Editor's note: The West Seattle Herald has been covering news here for nearly a century. Robinson Newspapers (who run the West Seattle Herald) have a massive news archive of Herald coverage dating back to 1928. What follows are crime reports and public safety issues from 1928. Although reporters’ names were not included with stories at that time, their original words remain intact. As more historical crime reports are compiled there will be more installments of West Seattle All Time Crimes.

Jan. 12, 1928
Lose Auto While Out Duck Hunting
Jim Robinson, well known local contractor, and George Chamberlin, former proprietor of the Weber Hardware at Admiral Way, recently had quite an experience while out duck hunting on the Stanwood flats. The men had Shot 19 nice ducks and were on their way home in the car when they passed a likely-looking spot. Parking the car by the highway, they disappeared for a while and were able to shoot a few more. When they returned to their car, it was gone.

The hunters lost 19 ducks and their ammunition in the car. In addition to that, they were forced to walk seven miles back to town. The expedition had been made before breakfast and the two were extremely hungry, so they stopped to roast one of the birds and ate it without salt.

After they returned to Seattle, Chamberlin was notified that the car had been discovered a few hours afterwards and so he returned to Stanwood and claimed it.

Jan. 29, 1928
Argue Over Word So Eats Crayon: Friends Alienated When Webster Fails to Settle It
A dinner-table dispute over a word in the dictionary between J.S. McClure, butcher, 5039 47th Ave S.W. and a guest at the McClure home, P.G. Schmidt, veterinary surgeon, last night led to pistol-play, a reported attempted suicide and the arrest of Dr. Schmidt.

Events that followed the dispute proved so exciting that neither disputant could remember the word over which they had quarreled.

For several years the men had been friends, Mr. McClure told Police Lieut. L.J. Forbes, the bond of friendship being so strong that McClure had given Dr. Schmidt free quarters in the basement of his home when the doctor was hard up.

At dinner the men corrected each other on the definition of a word. Mr. McClure sought recourse to a dictionary. His proof failed to impress the doctor.

“Webster is an ignoramus and so are you,” Mr. McClure quoted Dr. Schmidt as exclaiming.

“I won’t be called an ignoramus in my own home,” Mr. McClure replied.

Dr. Schmidt retired to his corner in the basement of the home. Mr. McClure went after him and beseeched him to return to dinner, he told police.

“He came after me with a gun, and I disarmed him,” Mr. McClure related. “Then he told me, ‘I’ll kill myself if I can’t kill you.’”

Dr. Schmidt is said to have seized a box of child’s writing crayons and to have eaten them as fast as he could cram the colored sticks into his mouth.

Fearing the diet would prove fatal to him, Mrs. McClure called for the police ambulance. The ambulance crew found the doctor suffering no apparent ill effects.

They arrested Dr. Schmidt and Mr. McClure was booked as a complaining witness.

Feb. 2, 1928
Protests Against Rubbish Of Kids
Resident Believes Schools Should Teach Carefulness
Editor Herald:

Good citizenship – a topic taught in the public schools, the results of which should show in the action of the pupils. What are the fundamentals? If they are taught and put into practice in the early years of the pupils, they will never be forgotten. The practical is what counts.

In a neighboring school, the writer has observed every day that the pupils are allowed to eat their lunches on the school grounds on fences and the wrappings of containers of the lunches are strewn all over the school premises; then, later on, other children appointed to go out and gather up all the rubbish that has been carelessly strewn around. The papers and accumulation are unsightly to passerby. Let us hope to see an improvement.
-Mrs. Kate Duryea, 2731 44th S.W.

Feb. 23, 1928
Latimers Recover Their Baby Girl
Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Latimer of 5036 California Avenue thought they had lost their little fiver year old girl, as well as the family auto, recently when they left the tot asleep in the back seat of the car downtown while they were busy elsewhere. A thief came along and stole the car, but abandoned it when he discovered the child asleep in it. A policeman found the car and returned the girl.