Boston Daily Globe July 28, 1922
Man In Woman's Attire Seizes Girl
Escapes as Her Cries Bring Help
Jamaica Plain Children Were Returning From Movie at Time
Residents of Elliot st, Jamaica Plain, were aroused last night by the cries of several little girls who were running away from a man dressed in women's clothes.
The children had been attending a free moving picture show at the boat house on Jamaica Pond and were returning home when the man, garged in a woman's suit, skirt and a veil over his face, jumped from behind some bushes bordering the road and grabbed one of them. She succeeded in wresting herself from his grasp and all of them ran toward Centre st.
One of the children ran into the arms of John Doyle, a veteran employee of the Boston Elevated, doing watchman duty nearby, and almost fainted. Joseph Cannon, another employee of the Boston Elevated, yelled to two men crossing the street and they gave chase. Neither they nor the police could find any trace of the man, whom witnesses recognized was not a woman when his trousers showed beneath the skirt while he was running away.
**********************************************************************************
A few thoughts. First, I guess this proves that such goings on didn't start with the Internet. Second, I'd love to know what movie was shown. Presumably not Nosferatu; perhaps a short by Buster Keaton or Our Gang. Third, who needed a watchman? Was it a business around the corner on Centre street, and why did they need a watchman? Some people would have you believe there was no crime in the old days.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Most businesses in those days hired a watchman to watch for fires. Horses and barns were the source of many fires. Probably why there was a watchman.
ReplyDelete