Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The “family secrets” of Dr. W.H. Olds and his young wife, Della Olds, were revealed in a sensational day of testimony in the Della Olds murder trial.

Fred Olds, the doctor’s adult son by a previous marriage, testified that his father had once come home drunk, smelled cigarette smoke in the room of Della’s sister, broke the lock on the door, barged in while she was partially undressed, tried unsuccessfully to open a window and kicked the glass out of two windows.

Then he went downstairs, thought things over, ran back and kicked out a third window.

Some people at a dance across the street heard the ruckus and yelled, “Kick out another one!”

“For God’s sake, drive me away quick!” Della said that night.

Fred said he had never seen his father assault Della, although once she had a black eye caused by the doctor rolling over in his sleep and hitting her with his elbow.

Della had her problems with drink as well. Fred said that sometimes she smoked and drank so much she could not eat at mealtimes. Once, after an argument with her husband, she hysterically rifled through his medicine case, “looking for poison,” which Fred presumed she meant to take.

He also heard her once say, “I get so mad I could kill him.”