TID Water & Power Podcast

Roy Meikle Injured in the Boardroom in 1945 - TID Short Stories

August 05, 2022 Turlock Irrigation District Season 1 Episode 3
TID Water & Power Podcast
Roy Meikle Injured in the Boardroom in 1945 - TID Short Stories
Show Notes Transcript

TID Short Stories is a mini-series by the TID Water & Power Podcast. Every episode you’ll hear a short, unique – and often lesser known – story from TID’s rich 135-year history. Join us on the first and third Friday of the month for new episodes and stories!

On today’s episode, TID General Manager, Michelle Reimers, tells the story of TID’s most recognized leader escaping a very frightening situation. 

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Find out more about TID at https://www.TID.org/podcast

Let’s get social!
Facebook: @TurlockID
Instagram: @TurlockID
Twitter: @TurlockID
LinkedIn: /company/turlockid

Find out more about TID at https://www.TID.org/podcast.

00;00;00;28 - 00;00;24;28
Speaker 1
Content warning. This episode contains depictions of gun violence that some may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. This is TID short stories, a Water and Power podcast miniseries. Every episode you'll hear a short, unique and often lesser known story from TID's rich history.

00;00;25;15 - 00;00;44;22
Speaker 1
And you'll hear these stories that helped build the district's 135 year history told by the people who operate the district today. On today's episode, TID general manager Michelle Reimers tells the story of an ill fated day for TID's most recognized leader as he stared down a violent challenger.

00;00;49;03 - 00;01;09;07
Speaker 2
Roy Meikle is truly a legend of the Turlock Irrigation District. His work ethic was admired, his advice taken, and his respect like a badge of honor. Stories about him paint a picture of a public servant with an authoritarian management style and the trust of all, especially the TID Board of directors who allowed him to be the lone

00;01;09;07 - 00;01;33;06
Speaker 2
negotiator on Tuolumne River issues with other agencies. He is also the only TID employee known to have ever been shot while on the job. Roy Meikle was Turlock Irrigation District's chief engineer and top management official, serving the district for 59 years before retiring at the age of 87 in 1971, thus ending a record of service

00;01;33;06 - 00;01;48;09
Speaker 2
that's safe to say will never be matched. The first and second Don Pedro projects were built under his leadership, roughly 50 years apart. There is no one person more pivotal to getting TID where it is today than Roy Meikle.

00;01;49;21 - 00;02;17;23
Speaker 2
But among all the days of Meikle's tenure, Monday, February 5th, 1945, was probably the oddest and scariest. Not because World War Two was still ongoing or more than a quarter of the TID workforce was in military service or performing war related work, and not because customer energy consumption had increased 35% from 1941 to 1945, but rather because

00;02;17;23 - 00;02;37;28
Speaker 2
it was the day Meikle faced down gunfire and a TID board of directors meeting. As tends to be routine when an improvement district is in the formation phase and before the TID board for action, a couple of property owners residing within the proposed improvement district 342 were on hand to show support for the formation of

00;02;37;28 - 00;03;02;13
Speaker 2
the Eight Parcel Improvement District, located about four miles southwest of downtown Turlock. Seven of eight personal owners signed the documents in support of the ID formation. But that eighth parcel owner, 67 year old rancher and dairyman Arie Wyngarden, was none too happy that his 40 acre parcel was to be legally included without his desire to join.

00;03;03;29 - 00;03;23;07
Speaker 2
Around 2:10 p.m. during the board hearing on the item in question, when Wyngarden appeared at the east door of the board room brandished a .32 caliber handgun and aimed it directly at Meikle. Don't do that, Meikle announced before Wyngarden fired a single round at Meikle newspaper.

00;03;23;08 - 00;03;43;04
Speaker 2
Reports indicate Meikle's body was sideways from the line of fire and the bullet grazed his abdomen before entering the back of his right hand between his middle and ring fingers then exited and landed on the floor near his chair Wyngarden's handgun promptly jammed upon firing the round, rendering it temporarily inoperable.

00;03;43;07 - 00;04;04;03
Speaker 2
Though Wyngarden later said he didn't intend to fire additional shots. With a seemingly inoperable handgun, Wyngarden put away his weapon before slipping and falling against a door, partially breaking some of the door's glass. He then walked out the front door of TID's downtown Turlock office and onto Main Street toward Old Highway 99.

00;04;04;15 - 00;04;26;22
Speaker 2
By his own accounts, to surrender to the Turlock police. At the nearby station. The TID board members had an average board tenure of 16 years at the time of the shooting. Despite their experience, as well as plans in place to evacuate to the vault in the event of boardroom violence, TID directors John McCabe, D.C. Thornburg, Edward McCombs, C.N. Ahlem, and Walter Commons

00;04;27;04 - 00;04;42;25
Speaker 2
remained in their seats after the shot rang out. Shocked at the occurrence, Directors Commons and Thornburg motion to adjourn the meeting and director Ahlem followed Wyngarden down the street most assuredly at a reasonable distance.

00;04;44;15 - 00;05;03;20
Speaker 2
After only a few minutes of what could be described as a low speed foot chase, Ahlem pointed out the disgruntled shooter to the Turlock police who were notified of the shooting via a phone call. And Wyngarden was apprehended and arrested on charges of assault with intent to commit murder, while there was no record of Wyngarden

00;05;03;20 - 00;05;19;17
Speaker 2
saying anything during the meeting prior to firing around at Meikle, Wyngarden sure had plenty to say about Meikle. After his apprehension, he claimed Meikle oversaw the poisoning of his food and the deprivation of his water rights. During a rambling statement to law enforcement.

00;05;19;28 - 00;05;40;07
Speaker 2
Wyngarden claimed, I didn't intend to kill him. I only wanted to hurt him. That's why I shot low down. Meikle is a robber. This has been going on for years. Stanislaus County Sheriff Grat Hogin indicated to the Modesto Bee that multiple reports from Wyngarden made to the sheriff's office over the years help shed light on
00;05;40;07 - 00;06;03;01
Speaker 2
Wyngarden's mental state. This was shown by one Wyngarden's reports of imaginary sabotage being done to his ranch and stock Hogin said. Bit of a historical note here. The principle that all criminal suspects need to be advised of their rights, also known as Miranda rights before interrogation was still two decades away from its genesis following the 1966 Supreme

00;06;03;01 - 00;06;23;11
Speaker 2
Court decision. So in 1945, crime confessions need only be voluntary on the part of the suspect. And Wyngarden was more than willing to share what he did and why he did it on the patrol car ride on the way to his booking, Wyngarden told Deputy Sheriff Jack Hammett, I have it in for the district and

00;06;23;11 - 00;06;40;01
Speaker 2
I have had for some time. Wyngarden was booked in jail and was eventually committed to Napa State Hospital, where he later died. Meikle was treated for superficial wounds at Emmanuel Hospital and returned exactly a week later to present his routine working report to the board.

00;06;41;10 - 00;06;54;25
Speaker 2
Because it's an important logistical part of the story. Here's a quick word on improvement districts or IDs, as they were referred to in shorthand today. There are mechanisms that allow a group of growers to pool resources to construct irrigation facilities.

00;06;55;15 - 00;07;10;19
Speaker 2
ID's are so common today. They are formed for a number of reasons, such as operating and maintaining ditches, pipes and wells as well as drains. TID administers these improvement districts, which is why the formation of each must come before the TID board for action.

00;07;12;08 - 00;07;29;07
Speaker 2
There's a twist of irony in the story here. The most routine of TID board matters resulted in one of the most eventful board meetings in history. Today. Improvement District 342 is now defunct. It was reformed and renamed two years following the shooting.

00;07;29;18 - 00;07;32;07
Speaker 2
This time with unanimous approval.