7-18-2024 12:52am

July 18, 1920: Houses on West Philadelphia Avenue Burglarized by Bandits

Lesley Misko Editor

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.

July 18, 1920: Four houses on West Philadelphia Avenue have been burglarized by a party of bandits visiting our borough. Thieves took $12 from the pocket of a coat that was hanging on a chair next to a sleeping Frank Snyder, who never woke up. At the home of Attorney Leon Breidenbach, $20 was taken from his desk, but a check for $500 and a valuable collection of postage stamps were untouched. Clayton LeFevre lost a ring and a small amount of cash. At the home of Walter Funk, they took $17 and left a note, “Please tell the Pottstown police to leave Antrim go. He is not guilty.” (signed) Robert Burns, New York City.

The visitors traveled in a car with a Maryland license plate. At the time of these burglaries, police officer Henry Gruber saw a suspicious young fellow standing outside the Breidenbach house. When he spied the officer, he ran and Gruber called to him to stop. He then ran faster and Gruber fired three shots. Gruber says he never saw a chap run so fast in his life.

He was last seen around the California mines, and then he disappeared. It is believed that he was their guard. On investigation, authorities found that Antrim had been arrested in Pottstown, charged with burglary, to which he pled guilty.