George was a "story" man

[iamsitta]

Talking with Mom yesterday, I rediscovered that my grandfather George was a reporter for the Waco (TX) News-Tribune around 1920, before he married Mamaw.  His favorite story was about witnessing a hanging.  After that event, he went for lunch and on his way back to his vehicle, he took a shortcut through the courthouse basement.  There he was

Comments

"the rest of the story..."

[underhiswings1]

That first story has a great ending, ya' know.

The hanging took place in a square with an iron fence around it. It had a building within the fence (I'm thinking it was the courthouse/jail) which had an alcove where they took the body after the guy was hanged. The way I recall George telling it, he went over to the little alcove and looked through the fence at the body which had a sheet over it. As George was looking at it, he saw the sheet move. George yelled, "Hey, you men! this man is still alive!" The men in charge of the hanging came in and examined him. The next thing George knew, they were carrying the body back up to the gallows where they hanged him again!! George was so freaked out!

Also, there was the time he was covering a KKK trial in Waco, I think, and before he went into the courthouse, guns started firing and there was a big shootout. George was so spooked, he crawled under a model-T to hide.

[underhiswings1]

Ya' know, George should've stayed in the writing profession instead of being corralled at Southern Steel. He would've been so much happier as a writer. The Youngbloods apparently had a way of insisting that you do what THEY want you to do. Sort of like the mafia or something!

[underhiswings1]

By the way, Martha ran across the newspaper clipping that George sent Mamaw of the story he wrote for the Waco Herald-Tribune on that man's hanging. I never got to see it; I think it's in the file of letters he wrote her that Martha re-read to Mamaw after George's death. Martha would know where it is.

[underhiswings1]

This was such a great LJ entry, Sistta. I'm glad I read it again.

I wonder if you EVER asked Martha if she remembered the rest of the story George told about the drive back to Waco "in the dead of night." I hope, I hope, I hope...