Night Operator Shot in Railroad Station Robbery
Two assailants held up the Northern Pacific station in Wapato, wounding the operator after he refused to surrender the cash drawer.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Two robbers entered the Northern Pacific station at Wapato last night and ordered night operator John Trimble to hold up his hands. When Trimble refused, one of the robbers fired, inflicting a wound in the operator's shoulder. The robbers then rifled the cash drawer of about $18 and made their escape. Chief of Police Copeland was notified of the robbery soon after it happened and has been keeping a close watch over all incoming trains from the west. At noon today, no trace of the robbers had been found.
“When Trimble refused, one of the robbers fired, inflicting a wound in the operator's shoulder.”
Railroad stations were once the literal heartbeat of commerce and safety in small Washington towns like Wapato; a violent hold-up here was a major civic shock. Today, these historic stations are mostly repurposed or gone, reflecting how transit technology has fundamentally shifted our public spaces and the nature of local crime.
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