Wednesday, December 29, 2010

The Bonnie & Clyde Holiday Polls-- "Ho Ho Oh"-- A Most Challenging Lot

The Holiday Edition Bonnie & Clyde Polls lived up to expectation, in being challenging to many. So along with the wonder of the Holidays-- an always keen interest in Bonnie & Clyde and perhaps a well deserved Holiday beverage in place-- here we go.

Prentiss Oakley's death certificate, reveals that Dr. J. L. Wade noted Arthritis as being a contributing cause of the vascular heart disease which killed Prentiss Oakley. Oakley died on October 15th, 1957 at his home at 904 Third Street in Arcadia, Louisiana. There have been rumors published, that Prentiss Oakley may have committed suicide. That dramatic an end for Oakley would appear to fit well to some, in drawing a macabre Bonnie & Clyde connection-- with the mysterious head on collision which killed Henderson Jordan not long afterward in June 1958. However Oakley's death certificate, which a well respected Dr. James Wade affixed his signature to-- seems to rebuff that assertion.

Ivy Methvin was struck and seriously injured in a reported hit and run accident on December 21st, 1946-- on highway 71 outside of Elm Grove, LA. A week later on December 28th-- Ivy would die from his injuries. Whether Ivy Methvin and/or his son Henry were killed deliberately as retribution for the deaths of Bonnie & Clyde as some believe, or died as a result of a tragic accidents-- has been a matter of contention for decades.

The Livingston Ranch was a suspected Bonnie & Clyde hideout near Sayre, Oklahoma. It was located in the area near the bridge where Bonnie, Clyde and W. D. Jones along with their lawman hostages Corey and Hardy-- met up with Buck and Blanche Barrow after the Wellington incident. The ranch was owned by Col. Bert Livingston, who it's said positioned machine guns as a deterrent to those who would snoop there. This suspected outlaw stronghold apparently also had a more official protection in place, as according to the U.S. Bureau of Investigation-- law enforcement near the Livingston Ranch couldn't be counted on. It was also thought The Barrow Gang, may have been harbored by Bert Livingston's son George Livingston who lived nearby.


It was U. S. Bureau of Investigation Dallas Special Agent in Charge Frank Blake, who called The Barrows "the toughest bunch of outlaws at large". And not surprisingly to some, it was Tommy Harryman brother of slain Joplin lawman Wes Harryman-- who showed up in Dallas in July of 1933, admittedly resigned to wanting to kill Bonnie & Clyde or assist others in doing so.

Concerning the January 6th, 1933 shooting at the Lillie McBride house-- reportedly a wanted and on the run Odell
Chambless (Gene O'Dare's brother in law)-- had come and gone at the McBride house at an earlier time, having looked to Ray Hamiton's sister for assistance. As such, it was Clyde Barrow who it's said showed up at the McBride house at about sundown on January 6th, to check on the unrelated status of hacksaw blades being smuggled to Ray who was jailed at Hillsboro. Clyde, Bonnie and W. D. Jones would return later that night, for what would result in the deadly encounter with Tarrant County Deputy Sheriff Malcolm Davis. Davis was part of a joint Dallas and Tarrant County lawman's task force, charged with locating Chambless. Unbeknownst to Clyde-- and thanks to quick thinking by the law who figured out the outlaw's warning light, he walked right into the wrong trap-- and escaped in a hail of bullets, shotgun blasts and death.

It was a pretty good bet, that Bonnie & Clyde were involved in the hold up of the 1st National Bank of Stuart, Iowa on April 16th, 1934-- once the Iowa license plates 13-1234 witnessed during the robbery were found in the B&C death car. Until that time-- Bonnie & Clyde had not officially been linked to that robbery. And finally I suppose, Blanche Barrow would be most closely associated with Christmas-- as Blanche passed away on Christmas Eve 1988, at the age of 77.

So there you have it, the 2010 Holiday Bonnie & Clyde Polls. The inaugural batch of 2011 polls will be up and running by mid January. As always, I hope you've found the B&C Polls interesting and informative. Might I suggest that at some point-- all obtain a copy of the Bonnie & Clyde Dallas FBI Files from whatever source you can. They're great historical reading, and to my thinking provide a vital historical supplement-- to the many B&C books written prior to this newly found wealth of B&C knowledge being available. In addition, the Dallas files can sometimes come in handy concerning the B&C Polls. If interested, look for my dual CD offer here on the blog-- and I'll be happy to send some indispensable B&C info your way. Thanks as always-- for your participation in The B&CHB Bonnie & Clyde Polls.

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