Chicago Thugs and a Small-town Bank

During the Great Depression, three Chicago thugs, armed with guns and knives, met their match in a small Louisiana town.

Friday, November 11, 1932

The morning sun peeked through the bedroom windows while Edward, a bank cashier at Madison National Bank, gathered the usual items from his dresser. He pushed his thick glasses onto his nose, placed the key to the bank’s front door into his right inside jacket pocket, then slipped the key to his Nash sedan into his right pants pocket. The spare key to the steel grilled vault gate was tucked securely into a small pocket in his waistcoat. Keeping keys separated was a habit he formed early in his banking career.

He checked the time on his pocket watch before placing it in his waistcoat pocket. It was 7:30, and like every other weekday morning, his two oldest boys — Aylette, 7, and Louis, 5 — would soon walk across the narrow side street to school. Edward would make the short drive to the bank leaving his wife, Sallie at home with their youngest son, 4-year-old Billy.

Times were stressful for bank cashiers in small towns. The Vicksburg Herald ran stories of robberies every other day, it seemed. Desperate people looking for easy money. The entire country, amid a devastating economic depression, had seen an increase in armed robberies, especially in small town banks and businesses across The South and Midwest. With growing anxiety, Edward found himself double and triple-checking locks, wary of suspicious-looking people.

He kept a rifle by his desk at the bank and a handgun in the top drawer of his bedroom dresser.

“Daddy, did you know today is Armistice Day?” Aylette asked from the bedroom doorway. “We’re having a party at school. I drew a picture of a flag. See?” He held up a red, white, and blue crayon drawing.

Edward took the rumpled paper. “That’s wonderful, Son. I especially like the way you drew all 48 stars.” Guessing the festivities would be subdued and simple since there was little money to spend on such things, he was glad the teachers tried to make it special for the children. “Go finish your breakfast so you won’t be late.”