Uncle Ralph and Bonnie and Clyde
Uncle Ralph lived on a ranch near Talpa, which is near Coleman, Texas. There was a train, called the “Doodlebug, that went from Coleman to Talpa, then to Ballinger and finally, I think, to San Angelo. The Doodlebug consisted of one passenger car, one freight car and an ugly looking engine. It wasn’t a steam or diesel engine. I saw it one time in the 40’s and it looked like it was powered by gasoline.
Around 1933 Uncle Ralph rode on the Doodlebug over to Ballinger. When he got off the train, here came a railroad guard waving his arms at Ralph. The guard said, “Don’t go up to the café, that Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are up there!” Ralph said, “Aren’t you headed the wrong way? You need to go up there and arrest them!” The guard replied, “Not them two!” and headed off in the opposite direction.
Ralph, of course, headed right on up to the café (it was not often to get to see celebrities in West Texas). When he got up there he looked through the front window and between the window curtains he could see Bonnie and Clyde in a back corner where they could see anyone coming through the front door. Their guns were propped against their table.
Ralph didn’t hang around to see whether or not they paid for their meal. I would guess they did because Bonnie grew up in Rowena which is only six miles away and a local girl wouldn’t want to get a bad reputation. The railroad guard took the right course of action, retreat, which was a wise choice without having reinforcements. This couple managed to kill nine lawmen (not to mention a few civilians here and there) in their short career before they were ambushed and killed in their Model A Ford over in Louisiana. There were enough guns and ammo in their car to arm a small army in Central America.
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