Sunday, March 21, 2010

Emil Kolbe's Shooting Part 2 - Finding the shooting date!

SUCCESS!!!

The shooting date is found!

I listened to The Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast Episode 37 about newspaper research. Lisa Louise Cooke's "gem" about expanding a search outside a target area really paid off.

At genealogybank.com, I entered Kolbe as a search word and was stunned when an article dated October 17, 1922 for the Kalamazoo (Michigan) Gazette came up. The headline stated, "Druggist Shot By Holdup Men Bullet Penetrates Cheek Without Striking Man's Teeth or Tongue". The article snippet mentions Emil B. Kolbe.

Now I know the shooting date. Since I don't have a subscription to genealogybank.com and neither does my local library, I ordered the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press for October and November 1922 through interlibrary loan. I also plan on contacting the Detroit Police to see if a police report still exists for this crime.

Reflecting on the crime made me realize what a miracle that Emil wasn't killed or seriously maimed after being shot in the face! Why did the criminals rob him - money, drugs or both? Did they ever get caught? What effect did the crime have on the family? Questions that will have to wait for future research.

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