Batavia's most famous madam p.3

Edna Gruber, right, and her mother, Katharina Russell, and daughter, Florence Miller, who died in an Ohio fire, leaving two young children in Gruber's care.

On the other hand, Grandma Gruber more than once telephoned parents of her granddaughter's schoolmates to assess their friendliness.

“Hello, this is Edna Gruber,” she'd say. “Do you have a problem with my granddaughter walking to school with your daughter?”

“The threat in her voice said they'd better not," Miller recalled. “She had zero fear of anything or anybody. She would do anything she had to do to get what she felt was the right thing. And it was not always the right thing.”

Still, “she tried very hard to save us from hurt. She didn't care if people respected her, but they had to respect her grandchildren,” Miller said, adding that most of her friends were from the nearby Italian neighborhood.

“They were caring, accepting, kind. They allowed their kids to come to my grandmother's house. I formed friendships then that exist today.”

Despite her strictness, Gruber was always very generous with material things, Miller said. “She bought me beautiful clothes. Anything we wanted. She'd buy out the store.” Gruber's generosity did not extend to feelings, however.

“We never told her anything,” Miller said. “She gave us no emotional support.” Miller attributes her grandmother's hard spirit to great-grandma Katharina, who “had a very cold heart.” One summer day, when Miller was about 13, Gruber told her “You're going to work on the muck. And you're going to buy your own school clothes.”

“I didn't argue. No one argued with her. So, I went to work on the muck picking onions. From 7 in the morning to 5 at night. I'd fall asleep in the bathtub. I was exhausted.

“Then, before school started I went to the store, and do you know what I bought with that money? Two dresses.” That's all the school clothes Miller had that year. “She wasn't mad at me. It was just her way of teaching a lesson. You had to work for what you wanted.”

As Miller grew older she became more aware of what was going on at grandma's house. While local historians have hinted at Gruber's connection to the local Mafia, Miller is certain of it. “I saw the people who came in. I knew who she talked to. They washed each other's hands. They helped her and she helped them,” Miller said.

Edna Gruber bought the Central Hotel (once called the Globe) in 1926 and renamed it the Palace. The grand brick structure on Jackson Street, Batavia, was sold by Gruber's grandchildren and is now partially occupied.

Batavia's most famous madam

Growing up with Edna Gruber

(Continued)

'We lived in a glass dome inside that house. Nothing in that house ever touched us. She kept that away from us.' - Edna Miller

Edna Gruber, right, and her mother, Katharina Russell, and daughter, Florence Miller, who died in an Ohio fire, leaving two young children in Gruber's care.

Edna Gruber bought the Central Hotel (once called the Globe) in 1926 and renamed it the Palace. The grand brick structure on Jackson Street, Batavia, was sold by Gruber's grandchildren and is now partially occupied.