Flinn's presents dueling write-ups of crime in 'Murder! At Sixth and Ferry!'

By Heather Crabtree/Photos by Scobel Wiggins

The Entertainer

Flinn's Dinner Theater's newest murder mystery by Ellen West Lilja - "Murder! At Sixth and Ferry!" - will premiere Friday, April 15.

The play will also be presented on April 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30.

"Murder! At Sixth and Ferry!" is the fourth murder mystery written for Flinn's by Lilja, who has written all 10 of Flinn's plays. It is based on a murder that occurred on Nov. 4, 1885, at Sixth and Ferry in Albany.

According to Lilja's research, Mattie Allison led her lover, Charles Campbell, to the street corner, where Capt. Wirt Saunders was waiting in the dark. Neighbors heard two shots fired in rapid succession. Saunders swore he had only fired his gun one time at Campbell's leg. Campbell, however, took two bullets, one of which hit him in the spine, killing him.

Saunders had previously been an editor of the Corvallis Gazette, and Mattie Allison was well known in Albany because she owned a millinery shop.

A grand jury found a "true bill" to indict Saunders and sent the case to court. He was convicted Nov. 5, 1885, and was hanged Dec. 23, 1886.

The district attorney sent the evidence on Allison back to the grand jury four times over the course of a year before she was indicted on a charge of murder.

It became a high-profile case in both Linn and Benton counties because of the grand jury's actions. Newspaper editors throughout the valley wrote editorials about the actions of the grand jury.

"The newspapers were split," Lilja said. "Several of them felt that she should be indicted and several didn't. We took two of the papers, one for and one against. The verbiage (in the play) is the exact editorial."

Allison's trial was moved to Marion County. A jury found her not guilty.

As with most of her plays, Lilja has added some humor to the event.

"I have a lot of plays that were written (about events) before women's rights," she said. "I always put a lot of jabs in there about that."

Cast members of "Murder! At Sixth and Ferry!" are Zed Potts as Captain Saunders; Lynsay Klink as Mattie Allison; Loren Dunn as Sheriff Charlson; Mike Lajeunesse as S. E. Young; Chris Williams as Fred Nutting; Ann Lundeen as Mrs. Cowan; Debby Gill as Mrs. Nutting; Peggy Merrill as Mrs. Mason; Tom Harris as Charles Campbell and Bud Johnson; Terry Merrill as the editor of the Albany Bulletin, and Bill Lilja as the editor of the Albany Daily Herald and Benton County district attorney.

Technical production is by Satch Gill, set design and construction are by Bill Lilja, and the play is directed by Ellen West Lilja.

if you go

What: "Murder! At Sixth and Ferry!" a living history murder mystery.

Where: Flinn's Dinner Theater, 222 First Ave. S.W., Albany.

When: 6:15 p.m. for dinner and show, 7 p.m. for show only April 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30.

Cost: $27.50 for dinner and show; $10 for show only.

Reservations: Call 928-5008.

Note: No seating available for children under 6.