|
|
Travel, History & Culture in America's Dairyland |
| Valley of the Molls - Part I | |||||||||||||||
| The identity of the mysterious "molls," as the newspapers enjoyed calling the women, was limited to brief, yet alluring, physical descriptions: "Marian Marr, a comely brunet in lounging pajamas, is about 5 feet 6 inches tall. She is said to be the wife of one of the gangsters. "Ann Southern, a blond of the Mae West type, appeared to be about 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing about 130 pounds. "Following these two was Rose Ancker, a petite auburn-haired girl, 5 feet 3 inches tall, about 110 pounds. She appeared to be the best looking of the trio." On Tuesday afternoon, April 24, the day after the women arrived, a bulletin confirmed Madison's worst fear. Johnny was on his way. "Men believed to be John Dillinger and three henchman were reported heading in the direction of Madison at 8 o'clock this morning. In Milwaukee, four men armed with machine guns were sighted in a big car speeding out of the city along Highway 18." Federal agents hit the streets in "heavily armed" vehicles. Madison police stopped dark sedans at random. At noon, a salesman reported seeing three "roughly dressed" men stopped at a crossroads northwest of the city. One of the men was sitting in a large black sedan while the other two were intently studying a highway map at the side of the road. The salesman picked the photograph of John Hamilton as the man sitting in the car. Agents and county deputies moved into position, girding for a do or die battle with the most notorious gang in the nation's rogue history. A six-hour search produced no "roughly dressed" men. The London Times was reporting that in the wild west of Wisconsin "even some red Indians joined the hunt today with bows and arrows." In Washington, the Attorney General asked for airplanes, armored cars, and additional men to catch Dillinger. If the FBI had had an armored car at Little Bohemia, "this terrible tragedy would not have happened." Similarly, the Madison common council moved quickly, albeit quietly, to transfer funds to the police department. The council had previously balked at the police department's request for a machine gun. Now the council hoped to make the appropriation in secret -- until the Capital Times reported on its front page that $2000 would be invested on a machine gun, bullets, a bullet proof vest, and an armored car. Is Johnny on his way? Who are the mysterious women? Will Madison ever be the same? Read Valley of the Molls, Part II, to find out. Return to Archives Return to Valley of the Molls, Part I |
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Home | The Book | Fish Frys | Archives | Links Copyright 2002-2010, Michael Bie (Classic Wisconsin) |
|
Site by Shadow 5 Productions |