HARRY W. BAALS

'Harry William Baals' (November 16, 1886 - May 9, 1954) was the Republican mayor of Fort Wayne from 1934-1947 and from 1951 until his death in 1954. He served more years as Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana than any other mayor.

Contents

Accomplishments

Killer in the rain

Death

Remembering Harry

References

External links

Accomplishments

In 1938, upon the release of the movie ''Nothing Sacred'', Baals declared the Carole Lombard House at 704 Rockhill Street a landmark.
In 1937, during the Depression, the Scottish Rite Temple was lost to receivership, and purchased by Kaplan Realty. The city continued to use it as a community center, housing the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and other civic events. In 1941, Kaplan proposed converting the building into a bowling alley, but Baals headed the plan off.

Killer in the rain

The election in November, 1947 may have been influenced by a serial killer.
Wilhelmina ''Billie'' Haaga, 38, an Inca Manufacturing employee, had been beaten and died in February 1944 on Hartzell Road. The sheriff said it was the work of a maniac. Her mother said nobody would be safe until the killer was caught. Three months later, she was proven right when Anna Kuzeff, 20, who worked at General Electric was killed while walking from work. On August 6, South Side High School junior Phyllis Conine, 17, was found in Aboite township. On August 8, 1944, city council established a $15,000 reward in these crimes.
On March 6, 1945 however, another victim, Dorothea Howard, 36, died of a beating. She was a lonely housewife who'd been drinking too much. She'd been drinking at Elmer Keirns Beer Parlor at 124 West Main Street, and was found in an alley between Columbia and Main.
There were no suspects or leads. The press was after the Baals administration to get cracking, when finally, just before midnight on Monday, June 9, 1947 Ralph Woodrow Lobaugh walked into the Kokomo, Indiana police station and confessed to killing Haaga, Kuzeff and Howard. Over the next few months, he would alternate between confession to killing the four women, and recanting the confessions.
The problem was, there wasn't any evidence to show he was guilty. In fact, he probably didn't do it, and eventually, the governor insisted on setting him free. Two months later, he begged to go back to prison. But in 1947, it wasn't quite as obvious.
Finally, two weeks before the election, Lobaugh demanded an immediate hearing before Judge Schannen, against the protests of his attorney. He pleaded guilty, and the prosecutor was happy to oblige someone who wanted to clear up the whole mess.
Baals died in office. Democrat Henry Branning became mayor, and his new police chief, Lester Eisenhut announced that he believed Lobaugh to be innocent, and would soon have evidence to free him. Two other men were eventually linked to the crime, Robert Christen and Franklin Click, but it was 1977 before Lobaugh was given clemency, only to beg to return to prison two months later.

Death

Harry W. Baals died in 1954 of a kidney infection, while serving his fourth term as mayor. He was buried in Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne.

Remembering Harry

Harry Baals Drive extends east from Parnell Street just north of the St. Joseph River.
His name appears on a number of structures around the city, including the bridge by Quimby Village and the Carole Lombard House.
Clinton Baals was a Fort Wayne fire chief in 1928. It would seem likely they were related.He is either a son or nephew of Harry
Harry Baals was a Lutheran, and served on the building committee of Redeemer Lutheran Church. He was also a Freemason, and an Elk.
He helped orchestrate the building of railroad overpasses

References

★ 'BAALS, HARRY WILLIAM' (biographical sketch, p. 747), ''Who's Who and What's What in Indiana Politics'', published by James E. Perry, Indianapolis, 1944

★ "Harry W. Baals, 67, Fort Wayne Mayor", ''New York Times'', May 10, 1954, p. 23.

External links

★ Killer in the Rain