Glancing Back for June 30: 18-year-old killed by wild pitch
June 30, 1924
JOHNSTOWN — James Russell McDaniel, the 18-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. W.E. McDaniel, living eight miles south of Casey and an employee of the Mattoon shops of the Big Four railroad, was killed in a baseball game near Johnstown Sunday afternoon at 2:40 p.m. when a pitcher's wild ball struck him at the base of the brain back of the left ear. The pitcher of the ball was Herschel Richard of Taylor. As he stood with bat in hand, ready to strike at it, the ball hit him. He threw his hands up to his head, ran a few steps toward first base, then fell. He was picked up and carried from the field, but he died in twenty minutes after he was truck. Young McDaniel was one of a party of young men living near Johnstown who formed two impromptu baseball teams to have a game Sunday afternoon. Some of the young men did not know each other, it is said, and the unfortunate pitcher of the ball himself was a visitor in the neighborhood ... MATTOON — Frank Jocelyn, Edward Enloe and Arthur Rodgers, said to live between Arcola and Arthur, were arrested at Paradise Lake Sunday night by Frank Orndorff on charges of bootlegging. They were turned over to Deputy Sheriff Shirley, who took them to Charleston this morning on information filed in county court. Officers state they secured five pints of "wildcat" whiskey and one pint of wine from the men. The men are said to have had a car parked near the skating rink ... PARIS — "Armed neutrality," between the Paris police department and the Edgar county sheriff's office was brought to a close and a state of open hostility was begun yesterday afternoon when Deputy Sheriffs Moore and Pennington arrested Frank Kelso, special Paris policeman, at the Twin Lakes Park, north of Paris. Kelso was charged with carrying concealed weapons in violation of the county laws. The arrest was made in order to settle the question as to whether the sheriff or the city police are in authority at the park, which is outside the city limits. City authorities will fight the case to the highest court, they say. Twin lakes park is leased to the amusement concern which operates it by the city of Paris, which owns the ground. The corporate limits of the city, however, extend to within only about a half mile of the park and the intervening territory is under the control of the county. The sheriff's office has for months questioned the authority of the city police in patrolling the park and the question has been much discussed by the residents of the city.
No paper, Sunday.
CHARLESTON — A woman was found dead Tuesday morning in her residence on Seventh Street by the Charleston Police Department, who reported it was notified at 10:20 a.m. of a possible dead body at 17 Seventh Street, just north of Jefferson Elementary School. A subsequent investigation revealed a deceased white female. Coles County Coroner Mike Nichols said the name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of her family and friends. He said an autopsy will be conducted at 8:30 a.m. today in Springfield. Police Chief Herb Steidinger said the name of the individual who notified police of the death is not being revealed either. He said no one else was in the residence at the time the body was found ... CHARLESTON — The estimated $42.90 million renovation and expansion of EIU's Fine Arts Center will cost more than three of the campus' previous major projects combined. And despite having a project estimate, nobody knows exactly what the project will entail, although it is safe to say it won't be as much as some at the university would like. "There will be some things in that building that will look pretty much the same because were not going to get enough money to change them," said Ted Weidner, EIU director of facilities planning and management. Construction of Lumpkin Hall and renovations to Buzzard Hall and Booth Library combined cost $35 million. Three factors help explain the Fine Arts Center's large estimate compared to other projects, Weidner said. First, the total square footage of the Fine Arts Center is larger than that of Buzzard Hall's original dimensions, he said. The net result also will be greater. The second factor is that inflation plays a part in the rising costs. And finally, he said, "Artists, actors and musicians need some specialized spaces that aren't cheap."
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