Dingenis DeLeeuw Reprised

Last Wednesday, July 7th, the Blog presented the mysterious fire that lead to the demise of Dingenis DeLeeuw and the disappearance of his pension money. I closed with a request for any information that those out in the Blog-O-Sphere may have on Dingenis. I received the following responses.

Donald Maxwell wrote a comment on the July 7th Blog which is reproduced below. He verifies the fire which consumed Dingenis and gives the approximately location of Dingenis' small cottage and suggests that Clif Brown might be able to provide additional information.

Pete,

Yes I remember the incident when Dimgimis DeLeeuew was burned to death. My father, Curtis Maxwell, was on the New Gretna Fire Department at the time, and he went to the fire. I remember him telling us when he got home about the firemen discovering Dimgimus in the ashes and the terrible smell associated with it. I was only seven yrs of age then but remember the whole town talking about it, especially in the stores and post office which were the prime meeting places where news was discussed back then. The origin of the fire was'nt but it looked like a cover up crime.

Dimgimis's little shack was located off the Greenbush Road. Where? I don't know, only that was where the fire engine went that day- over the bridge to Greenbush.

Maybe Cliff Brown can shed some light on the exact location as he is a couple of years older than I and lived in Bucktoe near Greenbush at the time.

Don Maxwell

Clif Brown, perhaps inspired by Donald Maxwell's faith in Clif's memory, emailed a photo of the small cottage that was to become the center of the mysterious episode.

Pete,

Went through several shoeboxes to find the attached photo. It should answer your question as to where the cottage was that burned. In the foreground you will see my brother and I sitting on a wagon in our driveway and to the left background is the cottage that is no more. It was located directly oposite the electric pole that supported a street light, back about 20 feet from West Greenbush. Zoom up the photo and all will become clear. I will make some comments regarding on your blog.

Trust this is of some help.

Clif Brown

Dingenis DeLeeuw's small cottage on West Greenbush Road can be seen in the upper left background. Clif Brown (back) and his brother, Wharton, sit in their wagon on the graveled West Greenbush Road near their home. (Photo courtesy of Clif Brown.)

Clif followed up with the following email concerning the above photo and provided some additional memories.

Pete,

Yes I do remember Dingenis DeLeeuw. I have just returned from a visit with my son in Peoria, Il. and went up on the blog and Wow! a important time in my youth came to life.

In the photo I am the boy in the back and my brother, Wharton Charles is the driver. His wife Catherine as you probably know still lives on West Greenbush.

I usually remember events with other happenings at the same time. In April 1934 I was very sick with Scarlet Fever and our home was quarantined. A common practice in those days was to plave a large yellow sign on the front door making people aware. To make it easier for my mother, my bed and hers were moved downstairs. Unfortionately that room had no east facing windows, so we were unaware of the fire until the a fire engine was positioned at the rear of the house and proceeded to wet down the shingle roof as a strong wind was blowing sparks and cinders. The fireman had positioned the new Ward LaFrance fire truck at the fire site and the old Model A at our home.

This is where my memory gets little fuzzy, as I thought it happened during the night but the newspaper indicated in the morning. Nevertheless it did happen.

Mr. DeLeeuw was our neighbor and "Sach" Robbins was also his neighbor who lived in the next home up Greenbush Road. It was the same house that was struck by lightning in the early 1960's and only the foundation surrived. Knowing this neighbors often transported others so taking one to AC would not be considered suspicous .

Having been inside the cottage, it was not a shack as previously described. What was unusal is that the home was not electrified. Candles were used for illumination, a kersone stove for cooking and a fireplace for heating. The newspaper article indicated he was in country for a short time, but he had retired from a railroad company from which he received a pension. It seemed strange that a foreign country would mail him money. It was common in the 30's to place valuables underneath your bed mattress for safekeeping.

Let me tell you, what I was told happened. Mr. DeLeeuw was a heavy drinker which he did often with "Sach" Robbins. When returning home candles were burning, as he was staggering to bed he knock one over and that started the fire. He was then aroused by the fire and carried some personnel belongings outside which were found. He then returned to get his valuables from under the mattress and then became overcome by heat and smoke. He was found not laying in bed but across his bed and clutched in his hands underneath his body was charred money.

New Gretna residents always seem have great imagination and this story was blown out of proportion. If you want a real murder story check with Don regarding what happening in Leektown in the latter '30's. Fellow by name of Hughes was sent to the State Prison and other locals were involved. Again another drunken brawl.

Trust you will find this interesting, any question I'll do my best to answer.

Regards Clif

Well, Clif's account of the DeLeeuw fire sure took the mystery out of the situation and his reporting that charred money was found in Dingenis' hands dispels the rumored motive of robbery and Sach's possible involvement in the fire. In addition, Clif whetted my curiosity regarding the murder in Leektown. Can anyone out in the Blog-O-Sphere shed any light on that incident?

Pete S