Looking back: Boy catches robbers in act, dog taken to jail and curfew hours enforced on kids

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of July 24 to July 30 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

RIGBY — Robbers trying to steal from the Golden Rule Store in Rigby were caught red-handed by a boy passing by the store, The Rexburg Standard reported on July 28, 1910.

A “small boy” was walking by the store at 11 p.m. on July 27 when he noticed three men “skulking inside.” The boy went to find the town marshal and told him what he saw.

The marshal and store manager Harry Sweitzer went to the store. The marshal went to the back of the building and Sweitzer went to the front. They discovered the men got into the building through the front of the store.

“Upon discovering that they were seen, the men endeavored to get out the back way, but the marshal commenced shooting through the door,” the local paper explained. “Whereupon, the men dropped the clothes, jewelry and other plunder they had secured and ran toward the front of the store.”

The paper added, “Seeing them through the window, Sweitzer cut loose with a .38-caliber revolver and got one of the burglars, shooting through the right leg.”

The man who was shot was caught at the back door by the marshal and another man was found hiding in the store. The third robber got away.

“The two that were captured refuse to say anything or give any names,” the article mentioned. “They were taken to St. Anthony on this morning’s Yellowstone and placed in the county jail.”

Two sets of drills and “other burglar tools” showed they contemplated cracking the safe.

“There was one chance in 100 that the men would have been molested at that hour of the night in Rigby,” the paper states. “The presence of mind of the small boy and the prompt action of the marshal, Mr. Sweitzer and others, resulted in … putting a crimp in the operations of that gang.”

1926-1950

IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls attorney was hurt after falling off a horse, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported in its July 25, 1938, newspaper.

Kenneth Mackenzie, along with several others also riding horseback, were parading the downtown streets advertising the War Bonnet Roundup when the accident happened. Mackenzie’s horse stumbled at the corner of Park Avenue and B Street.

“In falling, the horse and rider fell against a parked automobile,” the paper said. “The rider was momentarily knocked out by the impact with the car.”

Mackenzie was taken to his home in an ambulance where he “since has been resting.”

“His condition, at first thought to be serious, was greatly improved Sunday,” the paper pointed out.

His wife thought he might have broken a rib but they were waiting for an x-ray to confirm.

1951-1975

POCATELLO — A dog was taken to jail for 15 hours after its owner got into legal trouble, the Idaho State Journal reported on July 28, 1952.

Bannock County deputy sheriff E.A. Thompson booked an English bulldog named Bobo into jail “on a disorderly conduct charge.” He then had to “play nursemaid to the pooch from Sunday at 2 a.m. until late Sunday afternoon.”

The dog “barked and whimpered almost constantly.” Fourteen prisoners in the jail “complained loudly” while Thompson “plied him with sweet talk and food which Bobo disdained.”

“I had to put him in the bird cage, the small cell in the rear of the jail away from everyone else,” Thompson said. “That’s where we usually put incorrigibles. But I had to stay right with him because he was just plain scared.”

Bobo was eventually released to his owner Harry Wood.

“He’s a handsome little fellow, all brown except for a white face,” Thompson said about the dog. “We got to be buddies before he left.”

Wood was arrested by state police Sunday at 12:30 a.m. after he ran through the port of entry station at McCammon with a caravan of used cars.

He plead guilty and paid a total of $208 in fines for hiring unlicensed drivers and failing to stop the caravan at the port of entry to pay a state tax.

1976-2000

GRACE — Curfew hours for kids were going to be enforced in Grace, The Caribou County Sun reported on July 29, 1976.

The ordinance would go into effect Aug. 1, 1976, according to the city council.

The ordinance explained that it would be a misdemeanor for any boy or girl under the age of 18 to be on the streets or visit any public place between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday curfew hours were between 1:30 a.m. and 5 a.m.

“Kids may be out during these hours if they are accompanied by a parent or guardian or have written permission to be out at that specific time,” the paper said.

Parents or guardians would be “guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor if the child is found guilty of the curfew violation.”

If a minor violated the ordinance, they would be “turned over to the custody of the juvenile court in the county for further proceedings.”