Occupation: Hero

From the Hobart Gazette of February 6, 1920, here's the story of a census-taker's adventure (transcribed for you since the microfilm copy is just awful).

Census Taker Proves a Hero

L.H. Haberman of Hobart, but at present staying with his family at East Gary, owing to the invalidism of his wife's mother, proved himself a true hero last week Thursday, while performing his duties as census taker, and saved the lives of three children and the possible burning of a house in Godair Park, a settlement in the southwest corner of the town of East Gary [now Lake Station]. He called at the back door of a modest house of some foreigner, and as he rapped, he heard the cry of a small child. Getting no response, he went to the front door, and there also got no response, neither did he hear any cries from a child, but noticed smoke oozing from the keyhole of the door. After running to a second neighbor's home he found a girl who could talk English, and she said the woman of the house he called at first had gone to Gary on the 1:15 car about 15 minutes before, and that there were three children in the house. Mr. Haberman then rushed back, secured a hatchet and broke a window, through which he entered the house through dense smoke, and in a crib felt a child, which he handed out the window, although he couldn't see, and then, on hands and knees, located the other two children under a bed, and rescued them. After regaining his breath, he located a smudge from paper and rags on the floor, and extinguished it with water.

The children comprised a 7-months-old babe, a 3-year-old invalid son and a 5-year-old son, the latter having secured matches and started a bonfire in the room.

Mr. Haberman saw the mother at 5 o'clock, when she returned from Gary. The babe was still unconscious, but came to later at the Mercy hospital. Mr. Haberman is entitled to a Carnegie medal.

Elsewhere in the Gazette, the make-believe adventures playing at the Gem Theatre:


(Click on image to enlarge)


Wallace Reid, 1891-1923
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons.

From what I can gather, the plot of "Alias Mike Moran" involved the Great War, but no known copies of the film exist. Likewise, "Paid in Full" and "The Test of Honor" are presumed lost.