EIGHT MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Thursday, May 24, 1956
Auditors Found Cash Everywhere
In Checking 'Miss MY Cubicle
Editor's note: Thl It the second tn
a thrrc-part series on Miss Mini'
Mantum, acru&ed of stealing more
than 92.000,00ft from her employer.
By H. D. QUIG
Norfolk, Va. OJ.Ry At 5:50
p.m. last Dec. 16 a platoon of 24
federal auditors swooped down
on the Commonwealth Building
and Loan Association. And on
iU respected and popular em
ployee of 26 years, Miss Minnie
C. Mangum.
They went to the cubicle
where she worked as boss of the
savings department and assistant
secretary treasurer of the asso
ciation. Before they finished their
checkup, they found shortages
of $2,884,957.06.
"Everything we would pick
up, money would fall out cash,
coins, checks," says William A.
Patton, federal home loan bank
examiner.
"She opened one drawer and
there was a bundle of currency
with a rubber band around it.
She said there was about $4,000
there."
Just six days after the audi
tors swooped, the plump spinster
sat with John M. Sink, president
of the Fourth District Federal
Home Loan Bank, and signed a
question-and-answer statement
which starts:
Mr. Sinks: "Miss Mangum,
there is an apparent shortage in
this association. Do you hold
yourself responsible for this
shortage?
Miss Mangum: "Yes."
Mr. Sink: "Could you give us
an approximate estimate of this
shortage?"
Miss Mangum: "Two million
dollars, I think."
Mr. Sink: "When did you be
gin to use the association's mon
ey?"
Miss Mangum: "About 20
years ago."
She had. she said, given or
lent the association's , money to
friends and all her relatives ex
cept one sister. These people, she
said, knew nothing of her de
falcations. One part of her statement,
concerning a loan to a cousin,
goes:
Miss Mangum: "I lent her $5,
000 but she paid it back." .
Mr. Sink: "When the $5,000
was repaid, did this money go to
the credit of the association?"
Miss Mangum: "Yes sir. No, I
mean it went to my account."
How did Miss Minnie do it?
What was her technique?
For one thing, she was in
complete charge of the banking.
She hired girls fresh out of busi
ness school so she could "break
them in to my system." But she
made a mistake last fall in hiring
Mrs. Esther Cannon as a book
keeper. Mrs. Cannon, with some ex
perience before, questioned some
figures. Miss Minnie got mad.
There was a shouting argument.
A state auditor, present for a
routine check, heard it, got sus
picious and reported to his su
periors. Basically, the state said, Miss
Minnie had three systems:
1. Simply stealing cash from
the funds that came in. At the
end of the day, tellers would
take the tapes off their cash reg
isters, count their cash and be
checked out by Miss Minnie.
From there on she had sole con
trol of the cash and of the rec
ords.
2. A friend wants $2,000. Miss
Mangum walked with him to a
teller and said: "Open an ac
count for Mr. so-and-so and- put
82,000 to his credit You make
a memo of it." The friend then
was credited with a deposit, of
$2,000 although he actually had
deposited nothing. He could
draw on it when he wished.
3. Make loans against savings
deposits to friends and relatives
who had nothing in the associa
tion. Miss Minnie had something
else. Roy F. Phillips, president
of the now defunct association,
says:
"She couldn't possibly have
done what she's charged with
doing if she hadn't the perfect
confidence of everyone. The
auditors had the same confi
dence in her that we did."
Tomorrow: Why she did it.
Helicopter Sets
Altitude Record
Line Pine, Calif (U.R) A
helicopter pilot today was sched
uled to again attempt a landing
atop 14,495-foot Mt. Whitney
after establishing two firsts for
helicopters.
Bill Davidson, a flyer from
Bakersfield, Calif., Tuesday flew
an estimated altitude of 15,000
feet. He was the first helicopter
pilot to cross the peak, highest
in continental United States.
Davidson said he was unable
to set down on the summit be
cause of fan belt trouble. He
said he made a forced landing at
12,200 feet, bettering an Air
Force record of 9,300 feet.
The previous record for a suc
cessful landing and takeoff in
mountain country was set when
the Air Force rescued a stricken
hiker from a meadow in Cali
fornia's Sequoia National Park.
another "business man
switched to
APPLEGATE-JACKSON VI LLE
Sterling Creek Cabin Burns
By HELGA MITCHELL
Applegate-Jacksonville A
three room cabin belonging to
Walter L. Clary of Sterling
Creek burned to the ground last
Thursday night. Causa of the
fire was not determined. Clary
had been visiting with a neigh
bor, Roy Hetrick, and when he
came home, he found his house
completely destroyed by fire.
Clary's home was not insured,
and he lost everything but the
clothes he was wearing. He has
been staying with different
neighbors for awhile, and is now
employed by the State Forestry
at Table Rock rd.
The Hunter and Best Sawmill
at Ruch is about to embark on a
night shift, and they have been
hiring men to form the new
crew. A few more experienced
men are needed to complete the
crew, before the night shift will
commence.
Guests staying at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. John Byrne of
Upper Applegate are Byrne's
sister, Mrs. Stella O'Brien of
Richmond, Calif., and with her
is Harold Watson, and Watson's
sister, Mrs. Gertrude .Helm of
San Jose. As the visitors were en
route to this area, they had a
tire blow out at Yreka and their
car was wrecked. Fortunately,
none of the car occupants were
hurt. A relative, Clarence Wil
liams of Medford, picked them
up in his car at Yreka and
brought them to the Byrne
home.
Sunday visitors at the Mansel
Milam residence were Mr. and
Mrs. Clyde Poten of Klamath
Falls.
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Webb of
Lakeside, Ore., visited her par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Smith
this week.
Services at the Ruch Commun
ity church will include Sunday
school, 10 a.m.; worship serv
ices, 11 a.m.; Bible study, 8 p.m.
Mrs. Lee Port is improving
continually.
Sunday visitors at the home
of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Straube of
Upper Applegate were Mr. and
Mrs. Albert Nelson of Klamath
Falls.
The song. "It's So Peaceful in
the Country," is certainly true
and applicable to the visiting
city slicker, but not to the hard
working farmers and their wives
who rarely have time to take in
the peace and quiet of the coun
try. The idyllic dream of the
farmer and his wife sitting
peacefully rocking on their front
porch, watching the rest of the
busy world go by, certainly is a
fallacy. Having been raised in
New York City, we always
linked this scene with thoughts
of the country, but after having
visited farms and studying rural 1
life in general, we are begin-1
ning to wonder if such a pastoral
scene ever did exist.
Mrs. Molly Foster of Forest
Creek recently returned to the
Mitchell Sanitarium.
Luncheon guests at the home
of Mrs. Mansel Milam of Sterl
ing Creek last week were Mrs.
Al Blumreich and Mrs. James
Stephens.
Found: Another correspondent
who wrote for the Indianapolis
Gazette. Several years ago, Mrs. ;
Marcel LePiniec wrote the j
"Hqrse and Hound" column, j
which pertained to fox hunting, j
Mr. and Mrs. Bert Harr do- j
nated a pedal organ to the Amer- j
ican Union Sunday school re
cently, which was greatly ap
preciated by the members of ;
the school. I
I In a recent conversation, Mrs.
Ted Bundle of "Top o the Hill,"
told of a phone call she received
when she first had her phone
put in. The voice on the other
end of the line said, "This is the
phone company, and we are
calling you to inform you that
your telephone lines are going to
be blown out, and would you
please cover your furniture to
prevent the dust from falling on
it?" Mrs. Rundle retorted with
a horror stricken, "What?" The
laughter of her friend, Mrs.
Maude Porter of Jacksonville,
revealed the hoax.
Rural Reflections: "I've heard
of 'bats in the belfry' but not of
birds in the bedroom," Mrs. Bill
D e S h a z o declared recently.
Three hundred birds came in
droves and invaded the DeShazo
home via their fireplace chim
ney, and were chirping and fly
ing all over their house. Mrs.
DeShazo said there were birds
in her bathtub, on the walls,
windows, under the lining of
her drapes, under the bed, in the
bed springs, and everywhere.
She was kept busy a whole eve
ning dodging and catching the
swooping birds with her hus
band and putting them outdoors.
They were not able to catch all
the invaders, and at night they
were kept awake by the flutter
ing and banging on the ceiling
of the trapped birds. Mrs. De
Shazo said that some one said
that type of bird is called a
"chimney Sweep," but said she
wasn't sure if that was correct.
She also stated that she never
heard of such a large number
of birds entering a home, and
wondered if anyone else ever
had such an experience. Mrs.
DeShazo described the birds as
having a black top, dark gray
underneath, . with a wide wing
spread of about six' inches, a flat
head, and a yellow beak.
If sweet soft drinks leave you thirsty. . .
SWITCH TO
A
AN T
ALIZED FOR COMPLETE REFRESHMENT
Switch to the new Squirt.
First, because Squirt means
pure, fresh fruit. Second,
because the wholesome juice is
then TANGzWzzA to give cool,
tangy, deep-down refreshment.
Buy Squirt today! Enjoy its
finer quality... its fresh,
clean taste that gives you
complete refreshment.
(Jeveran
afer-tlitet
THE NEW TANGAUZED SQUIRT IS A SPARKLING MIXER, TOO I
COCA-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY of MEDFORD
Feldman & Olson Are Celebrating-
Nr9e'S
of llorge Refrigerators, Freezers, Washers and Ranges
GBCTO
During Our
Anniversary
Sale
S3
We are including
RCA Victor TV's
and
RCA Estate Ranges
s20 to 70 off!
Check Our
SPECIAL
PRICES
Hal Krueger and Al Thompson
RCA Range Radio. .TV
237 E. Main
PHONE 2-2456
W Carry Our Own Contract!
Service From Our Own RCA
Authorized TV Shop
euhe
rV. COMBINATION
"tt&Wli WAS iW5
llorge Freezer
17 cu. ft. Uprigh!
Was $499.95
Now
$34995
15 cu.ff. Chest
Was $419.95
Now
$35995
20 cu. ft. Chest
Was $519.95
Now
NORGE REFRIGERATORS
We are sorry this model was late arriving for our first day. We now
have it on display.
MODEL DI-10-10 Cu. Ft. Deluxe Refrigerator-full width crisper, $1QQ00
55 lb. frozen food locker, Deluxe shelves in doer. Copper trim, NOW IOO
MODEL JS-1 055-10 Cu. Ft. Jet defrosting, 55-lb. freezer. Deluxe $)A95
shelves in door. Regular 299.95 NOW XU"
MODEL CI-12-12 Cu. Ft. 80-lb. Freezer Chest-Automatic defrost- $00095
Ing, Deluxe in every respect. Regular 419.95 NOW WW7
MODEL C2-13-13 Cu. Ft. Double Door 124-lb. Freezer. Chest, $OQA9S
automatic defrosting, roll out shelves. Regular 519.95 NOW W 7 7
MODEL C6-1 2 Designed for people who own home freezers
Separate ice cube compartment, rest of refrigerator for food stor
age. Automatic defrosting, beautiful deluxe door and interior. $0)Q95
Roll out shelves. Regular 369.95 NOW OX7
2 Days Left
Friday & Saturday
We will be
OPEN
Thursday Nite-
'till 9 o'clock
Friday Nite
. 'til 10 o'clock
Hear the
KMED Broadcast
From Our Store
FREE REFRESHMENTS during Hie
broadcast time Thursday night from
8 to 9. Friday night from 9 to 10.
GIFTS! PRIZES!
Norge Washers
CONVENTIONAL
95
Were $119.95 $Q(B)
NOW
llorge 0 Ranges 0 Auto
matic Washers 0 Dryers
SALE PROCEED
Hal Krueger
and
Al Thompson
orge
Appliances
ELECTRIC
STORE '
237 E MAIN
Phone
2-2456
We Carry Our Own Contracts
3IIL