How Ainsworth Welcomed Its Returning Exiles

Julius Triebess lived in Chicago, but his heart was in Ainsworth. Sometime after 1891 he'd bought a farm of 100 acres south of the village. I don't know whether, or for how long, he farmed it himself; but in 1900 he joined the Chicago Fire Department, and the demands of that job required Julius and his family to live in the city. At that point, probably, he began renting the farm out. In August 1908 we find him advertising for a tenant, and by September he'd rented the land to John Witt, Jr.

Julius came out from the city now and then to visit his farm, staying in the farmhouse with John's family. After John's failing health forced him to give up farming, Julius next rented the place to John W. Harms. He still came out from the city now and then to visit his land.

And then, providentially, on April 1, 1917, the Chicago Fire Department changed its rules of operation: firemen were now on duty for 24 hours, then off a for full 24 hours. At last it became practical for Julius to commute between his job in Chicago and his farm in Ainsworth. He jumped at the chance. He hired a man to take care of the farm work during his 24-hour shifts; he packed up all the contents of his Chicago dwelling; and by mid-April, he and his family had come home to the farm.

On the evening of April 29, the Triebesses drove up to Hobart and caught the train to Chicago for a short visit. Around 9 p.m. they returned to their peaceful country home to find it "ransacked from cellar to garret." Missing were some household implements, such as buckets and tubs, and all of the food they'd brought out from Chicago — about 3 dozen cans of fruit and a couple of hams — and several loaves of bread that Mrs. Triebess had lovingly baked the previous day. Half of one loaf lay discarded in the yard.

Investigation turned up some eyewitness accounts. Neighbors had seen a Ford drive up to the house around dusk, and two men and a woman got out and went into the house. Another passerby noticed a light in the house around 8 o'clock. All the witnesses, unaware that the Triebesses were away, simply assumed the trio were visitors. Oddly enough, there was no sign of forced entry; evidently the robbers let themselves in with a key, and calmly went about clearing the place out. The Ford was traced as far as Merrillville, and then the trail vanished.


Sources:
♦ 1891 Plat Book.
♦ "Additional Local News." Hobart Gazette 19 Sept. 1913; 20 Apr. 1917
♦ "General News Items." Hobart Gazette 14 Aug. 1908.
♦ "Local Drifts." Hobart Gazette 18 Sept. 1908; 2 July 1909; 27 July 1916; 30 Mar. 1917.
♦ "Personal and Local Mention." Hobart News 12 Feb. 1914.
♦ "Rob Farm House." Hobart Gazette 4 May 1917.
♦ "Ross Township Notes." Hobart Gazette 1 Sept. 1911.
♦ "Thieves Continue Their Depredations in This Vicinity." Hobart News 3 May 1917.