In the early 1900s, “whitecap” attacks were acts of vigilante intimidation, often carried out by groups who believed they had the right to punish or shame someone outside the law.
In this 1906 account from Pennsylvania, the attackers were not masked men in the night, but four married women who entered another woman’s home in broad daylight.
Mrs. Hattie Lowry of East Sandy was tied, smeared with stove polish, covered with molasses and feathers, and then led by rope through a nearby railroad camp while workers stopped to stare.
The ordeal ended with Mrs. Lowry tied to a box until a passerby released her.
But she did not let the matter rest. She went straight to Franklin, swore out warrants, and saw three of the women brought before an alderman, where their husbands ended up paying the fines.
Women Whitecaps Abuse Another in Daylight
FRANKLIN, Pennsylvania. — Four married women of good standing tried whitecap methods on Mrs. Hattie Lowry, at East Sandy, four miles from Franklin.
In broad daylight they entered the woman’s home, tied her hands and then applied stove polish to her face and a coat of molasses and feathers to her head. Then they led her by a rope through a neighboring railroad camp, where the unusual spectacle caused a complete suspension of work.
The women finished their fun by tying Mrs. Lowry to a box outside the camp, where she remained until a man passing released her.
Mrs. Lowry immediately came to Franklin and procured warrants for the four women, one of whom is her sister-in-law, Mrs. Verda Lowry. The Sheriff served them on Mrs. Verda Lowry, Mrs. Nellie Glaze, and Mrs. Bertha Brinkman. The fourth one, Mrs. Hilda Pherson, was not at home.
The three prisoners, accompanied by their husbands, were arraigned before Alderman Henderson and entered a plea of guilty. A fine of $10 and costs on each was assessed and the husbands paid the money.
Source: The Citizen. Frederick City, Md. November 16, 1906.
