Remembrances - Fur Thieves in Acton

In the early decades of the 1900s, Virgil Russell's blacksmith shop on Exchange Street -- now the site of Cookie's Body Shop -- was a favorite gathering place for farmers and Acton residents. Story-telling was always a popular pastime. Virgil was a good listener and had a few stories of his own. This story was related to me by Don Hotze, long-time resident of Acton.

In his Acton blacksmith shop, Virgil Russell bought furs from local trappers and resold them when he had accumulated enough to make it worth while.

Virgil got a tip one time that there were fur thieves planning to steal his furs. On a certain night he enlisted the help of three townsmen and they waited for he thieves on the given night. Two were waiting outside in the dark, and Virgil and the other man inside the darkened shop.

Sure enough, in the wee hours, a couple of bandits were observed approaching the building. One of the men stationed outside was the first to encounter the bandits. He placed his gun against one man and announced "How do you want to die -- standing or lying down?" As you can imagine, that ended the "caper."

The bandits agreed to inform Virgil of any future planned raids by others in return for letting them go that night. No further attempts were ever made to steal Virgil's furs.

-- Dave Steamer