Bonnie and Clyde Chicken Heist
At one time we lived in an apartment in
the house with Mrs. Stipes just west of the Courthouse
Square where Ambrose Burch lives today. Daddy worked in Mr.
Lum Ingram’s general store located on the south side of the
Courthouse Square. We lived so near the store, Daddy walked
to work. This was good since we didn’t own an automobile. I
remember being able to see the store from our front porch
and watching for him to come home.
Some years ago I talked with Hill Huddleston who helped
move us to Fayetteville. He remembered that about this time
some chickens were stolen at night from one of his
relatives’ chicken house. On investigation of the crime
scene they found that the thieves had left two sets of foot
prints. One set appeared to be from a man’s shoes but the
other from a woman’s high-heel shoes. As the story
circulated around town everyone speculated who the thieves
might be. Maybe it was a man and his wife; or could it be
someone from another community. No one knew a woman who
might be bold enough to engage in stealing chickens.
Nevertheless the evidence seemed to point to a woman and a
man being involved in the crime.
Daddy frequently bought live chickens from people in the
community for resale at the store. He remembered buying
chickens from a young man whom I’ll call “Cowboy” (since
most people called him that). Daddy realized that Cowboy
always wore cowboy type boots with a piercing heel. It
didn’t take Daddy long to put two and two together and
realize that the second set of shoe-prints were not from a
woman’s high-heel shoes but from Cowboy’s boots. And thus
the case of the “Bonnie and Clyde” chicken robbery was
solved. While the chickens could not be retrieved, the
young men were required to pay the owner for the stolen
chickens.