The Shocking Information from a Casual Drop-in

                I never planned to tell this story from my maternal grandmother's past even though this December 9th  marks 80 years since it happened. But a visit with my aunt, Lou Dixon Gates, seemed to demand it be retold. It has been one of the most difficult postings for me to craft.

                I periodically like to drop in and visit with my aunt and uncle, Lou and Jim Gates. Somehow Lou and I began discussing family of hers in Lamont, Oklahoma. She mentioned several surnames. Surprisingly, I heard her say the surname, “Gilbert.” I interrupted, “Gilbert?” and then I related that my grandma, Gladys Rainey Smith, had a roommate at Oklahoma A and M in 1918 with the same name.

                She explained that her great grandmother’s maiden name was Gilbert. My eyes widened as I cautiously queried, “Did you say her family was from Lamont?” She affirmed this was correct.

Knowing how well Lou knew my maternal grandma, I told her that Ruth Gilbert had been one of my grandmother’s roommates. My grandmother, Gladys Rainey Smith, met Ruth, another student completing coursework prior to taking the teacher certification exam. Ruth hailed from Lamont. Whereas, Grandma and Lucy McCullough Summy arrived at Oklahoma A and M from the Ralston area. To read more about the summer of 1919 when two young women with Ralston connections were focused on teacher training, access the blog post at: http://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2015/06/summer-school-in-early-20th-century.html

Ruth Gilbert - photo from Gladys
Rainey Smith's Collection

I explained to Lou that Grandma had a photo of Ruth proudly displaying her teacher certificate given upon successfully passing the teacher test. Prospective teachers could  apply to take the required teacher exam upon completing the three-month curriculum offered in Stillwater. Then, almost in a hushed tone, I softly uttered, “But she was murdered!”

Without saying a word, Lou rose from her place on the couch, went to a cabinet, and opened a drawer. She pulled a plastic covering from the drawer. I could tell there were printed pages inside the bag.

She handed the protective bag to me and said, “This was the story of her murder. It appeared in a mystery magazine back then.”

For what seemed ten minutes, I was exclaiming, “Oh, Lou! Oh, Lou! Oh, If Grandma would have known, you two could have talked about Ruth.” Finally, I took a breath, allowing Lou the oppurtunity to tell that her paternal grandma, Mary Zone “Kittie” McCamant Dixon, and Ruth Gilbert were first cousins. To see Mrs. Dixon’s tombstone and a couple of photographs of her, go to: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=28814042#.V_hSxDB6aVY.email

 Inda Ruth Gilbert, Grandma's roommate, married Arthur Carroll Utterback also from the Lamont area in 1926. Coincidentally, he was a younger brother to Mattie Gilbert McCamant Huffman, the great grandmother of my aunt, Lou Dixon Gates. Here is a link to learn about Lou’s great grandma: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=28813978#.V_hSNcVfmOc.email
 In the 1930 Census of the United States, Ruth, at age 29, listed herself as a “census enumerator” and her husband’s occupation was accountant for an ice company. Their little boy, Hollis Gilbert, was age 3 on this document from Jackson County in Missouri. Nell, her youngest sister-in-law, was also a member of their household. She held a position as a bookkeeper and gave her age as 26.

As 1936 neared its end, Ruth and Arthur were realizing some of the dreams for which they had worked diligently and saved frugally. Arthur’s position for the United States Treasury as an examiner for the Federal Land Bank took him out of town occasionally. He and Ruth had bought a farm near Mulvane, Kansas. Their son, Hollis, age 9, and Harriet Gilbert, Ruth’s younger sister, age 11, were in school. Ruth with her musical inclination frequently traveled the twenty miles to the music conservatory in Wichita.

She and her family converted an implement storage shed on their newly acquired farm into temporary living quarters as they prepared to construct a new home. About ten days earlier, Joe Cain, a newly hired “handyman and guard,” moved into the bunkhouse on the property since Arthur had an upcoming business trip. The previous farmhouse had been moved from the property and Cain was assisting in cleaning up the debris from the existing foundation. A stock tank had also been removed, leaving a shallow pit. Broken bricks and other useless foundation remains were being used to fill the hole. Apparently, good bricks were salvaged, with the hope that the bricks could be repurposed in the new house construction. (“Fight a Stroud Parole.” The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. Thursday, March 20, 1952. Page 30.)

On Wednesday, December 9, Cain, “acting mysterious and upset,” explained to Hollis and Harriet, upon their arrival from school, that Mrs. Utterback had traveled into Wichita with friends for a violin lesson and to withdraw money from a bank and would return by bus. He continued working at the pit and enticed the children to do the chores by paying them 15 cents. He fixed supper for them, ate with them, tucked them into their beds, and headed to the bunkhouse. Unknown to the children, Cain left in the Utterback car that night. (“Hired Man Sought in Slaying of Wife of Bank Auditor.” The Evening News. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Saturday, December 12, 1936. Page 9.)  (“Body of Murdered Woman Is Found in Kansas Farm Pit.” Miami Daily News-Record. Miami, Oklahoma. Friday, December 11, 1936. Page 1.)

The children dutifully went to school the next day, but no one was at home when the children returned from school. They noticed the car was gone. When the dark and the cold of the Kansas night fell, their empty stomachs and frightened little minds began to absorb the uncertainty of their situation. Hollis and Harriet ran to the security of the home of their nearest neighbors. Tears and fear spilled out as little Hollis sobbed, “Mommie isn’t home. We can’t find her.” Upon comforting and reassuring the children with a hot meal and soothing words, Mr. and Mrs. McBride realized all was not well. The four of them drove into the sheriff’s office in Wichita. (Quote from Hollis Utterback was taken from the unidentifiable copy of pages from a 1930s mystery magazine of an article entitled “24-Hour Start” by Charles R. Smith.)

Upon being contacted by the sheriff, Arthur Utterback reiterated adamantly that something was wrong. Even though Inda Ruth was known as a striking red-haired beauty, yet as a devoted mother, she would never leave the two children alone. After answering a few questions about Joe Cain, the near-sixty-year-old, “nice, old fellow,” her husband indicated Inda Ruth had characterized Joe Cain this way in a couple of letters mailed to him. Arthur Utterback assured the sheriff he would catch the next plane out of St. Paul, Minnesota. (Quote taken from the unidentifiable copy of pages from a 1930s mystery magazine of an article entitled “24-Hour Start” by Charles R. Smith.)

Then, almost as an afterthought, Mr. McBride suddenly recalled a scream he had heard from the direction of the Utterback property. He had passed it off as children playing, but Sheriff Boone interrupted, “School isn’t out until 4 o’clock.” (Quote taken from the unidentifiable copy of pages from a 1930s mystery magazine of an article entitled “24-Hour Start” by Charles R. Smith.)

Immediately, the sheriff, his deputies, and police officers from the Wichita Police Department, accompanied by concerned farm neighbors, began scouring the Utterback farm for clues to the disappearance of Ruth Gilbert Utterback. Sheriff Boone insisted digging be done at the pit where Joe Cain had worked past dark the night before. Beginning at midnight well into Friday morning, the men, working in shifts, excavated the bricks from the pit.

A shout by one digger alerted the others to the heart-sickening news. The cold, dead body of the gorgeous wife of Arthur Utterback had been discovered. She had received several brutal blows to her face and head. To the untrained eye, it appeared that the binder twine had been used to strangle little Hollis’s dearly-loved mother.

Joe Cain seemed to be the prime suspect in the grisly murder. A sighting of the Utterback car came in from Udall. The wrecked car was reported in Cherryvale. A rooming house in Coffeyville contacted the authorities. Then a man matching Cain’s description tried to buy hair dye in Columbus, Kansas. Yet the alleged murderer avoided being caught in each town. Officers in Neodoesha recalled a former resident, a “small time gambler and floater,” who corresponded to the description of the sought-after killer. At least four states - Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and even Nebraska – issued statewide alerts to concerned law enforcement and alarmed citizens. (“Finding Body Starts Search For Farmhand.” The Daily Capital News. Jefferson City, Missouri. Saturday, December 12, 1936. Page 8.)

A man matching the description of Joe Cain had slept at the Wichita YMCA on Saturday, December 12. He had signed out using the name J.S. Smith the next morning. J.S. Smith had remained in Wichita, less than 20 miles from the murder scene, on Sunday night at the Salvation Army facility and brazenly signed out with the same alias – J. S. Smith.

Finally a couple of the Sedgwick deputies got a break. Their sleuthing in Fredonia, Kansas, turned up unknown facts. The hired hand of the Utterback family was not Joe Cain or J. S. Smith but Joseph S. Stroud, a man with a family supposedly quarantined with scarlet fever. He had been listed in the 1930 United States Census as age 53, with a 45-year-old wife and four children - all under the age of 8. He was not even with the family in the 1920 United States Census, but only his wife and three children were enumerated. Stroud, his wife, and a young son, a toddler, and a baby composed the family in the 1910 United States Census.

Members of the Kansas Highway Patrol and Wilson County Sheriff Will Chamberlin located Stroud in the corner of a little garage on the outskirts of Fredonia. Stroud’s confession reportedly read as follows:

 “I thought about the robbery Tuesday night. Then I thought of my own destitute family. I thought the Utterback’s had a strong box with $400 in it. (He only found $4.00 behind a clock.) There was no one home Wednesday. The two children, a boy and a girl, had gone to school. I was working in the pit. She came to show me where to put the bricks. As she was standing in the pit, I hit her with a hammer. She screamed and I hit her twice more. Then I strangled her with my hands because she wasn’t dead yet. I tied a cord around her neck to make sure.” (“Farmer Admits Killing Woman to Get Money.” The Mexia Weekly Herald. Mexia, Texas. Friday, December 18, 1936. Page 12.)

Sedgwick County Sheriff Frank Boone believed Inda Ruth Gilbert Utterback was “not entirely dead” when Stroud buried her. During his trial, Stroud was quoted as testifying “they had scared me to death.” The county attorney, Sidney L Foulston countered, “No threats were used.” (“State Wins a Point.” The Emporia Gazette. Wednesday, March 17, 1937. Page 7.)

Within days of the murder, Stroud was charged with first degree murder and bound over for trial. In January, he was ruled “sane” with the trial beginning in Wichita, Kansas, on March 15, 1937.(“Stroud is Found Sane.” The Hutchison News. Hutchison, Kansas. Tuesday, January 26, 1937. Page 1.)

The State sought the death penalty. However, the jury could not reach a unanimous decision. Witin an hour of the jury’s finding, Judge Robert L. Ne Smith sentenced Joe Stroud to life in prison. Judge Ne Smith voiced his displeasure with the jury’s conclusion, “The court is sorely disappointed in this verdict. The human mind seems unable to imagine a fit punishment for so brutal a crime.”

Little nine-year-old Hollis experienced losing his mother in his childhood not only to death but to a violent action by perpetrated by someone who fed him, tucked him in, and cruelly reminded him to anticipate the return of a mother that Stroud knew would never wrap her arms around that little boy again.
What mental and emotional trauma this young boy must have endured! Unfortunately, in those days, there was little knowledge of the shock to loved ones of a victim and the residual effects of brutality and its lasting impact on those invisible casualties. Sadly, the only records located for Hollis Gilbert Utterback were a census record in the 1940 United States Census with him as a fourteen-year-old in the Kansas Home for the Feeble Minded and a death certificate. Hollis Gilbert Utterback’s final resting place is in Mount Vernon Cemetery at Lamont. He died at age 50. (Link to his gravesite: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=52990296  )

 With my study of grief stages and experience with how children think, Ruth’s precious son must have questioned how he could have possibly not known what this evil man had done. Surely he struggled with understanding how he could have slept while his mother’s murdered body was in the shallow pit just steps from the shed where they were living. He likely thought, Why didn’t he kill me instead of my mommie?
Grandma was shocked by the horrible news in December eighty years ago. She retained a yellowed newspaper clipping of the awful event. It told how Kansas authorities unearthed the lifeless body of her dear roommate, Ruth Gilbert Utterback.

From the clipping found
in Grandma's keepsakes.

Frequently, I have written of my grandma’s gutsy demeanor. As my dad would characterize her, she had “no quit” in her. Yet she covered every window that had no window treatments and wanted all draperies and blinds drawn when the sun went down. I recall if a knock came on the door after dark, she would get an ice pick if she had to approach the door. Even though she could shoot, I never recall her having a firearm in her hands as she answered the door. Grandma didn’t like being by herself. Somehow I think the vicious murder of her friend and roommate, Inda Ruth Gilbert Utterback, affected her profoundly.

As I have researched and written this, several thoughts have come to the forefront of my mind. Grandma and Lou could have shared so much about the tragedy in Lou’s family. What a comfort Grandma’s love for her friend, Ruth, might have brought to Lou’s Grandma Dixon if she and Grandma could have visited!

Then I wish I had known about these facts when Grandma was living. I don’t think she knew the additional evidence was available. She would just point to Ruth’s photograph in her album and tell how they attended A and M together. Grandma would say, “A hired hand killed her.”

Even as close as I was to Grandma, only during the additional research of the murder of her friend and roommate have I understood what a major life event this was for her. I wonder how many relatives, friends, or Sunday School or Bible School students realized she experienced this horrific loss in her mid-30s.
I have already related how difficult this has been for me. I prayed for insight to understand some redeeming value for revisiting this 80-year-old crime. First of all, learning more about this brutal attack on someone who Grandma called "friend"  reveals the importance of how a person's past experiences can impact her present life. For this reason, learning of a person's past and how it has formed that individual's opinions, reactions, and responses affords a glimpse into what makes that person "tick."
My heart broke for Hollis Gilbert Utterback, partly because most of the students I taught were around his age. It appears that this young boy wrestled with "post traumatic stress disorder"! Do we support effective programs that actively get help for those who have endured catastrophic experiences?
One bright moment in a dismal cesspool of research, I discovered one of the convicted murderer's sons served in England in the 8th Air Force, earned a degree from a Kansas college, taught in Kansas, both in a high school and a community college. He led a life that contributed to his family, his community, his church, and innumerable young people. Instead of replicating irresponsibility, instability, dishonesty, desertion of family, and murdering, Stroud's son changed the destructive course his father had set for the family.
How important it was to allow Stroud's son to create his own reputation! May we never pigeon-hole people into stereotypical, preconceived opinions based on relatives' behavior, where the family lives, or idle gossip that circulates about the family.
Finally, the morning after I decided my research must conclude, I awakened thinking of the Apostle Paul and his self-description of himself as a murderer of Christians. He wrote in I Timothy 1:15-16:

This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance:

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - And I am the worst of them.

But I received mercy because of this, so that in me, the worst of them,

Christ Jesus might demonstrate the utmost patience as an example

To those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
As viciously brutal as the Stroud slaying of Inda Ruth Gilbert was, according to Paul, anyone, no matter what egregious deed has been committed, can receive the mercy, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus. Those of us who have experienced the patience of God toward us, coupled with undeserved mercy and grace of which we are unworthy, can only whisper, "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Lord, for forgiving me."