What do you think of a Black Sheep? Sometimes there are people in your family that have penchant for getting in the newspaper for all the wrong reasons.. Moma Delia’s nephew happens to be one of those people.
Moma Delia’s brother Milton was born in 1895.
Skip ahead to 1930 Milton is living in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and married to Lola Rucker. They have two sons. Gilbert Kendrick who is named after his father and his namesake son Milton Kendrick Jr. who is a one year old.
Milton Jr’s adult life is first documented by his draft into the military on June 7, 1946, during WWII, while he was still attending Schenley High School.
The following year September 20, 1947 Milton Jr. was the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident with a motor-bike.
A few years later Milton is again involved in an automobile accident. This time he ended up in the hospital. The tragedy of the story is that the passenger in the car passed away.
The 1950 census confirms that Milton Jr was an Assistant Rubbish Hauler for his fathers commercial rubbish hauling company. The association of this truck and Milton Jr’s zest for excitement would lead to many adventures in the coming years.
On Nov 16, 1951 Milton hopped into his car with his girlfriend Earlene Winston and got married in Cuyahoga county Ohio. Ohio is famous for same day weddings, no blood test, no waiting period. Yous married now! (in my Whoppi Goldberg Color Purple voice)
Milton Jr teamed up with Louis Esposito (the Italian) and committed a series of burglaries and robberies. Sometimes using the Rubbish Truck as a tool in these escapades.
On March 30, 1959 Milton Jr’s bond was upheld as he was accused of taking part in the robbery of two jewelry stores. There bond was set at $20,000 each accused of committing a spectacular $30,000 robbery.
While driving the rubbish truck Milton Jr apparently stumbled upon the opportunity to take small appliances from a jewelry company while they were collecting rubbish. This apparently went on for several months before they were caught.
On May 12, 1953 this time he was arrested along with four other workers accused of carrying out an eight-month scheme of stealing small appliances amounting over $40,000 from the Wilkins Jewelry Company. The arrested also included Melvin Wilburn who was a porter at the store. Wilburn had caught Kendrick stealing from the basement and agreed to accept a small bribe rather than report Kendrick.
Miton began to spend money to the point the IRS was interested in the source. He once bought a Cadillac and Corvette the same year. He also enjoyed the company of fast women.
In the final episode of Milton and the Jewelry Stores. The three were convicted of accessing one jewelry via a freight elevator, robbing that store of costume jewelry. Boring a whole in the floor and stealing expensive jewelry from another store. Martell Inman was sentenced to 15 years and Washington and Kendrick got 4 and a half years each.
After spending some time in prison Milton Jr got out and eventually developed diabetes. This led to the amputation of one foot.
Even after the adversity. Milton was able to maintain a sense of humor. He asked his brother Louis to come pick him up from the hospital and only bring one shoe sense he only had one foot.
He said pick me up man I got a date. Then later that night his wife called Louis to tell him he had passed, he was gone that quickly.
References
Clippings from Newspapers.com
Conversation with Louis (Hop) Kendrick