Luzerne County PA Archives OBIT: John BALDES, 1903, Wilkes Barre, Luzerne County, PA Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/luzerne/ _________________________________________ Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Patty Millich Two men were shot, one fatally by footpads in Wilkesbarre, Pa., on Tuesday. John Baldes, of that city, and Benedict Kessler and John Weidman, of Altoona, delegates to the state convention of German Catholic Societies, were returning from a banquet when they were stopped by two highwaymen and ordered to throw up their hands. All complied with their demands and the footpads started to go through their pocket. The robbers secured Weidman's money and railroad ticket and had taken $6 from Baldes, when the latter made an outcry. This enraged the robbers and they backed away and began firing at the men. Baldes was shot three times in the stomach and cannot recover. Kessler was shot in the knee but Weidman was uninjured. The footpads escaped. Cambria Freeman, Ebensburg, Pa., Friday, June 12, 1903