The following petition addressed to the editor of the Call explains itself, and accounts for the . THE VELVET HAMMER Without questioning the lads. On that night Sunday, Dec. 5 a mob of up to 3,000 had attacked the jail to seize them but the sheriff and deputies, reinforced by the Santa Rosa police and fire departments, were able to repel the rioters. She was prevented by illness from attending the session according to a report received by the other directors. Sexton Mets said the tree had been hewn down under an order issued by Mrs. Frank C. Newman, president of the board of directors of the Rural Cemetery association. A Pensacola social justice organization is exploring appropriate ways to honor and remember victims of lynchings in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties from the 19th century through the 1950s. It was a little before twilight when the whirring of the engines of Freds airplane told of his coming. Oakland Police Department: Above the Law? That of Boyd is still in the hands of the coroner and is safely hidden away somewhere in the county. They wanted Santa Rosa known (per the future 1946 slogan) as The City Designed for Living, not The City Bent on Hanging Scallywags.. At the request of relatives and friends of Fitts and Boyd, Welti said, he refused to give out any information as to when the bodies were taken from the morgue or where they were buried. There is not a mention of the killing of 13-year-old Andy Lopez on Oct. 22, 2013 by Deputy Sheriff Erick Gelhaus. After the end of the war he stayed in the service as personnel adjutant at the base there was no leadership experience apparent in his military record. It was a lie. Unfortunately, he was not so skilled at takeoffs; the ballpark where he landed was too short for the ungainly aircraft and he made the rookie mistake of trying to fly underneath telegraph lines. If not, he will be buried In the Santa Rosa potters field. She said that a lawyer for theNew York Times, which owned thePress Democrat, told her to go ahead with the story since a 86-year-old man was not likely to be prosecuted for a 65-year-old crime of that nature. After the three gangsters were hung there were still loose threads to address and knots to untangle. If no claim is made on the body it will be buried in potters field. The Press Democrat, which regularly ran glance at the past type nostalgia columns, never mentioned the lynching in years to come. Look how it is now. The ex-convicts body is still at the morgue here and will now probably be buried in the potters field. LeBaron asked Barnard if he and the others were afraid they would be arrested. So off they went to Santa Rosa in a dozen (or so) cars with plans for all to convene at the Rural Cemetery. Barnard said the decision to raid the county jail and lynch the gangsters was made the same day that Sheriff James A. Petray was killed. Whenever they appear, they must be told to move on, and without a moments delay. We could have had 500 men, if wed wanted them, Barney told Gaye in 1985. Other Santa Rosa County lynchings involved people who were accused of crimes, but who were killed before they could be tried. Opinions do not die with him because they cant get out. She is 70 years of age and is near collapse. Sure, they replied. Snyder suggested that theNew York Timeswasnotethically compelled to volunteer Daniel Ellsbergs name to the FBI when he gave reporters top secret files purloined from the RAND Corporation, known as the Pentagon Papers. Sheriff Petray is buried at Oak Mound Cemetery in Healdsburg. Sunday, January 5, 1986 5, 1988 t m Gaye LeBaron People it .',fVi Vr. Auto and tractor owners of Northern Sonoma county have been compelled heretofore to send to San Francisco for repair work of the kind that the new company is prepared to do, and the enterprise will meet a present and growing need in this section. Patteson is well known through out the county. Photo courtesy of Sonoma County Library. Below are thumbnail introductions to three of them, plus another man who we know was among the vigilantes. The Santa Rosa Community Remembrance Coalition meets in the Student Center on the PSC Milton campus. Then a veritable shower of jewelry occurred. The hour of the burial was kept quiet, and only those who had to be present were there. Cassassa is a pioneer grape-grower and winemaker of Sonoma county and is well to do. The vessel is en route to OMSLL - EGSUZ, sailing at a speed of 12.9 knots and expected to arrive there on Feb 27, 16:00.The vessel SANTA ROSA (IMO: 9430363, MMSI 219086000) is a Container Ship built in 2011 (12 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Denmark. Fred jumped from the seat of the plane as soon as it fell to the ground, and did not receive a scratch. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Fred was absolutely no relation to Maynard Young; their common name is a coincidence.2 That Fred would be the mastermind ends this long story with an unexpected twist because he was such a surprising candidate to plan and lead the mission. One of the lynching sites is just a block away from the college.. It's the most infamous event in Santa Rosa history, but there's really not much to say about it - as long as you stick to the facts, that is. The vigilantes supposedly were all San Francisco policemen a belief pushed as all-but-certain by most SF papers. Type image Format Photographs. Community coalitions like this are springing up all over the country, Mosley said. This was the last lynching to take place in Sonoma County. Barron, is making inquiries for the whereabouts of her son. It was expected that Boyds body would be claimed by relatives from Sacramento. They probably will be put under a charge today. The website fails to mention that Gelhaus fired eight shots into the child, Lopez, nor does it breathe a word about any of the many homicides committed by deputies empowered by the prerogatives of whiteness to terrorize and kill members of disempowered groups. HANGMANS TREE REMOVAL PRAISED BY CLUBWOMEN AND OPPOSED BY CEMETERY BOARD. Between memberships in churches, fraternal groups like the Elks and extended families through marriage, probably everyone in the county was no more than two degrees of separation from a man with a badge. He opined, however, that the law would likely shield a reporter from producing evidence of a crimeif subpoenaed by law enforcement. Presumably he was deputized in other Smith posses as well. The Captain anticipated there might be an attempt to capture them after the lynching via roadblocks, ordering some of the men to return via Coffey Lane or other roads; would a 40-something Alexander Valley farmer have maintained his composure if stopped by a patrolman and asked, why are you out this late with a shotgun in your car?. In 2020, Santa Rosa, CA had a population of 178k people with a median age of 39.6 and a median household income of $80,472. The famous photo over whose exclusive rights Finley had made such a fuss would not be printed again until 1968. Once they arrived he asked: Wouldnt they like to see the inside of a jail? The date is confirmed by entries in the funeral homes receipt book. He therefore refused to give the Call any information on the subject and does not see why it was sought at this time. SAN FRANCISCO POLICEMEN IN LYNCH PARTY, IS REPORT. Pursued by big city lawmen, the trio ended up in a house eating soup in Santa Rosa, where, on Sunday, Dec. 4, they were cornered by Sonoma County Sheriff James Petray. I asked LeBaron why she had not turned Barnard over to law enforcement. 5. The last Santa Rosa County lynching took place in 1937. She reported that an anonymous member of the lynching party, who was in his early 20s when he joined the group, had visited her office and confessed to the crime, because his conscience told him, not that the act was wrong, but that history should be made accurate.. In late 1920 (roughly thirty hours before the lynching, in fact) Ryan told Young to be on the lookout for two 14 year-old runaway boys. whose family has been connected with official life in this county for years. Petray was portrayed by LeBaron as enormously popular among the citizens of the county a category which seemingly did not include Blacks, Chinese, Mexicans and Indians or lower caste whites who may have held more jaundiced views. LeBaron did not print the identity of the confessed killer, who, because there is no statute of limitations on murder, was liable to be arrested for the triple homicide. Ranchers thronged through the streets as if the event were one of carnival nature. Making less than 5,000 cases of pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot gris, Inman Wines is a true 'boutique' winery. With him were the Healdsburg visitors, or at least Young and McMinn; Lattins whereabouts were not mentioned, although the letter to Gaye LeBaron claimed he gave the keys to the mob, which cant be literally true. It was retributive justice, carried out more quickly than the ponderous law could have acted. It was two weeks to Christmas; there was shopping to do and dinners to plan. (Note to genealogists: If researching someone who lived around here in 1921-1922, hope they were mentioned in The Velvet Hammer by A. Gaye LeBaron broke that story in 1985 after he spoke to her and in 1989 she recorded an interview which is available on the SSU website. One began chasing the other and kicking him as he ran. The sheriff and deputy arrested the drunks and stuffed them in the back seat of Youngs auto. And that is generally believed to be a social good as it protects the identity of whistleblowers and confidential sources and witnesses to crimes and misbehaviors by governments and corporations. As he was Sonoma County Coroner, this was not terribly unusual; people inconveniently die at all hours. And that was before she made a tape recording of the confession. The Petaluma Courier reported the hour and the place of [Fitts] burial was kept private. Welti announced both men had been buried but would not say where. Around 3AM Phillips and Welti lowered the bodies to the ground and loaded them into the ambulance wagon. Young gathered this up also. Petaluma Campus. All of those wordy introductions were necessary to provide context as to what happened at about 11:15 on the night of December 9, 1920, when three men from Healdsburg rang the doorbell at the county jail (heres a direct link to that part of the story to jog your memory). Fred won the promotion in competitive examination, his percentage being 95. PSC personnel are taking a lead role in researching the Santa Rosa County lynchings, with hopes to document the brutal acts and, eventually, recognize the victims with a historical marker to be erected at a yet-to-be specified location. Two elderly men who have lived in Santa Rosa for years both are said to have exclaimed on looking at Boyd, That is the Riley boy. The journey is hosted by two knowledgeable, engaging presenters guiding you thru each entree. The company will make a specialty of lathe work of every description, and will be equipped to make any part of an automobile or tractor. They made a terrible racket, shattering the early morning peace by honking horns and cranking sirens as the caravan entered Healdsburg and rounded the Plaza. In the Dec. 1, 1985Press Democrat, LeBaron regaled readers with a story about three murder suspects who were hustled out of the Santa Rosa jail around midnight and hanged in a cemetery on Dec. 10, 1920. The gruesome work finished, the Healdsburg vigilantes drove home and began leaning on their car horns. From these two angles it appears today that Boyd also might have been a former Santa Rosa boy. The vigilantes had enjoyed enthusiastic inside help from jailhouse deputies. Lessons Not Learned From the Pentagon Papers, The US Navy is More Than Just Broken, Careerism is Tearing It Apart, Sensitivity Rewrites: The Cultural Purging of Roald Dahl, The Biden National Security Team Must Get SmarterSooner, Building Direct Democracy in an Atlanta Forest, Truth, No Matter What: Why Watering Down Palestinian Reality is a Crime, How Howard Schultz Made Starbucks the Poster Child of Corporate Abuse, Letter from London: Meeting at Maison Bertaux, Why Much of the Global South Isnt Automatically Supporting the West in Ukraine. Mr. Young is an active business man and before he entered into the auto game with the Stephens car his friends knew that he must have satisfied himself perfectly as to the merits of the machine before taking it up and recommending it to his friends. I am just beginning my investigations today and until I have taken several statements I cant tell whether or not the grand jury will be called., Apparently the mystery which involved the identify of the avenging throng was still buried from officials and as no trace or inkling of the men who participated in the hanging has leaked out doubt exists in the many minds if an official investigation will yield results, No Grand Jury Probe Expected At Santa Rosa, There is little likelihood of a Grand Jury investigation into yesterdays triple lynching, District Attorney George W. Hoyle said today as he began his formal inquiry into the mob action. Racing through the narrative of MULTIPLE crimes meant serious questions would not be asked or just given perfunctory attention; inconsistencies with testimony before the Grand Jury were left unclarified. This was likely when they all had a very earnest discussion about what might happen next their jobs were not over just because the gangsters were now dead. This swung the plane out of its course and lessened its momentum, and before it could recover the plane collided with the roof of a barn, just across the street. The Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners serves as the legislative and policy setting body of Santa Rosa County as established under Section 125 of the Florida Statutes. First Airplane to Visit This City, Piloted by Local Man. The Sacramento Bee sent an airplane from Sacramento to Santa Rosa yesterday to secure a photograph of the lynching scene. There was almost a romantic air about this tree, because the retribution was carried out by an orderly mobretributive justice, carried out more quickly than the ponderous law could have acted., But winds of opinion were shifting. He unfortunately mentioned this to a Press Democrat reporter when he arrived at the county jail; the newspaper took it as evidence that the lynching party came from San Francisco and most papers in the city chased that angle for days, although it was already pretty clear the vigilantes came from Healdsburg or points north. Mr. Patteson is a well known mechanican [sic] and has had much experience in garages and machine works here. He carried a rifle. Since 2020, the names of the dead are Ricky Estrada, Douglas Thoreson, Salvador Jimenez, Michael Webber, Sean Bell, Donald Miller, Amber Marcotte, Gabriel Wibier, Jordan Pas and Benjamin Vega. This is a postscript to the series on the 1920 lynchings in Santa Rosa, THERE WILL BE PRICES PAID and looks into the most significant of the conspiracies of silence that followed: How people in a small farm town executed a triple murder, then kept the planning behind it and the names of all those involved secret for 65 years. Young, and by his wife, who had come to Healdsburg to be present when he arrived. He will go here and in this county and adjacent territory in his car and will have his salesrooms in Healdsburg, and it will be well equipped. From $129 per night. Welcome. The tree in question, a towering locust, was planted many years ago. Santa Rosa City Hall - 100 Santa Rosa Avenue - Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Members of the mob would pull him up and then let him down again and again, according to the NAACP deposition. Here a taxicab was in waiting and Ridley with his photograph was rushed to the Call office, arriving there at 6:15 a. m. He waited there while two halftones were manufactured, one for the Call and the other for The Press Democrat. He was arrested for stabbing another man to death following a card game at the Los Gatos Saloon. Those mysteries join a substantial list of what-if scenarios where something could have easily gone awry and many men from Healdsburg could have ended up arrested or even dead. Of note, in 1935, deputies watched 200 vigilantes tar and feather communist reds. During the 1960s, having to deal militantly with labor organizers, hippies and antiwar demonstrators made the county a busy place to work for deputies. They are going to be stopped, he declares, once and for all time. Also incorporated were later comments by Clarence H. Barney Barnard, the only member of the vigilantes to talk about it. The pair, both masseurs at Burkes sanitarium, were jailed and fined $25 the next day. This was a bold strategy to gauge how well the sheriff was prepared to resist an attack on the jail; although the vigilantes were armed, all planning by the Captain showed he counted upon facing no serious resistance. The Call of the 26th publishes the following further testimony in this case. George Matthews, chief of police, is on the warpath and indicates that the bootleggers will not merely go into cover for a few days and then open up again. Asked by Gaye LeBaron in 1989 if he was nervous, Barney replied, No, we felt relaxed because I went right by Boyesand two of the, oh, the Captain was there when I went by [unintelligible] and they were just as calm as if nothing was happening.. Boyd recently, and providing the liquor for the men on their various visits, it is declared by the arresting officers. Submit illicit discharge form. For questions please email us at: Their presence is a menace, their very proximity a blight. District Attorney Hoyle spend the day in gathering statements relative to the summary executions of the three gangsters. Parkway Petaluma, CA 94954-2522 (707) 778-2415. She has, however, written scores of newspaper columns and a book featuring tales about community-supported lynchings, typified as pioneers handing out rough frontier justice.. Sheriff John M. Boyes stated Tuesday that the first work which he would undertake would be to ask the co-operation of every peace officer north of San Francisco to join in making this territory too hot for criminals or their associates. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th largest city in California. Australia, today was informed by cable from the Folsom authorities that her son, George Barron, alias Boyd, one of the three gangsters lynched here December 10 for the killing of Sheriff James A. Petray and Detectives Miles Jackson and Lester Dorman of San Francisco, had died in Santa Rosa.. We exonerate the sheriff and his deputies from any blame therewith. The plane was not here more than quarter of an hour and made the round trip in record time. 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