1980 Guest House Murders

[Lynne]

The people I'm concerned with all came from down around Madill, even the detective. Which is another one of those plot twists I'd like to talk about. Kingston, Ardmore Tishomingo, Durant (and that's DOO rant to the uninitiated) Broken Bow. . .the whole area was and is still known as 'Little Dixie'. Must be something in the water. The Little Dixie Mafia rivaled anybody for out and out audacity. They have a street in Ardmore that used to be called Bloody Caddo.

[Lynne]

That'd be the great Deputy Marshal Bill Tilghman, one of Oklahoma's famous "Three Guardsmen," and if memory serves one of Oklahoma City's first police chiefs.

I quote
'In 1910 Tilghman was elected to the state senate but resigned in 1911 to serve as Oklahoma City's police chief. Beginning in 1908 he helped film four Western motion pictures, including The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws, released in 1915. Tilghman exhibited that film for several years.

In August 1924 at age seventy he was persuaded to leave retirement and became city marshal at Cromwell, a booming Oklahoma oil town. On November 1, 1924, a drunken prohibition agent, Wiley Lynn, shot Tilghman twice with a hideout gun, killing the last great peace officer of the Old West. The murderer won acquittal, only to be shot and killed in 1932. Zoe Tilghman bitterly observed, "No jury on earth can acquit him now."

I bet she was every bit as tough as her husband.


The irony shouldn't be lost he was killed by a drunken prohibition officer.

[Achilleslastand]

Do you remember Podie Poe? Where exactly was his gambling joint and how did he get away with it for so long?

Here is a thread about Poe...
http://www.okctalk.com/nostalgia-mem...-pody-poe.html

I recall asking and someone telling me his address in NH and for the life of me cant remember it. I also forgot that he also owned hook and slice which used to sit about a 1/4 mile south of Wilshire west of Broadway{235}.

[Lynne]

I had no idea. I didn't know the other two men. They seemed like innocent by-standers killed so there'd be no witnesses. I did know a Glenn Nowlin. But that was way before any of this. Curiouser and curiouser, isn't it?
I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. Was he the Vietnam vet???

[Bellaboo]

Back in the early '80s, I worked with Pody's brother Pat for a about a year, but didn't get to know him very well at all.

[Lynne]

Marvin Nowlin was a friend of mine from grade school until his death. Did you know that his father was killed by an OKC policeman?

I don't know too much about the other guys.Yet. They seemed like innocent bystanders. Was he the Vietnam vet?
I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend.

[gen70]

I don't know too much about the other guys.Yet. They seemed like innocent bystanders. Was he the Vietnam vet?
I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend.

Yes he was a Vietnam vet. and I had visited him at his apt. just a few weeks before the murders. While at his apt. I also met the other two victims.

[rezman]

Do you remember Podie Poe? Where exactly was his gambling joint and how did he get away with it for so long?

I remember hearing about Podie Poe back then, but one the coworkers knew him and mentioned him from time to time.

I have a friend who's last name was well known in certain circles, and who's dad was involed in the gambling, nightclub scene. I talk to him every couple of weeks or so and I'll ask him. .. He's got some good stories to tell.

[Jim Kyle]

The people I'm concerned with all came from down around Madill, even the detective. Which is another one of those plot twists I'd like to talk about. Kingston, Ardmore Tishomingo, Durant (and that's DOO rant to the uninitiated) Broken Bow. . .the whole area was and is still known as 'Little Dixie'. Must be something in the water. The Little Dixie Mafia rivaled anybody for out and out audacity. They have a street in Ardmore that used to be called Bloody Caddo.

Back in late 1954, I went to my first newspaper job as the sole fulltime reporter for The Daily Ardmoreite. I'm quite familiar with Little Dixie and its mafia. Ever deal with George Fuqua, whose activities forced the Highway Patrol to stop using unmarked cars?

Quite a few of those folk had ties to northwest Louisiana, as well...

[Jim Kyle]

Here is a thread about Poe...
http://www.okctalk.com/nostalgia-mem...-pody-poe.html

I recall asking and someone telling me his address in NH and for the life of me cant remember it. I also forgot that he also owned hook and slice which used to sit about a 1/4 mile south of Wilshire west of Broadway{235}.

Pody was an alumnus of Classen high school, and contributed a copy of his autobiography to our alumni association's museum. Unfortunately the museum has been closed for several years due to the MAPS renovation of the Classen building; we hope to have it open to the public again sometime this summer, though, and everything in our "Authors Alley" collection (including works by Bill Gulick and Louis L'Amour) can be read by any visitor.

Many of his games were held at his home in Nichols Hills...

[Lynne]

Yes he was a Vietnam vet. and I had visited him at his apt. just a few weeks before the murders. While at his apt. I also met the other two victims.

You met Ray??? Describe him.

[Lynne]

Back in late 1954, I went to my first newspaper job as the sole fulltime reporter for The Daily Ardmoreite. I'm quite familiar with Little Dixie and its mafia. Ever deal with George Fuqua, whose activities forced the Highway Patrol to stop using unmarked cars?

Quite a few of those folk had ties to northwest Louisiana, as well...

Before my time, but wow!. . . what great information. This is such a character -rich environment. I want to hear more, more more.

[Lynne]

Just as an aside, for those interested in Oklahoma bad guys and good guys there is a book called 'Oklahoma Justice, the Oklahoma City Police. A century of Gunfighters, gangsters and Terrorists.' by Ron Owens. Owens is a ex-OCPD whom I've tried to get in touch with, so far without any results. The story I'm interested in is covered there, it's rich in leads and has almost become my handbook.
Caution: you are gonna pay dear for the thing but if you are an Oklahoma City buff, this book is great.

[Lynne]

Back in late 1954, I went to my first newspaper job as the sole fulltime reporter for The Daily Ardmoreite. I'm quite familiar with Little Dixie and its mafia. Ever deal with George Fuqua, whose activities forced the Highway Patrol to stop using unmarked cars?

Quite a few of those folk had ties to northwest Louisiana, as well...

We are getting into 'Justified' territory also, are we not??

[OKCRT]

Back in late 1954, I went to my first newspaper job as the sole fulltime reporter for The Daily Ardmoreite. I'm quite familiar with Little Dixie and its mafia. Ever deal with George Fuqua, whose activities forced the Highway Patrol to stop using unmarked cars?

Quite a few of those folk had ties to northwest Louisiana, as well...

Any relation to Lake Fuqua that is down around those parts I believe? In fact I caught a few nice bass in that lake years ago.

[kevinpate]

Lake Fuqua is not really Little Dixie in my mind anyway. It is east of Marlow a few miles, ENE of Duncan and SSW of Lindsey, and SE of the hamlet of Bray.
Nice little lake, rarely crowded. Had some camping on its east side if memory serves. It was also a water sports source for one of the GS properties I used to assist with (96-05).

[Jim Kyle]

Any relation to Lake Fuqua that is down around those parts I believe? In fact I caught a few nice bass in that lake years ago.

George operated mostly in the Dallas area but to the best of my knowledge, his parents lived in Healdton and he did quite a bit in the way of hijacking bootleggers around Love, Carter, and Jefferson counties in the mid-50s.

During my first week on the job in Ardmore, the top local bootlegger got hijacked on US 70 between Ardmore and Waurika while returning from Wichita Falls with a full load of booze in his Caddie Coupe de Ville. The baddie put a bullet through the radiator of the Cadillac to prevent being pursued. I interviewed the victim, who insisted that nothing at all had happened -- but the sheriff had a different story!

George's M.O. was to drive a black Ford sedan and use a hand-held red spotlight to cause his victims to pull over. At the time, the OHP used identical vehicles to catch speeders along US 77 (I35 hadn't even been surveyed yet), and the bootleggers were quite willing to stop and get a speeding ticket since they knew that OHP never searched for contraband on normal traffic stops.

What brought it to an end was the night that George tried to stop a Caddie coming in fron Texas at high speed, and the Caddie didn't pull over. Instead, the driver accelerated, and George gave chase. Somewhere between Thackerville and Marietta, the Caddie left the pavement and tied itself in a bow around a large tree with fatal results to the driver -- who turned out to be the owner of a trucking company in Gainesville, who was on his way to a major accident involving one of his trucks! That put a spotlight on the OHP practice, and a few weeks later a trooper made the mistake of stopping a state legislator by way of an unmarked car. The legislature immediately banned the use of unmarked vehicles by the OHP, which forced George to change his M.O.

Several years ago I did a Google search for George and found that he perished in what was presumed to be a contract killing, along with his girl friend, quite some time after I had left Ardmore.

One of the reasons that Little Dixie has such a reputation for lawlessness is that until 1959, alcohol had never been legal in the area. Prior to statehood in 1907, Oklahoma Territory had legal saloons -- but Indian Territory never permitted legal alcohol. This gave rise to bootlegging as an honorable family business, and since it was illegal, lawmen could not protect its practicioners from predators, thus giving rise to the Dixie Mafia. Incidentally, I'm told that this tradition exists to this day, and given the disappearance of an entire family a couple of years ago down there, I'm inclined to believe that this is true.

[KenRagsdale]

Thanks, Jim Kyle, for the background. Writing previously for "The McAlester Democrat," I appreciate your recollections greatly. Francis/Gene Stipe were owners of the "Democrat," at that time, and they were always gracious to me. I know a bit about Oklahoma liquor laws. Of course, had it not been for Governor J. Howard Edmonson, J. Howard Edmondson--What's My Line - YouTube, and his Attorney General, Joe Cannon, Judge Joe Cannon | News OK, "liquor by the wink," in 1959 would not have happened. It was a windfall for retail liquor-package store owners both at the time, and to this day. Both Edmondson and Cannon were from Muskogee. I would recommend, and encourage you to memorialize in writing your recollections and forward to Dr. Bob Blackburn at the Oklahoma Historical
Society for archive.

[Lynne]

Thanks, Jim Kyle, for the background. Writing previously for "The McAlester Democrat," I appreciate your recollections greatly. Francis/Gene Stipe were owners of the "Democrat," at that time, and they were always gracious to me. I know a bit about Oklahoma liquor laws. Of course, had it not been for Governor J. Howard Edmonson, J. Howard Edmondson--What's My Line - YouTube, and his Attorney General, Joe Cannon, Judge Joe Cannon | News OK, "liquor by the wink," in 1959 would not have happened. It was a windfall for retail liquor-package store owners both at the time, and to this day. Both Edmondson and Cannon were from Muskogee. I would recommend, and encourage you to memorialize in writing your recollections and forward to Dr. Bob Blackburn at the Oklahoma Historical
Society for archive.

Edmonson ran for Gov when I was about 8 or 9 years old. His opponent, Atkinson ran one of the dirtiest campaigns in Oklahoma history, as far as we knew at the time. There were even allegations that Edmondson had raped a girl. He won anyway and I think Atkinson went on to start a paper . . was it the Journal?. . out in Midwest City.

[ljbab728]

Edmonson ran for Gov when I was about 8 or 9 years old. His opponent, Atkinson ran one of the dirtiest campaigns in Oklahoma history, as far as we knew at the time. There were even allegations that Edmondson had raped a girl. He won anyway and I think Atkinson went on to start a paper . . was it the Journal?. . out in Midwest City.

Yes, it was the Oklahoma Journal. I used to subscribe to that paper. (along the Oklahoman, the Oklahoma City Times, and the Norman Transcript)

[Lynne]

George operated mostly in the Dallas area but to the best of my knowledge, his parents lived in Healdton and he did quite a bit in the way of hijacking bootleggers around Love, Carter, and Jefferson counties in the mid-50s.

During my first week on the job in Ardmore, the top local bootlegger got hijacked on US 70 between Ardmore and Waurika while returning from Wichita Falls with a full load of booze in his Caddie Coupe de Ville. The baddie put a bullet through the radiator of the Cadillac to prevent being pursued. I interviewed the victim, who insisted that nothing at all had happened -- but the sheriff had a different story!

George's M.O. was to drive a black Ford sedan and use a hand-held red spotlight to cause his victims to pull over. At the time, the OHP used identical vehicles to catch speeders along US 77 (I35 hadn't even been surveyed yet), and the bootleggers were quite willing to stop and get a speeding ticket since they knew that OHP never searched for contraband on normal traffic stops.

What brought it to an end was the night that George tried to stop a Caddie coming in fron Texas at high speed, and the Caddie didn't pull over. Instead, the driver accelerated, and George gave chase. Somewhere between Thackerville and Marietta, the Caddie left the pavement and tied itself in a bow around a large tree with fatal results to the driver -- who turned out to be the owner of a trucking company in Gainesville, who was on his way to a major accident involving one of his trucks! That put a spotlight on the OHP practice, and a few weeks later a trooper made the mistake of stopping a state legislator by way of an unmarked car. The legislature immediately banned the use of unmarked vehicles by the OHP, which forced George to change his M.O.

Several years ago I did a Google search for George and found that he perished in what was presumed to be a contract killing, along with his girl friend, quite some time after I had left Ardmore.

One of the reasons that Little Dixie has such a reputation for lawlessness is that until 1959, alcohol had never been legal in the area. Prior to statehood in 1907, Oklahoma Territory had legal saloons -- but Indian Territory never permitted legal alcohol. This gave rise to bootlegging as an honorable family business, and since it was illegal, lawmen could not protect its practicioners from predators, thus giving rise to the Dixie Mafia. Incidentally, I'm told that this tradition exists to this day, and given the disappearance of an entire family a couple of years ago down there, I'm inclined to believe that this is true.

Amazing. I love these stories. Speaking of the Dixie Mafia another char that keeps popping up is Carl 'Geno' Hines. I know you know that name. He and Ray came up together and I had the privilege of throwing him and his tweaker friends out of my house on more than one occasion. Ray and I got along just fine until Carl and his traveling freak show came into town and when they did my world was turned upside down. I knew before it was over I'd have to bail Ray and probably myself out of jail, or I'd have to move or at least have my house tossed. I REALLY hated that guy. He was named in one of the trials as the leader of the Little Dixie Mafia at the time but that sounds more like Carl's own ego or some over-zealous newspaper guys twist on an already impossibly outrageous story. He died in the Ft Worth Federal prison last year.

[Lynne]

Yes, it was the Oklahoma Journal. I used to subscribe to that paper. (along the Oklahoman, the Oklahoma City Times, and the Norman Transcript)

That's right. Remember that song
'I gotta be more than just two lines
in the Oklahoma City Times' ?

[Lynne]

Here is a thread about Poe...
http://www.okctalk.com/nostalgia-mem...-pody-poe.html

I recall asking and someone telling me his address in NH and for the life of me cant remember it. I also forgot that he also owned hook and slice which used to sit about a 1/4 mile south of Wilshire west of Broadway{235}.

I never met Pody Poe to my knowledge but of course everybody knew about him.

[Lynne]

Fourth Time No Charm: Guilty Again, Jury Says | News OK

[boscorama]

I was about 7 or 8.

E-D-M-O-N-D * S-O-N spells Edmondson ....

Edmonson ran for Gov when I was about 8 or 9 years old. His opponent, Atkinson ran one of the dirtiest campaigns in Oklahoma history, as far as we knew at the time. There were even allegations that Edmondson had raped a girl. He won anyway and I think Atkinson went on to start a paper . . was it the Journal?. . out in Midwest City.