100 YEARS AGO IN THE SARATOGIAN
Wednesday, June 12, 1918. A father and daughter are electrocuted and a second daughter badly burned when a severe storm hits Mechanicville this afternoon, The Saratogian reports.
Eliormo Lamo lived at 35 Leonard Street. Six year old Theresa Lamo was one of six children. They, along with four year old Mary Lamo, are at 216 Railroad Avenue when the storm hits around 2 p.m. The father takes his daughters downstairs with him to get a baby carriage.
“Whether he intended to turn on the electric light or whether he accidentally touched the wire is not known,” a Mechanicville correspondent writes, “but the storm affected the wires so that the father and daughter Theresa were killed and Mary was badly burned.”
This evening’s paper has no further details on the accident.
Assault and Robbery on the Speedway
The man accused of attacking poultry farmer George Seitz on the speedway last night is arrested this morning and arraigned in police court tonight after implicating Seitz’s two companions in the attack.
Joseph Martin allegedly clubbed Seitz over the head as Seitz was getting into Paul Farone’s car near East Avenue. The car was allegedly stalled after Farone and Charles Abdalla had invited Seitz to ride with them to visit some friends. Martin only managed to take a bank book and some other papers, because Seitz had the foresight to stuff a roll of bills worth more than $200 into his sock before taking the ride.
Seitz claimed that Farone had hit him in the head with a rock during the scuffle, but Farone and Abdalla claimed to have helped Seitz fight off the mugger. Seitz could only describe his attacker as a negro, but police detective James Sullivan uses a soft hat found at the crime scene to track Martin down.
“The negro was very brave in the dark, but in the light of day at police headquarters he broke down and made a complete confession in the presence of Detective Sullivan, Supt. [James H.] King and District Attorney [Charles B.] Andrus,” The Saratogian reports, “Details of his story were not revealed, but it is known he related facts which make a strong case against Abdalla and Farone.”
Martin, Abdalla and Farone are charged with first degree robbery. They remain in jail overnight after failing to make the $2,000 bail.
What’s Happening
Swimming star Annette Kellerman, “The Most Perfectly Formed Woman in the World,” stars in the Fox production “A Daughter of the Gods” at the Broadway tonight. Along with Kellerman, who does a nude scene, the picture boasts “Girls, girls, girls and more girls … and all ‘perfect 36’s.’”