

Ford County Sheriffs 



Apprehend Grain Thieves 



^*~Y^ HAT thieves and criminals as 



^^_/ a class are a stupid lot who 

 can be depended upon to leave trails 

 behind them visible to an observant 

 thief catcher was borne out again re- 

 cently in Ford county, Illinois. 



With the arrest and conviction of Phil 

 and Earl Ellison, and Mac Houston, 

 stealing of grain from farm cribs and 

 granaries in Ford and adjoining coun- 

 ties last year was brought to an end. 

 And the able detective work of Sheriff 

 Harry Curtis and Deputy Harry Reehl 

 uncovered the clue that led to appre- 

 hending the thieves. 



Thefts of oats and corn by the truck 

 load began around Roberts and Kemp- 

 ton in December, 1936 according to 

 F. W. Tieken, Ford County Farm Bu- 

 reau organization director. Grain prices 

 were high and a load of corn was valu- 

 able property. The theives left tracks 

 but that was all until one day the 

 sheriffs noticed that red paint was left 

 on the side of a crib. On closer in- 

 spection they picked up several splint- 

 ers two or more inches in length that 

 apparently came from the thieves' truck. 



With the two splinters, the red paint, 

 and a photo of the tread marks left 

 by the truck as clues, the sheriffs started 

 their search. Sheriff Curtis reported 

 that he didn't realize there were so 

 many red trucks until they began their 

 check up. 



After driving hundreds of miles, the 

 sheriffs leiarned that a man who gave 

 his name as Ellison Allison sold a load 

 of coal from a red truck in Gillman, 

 111. The sheriff remembered that a 

 one-armed man named Phil Ellison had 

 been sent to prison several years before 

 for forgery. They didn't know he had 

 been paroled. 



Suspecting that this ex-convict might 

 be the grain thief, they traced him to 

 Covington, Ind., and laid in wait for 

 him. Phil and Earl Ellison, both armed, 

 were arrested as they were about to 

 leave on another trip. The two splint- 

 ers of wood the sheriffs had brought 

 along, fit perfectly into the damaged 

 part of the truck. When confronted 

 with the evidence the thieves confessed. 

 The third man, Mac Houston, was ar- 

 rested several months later. The grain 

 thieves were sentenced to 10 months 

 in the state prison. Additional charges 

 against them are pending in Livingston 

 and McLean counties. 



Sheriffs Curtis and Reehl also as- 



SHERIFF HARRY CURTIS 

 and Deputy Harry Reehl. "Potroling coun- 

 try roada, at night will reduce farm theita." 



sisted in capturing alleged horse and 

 cattle thieves in Ford, Champaign, 

 Douglas and Moultrie counties. Oliver 

 Whittley, Roy Hatfield, and Sylvester 

 Jackson are being held in Moultrie 

 county for trial. Two of the men are 

 repKjrted to be ex-convicts. Stolen hor- 

 ses were traced to Indianapolis and De- 

 troit. The Ford county sheriffs also re- 

 turned $1375 in cash secured from 

 Jack Olson of Kempton, on the prom- 

 ise of returning |1500 profit in a short 

 time. 



Curtis and Reehl both are of the 

 opinion that patrolling county roads 

 at night would do much to reduce farm 

 thefts. If farmers will watch parked 

 cars, take license numbers and supply 

 the information to the sheriffs office, 

 they can do much to put down farm 

 thefts. All livestock including hogs 

 and chickens should be marked for later 

 identification. 



Annucd Farm Bureau 



Baseball Meet Mar. 9 



The fifteenth annual meeting of the Il- 

 linois Farm Bureau baseball League will 

 be held at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel, 

 Springfield, Wednesday, March 9th an- 

 nounces President Ebb Harris of Lake 

 county. 



The baseball meeting will be a busi- 

 ness session beginning at 10 AM sharp 

 where reports will be heard, committees 

 appointed, officers elected and plans 

 made for opening the 1938 season. 

 Nineteen teams competed in five divi- 

 sions last year. Ogle county won the 

 state championship, its first year in the 

 League... v ■■..•■. ^^ s:. .■■ 



Uncle iffenry 



(Continued from page 29) 



bull's boy last week.' Crankin' his pa s 

 tractor .... kicked an' broke his arm 

 in two places .... same tractor a 

 spell back kicked the fore teeth outen 

 the hired man. I'd 'bout as soon start 

 a buttin' match with a bull as I would 

 to crank that machine o' Bill's. Say. 

 Charlie, do tractors have t' kick.' 

 Ain't there no way fer them engineer- 

 in' fellers to fix it sos the crank can't 

 fly in yore face even if tha engine back- 

 fires?" 



"Well," remarked Charlie, "it seems 

 you farmers will just have to be more 

 careful, don't take any chances, keep 

 your equipment in good shape, and 

 watch out." 



"That's good advice alright, " said 

 Uncle Henry, "an' we need it. We do 

 use too much balin' wire when we 

 should have right repairs made; we do 

 put our hands in tha wrong places, 

 work too long at a stretch, an' put 

 younguns at work older heads should 

 do. What I can't make out is why 

 you figger good advice is goin' to make 

 us farmers play safe. Where these 

 tf-actors are made, they tell me, all 

 kinds of guards and gadgets keep the 

 workers from hurtin' themselves. Be- 

 sides, they have bosses who'll make 'em 

 be careful. Well why not put some 

 of this protection on farm machinery, 

 too. Folks "re pretty much alike. If 

 you really don't want 'em to hurt 

 themselves you got to keep 'em from 

 it an no talk will take the place o' 

 removin' the danger." 



Sports Festival Meet 



In P. M. After Baseball 



The annual Farm Bureau Baseball 

 meeting at Springfield Mar. 9 will be ad- 

 journed shortly after noon to make way 

 for an afternoon session on the Spxjrts 

 Festival program including baseball, soft- 

 ball, horseshoe pitching, track, trap and 

 rifle shooting, horse pulling, hog calling, 

 women's events, and others for the com- 

 ing season. 



The lAA board of directors author- 

 ized an appropriation for a 1938 pro- 

 gram. President Smith appointed a com- 

 mittee of the board composed of Ebb 

 Harris, A. O. Edcert, and Otto Steffey 

 to represent the lAA and assist in devel- 

 oping the project. A committee from 

 the lAA staff will submit a tentative pro- 

 gram to the Springfield meeting. All 

 County Farm Bureaus arc urged to he 

 represented. 



Comfort, simplicity in fabric and 



fabric design, easy cleaning and long 

 life are prime considerations in select- 

 ing dresses for school children. 



MARCH, 1938 



