Allen American > News
Opinion: Finding Jesus in the celebration of crime
By Ken Byler, Up the Creek
It’s almost time for the big celebration.
What celebration you might ask? Folks in the city of Allen will be celebrating Sam Bass Day. Sam Bass was a young fellow from Indiana that made his way to Denton in 1870. He showed up in time to herd cattle up the trail to Kansas Territory in one of the last cattle drives. When the cattle were sold, young Mr. Bass deprived the cattle owners of the proceeds of the sale by squandering it in the saloons, gambling dens and bordellos of Deadwood, South Dakota.
The next question you might ask is why are folks in Allen celebrating a crook from Indiana who lived in Denton and squandered other folks' money in Deadwood? The answer is that for a long time Sam Bass was all that folks in Allen could come up with in the way of anything notable to be known for.
I was born in Allen at a time and in an economy when prenuptial agreements were mostly about who got the dishes and the dog. Allen, like most other rural communities, had its own band of high-binders. It was a forgiving community, especially if you were a local grafter. Once caught, mistakes made weren’t held against you if you found Jesus and announced it as soon as possible. Crime, unless it was particularly heinous, didn’t get much attention.
To tell the truth, I never heard much about train robbing until some folks went looking for something that would make Allen significant and thereby found Sam Bass. In 1878, Sam Bass pulled off the first train robbery in Texas.
The irony of all this is that about the time Sam Bass was robbing the train at Allen, professional train robbers Frank and Jesse James were known to pay regular, extended visits to their cousin Tuck Hill, in McKinney.
But not even legendary train robbers like Frank and Jesse James inspired awe in local folks like outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.
Nearly everyone in Collin County had a Bonnie and Clyde story to tell. One of the best was lawmen were waiting to ambush Bonnie and Clyde at the S curve under the H&TC railroad bridge on Highway 5. Bonnie and Clyde were tipped off, so upon leaving McKinney the desperadoes took Old Mill Road and went through Forest Grove and Lucas.
The story most often told was a farmer heard a knock on his door on a rainy midnight and with his team of mules, pulled Bonnie and Clyde’s car out of the mud. Depending on who was telling the story, sometimes Bonnie and Clyde were stuck in the mud at Forest Grove or Lucas. Other times it was Winningkoff, Parker or Copeville.
If Bonnie and Clyde had died in a hail of bullets at the ambush at the S curve railroad bridge instead of an ambush near Gibsland, Louisiana, Allen folks might be celebrating Bonnie and Clyde Day instead of Sam Bass Day.
Sam Bass robbed three other trains, all within 30 miles of Allen before he was shot by Texas Rangers in Round Rock. Like Bonnie and Clyde, he was in his mid-twenties and hadn’t profited much from a life of crime when he died. More than likely he’d be forgotten by now if he hadn’t pulled off the first train robbery in Texas.
Sam Bass served Allen well when it was a little town between Plano and McKinney in need of something to be known for. But Allen doesn’t need Sam Bass anymore. Due in some part to the dedicated diligence of those hired and elected to run things, the little town between Plano and McKinney is a now city of 85,000. It’s been noted to be one of the best places to live in America. Ironically for a town that was once known only as the scene of a crime, Allen has been named as one of the safest cities in America.
Though he’s no longer needed, Allen will continue to celebrate Sam Bass. He’s a part of Allen’s history and Sam Bass Day celebrations are a lot of fun.
Ken Byler is a Star Local News columnist, author and artist. Email him at kbyler@tx.rr.com.
What celebration you might ask? Folks in the city of Allen will be celebrating Sam Bass Day. Sam Bass was a young fellow from Indiana that made his way to Denton in 1870. He showed up in time to herd cattle up the trail to Kansas Territory in one of the last cattle drives. When the cattle were sold, young Mr. Bass deprived the cattle owners of the proceeds of the sale by squandering it in the saloons, gambling dens and bordellos of Deadwood, South Dakota.
The next question you might ask is why are folks in Allen celebrating a crook from Indiana who lived in Denton and squandered other folks' money in Deadwood? The answer is that for a long time Sam Bass was all that folks in Allen could come up with in the way of anything notable to be known for.
I was born in Allen at a time and in an economy when prenuptial agreements were mostly about who got the dishes and the dog. Allen, like most other rural communities, had its own band of high-binders. It was a forgiving community, especially if you were a local grafter. Once caught, mistakes made weren’t held against you if you found Jesus and announced it as soon as possible. Crime, unless it was particularly heinous, didn’t get much attention.
To tell the truth, I never heard much about train robbing until some folks went looking for something that would make Allen significant and thereby found Sam Bass. In 1878, Sam Bass pulled off the first train robbery in Texas.
The irony of all this is that about the time Sam Bass was robbing the train at Allen, professional train robbers Frank and Jesse James were known to pay regular, extended visits to their cousin Tuck Hill, in McKinney.
But not even legendary train robbers like Frank and Jesse James inspired awe in local folks like outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.
Nearly everyone in Collin County had a Bonnie and Clyde story to tell. One of the best was lawmen were waiting to ambush Bonnie and Clyde at the S curve under the H&TC railroad bridge on Highway 5. Bonnie and Clyde were tipped off, so upon leaving McKinney the desperadoes took Old Mill Road and went through Forest Grove and Lucas.
The story most often told was a farmer heard a knock on his door on a rainy midnight and with his team of mules, pulled Bonnie and Clyde’s car out of the mud. Depending on who was telling the story, sometimes Bonnie and Clyde were stuck in the mud at Forest Grove or Lucas. Other times it was Winningkoff, Parker or Copeville.
If Bonnie and Clyde had died in a hail of bullets at the ambush at the S curve railroad bridge instead of an ambush near Gibsland, Louisiana, Allen folks might be celebrating Bonnie and Clyde Day instead of Sam Bass Day.
Sam Bass robbed three other trains, all within 30 miles of Allen before he was shot by Texas Rangers in Round Rock. Like Bonnie and Clyde, he was in his mid-twenties and hadn’t profited much from a life of crime when he died. More than likely he’d be forgotten by now if he hadn’t pulled off the first train robbery in Texas.
Sam Bass served Allen well when it was a little town between Plano and McKinney in need of something to be known for. But Allen doesn’t need Sam Bass anymore. Due in some part to the dedicated diligence of those hired and elected to run things, the little town between Plano and McKinney is a now city of 85,000. It’s been noted to be one of the best places to live in America. Ironically for a town that was once known only as the scene of a crime, Allen has been named as one of the safest cities in America.
Though he’s no longer needed, Allen will continue to celebrate Sam Bass. He’s a part of Allen’s history and Sam Bass Day celebrations are a lot of fun.
Ken Byler is a Star Local News columnist, author and artist. Email him at kbyler@tx.rr.com.
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