Cooper Review (Cooper, Tex.), Vol. 129, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 2, 2009 Page: 2 of 6
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Cooper Review - Page 2
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Bob Bowman's East Texas
By Bob Bowman
Bonnie and Clyde
“A hail of lead from officers’ guns brought
death on swift wings to Bonnie Parker and
Clyde Barrow, notorious Dallas desperadoes,
early Wednesday on the highway eight miles
from Gibsland, La.” -Overton Press, May 25,
1934.
During their Depression-era crime wave
between 1931 and 1934, Bonnie and Clyde
were suspected of killing at least twelve people,
including nine peace officers. Their victims
fell in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.
History says Bonnie and Clyde came to
Lufkin in the 1930s and stole a car with a child
lying on the backseat. Discovering the child,
they abandoned the car and swiped another.
The child was Benton Musslewhite, who
would later become an attorney and a losing
candidate for Congress.
But it was a prison escape and the murder
of a guard, also in East Texas, that ultimately
gave lawmen the lead that led the demise
of Bonnie and Clyde and sent Raymond
Hamilton, one of their first partners in crime,
to the electric chair a year later.
Caught on a robbery conviction in 1933
and jailed at Eastham Prison near Weldon in
Trinity County. Hamilton persuaded James
Mullens, a drug addict, to contact Bonnie and
Clyde in Dallas when he was released from
Eastham.
In the early hours of Sunday, January 13,
1934, Bonnie and Clyde delivered Mullens
and Floyd Hamilton, Raymond’s older brother,
to a place near an Eastham field camp. There,
they hid a pair of .45 pistols in a culvert near
the field camp.
Around 6 a.m. on January 16, a prison
work crew including Raymond Hamilton
and another prisoner, Joe Palmer, passed by
the culvert. Hamilton and Palmer grabbed
the guns, killing guard Major Crowson and
wounding fellow guard Olin Bozeman.
Bonnie and Clyde honked their car horn
to guide Hamilton, Palmer, and three other
prisoners, Henry Methvin, Hilton Bybee and
J.B.. French. All of the prisoners piled into the
car, which headed toward Hillsboro and Fort
Worth, where Bybee, Hamilton and Palmer
were dropped off. Hamilton and Palmer were
later captured at Howe.
Eventually, it was Henry Methvin’s decision
to accompany Bonnie and Clyde during the
escape that spelled the end for Bonnie and
Clyde.
Learning that Methvin was one of the prison
escapees, Texas Ranger Frank Hamer struck a
deal with Methvin’s father that his son’s prison
term in Texas would be dropped if Bonnie and
Clyde’s whereabouts were disclosed.
On April 13, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde
drove up to the Methvin home at Arcadia, La.,
delivering Henry to his parents. His father
soon contacted Hamer.
Before dawn on Wednesday, May 23, a
posse of lawmen from Louisiana and Texas,
including Ranger Hamer, hid in the bushes
along a highway near Gibsland. As the sun
broke through the trees, Bonnie and Clyde
appeared in a newly-stolen car.
Before Bonnie and Clyde could lift their
weapons, the peace officers unleashed a volley
of shots, killing Bonnie and Clyde instantly,
ending their reign of crime.
In Years Gone By
From the files of The Cooper Review
Ten Years Ugo
Teresa Ramos, Director
of Volunteer Services for
the American Red Cross of
North Texas, which serves
all residents in Collin, Delta,
Hopkins, and Hunt counties,
traveled to Fort Dix on
Thursday, June 24 for thee
week assignment to aid the
Kosovo Refugee project.
We have new members
to report this week. Mark
Brantley, owner of Mark’s
Body Shop on Highway
24 North is a new business
member and a supporter of the
Chamber. He has a 24-hour
day wrecker service along
with a body shop. We also
welcome John’s Creek Lodge
as a new business member.
J.O., Pat, Joe and Blake Shaw
have opened a new lodge on
FM 1528 at John’s Creek
Ramp entrance. They have
cabins for rent with shower,
microwave, TV, outside grills,
refrigerators, heat/ac, 2 full
beds and electric hook-ups.
The East Delta 11 ih School
of 1949 had its 50^ reunion
at the East Delta Community
Center Saturday, June 26,
1999.
Twenty Years Ago
Attending the Texas
Farm Bureau’s 27^ annual
Citizenship Seminar in San
Angelo June 12-16 were Jodie
Douglas, Enloe and Beverly
Gillean, Mt. Joy.
Sponsored by the Delta
County Farm Bureau, they
were among approximately 400
high school junior and senior
students from 162 counties
across the state.
Purpose of the seminar is
to provide the students with a
better understanding of their
American heritage and the
capitalistic free enterprise
system, according to Thomas
Peters of Cooper, Delta County
Farm Bureau president.
Thirty Years Ago
The pipeline across South
Sulphur River linking the
already completed ten inch
line from Cooper to the river
and the North Hopkins Water
Supply Corporation line form
Sulphur Springs to the south
river levee, was inching closer
Tuesday as the pipeline crews
were once again trenching the
river bottom.
“We’re going to get the
lake now,” said Walter Helm
of Sulphur Springs, recently
elected president of the
Sulphur River Municipal
Water District, after hearing
that the Cooper Lake Project
was being moved into the
jurisdiction of the Corps of
Engineers Forth Worth District
from New Orleans District.
Miss Patty Phyllis
Kennemer of Dallas, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt
Kennemer of Route One, Lake
Creek, and Gary Lawrence
Stone of Dallas, were united
in a formal wedding ceremony
Saturday evening, June 23.
Forty Years Ago
In a formal ceremony
Sunday afternoon at three
o’clock at the Enloe Baptist
Church, Miss Esther Ruth
Stockton repeated marriage
vows with Terry Foster Kesler
of Cooper.
Cimpi'r tRi'uu’iu
Owners - Jim and Sally Butler
JimB@Cooperreview.com
Publisher/Editor - Roger Palmer
Roger@Cooperreview. com
Office Manager/Staff Writer - Kimberly Palmer
Kim@Cooperreview. com
THE COOPER REVIEW (UPS 131940) is printed weekly, except the
fourth week in December. Second Class Postage is paid at Cooper, Texas
75432.
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MEMBER
2009
TU
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
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BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST
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On The River
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Rocks, Paper, Scissors
Continued from last week: Our dogs had
bayed a big boar in thick tall grass at night. No
way could the dogs see the hog for the brush;
they were depending on their noses and ears
to tell the location. The only catch dog was
half bulldog and it couldn’t find the hog in the
thick grass. We felt like a car chasing dog that
finally caught a car. We couldn’t do anything
with it. When the hog tired of the barking he
crashed through the grass and passed close to
Johnny and me in the dark. Casey and Colton
were up a tree. While the dogs were trailing I
went home to get more dogs and my .30-30.
Twenty five minutes later I was back at
the grown up pasture with black mouth cur,
Chip, and pit bulldog, Angel. The hog had
stopped again and I could hear the baying a
mile away in the still summer night air. Every
few minutes I would stop my four wheeler to
zero in on the sound. The dogs were bayed in
the edge of a pool and again we couldn’t see
the hog for overhanging grass and tree limbs.
To be safe we had the young boys waiting on
a four wheeler a hundred yards away.
Chip will help catch so I turned him and
Angel both loose. They rushed to the baying
and soon came the snorting and grunting like
a big hog makes when the dogs try to grab an
ear. He either slung them loose or they weren’t
able to get on an ear before he broke and ran
again. This hog was old enough to know his
best chance was to run and not stop for a mile
or two.
The late June night was humid and hot
with no wind. The hog headed for the next
county and after an hour, our dogs came back.
Maybe we can meet in the daylight in more
open country some time big boy. On the good
side, the nearby wheat field probably won’t be
rooted up as bad for a while.
The Owa Chito Festival at Beavers Bend
last week was nice. I carried five grandkids,
Archer, Casey, Cameryn, Baylie, and Logan,
up there Thursday. Mark and Dylan Owen
met us later at our camp in River Bend beside
the Mountain Fork River. Almost a three hour
trip if you make the necessary stops from my
house to Beavers Bend State Park near Broken
Bow, Oklahoma. The kids got a little restless
resulting in a game of Rocks, Paper, and
Scissors between seventh graders Casey and
Cameryn in the front seat. That’s an ageless
and world wide game for two people and is a
very good game or a way to settle an argument.
Each opponent pounds a fist into his palm
while counting to three. On the count of three,
each must display two fingers (scissors), a fist
(rock), or open hand (paper).
The funny thing about this game is no one
of the three “signs” will win every time. Rocks
break scissors, scissors cut paper, and paper
covers rocks. But back to the game in the front
seat. It sometimes is used as a game with the
loser being subjected to some kind of minor
pain. I’ve heard of ear thumping, forearm
slapping, and the like. Today, Cameryn and
Casey were using a new one I hadn’t seen
before. The winner would grab the other ’ s head,
slam it down in their lap, find a single hair, and
jerk it out. Oh there was some squealing going
on. Maybe you have felt the pain as you tried
to jerk a hair from your eyebrow.
After setting up camp we hauled my canoe
upriver a ways to a bridge and the kids took
turns making the hour trip back down to camp.
Friday morning the eight of us walked “The
Money Trail.” This is part of the David Boren
Hiking Trail we have visited for several years.
Some old man with a hole in his pocket must
walk that trail each night because each time we
find quarters and other coins scattered along.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights we went
to the stage and listened to music. Got home
Sunday morning at 1:30 after three happy and
tiring days with part of my grandkids. Hey,
you other three, you’re next. Wish our pickup
would haul all eight.
Each year during our trotlining in April
and May, Dean Houchins and I catch two
or three flathead, or ap, catfish from Cooper
Lake that have a hump on their back. Actually
it’s right behind the head. Gives it a porpoise
look. I emailed The Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department and received a reply from Kevin
Storey with the Inland Fisheries section in
Tyler. He has never heard of such a thing and
wants me to let him know the next time we
catch one. The meat seems identical to normal
flatheads. Thanks, Kevin.
Summer took off with a blast of heat this
year. Temperature was around a hundred
several days in June. Still over two months of
heat to come. Make sure you have shade and
water for your dogs, cats, and other animals.
Maybe put out a pan of water where the birds
can cool off. Set it by your window so you can
watch the show as they splash around.
A man was traveling the back roads to
Texarkana and wanted to go through Annona.
He stopped at a farmhouse, an elderly lady
came out, and the man asked directions. She
said she didn’t know how to get to Annona.
The man started driving off when he heard
screaming. Looking in his mirror he saw the
woman holding a man’s hand and chasing
after the car. The traveler stopped and backed
up. The woman, out of breath said, “This is
my husband and he don’t know how to get to
Annona either.”
Marine biologists have announced an
effective deterrent against shark attacks. If a
shark is approaching you, take the offensive.
Swim toward it as fast as you can and punch it
right on the nose. If this doesn’t work hit it on
top of its head with your stump.
etra327@embarqmail.com
According to the Thursday,
July 2, 1964 issue of the
Cooper Review:
Sixty outstanding high
school graduates and college
students have been awarded
scholarships totaling $6,930
to attend East Texas State
College during the 1964-65
school year, according to
Weldon Tallant, financial aids
officer at ETSC.
Surrounded by their
children and their families
and many local and visiting
friends, Mr. & Mrs. Archie
B. Carrington observed
the sixtieth anniversary of
their marriage last Saturday
afternoon, receiving at their
home on Rt. 3, Cooper.
Cooper National
Guardsman Jimmy G.
Waters is among the 190
Texas National Guard officer
candidates attending summer
training at Camp Mabry near
Austin.
A Texas home economics,
Mrs. Florence W. Low,
president of the American
Home Economics
Association, will preside
during the organization’s 55^
annual meeting in Detroit,
Michigan, June 55-27. Mrs.
Low is assistant director
for home economics with
the Agricultural Extension
Service at Texas A & M
University. Mrs. Lyndon
B. Johnson will address the
organization June 24. Her
subject will be “Women
as Practicing Citizens—At
Home and Abroad.”
The Cooper FFA Chapter
will have its monthly meeting
Monday, July 6 at 7:30 p.m.
in the agricultural building at
Cooper High School. Slides
of the Livestock Show will
be shown and plans for the
State Convention will be
discussed.
Mr. and Mrs. L. F. Hooten
Jr. and Dr. and Mrs. Olen
G. Janes were hosts to the
Promenaders Club Tuesday
evening at the Delta Country
Club. An informal series of
bridge followed the service
of dinner by Mr. and Mrs. L.
B. Klein, club caterers.
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Palmer, Roger. Cooper Review (Cooper, Tex.), Vol. 129, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 2, 2009, newspaper, July 2, 2009; Cooper, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth805217/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Delta County Public Library.