Wednesday, July 8, 1953: Jalopy thief foiled
Posted on June 24th, 2008 – 11:40 PMBy Ben Welter
I’ve had no luck tracking down John Skook, the main character in this small drama published in the Minneapolis Star. He’d be about 71 years old now, presuming he did not make a career of jumping into accelerating jalopies to confront thieves in the middle of the night. Anyone out there know a Skook?
IN BAREFOOT CHASE
Owner, 16, Nabs Thief in Jalopy
FOR JOHN SKOOK, 16, there is nothing in this world these days that is quite like his old but nifty jalopy.
Little wonder then that Skook, 1628 SE. Eighth street, bounced out of his house, almost sans clothing, to chase and catch a thief who tried to steal his pride and joy at 12:50 a.m. today.
John was undressing, having removed his shoes and shirt, and his pants were half off when he heard the familiar purr of his jalopy’s motor.
He pulled up pants and dashed out. The car was moving along slowly in low.
A 19-year-old was at the wheel, shifting into high, when John caught up after a 200-foot chase.
John opened the right front door, hopped in and turned the ignition key off. The thief clouted him in the face.
“You better get out of here … I’ve called the cops,” John bluffed.
But it didn’t seem like a bluff when a police car hove into sight and its occupants were attracted by the jalopy moving slowly and uncertainly.
The officers took charge of John’s captive. In a drunkometer test at headquarters, the suspect registered over the drunk mark.
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| April 1957: Future jalopies filled a used car lot on Hennepin Avenue, east of Parade Stadium. (Photo courtesy mnhs.org) |
2 Responses to "Wednesday, July 8, 1953: Jalopy thief foiled"
That may be a used car lot, but those cars are new ’57’s.
As a little girl I grew up on a big farm in Central Minnesota. I was asked a lot of times to help pick rocks from the fields with the family. One day my mother told me to stay on the hay wagon( where we had the rocks and I didn’t listen.. I jumped off of the wagon, bent over to pick up a good sized rock and the wagon rolled right over my head, right across my temple. I should’ve died on the scene, but there was soft sand where the tracks were so my head sunk in the soft sand. I had scrapes from the tires but didn’t get seriously hurt or killed. Yes it pays to listen to your parents, Kids! they do know what’s best for us when it comes to our safety.
