Once the trigger has been pulled, it is hard to get that fired bullet back into the gun. Maybe, in that last split second, Harry hoped that Purple had just been trying to scare some bystanders, to get them to duck down and look away before the two of them drove away.
Those hopes were dashed when he heard several dozen gunshots answer Purple’s own. The sound was almost overwhelming, the quiet of the small midwestern town shattered by the sharp reports of pistols and rifles and the deep bass booming of shotguns. Harry heard the bullets ricocheting against the side of the stone building and the sound of glass breaking.
He did not want to, but Harry had to go into the storm of lead outside. He had to get away. He did not want to go back to jail. He wanted to take that money and make another try at being honest. Maybe this time he could get it right. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself as best as he could and ran out the door and into the waiting gunfire.
WHEN HAMILTON HAD FINALLY given in and made the decision to make fast cash in a criminal way, he began to plan. No matter what criminal enterprise he had ever engaged in, they had always had a plan. Maybe not a good plan, but a plan nonetheless. There was simple strategy in the slander and blackmail at the Rock Island News, and there had even been a plan when he and his associates had robbed the general store in Wheatland. Unfortunately for Harry, neither plan had worked out in his favor. But his time, he was going to make his own plan, form his own strategy. This time, Harry Hamilton would make some fast cash and make a clean getaway. He needed money right away, so he wasted no time in getting to work.
His first decision was probably to figure out what he was going to do. After some deliberation, Hamilton decided to rob a bank. A bank was a place with a lot of cash, and he had already had some experience with burglary. In addition to this, it is quite possible that Hamilton had picked up some pointers from a few of his fellow prison inmates who had committed successful robberies in the past and decided to put some of that knowledge to use. Regardless of the reason, Hamilton made his decision. Once that had been done, everything else began to fall into place.
Hamilton needed a partner, so he approached a Davenport man, Roy Purple, about helping him. Roy worked as a barber and had a wife and twin sons at home. The boys were only a year old, and children that young need a lot of care. That care always seems to also require a lot of money. That alone might have given him reason enough to help with the heist, but for Purple, it was not the only reason.
Purple liked to associate with the criminal element. At one time, Purple had been arrested by Davenport police as a suspect in a major robbery where hundreds of dollars of merchandise had been stolen. Try as they might, the police could not gather enough evidence to convict the barber, so he was released. Whether he had actually taken part in that theft was beside the point. By the end of 1921, Purple was willing and eager to assist Harry Hamilton in any way that he could.
For reasons that will forever remain their own, the two men decided to rob the Stockman’s Savings Bank in Long Grove, Iowa. Perhaps they thought they would have less of a chance of being seen and recognized by someone who knew them. Hamilton, who was a former newspaper editor and ex-convict known to police, might easily be identified by a former associate or someone who had seen his picture in the Rock Island News. Many men had sat in Roy Purple’s barber chair, so if they robbed a bank within the city of Davenport itself, someone might remember him. Besides, even if they made a clean getaway, if law enforcement knew who they were, they could simply come to their homes and place them under arrest.
It is also possible that Hamilton and Purple thought that it would be an easier score. Long Grove was a small town almost twenty miles north of Davenport. It was a very rural area, focused mainly on agriculture. There was no police force there, so the bank would have to rely on help from Davenport.
Another idea is that the two robbers might have picked Long Grove because, being a small town unused to major crimes, a sudden act of violence would catch residents off guard, giving Hamilton and Purple an advantage. Ultimately, their reasons would remain their own. They had picked their target and moved forward to the next step of their planning.
One of the essentials for simple bank robbery success has always been speed. A robber gets in fast, takes everything fast and gets away with the cash fast. In order to accomplish this, Hamilton and Purple had to know where they were going and what exactly they would be facing inside the bank.
To accomplish this, Hamilton decided that they needed to get inside the bank before the robbery and take a look around. The robbers picked a day and traveled north to Long Grove. Hamilton went inside the bank on the pretense of cashing a twenty-dollar bill. While the cashier took care of him at the teller window, Hamilton was looking around, taking mental notes of everything that he saw.
The former Stockman’s Savings Bank in Long Grove, Iowa. Author’s collection.
While he was busy sizing up the bank, the bank president, R.K. Brownlie, was sizing up Hamilton. Born and raised in Long Grove, Brownlie was descended from some of the first people to settle the town and make it into what it was by 1921. Now a little over seventy years old, he had more than lived up to his family’s legacy by dedicating himself to serving both his family and his community.
Brownlie was intelligent and shrewd, and there was something about Hamilton that caught his eye. Although probably not recognizing him from anywhere else, Brownlie did take note of what Hamilton looked like in the bank that day. He probably was not overly suspicious of him at that time, as he had no reason to be. The man was just cashing a bill. But there was still something about the man that made Brownlie remember him.
The trip to Long Grove from Davenport also gave Hamilton an opportunity to examine the route that he and Purple would take to and from the bank. A wrong turn could either be an inconvenience or spell out disaster for their endeavors. The route they chose was very straightforward, running north from Davenport, though the town of Eldridge, Iowa, a few miles south of Long Grove, and then through Long Grove itself. Conveniently, the bank sat right on that road, with side streets heading off that. It would be easy to maneuver in the junction outside the bank, as well as park the car for a fast getaway.
Like everything else in their plan, the robbers wanted their car to be fast. The robbers began looking around Davenport, and soon they found a car that they felt suited their needs. At the garage of Hugo Brandt, a local mechanic, they found a Hudson Touring Car for sale.
In the 1920s, Hudson was one of the top automobile manufacturers in the United States, just after Chevrolet and Ford. It had invented a very powerful six-cylinder engine it had dubbed the Hudson Six, which put its cars in a top-tier speed bracket for the time. What more could two bank robbers looking for a fast car want? Almost without hesitation, they bought the car, probably a little proud of their purchase.
Now that they had their route planned, the bank layout mapped out and a fast car, the next step for the robbers was to think about the final part of their getaway. While masks could obscure their features and be gotten rid of as soon as the robbery was finished, the bank personnel and whoever else would be able to identify their clothing. The robbers’ solution for this was to hide a change of clothing along a road leading out of Davenport. The clothing only consisted of different coats and hats for the men, to keep the change as fast as possible. Hamilton and Purple hid them in a culvert so they would lay relatively undisturbed until after the robbery.
Finally, they were ready. Their chosen day was December 15, 1921. They would drive to Long Grove and hit the bank right at the noon hour, then be gone before anyone really knew what was going on.
That morning, Purple said goodbye to his family and walked out the front door of his home in Davenport. A few hours later, he called his wife, Edith, and told her that he would be home that afternoon at around one o’clock. Perhaps, at that moment, Purple had dreams of returning home to his wife with handfuls of cash. But first, he and Hamilton had to go to Long Grove.
As they drove north from Davenport that morning, Hamilton and Purple were probably a little nervous. They had planned and prepared, but something could always go wrong. Hamilton knew this better than anyone. The Rock Island News had been a good job and then went sour fast. The burglary in Wheatland had also gone well but went bad even faster. This time, though, at Long Grove, everything was going to be all right. It was all going to be okay.
Purple had already had a very close brush with going to prison when the police had questioned him about that big robbery in Davenport. Whether he was actually involved or not, being called in and interrogated must have been a harrowing experience. But Purple had gotten away with it. There had not been enough evidence. Success builds confidence, and Roy had successfully gotten out of doing any prison time or any further prosecution from curious law enforcement officials. It was going to be the same with Long Grove.
But, confident and self-assured as the two men were, they must have had some kind of nagging doubt or performance anxiety. Hamilton had already done time in prison, and Purple did not want to go there. To steady their nerves, the two men fortified themselves with alcohol, taking turns drinking from a beer bottle as they plodded toward the Stockman’s Savings Bank.
As they drew closer, the pressure must have intensified. Their hearts beat a little faster; their focus narrowed a shade more than usual. Hamilton and Purple were thinking of the robbery now. They knew what their goal was, but the two were probably more interested in executing their plan correctly and getting their cash rather than how they were going to spend it. The robbers would take one step at a time, and as they crested the hill by the Long Grove Christian Church a few blocks away from the bank, they were about to take their first step.
The big Hudson Six picked up speed as it hurtled toward the crossroads by the bank. There were people around, but Hamilton and Purple had already pulled handkerchiefs over the lower halves of their faces to help hide their identity. The two could see the bank now, standing stoically on the corner in the very heart of the small town. And then they were there. Slamming the car to a sudden stop in front of the bank, Hamilton and Purple, with masks on their faces and pistols taken from the car in their hands, burst out of the car and ran toward the stone steps going up to the door. Their focus was razor-sharp now, their minds in the moment.
One of them reached out and grabbed the door knob. He turned the handle, pushed hard…and nothing. The door held fast. The robber tried again, harder now. The knob would not turn and the door would not give. It was locked tight.
The two men were mentally off balance now. This was not part of the plan. They were supposed to be inside, shouting commands and grabbing cash. Hamilton and Purple looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do. Confusion began to cloud their minds. The alcohol, which had just a short time ago served to calm their nerves, now slowed their thoughts even further.
Eventually, their heads began to clear. As the adrenaline coursing through their systems began to dissipate, the robbers gradually became more aware of people looking at them. Their perfect plan had just gone wrong. With all those people staring at them, they had to make a decision before someone approached them.
Thinking quickly, Hamilton and Purple got back in their car and started to drive. They did not want those people to get too good a look at them, and it was futile to try to get into the bank right now. A short distance away, one of them took the bottle of alcohol they had been drinking and threw it out the window.
Once again, things had not worked out exactly as Hamilton thought they would. But he could improvise. He would drive around for a little while, let his head clear and then figure things out.
Hamilton was perturbed. This was supposed to be easy. Well, if not easy, then at least smooth. He and Purple had prepared and planned. It all should have gone well. They should have been back in Davenport, deciding how best to spend their money. But as it always had been in his criminal career, something had to go wrong.
Driving the big car, he circled the town two or three times, gathering his thoughts. The robbers, probably conferring about what to do next, decided to drive away for a while and wait for the bank to open. There were too many people coming out on the street now, too many people to get in the way and identify them. They drove away into the countryside to calm their nerves, let the adrenaline die down a little and wait to try again.
Back in Long Grove, people were amazed. In the middle of the business district of town, in broad daylight, someone had tried to rob the bank!
At Murray’s Barber Shop on the opposite corner of the bank, Fred Murray had watched the men try the door. Dick Nagel, another local man, had seen the two men as they ran out of their car, holding pistols. Thinking on it, Nagel thought that one of them, Roy Purple, seemed familiar to him. He was not worried about them gaining entry to the bank because the bank workers always went to lunch at noon and locked the door. People at the hotel across the road to the east had seen the men, too. Everyone was surprised, puzzled and a little concerned.
Long Grove was not that big of a town, with only a little over 155 residents. In a small town, big news travels fast. One person told another, and then another. Soon, most of the residents had heard about the attempted bank robbery. One young man even took it upon himself to run a circuit around the entire town of Long Grove, sharing the news with whomever he met.
A local grain merchant, E.H. Anschultz, laughed when he heard the news. He did not believe a word of it, thinking that it was nonsense. The messenger who told him quickly moved on, leaving Anschultz to ponder what he had heard. No matter which way he looked at it, he would not believe that robbers had been in town. But he knew the bank president, R.K. Brownlie. Anschultz decided that Brownlie might know what was going on, so he set off across town to visit his friend at the Stockman’s Savings Bank. He would discover the truth behind all this nonsense.
Archie Henne, a Long Grove resident, heard the news and began walking to Murray’s Barber Shop to find out what all the fuss was about. Had someone really just tried to rob the bank?
Peter Willer, who owned another garage in town, saw Purple and Hamilton try the door and drive off. He also watched them toss the bottle out the window. Once they were a safe distance away, he curiously approached the bottle. Willer smelled it and knew immediately that it was alcohol.
Al Klindt, who owned a blacksmith shop and garage across the street, was also interested in what had happened. He waited for R.K. Brownlie and his bookkeeper, Jean Marti, to return from their lunch break and then immediately approached them with the news. Not having heard about the attempted robbery, the trio went inside to discuss it further. Soon after, E.H. Anschultz arrived and joined the group.
Klindt, in addition to several others about town who saw or heard about the robbers at the bank, were not just idly curious. They had a special interest in the crime because they were members of the Long Grove Vigilance Committee.
After a drastic upsurge in bank-related crimes in Iowa during 1920, the Iowa Banking Association determined that it needed stricter and more efficient methods of protecting the assets of its customers. For many years, the association had provided a certain amount of security for its member banks. This included protection against forgeries, theft and fraud. These services were provided by the Burns Detective Agency, known nationwide for its security services. While the group was, for the most part, reliable and performed well for the association, its agents were limited in number and could not be everywhere across the state.
After nearly a dozen robberies and burglaries during 1920, the Iowa Banking Association decided that it was time for a change. After some consideration, a plan was decided on. In conjunction with and permission from the State of Iowa, the association began to form what it called vigilance committees. For each member bank under the Iowa Banking Association, at least four men would be chosen to form a vigilance committee. These men were deputized by their county sheriff with the duty to prevent robberies and burglaries a
t their local bank, up to and including the use of deadly force. To aid in this, the committee members were armed and provided ammunition for the task, if the need should ever arise. In Long Grove, this duty fell, in part, to Al Klindt.
While the news traveled, the bank personnel returned to the bank, unaware of what had happened. As they started to go about their usual business inside, E.H. Anschultz and Al Klindt came walking in. Brownlie and Marti were filled in on the events of the noon hour. When they heard, they were both alarmed by the news.
Anschultz kept giving his friend a hard time about it, still not believing that anything had really transpired. As they spoke, the big Hudson that everyone now knew to be the robbers’ car came roaring past the window.
Alarmed, Jean Marti asked Brownlie what they were going to do. Brownlie told her that there was nothing that they could do and prepared to receive the coming thieves.
Outside, the robbers knew it was time. Hamilton and Purple had waited for the bank to open. They had to change their plans, true, but the goal was still the same. And after so much work, they were going to achieve it. Nothing was going to stop them now that they had come so far.
Driving fast, the Hudson sped past the bank building and slammed to a halt only a very short distance away, facing south. Hamilton parked the car this way so that when they were done inside, he and Purple could run back to their car and drive straight toward Davenport.
Once again, they scrambled out of the car, with Purple holding the black loot bag and both of them with pistols. Their adrenaline began to pump once more, and the alcohol they had consumed still drifted through their blood, dulling their nervousness. They ran up to the door, tried it—it was open. Success was nearly theirs! In their excitement, the two had forgotten to put their masks on again, but they did not care.
Running inside, Hamilton and Purple brandished their guns at the four people inside and screamed at them to put their hands in the air. Two of them, an old man and a younger one, walked right past them and out the door. For whatever reason, Hamilton and Purple did not stop them and allowed them to go. After having been there a short time before, perhaps Hamilton was only focused on the people he recognized as bank workers. Also, having fewer people there made the situation easier for the two of them to control.
Murder & Mayhem in Scott County, Iowa Page 9
