In the “What Women are Doing” section of the February 14, 1906 Cleveland Sun, there is a short story about Mrs. Sophie Pirek, who was fined $10 for stealing 35 cents worth of iron from the railroads. The paper notes that earlier several of Cleveland’s “leading business men” had appeared before the Chamber of Commerce to demand harsher treatment of women arrested for stealing coal or iron from the railroads. Somewhat miffed by the stiff fine, the paper called on “some member of the Chamber of Commerce or some other person of means” to take care Mrs. Pirek’s three young children, while she worked off the fine. The judge suspended the woman’s sentence “that she may earn a living for herself and her three children the youngest of whom is less than six months old.”
On this day in 1896, the Atchison Globe, swollen with Atchison, Kansas civic pride, derided Leavenworth, KS for its copper theft problem, writing:
"The people of Leavenworth think so little of their electric line that they steal copper wires and other things from it. Up here, we swell with pride every time a car goes by."
Game point - Atchison.
On this day in 1910, the San Francisco Call reported the theft of two sacks of copper worth $37 ($880 today) from the yard of the People's Water Company in Oakland, CA. That same day in another Oakland location it was reported that a young girl asked to see some wares at the Marvin hair store then made off with a "reddish blonde wig" valued at $7 ($167 today).
Though this isn't directly related to metal theft, I thought I would post this call for help anyway. Approximately 100 babies are born in prison each year in Indiana. These babies did nothing to be there--their moms are the ones messing up--but they bear much of the burden. Children of incarcerated moms are at a significantly higher risk of dropping out of school, ending up in the criminal justice system themselves, and suffering emotional problems such as depression and attachment difficulties. On the other hand, research on prison nurseries suggests they might increase bonding and attachment between mother and child and reduce recidivism of the incarcerated moms.
In 2008, the Indiana Women's Prison opened the Wee Ones Nursery to allow pregnant inmates meeting program criteria to remain with their newborn infants up to 18 months in a special wing of the prison, while receiving parenting education and other services. It receives no funds from the Department of Correction, operating entirely on grants and donations.
The babies there need gently used clothing. Students of mine in a corrections service learning lab at the University of Indianapolis are organizing a used baby clothes drive for the Wee Ones Nursery. If you or someone you know is getting rid of baby clothes, drop me a line, and we can help get them to babies in need.
Email: contact@metaltheft.net.
Thanks.
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