I am fascinated by news that informs the day’s newspaper reader that my ancestor has picked up a new car. Today, I learned that on 23 Apr 1911, Anton H. Tapper, Sr. picked up a brand new Speedwell motor car. It is described as being: “a 50-horse-power 7-passenger, 4-door touring car and is certainly one of the finest cars in Hammond. It is painted a light green and a darker green trimming, and is upholstered in a beautiful mixed green leather.”1 The 7-passenger Tourer rested on a 132-inch wheelbase.
State of the art 113 years ago
According to the US Inflation Calculator (https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/), which only goes back to 1913, a $2900.00 car would today cost $91,491.19.
The Speedwell Motor Car Company was founded in 1907 by Pierce D. Schenck, producing cars from 1907 to 1914. The factory was located in Dayton, Ohio, home of the Wright Brothers, and by 1910, Schenck had increased his production space to include nine buildings. In 1910, the market for Speedwell cars was not yet large enough to need all of the buildings; he leased some of this space to the Wright Brothers while their manufacturing buildings were being completed. The Speedwell was the first car to offer hidden door hinges and a horn built under the hood.
Known as the Brass Era of American automobile manufacturing, cars built between 1896 and 1915 used brass fittings for features such as lights and radiators. Although not the model Anton purchased, the brass is evident on this renovated 1911 Speedwell.
“Gets New Speedwell,” The Lake County Times, 24 Apr 1911, Monday, p. 5, col. 1; digital images, GenealogyBank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 17 Apr 2024), Newspaper Collection. ↩︎
My grandfather, Roland John Tapper, was born in Hammond, Lake, Indiana, on August 1, 1909, to Anton H. Tapper and Louise L. Normann. He was their fourth child and third son.
Anton H. Tapper was a serial entrepreneur with many business interests, but he concentrated most of his time and energy on real estate and, later, banking. Grandpa, like his siblings, worked in the family business.
Shortly after 11:00 a.m. on 3 October 1968, two men armed with guns entered the Calumet Federal Savings and Loan Association. Roland, the president, was in the building along with the teller, Mildred Hill, and his son, Roland Tapper Jr., treasurer.
Pushing Mildred from her stool, one of the gunmen began to rummage through two cash drawers. The gunmen then forced the three to a back room, where they were told to lie down. Wallets were taken from the pockets of the Tapper men before the robbers cut the phone lines and fled out the front door.
At the time of The Hammond Times article, Roland Tapper Sr. did not know precisely how much money had been taken in the holdup. He stated that the firm started each morning with $2,200 in cash in the two drawers, but he did not know how many transactions had been made that morning.1
The next day, the paper published a follow-up story stating that the robbers had taken $1,914.00 from the cash drawers and $90.00 from “the bank president,” Roland Tapper. The police were still searching for the robbers, described as being in their mid-twenties. One was short and dark, the other tall with light hair and a southern accent. Both men used foul language. A red 1961 Pontiac was seen parked in an alley near the savings and loan around the time of the holdup. A man who appeared to be in his 40s was sitting behind the wheel. At the time the paper went to print, the police had no leads.
In the article, Roland Sr. stated that the savings and loan had no alarm system, although federal law would soon require them to install one. “Tapper Sr. said he prefers to wait until the federal requirements are spelled out before installing a system.”2
This was the 32nd robbery of an Indiana financial institution in 1968; the FBI 19 “considered solved” to have been solved. The year prior, there were 33 robberies in total.3
Friday, November 8, 1968, the FBI arrested Theodore James Franiak, age 22, and charged him with the robbery of $1,914 from the Calumet Federal Savings and Loan Association. There was no mention of his accomplices.4
The Hammond Times, 24 Dec 1964
At the time of the robbery, Grandpa was 59 years old. Uncle Rollie was 34. Sometime before the robbery, Grandma had given him a 1909 $5.00 Gold piece attached to a money clip for Christmas. It was in his pocket on this day. He was in the habit of carrying most of his cash secured in the money clip in his front pocket. He would put the money clip in his pocket, then a smaller amount of cash closer to the opening. Oh, how I envy the pockets in men’s trousers. So when the gunman searched his pockets while he was lying face down on the ground, he easily discovered the $90.00 that was in his pocket; we can assume he did not search my grandfather’s pocket any deeper, content to take the ready cash, and never imagining that there would be more further inside. Sometime after this, he took the coin off the money clip and gave it to my Grandma for Christmas as a pendant.
I can only imagine my grandmother’s fear when she heard the news that day in 1968. It had only been four years since the last robbery, which occurred on 26 Oct 1964. Grandpa was not at the Savings and Loan at the time of this robbery; his nephew, the firm’s vice-president/secretary, Clarence “Butch” Tapper, was there, as was his son, Roland.
During this armed robbery, a lone gunman, well-dressed and about 45 years old, entered the building and demanded money. Butch gave him $611 from the drawer of the first teller’s cage. The gunman stated, “I know you’ve got more than that,” so he was given $898 from another drawer. He then said to Butch and Uncle Rollie: “Get in the vault or I’ll blow you to bits.” They walked into the “standup vault at the end of the office area, and the gunman slammed the door shut“ before he walked out the front door of the savings and loan. When they heard the door close, Butch and Uncle Rollie were able to open the vault by an inside lever and call the police.5 I found no report that this lone robber had been apprehended.
Roland retired in 1973, remaining as Chairman of the Board until March 1974, at age 64. He had a long career with Calumet Federal Savings and Loan Association. He was elected to the board of directors in 1934, became assistant secretary-treasurer in 1937, secretary-treasurer in 1949, president in 1957, and chairman of the board in 1971. He passed away on 11 Nov 1981, at age 72. His grandson is now the owner of the 1909 $5.00 gold piece.
RESOURCES:
“2 Bandits Rob S&L,” The Hammond Times, 3 Oct 1968, Thursday, p. 1B, col. 1; digital images, NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 2 Feb 2006). ↩︎
“Police Seek 2 Robbers,” The Hammond Times, 4 Oct 1968, Friday, p. 1B, col. 2; digital images, NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 28 Apr 2004). ↩︎
“Robbers Get $2,200 Cash in Hammond,” The Palladium-Item and Sun-Telegram, 4 Oct 1968, Friday, p. 27, col. 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com: accessed 1 Apr 2024). ↩︎
“Arrest Made,” The Terre Haute Tribune, 9 Nov 1986, Saturday, p. 14, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com: accessed 1 Apr 2024). ↩︎
“Bandit Gets $1,509 At Savings-Loan,”The Hammond Times” 26 Oct 1964, Monday, p. 1, col. 6; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com: accessed 31 Mar 2024). ↩︎
Letter writing is a lost art. It is so easy to slam out a text or write that “quick email” that our penmanship is failing, and our ability to put together a proper complete sentence is suffering.
This past week I have been busy transcribing my mother’s travel journal. The summer after she graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, she and two of her sorority sisters left to spend the summer traveling around Europe. They rented a 4-door Renault in Paris, a car so small that only one suitcase and the coats fit in the trunk, the other suitcases were strapped to the roof of the car. Leaving Paris, they would drive 2900 miles over the next 31 days, traveling through France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, before returning the car, and boarding a train to spend another week between London and Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mom was diligent about recording the Date, Place, and Weather for each day, along with a short synopsis of how they had spent their day, and what they had seen. I thought that this small journal was giving me a great insight into her trip, and all of the wonders she had seen. That is until I read her letters home. My grandparents had saved each letter and postcard that she had sent home, mom had saved all the letters that she received at American Express offices throughout Europe, and neighbors had “returned” to her the postcards that she had sent to them.
After I had finished the journal, I started to transcribe the letters, inserting the transcription of the letter following the date of the journal entry. Suddenly the trip came alive! From her journal entry I learn: “… ate a wonderful meal of snails, wine (Claret) & ice cream & raspberries…” From her letter home I discover that “… That evening we enjoyed a wonderful meal of snails & claret & ice cream & raspberries. They are served in their shells on trays, which look something like tiny, shallow muffin tins. Each snail is covered with melted butter, garlic, and parsley. You are given a small fork and tong like things (to hold the shell) with which you eat them. After you eat the snail you soak tiny bits of your bread in the garlic butter. It is really very tasty — of course you leave reeking of garlic, but happy.” As my grandma said in her August 7th letter to mom “You will never know how much your wonderful letters & cards mean to us. Am saving all of them & just to read about what you are seeing and such thrills us to death. Your letters are almost like a travelogue. Gosh but it sure sounds wonderful and we are so pleased that you are having such a wonderful time.”
Speaking of grandma. In the summer of 1955, Verna Amelia Gray Tapper was 44 years old. My grandfather, Roland John Tapper, Sr. was 45, turning 46 on August 1st. That summer, on August 6th, they celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They were so young!! And grandma was just full of news to share. Mom’s trip spanned ten weeks, and grandma wrote seven letters during that time, and mom sent 12 letters home, plus several postcards. For grandma and grandpa, they received a travelogue, and for mom, she kept up with all the news from home. And me? Well, I can sit down and “see” into the past. I can enjoy mom’s trip along with grandma and grandpa, and I can feel the heat of the 100° days, the happiness that grandma felt when “Dad had my diamond reset & got me a new wedding ring. So — for the first time I have matched rings…The settings are simple but dainty & beautiful & he is so proud of them he could just burst.”
Now I am scanning and organizing the letters, the postcards, the travel journal, and the book that mom put together at my request. In 2011 I had asked her to document her trip, which she did in the form of a photo journal, as she organized and captioned the photos that she had from the trip. I am working on putting this together in book format so that the whole summer can be savored in one bite, “The Summer of 1955.”
June 16, 1927 was the date that twenty-six-year old Gretje Sophia Tapper, daughter of Anton and Louise Tapper, and forty-two-year old Albert Juiius Warber, DDS chose as their wedding date.
Trinity Lutheran church in Hammond, Lake Co, Indiana was filled with 250 guests as she was escorted down the aisle by her father to Lohengrin’s Wedding March. Her brother’s Anton Jr., and Roland served as ushers, and her sister, Alice, served as her maid of honor.
The Lake County Times account of the wedding was filled with the usual language of the time as it described the wedding. The “attractive bridesmaids in yellow taffeta frocks made with bouffant skirts and trimmed with dainty rosebuds of taffeta.” They each wore a “large picture hat of horsehair braid, trimmed with yellow and orchid velvet ribbons and carried a vari-colored bouquet of spring flowers.” Fourteen-year-old Alice serving as maid of honor, wore “a bouffant frock of orchid taffeta with rosebud trimmings. Her becoming hat was trimmed with lovely flowers. Miss Tapper also carried a pretty maid of honor bouquet.”
The report continues: “The bride was lovely as she entered the church on the arm of her father in a wedding gown of white satin trimmed with brides lace and prettily beaded. Her cap-shaped headdress fell in soft folds of tulle to the hem of her gown and was touched with delicate flowers about her face. To complete her costume Miss Tapper carried a lovely bridal bouquet of lilies and roses en shower.”
Immediately following the 4:30 ceremony an enjoyable dinner was served at the Hammond Woman’s Club.[1]
The above article filled with vivid descriptions of what the bride and her bridesmaids wore was typical of the time. Every wedding was beautifully appointed and filled with “pretty” bridesmaids, and “lovely” brides. But it was a small item printed on the front page of The Lake County Times under the headline: “Did You Hear That” that really brought to life for me how big and “fancy” this Tapper wedding was.
The item reads: “This is a big afternoon for Tony Tapper. Aside from the marriage of his daughter, it’s his first appearance in a swallow-tail coat and a plug hat.”
A swallow-tail coat and a plug hat? Not knowing I turned to Google to see what I could learn. A tailcoat, for special occasions – think white tie, the coat has silk lapels and covered buttons with a single vent, with or without pleating at the back. The center vent rises up to the waistline and divide’s the coat’s skirt into two “tails,” thus inspiring the nickname swallow-tail coat, or claw-hammer tailcoat. These “tails” extend down to the bend of the knee in a straight line, with a curve the bottom.
As for the hat. Merriam-Webster defines a plug hat as a stiff hat, such as a top hat.
The out of copyright image to the left shows a man in a top hat at tails. AAHH I always think of Fred Astaire when I think of top hats and tails…
I wish that we had pictures of this wedding, but I do believe that this was not the first time that Anton appeared in formal evening dress. He was very well dressed at his own wedding twenty-seven years before his daughters.
But what I really love about these two articles is that together they provide a true look at how very formal this wedding was. The fact that it was a white tie affair is not reflected in the charming description of the bride and her bridesmaids.
Now if we only had a glimpse into what they served for the enjoyable dinner…
Anton & Louisa Normann Tapper, 15 Jul 1900
[1] “Miss Tapper and Dr. Warber Wed,” The Lake County Times, 16 Jun 1927, Thursday, p. 10, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 Oct 2017).
The news that the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus would be shutting down after 146 years, reminded me of this story.
The Tapper home on Ann Street. The garage is just visible on the right.
One year while visiting my grandparents in Hammond, Lake County, Indiana, my brother and I went with our grandfather, Roland Tapper, to run some errands. We must have driven near where the family home used to stand on Ann Street, as it triggered a memory for Grandpa, and he told us that his father used to house the circus elephants in their garage. Sadly, that is where my memory of this conversation ends, but the story stuck with me.
Anton H. Tapper Sr. moved into his new home on Ann Street, in August 1908.1Anton had chosen property directly across the street from the new Masonic Temple, whose cornerstone was laid May 1, 1907. The three story red brick building was built in the Gothic style, and boasted 65,000 square feet of space, which included an auditorium large enough to host a circus. Sadly the temple was torn down in 2009, having been abandoned by the Masons in 1999. Time and a leaking roof had taken its toll. Pictures of the temple at the time it was torn down are available online here:http://www.flickriver.com/photos/jordannicolette/sets/72157620768953484/
Roland Tapper, age 13. Confirmation Photo taken 23 Jun 1923
In November 1922, when my grandfather was 13 years old, the Shrine Circus came to town, and set up in the Masonic Temple. The circus was held Wednesday, November 8th through Saturday, November 18th. Two performances were held daily, one at 1:30, and the second at 7:00 p.m. Amazingly this full circus was held inside in the temple’s auditorium! The “regular thirty foot circus ring, with dirt foundation and sawdust, [was set up] just like it’s under the big canvas top.” “The ring was laid out on the floor in front of the auditorium stage. [Pictures of the auditorium are included in the link above]. The seats which used to be there have been removed and circus seats put on the stage. First a heavy plank flooring was laid. It was covered with tar paper. Then tons of clay were packed on this foundation until a firm surface had been provided on which the elephants will perform and the galloping horses cavort.”2
The elephants arrived Monday, and after a quick tour through downtown, were enlisted to help pack down the clay that had been laid in the circus ring. That evening, they moved to their evening quarters in “Tony Tapper’s garage.”3
The Masonic Temple was located where the Hammond Academy now sits.
As if the circus being in town was not exciting enough for the children of Hammond, Tilly the elephant celebrated her 107th birthday on November 11th, and they were invited to her birthday party. In 1922, 11-year-old Margaret Hagedorn was in sixth grade. She was living in her grandmother’s household with her mother, and 10 year old sister ,at 11 Rimbach Street. As girls of that age often do, she wrote about Tilly’s birthday party, and her account was published in The Times on November 20, 1922.4
So while I don’t have a first hand account of this time from my grandfather, I do have Margarets memories. She states that “Such a party I never expect to witness again and I am writing this out so that I can always remember it as I believe I will never go to a party quite like it again.”
“The elephants were quartered in Mr. Tapper’s barn, which is just across from the Masonic Temple, and as we live less than a block from there we became very well acquainted with theelephants and their keepers and we used to visit them several times a day. The keepers were kindly men and told us many interesting things about these wonderful beasts.”5
If Margaret was visiting the elephants several times a day, and was tolerated by the keepers who were “kindly men,” I can only imagine that my grandfather was also spending time in his father’s garage with the elephants. After running our errands, and returning to the apartment that day many years ago, Grandpa continued reminiscing about the circus, and told the story that he and his brothers had fun taking the elephant, umm droppings, and throwing them around the yard. Which brings to mind what a mess four elephants must have left behind.
The Masonic Temple, circa 1921
The highlight of the circus was celebrating Tilly’s birthday, and thankfully Margaret wrote about the party in detail. She described the table that was placed in the center of the ring and covered with a white cloth, and where “good crisp cabbages cut in halves and loaves of bread” were placed. On a separate table was placed the cake. “Such a cake!!!. It was five feet across and made in tiers thickly frosted in white with festoons of chocolate and pink frosting.” She was amazed at how the elephants, Tilly, Clara, Tony and Pitt, sat “down on tubs in front of the tablejust like human beings at a feast,” and waited for a signal from the keepers before beginning to eat. When they had finished the first coarse, the cake was cut into large pieces. Margaret’s favorite memory was how the elephants ate their piece of cake. She writes: “Each elephant was given large share [of cake]. Tilly, Clara and Tony behaved very nicely and lifted their piece of cake with their trunks to their mouths, but old Pitt opened his mouth wide and acted as though he expected to have the whole cake shoved in.”6
What a party this must have been! What an exciting ten days it must have been for the children of Hammond! And what a smell must have been left behind in the Tapper garage when the elephants got back on the train, and headed to the next city. I am grateful that Margaret wrote about the event “so that she would remember this occasion always.”
Sources:
“Change Residence,” The Lake County Times, 7 Aug 1908, Friday, p. 2, col. 2; digital images, NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 21 Feb 2016).
“Circus is Loading for Hammond,” The Times, 4 Nov 1922, front page, col. 4; digital images, NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 29 Jan 2017).
“Orphans of Region to be Greeted,” The Gary Evening Times, 6 Nov 1922, front page, col. 5; digital images, NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 29 Jan 2017).
“The Shrine Circus At Hammond,” The Times, 20 Nov 1922, page 6, col. 6; digital images, NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 29 Jan 2017).
I continue to work at the documenting of my family “treasures,” both as a longer story, via this blog, and just small pictures with notes included on this website. Today, it is a story.
My beautiful grandma would have celebrated her 105 birthday last week. Verna Amelia Gray Tapper was born in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, February 24, 1911, to Julius Dallas Gray, and Emma Zora Francisco.
She grew up in Hammond, Lake Co., Indiana, and it is here in Hammond, that she met her future husband, and my grandfather, Roland John Tapper. They met at a party when she was just 15 years old, grandpa, two years older. Four years later they were married on August 6, 1930. But that is another blog post.
Lake County Times, 28 Feb 1927
When I was fifteen (I THINK I was fifteen), Grandma gave me a ring that she had received as a young girl from her parents. It is a very pale amethyst, set in white gold. While I am no longer able to wear it due to fat fingers, I treasure it, knowing that it had belonged to her, and that she chose to give it to me.
Amethyst Ring, a Birthday Gift, February 24, 1927
As an avid newspaper hound, I was thrilled to come across this article from the Lake County Times, published on February 28, 1927. When Verna turned sixteen, her parents held a surprise birthday party for her. “Refreshments were served to the guests at one large table, prettily decorated with a lovely and delicious birthday cake lighted with small candles in rosebud holders. Miss Gray was presented with many attractive gifts, among which was a ring given to her by her parents…”
