Crib Aflame: Mary's Fiery Life
On the evening of January 20, 1917, Joseph Nowak of Chicopee—accompanied by an unidentified man—paid a social visit to the small farm of Mr. and Mrs. Julian Banalewska in Southwick, Massachusetts. The couple, recent immigrants who soon shortened their surname to Banel, were at home with their infant daughter, Jennie. Julian was commonly known as “Julius,” and his wife as “Mary.” Nowak and his companion arrived with liquor to celebrate—though for what, surviving records do not say.
What happened next nearly cost Jennie her life.
According to the statements later presented in court, Nowak poured alcohol into a glass, set it ablaze, and threw the flaming liquor directly into the crib where baby Jennie was sleeping. The burning liquid spread rapidly, igniting the bedding and the infant’s clothing. Witnesses said it required considerable effort to put out the fire, and that had the Banels not acted quickly, the child would have been cremated.
The following day, January 21, Nowak was arraigned.
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| Julian "Julius" Banel circa 1949 |
The Booze was Flowing
On February 21, testimony was heard from Julius Banel, his wife Mary, and a boarder who lived with the family. All three gave consistent accounts: they accused Nowak of throwing the burning alcohol into the crib. Mary testified that Nowak wanted her to take the baby and leave with him, and when she refused, he set the alcohol on fire and hurled it toward the sleeping child. Witnesses also told the court that Nowak had not been invited at all—though he insisted he had been.
Nowak offered a very different account in his own defense. He admitted the group had been drinking, but said the unnamed companion had poured and ignited the alcohol. Nowak claimed that he was the one who tried to put it out, but that when he attempted to blow out the flames, the burning liquid spilled accidentally. When Jennie’s blanket and clothing caught fire, he said everyone immediately rushed to help. He also said the Banels made no complaint at the time and that they invited both men to remain after the fire was out.
Other witnesses contradicted him sharply. They said Nowak had been driven out of the home and implied there had already been tension between him and the Banel family.
More Serious Charges
The judge, citing probable cause, allowed the disturbing the peace case to continue. But the judge noted that the case required deeper investigation, and far more serious charges were immediately filed on February 23, including assault with intent to murder a child. At that point, Nowak requested an attorney and was appointed J. Lyman Gray. Through his attorney, Nowak pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $500—$400 for the attempted murder charge and $100 for disturbing the peace. The case was continued to March 3, and then again for one week. At some point, Nowak made bail.
A further continuance followed, this time because Nowak’s attorney presented a note from a physician claiming Nowak was confined at home due to illness.
When the case resumed on March 27, it occupied most of the court’s morning session. Now represented by well-known attorney Richard Morrissey, Nowak altered his explanation. He still blamed his companion but now admitted that he had “playfully” ignited the alcohol and, while trying to blow it out, accidentally blew burning liquor onto the sleeping infant. He insisted he had no intention of harming the child and that excessive drinking among all present had caused the incident.
The judge acknowledged that a very serious assault had taken place, but he struggled with whether Nowak had intended to murder Jennie. After weighing the facts, he concluded that while the act was reckless and dangerous, there was insufficient evidence of deliberate intent to kill. He therefore assessed a fine of $100, a substantial sum in 1917, but less severe than imprisonment. The disturbing-the-peace charge was filed. Attorney Richard Morrissey appealed to the April term of the Superior Court. The judge may also have considered any time served in determining the fine.
Witnesses maintained that Nowak had tried to persuade Mary Banel to leave her husband and go with him, and when she refused, he threw the flaming alcohol into the crib. Mary later pursued an assault and battery case against Nowak, but on May 21, 1917, the case was nolle prossed (officially discontinued by the prosecution).
The Complicated Life of Julius and Mary Banel
The 1917 infant-burning case drew renewed attention to the Banel family, whose troubles had begun years earlier.
In April 1913, Mary filed a complaint in Superior Court alleging that Julius had abandoned her. The couple had lived on Union Street in Westfield, Massachusetts. Mary claimed that on April 2, 1912, Julius opened an account at the Springfield Institution for Savings using $200 of her money, and that by the time she filed her complaint, the account had grown to $648. Because the account was in Julius’s name alone, the bank denied her access to the funds. She petitioned the court to transfer the account to her, stating she was without means of support since Julius had disappeared.
The record then jumps forward several years. In 1919, Mary, represented by attorney F. M. Burke, filed an attachment on property owned by Alexander Haracz, who lived in Westfield but owned a farm in Southwick’s Hillside district. A few months later, she filed a civil suit accusing Haracz of assault and battery.
Haracz would later become locally infamous after he and his horse were both “arrested” for violating Prohibition laws. In 1922, Westfield police and federal Prohibition agents arrested him and seized his grey horse, Tom, along with a wagon carrying four or five gallons of “white mule” whisky. Tom immediately became a local celebrity due to the unusual arrest, and when public concern for his welfare in lockup grew, authorities released him on bail—further boosting the horse’s fame.
But in Mary’s case, on December 27, 1919, the court ruled in Haracz’s favour.
A Familiar Pattern
Samuel Spocski (spellings varied) had been working on the Banel farm. After a few short months, he became the household’s “star boarder” as his interest in Mary Banel deepened.
In 1921, believing he had been displaced in his wife’s affection, Julius filed a complaint with the Westfield police. He also told authorities that Spocski had a wife and three children in Russia. Officers arrested Spocski while he was walking along the railroad tracks. Lacking evidence for Julius’s accusation, police instead fined Spocski $10 for trackwalking and released him.
Spocski left the area but soon returned—this time in an automobile carrying nine passengers, including himself. After a fight broke out at the Banel home, Mary and her two children, Victor (7) and Jennie (4), climbed into the car. Julius later claimed that his wife joined Spocski in beating him. When the car pulled away, twelve people were inside: Spocski, Mary and her children, two other men, another woman and her four children, and driver William Ambrose. Julius called it an elopement. Mary called it a rescue.
Since the Westfield police had let Spocski off with just a trackwalking charge on Julius’s initial complaint, Julius consulted a Westfield lawyer, who alerted the Department of Justice.
In August 1921, Julius brought what contemporary reporters described as “white slave” charges against Spocski. He accused Spocski of stealing his wife and transporting her across state lines into Connecticut. Mary disputed this entirely. She called Julius “crazy” and Spocski “the hero.”
A deputy sheriff took over the abduction investigation while federal agents examined whether the incident violated the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910 (also known as the Mann Act)—a federal law prohibiting the interstate transport of individuals for prostitution, debauchery, or “any other immoral purpose.”
Within days, the deputy received word from a constable in Woodbridge, Connecticut, a small town outside of New Haven, that Spocski, Mary, and her two children were there. Mary and her children were questioned and then released, as was Spocski; authorities found no evidence beyond a complaint of a possible abduction. Any such charge would need to be filed in Massachusetts.
The Woodbridge constable later dropped Mary and the children in Springfield, Massachusetts, where they took shelter with friends before relocating to Becket, Massachusetts, where Mary found work at the Berkshire House. (Spocski obtained work in a trap rock quarry.)
Department of Justice agents continued their investigation. Ambrose told federal investigators that Spocski had paid him $20 to drive the party to Woodbridge. That payment, if proven, was central to determining whether Mann Act charges could apply. The claim that Spocski paid the fare (or the cost of the trip) from one state to another was relevant to a potential charge of transporting a married woman for immoral purposes.
Mary maintained that Spocski was still “the hero.” Julius, meanwhile, said that Spocski had wrecked his dream of America as the promised land when he immigrated to this country.
Authorities later charged Mary with disturbing the peace in the Banel home on July 17. She pleaded not guilty. A bitter custody battle ensued. Westfield police officers temporarily placed the Banel children in the Shurtleff Mission during the trial. Citing neglect, at a hearing on August 25, 1921, a judge placed the children in the custody of the Department of Public Welfare.
On January 29, 1924, Julius married Mrs. Leokadia “Alice” (Sienkiewicz) Agekowsky. In 1930, he was arrested for assaulting her. The case was dismissed without prosecution when it came up for trial on September 20.
On May 3, 1931, Julius got into an argument with his roommate, Jacob Michalski, over some food. During the dispute, Michalski grabbed a cast-iron frying pan and struck Julius on the head. The blow required three stitches to close the wound, and part of the frying pan broke. Police arrested both men after each claimed they were not guilty.
On the evening of October 1, 1942, a suspicious fire of unknown origin broke out in a barn owned by Julius Banel. The blaze destroyed a large amount of hay and farming equipment. The barn was badly damaged and uninsured, and fire crews fought the flames for more than two hours.
Later Years
Julius died suddenly on the evening of October 13, 1952, shortly after being taken to Noble Hospital by ambulance. He was eighty-four years old at the time of his death and was laid to rest in Westfield. His gravestone lists October 14 as the date of death, although October 13 is believed to be correct. His wife, Leokadia “Alice” (Sienkiewicz) Banel, passed away in 1957.
The Tragic Final Years of Mary Banel (Pronko)
Mary’s life took a far different—and far more tragic—path after leaving the Banel home.
Mary Banel remarried and became pregnant shortly after leaving Julius. She married Joseph Pronko and moved to Chicopee, Massachusetts.
By the late 1920s the couple''s legal troubles began. In 1927, Mary and Joseph were arrested for illegal liquor and received a suspended sentence. Authorities raided the Pronko home for the illegal manufacture and sale of liquor in January 1928. Mary and husband were arrested again, found guilty, and sentenced to jail time and fines for both the new charges and for violating their probation.
On Friday, May 24, 1929, a fire broke out at the Pronko home. Mary was alone at the time. A neighbor seeing the glow, threw on clothing, and ran to Box 471 to sound the alarm at 1:37 a.m. Two police officers arrived before the fire department. They kicked in the door, searched the structure, and found Mary unconscious in a locked second-floor bedroom. One officer carried her out, and she survived. Firemen responded quickly and worked with four hoses, but the blaze nearly destroyed the frame house. Investigators considered the fire suspicious; it appeared to have started in the attic and worked its way downward. Despite the damage, the Pronkos rebuilt the home, but were sued when they refused to pay for the completed work.
On Wednesday, October 8, 1930, a mysterious fire destroyed a small garage and an unused auto owned by Mary's husband. On Friday, April 27, 1934, disaster struck again. Around 1:48 a.m., a massive explosion tore through the rebuilt Pronko house. At about 3:00 a.m., firemen removed the charred body of Mary Pronko, who had suffered catastrophic injuries, including a nail driven into her head.
Mary's body was so mutilated that her son, who had been sleeping at a neighbor’s house that night, was not certain the remains were his mother’s. Firemen searched the debris-filled cellar until 11:00 a.m. but no other bodies were found. (Mr. Pronko and a boarder were not home at the time.)
The blast was so violent that terror-stricken residents, even those living two miles away, believed an earthquake had struck. The explosion knocked framed photographs and art off walls, shattered china, and damaged household goods. It blew out the plate-glass windows of a local store. Approximately thirty surrounding homes were damaged—ceilings collapsed, exteriors were torn apart, and every window in a 300 foot radius was blown out. Several people were injured, largely from falling debris as they slept; others experienced shock. A church and a school were also damaged. Thirty homeowners later sued Mary’s estate and the gas company to recover the cost of
repairs. Investigators concluded that the force of the explosion had
been powerful enough to drive the nail into Mary’s skull.
A funeral was held for Mary on April 30, and she was buried.
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| The aftermath of the 1934 explosion. |
A witness came forward and said a coughing and sneezing spell woke him about 1:45 a.m. When he walked by the window he saw the glow of fire and heard crackling timbers. Before he could phone in an alarm, the house exploded. With this new information, the district attorney ordered her body exhumed so that an autopsy could be performed. Medical examiners sought to determine whether her brain contained traces of gas, poison, or any other chemicals that might help explain the blast or clarify the circumstances of her death.
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| The damage to a neighbor's house following the massive explosion that claimed Mary's life. |
Medical examiners removed Mary's internal organs and sent them to a private pathological laboratory in Boston, Massachusetts, where a highly reputed expert conducted the analysis. His findings determined that Mary had been exposed to “the inhalation of fumes of gasoline or kerosene that had been sprayed on her clothing.” He concluded that this exposure occurred during the explosion. It was also his opinion that Mary had not inhaled illuminating gas, and that her clothing had been saturated with gasoline or kerosene—or possibly both.
- An untold true crime story deep from the archives of the Southwick Time Machine.
This account is based on original research using period newspapers and court records. Further details about the outcome of the 1921 case remain unknown. Further details of the lawsuits stemming from the 1934 explosion were not included in this story.
Timber Lawsuit with Claus Anderson (1918–1921)
- Following the 1917 fire, Julius Banel and his wife, Mary, became involved in a legal dispute with well-known Southwick resident Claus Anderson over timber on two parcels of land in Southwick. Claus Anderson sold the land on October 15, 1917, and the dispute concerned whether the “quit timber” was included in the real estate deal.
- Claus Anderson began cutting certain chestnut timber on the property and leaving the cut pieces on the ground, which later became infected with chestnut blight.
- In March 1918, the Banels demanded that Claus Anderson stop removing the cut timber and threatened him with bodily injury if he did not comply. Claus Anderson left the premises and subsequently brought suit against the Banels.
- The Banels filed a countersuit.
Claus Anderson Case and Appeal Outcome
- At the time of conveyance, the cut timber measured 12,488 board feet.
- Claus Anderson had removed four loads totalling 1,800 board feet.
- The fair value of the timber was calculated at $10 per thousand feet.
- The total value of all cut lumber on the ground was $124.88, and the value of the timber drawn by Anderson was $18.
- The Banels won their countersuit in 1921, and Anderson was ordered to pay $18.
Landau’s Overalls Contest, 1948
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In 1948, Landau’s store in Westfield, Massachusetts, held a light-hearted contest that drew considerable public interest.
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The store displayed what it called the world’s largest overalls and invited customers to guess the total number of yards of thread used to make them.
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When the contest closed, three entrants tied for first place: Victor, Jeannie, and a woman from New Britain, Connecticut.
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All three had submitted the same guess: 1,000 yards.
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The actual number of yards used was 1,023.
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Because their guesses were equally near the actual total, each of the three was declared a co-winner.
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