Former resident says ‘sorry’ decades later
By KEN BLACK, TIMES-REPUBLICANForty to 50 years after a former Marshalltown resident made rounds stealing fruits in vegetables from yards on the city's northeast side, Jerry Kerr decided it was time to make it right.
Kerr recently took out an ad in the Times-Republican, trying to make good for the petty larceny he committed those many years ago.
"If you lived in the northeast part of Marshalltown during the years 1957-1967 ... there's a good chance I took some of your produce and ate it without your permission," the ad reads. "If this caused you stress or angered you in any way, I wish to apologize."
Kerr a devout Mormon, said it was his personal faith and belief in doing the right thing that motivated him to purchase the ad.
"As I live my life, I try to become a better and better person and as things come to me that I need to repent of, I do that," he said. "It's a personal, spiritual thing."
Kerr said he would have been between the ages of 6 and 16 when he took the produce from vegetable gardens and fruit trees. He came from a family with 10 children who did not always have enough money, even for the basics.
"I'd carry a salt shaker around and any yard back then was prey for me," he said.
If he saw something he liked, he'd salt it and eat it, then go on his way.
Kerr returns to Marshalltown every year for a family reunion and decided to place the ad before leaving town at the end of July. He said he had been thinking about it for months.
"There's a French proverb that says the softest pillow is a clean conscience," Kerr added. "Over the years, my pillow has gotten softer."
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Contact Ken Black at 641-753-6611 or kblack@timesrepublican.com
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Johnny
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08-02-08 1:55 AM
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That's kind of cool, about the pillow....
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