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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2016-11-30, Page 44 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, November 30, 2016 TT1I m www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com Nuron Expositor PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 P.O. Box 69, 8 Main Street Seaforth Ontario NOK 1W0 phone: 519-527-0240 fax: 519-527-2858 www.seaforthhuronexpositor [p] POSTMEDIA NEIL CLIFFORD Advertising Director nei I.cl ifford@sunmedia.ca SHAUN GREGORY Multimedia Journalist shaun.gregory@sunmed ia. ca DIANNE MCGRATH Front Office seaforth.classifieds@sunmedia.ca NANCY DEGANS Media Sales Consultant ndegans@postmedia.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2 YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT P.O. Box 69 Seaforth ON NOK 1 WO For any non -deliveries or delivery concerns: phone: 519-527-0240 Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to set and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. Seaforth Huron Expositor is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For more information or to file a complaint go to www. mediacouncil.ca or call toll free 1-844-877-1163. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canaa'a The Resurrection of Jack Haag In late February 1868, Ste- phen Neubecker uncon- scious body was found in the back of his horse drawn wagon at John Chamber's Belmore tavern. His skull had been smashed and he was suffering from hypother- mia because he had lain out all night when his driverless team wandered into Cham- bers tavern. Neubecker lin- gered for another two days before dying of his inju- ries. What happened to Ste- phen Neubecker and the man convicted of killing him remains one of the area's strangest legends. Stephen Neubecker had just delivered a load of wheat to Seaforth for shipment on the Grand Trunk Railway. He stayed overnight at the Queen's hotel before making the return journey north through Brussels to Bel - more. In Dr. W. M. Brown's account in 'The Queen's Bush' (1932), Neu- becker offered a ride to 20 year old John 'Jack' Haag, a long time acquaintance, whom he saw heading in the same direction. In Brown's story, Haag had been drink- ing heavily when Neubecker picked him up. After a heated exchange over a romantic rival, Neubecker ordered Haag off the wagon when Haag questioned the girl's virtue. Haag, in a jeal- ous rage, beat Neubecker on the head with a heavy club before running off. Unfortuately, as local histo- rian, Wanita Hollands, has determined that other than that Neubecker skull was stove in, Brown's tragic romantic tale is pure fiction. Stephen Neubecker, accord- ing to Hollands, was a 46 -year-old farmer. He was married with seven children and had no known prior association with young Huron History David Yates Haag. Haag waylaid Neu- becker who would have had cash on his person from the sale of his grain in Sea - forth. Perhaps, Neubecker resisted and Haag brutally assaulted him by bludgeon- ing him on the head before making off with the money. It was a case of a highway robbery that ended in murder. Even before Neubecker had died, suspicion for the murderous assault fell on Haag who had mysteriously disappeared immediately after the murderous assault. Haag had worked for Cham- bers as a hostler and was described as a dissolute, drinking man. When it was learned that Haag had escaped to Michigan, Con- stable Michael Laborde tracked him down and extra- dited him back to Canada to stand trial. Although the assault prob- ably took place in Huron County, Neubecker died just over the Bruce County line and so the trial was held in Walkerton. In a one -day trial on September 18, Jack Haag was convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged. The grim spectacle of a public hanging took place on December 15, 1868. The 'Huron Signal' reported on the 'Execution of John Hoag' [sic] that 'sleighs loaded with men, women and children, were to be seen coming in from all parts of the country' to watch the death ritual. A crowd estimated at over a thousand stood 'knee-deep in the snow immediately opposite the scaffold, where they hoped to get a good view of all that took place.' The 'Signal' noted that 'it was painful to see the anxi- ety' on the faces of the many women and children who had come to see the 'unhappy' man plunge into eternity. At the appointed hour, Haag ascended the 15 -foot ladder and was allowed to address the crowd. He denied 'having killed anyone willfully' and claimed that the evidence against him was 'manufactured.' Defiantly, he condemned the guards for providing alcohol to other prisoners in exchange for their testimony. He called whiskey 'beginning of all evil' and advised other youths to obey their parents. Haag regretted bringing shame upon his own 'dear parents' for his 'disobedience' to them. After delivering his last words 'in a clear and dis- tinct voice', the masked hang- man placed the whitecap over Haag's head while Father Schantz gave him the last rites of the Roman Cath- olic Church. The hangman drew the bolt and dropped Haag five feet. Although hanging was intended to snap the neck causing instan- taneous death, Haag's body twitched for several minutes. 'Much sympathy was felt' for Haag, according to the 'Signal's account, which reported that he was 'pitied' for his youth. The impact of a ritualized death on the crowd was unrecorded but, Murray Lincoln in 'Kingston's Cold Gray Tower' that at least one of the guards 'was never the same' after 'witnessing' the hanging because 'he drank himself to sleep to sooth the misery and nightmares.' It was Bruce County's only public execution. Norman Robertson, in his 1906 'His- tory of the County of Bruce' called the hanging a 'foul blot.' Perhaps, the trauma of the Neubecker's murder and Haag's execution required an ending to ease troubled minds. Rumours persisted that Haag survived the hang- ing. The distraught 80 -year- old father, Gottlieb Haag, convinced a local doctor who opposed the death penalty to help spare his son the indig- nity of a public hanging. The doctor devised a neck brace and harness that could be strapped under Haag's arms. The hangman, who was bribed to go along with the scheme, looped the rope around the neck brace and when the drop opened, instead of severing Haag's head from his spinal column, the shock of the drop would be absorbed under the arms. The co-operation of Sheriff William Sutton and at least one other guard was secured by additional bribes. Dr. Brown claimed that Haag's body was cut down and placed in a coffin drilled with airholes. The coffin was taken to a local cemetery location where the family's request for a private burial was respected by the crowds. After dark, the doc- tor and Gottlieb Haag, resur- rected young Jack from the coffin. The coffin was then filled with rocks and buried. According to local legend, Jack Haag fled to Michigan where he assumed the name, John Miller. He married, had children, and redeemed him- self living a happy, sober, and productive life as a tailor. --Or so it has been told. SEAFORTH HURON EXPOSITOR - HOURS OF OPERATION MONDAY: 9:00-4:00 • TUESDAY: CLOSED • WEDNESDAY: 9:00-4:00 • THURSDAY: 9:00-4:00 • FRIDAY: 9:00-4:00 • SATURDAY&SUNDAY: CLOSED ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT2:00 • PHONE 519-527-0240 • FAX: 519-527-2858 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com