Ya’ Messed with the Wrong Fella’, Part I

Despite crime occurring at the lowest rate in decades in this country, stories about crimes of all sorts are constantly in the news. Whether it is petty theft, kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, etc., we are under a constant daily barrage of stories concerning these activities from our news media. Our local law enforcement agencies must appear in a state of constant vigil, to fight against those who ply in this trade. In searching through the old local newspaper articles from years past, Fayette County has seen its share of criminal activity, from minor incidents to the most hideous imaginable. This series of articles in the Footprints of Fayette section of the newspaper will deal with a few people who became fed up with the crime, and decided to take a stand against it, “Old West” style.

The first story involves a landmark in La Grange, the old Carl Schulze Garage, located on Business Highway 71, across from the intersection with Horton Street. The building and property are currently used by Paul’s Towing and Storage business. First, a short history of the business. In the September 16, 1926, issue of the La Grange Journal, it was revealed that “Hermann Schulze… in the Eastern end of the city, has sold two and a half acres of land to Willie Jacob of Burton… Mr. Jacob contemplates erecting a filling station on the end of his purchase, facing the Rutersville highway [Highway 159] ... The filling station will be a thirty foot wide drive-in station…” The September 27, 1928, issue of the La Grange Journal revealed that a new plan was taking place on this property. It stated that “Carl A. Schulze, who recently purchased the Jacobs Filling Station at the East end of the city, will assume charge next Monday, October 1. Mr. Schulze… will continue to run (the station) in the same manner that popularized it during his predecessor’s ownership, and give prompt service at all times.”

After successfully running the filling station and garage for over a decade, Mr. Schulze had apparently had his eyes opened to the character of some people, as he had installed an alarm system from his business to his home, which was located only about 50 yards away. Here is how the story unfolded. The Journal, in a frontpage story, dated September 14, 1944, stated the following: “Good shooting on the part of Carl Schulze, La Grange garage man and owner and operator of the Schulze Garage almost ended the criminal career of Robert Stevenson and William E. Carey, who a few hours earlier had escaped from the Harlem Prison Farm [located in Fort Bend County], as they attempted to steal a radio and a few bottles of soda water early Friday morning. Schulze awoke to the ringing of a burglar alarm in his home near the garage. Taking his gun, he arrived on the scene just as the thieves were in the act of carrying out the radio and the bottles of pop. These items never reached the car. With the first shot, radio and soda water were thrown into the air as the intruders hurried to escape.”

It was further reported that “later the sheriff’s department reported finding the car hopelessly mired in the mud near the Wm. Roitsch home. A neat bullet hole in the windshield, ‘just a little too high’ bore muted testimony that the garage man wasn’t fooling when he yelled ‘Halt!’” The article further disclosed that the two men had sawed a lock from a gasoline pump, and fueled up their car, which proved to be stolen, all before entering the garage. Prison authorities had already released information on the two escapees. Robert Stevenson, 28, was serving four years for robbery out of Tarrant County, and William Carey, 24, serving 22 years for robbery and murder out of Bell and Walker Counties. The newspaper was quoted as stating that “although the highway was patrolled and cars watched after the above incident, nothing developed until Saturday. Sheriff [Will] Loessin was notified to come and get ‘two bums’ that were snooping around...” The call was made from the West Point area. The men were picked up and placed in jail. Prison officials soon arrived and returned them to their former home.

This reaction by a victim of crime seems like overkill, but Mr. Schultz proved that he was not willing to part with his hard-earned possessions. Stay tuned next week for another episode of “ya’ picked the wrong fella to mess with.”

Sources: La Grange Journal

Footprints Of Fayette

Fayette County is one of the most historic counties in Texas. In this weekly feature from the County Historical Commission, a rotating group of writers looks back at local history.