“Outlaws and Lawmen of the Depression Era” - July 21, 2007


On display in the Exhibit Hall at Three Rivers Museum will be a Model A Ford with 52 bullet holes, reported to be the getaway car of “Pretty Boy” Floyd from a 1932 episode.

The event will include a talk at 10:30 by Dee Cordry, author of a new book Alive if Possible, Dead if Necessary, 1907-1929. Cordry is currently an agent of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Also scheduled, at 1:30, is a talk by R.D. Morgan regarding the “Severs Hotel Murders” that occurred in Muskogee in April of 1930. Morgan is the author of several books on gangsters: Bad Boys of the Cookson Hills, Bandit Kings of the Cookson Hills, and Tri-State Terror, the Life and Crimes of William Underhill. A new book, due out for the Centennial this fall will be Taming the Sooner State: The War Between Lawmen and Outlaws 1890-1940. Morgan was recently a consultant for the History Channel on “Crime Wave”, an episode to air in August.

The group will then caravan to the Severs Hotel to tour the exact spot where the murders took place. Following this, a trip to Greenhill Cemetery will show where the graves of over 20 figures from lawmen and outlaw history are buried, including six lawmen that were involved in the Severs case.

Both speakers, as well as Michael Koch, author of “The Kimes Gang” will have copies of their books on hand for autographs. All three are members of the OklahombreS, a national organization that studies outlaws and lawmen.

To contrast the “bad guys” with the “good guys”, members of the Muskogee Police Department will display peacekeeping methods of the K-9 Unit, SWAT Unit, Mounted Patrol, and Uniformed Officers. The U.S. Marshal Service staff will also present an exhibit of some of the equipment they use in the performance of their duties.

For information, call 686-6624. Three Rivers Museum is at 220 Elgin in Muskogee, OK.

This sounds like a fun event.