8/9/2011:
On August 7, 1930, at 2:30 in the afternoon, The Dakota National Bank and Trust Company in Bismarck was robbed by four unmasked men. Authorities estimated that the men escaped with twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars in silver and currency—a lot even now, and a fortune then, on the cusp of the dirty thirties.
Although unmasked, details as to what the robbers looked like were rather scarce. Only one customer was in the bank at the start of the holdup, but three more entered—all of whom were forced at gunpoint to get down and stay put. One man, Charles Whittey, could only say that one of the men was large, and the other three were small, and that they were all dressed in overalls. One woman, Mrs. Carl Knudtsen, who had been in the safety deposit vault when the robbers found her, could only remember that a robber’s gun “looked extremely wicked.”
A newsboy who saw the getaway said their car looked like a Durant and had a Kansas license plate. And there was some question as to whether a fifth man was at the wheel.
Afterward, several banks met to discuss bank security efforts, including the possibility of a secret system allowing the banks to alert police and the sheriff in case of an emergency. John Timmerman of the Farmers State Bank said, “We have to keep in mind that these raids are becoming more common and that any bank may be hit.”
The hunt for the robbers was on, and searches swept into Minnesota’s woods on reports that the bandits were headed in that direction. On this date, the Tribune reported that the search and the scarce details led to an embarrassing event in Mahnomen as four men travelling together were mistaken for the bandits. One was Angus McDonald, a large heavyweight boxer. He was accompanied by another fighter, a tailor, and the secretary of the Eagles Lodge in Minnesota. The hotel clerk became suspicious, remembering the few details reported out of Bismarck, and called the police. As McDonald and his party were about to leave their hotel, they were surrounded by an armed posse, and it took 45 minutes of talking and a search of their bags to prove their identification.
Dakota Datebook by Sarah Walker
Sources:
The Bismarck Tribune, August 7, 1930
The Bismarck Tribune, August 9, 1930
The Bismarck Tribune, August 8, 1930
The Bismarck Tribune, August 16, 1930
The Wisconsin State Journal, August 9, 1930