Yorktown/Mt. Pleasant Historical Alliance and Museum

1920 Gone! Yorktown Boys Disappear

Cummins, Corwin and Staggs, Howard

Howard Staggs, Age 15
Corwin Cummings, Age 14

FROM OUR NEWSLETTER, “ONCE UPON A TIME”, JANUARY 2021.

While reading newspapers from 100 years ago, an intriguing headline caught my eye, “Yorktown Boys Disappear”. Originally, the only information that police had was that the boys were seen boarding a west-bound Interurban at a stop west of Yorktown. The article explained that on 1 October 1920, cards bearing the picture of two missing boys were mailed to cities throughout the state. The police asked for citizens to be on the lookout for the two teenage boys. The boys had been missing since September 25th. Parents were frantic!

The missing boys were Corwin Cummins (14), son of Rollins and Eva Andre Cummins, and his buddy, Howard Staggs (15), son of Perry and Verna Dunn StaggsSoon after the pair left, they were found to have run away from home. The boys sent dispatches to their parents giving their location. The first dispatch said that they were in Milwaukee and they were going to Utah. 

“We’ll be back in two years.” 

Apparently, the boys had no intention of returning home any time soon!

What happened to the two young men was found in the 2 November 1920, Muncie Star Press after they had been missing for over five weeks. The ending was a hoot. See the original clipping below, learn a little about their families, and what happened to them when they grew up.          ~Julie Musick Hillgrove 

Look for their biographies for more information. 

       

1920 Recruits at Great Lakes Naval Base in Chicago Not sure if the boys are in this picture, but it is what they would experience in 1920! It rather looks like school. Photo Navy History and Heritage Command

January 2021 Newsletter

Interactive, colorful, and informative. Open the link to the January 2021 Newsletter, “Once Upon a Time”.

 INDEX
*New Website and Newsletter
*100 YEARS AGO-Gone! Yorktown Boys Disappear  
*1837 New Mail Route Extension
*200 Years Ago-First Land Sales in Mt. Pleasant Township  
*Yorktown Woman’s Club  June Meeting  in  1920
*Fun Fact         
*By the Section-Early Land Purchases Section 1  
*Missing Boys Found /All Grown Up   
*1923 YHS Commencement Party  
*Membership/ Donate
*Anxious Basketball Players  
*Volunteer  
*YHS Students Create Township Tours      

Download the PDF below.