Tag: August 1921
Delaware’s Darkest Secret: Child Labor Epidemic Wanes, But Not Without a Fight
In the sweltering summer of 1921, Wilmington, Delaware, was a city in crisis. The streets were lined with the faces of the desperate, their eyes pleading for a chance to escape the poverty that had gripped their lives. For the children of Wilmington, the struggle was all too real. According to Charles H. Hagner, the…
Murder in the City of Angels: Obenchain and Burch Face the Music
On August 15, 1921, in the sweltering heat of Los Angeles, a courtroom drama unfolded that would captivate the city’s attention. Arthur C. Burch and Muriellynne Obenchain, a married couple, stood accused of murder in connection with the shooting of J.B. Kennedy. The indictment was a stunning turn of events, especially considering that Ralph Obenchain,…
The Shotgun Chase: Authorities Skeptical as Rewards Fuel False Leads in Kennedy Slaying
In a bizarre case of mistaken identity, two shotgun discoveries in as many days have left authorities in Los Angeles scrambling to separate fact from fiction in the murder investigation of J. Belton Kennedy. On August 13, 1921, authorities received their second shotgun tip in two days, this time from a pair of bathers at…
City on the Brink: A Subterranean Crisis Looms
It’s a sweltering summer evening in 1921, and Washington D.C. is on the cusp of a crisis. The city’s downtown areas are rapidly becoming gridlocked, with surface cars clogging streets and suffocating commerce. But amidst the chaos, a glimmer of hope emerges: a plan to tunnel beneath the city and alleviate the congestion. At a…
War Profits, Taxes, and the Army: A Web of Deceit
August 6, 1921, was a day of revelations in Washington D.C. as Senator Borah, a vocal critic of the war effort, called for a drastic reduction in the size of the Army. The Idaho senator advocated for a cut to 100,000 men, a significant decrease from the current numbers, and the immediate halt of construction…
Dodgers’ Dramatic Rally Stuns Cincinnati in Ninth-Inning Comeback
In a thrilling matchup played out on August 2, 1921, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Brooklyn Dodgers staged a stunning rally in the ninth inning to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The St. Louis Cardinals, their opponents, had seemed destined for a win, with the Dodgers’ pitching ace, Barnes, weakening in the seventh inning.…
Bureaucratic Roadblock Blocks Convention Hall Deal
In the scorching summer of 1921, Washington D.C.’s business elite were dealt a crushing blow as the Public Buildings Commission refused to budge on a proposal to acquire a temporary war building for a long-awaited convention hall. Robert N. Harper, chairman of the Washington Chamber of Commerce’s Committee on Convention Hall, had been working tirelessly…
Coast Guard Catches Crafty Smugglers in Liquor Heist
In a daring nighttime raid, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca apprehended the British-flagged schooner Henry L. Marshall, hauling a cargo of illicit liquor, just four miles off the coast of New York, on August 1, 1921. The crew’s attempts to conceal their contraband were no match for the vigilant coast guardsmen. Upon inspecting the…
