Los Angeles herald., 1910-10-31
RIOT At CHURCH
AFTER WEDDING
Long Beach Firemen Try to Kid
nap Member of Depart
ment Who MarrieS
MARRIAGE GUESTS INTERFERE
Police Called and Arrest Two Who
Pursue Bridal Couple
in Auto

LONG BEACH, Oct. 30.-A wedding
at the First Baptist church last night,
at which Walter r. Riggs, a member
of the city fire department, was the
bridegroom and Miss Mabel Baker the
bride, was followed by a short but
stubborn fight between other firemen,
who had been invited to act as ush-
ers and who had planned chariVari,
and friends of the bridal couple. Their
chief protector was w. H. Narrower
former patrolman and now a motor
man on the San Pedro line, and dep
uty constable. None of the firemen IN
the mix-up was supposed to be on
duty last night.
With the close of the encounter,
which started in the vestibule of the
church and continued on the pave
ment, two policemen rode on the steps
of the bridal couples automobile to
guard Mr.. and Mrs. Riggs as they
went to board a Los Angeles car, but
nine firemen in another automobile
followed them at such speed that Pa
trolmen Powell and Adair, who were
on the other automobile, jumped off
and arrested them for exceeding the
speed limit. The men were taken to
police headquarters. The charge
against them could not be proved, but
the incident gave the bridal couple time
to escape. it is said they went to
Wilmington, where they boarded a
San Pedro car for Los Angeles.
The scene at the church after the
ceremony was sensational. The bridal
couple was to be separated, according
to the plans of the charivari party, and
Riggs taken away in a waiting auto.
Armed with rice and shoes, the fire.
men, all but one of whom were call
men, walked up and tried to seize
Riggs as the bridal party emerged
from the church vestibule after the
wedding.
WOMEN NEAR MYSTERIES
Grasping their plan, Riggs and his
bride chung together and showed back
the men. Narrower, who is big, pow
erful man, took a hand in the proceed
ings. He was a guest at the wedding.
After few seconds of pulling and
Juggling to and fro, Narrower got the
bridal couple to the wall of the big
church, while he stood in front to keep
back the charivari party. His specta-
Giles had been knocked off in the door
and he could not see to good advan-
tage, but he repulsed the men vigor-
ously. Finally two of the call men
tried to seize his arms and pinion them
behind him. AS Narrower wrenched him
self free his left hand swung out and
happened to strike one of the men a
rather stiff jolt on the cheek.
- The brides sister, Miss Laverne Ba-
ker, the bride and other women be-
gan to grow hysterical, several of
them bursting into tears. Narrower by
this time had caused others of the men
who had been wedding guests to mass
themselves around the bridal couple
and help repulse the others. When the
women began to cry he decided the
matter had gone far enough and he
showed his deputy constable star, or
dering the charivari crowd to disperse.
They saw he was in earnest and be-
gan to separate. Someone had sent a
riot call to police headquarters and by
this time policemen began to arrive.
All the night patrolmen were soon on
the scene. Patrolman Remelt assist
ed in getting the bridal pairs auto
mobile brought up to the curb and
helped them into it. Patrolmen Pow
ell and Adair leaped to the steps and
the machine was started away.
PURSUE IN AUTOMOBILE
A number of the f1remen leaped into
the machine in which they were to
the groom and started in hot
rious, leading through the business
part of town and along Ocean avenue,
where the policemen finally arrested
the pursuers.
The police department declined to
give out a report of the matter and
minimized it's Importance. Miss La
verne Baker said she did not know
where the couple went after the we'd
ding or where they would live upon re-
turning.
"All the firemen there last night
were invited. None of them shirked his
duty to be present, as all but one of
them were call men and that one had
the evening off. The boys only wanted
to take Riggs for ten block ride,
then set him down at his brides side
again. If there was opposition to the
they were to take both the
bride and groom. Nothing rough was
intended Outsiders mixing in the af-
fair caused all the trouble"
Mrs. Riggs is the daughter of Mr..
and Mrs. George Y. Baker of Ransom
street and Iona avenue. The Rev.
George NJ. Lehigh, pastor of the church,
officiated. There were about 100 guests.
Miss Pauline Smith played the we'd
ding march and acc apartments for