Throwback Thursday

Dillinger Bank Robbery in Fostoria – On May 3, 1934, the First National Bank in Fostoria, Ohio was robbed of $17,299 by two armed men carrying machine guns. It was suspected that this robbery was done by Dillinger's gang, but there is some question as to whether John Dillinger was one of the two robbers. In the process of the robbery, two bank employees were taken hostage and were required to stand onto the running boards of the get-away car until they eluded the police and were several miles out of town. Today's photo came from the front page of Tiffin, Ohio's May 4, 1934, Advertiser-Tribune newspaper (and that photo was from the Fostoria Times newspaper). It's a view of the front of the Fostoria bank showing many onlookers after the robbery, and the newspaper mentioned that thousands of Tiffin people drove to Fostoria to see this. The woman's photo in the inset is Miss Ruth Harris, a bank bookkeeper who was one of the hostages. This event happened during a time in history when the country was experiencing a major rash of bank robberies and John Dillinger was being hunted in every city in the country. What makes this so incredible, is that it happened here in Seneca County. The Fostoria Area Historical Society has produced a film titled "Dillinger" that tells the story of this event. It'll be shown at the Ritz Theater in Tiffin at 7 p.m. Friday (Aug. 2) at 7 pm, and tickets are $5 each, 30 S. Washington St., Tiffin.