Remembering James Wieden - Preston's Slain Agricultural Teacher

Another story that has been whispered around Amador County for many years is that of the death of 45 year old Vocational Agriculture Teacher at the Preston School of Industry, James Wieden, after a brutal attack that took place on December 2, 1965.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to interview a former staff member of Preston by the name of Bruce Warner. Originally hired in 1952 as a cook, Warner later worked his way around the school and at the time of Mr. Weiden's passing, he was working in the security unit.

"I was one of the last people to see him alive," stated Bruce Warner, former staff member. 

According to Warner, he was responsible for delivering the wards to and from the farm. That day there was a group of wards working with Mr. Wieden. When the time came to collect the boys for the evening, Mr. Wieden told him that he was going to keep William Dunlap and Robert Stalcup to work a little later, as they were going to help him on a personal project working on his small trailer. 

"The rest of the boys were returned and the staff were told about the two boys staying to work later with Jim, but the staff forgot until they did count at 9 p.m. and realized they were short two boys." 

Mr. Wieden was welding at the time of his assault, and didn't see the boys coming so-to-speak because he had his welding hood over his eyes and was working on the trailer. Dunlap had picked up a heavy steam pipe (which was thicker and heavier than regular pipe) and began to bludgeon Mr. Wieden with it, then they stole his car keys and his wallet and made their escape. 

Mr. Wieden struggled to get on his feet and actually managed to walk from the Blacksmith shop to the front of the farm headquarters (approximately 200 feet) where he then collapsed. Mr. Wieden was found that evening and immediately rushed to the hospital in Stockton. Bruce Warner mentioned that he remembered later seeing a lot of blood all over the ground.  

Newspaper Photo

The boys had stolen Mr. Wieden's car and were gone with the wind. Sadly, Mr. Wieden just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time it seems. It turns out that the two inmates, William Dunlap and Robert Stalcup, planned on making an escape by volunteering to stay after their regular vocational class and help the teacher weld the trailer hitch. They planned on taking advantage of being the only ones out there at the time besides Mr. Wieden.

James Wieden didn't actually die on the grounds of Preston. Although he was badly hurt, he was taken to the hospital where he later died of his injuries on December 5th.

After they were apprehended, Dunlap admitted to bludgeoning Wieden over the head with the metal pipe the size of a baseball bat, near the blacksmith shop. Apparently, before attempting to flee, they had decided that Wieden was in their way, so they chose to kill him. Both inmates were eventually caught in Southern California and later pled guilty to charges of second degree murder.

The newspaper headlines said "5 Years To Life" when the two were sentenced, but as you get to the end of the article the authorities stated for the paper that due to the pair being under 18 at the time of the murder, they would probably be walking free within a decade.

What is interesting is the fact there are etchings on a cell door at the old Amador County Courthouse Jail that says that "Bob Stalcup killed Wieden," and then just below it says "PSI." It makes you wonder who etched that? Was it William? They were both held in the jail awaiting their trials. I am pretty sure we will never have an answer for that one, but it makes you wonder.

 Courtesy of Jaime Macklin (Restore Amador)

Going back to the story, when reflecting on his memories of James Wieden, Bruce Warner stated: 

"He was the kindest person that worked there, he was the nicest one of all of us! He even took one or two boys home for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner each year, and his wife would make a big dinner for them and bake the boys cookies, too."  

As we discussed his memories of James Wieden, it was apparent that Bruce Warner thought very highly of him and he was still very sad and disgusted that such a heinous crime was committed against such a kind hearted and good person who only wanted to help the boys at Preston.

James Wieden, Agricultural Teacher at the Preston School of Industry in Ione, California passed away from his injuries on December 5, 1965 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California.

He was survived by his wife Edmee Wieden. Funeral Services were held at the Lodi Funeral Home, Elders S.S. Rutan and Ivan Kurtz presided over the services and burial took place at Cherokee Memorial Park in Lodi. 

The high school at the Preston School of Industry was named after James Wieden in honor of the memory of their fallen instructor.

May we never forget this loving, kind teacher. Rest In Peace, Mr. Wieden, you will never be forgotten.

(Copyright 2024 - J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

Special thanks to Bruce Warner (former Preston School of Industry employee of over 40 years)

The Sad Tale of Walter Engell

I haven't posted anything on this blog in quite some time, but that is going to change soon. Today, I am going to share with you the story of Walter Engell. Now, this story isn't going to be a very long story but it is still a story worth sharing with you. First and foremost, I want to give a big thanks to Megan at the Ione Public Cemetery in Ione for her help with this one. 

According to Megan, they had a record at the cemetery of Walter Engell's death, but that he wasn't actually buried there. He was listed as a ward at the Preston School of Industry who sadly passed away at the school due to pneumonia. Megan reached out to me regarding this story and I went searching for that name in my records. Sure enough, I had a record of an Engell in my ward's list, but it was the wrong Engall.

So I started researching and uncovered Walter's story, a story that hasn't been told in one hundred years!

Walter was born in 1903 to Raymond G. Engell and Gussie Adams.  Walter's father was a German immigrant while his mother was born in New York to German immigrants. In 1910, the family was living at 324 W. Sepulveda Street in San Pedro, California. Walter's father was bar tender, which doesn't surprise me given the incident that led up to Walter ending up in Preston, but we will get to that shortly.

The family lived at the home with 7 year old Walter, his parents and his two siblings, Raymond Jr., and Gladys.  By 1920, the census shows the family residing at 1159 W 52nd Street, and by this time Raymond is going by his middle name Gerhard and is listed as a proprietor of a restaurant. The family has grown since then, as they now have a younger daughter, Alice, who is 8 years old at this point. Walter is listed as 16. 

By April 14, 1921, in the middle of prohibition the Los Angeles Herald publishes an account of a "Purity Brigade" arresting 10 people in a "kicky cider search." Among those arrested were Walter, only 17 by now, and his father, Gerhard Engell. 

Sadly, this is the event that would send underage Walter up to the Preston School of Industry, where he would eventually get sick and develop pneumonia which would end his life. The fact that his father had a role in what led to not only his son being arrested and going into the "system," but also his own death is something inconceivable to a normal parent. 

His body was removed from Preston, to C.W. Swain  coroner and undertaker in Ione, who made arrangements to send Walter's remains to San Pedro, where they would end up at the receiving vault at the Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles. His body sat in the receiving vault until he was cremated on July 7, 1924. It appears he remained in permanent storage in their "vault" until January 31, 1952 when his funeral card states "IWR" which I can only think meant "interred with relatives." 

Sadly, because he was cremated and he was later removed from the cemetery, there are no further records showing where he is located, and I haven't been able to locate where his parents are buried as of yet either. So for now, Walter Engell's final whereabouts remain a mystery.

I can only wonder what happened to Walter at Preston to cause his untimely death? Did he just catch a cold that developed into pneumonia, or was he exposed to such bad conditions at Preston that caused his illness to get worse to the point he died? I only think about this based on the fact that during the 1920s, the school was developing the reputation "The Preston School of Scandal," and Leon Adams wrote an expose' on the school and how the boys were living in pretty bad conditions at the time. Could Walter's life have been saved had he been allowed proper medical care, and better living conditions? Or was it simply just natural causes that couldn't have been changed either way? We will never know for sure.

To read more about Leon Adams' investigation into the school, please pick up a copy of "Behind The Walls" today!

J'aime Rubio - Copyright 2024 - www.jaimerubiowriter.com