Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 January 1903 — Swiped a Train of Coal. [ARTICLE]

Swiped a Train of Coal.

Last Saturday at Arcola, 111., an engine hauling a big train load of coal belonging to the Illinois Central, went lame and couldn’t haul the train any further. The people of Arcola were in the last straits for coal, and they organized a raid and seized the whole train load. It was carefully weighed out by the wagon load, and a record was kept of every load, in order that the railroad company could be paid for the coal. All the best people in the town participated in the raid, including the ministers, and among these, mentioned by name, was Rev. Edward Baech, the Presbyterian minister formerly located in Rensselaer.