Over a century ago, the Huntington Beach News and Santa Ana Register regularly reported horse thievery in the peatlands, a continual problem in rural Orange County. On April 21, 1911, the culprits were a particularly rough lot, making it a tough case to prosecute. They were children.
Fay Miranville and Ray Talbert--both girls--spotted an opportunity on the dusty Main Street of Huntington Beach: a horse and buggy, with the owner away. Accomplice in the caper was Eugene Perry, a young man sufficiently overtaken by the charms of Fay and Ray that he joined the misdeed. They were all under the age of ten.
Mrs. Lloyd Kelley had tied up her horse and buggy on Main Street and stepped into the Huntington Beach Meat Market to do some shopping for the evening meal. She may have just gotten her 1911 copy of The Kitchen Encylopedia from Swift & Company Oleomargarine and wanted to try the Spanish Minced Beef in Meat Box recipe (hopefully, not the Boiled Beef recipe).
Mrs. Kelley did not lock her vehicle or set her alarm. Big mistake, Mrs. Kelley. To her credit though, no one else on Main Street would have suspected the grade-schoolers.
Fay and Ray, and Eugene, jumped in the buggy and high-tailed it inland through the countryside to Talbert (now, Fountain Valley). With no paved roads, one can only imagine the bumpy ride and the trail of dust as they made their escape.
It was roughly a five to six mile trek as the crow flies from Main Street in Huntington Beach to the village center of Talbert.
As they reached the outskirts of Talbert, they came across rancher J. B. McCowan and sized him up as an easy mark. Fay and Ray, and Eugene, hit him up for 50 cents "to go to the show". McCowan either thought the whole thing was normal or he was intimidated by the threatening nature of three nine-year-olds. He gave them the money.
Flush with coins, and despite the fact it was near dusk, the trio continued on toward the bustling metropolis of Santa Ana. In 1911, it was the seat of Orange County government with a population of over 8,000. Santa Ana had saloons, vaudeville, and other questionable entertainment.
Santa Ana vaudeville house, The Bell, admitted children under the age of ten for a ticket price of five-cents each, leaving them with a balance of 35-cents. Fay and Ray, and Eugene, planned ahead when strong-arming J.B. McCowan for 50 cents. They had extra change left over for a second show and a few treats.
On April 8, 1911, the silent animated short film, Little Nemo, was released. The bandits being of youthful tendencies, we'd bet our 50 cents they wanted to see the new cartoon.
Downtown Santa Ana was another seven to eight miles journey on dirt roads from Talbert. Most of the way was open countryside: ranches, farms, and irrigation ditches. There wasn't an abundance of signage in the peatlands. They had never actually driven to Santa Ana on their own before. They were lost. It was getting late in the day.
It was then that Fay and Ray, and Eugene, came upon another rancher, Mr. Williams, and asked for directions. Mr. Williams--being of sensible nature--told them he'd give them good directions if they came to his ranch house. He probably used the ol' "how 'bout we get your horse some water and I'll get you directions" line. It's possible the trio was beginning to have second thoughts about their plan for the day. It also might have been the bandits thought they could talk Mr. Williams into giving them another coin or two. After all, it worked on J.B. McCowan.
LEFT: Thomas B. Talbert ran a general merchandise store in the village of Talbert, before moving to Huntington Beach to open a realty business. He was appointed to the Orange County board of supervisors in 1909, the year Huntington Beach incorporated (and two years before he was called upon to apprehend three nine-year-old horse thieves). (Photo, Santa Ana Register, September 25, 1928)Once at the ranch, Mr. Williams dialed telephone number 341 to talk with Thomas B. Talbert--an Orange County supervisor, Huntington Beach realtor, and the man for whom the village of Talbert was named--to let Tom know he had detained three children (one with the last name of Talbert), horse, and buggy.
Talbert had a new-fangled automobile and sped over country roads to the Williams ranch to return the horse thieves to their "anxious parents" in Huntington Beach.
The Santa Ana Register reported it was after 8 p.m. by the time the hardened--or more likely sleepy and hungry--criminals returned home.
There are some holes in the story of the April heist. For instance, what happened to Mrs. Lloyd Kelley? However did she make it home without a horse and buggy? And, what did she make for dinner (again, hopefully not the Boiled Beef)?
Were Fay and Ray, and Eugene, charged with a speeding violation? They had to have accelerated a tad over the speed limit as they made their way out of the Huntington Beach Township.
Speeding was no joke in 1911, as horses, automobiles, and pedestrians were still adjusting to the clash of old and new transportation. A spooked horse was dangerous. Ordinance 70, passed by the Huntington Beach board of trustees in January 1911, made it unlawful to "ride or drive any horse or other animal...bicycle, tricycle, velocipede, motorcycle or automobile or other riding machine or horseless vehicle or any road vehicle whatsoever at a rate of speed greater than ten (10) miles per hour" on City streets and alleyways.
Violations of the speed limit set by Ordinance 70 were punishable by a fine of $100 and/or possible imprisonment not to exceed thirty days. Were Fay and Ray, and Eugene, thrown into the brick hoosegow between Main and Fifth streets? Perhaps their imprisonment was waived for bed with no supper and restitution of the fifty cents.
There is no report of charges against J.B. McCowan, who aided and abetted--and indeed financed--Fay and Ray, and Eugene, on their slow-speed chase through the peatlands toward vaudeville heaven. It probably took a while before he lived that one down.
And, finally, did Fay and Ray, and Eugene, ever get to "the show" to see Little Nemo?
BELOW: Main Street at Walnut Avenue, circa 1910s. Unpaved, the streets were oiled to keep down the dust. The young ladies in this photograph are unidentified. We'll let the readers decide if that is Fay and Ray, on their way to find Eugene. (Photo, City of Huntington Beach archives)
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