On This Date In Minnesota History: June 30

June 30, 1914 – Minneapolis police and deputy sheriffs are watching every highway and railroad into Minneapolis today for a band of desperados who slugged the city clerk of Brainerd, Minn., Monday night, and escaped with $1,388.40 from the cash vault of the city hall.

Virgil N. Rodrick, the city clerk, was badly beaten in a fight with the men in a pitch black room. He was struck over the head and face repeatedly with a heavy instrument and finally clubbed into unconsciousness. He was not fatally injured.

All Minn. towns have been notified by the Brainerd authorities. The men, of whom there are believed to have been three, are thought to have a high-powered automobile and it was believed that the car was headed for the Twin Cities.

Roderick is 30 years old and has been city clerk for six years. Because of the meetings of the board of equalization Monday, the clerk was unable to perform his regular duties of the day and worked overtime.

The city clerk’s office is on the second floor of the municipal building in the most central part of Brainerd. It is a small room with a counter between Roderick’s desks and the door. Among his other duties, Roderick counted the cash on hand and made a bank deposit slip for it intending to make a deposit the first thing in the morning.

The deposit slip showed that there was $1,130 in currency, $220 in gold and $38.40 in silver and small change. The clerk put this money back in the cash drawer in the vault and was about to close and lock the vault door for the night when he remembered he had not quite finished his work.

1

He was almost done at 10:45 p. m. when he heard someone come up the stairs to the second floor. He paid no attention to that because the policeman on the beat often came upstairs at night to see that everything was secure.

Only when the light went out did he become alarmed. The light switch is near the door and the robbers evidently were familiar with the layout of the office before the robbery.

It was only a matter of seconds after the light went out, Roderick said he was struck a vicious blow on the head that toppled him backward from his chair and stunned him, but he was on his feet in a minute and battling with two men in a furious fight in the dark. One of the robbers used a club, and finally Roderick was knocked out.

He said he remembered nothing more until he regained consciousness, probably at about 11:45, when he telephoned for the police, and again fell back unconscious, which is how the police found him. His face was swollen and bloody and his head was cut and swollen and his clothing torn.

The telephone operator said Roderick was moaning in pain when he called her. After she got the message, she heard the phone crash to the floor. The lights in the office were out when the police arrived.

Roderick was taken home and regained consciousness two hours later, giving his story of the robbery.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “Brainerd City Clerk Held Up, $1,388 Gone. Police Asked to Watch for Men Who Slugged Brainerd Official. Virgil Roderick Is Found Unconscious, With Safe Looted.”; July 1, 1914; p. 9.
¹https://www.pinterest.com/pin/559783428665204823/?lp=true

http://mapio.net/pic/p-33499468/

               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including: census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         

Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.

Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at: pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com