1936

 

I have created a retro, front-page news article based on the remarkable May 1936 police logs of Highland County and sent it to your Studio panel. It is titled The Highland Recorder: The Cheese Truck Gangsters of 1936.

This dramatic and often humorous story covers:

• The "Cheese Truck" Arrest: The wild highway pursuit of four fast-talking Boston-area gangsters and two young women from St. Louis, featuring their famous sarcastic remarks to the arresting officers: "What do you mean by racing us in that cheese truck and stopping us good people?"
• The Midnight Jailbreak Standoff: How the prisoners tore apart their iron bunk beds in the Monterey jail, jimmying four cell locks before being discovered by the sheriff’s son and subdued with a barrage of tear gas.
• The Sarcastic Trial: The packed preliminary hearing before County Trial Justice H. C. Lunsford where the big-city outlaws mocked the local court before being shackled and transferred to Staunton.

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🔍 I can also dig into the tragic but heroic 1936 story of U.S. Forest Ranger Big Donald Gaudinier, who gave his life to save his family from a forest fire, if you would like to explore another historical news feature.