Cardinal
Courier
1977
In the height
of their infamy, Bonnie and Clyde
frequently came to, and hid out, in the
Texoma area.
Bonnie
Parker and Clyde Barrow were both born in
small towns in Texas. As a matter of
fact, Bonnie's mother was reputed to have
operated a restaurant in Bells. When
Bonnie and Clyde met in Dallas, she was
married to Roy Thornton who was at that
time serving a prison sentence. It
seems that Bonnie's choices in men left
something to be desired.
One time,
Bonnie was driving through this area on
her way to see her mother. She was
probably speeding, because a policeman
stopped her. When he came up to the
car, she greeted him with both barrels.
Similarly,
a motorcycle patrolman spotted them
coming toward him on the highway.
However, this patrolman intelligently
opted to ignore them, deciding it might be
healthier that way. When he was a
safe distance away, he looked back to see
Bonnie also looking back with a shotgun
pointed his way. It was fortunate
that he didn't look before then. He
is still alive, selling insurance in
Sherman.
Bonnie and
Clyde weren't adverse to offering a
helping hand to people though. For
example, Cindy Vessel's great-grandfather
was walking from Southmayd to Sherman, so
they picked him up. When he found
out who they were, he no doubt wanted
out. However, they insisted
upon taking him all the way to
Sherman. Well, I guess he decided
not to argue too much with them.
In 1 926,
Sam and Lottie Mosier were out hunting in
the woods surrounding the Locust and Mill
Creek area. It was nothing unusual
to see strangers staying in one of the
several cabins in the area. These
two people were friendly as they conversed
very pleasantly with Sam and Lottie.
However, it was a little out of the
ordinary that 12 Texas Rangers should be
looking for them. The Rangers told
Mr. Mosier that these people were Bonnie
and Clyde.
On May 23,
1934, Bonnie and Clyde were coaxed into an
FBI and Texas Ranger ambush in Arcadia,
Louisiana where they met their
end. So for them crime really
didn't pay.
- - -
written by Natalie Clountz
This story
appeared in the Cardinal Courier
(Pottsboro High School) on November 4,
1977.
The Denison
Herald
April 20, 1986
I remember when...
Bonnie,
Clyde encountered twice
by Opal
Dishner
127 Mauk
Circle, Denison
This was
told to me by my late husband, Arthur P.
Dishner, or "Pete," as he was known when a
captain on the fire department here in the
30s. He was at that time serving as
fire inspector for the city of Denison.
This was during the escape of Bonnie and
Clyde and Raymond Hamilton.
He went out
to inspect a particular well-known beauty
shop and had to walk through the living
room to reach the electric meters at the
back of the home and beauty shop.
The beauty shop was in the front part of
the home. He said he saw two of the
biggest guns he had ever seen in his life
as he walked through the living room.
He
recognized them as belonging to "the
outlaws." At that time, his dad,
J.R. Dishner, was the chief of police here
in Denison and he had the description of
the guns the outlaws were carrying.
He said he could just feel eyes watching
him as he walked through the house.
He was in a blue uniform but carried no
gun.
He always
said he just knew if he had been carrying
a gun and they had seen it, it would have
been curtains for him then and there, for
he would not have gotten out of that place
alive. It had been rumored they were
in this part of the county hiding out.
I
understand they were some sort of relative
to the lady who owned the beauty
shop. She is still living, but
incapacitated.
The second
"almost" encounter with the now famous
outlaw gang of Bonnie and Clyde was on
Easter morning, April 1, 1934.
My mother
had passed away about 5 that morning, and
my husband and brother-in-law were on
their way to Pilot Point to pick up my
mother's oldest sister. As
they rounded a corner in a very secluded
wooded area, there sat the Ford the
outlaws were known to be driving at the
time. The Ford had yellow wire
wheels. They had put up newspapers
all around the windows of the car.
My husband said he never slowed up or
looked back, for he didn't care to tangle
with those "hombres."
Historical
Marker - Red River Plunge of Bonnie
& Clyde
Grayson County
Law
Susan Hawkins
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