The following appeared in the Rock County Herald on May 12, 1922:
BURGLARS RANSACK BANK; BUT DON’T PROFIT GREATLY
Pry Into Drawers, Desks and Safety Boxes; Cut Through Vault Wall — Safe Unmolested
Gaining entrance in the building by breaking out a glass in the front door, the Farmers State bank, at Kanaranzi, was burglarized Friday night. Everything except the safe, was pretty thoroughly ransacked, but the burglars only secured $382.00 in the form of cash and war savings stamps.
Of the swag secured, $300.00 was in war savings stamps, removed from private boxes, and $82.00 was in small change, pennies, nickels and dimes.
The robbery was discovered Saturday morning when Cashier Joy Baker opened the institution, his attention being first attracted to the broken door glass and then to the letters and other matter that had been taken out of desks and strewn upon the floor.
It was found that after ransacking the desks and drawers the yeggmen had chiseled their way through the two-foot brick wall into the vault from the private room of the bank, the hole being cut large enough to enable a man to crawl through.
Not finding anything of much value in this vault proper, the robbers forced open the private safety deposit boxes, and thus obtained a few liberty bonds and a small amount of property of not a great deal of value.
The greatest loss was due to the damage done to the fixtures and equipment in prying desks, drawers and safety deposit boxes open, but the entire loss sustained by the bank will not exceed $400, which is fully covered by insurance.
Before forcing an entrance to the bank, the burglars had apparently gone to the Rock Island railway’s section house, and secured pinch bars, a maul and other tools with which to work.
The fact that the bank building is situated somewhat apart from other buildings, is thought to have materially aided the robbers in working without their presence in the building becoming known.
In some of the safety boxes the yeggs found registered liberty bonds, and they displayed a keen sense of discrimination by leaving these on the floor of the vault.
Donations to the Rock County Historical Society Endowment Fund can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, P.O. Box 741, Luverne, MN 56156.
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