A.J. Rumely Sr.’s 1907 Buick (like the one pictured here) was taken for a joyride.
By Fern Eddy Schultz, LaPorte County Historian
LaPorte recently had a rash of thefts from autos. A modern crime? Climb into your magic DeLorean and travel back to the turn of the 20th century, when automobiles were a newfangled thing and thieves couldn’t resist those shiny new contraptions.
Aloysius J. Rumely of LaPorte (the father of the late LaPorte Mayor A.J. Rumely of the 1980s) was at the Rumely Company’s construction camp when automobile thieves took his 1907 Buick and drove it to town. There was a special excursion train due at the Marquette station and A.J., along with William N. Rumely, LaPorte County Deputy Sheriff Anstiss and others, searched through the crowd that was waiting for the train, hoping to find those who appropriated Rumely’s vehicle. They managed to spot some possible suspects, but individuals who reportedly had seen the thieves take the car were not willing to identify them.
The long-distance telephone operator (think of her as the closest thing to a 911 dispatcher in 1907) at the LaPorte Telephone Exchange was very accommodating to LaPorte County Sheriff Smutzer and he was very appreciative for the assistance. He gave the operator all of the information he had regarding the theft and asked to talk to the police officers in all the towns nearby. He gave her the names of the officers and she very rapidly connected him with each town. Within 20 minutes, Sheriff Smutzer had talked with officers in every town within 50 miles of LaPorte.
The officers immediately transmitted the information to their various police forces and responses started coming back to Smutzer. The South Bend chief of police contacted some people he knew who had automobiles and Marion Staley, Samuel Leeper and Horace Green, with a chauffeur in a Peerless machine, started from South Bend with the idea of intercepting the thieves if they were heading east. They were not successful in their effort and when they arrived in LaPorte, they learned that the Rumely car had been located. No doubt they were properly thanked for their attempt to assist law enforcement.
Fern Eddy Schultz
It was believed that Constable Vail at New Carlisle would have captured the thieves had they gone his way. He had taken immediate steps to do so when he received word from Smutzer of the theft. A farmer residing west of New Carlisle was to notify Vail if he saw the car pass his farm. After he made these arrangements, Vail placed an ice wagon across the road and required every car to stop for inspection. Interestingly enough, the first car to approach the blockade met the description color-wise as well as the occupants of the stolen vehicle. They were, therefore, halted and Vail — with not only the aid of the ice wagon but also his revolver — required them to give an account of themselves before they were allowed to proceed. The party proved to be the Winterbothams from Michigan City enroute to South Bend.
A car matching the description of the Rumely car was also sighted near Stillwell. After inspecting the vehicle, Arthur Taylor discovered the running gears were red, instead of yellow. It was released and on its way.
After an extensive search throughout the area by the various police departments, the Rumely car was located on Jefferson Avenue in LaPorte. Smutzer immediately notified all departments of the recovery so they would discontinue to search for it. The condition of the car was not reported.
The thieves apparently just needed transportation from the Rumely Co. construction site to downtown LaPorte!
FERN EDDY SCHULTZ is LaPorte County’s official Historian. For information on the LaPorte County Historical Society and its museum, visit www.laportecountyhistory.org.