Dillinger relatives to speak at event

Friday, September 11, 2009

GREENCASTLE -- Family members of the infamous bank robber John Dillinger will be at Pioneer Days Friday and Saturday on the square.

Mike Thompson, a nephew of Dillinger, will be at the Red Leaf Building Saturday giving two lectures -- at noon and 3 p.m. Following his lectures, there will be a question-and-answer session about Dillinger.

Author Carol Sissom, who wrote "Banking with Dillinger," will be at the Red Leaf Building from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days to sign copies of her book. She will also have Dillinger T-shirts available for purchase.

Together, Sissom and Thompson will discuss the upcoming documentary about Dillinger, which will include a reenactment of the Greencastle robbery.

In addition, Dillinger's great-nephew Jeff Scaff will be giving a speech in the Red Leaf Building at 2 p.m. Friday. He will talk to students in the GRASP program about the John Dillinger Troubled Youth Program, which helps deter troubled youth from entering a life of crime.

This speech is open to the public as well.

Scaff is also bringing the original teller cage from the Greencastle bank Dillinger robbed during his Midwest crime spree.

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  • why is this and the wedding going on during work and school? Saturday would have been a great day for more people and kids to see this.

    -- Posted by mad-mom on Fri, Sep 11, 2009, at 7:00 AM
  • Wikipedia describes Dillinger as "a dangerous criminal who was involved in the deaths of several police officers, robbed at least two dozen banks and four police stations, escaped from jail twice.."

    Why is Carol Sissom going to be selling Dillinger T-shirts, like he was some kind of rock star? A robbery re-enactment? No wonder people like the kids in Comumbine wanted to go down in a blaze of glory - I hope we don't celebrate them as well.

    -- Posted by confusedami on Fri, Sep 11, 2009, at 6:30 PM
  • this was a neat event to watch

    -- Posted by familygirl on Fri, Sep 11, 2009, at 8:55 PM
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