Old stories finding their way into print

One of my granddaddy's stories found its way into the Demozette yesterday. Granddaddy, who served a couple of terms in the U.S. Congress before coming back to southwest Arkansas and making a hell of a name for himself in the courtroom, had oratorical skills that can't be learned. His only downfall was that he was addicted to the bottle. Here he is as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives back during the 1937 session as a 25 year old (right).

The piece in yesterday's Democrat-Gazette was featured in Perspectives in an article entitled "Against all odds,"  a story about a book written by Lynn Davis, former head of the Arkansas State Police. Below are a few quotes:

Davis was born and raised in Texarkana (pronounced Tex-Ah-Kana) in a family of lawmen... and then there was W.E. "Elvy" Davis, Lynn Davis' uncle. Elvy was sheriff of Miller County for 16 years. ... And he was Lynn Davis' childhood hero.
 
One day a man came to see Sheriff Davis. He needed a lawyer. Who's the best lawyer in town? he asked. "Boyd Tackett," Elvy Davis said.
 
Well, said the man, Boyd Tackett has a drinking problem, Who's the second-best lawyer in town? Elvy said: "Boyd Tackett drunk."

I've probably heard that one a thousand times since I was in the 6th grade, and it's one of many that are still told down here. You can learn a pretty good lesson in humility to have your teacher tell the class stories like that, but if you can't take a jab or poke fun at yourself...

I just got a call from Lynn Davis this morning making sure I wasn't mad. I told him those stories are one of the reasons I became a self-conscious teetotaler several years ago. He got a chuckle out of that. Here are a couple of more pictures -- the one on the left is one of granddaddy's events on his run for governor in 1952 when political rallies were the highlight of the week; on the right is a Polk County (Mena) murder trial in 1941 (he's seated right):