1916 Murder or An Accident

North Olean History - 1916 Murder or an Accident
Spring was in the air; it was payday,
and a long walk home on the evening of May 10, 1916,
for Felix Kukulka when he made his way toward his
home to 914 Fountain Street, Homer Hill.
He never reached his destination, the home on the hill where his wife and nine children were tucked in their beds. Was his wife asleep or was she waiting for her husband to arrive home from work? Laura was her name and she was expecting their tenth child to be born the following month. I think that she was anxiously waiting for her Felix to open the door at any moment. Imagine the anxiety when his footsteps were not heard coming up the walk, onto the porch, and the silence of the door all evening and into the morning light. Who could she call? No one. They had no telephone. How many times did she peer out the window? Many? Silence, except for waking children and the child stirring in her late stage of pregnancy. Fear grasped at her heart, something is wrong.

Felix was a family man, a handsome man, loved his wife and children, and helped his fellow Polish emigrants to adjust to their new homeland. He came to Olean from Tarnow, Austria, Poland about 1895 and received his naturalization papers on July 30, 1904. Two of North Olean businessmen Jack C. Fitzsimmons and Joseph Bielinski made the trip to Little Valley with him and swore to Felix’s presence in the United States for the last five years. He was employed at the Pennsylvania Cripple Yards repairing railroad cars.

Felix and Laura lived just up the hill on Fountain Street. It was a happy home where on a Sunday afternoon their friends and neighbors would make the trip up to Homer Hill to spend time with the Kukulka family. There was singing and dancing, trips out back to pick berries, collect wild flowers and for the children to romp through the woods. It was indeed a happy home.

Laura or Louise (Ludvica Bishic or Bysiek) came to Olean about 1898. Her three sisters also came and for a while lived with Laura and her husband Felix. They were Anelia, Rozalia, and Mary Bishic. Felix’s sister Victoria also came to Olean in 1900 and took up residence with Felix and his wife. They all married and remained in North Olean.

Laura’s worst fears were manifest on that morning of May 10th. Who notified her the body of her husband Felix was found beside the Erie Railroad tracks, nearly opposite the office of the Cattaraugus Tanning Company. His skull had been fractured and it was the opinion of Coroner Cassar Smith that he had been dead for an hour or two. Was she told that an engineer, whose train had arrived at five o’clock that morning, had noticed the body lying beside the tracks? Or did the news come without details? Was she told that the engineer had told several of the passengers that he had seen a man lying close to the tracks, and they went back and found his body.

According to the Coroner Smith, Felix had been struck by a train, but was not able to find out which train it might have been. His body was first taken to the undertaking rooms of Quigley and Heenan, then to the Kukulka residence on Homer Hill.

Later that evening a mysterious message was made to the Sheriff’s office from Olean hinting that Felix Kukulka was not hit by a train but had met with foul play. It was evident that a Polish woman conveyed the information in broken English.

The following day, Deputy Sheriff Raymond T. Mallery, who was acting on instructions of the District Attorney, was making a further investigation in the hope of tracing the mysterious telephone call.

Also, as a result of that call, Coroner Cassar Smith and Dr. W. B. Potter, went to the Kukulka home to make a further examination of the body. The coroner concluded that the wound on the deceased man’s head was the result of being struck by a train. He described the wound as being a severe depressed fracture of the skull near the median line, under a scalp wound about seven inches long.

The Coroner went on to say, “From the nature of the injury, I think that no person could have struck the blow that would cause such a fracture. It would seem that it must have been dealt by a swiftly moving train.” He also went on to say that since there were no witnesses to the accident and it had been only about two hours later when the body was found, but admitted it could have been longer, no formal inquest would be held.

It was told to me by my mother in law,
the daughter of Felix and Laura, who was fourteen
years at the time of her father’s death,
"my father was killed by a blow to the head
with an axe, that had left a deep gash in his
skull behind his left ear."
Coroner Cassar Smith issued a death certificate that was filed on May 10, 1916 stating the cause of death was as follows—FRACTURE OF SKULL—CAUSE UNKNOWN.
The funeral of Felix Kukukla, husband and father of nine, was held on Friday, May 12, 1916 from the Church of the Transfiguration. There was a procession from the house to the church where Rev. Father Thomas Gwodz celebrated a Requiem High Mass. The pallbearers were Karl and George Kukulka, Lewis Piechota, Frank Wojick, John Padlo and John Skura. The members of St. Michael’s branch No. 28 of the Z.P.R.K., attended the funeral in a body, marching from the house to the church and going to St. Bonaventure Cemetery to attend the services at the grave, in a special streetcar.

On the same day as the funeral of Felix Kukulka was being held, the police were trying to determine whether he was killed by a train or met with foul play. A John Levinski, age 25, was being held by the Sheriff’s department in connection with the death. According to information received by them, Levinski, who lived on Avenue B., was with Felix after he had received his pay at the car shops on Tuesday night. It was said that Felix had started for his home from the business section of North Olean at about 12:30 a.m. Since Levinski had given the police conflicting statements as to his movements on Tuesday night, he was put under suspicion. He was employed by the Empire Tanning Company and was said to have been lain off from work that night, stating that he was going to Buffalo to get a trunk.

Although it was thought that John Levinski knew more than he chose to tell regarding the death of Felix Kukulka, he was released the following day on orders from Deputy Sheriff R. T. Mallery. After making a further investigation the officers were convinced that they had nothing to hold the man on. They stated that they were still working on the tip that Felix was a victim of foul play, in spite of the belief of the coroner, that he was killed by a train.

It was told to me by a family member,
"when Felix’s body was found, he had
a wad of money tightly grasped in his hand."

As a result of this tragedy, Laura and her nine children were left up on the hill off of Fountain Street to fend as best as they could. Was there any more laughter? The strain on Laura was too much. While hanging clothes out on the line, she collapsed. Her baby was now one month old and the ages of her other children ranged from age 2 to 16. She was only 37 years of age when she passed away at the Higgins Memorial Hospital, on July 12, 1916. On that evening, when the mother’s body was brought from the hospital and the family gathered around, even the undertaker, accustomed to such as he was to scenes of grief, was touched.

Her daughter Martha told me,
"she had died of a broken heart."

Laura Kukulka’s remains were taken to the home of her sister and brother in law, Paul and Anelia Kendzior, at 1615 Walnut Street. Her funeral was held at the Church of the Transfiguration and she was buried along side her husband at St. Bonaventure Cemetery. As for the little baby, Felecia, she was being cared for by a neighbor lady, became ill, and died about six months later.

Paul and Anelia (Nellie) Kendzior gave the Kukulka children a place in their home where they all shared in the chores and grew up as one big happy family. The Kendzior’s had six children of their own.

Sammy, their son, laughingly told me,
"we had one big bedroom that looked like a dormitory
where all the boys slept."
The names of Felix and Laura’s children were Walter, Martha, Edward, Celia, Stanley, Helen, Brownie, Bernard, Theodore and Felecia Kukulka. They were fun loving, wonderful aunts and uncles, and Martha was the mother of my husband, Leo Smith.

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