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In
early East Texas, it wasn’t unusual
for a local sheriff to recruit a posse of men and horses to run down outlaws and
fugitives from the justice system.
Mounted and armed, the posse was an
integral force in upholding justice for bank robbers, murderers and other criminals.
Riding
roughshod across the East Texas landscape,
stirring up dust in their wake, an armed posse struck fear in the hearts of lawbreakers.
But
when their job had been done, the posse members stalled their horses, hung up
their saddles, and returned to their routine jobs until summoned again.
One
of the best known sheriff’s posses in East
Texas was created in 1955 by Leon Jones, the sheriff of Angelina County,
as a means by providing a supplemental force to apprehend criminals, deal with
emergencies and meet community needs.
The western-style uniforms of white
hats, white shirts, leather chaps and bow ties soon became signatures of the posse,
even when they weren’t helping Jones uphold the laws of Texas. They often rode
in public events, including parades and rodeos.
Each posse member was
screened by the sheriff’s office and the majority vote of all posse members.
Among the earliest posse officers were businessmen Fowler Burris, a banker;
O.L. Hubbard, a grocer: Bill Lewis, a furniture store owner; and
Johnny Childers, who ran a butane company.
Posse members rode with
Sheriff’s deputies to patrol Angelina County during an epidemic of night burglaries
and often searched for missing persons.
The Posse also worked with the
Lufkin Lions Club in the construction of a rodeo arena, which helped Lufkin
attract such well-known movie and television stars as Dale Robertson, the
star of ”Tales of Wells Fargo,” Clu Gulager, the star of “Billy the Kid”
and Lorne Green and Dan
Blocker, stars of the television classic, “Bonanza.”
Bob
Bowman's East Texas
December 8, 2010Column.
A weekly column syndicated in 109 East Texas newspapers |
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