◆ SpookStack

PR UN EEN: functioning under the presidency of Beatrice Lawrence, wife of Howard Lawrence, a Communist Party organizer for Lake County, Indiana. This move was defeated and the PTA, including both white and Negro members, continued with Mrs. Lawrence as President. On November 1, 1945, Frank Sinatra appeared at the Memorial Auditorium in Gary, Indiana, at which time he made an appeal to end the school strike. During his speech Sinatra charged ‘that the strike had been fomented by adults under the leadership of Joseph Lach, a prominent citizen and umertaker in Gary, Indiana. Sinatra referred to Lach as a small time politician who had never been elected to office, Sinatra also attacked Julius Danch and referred to him as 4& man of shady character, opposed to whites and Negroes associating together, and said that he would personally ask the Mayor to throw Danch out of his office as City Hall Custodian. Sinatra also said that he had talked with the stujent strike leader, Leonard Levendia, who had refused to meet with him, but that he would try again to talk with Lavenda before leaving Gary. Levenda reportedly denied Sinatra's charge am claimed that he had talked with Sinatra before the meeting and told him that Lach and Danch had no part in the school strike. Danch was iJjentified as the Editor of a monthly Catholic bulletin, the president of the Hungarian Political Club in Gary, and City Hall Custodian since January, 1943. As a result of Sinatra's attack on Lach and Danch, Father Lawrence T. Grothaus, Pastor of the Saint Anthony's Church amd Director of the Catholic Youth Organization in Gary, left the stage in disgust. Father Grothaus told Sinatra's manager, George Evans, that Sinatra should not have delved into personalities. Evans reportedly replied that Sinatrats information was in part, at least, received from the confidential Miles of the FBI. He later stated that he could not recall who had made the statement regarding FBI files; however, Evans! statement pertaining to FBI pie files _w itnessed by Police Captain Peter Billick and Patrolman of the Gary, Indiana Police Department. Relative to Sinatra's source of information, Captain Billick advised that a check of Sinatra's contacts from the time