08-31-2009
( Reply#: 3709 ) |
Tom J |
I certainly remember Deitrich's, or however you spell it, but I honestly do not remember ever having been in there or having any of their ice cream.
It was a much talked about establishment, and that's for sure.
Tom |
08-31-2009
( Reply#: 3710 ) |
tom w |
Tom J;
Are you familiar with what happened about half a block down the street, next to the cemetary on Cleveland? This story is true because it was related to me by the only survivor. Do any readers know?? I don't remember him telling me the date but I,m guessing the 20s or 30s. Tom W |
08-31-2009
( Reply#: 3711 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by tom w
Tom J;
Are you familiar with what happened about half a block down the street, next to the cemetary on Cleveland? This story is true because it was related to me by the only survivor. Do any readers know?? I don't remember him telling me the date but I,m guessing the 20s or 30s. Tom W
Gues not, Tom. Please fill us in. You have my curiosity piqued.
Tom |
08-31-2009
( Reply#: 3712 ) |
BobK |
I remember Dietrich's and I seem to recall the bon fires but that's about it for my memory. It wasn't a place that I hung out at and I'm sorry to hear I missed their dark chocolate ice cream.
I'm waiting Tom W.
Bob
[img]http://home.comcast.net/~rkekeis/Bob1.jpg[/img] |
09-01-2009
( Reply#: 3714 ) |
tom w |
Well, there was a police car. Inside was an instructor and 5 rookies, the instructor was the only one with a weapon. Of course the cars had no radios then. The instructor was showing the rookies how to make a traffic stop. He was on a side street {Cleveland)with almost no traffic so he pulled up behind a car and rang his bell. The car pulled over and the instructor aproached the car while the rookies stayed in their car and watched. As they watched, they heard a pop and the instructor fell down. suddenly the door opened and the man jumped out with 2 guns. He ran toward the rookies shooting. My friend said from then on, he doesn't remember much other than diving on the floor in the back seat. Turned out the guy was a bank robber that was wanted and was later caught or killed but the result of the traffic stop was one instructor and four rookies gone. I never checked out the story but thats the way that Rudy Mamala told it to me about fourty odd years ago. True or not, I have no idea but I believed him. Tom W |
09-01-2009
( Reply#: 3716 ) |
Tom J |
Tom:
Wow! Something like that should have gotten a lot of publicity. Let me check and see what I can find in the Hammond Times with my Newspaperarchive.com account. They don't have continuous coverage of all the old Times editions, so I might not be able to find anything.
Tom |
09-01-2009
( Reply#: 3717 ) |
Tom J |
OK, I found something in the November 17, 1968, edition of the Hammond Times, and it was citing the incident that you told us about as evidence of the need for proper training for the police force. The incident occurred in January of 1947.
I have to get to work, but I will see if I can come up with some more details later. So far, it looks like only two were killed, not four. The article mentions Rudy Mamala by name as a survivor. He wrestled the gun away from one of the two suspects, but they hit him with a pair of wire cutters and knocked him silly, and they were able to get away. They were caught later, and both were executed.
Tom |
09-01-2009
( Reply#: 3718 ) |
BobK |
http://www.odmp.org/officer/5391-patrolman-john-j.-gerka-jr.
http://www.odmp.org/officer/3392-patrolman-donald-b.-cook
Bob
[img]http://home.comcast.net/~rkekeis/Bob1.jpg[/img] |
09-01-2009
( Reply#: 3719 ) |
tom w |
Thanks guys. I knew Rudy might have embellished a little but not enough for the story to be called absolutely false. If you knew him you would believe. He was a guy that could absolutely sober you up just by saying "Straighten Up." This site has a powerful ability to retrieve so many characters and stories from ones past. Every once in a while someone comes up with a great story that others can relate to. Like the forbidden string about some guy from East Chicago. (sorry, I had to throw that in LOL) Tom W |
09-01-2009
( Reply#: 3720 ) |
Tom J |
OK, the article I mentioned and the articles that Bob K linked us to are the only ones I have found about the incident.
From these sources, it looks like we had a cop with only 15 months experience, John Gerka, and two unarmed rookies, Donald Cook and Rudy Mamala, riding in the patrol car. Cook was driving.
Gerka had Cook drive around the block and pull up beside a parked car that had two occupants in the front seat. Gerka got out, walked up to the driver of the parked car, and asked for ID. The driver pulled a gun, which Gerka was able to wrestle away from him, but the passenger pulled a .45 automatic and shot Gerka dead, and then he shot Cook twice while Cook was trying to radio for help. Cook died two days later.
Your friend, Rudy, was able to get the passenger's gun away from him, but one of two guys bashed him in the head with some heavy wire cutters, knocking him senseless. It sounds like Rudy's cheek and abdomen might have been grazed by bullets prior to the scuffle.
The two guys got away, but they were later caught, convicted, and executed.
Tom
P.S.
It appears that this happened on Saturday night, January 11, 1947, at about 9:15 PM. |
09-02-2009
( Reply#: 3722 ) |
tom w |
Thanks for that account guys. Up until now, it was just a story that he told me. Now it sounds more real. By the way, do you guys, especially you, Tom, remember the merchant cop that covered downtown Hammond? His name was Steve Moscow. He was an interesting character that you could pry some neat stories out of too. |
09-02-2009
( Reply#: 3723 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by tom w
Thanks for that account guys. Up until now, it was just a story that he told me. Now it sounds more real. By the way, do you guys, especially you, Tom, remember the merchant cop that covered downtown Hammond? His name was Steve Moscow. He was an interesting character that you could pry some neat stories out of too.
My dad had some buddies on the Hammond police force, so he might have known him. I don't remember the guy myself.
Tell us what you know about him, Tom.
Tom |
09-02-2009
( Reply#: 3724 ) |
BobK |
The only cop I remember is the one on the 3 wheeler doing meter patrol. A friend and I were downtown doing nothing when we saw him writting tickets. We saw the next cars meter was expired and we put a penny in for him. We didn't know that the cop had already written the ticket and he stopped us and called for a car. We were taken to the station (Calumet & Highland) and given the 3rd degree and informed us that it was illegal to put money in the parking meter for someone elses vehicle. They then said we could go and would not give us a ride back downtown.
Bob
[img]http://home.comcast.net/~rkekeis/Bob1.jpg[/img] |
09-02-2009
( Reply#: 3725 ) |
tom w |
Bob K;
The only trike cop I remember was an older guy named Norbert. He was a large, older cop that usually hung around the school crossings. But he wasn't too friendly.
Tom J.
The merchant cop was a guy that had his own business of shaking doors on certain businesses. He had so many clients downtown that he checked for open front and rear doors and windows that it was like walking a regular beat. He worked so well that the police let him wear a very similar uniform and even gave him a radio in case of emergency. He also checked the homes of many of the owners. Steve was one happy camper around Christmas time too. We used to run into him as teenagers and he liked to yell at us to get home before curfew. I got to know him when I bought Joe and Ernies tavern on Hohman Avenue and he would stop in to warm up in winter time. Lots of interesting things happened downtown after dark and lots of interesting people. I would be amiss if I didn't mention a couple of personal friends. One was a Boxer, one a beat cop. Tom W
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