In 1919 23-year-old Thecla Gerken who was a school teacher from Woonsocket, South Dakota, and was staying at the home of Dr. H.H. Hagedorn at 1017 Jones St. She was friends with H.H Hagedorn's wife and was taking her vacation here. On the night of June 27, 1919, Thecla and another girl, Mable Houlihan, who she also knew went on a walk.
The girls would say their goodbyes as they neared 8th st. Mable would walk towards her home on 9th st. and Thecla would cross the intersection of 9th and Jones st. diagonally. Mable was almost to the alley when she heard Thelca scream "Mabel, come back!" which was followed by a gunshot.
Mable would rush to her friend. She said there were people on the street who pointed towards her friend who was now laying on the ground. She had blood coming from her mouth and had been shot in the chest.
All that was known was that Thecla had been shot by a young man. She was seen talking to the young man and the witness claimed they heard her say "George, why did you do that?" They were too far away to hear anything else of the conversation. He had shot her with a .38 caliber gun and fled down an alleyway. One article stated that someone chased after him, but could not catch up to him and lost him.
Thecla was new to town and only knew very few people let alone have enemies. The two girls did meet a couple of young men the day before and set a date for that day but did not show up to it. It's unknown if her killer was one of these men.
It's suspected that the man who Thecla was talking to for a brief moment before her death was a poorly dressed man that she and Mable had passed by earlier. Police believe it could have been possible that it was a woman disguised as a man. The man or woman was never found and Mabel's case will remain unsolved.
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