Covington - Wild times
Source: Waynetown Despatch Friday, October 13, 1916
Covington continues to keep busy in the spotlight, holding her record for tragedies of various kinds and sizes against any town, or all the towns for that matter, in this part of the state. Hardly a day passes that Covington fails to get in the papers because of something someone has pulled off tragic or a close kin to the tragic. The following is an account of one of the “little incidents” that happen over there:
Lon Allen, a well known farmer of near Covington, spent Saturday night and a part of Sunday in the county jail. Allen’s troubles began on Saturday night. He is said to have been drinking and indulged in an ugly quarrel on the streets with his son, Riley Allen, who was also carrying a jag several sizes too large for his capacity. Night Watch Allen Noble cautioned the men and gave them to understand that their boisterous conduct would not be tolerated. They quieted down but were soon indulging in another quarrel when the officer appeared on the scene and placed Riley Allen under arrest and started to take him to the jail. Then things began to happen. The senior Allen struck the policeman on the head with a beer bottle with such force that it knocked him down and the bottle was broken into fragments. Fortunately the blow landed on the thick band around the officer’s helmet; otherwise it is believed that it would have fractured his skull. Noble held on to young Allen and was headed for the jail only a block away when the mother of the young man came up and begged that he be released. She promised to take him home. The mother’s plea was too much for Noble and he released the young man. In a few minutes he learned that it was the boy’s father who struck him with the bottle and it was not long until he had him in jail. He was arraigned before Mayor Tom McGeorge Sunday afternoon and entered a plea of guilty to the charge of assault and battery with intent and furnished bond in the sum of $500 for his appearance. He retained Attorney Claude B. Philpott to defend him. Noble summoned several witnesses who will testify that they saw Allen wield the bottle. The night watch has a swollen head and his left eye is in mourning as a result of the encounter. He is a doughty officer, however, and does not let a little thing like that bother him in the least.
Source: Waynetown Despatch Friday, June 17, 1904
The “murder mills” of Covington added another victim to their long list last week when Henry Hendrickson, crazed by drink, took carbolic acid and ended his life in this world. He was 26 years old and a fine specimen of young manhood, but the Covington saloon was his great enemy and destroyer. Time and time again he would attempt to be a man, but each time the saloon gained the victory and to end it all he chose death at his own hands rather than his continued debauchery and disgrace. -s
Source: Waynetown Despatch Friday, October 13, 1916
Covington continues to be the incubator for sensations and easily has any town in the county for her size distanced this particular feature. The latest sensation, that was tragic in all its setting, was the robbery of the Covington Bank on Friday afternoon of last week. At the time there was no one in the bank but S. P. Gray, cashier. Miss Laura Ward, the stenographer and John LaTourette, assistant cashier, had both stepped from the bank when a couple of strangers entered and forced themselves behind the counter, ordering Mr. Gray to throw up his hands. This he refused to do and started to do battle with the robbers. But one of them struck him on the head and dazed him so badly that he could do nothing but put up a weak struggle. The robbers proceeded to help themselves to what money was in sight, filling their pockets with about $1400 in bills and silver. Just as they had completed the job and were starting to leave the bank, Miss Ward returned and quickly taking in the situation, raised the alarm by her screams and started in hot pursuit of the fleeing robbers. Just a few moments and a large posse of citizens were hot on the robbers’ tracks and in a very short time had them surrounded in a thicket, just south of the city, where they were captured and hurried to the jail. Mr. Gray was not seriously injured in his fight with the robbers, but he took desperate chances for his life. The two men, after their capture, gave their names as William Dixon, aged 30, and from Canada, and the other was Ewalt Crescent, aged 17 and from Detroit. They were kept in the Covington jail over night and Saturday were taken before Judge Schoonover when they pled guilty and were sentenced., Dixon to the pen at Michigan City, and the boy to Jeffersonville. Both got a term of from five to fourteen years and were taken at once to begin serving their terms. The money, about $1400 secured by the robbers was all recovered after the capture of the robbers. What next? When things get dull and commonplace all eyes turn to Covington for relief and—well something tragic to semi-tragic happens. -s