Jim Kershner’s This Day in History

From our archives, 100 years ago

The Rev. Charles LaFontaine, 50, was removed from the pulpit of the First Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene for his bedside manner when he visited an ailing 19-year-old member of his flock.

“He put his hands on my chest and kissed me on the neck,” said young Mrs. Cheeseman. “I told him I would call my mother if he did not leave and that he ought to be ashamed of himself, having as nice a wife as he had.”

His reply?

“I would like to stay here all day by you,” according to Mrs. Cheeseman.

She told him to “get his hat and get out” and then her mother walked in and he announced he was leaving.

The Rev. LaFontaine later said, “I admit an indiscretion, but I have made every reparation possible under heaven that a man can do, and I would like to know what more I can do.” He said he apologized to all concerned and resigned his post at the church after a church assembly revoked his credentials.

He added, however, that he “did the act out of sympathy for a young mother that had just lost her first child, and had no other thought at the time.”

From the city hall beat: H.F. Tabb, a cashier for the city treasurer, was reported to be “permanently suspended” after it was discovered that $1,900 in cash was missing from the city coffers.

A city commissioner said there was “no telling how much more was taken.” The investigation continued.