Elmira mysteries include money, blood, and a parachute

I searched “mystery” in the Star-Gazette to see what kinds of things were out there.

Who stole the money? On July 15, 1891, the Gazette reported that the manager of the Kennedy grocery store, 104 E. Water St., had been missing money from the cash drawer every morning. “Suspicion pointed to a clerk in the store, but no proof of his guilt was attained.” One night a brother of an employee stationed himself in the Singerhoff restaurant across the street and watched. “He had not been waiting very long when a boy appeared upon the scene and slid carefully through the cellar window off the sidewalk down into the grocery basement.” The brother notified Officer Dillon, and together went into the store. It took 15 minutes to find the young culprit hiding behind boxes. In the kid’s pocket was the decoy roll of pennies, all dated 1890. Guilty.

Whose blood was it? On Jan. 22, 1916, a “large pool of blood” appeared at the Stag Hotel on 14th Street in Elmira Heights. Three days later, the Star-Gazette reported that police had solved the “blood mystery.” An Erie railroad watchman in the 14th Street shanty saw an “unsuspecting cat sitting between the rails of the tracks.” The watchman knew that Erie train #14 was due at any second and tried to scat the cat away. The cat wasn’t having that and refused to move. Yes, the cat was hit and thrown about 20 feet to the right in front of the hotel. The cat did not survive.

Who took the money? On Nov. 16, 1916, the Star-Gazette reported a solved mystery at the Rathbun Hotel. A traveling salesman from Buffalo was on a regular trip to Elmira and was a frequent guest at the hotel. “He had a suit of clothes that needed pressing and telephoned from his room to the hotel office for a bellboy to get them. The bellboy came to get them and handed them to the porter, who would take them to the cleaners. Within minutes, the traveling man remembered he had left $34 in the suit pocket and phoned downstairs and asked that the suit be returned. The bellboy was the one who answered the phone. The kid entered the closet and took the money out of the pocket. He then told another bellboy to return the suit.

Of course, the money was missing, and the traveling salesman was angry. The salesman quickly called hotel management and the police. The other bellboy and the porter were under suspicion. Both were taken “downtown,” questioned, and searched. Both denied any wrongdoing. The first bellboy was “supposed to be working the switchboard” and not immediately a suspect. This kid went home to his mother in Stream Valley, Pennsylvania, and gave her $28 after purchasing a round-trip ticket from Elmira. After his return to work, the hotel manager set a trap with money, and sure enough, the kid was “caught with the goods.” He was arrested and confessed to the police chief that he had taken the salesman’s money. The Rathbun management commended the other bellboy and porter for their trustworthiness.

Where is the guest? On Aug. 9, 1939, the Star-Gazette reported that a guest of the Mark Twain Hotel “disappeared without paying a 10-day bill.” The staff said the guest had checked in under the name “Daniel H. Smith” of Orange, New Jersey, and he arrived with one suitcase. The one suitcase caused alarm to the desk clerk, so he requested proof of his identity from the man. The man presented a New Jersey real estate license and left it with the clerk. When Mr. Smith did not check out on the day of his supposed departure, the staff went through his room and found the suitcase, one shirt, and a package of razor blades. The hotel manager found his family through the broker's license address. They said he had left Orange without notice and had not heard from him. A nationwide search for the missing man showed no trace. Mr. Smith’s father knew of no reason for the son’s disappearance. Mr. Smith remains missing.

Whose parachute was it? A Southport boy was playing in Seeley Creek near the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge (today the area of Cedar Street and Clemens Center Parkway), where he claimed to have found an opened parachute several days earlier. On March 4, 1957, the Star-Gazette reported that Patrolman Loomis continued investigating the boy’s story. The kid said dragging the canopy home took him nearly three hours. He didn’t know what it was but thought it to be important. His parents called the police. Patrolman Loomis called airport officials, who said no one had reported bailing out. No plane mishaps or wreckage were known locally. Airport officials came to Southport to get a look at it. They concluded that it was possible that the chute was surplus equipment or belonged to someone discharged from the service.

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Diane Janowski is the Elmira city historian. Her column appears monthly.

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira history includes missing money, mysterious blood and parachute