Time of Grace Read online

  The football team was the Bull Dogs, and student life was extremely active. I was able to enjoy the Student Union building before it was torn down. I have taken liberties with places, times, and some events, but most are realistically portrayed.

  Over the years, Cheap Trick, Waylon Jennings, and Mickey Gilley performed in concert at the college auditorium and were great. I also saw The Amazing Kreskin and psychic Jeanne Dixon there. Dr. Robert Williams was a Western Civilization professor there, wildly popular, but not in 1957. He taught there later.

  Spring Lake Park is real although I took a few liberties, and it was once the location of the Four States Fair/Rodeo and a zoo. The big cats had appalling living conditions, in my opinion.

  Now, it has walking trails, pavilions, a huge duck pond (those geese will fight you to the ground for stale bread), playgrounds, sports fields, concrete tables for picnics, and more. The spring is no longer used by the public because of questionable water content (although my great grandmother got weekly drinking water from there and she lived to be over 100). There is the plaque that states Hernando De Soto did drink from the spring, and he would have hanged the person(s) just west of the park. He supposedly died shortly after camping in the area.

  The Incan King was put to death in 1533. His story is particularly fascinating.

  Texarkana is still both a small town and a growing city in personality. It is close to Shreveport, Dallas, and Little Rock. Interstate 30 runs through the twin cities, going east and west. In some ways, Texarkana grew up with the big business booming, but the historical parts remain.

  The Grim Hotel still stands. Texarkana was called ‘Little Chicago” and was a rough railroad town in the earlier days and politically unstable in later years.

  Today, old-time residents still speak of ‘the mob,’ ‘of the serial killer’, and of less savory events; however, those are ghost stories told with fondness as the town has evolved into a modern place.

  There was a “Phantom Killer” operating in 1946 who left at least five victims. The case remains unsolved and has been the subject of several television and movie references.

  In 1976, Charles B. Pierce released The Town That Dreaded Sundown, which was based loosely on the event and starred Dawn Wells (from Gilligan’s Island). Actual events resemble any modern horror movie; it was that profound. Everyone has an opinion and a theory about this case, and as I looked on the Internet, I found that many accounts were available.

  Although I will reserve my opinion on the case, I will say that it was a frightening event in its brutality, even for those not yet born in 1946. Later serial killer cases, more well-known, did not even come close to the anger, violence, and torture of the “Moonlight Killer”. When looking into the case, I find it is far more enlightening to discover what was not done, information that was not released, and the many false leads generated. I doubt it will ever be solved.

  If you happen by Texarkana, you should see the college campus, have a burger at Fat Jack’s on State Line (and enjoy the beer and live bands), see the historical homes, and drive out to Spring Lake Park in the moonlight. Park, and sit there a while, and enjoy the peace and quiet. Relax. And don’t let the Phantom or the ghost of De Soto get you.

  Fort Worth, 2012