Paul Stier as portrayed by a student from the Immaculate Conception School of Jamaica Estates, NY.
I am Sheriff Paul Stier. I wore many different hats in my short lifetime. I was born in Germany in 1874. When I was 17, I signed on as a cabin boy on a ship and earned my way to America. I got a job as a mason at first in Buffalo and then moved to Ridgewood, Queens. I built my first house in 1902. I bought many parcels of land and by 1912 I had built more than 700 homes in Ridgewood and Glendale. At that time, part of that area was called "Stierville" in my honor.
I was very active in the Democratic Party and in 1916 I was elected Sheriff of Queens County. I took this appointment very seriously. I was presented with this diamond studded badge, rumored to be the costliest ever given to a Sheriff in this County. This gold badge contains a diamond that is four and 1/3 carats, with the coat of arms of the state in enamel and surrounded with 203 diamonds spelling out my name and title.
In 1916 my real estate company was having trouble with a tenant out in Whitestone near the Old Mary Pickford movie studios. A tenant was to be evicted from a house, but refused to pay and would not leave. After a few attempts by my men to settle with this man he pulled a gun on them and threatened to kill them. They left and then I went out there myself. I could see this man was distraught and not making much sense, as I tried to reason with him. He pointed his rifle at me and without much of a warning, shot me right in the chest. He then climbed on the roof of his house and held over 40 policemen at bay for more than two hours. Finally a policeman realized they could not hold off this man with the revolvers they were armed with, and secured a rifle and shot him dead. I did not survive this shooting. I was only 42 years old.
Presented May 22, 2004 by The Richmond Hill Historical Society, Maple Grove Cemetery, and The Immaculate Conception School of Jamaica Estates, NY (Dr. Charlene Jaffie, principal).
Copyright © 2004 Carl Ballenas & Nancy Cataldi.
No claim to Old Kew Gardens [.com] color photograph.
No claim to Old Kew Gardens [.com] color photograph.
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