25 September 2012

Trautvetter Drug Store Burglary not Robbery

One finds the most interesting thing on Google Books.

The National Association of Retail Druggists Journal in 1919 contained a mention of this burglary at Wm. G. Trautvetter's pharmacy at 2338 East 71st Street in Chicago, Illinois. 

NARD journal, Volume 29

 By National Association of Retail Druggists (U.S.), National Association of Retail Druggists (U.S.) , p. 1184
The text above reads:

"Last Friday night March 19 burglars jimmied through the front door of Wm G Trautvetter's store at 2338 East Seventy first street and calmly helped themselves to his big and heavy safe In some way they got it outside and to an open space at Sixty eighth street and Jeffrey avenue where the door was blown off with high explosive They secured $500 in cash a lot of postage stamps and money order blanks All of Mr Trautvetter's records were scattered over the prairie There were four men on the job One of them was caught by the police He informed on the others and all are now in jail"

A earlier blog post indicated that William G. Trautvetter was the victim of a holdup at his drug store that was mentioned in a 1932 newspaper. When I originally saw this entry, I thought I had found a reference to the situation to which Trautvetter was referring in the 1932 newspaper item. 

The newspaper item indicates Trautvetter was a hold-up victim and that's not what is indicated here. The robbery in this account is in 1919 and while it's possible the culprits got 11 years for their crime, I am doubtful that I have the right incident. This is particularly the case because there's no reference to an interaction with Trautvetter in this 1919 account.

So off to look some more. 

Lesson: Avoid jumping to conclusions and make certain things fit. And you never know what you may turn on on Google Books.