Chief Askew's Diary: March 20, 1930

Two women get into a knife fight; one goes to the calaboose

Chief Askew reported a light court in the morning, “tried three boys tried for fighting and turned them loose.” Not so two women who got into a knife fight. He identifies them as the wives of two men, not using their own names. One was hurt so badly she had to go to the hospital, where the doctor advised Chief Askew she would “pull through and get well if Pneumonia didn’t develop.”

The other woman was put in the “Calaboose” and later transferred to the jail. What is a calaboose? I wondered myself, and after some googling I turned up the definition and some pictures. Paid subscribers can learn more.

The photo of a calaboose in Wingate, Indiana was one of several I found on Wikimedia Commons.