Lethbridge's Potato Tragedy

This is the story of how a potato got a man arrested in Lethbridge in 1914.

A Potato Tragedy

Arthur Doe and Charlie Van Marion of the Lethbridge Hotel staff were out in the yard the other day in connection with their work and got into trouble. There was a potato lying on the ground,and picking it up Doe threw it with the intention of making the garbage can but instead he threw it crashing through a window of the city offices. When he was what he had done, Doe skipped into the house and left Van to be caught by a policeman who happened to be in the offices at the time in connection with his pay cheque. He saw Van and without investigation had him charged with breaking the window by throwing a 'dangerous missile.' The case came up in court this morning and the police said that Van Marion threw the potato. Asked by the court if he had any explanation of his conduct, Van Marion said he had. He wasn't guilty. 'The man who threw the potato is standing over there,' said Van, pointing at Doe. This rather confused the policeman, and on Does admitting that he was the candidate for the pitcher's mound next summer, the information was changed, the word "dangerous” struck out, and Doe fined with costs, $5.25 in all. He now wants to know how much it would cost to throw a cabbage through the window.

Maybe I found the story funny because I've been spending a bit of time lately with potatoes -- well, Mr. Potato Head, to be exact. If you haven't had a chance yet to see the 1952 Mr. Potato Head in our feature Toys and Games Exhibit, you should. It's not often that you get to see a Mr. Potato Head smoking a pipe, or with legs, or learn how to make a potato head out of a pepper...