PETER BETZ
Gathering those repossessed chickens into one sack became more painful than gathering all their eggs into one basket. (Photo courtesy of Peter Betz)
In our old times, many towns employed local peace officers called constables, but things didn’t always go the constable’s way.
Under the headline “They Gave Him the Bounce,” the Aug. 13, 1893 Daily Republican reported, “A family named Lawyer consists of two men and about twenty women, if the story told by a Stratford Constable can be believed.
An arrest warrant was issued by Stratford’s town justice against James Lawyer Jr. for larceny, upon complaint of Utica peddler Nathan Levi, and was given to Stratford’s constable entrusted with preserving Stratford’s peace. The constable arrived at the Lawyer farm and found him engaged in helping his father milk. Lawyer was surprised at hearing of his arrest. “Well”, he replied, “You can accommodate me by allowing me to help my father finish milking the cows