Beginning in early September, 2012, the Great Bend Tribune started running “Out of the Morgue,” a local history column highlighting nationally historical events from the given week, as well as what was happening in Great Bend for perspective. We hope you will enjoy this “best of” edition.
This week in 1947, a 22 year-old waitress in Los Angeles, Elizabeth Short, went missing. A week later, she was found murdered in a vacant lot, her body cut in half and drained of blood, her face cut from mouth to ears, creating a gory smile. Soon after, reports in the Los Angeles Herald-Express nicknamed her The Black Dahlia, though the origin of the nickname can only be speculated upon. Since then the as-yet unsolved murder has been the subject of several books and movies. Time magazine in 2015 called the case one of the top 10 unsolved murders of all time.
After perusing the FBI file, which is available online, it is clear that many of the reports in the newspapers of the day were embellished. Little was actually known about Short’s social life, which made it difficult to determine a list of suspects. There was no mention of the murder in the Great Bend Tribune that we could find.
Instead, reports and photos concerning the aftermath of World War II were front and center, including a photo of “Axis Annie,” an American who broadcast in Germany during the war, and images from films found by the U.S. Army agents in a “secret hiding place in the Bavarian Alps,” depicting Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun on holiday. The collage of photos included one of Eva Braun’s younger sister Gretl.
Gretl’s Wikipedia page is short and spotty, but states that at the time of the fall of Germany, she was pregnant, and in May, 1945, she gave birth to a girl she named Eva Barbara, after her sister and mother. In 1971, her daughter committed suicide after her boyfriend was killed in a car accident, and Gretl died in 1987 at the age of 72 in Bavaria.
Three grocery store casualties in two months
In 1947 Great Bend, corner grocery stores were common, often only blocks away. After all, most shoppers walked home with their bags, so shorter distances and more frequent trips were the norm. Big grocery stores were still at least a decade away, though they were coming. Dillons and Safeway, both found in Great Bend around that time, would lead the way. This week however, the big news was the complete loss of the Safeway Grocery Store due to fire, the second time in five years, almost to the day. Not only that, it was reported that it was “the second fully destructive blaze in as many months for a Great Bend grocery and the second in five years for Safeway.”
The earlier fire had been at the C.O. Mammel Food Store, a block east of Frey on Tenth, the morning of Nov. 6, 1946. A new store was being built. Both Safeway fires had occurred during frigid conditions. The 1942 blaze occurred on New Year’s Day and wasn’t noticed until 7 a.m. when it was five below zero outside. The 1947 blaze was found just before 11 p.m. on Jan. 4 when it was 17 degrees.
The cause of the fire was yet to be determined at the time of the report, but apparently had started near an overhead heater in the north central part of the store.
Great Bend still relied on a volunteer fire department with limited resources. But as a hub for local industry, one business with heavy equipment was known for stepping up to help when needed.
“As usual, last night when the seriousness of the fire became known, the Halliburton (Oil Well Cementing Company) trucks were rushed to the scene and held in readiness to add to the hose capacity of the volunteer fire department. As it happened, the fire department had sufficient facilities to put the fire under control and the Halliburton trucks were not needed, but it is pleasant for Great Bend citizens to know that such heavy equipment can always be counted on for help in case it is needed.”
Days later, Safeway Stores, Inc. ran notices in the Tribune stating, “Please, if you cashed a check - personal or payroll - at Safeway Stores, Inc., Friday, January 3rd, please contact Raymond Mathers, Manager at Phone 1871-R.”
By the end of the week, it was reported that steps were being taken toward reopening a Safeway Store in Great Bend as soon as possible.
Today, where the Safeway Grocery Store once stood at 1304 Kansas Ave., the Barton County Health Department now stands.
It clearly wasn’t a good week for food stores in Great Bend. By midweek, another establishment, The Midget Market, “was literally taken apart at the seams by a gas explosion ... that rocked the building causing an estimated $1,600 damage; however, owner Elden LeMay, the only occupant at the time, was not hurt.” It was determined the cause was a gas leak near the meat counter that sparked.
The Midget Market was located at 2617 Tenth St. (right about where 10th Street Eyecare Center is today) across the street at Corbett and Barbour Drilling Company’s office, mechanic E.H. Sheldon was looking out the window at the time.
“The building seemed to go up in the air and sort of float there and at the same time, LeMay came flying out the front door,” he said.
The fire chief noted that $600 damage was done to the building. It would need to be rebuilt, but on the upside, the lumber had not been damaged. The other $1,000 damage had been done to LeMay’s stock, including cans and bottles thrown to the floor and display store shelves and the store left in a general “jumbled-up appearance.” Glass from the windows was shattered and blown as far as 50 feet in all directions from the building, it was noted.
The Great Bend Tribune noted it was “the third grocery casualty ... in a little more than two months.”
Just for fun
With cold and ice on the way, here is a little article found in the 1947 Tribune that offers yet another way ice can be deadly:
Icicle Kills
Chicago (AP) — A huge icicle fell 75 feet from the roof of a Carnegie-Illinois Steel building yesterday and struck and killed Alva Teskey, 44, who was repairing an outside door. The icicle’s point pierced his skull and he was dead when removed to the company hospital.
Ouch! Remember to keep an eye out for dangerous icicles, and don’t forget to keep some salt or sand on hand to provide traction on slick sidewalks and drives for the next few days. Better yet, stay in if you can.
