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You ever go to the store, and can't remember if you needed something or not? Let's say tomato soup. You're standing in Aisle 4, staring at the tomato soup, and no matter how much you mull it over, you can't remember whether or not you actually need tomato soup. You may have some, you may be out, you just can't remember. Has that ever happened to you?
Something like that is happening to me right now. To save my life, I cannot recall whether or not I wrote about the check forger before.
Looking through my archives, I found an old article headlined "Check Forger In Town." It ran on the front page of the Clinton Democrat on Jan. 23, 1890. The whole thing sounds familiar, but then again, they all do after a while. I honestly can't remember whether or not I wrote about this particular incident before, and as I've been writing for the Express since 2008, it's possible. But I need a column, so I'm going for it, and if this all sounds oddly familiar to you, too, I apologize.
"Lock Haven last week had a check forger in her midst," the article began, "Who got in some good work, provided he doesn't get caught."
The whole thing began on a Wednesday evening when a man wandered into Raff's clothing store in Lock Haven. He was described as "A tall, slim man, thin-faced, wears a slouch hat, blue cut-away coat, black overcoat and striped woolen shirt." He selected $17 worth of clothing and attempted to pay with a check for $24, which is $15 million by today's standards. This would have given him $7 in change.
The check was from First National Bank and had a signature from local businessman C.S. McCormick on it. The store was run by the Raff brothers, who were a little suspicious of it. They couldn't exactly put their fingers on why, but something about the situation bothered them. So one of the brothers said he was going to run out for change.
Instead of getting change, he went to McCormick down the street to ask about the check. This turned out to be the right choice, as McCormick had not signed this particular check -- or any of the other checks that later turned out to have been cashed. One of the checks was cashed at Bentley's shoe store, where the forger had exchanged an $11 check for a pair of shoes and $8 in change, tricking young Johnny Bentley, the son of the owner. There were thought to be a few more checks out there, still waiting to be discovered.
Having learned that the man was faking checks (and that he was smart enough to rip off a little kid), Raff ran back to his store. By this point, however, the forger had fled. In the time it had taken Raff to go and ask about the check, the forger had begun to get nervous. He'd made an excuse, claiming that he was going to go buy shoes and return for the clothing afterward, and he'd taken off. (Shoes were apparently the first excuse he'd thought of, having just recently come from conning Bentley's shoe store.)
The police and the newspapers were both notified, but the man had disappeared -- having been discovered he left for parts unknown, taking his fake checks with him. With the Clinton Democrat printing the news of the incident, the businesses of the community had some warning, which provided a bit of protection from future check forgeries, at least until everyone forgot.
That's the story of the check forger, which I may or may not have told you before. Again, if it rings a bell with you, I apologize. I'm going to go and grab lunch now. I'm kind of in the mood for tomato soup.
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Lou Bernard is a Lock Haven resident with a keen interest in the history of this area. He is adult services coordinator at Ross Library and may be reached at loulhpa@gmail.com or 570-660-4463.