Yeah, That Happened: Topics in History
May 23, 2017 8:32:02 GMT -4
Metairie, ladyboy, and 9 more like this
Post by divasahm on May 23, 2017 8:32:02 GMT -4
Today is the 83rd anniversary of the ambush on Bonnie and Clyde. When I was growing up in east Texas, there were still a lot of folks around who remembered that B&C had passed through our hometown several times on their way to and from Dallas to visit their families. On their last trip through, they stole Mr. Rosborough's brand new Ford V8 (Clyde's preferred vehicle--that V8 engine allowed him to get a jump on most police vehicles of the day), although contrary to local legend, his was not the car they were killed in.
My grandfather was a barber in Marshall, TX, and his shop was in Marshall's town square. It was a slow day, and a couple of police officers came in for trims, only to receive word that they were needed to assist with a situation about an hour and a half away, near Arcadia, LA. Pawpaw put two and two together, and later he and his fellow barber followed the cops out to B&C's hideout. Pawpaw's friend scavenged a probably stolen pocket watch from the hideout, and gave it to Pawpaw some time later.
Years later, after Pawpaw's death and when I was eight or nine years old, someone came through town with a trailer carrying Bonnie and Clyde's death car. The local paper took the opportunity to recap the story for those too young to remember, and interviewed Mr. Rosborough about the theft of his car. I was morbidly fascinated with the story, and Mawmaw was sharing her memories when she suddenly got up and went to the dresser in her bedroom. She came out with a small box containing the pocket watch that Pawpaw and his friend had "stolen back" from Bonnie and Clyde, and she told me the story about how Pawpaw had ended up with it. My mother had never heard the story, and despite being thoroughly horrified by it, ended up taking the watch to an antique dealer in Dallas, having it repaired, and made into a necklace for my grandmother, who wore it often until her death in 1994. Mom has worn it a few times, but it's long and heavy, and I think it gives her the creeps. I'll end up with it eventually, and while I probably won't wear it much, the story is too interesting not to share.
My grandfather was a barber in Marshall, TX, and his shop was in Marshall's town square. It was a slow day, and a couple of police officers came in for trims, only to receive word that they were needed to assist with a situation about an hour and a half away, near Arcadia, LA. Pawpaw put two and two together, and later he and his fellow barber followed the cops out to B&C's hideout. Pawpaw's friend scavenged a probably stolen pocket watch from the hideout, and gave it to Pawpaw some time later.
Years later, after Pawpaw's death and when I was eight or nine years old, someone came through town with a trailer carrying Bonnie and Clyde's death car. The local paper took the opportunity to recap the story for those too young to remember, and interviewed Mr. Rosborough about the theft of his car. I was morbidly fascinated with the story, and Mawmaw was sharing her memories when she suddenly got up and went to the dresser in her bedroom. She came out with a small box containing the pocket watch that Pawpaw and his friend had "stolen back" from Bonnie and Clyde, and she told me the story about how Pawpaw had ended up with it. My mother had never heard the story, and despite being thoroughly horrified by it, ended up taking the watch to an antique dealer in Dallas, having it repaired, and made into a necklace for my grandmother, who wore it often until her death in 1994. Mom has worn it a few times, but it's long and heavy, and I think it gives her the creeps. I'll end up with it eventually, and while I probably won't wear it much, the story is too interesting not to share.
