Herb Farmer Shoots Newton County Deputy

Herb "Deafy" Farmer was a mobster whose farmhouse south of Joplin near Redings Mill served as a "safe house" for gangsters from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s. He was a particularly close associate of the Barkers, whom he'd known when both the Farmer and Barker families lived at Webb City in the early 1900s. In June of 1934, Farmer was implicated as a go-between in the plot to free gangster Frank "Jelly" Nash, leading to the so-called Kansas City Massacre at Union Station.

While out on bond awaiting disposition of that case, Farmer got into trouble a little closer to home. The Oriole Terrace Nightclub was located between Redings Mill and Joplin, just up the road from Farmer's home, and on Thursday night, September 13, 1934, Farmer; his wife, Esther; and a sidekick named Herb Carter went there to do some drinking.

Shortly after midnight, in the wee hours of Friday, September 14, Carter and the Farmers got into a dispute with another customer, Herbert Keller (I guess everybody was named Herb back in those days), and Carter struck Keller. Newton County deputy Clem Bumgarner, who was stationed at the notorious nightspot to keep order, intervened to break up the scuffle and then called for backup.

An hour or so later, an all-out fist fight broke out between Carter and Keller. By this time, another deputy, E. M. Kimbrough had arrived, and he helped Bumgarner break up the brawl. They ejected Carter and Keller from the club, and they tried to get the Farmers to leave as well. Herb Farmer proved obstinate and exchanged some heated words with Kimbrough. Bumgarner explained to Farmer that Kimbrough was also a deputy sheriff, but Farmer was unfazed. "I don't care who he is," he declaimed.

Herb Farmer from the Kansas City Journal

The deputies managed to get Farmer outside, and Bumgarner bolted the door to keep him and the other two Herbs from reentering. However, Farmer's wife had been left inside.

Farmer went to his car, got a revolver, and returned to the club. He was denied entrance, but he broke the door down, stepped inside, and almost immediately started shooting at Kimbrough, who was in a booth across the dance floor. Farmer emptied his weapon, striking the deputy six times, as about forty patrons scrambled for safety or looked on in horror.

Kimbrough collapsed to the floor, while Farmer grabbed Esther and hurried outside, where Carter awaited. All three jumped into Farmer's car and sped away. Officers went to the Farmer place a mile or two south of the club, but the fugitives were not there. A search was undertaken, but it turned up no sign of Farmer and his companions.

Meanwhile, Kimbrough was rushed to St. John's Hospital in Joplin, where it was thought at first that his wounds might prove fatal. However, he began to show marked improvement a few days later, and he was released in mid-October after spending about five weeks in the hospital.

Sometime in the fall of 1934, Herb Farmer and his wife surrendered to federal authorities to face the charges against them related to their role in setting up the attempt to free Frank Nash, which led to the Kansas City Massacre. They were both convicted for their part in the conspiracy, and Farmer served two years at Alcatraz. After his release, he returned to Joplin, sold the farm, and moved into town, where he died in 1948 and was buried in Forest Park Cemetery.

Esther later married Harvey Bailey, self-proclaimed King of the Bank Robbers. Both of them are also buried in Forest Park Cemetery.

Kills Her Nephew, Who Was Also Her Paramour

On October 22, 1883, Ella Straub, 27-year-old housewife and mother of four or five children, killed her 21-year-old nephew by marriage, Louis L. During, at the Straub home near Clifton Hill in western Randolph County, Missouri, by beating him to death with a hammer. She proceeded promptly to the county seat at Huntsville and turned herself in. However, she would not say much about During's death except that she'd killed him during a quarrel.

Officers went straightway to the Straub residence and found blood everywhere, attesting to a violent incident, but particulars as to what caused the confrontation were few and far between in the days immediately after it happened. Newspaper reports suggested only that "Family troubles led to the tragedy."

Investigators wondered how a small woman like Ella could have overpowered a strapping young man like During, even with a hammer in her hand, and they also thought it strange that she had no blood or scratches on her when she turned herself in. Under the theory that she might have been shielding her husband, officers arrested 37-year-old William Straub as an accomplice about a week after the killing.

More specifics about the case came out as the investigation continued.

Ella and her husband had gotten married in 1872 when Straub was 26 years old and Ella was only 15. Sometime around 1879, young During, William Straub's nephew, came to live with the couple and work on their farm. Before long, a romance developed between During and Ella, who was described as "small in stature, black hair and eyes, with a rather attractive face and figure."

Ella's illicit intimacy with Straub's nephew "caused trouble between husband and wife," and the trouble came to a head in August or early September 1883, when Straub "slapped his wife severely," leaving her considerably bruised. Ella left home and went to Boonville, taking her kids with her. Straub came after her and brought her back to Randolph County, but she gave him the slip again and took off for Kansas. She wrote to During, who was supposed to meet her and elope with her, but he failed to show up, and she went on without him. While she was gone, During got married and started living with his new bride on a farm not far from the Straub place. When Ella came back to Randolph County in early October, she was reportedly jealous of During and his new wife, and many people thought her jealousy contributed to the murder.

However, that wasn't the story Ella told in mid-November when a joint preliminary hearing was held for her and her husband. While admitting that During was always very attentive to her and that a certain intimacy existed between them, she claimed she never yielded to his "improper proposals." She had been back from Kansas for about two weeks when During showed up at her house on October 22, 1883. When he asked where his uncle was and Ella told him that he was at work in the fields, During said it wasn't Straub he'd come to see anyway--it was her. Ella rose and went into the parlor to get some clothes for her baby but picked up a hammer as she passed through one of the rooms. While she was still in the parlor, During came into the room and "with an oath, demanded that she submit to his fiendish desires." When she refused, he struck at her, and she responded by using the hammer with "frightful effect."

At the close of the preliminary hearing, William Straub was released for lack of evidence, while his wife was held in lieu of $3,000 bond.

At Ella's trial in March of 1884, spectators packed the courtroom in Huntsville to view and hear the sensational proceedings. Ella repeated essentially the same story of self-defense that she'd told at the preliminary. Whether her version of events was true is not known, but since there was no one to refute it, the jury found her not guilty by virtue of justifiable homicide.

Fourth of July Celebration, 1925

Nowadays, a lot of towns hold Independence Day celebrations, and some of them are pretty elaborate affairs. However, I don't think they're any bigger than those held 100 years ago, and, in many cases, they're not as big.

Let's take Joplin, Missouri, as an example. The City of Joplin's official Fourth of July celebration this year will be held (I'm writing this on the morning of the 4th) at the Missouri Southern State University football stadium. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., food trucks open for business at 6:00 p.m., live music is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m., and the festivities culminate with a fireworks display from 9:45 to 10:00 p.m. Sounds like a pretty big deal, but it scarcely compares to the celebration Joplin held in 1925.

The Fourth of July celebration in Joplin in 1925 actually kicked off on Friday night, July 3. All the downtown businesses stayed open late, since they were going to be closed all day on the fourth, and a big crowd gathered downtown on Friday night as normally happened every Saturday night. So, folks were already in a festive spirit when Saturday, the fourth, rolled around.

People gathered for picnics and other activities at all the parks in Joplin on the fourth, others went to nearby swimming holes just outside the city, and baseball games and golf tournaments were held throughout the day in various parts of town The biggest attraction, however, was at Schifferdecker Park, where as many as 15,000 people gathered for afternoon and evening festivities.

In addition to the everyday park attractions, a movie was shown and a dance was held, both sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce free of charge. There was also a concert of live music. Free ice water was furnished for those in attendance. A daylight fireworks display was staged in the afternoon as well as the big finale that night. The "gorgeous fireworks display" put on at Schifferdecker the night of the fourth cost thousands of dollars and was one of the biggest ever held in Joplin.

One thing that was rather noticeably absent from the Joplin Independence Day celebration in 1925, probably to the relief of many in attendance, was speechifying. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many local celebrations featured long-winded speeches by political office holders or candidates for office. Some people, I guess, actually enjoyed them.