Friday, September 15, 2017

I'm in Arkansas

So, today, without realizing it at the time, I passed near a spot that figures in the legend of Bonnie & Clyde, just north of Waldo, Arkansas, where they released two people they'd kidnapped down in Ruston, Louisiana earlier in the day.* I wanted to post a link to the story, but unfortunately it appears to be behind the local paper's paywall. Anyway, here's the link to the opening lines; I'll post more later if I can find out more details about the incident once I'm back in Kent parts:

http://www.magnoliabannernews.com/news/2017/aug/31/when-bonnie-and-clyde-came-waldo/

--John R.

*April 27th, 1933, about a year before their execution by ambush on May 23rd 1934

5 comments:

grodog said...

If you end up driving through/near Wichita, KS, feel free to stop in and say hi :D

Allan.

John D. Rateliff said...

Hi Allan
Afraid not; the northernmost point we're reaching between our flights is Little Rock tomorrow.
--John R.

John D. Rateliff said...

Yup; I was right. We made it up to Little Rock for the day but didn't cross the Arkansas River, staying on its south side.

And tomorrow will be either Texarkana or El Dorado, depending on how things sort out.

--John R.

David Bratman said...

That kidnapping was the incident inspiring the one with the character played by Gene Wilder in the movie.

John D. Rateliff said...

Hi David
Interesting to know. Afraid I didn't even remember that Gene Wilder appeared in that film -- but then I saw it in the theatre when it first came out, when I was about eight or nine*, up on Crowley's Ridge. I think I did rewatch it or at least parts of it, on dvd, probably when I was working on the PULP CTHULHU project,** but even that's long enough ago that I remember bits and pieces, not the whole film.

--John R., who's now back from Arkansas

*what were our parents thinking? I'm thinking there were fewer parent advisories in those days --- which might explain their taking us to THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY too.

**pretty sure at any rate that that's when I read the Parker/Barrows family book about Bonnie & Clyde