Mankind seems to possess some inner desire that makes him want to seek out the forbidden fruit, and then reach to grab it, never mind the method or the cost. This certainly holds true in business and banking. This article will examine some of the creative methods used by some of the creative people to withdraw money from Fayette County banking institutions in which they did not actually have an account. In plain ol’ terms, we are speaking of bank robberies.
Before we examine the local cases of these bank robberies, the writer will give a list of just some of the bank robberies or attempted robberies that were mentioned in articles in the old La Grange Journal newspapers from the 1920s through the 1930s. Some of these towns include Buda State Bank-1929, Garwood State Bank, a bank in Houston, and in San Antonio- 1934, Hallettsville Bank-1939, Industry State Bank-1939, and of course, the most interesting and deadly, when “Santa Claus” tried to rob the bank in Cisco, Texas in December 1927.
Now, let us examine Fayette County’s contribution to this banking dilemma. First, in an article in the August 15, 1929, issue of the La Grange Journal we learn: “Sheriff (Will) Loessin was advised Tuesday morning that some party or parties had entered the Carmine State Bank in Carmine at some time during Monday night, and immediately left town for a thorough investigation. He returned just before noon and reported that an entrance to the banking house had been made by the burglars breaking the window glass near to a latch and by reaching in and unlocking the latch.” Upon examination by the bank employees and the sheriff, it was determined that the only items missing were some checks that had been cashed, the vault having been left undisturbed. The checks were on local banks and ranged from $1.02 to $100.00.
