Timeline From The Past: Atwood Bank Robbery
From the Files of the Kosciusko County Historical Society
Editor’s note: This is a retrospective article that runs a few times a month on InkFreeNews.
Dec. 1, 1980 — After three years of waiting, the Grace College basketball team won its seventh Turkey Classic championship Saturday night, defeating Anderson College 83-80. Not since 1977, when they defeated Bethel College in the finals, had the Lancers captured the Turkey Tourney title.
Last year Grace was runner-up to Biola College.
Grace, avenging a 102-89 loss to Anderson on Nov. 21, placed four players in double figures in the finale, led by guards Kevin Willour, the tourney’s most valuable player, and Kent Denlinger with 18 points each. Freshman John Boal added 14 and senior Kimpy Sanders, who earned all-tourney team selection, tallied 10.
Dec. 1, 1969 — The second-year Wawasee High School will initiate a sport new to the area scene when it opens the swimming season at New Prairie Wednesday.
Wawasee is one of the few Northern Lake Conference schools that will produce a swim team, Concord being the only conference school the Warriors will meet. Coach Doug Quine is hopeful that the sport will become a standard part of the NLC athletic calendar in the near future.
Nov. 27, 1968 — Federal, state and local law enforcement officers are combing northern Indiana and adjoining states for two thugs who held a young Atwood bank official and his family hostage late Tuesday while robbing the Atwood branch of the Etna Bank of approximately $4,500.
Larry Hoffer and his family were accosted at their home on Hoffman Lake about 8:45 p.m. All six members of the family were bound and gagged by the two armed robbers who appeared at the home as Hoffer and his two sons arrived there after attending a Boy Scout meeting.
Hoffer was forced to drive his auto to the bank, accompanied by the two thieves and his eldest son, Brett, age 9.
While Hoffer and the one bandit went into the bank, the other stayed in the car with the son, holding him at gunpoint.
After the money was taken from tellers’ drawers and a walk-in combination safe, the four drove back to the Hoffer home, where Hoffer and Brett were tied up with a sweeper cord while the burglars left the scene.
– Compiled by InkFreeNews reporter Lasca Randels