Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Della Olds, 29, was in jail for shooting her husband, Dr. W.H. Olds, 60, but was allowed to briefly return to her home on Dean Avenue and “review” the events of the shooting for the benefit of her lawyers.

She told them that her husband had arrived home drunk – not unusual – and became irate when the phone rang and there was no answer. He accused her of “improper friendships” – also not unusual. He attacked her and ripped out a long lock of hair. Della’s sister, who had a room across the hall, came over and the doctor knocked her to the floor. The sister fled and Della said she somehow made it to an adjoining room, grabbed the rifle and shot him.

Her attorneys called it self-defense. The prosecutor had not yet decided on charges.

Police confirmed that an officer had seen Dr. Olds staggering home that night, clearly drunk. They also said the doctor had been observed a few nights before, drinking heavily after losing $70 at the races.

An officer found him sitting near the north end of the Monroe Street Bridge. The officer took him by the arm and helped him walk home.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1922: The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated in a ceremony attended by President Warren G. Harding, Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Robert Todd Lincoln.