Teen golfer turns pro, dating service busted in 1907

A national golf champion first drew attention in 1907 after winning an Elgin contest as a 17-year-old.

Also making news a century ago was a local woman charged with dating service irregularities, a local doctor who boasted a new method of saving drowning victims, and a reminder that some rather hideous crimes went on in the good old days, too.

Here's a look at what made Elgin area headlines in September 1907.

• Elgin golfers took note when 17-year-old Eddie Williams, a caddie, defeated a longtime veteran at the Elgin Country Club to win the course championship. Finishing with a score of 167 for 36 holes, Williams had lost the contest the previous year by only one hole. The Elgin native went on to play professional golf from the 1920s to 1950. He also won three straight PGA Seniors' championships, a record that stood until tied by Hale Irwin in 1998.

• The local police are due for a "big shake-up," actions prompted by "insubordination and petty jealousies" within the department, said one newspaper. Police also were under fire for their longtime practice of asking for free drinks in area saloons. The idea was outmoded and needed to end, said many of the larger saloon owners. Many bar owners also were upset because some officers spent an undue amount of time in the businesses looking for violations.

• Even though calls for impeachment swirled around Elgin Mayor Arwin Price following a recent period of public intoxication, the ambitious politician announced his bid for a legislative seat. Hoping to replace Joliet attorney Howard M. Snapp, Price said, "Northern Kane County should have a candidate and I have decided to run for Congress. The movement is to be the people's movement."

• Before Internet dating, there were "matrimonial bureaus" and the 23-year-old owner of one of these Elgin services was arrested by a U.S. Deputy Marshall for illegal use of the U.S. mail. The firm, which charged the lovelorn $5 for a list of prospective mates, was reported to have placed ads in papers across the U.S. generating hundreds of letters daily to an Elgin Post Office box. "I can't say I've done anything wrong," said the accused. "If they didn't find a congenial companion as I said they would, I refunded their money without a word."

• Drowning victims who have been in the water for up to six hours can still be revived, said longtime physician Dr. Susan Whitford in a national science publication. "It is impossible for a drop of water to enter the lungs of a person who enters the water alive. The water striking the larynx causes a spasm which causes the lungs to stay closed for up to nine days," she added. "Drowning is really a state of suspended animation." Whitford advocated placing the victim in successively warmer baths until revived.

• My husband is a "human gorilla," said the wife of an Elgin pastor who recently moved out on her spouse. Among the cruelties she said she experienced were being locked in her room, hit and kicked, and only given stale bread to eat. The clergyman had plans to marry one of two women who had been regular visitors to his house, newspaper reports added.

• Finally, those who think the "good old days" were free of some of the more hideous crime we see today, might be surprised to learn otherwise. A man in a community north of Elgin was arrested for incestuous relationships with his 12-year-old daughter eight days after the girl gave birth to a child. Police also were called to deal with a 47-year-old west side man who was threatening residents with a shot gun, while a "half-naked man" was caught roaming near a home for nuns south of the city. A resident in a community northwest of Elgin took poison after bludgeoning his wife to death with a hammer, while an eastside Elgin resident was unsure about the origin of a human skeleton found in his basement.