Harmon’s Histories: Barney’s was a deluxe downtown store … and robbery target
By Jim Harmon
TGTEIO! Translation: Thank Goodness The Election Is Over!
Now we can spend our days enjoying routine TV programs and YouTube videos without being harassed by constant political hype.
Ah, yes – I may now return to viewing such interesting topics as “Thirty amazing kitchen gadgets everyone is buying,” and “The world’s most powerful chainsaw.” On second thought, I think I’ll skip the latter video. It looks rather terrifying.
Note to self: This is the point at which I need to slap myself in the face and shout, “Come to your senses, man – you must write your weekly column. The world is depending on you!”
Great pep talk. Thank you very much, me!
OK, how about a look back at Barney’s clothing store?
If you’ve been in Missoula for a very long time, you’ll may remember the store on North Higgins, next to Woolworth’s, before it went out of business in the 1950s.
Back in 1912, the Barnhill brothers, Garnett and Hyatt, bought Joe Fitzgerald’s menswear store, closed briefly for remodeling, then opened “Barney’s” for business at 222 North Higgins on August 1 with “new stock.”
They featured A.B. Kirschbaum suits at 50% off, to entice customers into the shop. These were “high grade, all wool, hand tailored suits,” for as little as $14.75!
The Barnhill brothers faced more than a few challenges over the years, and that’s actually what caught my eye as I surfed old newspapers, including the Missoula Sentinel.
In one case, a con artist named E.D. Pickle cashed a forged check at the Missoula store. Before high-tailing it out of town on an eastbound train, the flim-flam man executed Part 2 of his brilliant scheme.
He took time to open an account at a Missoula bank and deposit the money, so he wouldn’t be caught with the cash on his person. But Hyatt Barnhill outsmarted him. He learned of the transaction and “attached the $50 Pickle deposited in bank.”
A quick aside for some background: In 1923, the brothers dissolved their partnership. Garnett Barnhill became the sole owner of of the women’s line of clothing, and Hyatt assumed ownership of the men’s clothing and the Barney’s store in Missoula.
Now, back to our story … as the biggest headline concerning Barney’s fashion shop was yet to come.
About 3:30 a.m. on the morning of June 17, 1928, burglars broke into the Missoula store. Unknown to them, the cops were already wise to the plan. As the miscreants were in the process of “carrying away $1,244 worth of merchandise,” they were confronted by lawmen.
It seems earlier that evening, city police arrested a man prowling in the alley behind the store. The suspect “gave his name as Frank Walker,” but told them nothing else.
The cops figured something was up, so they returned to the scene, positioning officers to watch the alley behind Barney’s and the storefront on Cedar Street (now Broadway).
Suddenly there was a loud crash. Officer A.D. Ross looked up from his position in the alley in time to see two men (later identified as Jack Morrison and Thomas Mitchell) “leaping to the Borg Jewelry company’s sign from the roof. The sign broke from their weight.”
According to reports in the Sentinel, “Morrison fell on his side (lying) quiet for a moment, apparently slightly stunned by his fall.” Mitchell landed on his feet and began running.
“Officer Ross commanded the man to stop, and when Mitchell failed to comply, fired several shots after him. Officer M. W. Kohn, who’d been watching the front of the store, ran to the alley and joined Ross, firing at the suspect.”
“Suddenly, the officers said, Mitchell fell to the pavement in the middle of a stride, his leg pierced by a bullet from one of the officers’ guns.”
At that point Morrison, who’d been lying on the ground, “got to his feet and began to run across the street. Officer Ross turned his weapon on the man and sent several shots crashing into the pavement at his feet. The man stopped and surrendered.”
“After booking the men at the police station and taking Mitchell to the hospital for treatment, the officers returned to the store,” where they found “five suitcases filled with merchandise” on the roof.
They theorized Morrison and Mitchell committed the burglary while Walker “remained at the rear of the store to keep lookout and receive the suitcases as they were passed down” from the roof.
Jack Morrison and Thomas Mitchell eventually admitted their guilt and were sentenced to four to eight years in state prison. Walker claimed “he was not in any way connected with the burglary” - something Morrison and Mitchell also asserted when they pleaded guilty.
The jury was split, unable to reach a verdict concerning Walker, so he remained in jail awaiting a new trial.
Finally, on December 22, 1928, the county attorney asked the district court to dismiss the case, admitting it didn’t have sufficient evidence. The Barnhill brothers also asked for Walker’s release.
Walker, by then, was hospitalized, suffering from tuberculosis. I am left to assume he died soon after that, but I can find no news story, death notice, or obituary to confirm that.
But, lest you begin feeling sorry for the fellow, let me share this tidbit: Walker had a c riminal record. He had just finished serving a six month sentence in Spokane for larceny, and had earlier been a fugitive from justice.
Clipping - Barneys - Quitting The Missoulian May 25, 1955
Finally, Barney’s (according to its newspaper advertisement in 1955) declared it was “going out of business (after) more than 40 years of continuous operation (due to) the loss of our lease” with no other reasonable location available.
Gaylord Barnhill was able to continue in the retail market, accepting a department head position at the Missoula Merc.
Now, if you’ll pardon me, I am returning to the Internet to find out more about those “thirty amazing kitchen gadgets everyone is buying.”
Jim Harmon is a longtime Missoula news broadcaster, now retired, who writes a weekly history column for Missoula Current. You can contact Jim at fuzzyfossil187@gmail.com. His best-selling book, “The Sneakin’est Man That Ever Was,” a collection of 46 vignettes of Western Montana history, is available at harmonshistories.com.