In search of Bonnie & Clyde. . .

But their run from the law ended on May 23, 1934 when they were ambushed by law enforcement near Gibsland, Louisiana.  Ted “Boots” Hinton Jr., curator and host of the Ambush Museum in the little town of Gibsland, was the son of Ted Hinton, one of the six officers who finally tracked them down.  After two days of waiting on the lonely gravel road (now paved LA Highway 154) and about fifteen minutes before they were to give up on their vigil, Bonnie & Clyde came roaring down the road in their stolen 1934 Ford and the officers opened fire.  Both Bonnie & Clyde took at least 50 gunshots thus ending their life of crime and murder. Why didn’t the officers attempt to capture the pair? Bonnie & Clyde and their associates were masters of shooting their way out of a situation; eleven of the 12-14 people they murdered were law enforcement officers!
Photographs are not allowed in the museum which in 1934 was Ma Canfield’s restaurant where Bonnie & Clyde bought two sandwiches just moments before they met their end. (Only two bites were taken from the sandwiches.)   We watched a video which features footage commonly seen on the History Channel and also a segment featuring “Boots.” 
Even more than going through the Ambush Museum we enjoyed talking to Boots, a retired U.S. Customs Agent, about his father’s (he refers to him as Ted) role in Bonnie & Clyde’s end.  Stories abound in newspapers, books, newsreels and magazines about what actually took place the day of the ambush.  The six officers involved in the shooting made a pact that none would tell their story as long as any of the others were still alive.  Ted Hinton was the last survivor but waited until 1977 to tell the story and, with the help of L. Grove,  wrote Ambush (The Real Story of Bonnie and Clyde).  It was published in 1979 after his death. 

The marker located at the ambush site has been vandalized and

marked with graffiti.  Why do people think it is OK for them to take “just a little piece” of a historical marker?




Next month in Dallas, where they are both buried, we will have to continue our “In search of Bonnie & Clyde. . .”