Gabby Hayes (top) and Bill Elliott (bottom).
About late 1944 or early 1945, Bobby Jack Muncy and Russell Bilyeu attended a
War Bond Rally in Denton, Texas. Several movie stars, including Bill Elliott
(who played Wild Bill Hickock) and Gabby Hayes (who was the side kick
in many westerns, playing with Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, among others)
were on stage on the courthouse square. Bobby Jack, with his point-and-shoot
dollar store camera, straddling Russell Bilyeu's shoulders so he could see
over the crowd, took these photos. He called their names, and even tapped on
Gabby's shoulder so he would turn around, and snapped their photos.
Many, many years later, these photos were found in a shoe box in his
mother's attic. More great memories !! BJM
War Bond Rally in Denton, Texas. Several movie stars, including Bill Elliott
(who played Wild Bill Hickock) and Gabby Hayes (who was the side kick
in many westerns, playing with Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, among others)
were on stage on the courthouse square. Bobby Jack, with his point-and-shoot
dollar store camera, straddling Russell Bilyeu's shoulders so he could see
over the crowd, took these photos. He called their names, and even tapped on
Gabby's shoulder so he would turn around, and snapped their photos.
Many, many years later, these photos were found in a shoe box in his
mother's attic. More great memories !! BJM
January 8, 2011: Concerning the movie "The Outlaw" (below post). Jewel Dee and I believe that the date we drove up
to Sanger to see this movie was sometime in 1945 or earlier at which time it had limited ban release. I didn't own the 1930
Chevrolet in 1946 -- I had a 1934 Ford Coupe with rumble seat then. Apparently, the Sanger movie theater was not bound
by the same rules as were the larger theaters such as the main movie house in Denton. Jewel Dee suggested that the
name Russell is the famous pin-up star "Jane Russell" who made many movies and also had a lingerie brand of bras. She
was the original star with super breasts preceding Dollly Parton. BJM
*********************************************************************************
January 4, 2011
In 1946, a controversial movie called "The Outlaw" was banned from showing in Denton. An excerpt copied from wikipedia follows:
"Although the movie was completed in February 1941, it received only a limited release two years later, and did not get a general
release until 23 April 1946, when United Artists premiered the film in San Francisco. The delay was a result of Hughes defying the
Production Code, which set the standard of morally acceptable content in motion pictures. By showcasing Russell's breasts
in both the movie and the poster artwork, The Outlaw became very controversial."
Jewel Dee and I were dating at this time (High School sweethearts). We learned that this movie would be shown in Sanger, Texas
but not in Denton. We devised a plan. Jewel Dee arranged to spend the night with Omalie Medlin and I would pick her up in Denton.
After we saw the film, I would take Jewel Dee to the Medlin home north of Krum. I had purchased a 1930 Chevrolet that had been
sitting by the McClister garage for some time. Not knowing that gasoline left in the tank for a long period of time would develop
"globs of gummy goo" resembling vasoline, I drove my "new car" to Denton, picked up Jewel Dee and drove to Sanger. The car
was running pretty rough by the time we got there but I ignored this warning. After the movie (about 10:00 P.M.) the car started
but began missing on the trip to Krum. As we left Sanger on the old highway, we barely got out of town when the car died and
would not start. I guided it into the ditch, informed my date that we would have to walk all the way to the Medlin farm and maybe
get Mr. Medlin to take me to Krum. Boy was it dark. The road was gravel and bordered with tall Johnson grass on each side.
As we walked past farm houses, dogs barked at us. When we came to the Riney farm, I suggested that perhaps Mr. Riney could
provide transportation. It was very late by this time. Mr. Riney came to the door. He told us that his car was not there at that
time but he would start his tractor and drive us on to the Medlins. We held on the back on each side. After arrival at the Medlins,
Mr. Medlin took me on to Krum and Jewel Dee stayed to spend the night with Omalie.
These memories were stimulated when we saw this film on Turner Classic Movies recently. The haystack scenes did not impress
us as controversial. But they sure did look sexy back in 1946 when we first saw this movie. About the car: The next day,
I had Loren Park tow the car to Krum and he cleaned the "goo stuff" that had blocked the gas line and fuel pump.
BJM
********************************************************************************
December 14, 2010: Here are some thoughts about entertainment in pre-WWII Krum. Sometime in the early 1900s,
it should be noted that Krum had a community band. There must have been many occasions in Krum and surrounding area
that invited the band to play. A few years later, large tents were used for pentecostal revivals (which had their own band) and
which were well attended events. And the Haverstock Toby tent show occasionally performed in Krum and surrounding small
communities (Ponder, Justin, Decatur, etc.) mostly in the 1930s and 1940s. The downtown street movies should not be
overlooked. I remember many of these movies (we sat on the street with a large screen erected in the middle of the
main street), with some silent Chaplin movies and Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson classics. I also recall many events at the
Methodist Church with covered dish suppers, youth programs, and Christmas plays. The Krum school scheduled many
gatherings including basketball games, Halloween fairs with cake walks, and stage events in the gym. When the old Muncy
building was built in 1924, the second floor was leased to the Commerce Club to be used for community events -- meetings,
movies, theatrical events, etc. Many of the men gathered on the street or in various businesses to "shoot the bull" in
what was called "bull-corning". This was sometimes at the grain elevator, or in front of the barber shop for the men while the
women gathered in the drug store around the old "coke table and chairs." A trip to Denton became popular during WWII for
many young folks--to just park on the square and watch people as they walked around the square. Indeed Krum residents
were not "disadvantaged". These were rich experiences. BJM
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Search our Sit
December 13, 2010. John Callarman's recent article in the Krum Star about Highway 380 brought back lots of memories to me.
First, this highway was first called Hwy 24. Just before my family moved to Krum in 1938, I remember traveling from Wichita Falls
to Krum in our 1929 Chevrolet and the highway was gravel with Johnson Grass head high on each side of the road. I remember
the construction of the railroad overpass (and the road to Ponder). My memory then switched to about 1940 when I often rode
my bicycle to Denton from Krum. I was about 10 years old at this time. I would leave downtown Krum, cross the tracks going
east, pass by the Monschke place and turn south on a dirt road. This was out in the country. This dirt road would dead-in to
the road that crossed the slab near the cemetery. I would turn left (east), pass by the Cecil Knox place and the Jacob farm.
Then after a couple of turns in the road, it would pass thru the Experiment Station and intersect with Hwy 24 (now 380). I would
turn left (east) and travel Hwy 24 on into Denton. There were no gravel trucks then and few cars. If I tried to ride a bicycle on
that road now, it would be suicide. By 1960 (give or take a few years) Hwy 380 became a heavily traveled road, with lots of
trucks hauling gravel from Bridgeport to construction jobs in the Dallas metroplex. My grandfather S.P. Gose insisted
that the gravel companies hired ex-convicts as drivers. "They don't care whether they kill someone, or be killed," he would
say.
Thanks, John for inspiring these memories. And by the way, when we come to Krum in the future from the east, we plan
to travel from Texarkana to Sherman ,Gainesville and then south to Krum. The last time we came, we used 380 from
Greenville, McKinney, etc. and encountered terrible traffic. Bobby Jack
DECEMBER 13, 2010: The Blog posts below (from October thru December 3, 2010) will be retained; however, beginning
this date, new entries will always be posted at the top of the page, thus pushing older posts down. BJM
****************************************************************************
October 2010 (by Bobby Jack Muncy): Jewel Dee and I recently returned to Tennessee from Krum where we had arranged a memorial service for my mother who passed away in August. She was 103. She lived more than 80 years in Krum. She was cremated and we carried her remains to Krum where she was buried in the Jackson Cemetery there. I had the honor of digging the burial place and placing her remains in the Gose family plot that contained her parents (Paul and Vessie Gose) and her two husbands (Herman Muncy and Lee Roy Jacobs). Her first husband, my father, died in 1943. She later married Lee Roy who had lost his wife to cancer earlier.
My good friend from High School days in the 1940s, Dale Stone, accompanied me to the cemetery and shared in paying our respects to my mother, who was a real western pioneer lady. Thanks, Dale !
The memorial service was well attended and it was great to be with some of our very best friends, many of whom we knew in high school.
Nov. 27, 2010: We are now in the process of making plans for 2011. Indeed, we will include a trip to Krum to attend the Senior/Senior Reunion. If you have interest in coming to Krum for some great times (including food) with others of approximately your age (how old ? maybe seventiesh to eightiesh (are these really words ?)---well, you get the point.) Contact: Oma Hardy at: [email protected] (She was Omalie Medlin in High School). Or send me a note and I will get it to Oma. It will be in early April.
11/27/10--I am presently stumbling around in Facebook, seeking friends who have interest in preserving and extending the heritage of Krum, Texas -- my hometown --sharing ideas to do this, enjoying memories, and encouraging excitement about upcoming events (such as the Sr. Sr. KHS Reunion next Spring, Jackson cemetery decoration, etc.). At this time, Jewel Dee and I plan to be in the Krum area sometime next year probably traveling in our Avion travel trailer. This, of course, depends on our health and other important pressures on our lives--but we have placed this on the front burner of our future plans.
12/3/10--I corresponded via e-mail today with Charles Cole (a Krumite) about my uncle's name (Paul Oyama Gose--son of my grandfather S.P. and Vessie Gose). Charles was curious about his middle name, which most everyone in the family called him, until Dec. 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbor). Almost all the family continued calling him Uncle Oyama or just plain Oyama with a few honoring his desire to switch to Paul when we went to war with the Japanese. The name Oyama was given him by his father, S.P. Gose, in 1905 (Oyama's birth date) to honor General Oyama of the Japanese Army-- a hero soldier in the Russo-Japanese war in the early 1900s. My grandfather, S.P. Gose, never was an admirer of Russians, especially after the Communist revolution in Russia. I suspect he regretted naming his son (my favorite maternal uncle) after a Japanese General during and after WWII. Actually, I never thought about his name being Japanese when I grew up-- he was just good ole Uncle Oyama, a very interesting and caring person, much like his mother, Vessie (Koiner) Gose. I remember the story (told me by others and by Uncle Oyama) about when he climbed Pikes Peak in the 1930s. He and Elmore (Doc) Hayes were very good friends, often going to the Rockies together to hike, explore, and fish. On this mountain climbing trip, I am not sure whether Doc Hayes went with him. Anyway, he began his climb with a group of younger guys (Oyama was probably about 25 at that time and most in the climbing group were probably in their late teens.) Well, he was the only one to finish the climb. As he made the last few hundred yards, in cold rain and snow mix, he saw the delegation waiting at the top who had traveled on the tram or dirt highway, including newspaper reporters, cheering him. A story was published in several papers about his accomplishment. Only Uncle Oyama could tell this story in detail in such a way that the listener would feel like they were there at the time. I miss Uncle Oyama. Bobby Jack Muncy Dec. 3, 2010
Bobby Jack and Jewel Dee Muncy
to Sanger to see this movie was sometime in 1945 or earlier at which time it had limited ban release. I didn't own the 1930
Chevrolet in 1946 -- I had a 1934 Ford Coupe with rumble seat then. Apparently, the Sanger movie theater was not bound
by the same rules as were the larger theaters such as the main movie house in Denton. Jewel Dee suggested that the
name Russell is the famous pin-up star "Jane Russell" who made many movies and also had a lingerie brand of bras. She
was the original star with super breasts preceding Dollly Parton. BJM
*********************************************************************************
January 4, 2011
In 1946, a controversial movie called "The Outlaw" was banned from showing in Denton. An excerpt copied from wikipedia follows:
"Although the movie was completed in February 1941, it received only a limited release two years later, and did not get a general
release until 23 April 1946, when United Artists premiered the film in San Francisco. The delay was a result of Hughes defying the
Production Code, which set the standard of morally acceptable content in motion pictures. By showcasing Russell's breasts
in both the movie and the poster artwork, The Outlaw became very controversial."
Jewel Dee and I were dating at this time (High School sweethearts). We learned that this movie would be shown in Sanger, Texas
but not in Denton. We devised a plan. Jewel Dee arranged to spend the night with Omalie Medlin and I would pick her up in Denton.
After we saw the film, I would take Jewel Dee to the Medlin home north of Krum. I had purchased a 1930 Chevrolet that had been
sitting by the McClister garage for some time. Not knowing that gasoline left in the tank for a long period of time would develop
"globs of gummy goo" resembling vasoline, I drove my "new car" to Denton, picked up Jewel Dee and drove to Sanger. The car
was running pretty rough by the time we got there but I ignored this warning. After the movie (about 10:00 P.M.) the car started
but began missing on the trip to Krum. As we left Sanger on the old highway, we barely got out of town when the car died and
would not start. I guided it into the ditch, informed my date that we would have to walk all the way to the Medlin farm and maybe
get Mr. Medlin to take me to Krum. Boy was it dark. The road was gravel and bordered with tall Johnson grass on each side.
As we walked past farm houses, dogs barked at us. When we came to the Riney farm, I suggested that perhaps Mr. Riney could
provide transportation. It was very late by this time. Mr. Riney came to the door. He told us that his car was not there at that
time but he would start his tractor and drive us on to the Medlins. We held on the back on each side. After arrival at the Medlins,
Mr. Medlin took me on to Krum and Jewel Dee stayed to spend the night with Omalie.
These memories were stimulated when we saw this film on Turner Classic Movies recently. The haystack scenes did not impress
us as controversial. But they sure did look sexy back in 1946 when we first saw this movie. About the car: The next day,
I had Loren Park tow the car to Krum and he cleaned the "goo stuff" that had blocked the gas line and fuel pump.
BJM
********************************************************************************
December 14, 2010: Here are some thoughts about entertainment in pre-WWII Krum. Sometime in the early 1900s,
it should be noted that Krum had a community band. There must have been many occasions in Krum and surrounding area
that invited the band to play. A few years later, large tents were used for pentecostal revivals (which had their own band) and
which were well attended events. And the Haverstock Toby tent show occasionally performed in Krum and surrounding small
communities (Ponder, Justin, Decatur, etc.) mostly in the 1930s and 1940s. The downtown street movies should not be
overlooked. I remember many of these movies (we sat on the street with a large screen erected in the middle of the
main street), with some silent Chaplin movies and Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson classics. I also recall many events at the
Methodist Church with covered dish suppers, youth programs, and Christmas plays. The Krum school scheduled many
gatherings including basketball games, Halloween fairs with cake walks, and stage events in the gym. When the old Muncy
building was built in 1924, the second floor was leased to the Commerce Club to be used for community events -- meetings,
movies, theatrical events, etc. Many of the men gathered on the street or in various businesses to "shoot the bull" in
what was called "bull-corning". This was sometimes at the grain elevator, or in front of the barber shop for the men while the
women gathered in the drug store around the old "coke table and chairs." A trip to Denton became popular during WWII for
many young folks--to just park on the square and watch people as they walked around the square. Indeed Krum residents
were not "disadvantaged". These were rich experiences. BJM
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Search our Sit
December 13, 2010. John Callarman's recent article in the Krum Star about Highway 380 brought back lots of memories to me.
First, this highway was first called Hwy 24. Just before my family moved to Krum in 1938, I remember traveling from Wichita Falls
to Krum in our 1929 Chevrolet and the highway was gravel with Johnson Grass head high on each side of the road. I remember
the construction of the railroad overpass (and the road to Ponder). My memory then switched to about 1940 when I often rode
my bicycle to Denton from Krum. I was about 10 years old at this time. I would leave downtown Krum, cross the tracks going
east, pass by the Monschke place and turn south on a dirt road. This was out in the country. This dirt road would dead-in to
the road that crossed the slab near the cemetery. I would turn left (east), pass by the Cecil Knox place and the Jacob farm.
Then after a couple of turns in the road, it would pass thru the Experiment Station and intersect with Hwy 24 (now 380). I would
turn left (east) and travel Hwy 24 on into Denton. There were no gravel trucks then and few cars. If I tried to ride a bicycle on
that road now, it would be suicide. By 1960 (give or take a few years) Hwy 380 became a heavily traveled road, with lots of
trucks hauling gravel from Bridgeport to construction jobs in the Dallas metroplex. My grandfather S.P. Gose insisted
that the gravel companies hired ex-convicts as drivers. "They don't care whether they kill someone, or be killed," he would
say.
Thanks, John for inspiring these memories. And by the way, when we come to Krum in the future from the east, we plan
to travel from Texarkana to Sherman ,Gainesville and then south to Krum. The last time we came, we used 380 from
Greenville, McKinney, etc. and encountered terrible traffic. Bobby Jack
DECEMBER 13, 2010: The Blog posts below (from October thru December 3, 2010) will be retained; however, beginning
this date, new entries will always be posted at the top of the page, thus pushing older posts down. BJM
****************************************************************************
October 2010 (by Bobby Jack Muncy): Jewel Dee and I recently returned to Tennessee from Krum where we had arranged a memorial service for my mother who passed away in August. She was 103. She lived more than 80 years in Krum. She was cremated and we carried her remains to Krum where she was buried in the Jackson Cemetery there. I had the honor of digging the burial place and placing her remains in the Gose family plot that contained her parents (Paul and Vessie Gose) and her two husbands (Herman Muncy and Lee Roy Jacobs). Her first husband, my father, died in 1943. She later married Lee Roy who had lost his wife to cancer earlier.
My good friend from High School days in the 1940s, Dale Stone, accompanied me to the cemetery and shared in paying our respects to my mother, who was a real western pioneer lady. Thanks, Dale !
The memorial service was well attended and it was great to be with some of our very best friends, many of whom we knew in high school.
Nov. 27, 2010: We are now in the process of making plans for 2011. Indeed, we will include a trip to Krum to attend the Senior/Senior Reunion. If you have interest in coming to Krum for some great times (including food) with others of approximately your age (how old ? maybe seventiesh to eightiesh (are these really words ?)---well, you get the point.) Contact: Oma Hardy at: [email protected] (She was Omalie Medlin in High School). Or send me a note and I will get it to Oma. It will be in early April.
11/27/10--I am presently stumbling around in Facebook, seeking friends who have interest in preserving and extending the heritage of Krum, Texas -- my hometown --sharing ideas to do this, enjoying memories, and encouraging excitement about upcoming events (such as the Sr. Sr. KHS Reunion next Spring, Jackson cemetery decoration, etc.). At this time, Jewel Dee and I plan to be in the Krum area sometime next year probably traveling in our Avion travel trailer. This, of course, depends on our health and other important pressures on our lives--but we have placed this on the front burner of our future plans.
12/3/10--I corresponded via e-mail today with Charles Cole (a Krumite) about my uncle's name (Paul Oyama Gose--son of my grandfather S.P. and Vessie Gose). Charles was curious about his middle name, which most everyone in the family called him, until Dec. 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbor). Almost all the family continued calling him Uncle Oyama or just plain Oyama with a few honoring his desire to switch to Paul when we went to war with the Japanese. The name Oyama was given him by his father, S.P. Gose, in 1905 (Oyama's birth date) to honor General Oyama of the Japanese Army-- a hero soldier in the Russo-Japanese war in the early 1900s. My grandfather, S.P. Gose, never was an admirer of Russians, especially after the Communist revolution in Russia. I suspect he regretted naming his son (my favorite maternal uncle) after a Japanese General during and after WWII. Actually, I never thought about his name being Japanese when I grew up-- he was just good ole Uncle Oyama, a very interesting and caring person, much like his mother, Vessie (Koiner) Gose. I remember the story (told me by others and by Uncle Oyama) about when he climbed Pikes Peak in the 1930s. He and Elmore (Doc) Hayes were very good friends, often going to the Rockies together to hike, explore, and fish. On this mountain climbing trip, I am not sure whether Doc Hayes went with him. Anyway, he began his climb with a group of younger guys (Oyama was probably about 25 at that time and most in the climbing group were probably in their late teens.) Well, he was the only one to finish the climb. As he made the last few hundred yards, in cold rain and snow mix, he saw the delegation waiting at the top who had traveled on the tram or dirt highway, including newspaper reporters, cheering him. A story was published in several papers about his accomplishment. Only Uncle Oyama could tell this story in detail in such a way that the listener would feel like they were there at the time. I miss Uncle Oyama. Bobby Jack Muncy Dec. 3, 2010
Bobby Jack and Jewel Dee Muncy
