1934: Mystery Woman Asleep on Porch; Fort Sheridan Looking for a Horse

The entries we post on a weekly basis will be from the early 1900s through the depression era at a time when  was beginning to flourish as a community.

The entries are posted practically verbatim, except for the names of the victims or perpetrators of the crimes noted. They provide a fascinating reflection of the times and culture of that era.

The entries are from 1915 and 1934. Just as an example of what was going on in January of 1934, Alcott School becomes Bell School in honor of the school’s proprietor Allen C. Bell. It has been informally referred to as the Bell School for years, according to the  timeline.

• June 10, 1915: Officer reports a complaint from a Highwood man that a lady had run over him while driving on Western Avenue in her machine. Chief McGuire investigated the matter and found the woman lived on Green Bay Road.

• July 29, 1934: Highland Park police called to be on the lookout for men robbing pay phones along the North Shore.

• Aug. 1, 1934: A women called and said that when her maid went out to the porch this morning, she found some strange woman sleeping on the couch. The woman was about 50 years of age, medium height, stout, is carrying a light coat and has on a blue dress with light spots. Appeared to be intoxicated. Officer Benes on call picked up the right woman, but maid was afraid to identify her.

• Aug. 2, 1934: Fort Sheridan called and asked us to be on the lookout for a stray horse, if found, call the Fort local 250.

• Aug. 8, 1934: A man called and said there were a gang of fellows going to blow up his machinery on Sheridan Road. Officers Yore and Baldwin on call. No one around when officers got there, but they found gasoline spilled all around as if they were going to set fire to the machinery.

- Police reports courtesy of Lake Forest resident John Walker.