Oh, Orville, An Opossum?? Really??

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

From the November 9, 1945 issue of the Norwalk Hour, Norwalk, Connecticut:

"Kansas City - - Patrolman Orville Lashbrook brought in a tough customer after a still fight. The boys around the police station say the tough customer brought in Patrolman Lashbrook. At any rate, the culprit is jailed and Lashbrook can vouch for the fact that the prisoner resisted the strong arm of the law.
  
The culprit was an apple stealing opossum with sharp teeth. Lashbrook captured him and then didn't dare let go. He was forced to dan??e (dangle?) the animal from the patrol car window while his partner drove eight blocks to the station."  


I think I would be dangling this
critter out the window too!


Orville James Lashbrook, Jr. was born July 26, 1899 in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, died July 19, 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri.  He married Hazel Marie Altis in 1921 most likely in Johnson County, Kansas.  They are both buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri.

This was not the only time Orville made the newspaper reports in the line of duty:

From the September 10, 1945 issue of the Independent Record, Helena, Lewis & Clark County, Montana:

"Curious Policeman
Finds Fortune
In Stolen Bonds

Kansas City, Sept 10 --(AP)--Orville Lashbrook, a Kansas City policeman, grew curious yesterday when he stumbled across a paste-board letter file lying in a vacant lot.

So he opened it. And inside were $39,750 worth of E war bonds, which had been stolen a week ago from the E.E. Carpenter home in Kansas City.

But the 400-pound safe in which the bonds were kept still is missing."



* Photo of opossum courtesy of Cody Pope, Wikipedia, granted under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.

**Policeman clip art from http://www.horton-szar.net/clipart/

*** Stack of bills courtesy of clker.com

**** Safe graphic courtesy of Daily Clip Art