This year (2002) the town of Chester, Vermont celebrates the centennial anniversary of their favorite hometown tale of Clarence Adams, an upstanding citizen, yet the same man who terrorized this peaceful Vermont town from 1886 - 1902. 
The people of Chester gave tribute to the capture and conviction of their 'gentleman burglar' by creating their own 100th Anniversary limited edition Teddy Bear.
Clarence Adams was a man of many talents. He was the State Representative of Vermont, Chester town selectman, church deacon, incorporator of the Chester Savings Bank, and convicted criminal who burglarized the town of Chester for nearly 16 years. He robbed by night, hitting every store on Main Street at least once, and some as many as six times.
His first victims were close family members and friends, and then neighbors. Although this upstanding citizen was the one who terrorized this town, he was the first to help his victims with plans to capture the thief and sympathize with their losses; even going as far as to offer money from his own pocket for the reward of his own capture.
After many years of fooling the town, Adams' spree ended on the night of July 29th, 1902. Adams robbed Waterman's Mill, unaware that Charles Waterman had rigged the window with a shotgun so that it would shoot the thief. Clarence Adams was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison.
That should be where the tale ends, however Adams wasn't finished tricking the town yet. After his first 2 years in prison, the Vermont Journal published the obituary of Clarence Adams. The town assumed that he was deceased until a reputable salesman in town returned from a business trip claiming to have encountered Adams at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal. Many others had also came forward with their stories of seeing Adams in their travels through Canada. No one really knows whether the town's famous burglar died in prison, or faked his death and escaped to Canada.
You can still purchase the Clarence Adams Teddy Bear in many Chester, Vermont establishments, including the Motel in the Meadow. Visit them online, or e-mail them at: motel@sover.net.
© 2012 
