Oak Alley Plantation: A Hidden Mystery

One of Oak Alley Plantation’s Hidden Stories

 

When you think of the South (U.S.) during the late 1800s what do you imagine? Perhaps you think of antebellum mansions, long dirt roads accompanied by rows of weeping willows or old oak trees. Maybe, you think of that beautiful “Southern Belle” type strolling along a bricked path with her parasol in hand and a mint julep in the other? One thing one might never think of when imagining the “Old South” is the Mafia.  However, I bet you wouldn’t believe that the Mafia was in fact very much residing the South in the late 1800s and even up to the time of Prohibition in the 1920s.

Brief History of Oak Alley

I have always been enamored by the plantation known as “Oak Alley” in Vacherie, Louisiana. As most of my readers know, I am a huge history detective and when I fall in love with a place, I want to know all there is to know about it. I read the history of Oak Alley that is available on so many websites and books, as well as Oak Alley’s very own website. However, I noticed that there was a gap in history of the “Big House” from the late 1800s to the early 1920s.

The plantation, originally named "Bon Sejour" meaning "Pleasant Stay" in French, was built between 1837-1839, by George Swainey for a man by the name of Jacques Telesphore Roman. Roman was the brother to the Governor of Louisiana, Andre Roman. The Architect who designed the home just so happened to be Jacques father-in-law,  Joseph Pilie. The Roman family occupied the home during the mid 1800s, and later John Armstrong purchased it at auction in 1866.

This is where the grey area comes in. Several sites state that other owners occupied Oak Alley following Armstrong’s departure of the property, but there is never any mention how many or by whom. It does state that by the 1920s the home had fallen into disrepair from severe neglect of the premises and that is when Andrew and Josephine Stewart took on Oak Alley’s restoration as a “labor of love,” making it just as grand as it may have been in the days of the Old South.

The history of Oak Alley is vast, and each owner of the home has their own significant and interesting stories to tell of the place. However, I was intrigued by that shady time period between the late 1800s and the 1920s, so I set out to find out if there was a reason the home lay abandoned for so long.

Assassination Among the Oaks

According to several newspaper archives in July of 1895, there was a double murder on the very property of Oak Alley. In fact, the murder was Mafia connected, or so the papers read. According to reports, a man by the name of Stefano Hendo (or Hendlo) and his wife were driving out from their home in Lacena Plantation to visit their daughter and her husband at Oak Alley, where the young couple were residing. It was stated that before leaving his home, Stefano cleaned and loaded his shotgun. According to the authorities, they believe that Stefano knew he was going to be expecting some sort of trouble when he got to Oak Alley. Upon arriving at the property, the couple’s vehicle was fired upon and they were shot to death, riddled with bullets. The newspapers concluded that a rigid investigation would be made, although there is never any further mention in any of the archived newspapers that I could locate.

It’s quite interesting that this double murder isn’t mentioned in any other historical texts or websites regarding Oak Alley’s many interesting tales. It makes one wonder, why was this story covered up? Did Stefano know his killers? Why, if he was coming to visit his daughter, did he feel the need to bring a loaded shotgun? The world may never know the truth. It’s been so many years and without any further evidence or information in regards to who Stefano, his wife, his daughter or son-in-law were, we may never be able to put all the pieces together.

Personally, I thought this story was very interesting. I had never heard of the Mafia being so far south in the U.S. during that time period, and that made it all the more exciting to investigate it. Upon my investigating this subject I found some of the earliest mentions of the Mafia in the United States were of several families in the New Orleans area in the early 1870s, who immigrated from Sicily and other areas.  However, there really is no way to know if Stefano and his wife had any connection to anyone tied to the Mafia in Louisiana during that time, but it does make one wonder, doesn’t it? 

The newspaper headlines read:

Omaha Daily Bee, July 24^th 1895-

“DEADLY WORK OF THE MAFIA: The Mafia has begun its work in St. James Parish and already two persons, a man and his wife, have been found murdered. Sunday morning Stefano Hendo and his wife, as was their custom, left their home at the Lacena Plantation near Vacherie station to visit their daughter, who resides with her husband on Oak Alley Plantation about four miles distant. Stefano before leaving cleaned his shotgun and loaded it. The reason for his doing this is not known, but the impression now is that he expected trouble. When the couple reached Oak Alley, a lonesome place, they were fired upon and killed by the assassin who was concealed by the roadside. A rigid investigation of the tragedy is being made by authorities.”

So as time has gone on, over 117 years to be exact, this couple who were murdered at Oak Alley have been long since forgotten, left in the archives, awaiting a mystery or history detective to stumble upon it and write about it.  I hope that you enjoyed this article that touches on just one of the hidden stories at Oak Alley that most people have never heard or read about before, but now you know!

Newspaper Archives and Sources:

Omaha Daily Bee,- July 24^th 1895 
St Paul Daily Globe-, July 23, 1895 
Los Angeles Herald- July 24, 1895
Oak Alley Website- (http://www.oakalleyplantation.com)

New Orleans Crime Family- (wikipedia)

New Orleans Crime Boss Index-  http://www.onewal.com/maf-b-no.html

(Copyright 2013)- Dreaming Casually

Never Made It To The Altar- Rose De Fabrizio

A girl’s wedding day is most often considered the biggest day of her life.  Most all girls imagine and plan how it will be on that special occasion, even at the earliest ages, imagining and dreaming of the day when she takes her vows to be someone’s wife. For us girls, we are a princess for that one day, our fairy tale. It is our special day, where all our dreams finally come true. Never in our wildest dreams, or nightmares, would we ever imagine that tragedy would strike on that perfect day.  Sadly, for one New York couple in 1946, their fairy tale didn’t come true.

Angela “Rose” De Fabrizio waited two years to be reunited with her childhood sweetheart, John Mastantuono, a Army Medical corps veteran. The couple had met back in high school and fell in love fast.  When Rose was 19 she and 18 year old John (or Johnny) had decided to marry. Unfortunately for them, Johnny was sent to war, crushing Rose’s dreams of wedding her beloved.

Life Magazine, October 21,1946

Despite the odds, Rose kept optimistic the two years that Johnny was away. Knowing that one day, he would come back to her and they would finally have their happy ending. When he finally returned from the service, Johnny made plans for them to wed in October of 1946.  Rose then quit her job, while Johnny took on the role of a working husband-to-be. With the help of his father, he purchased a home for his bride, furnishing the entire place to her liking. He bought her a ring and even borrowed a new car for the wedding day, in order for them to travel to Atlantic City to honeymoon.

On the day of the wedding, Johnny met Rose before leaving for the Church. They knew the old wives tale that it was bad luck to see each other before the wedding, but that didn’t seem to matter to them, they were so very much in love.  The last thing Rose said to Johnny before leaving to the Church was, “John, I love you with all my heart.”

At the Church, Johnny was in the rear of the building unaware of what tragedy was to come. Rose and her father were just outside the Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, and had just started taking the steps up to the entrance when Rose stepped on her train.  

Just as her father bent down to fix the train that had been caught on her shoe, Rose collapsed to the ground. Her father grabbed her and held her in his arms, thinking she had only fainted. But as soon as he realized she was not breathing, a panic set in. Immediately people rushed to her side to aid her. Dr. Vivona, who was a guest of the wedding, rushed to her side along with a 12-men fire department rescue squad who arrived shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, they attempted to revive her, in vain. She had died immediately upon collapse. Johnny was devastated, along with Rose’s family and friends.

Life Magazine, October 21, 194

The newspapers fabricated a statement allegedly said by Rose's father, claiming he said: “The music started. The organ played ‘Here Comes the Bride.’ Six ushers and six bridesmaids were lined up along the aisle. I gave her my arm, my beautiful little girl. We marched. We had practiced good. We knew what to do, we took four steps, maybe, and she whispered, ‘wait.’  She pointed to the hem of her dress. She had stepped on it. I told her ‘I’ll fix it, don’t you bend down.’ Then it happened. ‘I’m dizzy,’ she said, and she fell. Mia Bambina, and somebody screamed.”

According to Rose's sister, Gloria Napolitano, the newspaper's statements were entirely false, and that her father never said those things quoted in the papers.  Gloria's son-in-law Bob Manning emailed me adding that Rose's father never spoke to Life Magazine either, and that the photos in the magazine were sold against the families wishes by the photographer. "The family attempted to sue the magazine until a lawyer suggested that he would be making money off of his daughters death", which is not what he wanted. Regrettably, her father dropped the suit. 

The autopsy failed to disclose the actual cause of death, it took time before the press released that she had died of heart failure. One newspaper quoted Dr. Alexander Vivona who claimed that Rose had a rheumatic heart, while the deputy medical examiner of Nassau County, Dr. Allan Jaques said, “I found a general congestion, the upper respiratory passages. Before a cause of death can be ascribed it will be necessary to obtain a report of bacteriological and toxicological studies of the viscera.”

On October 10, 1946, Rose was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery following her funeral at St. Joachim’s Church. Rose’s father could not bear to return to Our Lady of Good Counsel after the terrible memory of his daughter dying in his arms. 

New York Daily News

Rose was buried in her wedding gown and veil, along with the crushed bouquet of flowers she had fell upon during her collapse on her wedding day outside the Church. Heartbroken Johnny, bestowed his last and final gift to the love of his life, by ordering that a heart of orchids and 300 red roses be placed upon her white coffin.  Rose’s family stayed in front of her coffin alongside Johnny, grief stricken and weak during the service.  

Hundreds of people attended the funeral earlier in the day, while many stood outside the Church in the rain. The motorcade of 35 automobiles, along with the hearse followed to the cemetery where nearly twice as many people came to see Rose interred into her final resting place. A large wreath of white carnations that were given by the ushers and the bridesmaids, lay atop the white coffin as a final act of respect to a lost friend. 

Loss was not something new to Johnny, as he had just lost his parents and sister within that past year. On March 21, 1945, Johnny’s mother, Maria had died. The next day death took his grief-stricken sister, Antoinette. Finally, his father, Lewis, died April 20, 1946. Losing Rose left him completely alone and crushed. When asked what he was going to do with the house and furnishings he had bought his bride, his remarks were “I guess I’ll sell the furniture, I could never sleep in this room.” It was obvious that Johnny’s heart was broken, his spirit crushed and his hope for a better future was non-existent.  Rose was buried near Johnny’s parents’ and sister’s grave, a chilling reminder to him that he was now in fact, alone.

Such a sad and terrible tragedy, one of which that should have ended like a happy ending in a fairy tale, but one that proved to end like a Shakespearean drama. Let us never forget Rose Fabrizio and the love she shared with Johnny Mastantuono. Let us never take love for granted, for we never know what tomorrow brings. Love like there is no tomorrow…because for some of us, there won’t be one.

 TO VISIT ROSE'S VIRTUAL GRAVE CLICK HERE

TO READ MORE ABOUT ROSE'S STORY AS WELL AS OTHER MYSTERIOUS AND BIZARRE TALES, PURCHASE YOUR COPY TODAY OF:"Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered." Available on Amazon! 

(Original Copyright- 11/13/2012) J’aime Rubio  
Also published in the book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered," by J'aime Rubio, 2016.

Some sources:

Life Magazine, October 21, 1946

The Deseret News, October 7, 1946

Kentucky New Era, October 9, 1946

The Miami News, October 11, 1946
Information provided by the families of Angela Rose De Fabrizio and Johnny Mastantuono

THANK YOU TO LOU MASTANTUONO (John's son) FOR CONTACTING ME AND SENDING ME THE PHOTO OF ROSE'S GRAVE.

THANK YOU TO BOB MANNING and GLORIA NAPOLITANO FOR SHARING ADDED DETAILS AND CLEARING UP MISINFORMATION ABOUT ROSE'S STORY. 

Taken To The Grave- A Sacramento Mystery

Alice Louisa Curtis' grave

Over 110 years ago, lived a young, beautiful and ambitious young lady named Alice Louisa Curtis. In 1902, she was 25 years of age and in the prime of her young adult life when her life was taken, far too soon.  The secrets as to why or how exactly she died have been shrouded in mystery still to this day.

Alice was the daughter of William Roland Curtis Sr. and wife Susan Potter Curtis, of Oak Park. The Curtis' were originally from Massachusetts, arriving in Sacramento in 1852. Within two years time, Curtis had taken over his brother's homestead. Later after acquiring even more land, Mr. Curtis eventually donated some of the south-eastern portion of it to the city, naming it "Curtis Park."

In 1893, William Curtis, a devout Republican, was elected as a County Supervisor where he served for nearly eight years. The last two years of his service on the Board of Supervisor's he was elected Chairman.

William R. Curtis, Sr.

Curtis had five children, a son William Roland Curtis, Jr. , another son Frank (who died from a childhood illness) and three daughters, Carrie, Alice and Edna.  Their oldest child, William Roland died at the young age of 17 on August 23, 1880 from a scything accident on the farm, to which he unfortunately bled to death. I was able to find his death notice via the archived newspapers (Sacramento Daily Record Union, 8/24/1880).

The younger children were Carrie M. Curtis (Born 1865)  Alice Louisa Curtis (Born 1876) and the baby, Edna Curtis (born in 1884). In 1892, on December 26th, Carrie M. Curtis, the elder of the two daughters, married George Cutter.  George H. Cutter was one of the leaders of establishing the fruit growing industry in Sacramento, even becoming the President of the California Fruit Exchange for 20 years.

As far as Alice, she was one of the youngest and certainly, "Daddy's Little Girl."  Nothing was withheld from Alice due to growing up in such a prestigious family. Certainly, being among the youngest of the children was to her advantage during her young life.  It was stated that her father always made sure that she had "all the comforts money could procure."  So then that leads us to ask ourselves, why would this terrible tragedy have occurred at all?

Alice Curtis (c/o Dan Murphy)

THE MYSTERY

When I first learned of this story, a friend of mine had mentioned it to me. You see, both he and I share a similar passion for uncovering the truth about the lives and deaths of people who have long since passed on. Just as I go from cemetery to cemetery to stumble upon interesting stories and tales to research, he does as well.  I guess many years ago, he had found Alice's grave at the Historic Sacramento City Cemetery located at 1000 Broadway, in Sacramento. He then looked into the archives there and found some interesting information.

According to him, he found information that stated that Alice had been shot in the stomach, later dying. Speculation had spread that she had been involved in a secret relationship with a man that her father did not approve of. In fact, this man was someone her father despised. In fact, according to the Sacramento Bee, dated August 21st, 1902 states, "From one source the story has gone out that the reason for the opposition was that the young man had opposed Mr. Curtis in a political campaign, but those intimately acquainted with the Curtis family assert that this is not true and that all Mr. Curtis would exact from any applicant for a daughter's hand was that he should be of good and industrious character and able to support a wife as soon as he should assume the marriage obligation." 

Regardless of the story of her forbidden love, somehow Alice ended up shot and later died. My friend came to me wondering what else I could find out about this young woman, and I certainly was up for the task.

THE STORY

On August 19th, 1902 Alice Louisa Curtis was found at home with a wound to her chest, having been shot with a revolver. She was conscious when she was found, claiming that she alone had inflicted the wound by attempting to shoot herself in the heart. Unfortunately for her, the bullet passed through her breast and penetrated her left lung, completely missing her heart. Instead of a sudden death, she lingered for 3 days until finally dying.

Top: Alice Curtis, Below: The Curtis' Ranch House

Now during those three days, several people questioned her as to why or what exactly happened. She vowed she would never reveal why she did it, but continued to take the blame for her attempted suicide.

The San Francisco Call dated August 20th reads:

“ Attempts To End Life Of Promise” – Talented Young Woman in Sacramento at Death’s Door

“Sacramento, August 19- Alice Curtis, 25 years of age, the handsome and talented daughter of ex-Supervisor William Curtis shot herself in the left breast at a late hour this afternoon and is in a precarious condition. The Curtis family occupies a beautiful country home about a mile beyond the city limits. Mr. Curtis owns broad acres and he has been able to provide for his family all the comforts money can procure. Miss Curtis, still conscious, admits that she inflicted the wound, but gives no explanation for it, and the only theory that has been assigned is that she committed to the act while in a fit of melancholia due to a slight illness.

By all of her neighbors Miss Curtis is held in the highest regard and they are praying that she may be saved from death. But little is known concerning the details of the sad occurrence, the family being almost as completely mystified as are outsiders.

Miss Curtis was about her duties as usual this morning and seemed in ordinary health. She visited the home of a relative and there procured a revolver. Returning to her home, she placed the pistol against her heart, as she supposed, and fired. The bullet penetrated the lung, but did not touch the heart. Medical and surgical aid was promptly summoned and the patient made as comfortable as possible. She admitted the act, but gave no other reason than that she wanted to die.

Miss Curtis is a graduate of the Sacramento High School and a young woman of refinement, devoted to literary and musical studies. It is not known that she had any love affair, and as her relations with the rest of the family were of the happiest, today’s tragedy is all the more inexplicable.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

(August 21, 1902 San Francisco Call)

“Love Affair May Be Back Of The Tragedy”

Sacramento, Aug 20.- 

"Miss Alice Curtis, the handsome young daughter of  ex- Supervisor William Curtis, who shot herself yesterday afternoon, the bullet piercing her left lung, remains in a critical condition. It is still impossible to foretell the outcome. She is conscious, and it is said she has given no explanation of her attempt to take her life.

It appears to be the belief of many acquaintances of the young woman that a love episode had entered into her life, and that she grew despondent when her father, to whom she is greatly devoted and whose business affairs she manages, opposed the proposed match.

It is said that Miss Curtis formed the acquaintance of a young man living at Oak Grove and that a warm attachment followed. This her father did not favor owing to the fact that the young man gave no promise of ability to support a wife."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

(August 22, 1902 – San Francisco Call)

“Takes Her Secret To The Grave”

Sacramento, Aug. 21-

 "Miss Alice Curtis passed away at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Curtis, early this morning as a result of a self-inflicted bullet wound. The young woman died without revealing the cause of her act.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why did Alice choose to end her young life?

Did she really shoot herself?   

Or was she covering for someone? 

Love @ Turn of the Century

One more thing to think about was that her body was not examined by doctors in Sacramento, but instead William Curtis had her body brought to San Francisco to be cremated before being brought back to Sacramento and buried in the family plot.  Now, if you think about that for a moment, why wouldn't a prestigious man like Curtis allow the local doctors to examine his daughter post-mortem or furthermore cremate her there? Well, one question that arose was that perhaps they would have noticed her in a delicate condition? Remember, it was 1902 and that could have brought reproach upon the entire family. Rumors spread around town like wildfire that she had been in an illicit affair with a man from Oak Grove, one whom her father did not approve of.

Now to me, if that was the case, that changes everything. Imagine what her father may have felt or wanted to do to that man had he learned of her condition and the fact that the man had not "made a promise to support a wife." In other words, the guy didn't want to marry her. Could Alice have tried to end the eminent shame she knew she would bring upon her family name, had she gone on with life and had a child out of wedlock? Could her father have been mad enough to attempt to shoot the man who had violated his daughter's virtue? What if Alice had jumped in front of her lover and took the bullet herself, continuing to preserve the truth of what really happened that afternoon all the way up to her last breath? For the record, I am not accusing that William Curtis did anything of the sort, this is just a simple theory.

Could it be that she was just so heartbroken that she was not able to be with the man she loved, that she felt that she had nothing left to live for? Or worse yet- what if the man she loved had no desire to make a life with her? Could that have brought on this 'melancholia' that the doctors diagnosed her with?

William Roland Curtis was never the same after Alice's death, only 5 years later he died at the age of 75 on January 27, 1907 (via The Sacramento Bee, 1/28/1907). His wife Susan also passed away 4 years after the death of Alice. I am sure it killed him inside knowing that he was unable to save his daughter, despite all the doctors he had dispatched to care for her during those painstaking last 3 days of her life.

For the record, we do not know for sure if Alice was pregnant or not, that is just another possible theory.  The only other possible scenarios were that either she was so heartbroken of the fact she could not be with the man she loved, that she took her own life or she was accidentally shot and didn't want to say by whom.

Sadly, the true secret as to why Alice ended up with a bullet in her chest, later dying from such injuries, will be one that literally was taken to the grave with Alice. She and she alone holds the key to solving that mystery, a mystery we shall never truly solve.

No matter why, how or who truly pulled the trigger that hot August afternoon in 1902, let us never forget the story of Alice Louisa Curtis.

Alice's final resting place

TO READ MORE ABOUT ALICE'S LIFE AND DEATH, AS WELL AS MANY OTHER MYSTERIOUS AND BIZARRE TALES, PURCHASE YOUR COPY TODAY OF: "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered." Available now on Amazon!

(Original Copyright- 10/30/2012, J'aime Rubio)
Also published in the book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered" by J'aime Rubio, 2016. 
www.jaimerubiowriter.com

SOURCES:
(2) PHOTOS: of Alice Curtis c/o Dan Murphy
Sacramento Bee, 1/28/1907
Sacramento Bee, 8/20/1902
Sacramento Bee, 8/21/1902
Sacramento Daily Record Union, 8/24/1880
San Francisco Call, 8/20/1902
San Francisco Call, 8/21/1902
San Francisco Call, 8/22/1902
Curtis Park House History
"Sacramento, Happenings in History's Spotlight"-
Sacramento Bee via Pete Basofin (4/8/2012)

A BIG THANK YOU TO:
Find A Grave (website) via Roland Boulware, contributor/freelance photographer
Thank you Sacramento City Cemetery, Archives (and the lovely ladies who work there!)
Thank you to Dan Murphy for photos of Alice, and to Tuula Laine from the Sacramento Library!

The Location Of The Sleepy Lagoon- Los Angeles

What it may have looked like....

Many websites claim to know the exact location of the old swimming hole or reservoir made famous by the murder of Jose Diaz in August of 1942. The press dubbed it the "Sleepy Lagoon Murder" because the body of Jose Diaz was found on the property where the popular swimming hole was located.

It was named "Sleepy Lagoon" after a popular song by the same name made famous by Glenn Miller and also Harry James' Orchestras.  I have written about the Sleepy Lagoon murder and the discrimination that the Los Angeles Police Department and the Courts had unlawfully and brutally assaulted these young men who were obviously innocent of the crime.

They railroaded hundreds of boys, rounding them up in a city wide dragnet, brought on by the District Attorney and L.A.P.D. Although eventually the majority of the boys were set free, there were several who were interrogated, booked and charged with murder. Although there wasn't sufficient evidence to convict, they were treated like animals and the jury found them guilty. If you read my blog,  "The Sleepy Lagoon, A Precursor to the Zoot Suit Riots" you can read more about the story for yourself.

This blog is about the whereabouts and actual location of the Sleepy Lagoon reservoir. You see, long ago the area was a ranch, full of hills and trees and nothing like it is today. Over the countless decades the area has significantly changed making it very difficult for one searching for the exact location of this "lagoon" to find it.  I will upfront say that if you google "Sleepy Lagoon address" or "Sleepy Lagoon Location" you will find countless blogs and websites claiming that it was at 5500 Slauson Avenue. You have to be careful when searching because there is more than one 5500 Slauson in Los Angeles County.  So you would need to search in the vicinity of Maywood, which now is a part of Bell, Calfornia. However, that address is incorrect, and I am here today to show you why it's incorrect and what the
real location was.



We can thank Eduardo Obregón Pagán, author of acclaimed book "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A." and host of PBS' History's Detectives, for his awesome detective work after speaking to Lino Diaz, the brother of deceased Jose Diaz. He was able to create a diagram (map) based on Lino's memory of the Williams Ranch. According to the map, as seen below, the lagoon was just south of the cornfields and just mildly southeast of Atlantic Blvd. Go ahead and look on the map below and see that Bandini dead ended into Atlantic Blvd. You can also see that  26th st ran parallel to the railroad tracks.

Courtesy: "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A."

Now if you know Los Angeles like I do, then you would know that the part of 26th Street that ran parallel to the railroad tracks doesn't exist anymore. Therefore, anyone could be confused when trying to find the location of the Williams Ranch or the lagoon especially when there are websites like wikimapia that states the location was in Commerce, California and if you click on the map it takes to you Slauson in Bell, but it's still not the location of Sleepy Lagoon.

If that were the case, then 5500 Slauson would be exactly where it shows Heliotrope High School (above in map). That wasn't the lagoon now was it? You can clearly see by the map that the lagoon was south of 26th street, southeast of Atlantic, north of Slauson Ave and west of Eastern Ave.

Present day area of Sleepy Lagoon

In 1975 the Federal Service Center sold off land in that general area as "Surplus Acreage" plus the city created the expansion of Bandini Blvd to cross from Atlantic to Eastern Avenue, thus literally making a road through the Williams Ranch. If you drive down Bandini Road today from Atlantic to Eastern you are driving on top of the old ranch. You are literally driving over the old cornfield, the spot where the Delgadillo's home stood among other homes, and the spot where Jose Diaz was murdered. The exact location where the lagoon was, could be where Bandini is now, or basically just a spot south of Bandini, more than likely at the end of the cul-de-sac on Lindbergh Lane, (where the arrow is pointing in the photo above).


Honestly, I was tired of all these websites claiming to know the exact location of the Sleepy Lagoon reservoir site. A fellow history lover showed me Eduardo Pagan's map from his book and I emailed Mr. Pagan regarding it. He was kind enough to provide me with insight regarding the location and how he obtained that information. I am most grateful to him for all of his help.

One note,  Heliotrope High no longer exists, and the Ford Motor Company wasn't built until 1947, however the memory of Lino Diaz was the only window into the geography of the area. Chrysler had a Company across the street from the Ford Motor Company location on Slauson and Eastern, so I am guessing in his old age he may have forgotten that some things out of current memory hadn't been built back in 1942. However, his memory of the general area was on spot if you look at the map above. All the streets that remained still show the exact area of where the Williams Ranch stood.

So in ending, with most of history as the world changes many times history is erased to build newer more modern things or places. The buildings, the streets and even the plush areas of terrain that once stood were bulldozed to fill the need of business and economic growth. For the tale of the Sleepy Lagoon, it is one that cannot be revisited. We cannot go to a park or stroll along a dirt road to bask in the idea that long ago stood a place, a getaway of sorts, for the youth to go and enjoy a casual swim or even a lover's lane.  Just as in the Black Dahlia case, many of the buildings and businesses do not exist anymore. History lover's such as myself are left to wonder with our imagination, what it was like back then.

If you go back to that area in the future I suggest you take a cruise around the entire area, especially Bandini Blvd. Remind yourself that once there was a lagoon, a ranch and a significant part of Mexican-American history took place at that very location.

J'aime Rubio © 2012
Google Maps
Sources: "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A."

A big "THANK YOU" to Eduardo Obregón Pagán, author of "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A." 

Don't forget to go out and get your copy of this book!!!

Click Here To Order His Book On AMAZON

Deadly Game Leads To Murder- Another Preston Castle Mystery

Billy Forester and Paul Daedler

It was December 5, 1923, in the suburbs of Pasadena, California.  Two boys set out onto S. Raymond Avenue that day on a mission to play in an old abandoned building at 950 S. Raymond Ave. One of the boys had brought their father's loaded .22 pistol. It was never clarified who instigated the act of actually shooting the weapon for fun, but both boys ended up doing it. This was to be the start of a deadly game, that led to the murder of one Arturo (Arthur) Martinez, 5.

Many newspaper headlines write that the boys were both 14 yrs. old at the time of the murder but that is not correct. Paul Daedler was 14 yrs. old, having been born Nov. 3, 1909. William "Billy" Forester on the other hand, was actually 12 yrs. old, being that the Census records for 1920 show he was born in 1911. The two boys met while attending the Monroe School for Subnormal Children in Pasadena.

The Day of The Murder

According to the boys confession, they had come to the abandoned building to play with the loaded gun that they had taken from one of their homes. Apparently, five year old Arturo Martinez had crawled through a window into the building to follow the boys. Arturo was a playmate of the boys when they had no other kids to play with.  Arturo jumped into a dug up section in the ground and according to Billy, Paul had seen Arturo within his shooting range and started shooting at him like he was shooting at a scared rabbit in a hole. Arturo then began squealing and screaming, so to shut him up the boys threw bricks at his head until they knocked him out.

Arturo had been shot twice in the head, once in the back, plus the bricks had also injured him in the head profusely.  Paul was afraid that the boy would run back to his mother to tell on them so he went and got some wire and tied one end around Arturo's neck and Billy tied the other end to his feet. Then they fastened the little boy to a post and shut the door to the building tight.

They left poor little Arturo there, bleeding to death all night long. The next day, the boys returned to see if he was still alive, but he was not.  They later went to the police and claimed they had found Arturo's body in the building that way. According to the papers, after a long interview with the Chief of Police they confessed to the crime. Paul had claimed he was worried he would hang for this crime, while Billy was only worried about going to jail. That tells you about their conscience's or lack thereof.

Who Were Paul Daedler And Billy Forester?

Paul was the son of Louis O. Daedler and Pauline Daedler of Beloit, Wisconsin. Apparently the Daedler's moved around a lot. Paul's father came from Sibley, Minnesota and later married his wife Pauline in Wisconsin. They later settled in Rockford City, Winnebago, Illinois (as the 1920 Census records show).

For whatever reason, the Daedlers moved to Pasadena for a short period of time, but long enough to have their name become infamously attached to one of Pasadena's grisliest  murders.

Paul attended school in Pasadena which was labeled for "Subnormal Children." I had to figure out what this meant so I looked into it. According to Webster's Dictionary it reads:

Subnormal : 

1.  lower or smaller than normal 

2.  having less of something and especially of intelligence than is normal

Looking further into it, I found that this school was for children who were below the normal IQ levels that were considered "normal." Any IQ score below 70 was considered "subnormal."

It was easy to assume that perhaps due to both Paul and Billy's history of juvenile delinquency ( as they were both on probation at the time), that the State would automatically assume they were dumb, imbeciles or even slow.  This wouldn't surprise me at all if they were labeled that after having been put on probation, since the State at the time was very ignorant about mental state of mind in minors and assumed that if you broke the law or were incorrigible that you automatically were stupid or a moron.  I am not saying these boys didn't have some sort of mental problem as this is a heinous crime and its obvious there were issues here, but I don't believe they were stupid.

Billy was the son of William Forester and Margaret Forester of Pasadena. According to some newspaper articles he had been adopted, there is no way to know this for sure as I could not locate any records. It is possible he was adopted, perhaps as a baby, but then he was named after his father so it makes me wonder.

Their Day At Court

When the court day came around, Paul's family had him all "lawyer'd up."  His parents, friends, family and several others including his pastor and school teacher were there to be a witness for him. Although Paul had signed two confessions, they decided to change their story and he claimed he had never been there and that his pastor could vouch for him that he was at church at the time of the murder. The pastor of Paul's church claimed that Paul had been in class, however, his schoolteacher, said that she had not seen him after 2pm on the day of the murder. Billy only had his mother show up for his court hearing. His parents did not pay for a lawyer and no one testified on his behalf.

The Judge ruled that Billy would be sent to the Preston School of Industry to await trial, while Paul was sent to the Whittier School. 

Cover-Up? Pay Off? Threat?

According to records, not one month after Billy had been sent to Preston (PSI) he had withdrawn his earlier confession and submitted to the court a new full confession that he alone was to blame for the murder of Arturo Martinez.  In his confession he states:

 "I pulled the gun and shot him.  Then I though I would put the blame on someone else, so I shot him two more times.  I happened to think that whenever Paul Daedler got mad, he always threw bricks, so I decided to throw bricks at Arthur so it would appear that Paul hit him."

Speculation and rumors spread when word got out that a person who had an "interest" in Paul Daedler's case came all the way up to Preston to see Billy and convinced (or possibly threatened) him to take the blame for it all.

Okay, so let's really think about this for a moment.  Forget the crime for just one second, let's think of these two boys. Paul was connected, he had money, his family had the finances to afford attorney's and get his pastor to even testify that Paul wasn't even there that day, even though Paul himself admitted he was there and he did shoot Arturo.  Then there was Billy, he was younger than Paul by two years  and didn't have the upbringing that Paul did. Would it be hard to believe that he could have been fearful of his life or his mother's life so he took the blame? I think its possible.  Could he have been paid off to admit the the murder and possibly get some sort of plea bargain deal? Absolutely! 

What I find rather interesting though is that after Billy confessed to the entire crime, he only spent a little over a year and was paroled from Preston in November of 1925 and he vanished without a trace. I researched for him through every record and Census and there was never a trace of this man that I could locate. I did find his parents in following Census records, but never one with Billy on it. He literally disappeared.

What then happened to Paul? Well, after serving for 17 months at the Whittier School, he was released to the court who then ordered that he leave the State of California and never return (does that sound like someone paid off that Judge or what?)

Paul's father Louis Daedler then moved the entire Daedler family back to Rockford City, Illinois.  By 1927,  Paul had found his way back to California and in front of a judge facing the charge of vagrancy. He was then ordered to be sent up to Preston School of Industry where he remained until the end of his "vagrancy" sentence.  Paul later lived out the rest of his life in Los Angeles and died in 1981.

Conclusion

This story tugged at my heart from the beginning of my research for it. It pangs me to know that these two boys, whether one peer pressured the other to do it, or they both had equal share in the crime- they both killed an innocent baby. Arturo was only five years old.  Arturo was the son of a Pasadena gardener, Salvador Martinez. No one ever wrote about who little Arturo was, who his family were or how devastated they were after their baby was killed. All the stories speak of Billy and Paul, but never of Arturo and what this little boy was like. What were his dreams? What was his favorite toy? Favorite color? Favorite song? He was a baby, so young and his memory has been lost within the archives.

No photos were printed of this poor child, but there were plenty photos of Billy and Paul. I wanted to write this story about what happened to little Arturo to give his family the honor and respect that they so deserve. To give Arturo the respect and honor he deserved. He was born around the same time as my grandfather, and look at the life he could have had. All the years he could have enjoyed and the family he could have grown up to have, the person he could have grown up to be. All lost because of two mischievous boys playing with a loaded gun.

Why didn't those boys serve longer sentences? Was the Judge paid off to let them off easy? What happened to Billy after he was released from Preston?

So many unanswered questions, that I hope to one day uncover.

J'aime Rubio (Copyright) 7/26/2012  Republished 3/28/2018
www.jaimerubiowriter.com 

Sources:

Evening Independent

12/24/1923

Los Angeles Times

8/8/1927

Ghastly- 1947project.com