Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

About 250 newsboys and about 100 carrot-topped members of Dr. H.S. Clemmer’s “Redhead Club” had a rowdy good time at an ice cream social in a church basement.

The boys had so much fun they began tossing ice cream at each other until “there was ice cream and cake from one end of the basement to the other.” The leader of the church’s Young Men’s Bible Class, which hosted the gathering, “delivered a few remarks, which a few of those present heard.”

Then they all marched to the Clemmer Theater (now the Bing Crosby Theater) to see the movie “The Captive.” The Redhead Club was started by Dr. Clemmer, open to all redheaded boys. The redheads, along with the newsboys, gave a rousing cheer to Dr. Clemmer for his generosity.

From the court beat: Miss Bertha Stokes, an 18-year-old waitress, was miffed at her boss, Herman Wolff, for making her stay late. She quit and demanded her pay. Wolff refused, so Bertha called him a “fish mouth” and “an old bald rat.”

When Wolff threatened to call the police, Bertha grabbed a jelly cake and hurled it at him. It hit Wolff on the back of the neck and stuck there, except for a section which (gratifyingly, for Miss Bertha) slipped over the side of his face.

Bertha was fined $10 for disorderly conduct.