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| Blogs > kzoopair > Take two- they're small |
Naught's had, all's spent...
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Naught's had, all's spent... When I was young I lived on my grandfather’s farm outside Centreville, Michigan, a tiny town of about five hundred people south of here. Our farm was an “eighty”- an eighth of a section consisting of eighty acres, and it abutted a “one sixty”, a quarter section, owned by an Amish farmer, Joseph Schwartz. On April 7,1962 a young man named Carlyle Schragg quarreled with Schwartz over Joseph’s sixteen year old Jeanie. The Schwartz’s were old order Amish and the Schraggs were former Mennonites who owned cars, watched television and had a telephone in the house. Joseph and his wife Vivian didn’t approve of their Jeanie seeing Carl Schragg and had laid down the law- they demanded that the the young people stop dating. Jeanie had been sneaking out at night, changing her somber Amish clothes for a short skirt and saddle shoes and dated Carl without a chaperone or her parents’ permission or even their knowledge. Twenty one year old Carl could do nothing to change the minds of Jeanie’s parents. A girl who wouldn’t obey her parents would be shunned and had to choose between her family and Carl. After arguing with Joseph Schwartz and finding him implacable, Carl drove home, only a half mile distant, loaded his twenty two rifle, and returned to the Schwartz farm. As Joseph mucked out his hog pen, Carl shot him in the head. He then walked to the farmhouse and announced to Vivian that he had shot Joseph. She tried to grab the rifle from Carl and he shot her in the chest, but not before she had managed, in the fight for the rifle, to shoot Carl in the stomach. Jeanie fled over the fields, in the dark. I remember that night. It was windy and alternately dark and moonlit, in my memory. The back forty of each farm was hilly and uncultivated, and the grass was a maze of dewberry vines and brambles. By the time she arrived at our farm she was scratched, torn and bedraggled. She kept saying that Carl had shot her father. We had no telephone, and after she had cried out her story my grandfather had to drive to town to get the sheriff. He drove a new ’62 Ford and the wind blew the shed doors closed just as he got the car started. He didn’t get out to reopen them- he bumped them open with the Ford. None of us knew where Carl was, or that he’d been shot himself. Carl surrendered to the police later that night and was sentenced to life in prison. The Schwartz farm changed after that night. Vivian sold the place and it got shabby and unkempt. There was a marsh in front of the farmhouse, and it took on a sinister look after the murder. No matter how bright the sun shone afterward, it always had a bleak and doomed feel to it. I shuddered when I looked at it- I couldn’t help it. I trod the fields of my childhood for years after that night, but I didn’t like walking the north property line alone. I couldn’t go there without thinking of Jeanie Schwartz’s terrified flight in the dark over that very ground. On Saturday, just yesterday, an Uber driver from Cooper, a little collection of houses and a grocery store just a few miles north of here, broke somehow inside and murdered six people in a path from northeast to southwest over several hours. Several of his fares- he was still picking up fares while in the process of randomly killing people- were alarmed by his erratic behavior and his suicidal driving in his Uber cab. One was frightened enough to jump out of the cab as soon as it slowed down enough that he could jump out. The killing began on the northeast fringe of Kalamazoo at an apartment complex that I know well. Those apartments are full of students and former students who liked it here well enough to stay after graduation. I knew quite a few of them. I’ve delivered a lot of supplies and furniture there. Jason Dalton, the Uber driver, shot a woman at that complex and left her to die. He apparently shot her just because she was there. Sometime later, on Stadium Drive a few miles west of downtown, Dalton shot and killed a man and his seventeen year old as they were looking at cars. The young man was nuts about cars. I delivered car parts to that dealership for years. The old man who received those parts was a nephew to Monty Stratton, the one legged pitcher. Jimmy Stewart made a movie about Monty Stratton. Later yet, Dalton drove to the Cracker Barrel restaurant, at Ninth Street and I 94. When we hike at Al Sabo north to Atwater Pond, we pass the Cracker Barrel restaurant, just across the channel. PD and I don’t eat there often, but her and grandson like it so we’ve taken them there when they visit. In the restaurant parking lot, Dalton shot five women as they sat in their cars, killing four and seriously wounding a fourteen year old girl. We heard the sirens of the emergency vehicles that night, and Gracie was nervous and went outside to howl with the sirens. We figured it was a fire, or a crash on one of the freeways. We live in the southwest corner of the place where the highways intersect. We had gone out for dinner in the middle of all that killing, and were unaware of it. This is a small town. Kalamazoo and Portage together are about a hundred and twenty thousand, and the metro area isn’t much more than three hundred twenty five thousand. It isn’t tiny like that little farm town I come from, but I’ve lived and worked here for years. I have customers everywhere in a fifty or sixty mile radius. Some of them I know well. Some I know by first name, and some I only know on sight. I don’t think I know any of the victims personally, not like I knew Jeanie Schwartz. But it feels changed today. I didn’t much want to write a post about this. I’m sorry I ever had to hear any of it. I thought I ought to at least acknowledge it though. These places we know so well will never be quite the same again. It’ll fade in time, but we won’t be able to look at our town in quite the same way again, just like that old farmstead that used to be so safe and tidy looking when I was a boy. Six people died for no particular reason. They had never met the man who murdered them. Two more cling to life in the hospital, critically injured. With all my heart I hope they live, and recover to live well. Become a member now and get a free tote bag. |
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How tragic and sad!!!! I feel like I need to apologize because at first I didn't know if you were just story telling, or talking about some real, so my first thought was: damn Bill, quick the delivering job! Than I realized that it really happened, and started to hurt inside, not understanding why such things happen. You're right, never will be the same again for that town, and especially for all the families involved. May God give them peace!!!!!  WITHOUT PASSION LIFE IS NOTHING
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So senseless. A part of me doesn't want to hear anymore, yet another part is curious as to why he snapped. (We may never know.) And nothing can bring back his victims.
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People shoot other people here. There's always some reason, no matter how stupid. A drug deal gone bad, a domestic dispute. There was a robbery by a boy of very good family who apparently wanted to know what it felt like to kill some one, years ago. In the first murder I wrote about, there was motive along with the derangement. But it changed forever the way I saw a certain place. It cast a pall over it. The events of last night seem meaningless. We can't attach any motive to it and probably never will. But I feel like I'll never shake the melancholy I feel over it. Those poor people, so full of life and promise are gone. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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So senseless. A part of me doesn't want to hear anymore, yet another part is curious as to why he snapped. (We may never know.) And nothing can bring back his victims. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Thanks for your kind remarks. We're halfway between Chicago and Detroit. We have crime here, and occasionally violent crime. Location, location, location. But we also have pretty decent and fairly honest government. There are good colleges here...we're kind of a haven from the storm , in a lot of ways. One thing we haven't had, until yesterday, was a random mass shooting. This guy just drove around town killing people he'd never seen before and had no argument with. Life itself is dangerous, but in spite of that this place felt safe. Now we feel quite unsettled and unsure. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Two very sad stories. The scars of tragedies remain for a long time in the minds of those caught up and living amidst them. There are several places in Britain, like Aberfan, Hungerford and Dunblane, who have long struggled to be remembered for anything other than senseless deaths. 
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I heard of this yesterday. Such an unfortunate event, with a storyline that is now repeated much much too often. Find pleasure in giving pleasure
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And I'll say here what I have said elsewhere- Can anyone explain to me why someone else's 2nd amendment rights supercede my right to be out in public and not get shot and killed? My condolences on a smaller city's loss of innocence and familiarity for the time being, Kk The observant make the best lovers, I may not do right, but I do write, I have bliss, joy, and happiness in my life, Kitkat Come check out my blog KItkat1415 check out this post by me Adventures In Body Grooming #39 April Topic Link: What Lies Beneath If April Showers Oh Bloody Hell What Kind Of Weather Turns Me On Bloggers Symposium 40
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Apologies for my somewhat provincial take, but my primary thought on this is that you and PD are -- at least physically -- okay. That means a lot. Psychically, of course, these types of activities do damage. They can't not... and your post, which brings color and depth to the various locations only highlights the horror. You've put stories behind the names, and in doing so honored those hurt or killed. You've given us another walk, Kzoo. It may not be as picturesque as your hikes, but you've taken us through your surroundings with you. Thank you -- especially since it was clearly painful for you. I hope writing this turns out to be part of your healing process. Stop in, read, and offer comments at my "swinging as seen in the media" blog, "Confessions of a Lifestyle Man" humorlife, which is also the home of the monthly virtual symposium. New post: The Virtual Symposium Returns Lets Pick A Topic
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 Thank you, honey.Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Two very sad stories. The scars of tragedies remain for a long time in the minds of those caught up and living amidst them. There are several places in Britain, like Aberfan, Hungerford and Dunblane, who have long struggled to be remembered for anything other than senseless deaths. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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It IS tragic, Joy, and appears completely meaningless. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Try as I will I can't manage to get my head to a place where I can understand a person doing a thing like this. Obviously his head wasn't functioning properly, but I can't see how any relief can be obtained by killing people he didn't know and never met. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I heard of this yesterday. Such an unfortunate event, with a storyline that is now repeated much much too often. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I was on my break at work this weekend and heard a bit about this as we had the TV to the news channel, waiting for news of our own local tragedy ... a 17 year boy had gone missing a week ago and his body was found Saturday evening. There had been such a huge response from the community searching all over Winnipeg and surrounding community areas for him, with his aunt heading up the search. She is a co-worker of mine, fairly new to the unit, so we all felt the horrible news hit us fairly close to home. Senseless murders, senseless loss of lives. So sad.
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When I heard Kalamazoo on the news I immediately thought of y'all. A man here shot and killed a Deputy Sheriff with an AR-15 while they sat side by side at an intersection because he wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone. The car was covered in bullet holes. I get numb to the daily shootings, but some like the Kalamazoo shooting catches our attention. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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It's terrifying but I'm kind of dumbstruck. I should feel angrier but instead I'm simply baffled. It will be heartbreaking if the two injured women don't survive and heal. That would seem like just too much after six deaths. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I know we can't make sense of it, but I can't wipe it out of my head, and I still try. One thread that runs through this story is the encounters Dalton had with fares around the city on Saturday, before, during and after he murdered those six people and shot two others. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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And I'll say here what I have said elsewhere- Can anyone explain to me why someone else's 2nd amendment rights supercede my right to be out in public and not get shot and killed? My condolences on a smaller city's loss of innocence and familiarity for the time being, Kk But make no mistake about it- the hard decision to disarm will also result in great violence and more death. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Apologies for my somewhat provincial take, but my primary thought on this is that you and PD are -- at least physically -- okay. That means a lot. Psychically, of course, these types of activities do damage. They can't not... and your post, which brings color and depth to the various locations only highlights the horror. You've put stories behind the names, and in doing so honored those hurt or killed. You've given us another walk, Kzoo. It may not be as picturesque as your hikes, but you've taken us through your surroundings with you. Thank you -- especially since it was clearly painful for you. I hope writing this turns out to be part of your healing process. I'm not so much concerned that our town will be remembered for this and nothing else. There are lots of good things here and I have wonderful memories of the place. But my own memories of some of these places will have that taint of sadness now, just like that old farmstead. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I was on my break at work this weekend and heard a bit about this as we had the TV to the news channel, waiting for news of our own local tragedy ... a 17 year boy had gone missing a week ago and his body was found Saturday evening. There had been such a huge response from the community searching all over Winnipeg and surrounding community areas for him, with his aunt heading up the search. She is a co-worker of mine, fairly new to the unit, so we all felt the horrible news hit us fairly close to home. Senseless murders, senseless loss of lives. So sad. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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So sad KZ.. Big hugssssssssssssss V Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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Huggggggs B. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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There are so many good things here. The Kalamazoo Promise is a guarantee that any child who lives in the city and attends its schools will go to college. It's paid for by anonymous donation. These murders won't supplant what's wonderful about my town, but they cloud it. It's a wound. 
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I also thought of you kids when I heard about it. There are so many of these now I have to wonder why nothing is really happening to stop the carnage. I know it comes down to money and politics. The politics of guns and the mentally ill (at this point that is my guess on the reason why this incident happened). As long as the people don't speak loudly about both situations it is likely to continue. What does that say about our way of governing - where money rules over people? When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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