Mary Margaret Gallagher:1956, Chicago, Illinois

    

  Adrian Besley and her husband Arthur were spending a quiet weekend day listening to a baseball game on the radio in their apartment on the 15th floor of a North Side Chicago hi rise. The two had a habit of taking in the view of the boats on Lake Michigan and the shoreline of Lincoln Park. During a lull in the game Arthur picked up the binoculars and scanned the shore for a bit. He saw a woman sunbathing apart from others at the shore. He saw a man emerge from the bushes and begin beating her. The man had black hair. He had no shirt on. He was tan and they described him as brawny. Silently his arm came back again and again as he beat the woman viciously. 

  Arthur couldn’t believe what he was seeing and called Adrian over. He directed her where to look. Adrian, a nurse, knew this woman was in grave danger. The couple weren’t sure how best to call the police about the situation but knew a motorcycle policeman regularly circled their block. They rushed out of the apartment and flagged the police officer down. Within minutes police were at the scene. 

  The Besley’s also made their way to the scene. Adrian was a nurse and thought perhaps if the woman was still alive she might be able to render first aid. Adrian and the police both quickly saw that medical help would be of no use. No one at the beach and park had seen the incident.

  

  Initially the identity of the woman was not known. But in the following hours and days people came forward looking for their missing sister. Mary Margaret Gallagher was identified by her brother and sister. 

  Mary Margaret Gallagher was born in Ireland and emigrated to the United States with her parents and siblings in 1928. She was a hard worker and wanted more out of life. In 1937, Margaret went into business with Miss Ima Roney. The two opened a beauty salon at 5004 Kenmore Avenue in Chicago. According to the 1950 census she worked 52 hours a week at the salon. Margaret lived alone at 915 Carmen Avenue and attended Mass daily at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church. She most likely went to Mass the morning that she died.

  Lincoln Park was only a short walk from her apartment. On Sunday July 22nd of 1956 she had the day free and decided to spend it at the lakeshore in Chicago. She took a copy of the novel “Ben Hur” with her. It should have been a quiet and relaxing time. But, we already know how it ended. The man who beat her had dragged her into the bushes. She sustained skull fractures and her killer had attempted to rape her. 

  

  A man who had been driving by claimed to see the assailant. He said he saw a man about 6 feet tall with “massive arms and a foolish face” emerge from the bushes and leave the area.  Another man in a boat that day described a suspect to police. Despite their descriptions; no one was ever charged although many men were questioned. 

   The suspect might have gotten right back on a ship or a bus or a train. Chicago is a busy port city. I’ll be watching for similar descriptions of other suspects in other crimes in cities around the lakes. 

   I could not find Margaret Gallagher on Find a Grave. I did find her business partner of almost 20 years though. Ima Roney passed away in 1994. I didn’t find a record of her ever marrying and having children. She is buried in Tennessee where she was born. 

   Ima Roney’s family moved to Chicago from Tennessee probably during the Great Depression. I like to imagine Ima with her Tennessee accent and Margaret Gallagher with her Irish accent. Did they meet when they worked together some place? Were they neighbors? The two never lived together in any Census. But from 1937 to 1956 they successfully ran a beauty shop together. Imagine all the regular appointments, the busy times of year like the holidays and wedding season…the two of them kept cheerfully working away. They must have had a deep friendship. 

Rest in Peace Margaret and Ima.