PART 3. HUNTSVILLE, HOME, PARDON, AND BEYOND Jesse spent the next two years in the infamous Walker Unit at Huntsville, Texas’ State Prison. This historic prison had been in operation since 1849. It had…a reputation. The following is Jesse’s official prison record, his “service record.” BY SEPTEMBER, 1939, AFTER 18 MONTHS, JESSE WAS HOME FOR HIS GOOD BEHAVIOR James family members never spoke of Jesse Gs’ time at the Walker Unit that I ever heard or that Mom or Dad ever shared. I knew from the general history of the Walker Unit, that it was, to be kind, a tough place. The only comments I ever heard about grandpa’s time there was from my mom, June Pike James, Jesse G’s Daughter-in-law. She told me that […]
Growin’ Up
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PART 2: late 1920s to 1942 THE GREAT DEPRESSION TAKES ITS TOLL Horse racing and chicken fighting didn’t pay all the bills in those years of the Great Depression, with a wife and three children, a “player” like Jess…did I tell you he had purchased a yellow sports car of some sort…at least that what one of his sisters-in-law told me. So you can start using your imagination on THAT one. During those Depression years, no one was safe from losing everything-crops, home. My dad said the government men had come to their farm in 1933 to dig a big long trench then killed every third cow they had and buried them in the big pasture out back. Dad said he cried and cried, since […]
Mom had difficult time understanding me as I explained just how perfect her sterling silver dinner knives were for digging perfect holes in the dirt, digging up the garden's carrots and radishes and replanting them after finding they were not ready for harvest, following a ground squirrel hole or two deeper to see if the squirrel was home, but not much else. That all changed when Dad brought home some real digging implements: Captain Matheny's collection.
When this writer (Peggy Weyel) was 3 or 4 years old (about 1950) we went to visit my dad’s (Jesse C. James) aunt Florence and uncle Frank McCoy at Christmas time. Aunt Florence McCoy had a beautifully decorated 6 foot tree with real, live, burning candles on most of the branch ends. I remember bouncing up and down to make the candles really flicker. Then mom tapped my behind to tell me NO jumping. She showed me the lit candles and said that I could have caused a fire. I never jumped again, but the beautifully decorated tree with the lit candles fascinated me. And, I never saw another candle lit Christmas tree…to this day. Dad’s Recollection Begins Many years later (1990s) I asked dad […]
UNCLE LUTHER’S WOLF HOUNDS 1933 “Yes, ma’am, Aint Allie. Mom (Clara McCoy James) has enough eggs to share for your bakin’. I’ll be sure to tell her you need some purty quick.” Jesse Columbus James, aka 10 year old “Sonny,” sat down on the front porch with his “Uncle” Luther. Luther was actually a older cousin to Jesse’s dad, Jesse Garfield James, and husband to “Aint” Allie Beard James. Luther started askin’ his “nephew” how things were going, but living across James Road from his cousins he pretty much knew things were just fine. Fine enough to ask if Sonny-Jesse C. wanted to do some wolf hunting come the evenin’. “Sure, if mom says it’s ok. Dad’s down at Old Man Witherspoon’s ranch, so he […]