.

Eggs bearing the 14 letters of "Cosmopolitan's" were found by John Zastrow, 1318 Baxter Ave.; Arthur Allen, 1292 16th St.; Clayton Allen, 1532 16th St.; John Hanson, 1322 Baxter Ave.; Leonard Carlson, 465 Cotton Ave.; Sidney Erickson, 563 21st Ave. E.; Quinton Longrise, 2929 E. Fourth St.; Williah Sislo, 1402 28th St.; Ruehle Gillespie, 1311 Banks Ave.; Wayne Brown, 911 N. Fifth St., and Roy Phipps, 5621 E. Second St.

Anna Bleskan, 2614 N. 17th St., was the only child who found a golden egg and this here the word "Unity," while Joseph Stefanko, 5313 Oakes Ave., was credited with finding the most eggs when he brought 32 of them to the Androy Drug store. Grace Kasek, 611 Baxter, was second with 24.

Children in some wards were disappointed when searching for the prize eggs and could not find them. This was largely due to the hunting of eggs by parents with their children before 6 a.m.

Despite the continual requests of the Cosmopolitan club, one woman was found hunting for eggs at 4 o'clock and had gathered a considerable number of them before she was discovered by those on the lookout for such a practice.

Articles and pictures courtesy of retired librarian Judy Aunet with Superior Public Library.