Biography
Buddy Kirkpatrick was one of two brothers jailed in Council Bluffs, Iowa, after taking Illinois Central Railroad coal and selling it to buy food when their family had been refused relief. The Daily Worker of July 18, 1931 identifies Buddy and Alva Kirkpatrick as the sons of Eliza Howard by her first husband. It reports their arrest on June 28, a thirty-day sentence imposed by Judge Blanchard, and their release on July 7 after the Unemployed Council intervened. The Council also helped the family obtain groceries and rent assistance.
Contemporary custody and relief campaign
Buddy Kirkpatrick was one of two brothers jailed in Council Bluffs, Iowa, after taking Illinois Central Railroad coal and selling it to buy food when their family had been refused relief. The Daily Worker of July 18, 1931 identifies Buddy and Alva Kirkpatrick as the sons of Eliza Howard by her first husband. It reports their arrest on June 28, a thirty-day sentence imposed by Judge Blanchard, and their release on July 7 after the Unemployed Council intervened. The Council also helped the family obtain groceries and rent assistance.
The report connects the June 28 arrest and jail sentence with their actual confinement until July 7. It says twenty days of the thirty-day sentence remained when they were released; the full thirty days were not served. It does not identify which brother was the younger or which was married, so no age or birth date is assigned.
Daily Worker, July 18, 1931, page 3, Workers Force Release of Two Youths Jailed for Taking Coal.