Page 48 - 2019junejuly

Bonnie and Clyde and the Barrow Gang

by Pat Rodgers

Seventy-four years after their violent death in Gibsland,Louisiana
in a carefully planned ambush of lawmen, we are stillintrigued with escaped the ambush, going on to Weston. They picked up two young
the romance of the two young lovers Bonnie and Clyde and their men as hostages before proceeding to the home of an unsuspecting
trail of crime. farmer, Mr. Mays and his family. They ordered
It was the depression years 1932-1934. Bonnie super and enjoyed Mrs. May’s berry cobbler.
and Clyde crisscrossed the South, the Southwest They nervously spent the night keeping guard
and the Midwest in stolen cars, robbing banks at the window. The next morning, they took
and businesses, breaking out of jails, and trading the two hostages, along with the Mayes’ son
gunfire with the “laws” as they called the police. and escaped in the family car to Mansfield,
The Barrows gang included Ray Hamilton, where they released the hostages unharmed.
Clyde’s childhood friend as well as his brother Raymond Hamilton continued his life of crime
Buck and his wife Blanche, among others. but was captured one last time and eventually
They were cold-blooded criminals who did went on to the electric chair in payment for his
not hesitate to kill anyone, especially police or many crimes. Ralph Fultz went straight after
sheriff’s deputies. Their fame increased as they his stint in prison and retired from a life of
posed for playful pictures for the police to find crime and became a Baptist preacher.
and publish.
Clyde and Bonnie Parker were from the Dallas Clyde and Bonnie met their demise on May
23, 1934 when they were ambushed by Texas
area. Bonnie met the charismatic Clyde Barrow and Louisiana State Police while driving a
in Texas when she was 19 years old. Clyde was stolen car near Gibsland. Their story lives on
imprisoned for robbery and Bonnie smuggled a with each generation that becomes intrigued
gun into prison to help him escape. He was soon once again with the romance of the two young
caught and sent back to prison. After his release outlaw lovers.
in 1932, they hooked up again and began their
crime spree across Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, The Collin County History Museum offers
New Mexico, and Louisiana. trolley tours telling the story of Bonnie and
The myth of Bonnie and Clyde was rarely close to the reality. The Clyde and other “Bad Boys of McKinney. See the museum webpage
for dates of upcoming tours.
mythical story was that they were a romantic couple in stylish
clothes who broke the bonds of convention, who didn’t fear the
police and lived a life of glamorous luxury. The reality was different
as the Barrow gang lived a hard, uneasy life punctuated by narrow
escapes bungled robberies, injury and murder.
Clyde and Bonnie went through Collin County many times. There
are several stories of them staying with Collin County residents.
Clyde’s aunt worked at the Wood’s Café in downtown McKinney
and legend reports that the young lovers were often spotted dinning
in the café together. The reality is that most probably they would
never go in together to eat for fear that they would be spotted and
captured. Old timers tell the story of meeting up with them on the
road as they escaped after holding up a gas station. Bonnie was
seated in the back with a blanket covering up a lap full of guns.
One of their gang members, Ralph Fults, was born in Anna. Some
of the Barrow gang spent time in the Collin County jail and in
December of 1932 Ralph Fults found himself behind bars for stealing
a car in Farmersville. Ted Rogers, another Barrow member was also
incarcerated. Ralph had a visit from his "cousin", Bonnie Parker.
She gave him a pack of Camel cigarettes and said, "We’re taking
you and Ted out of here today." The jail break was thwarted when
the prisoners were moved to Huntsville the following morning.
In February of 1935 two of the Barrow Gang, Raymond Hamilton
and Ralph Fults were returning to Collin County from Oklahoma.
Raymond was one of the most notorious bandits in the Southwest and
the Federal Government had sent a special force of expert officers
to aid in his capture. Raymond and Ralph were ambushed on the
old Weston road north of McKinney and made a desperate dash to
escape through a hail of bullets and torrents of rain. They narrowly

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