Pattison The Barber
Oct 21 1895 [ Warning: This story is extremely violent and disturbing.] It was 11pm on a typical Saturday night on the North Side of Caledonia. There was still a crowd of men sitting and talking in The Star barber shop, on East side of Argyle St. next to the bridge. Owner Thomas “Tommy” Pattison was finishing up a haircut, his older brother Michael “Park” Pattison, was just beginning to shave a customer. Park turned to Tommy and said “ It's too hot to work.” His hands visibly shaking, Park put the straight razor in his pocket. He walked past several customers waiting their turn, went to his upstairs apartment, locking the door behind him. Within minutes there was a blood curdling scream coming from upstairs. Tommy Pattison and the customers ran to the door and desperately tried to break it down, but failed. Moments later they heard a rattling noise behind the door, and suddenly Park Pattison's wife, Lorretta Pattison, burst into the room with her throat slashed so wide open that witnesses said you could see her windpipe. Streams of blood were spraying in the air from her gaping neck wound, her nightgown was completely soaked in blood. She said “ Save my children” as she pushed past everyone, staggering into the street, desperately trying to run towards the bridge. Tommy turned and looked up the stairs to see his brother slit his own throat with the razor. Park then ran down the stairs and out the door with the straight razor still in his hand, blood pouring from his neck. Park ran after Loretta and brutally attacked her with the razor on the bridge. The cold midnight air was filled with Loretta's screams for help as she desperately tried to fight back. Park slashed and mutilated her hands and body so ferociously he broke the straight razor in half. Eye-witnesses said Park then began clawing and tearing open Mrs. Pattison's neck wounds with his hands. Loretta was finally rescued by Mr. F. W. Old who grabbed Park and threw him hard to the ground. Dr. Olmsted and Dr. Burns had already been summoned so they quickly began treating Loretta and Park who were now completely covered in blood. It took seventeen stitches to close Loretta's neck wound. The doctors observed all of the side cords of her neck were severed, and stated the only reason she is still alive is because she is a strong healthy 25 year old woman.
Park Pattison was taken to the town lock-up. There he remained quiet until early Sunday morning when awful sounds could be heard from the basement. As the Constable entered the room, he found Park running at the wall of the cell, repeatedly smashing his face and head into the stone wall and bars. His face was mutilated, covered in blood and 3 square inches of his scalp was hanging off. He looked up at the Constable and said “ I’m glad you’ve come. I want you to put an end to me, for I am bound to make a finish of myself.”
Doctor Olmsted was summoned again. It took both the Constable and the Doctor to hold Park down so he could be sedated with strong opiates before he could be treated. Dr. Olmsted reported so much skin was missing from Parks head you could see his skull. It took 12 stitches to reattach his scalp.
People who knew the Pattisons reported Park was an absurdly jealous man who was an abusive drunk known to go on week-long drinking binges. Parks drinking would only amplify his irrational jealousy. His suspicions of Loretta were baseless. She was well known in the Village to be a kind and virtuous woman. Park had been drinking all last week and was now struggling to sober up. The reaction [ to the abrupt withdrawal ] was too great for his nervous system and resulted in throwing him into the first stage of delirium tremors. All day Saturday he was seen acting strangely, but neighbours said he always acted strange after a binge. Even Loretta's screams were initially thought to be just another “ customary brutal thrashing “ he had been known to inflict upon her when he was drunk. They had been married for eight years. Elsie Loretta Winger married Michael Moore "Park" Pattison in Jarvis, Ontario, on January 5, 1887. She was 17 years old and he was 21. Together they had 5 children, their first child Ollie Irene was born on October 19, 1888, she died a year later. Their second child Inez Alta was born on November 27, 1890. Their 3rd child, Carrol was born on February 23, 1892. He died a month later, March 10 1892. The 4th child son Elmo Park was born on August 17, 1893 and their 5th child, Leon Alton was born on March 5, 1895.
The Pattison brothers had already been running the Star Barber shop in Caledonia for well over a decade. Owned and operated by Parks' younger brother Thomas Pattison, his first barber shop was located on the Eastern side of Argyle N. The shop and the entire block was destroyed by the great fire of Feb 14 1885. The Pattisons then moved their barber shop into the Toll house. They were the first tenants of the Toll house after tolls ceased to be taken for crossing the bridge in 1885.
Nov. 6 1895 - At the sitting of the high court of justice in Cayuga, before Hon. Justice MacMahon. Michael M. P. Patterson, a barber, living in the village of Caledonia, was tried for wounding his wife, Elsie L.W. Pattison, with intent to kill her, on the 19th of October 1895. The Hamilton Spectator reported “ Park appeared in the dock with a large white bandage wrapped around his head, like a turban. Mrs. W. Pattison sobbed convulsively at two points of her evidence; once when she was relating the murderous attack made upon her, and again when shown the razor which had cut her so cruelly. She had broken it twice in each of her struggles with the prisoner, and in doing so had cut her hands severely. At the request of the crown counsel she showed the cuts to the jury, and also two newly-healed wounds across her throat, each nearly three inches long. She has a good muscular frame, and a fair supply of adipose tissue, which probably saved her life. Had the cut gone from a quarter to half an inch deeper it would have killed her. She must have defended herself well, for the prisoner said that she was too strong for him to complete his purpose.”
The defense was that the prisoner was suffering from delirium tremens, and was therefore not responsible. The Jury unanimously agreed that even though Park was out of his diseased mind from alcohol, he still knew what he was doing was wrong. The jury found him guilty.
Nov 7 1895 Michael Moore “Park” Pattison sentenced to six years in the Kingston Penitentiary for the attempted murder of Elsie Loretta Pattison.
Oct 1897 A petition for The Liberation of Park Pattison was circulating around the village. "It sets forth the needs of his wife and family and reminds the minister that it was entirely owing to the influence of liquor that he attempted to murder his wife, whose name leads the list in praying for his release. "
Mar 1898 Elsie Lorretta Pattison died at 27 years old from Typhoid fever in the Hamilton City Hospital. Her body was buried in Hagersville.
July 11 1898 Park Pattison returned to Caledonia after serving only 3 years in prison. He resumed work as a barber in Tommy's barber shop. The Sachem writes “ Experience is a dear teacher, but we hope to see him profit by past errors and become a model citizen of our fair land”
1905 Tommy dies of pneumonia at the age of 34. His funeral was said to be one of the largest ever seen in Caledonia.
1910 Park Pattison and his children moved to Erie, Buffalo, New York.
Jun 9 1913 Gordon Pattison, Tommy's son, opens a barber shop on 15 Argyle Street North. He worked there until he retired. It is now Don’s barber shop.
Jan 13 1926 Park Pattison died of bronchial asthma at the age of 62 in Buffalo, New York. His body was returned to Canada, he is buried in the Caledonia Cemetery.
The memory of this awful incident has faded entirely from Caledonia's history. Any article mentioning Park Pattison in the past 50 years makes no mention of this. That's not fair to Loretta. What happened to her needs to be remembered and spoken of.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment