Booze, Bad Decisions, And Robbery In Long Grove

Stockmen's Savings Bank in Long Grove Iowa

The automobile had changed everything. In the past, men robbed banks on foot or horseback. Now they could now roll into a town, strike, and disappear down country roads before a sheriff could arrive. Small towns with one bank and a handful of streets suddenly looked vulnerable. A quiet place could be cleaned out in minutes. Newspapers across Iowa and the Midwest called them auto bandits.

Long Grove sat ten miles north of Davenport and had a population of about 150. Strangers stood out like a sore thumb. That’s why the Hudson touring car drew attention as it rolled into town on December 15, 1921.

William Clausen, a truck driver for Tri-City Bottling Works, saw it pull up and felt something was off. Then, just as quickly, he watched it move on and let the moment go. He didn’t connect it to anything until the shooting started and the whole town seemed to crack open at once.

Roy Purple

Dick Nagel saw the two men get out that first time too. He thought he recognized Roy Purple. “I was afraid they were up to something,” he said. “I knew the bank was closed.”

Al Klindt noticed them too. He was near the Murray barbershop and poolroom when the Hudson pulled up in front of the bank. Two men climbed out, and before they reached the door, Klindt saw the handkerchiefs tied over their faces.

He watched them push on the door, then turn back. The bank was closed. The men walked away and climbed back into the car, and drove out of town.

Unlike the others who saw the Hudson, Klindt didn’t forget it.

He alerted the other members of the vigilance committee and spread the word that something was off. The description he gave was simple enough—two men, faces covered, driving a big ass Hudson, checking the bank in the middle of the day.

Messages were sent through Long Grove and out to Eldridge. Men grabbed their guns and positioned themselves around the bank.

When the bank employees returned after lunch, Al Klindt looked things over. He told R. K. Brown lie, the bank president, he thought someone had tried to rob the bank while it was closed, then backed off. They talked it through and decided the danger had passed. The robbers wouldn’t come back.

But auto bandits didn’t operate like the old thieves. They had an engine running, time on their side, and roads in every direction.

The Hudson returned.

Harry Hamilton

This time, Purple and Hamilton pulled in like they owned the place. The hesitation was gone. They didn’t bother covering their faces, just went straight for the bank.

What Purple and Hamilton didn’t know was that Long Grove had already been warned.

Nearly a year earlier, in early 1920, the Scott County Bankers’ Association, under the direction of the Iowa Bankers’ Association, had organized vigilance committees in twelve towns. The committees comprised ordinary citizens who were officially deputized by the local sheriffs. Each town had at least three deputies. They were armed, organized, and expected to act before help arrived.

In Long Grove, those deputies were Al Klindt, the town blacksmith; Dick Tobin; and Chris Madden. Klindt and Tobin carried revolvers. Madden toted a shotgun.

When Purple and Hamilton walked toward the bank, Long Grove was ready.

Fifty minutes before the robbery, an alarm was flashed through Long Grove and Eldridge. Banks in surrounding towns were warned to be on the lookout. Deputies in Eldridge grabbed their guns and headed toward Long Grove.

Men took their positions.

Four waited in an automobile. Four more hid behind trees and telephone poles. All were heavily armed with shotguns and pistols. They were in place at least half an hour before the Hudson stopped.

Purple and Hamilton walked into the bank. Inside, they pointed their guns at the bank president and cashier and screamed, “Where’s the dough?” They scooped up all the money from the drawers and the vault. “Every cent,” said bank president R. K. Brownlie.

They stayed inside for about ten minutes. As they left, they issued a warning. “If you ever squeal on us, a couple of guys will come over from Oskaloosa and kill you.” Then one of them turned to Jean Marti and said, “Don’t worry. We won’t hurt you.”

Outside, the trap tightened.

As soon as the bandits entered the bank, Al Klindt slipped away and climbed the stairs above the Murray barbershop and poolroom. He positioned himself at a second-floor window, looking down at the street.

Across the way, Archibald Henne watched the Hudson idling. When the bandits went inside, he crossed the street and shut off the engine. “I would have pulled out the key,” he said later, “but I didn’t have time.”

The crowd gathered around Roy Purple's body
outside the Stockmen's Savings Bank in Long Grove

Purple came out first. He was carrying a grip containing $2,500 in cash and another $2,500 in securities. Hamilton followed, heading straight for the car.

Elmer Moore was hiding behind a telephone pole. He got off the first shot with his .38 revolver.

Purple turned and fired four shots at Elmer. Then Klindt fired from above. His .45 Colt struck Purple “square in the face.”

For roughly thirty seconds, downtown Long Grove sounded like a war zone. Over forty bullets were fired. Shots echoed between the buildings. Windows shattered. Wood splintered. People ran for cover.

Purple dropped onto the sidewalk. Eight bullets pierced his body.

Hamilton made it inside the Hudson but took two bullets trying to start it. One struck him in the lower part of the neck. Even wounded, he kept firing. When he finally stopped, members of the vigilance committee rushed the car and pulled him out.

Al Klindt

By the time Sheriff Brehmer arrived, it was over. Purple lay on his face in a pool of blood. Hamilton lay beside him, trussed up and bleeding. Someone in the crowd teased, “Howdy, Bill. We got the rats here.”

People gathered quickly. Men held shotguns and rifles. Women milled about as children edged closer to sneak a peek.

Hamilton told Coroner J. D. Cantwell and Sheriff Brehmer that he had been double-crossed but they wrote his ramblings off as drunken nonsense. He was taken to Mercy Hospital in Davenport, where he died two days later on Saturday, December 17, 1921.

The Hudson touring car baring Iowa license plate number 118312 belonged to Richard Sudbrook of Davenport, who had left it with Hugo “Hooks” Brandt, a Davenport mechanic who was supposed to sell it. The sheriff believed the bandits had bought or rented the vehicle from Brandt.

The contents of the robbers’ pockets explained why they pulled the robbery. Eight cents were found in Hamilton’s pockets. Seven cents in Purple’s.

The Scott County Bankers’ Association paid a $1,000 reward to members of the vigilance committee.

The message to the auto bandits was unmistakable. Iowa towns were ready for them.