It was Thursday, May 10, in the year 1894, and the place was Southwest City, Missouri's Bank.
Southwest City was a small town that was home to seven-hundred or so good folks. The sleepy Missouri Ozarks town was no more than a half mile or so from Oklahoma. The Sooner state was a yet untamed parcel of land which was home to all manner of villainous and dastardly men. It was a place that was home to a murderous and elusive band of desperadoes known as the Doolin Gang.
Most agree that it was around 3:30 in the afternoon that Thursday when seven members of the infamous "Doolin Gang" rode into the sleepy town of Southwest City. The depraved group had larceny on their minds and A.F. Ault's small Bank was their target. The men were confident that nary a single hand would be raised against them and the unauthorized withdrawal of money, their plunder, would be easy.
Of the seven men, at least five were experienced criminals and longtime members of the gang known as, "The Wild Bunch." Those outlaws were Bill Doolin himself, "Little Bill" Raidler, George "Red Buck" Weightman, Dan "Dynamite Dick" Clifton and "Arkansas Tom" Daugherty. Colorful and catchy nicknames may have been a prerequisite for gang membership.
The men hitched their horses to a rail near the post office where two of the gang remained. Doolin and two others casually walked to the bank while others in the gang fired their weapons into the air and shouted to onlookers, "hunt holes." The barrage of coarse words and shots fired from Winchesters continued as Doolin and his two comrades took care of business inside Mr. Ault's bank.
The three bandits stuffed $3,700 into sacks as Ault and his assistant, Mr. Snyder, watched. Having taken care of business, the three bandits left the bank but they were not alone. Doolin and his partners took Ault and Mr. Snyder along just in case any townsfolk wanted to take a shot at them. With gun barrels pushed into the backs of the hostages, the men walked across the lawn of Dr. Nichols and toward the waiting horses.
Shots began to ring out as the sleepy town's residents gathered their firearms. The gang returned fire and former state senator J.C. Seaborn was hit and later died. M.V. Hembree took shelter in Barker's Saloon but a stray bullet found his ankle. It was reported that nearly one hundred shots were fired.
The two hostages were released when the outlaws reached their horses, but the gang continued to exchange shots with the townsfolk. Deputy U.S. Marshal Simpson Melton and City Marshal Carlyle fired at the robbers as they rode out of town. Doolin and one other in the gang were hit, while Simpson received a flesh wound. Doolin's horse, "Old Dick," was also wounded but Doolin stayed in the saddle as he rode the horse toward the safety of Oklahoma.
Thirty-eight years passed, but in 1932 the idea of robbing the bank in Southwest City resurfaced. Noel, Mo., resident and former telephone operator George Meyers needed a job. Noel was a small rural community and jobs were hard to come by, so Meyers traveled to Picher in search of gainful employment.
His efforts there fell short, so he decided to discuss his predicament with a friend, Henry L. Strange. Strange lived in Joplin, about forty miles north of Noel. The conversation revealed that the two were in agreement on two things. Meyers was in need of cash and he needed that cash quickly.
The discussion regarding employment opportunities soon fell by the wayside and the two concentrated on a means to obtain cash quickly. Strange had an idea. It seemed that he knew three other men who, along with he and Meyers, could rob a bank. After all, that's where they keep the money. Meyers was somewhat skittish at first, but Strange touted the ease at which the money might be gotten and Meyers eventually agreed to the plan. But, what bank would be robbed?
The two considered the many possibilities and eventually the target was selected. The bank in Noel, Meyer's hometown, would be the site of the theft. Meyer would cut the telephone lines on the outskirts of town the night before the robbery so no outsiders could be alerted after the deed was completed.
The two conspirators, along with Everett Bailey, Glen Rowe and Budge Duvall filled in the details of the scheme but the plan fell apart on December the 15th. The bank was busy that day. The would-be robbers decided that the bank and Noel's Main Street were bustling with too many witnesses and potential interlopers so a new location for the robbery was suggested and agreed upon. The bank in Southwest City would be robbed.
On the afternoon of the 15th, Meyers and Strange traveled to a secluded area just outside of Southwest City and cut the telephone lines. The two then returned to Meyer's house and told the other three villains what they had done and said the bank was theirs for the taking. Bailey, Rowe and Duvall left for the bank shortly thereafter but, after the passage of some time, returned empty handed. The three had second thoughts and didn't follow through with the robbery.
There was a lot of talk that evening about the need for money, the bank and, yes, the risks. When all the talking was finished, it was decided that the original plan was a good one and the following afternoon one more visit to the Southwest City bank would be made.
That afternoon, the three men -- Bailey, Rowe and Duvall -- once again traveled to the small quiet town of Southwest City. This time, the three found the courage to finish the job. Seated in a stolen get-a-way car parked near the bank, Rowe nervously counted the seconds as Bailey and Duvall entered the building.
The two had covered their faces with dark grease and, with guns drawn, ordered cashier R.V. Smith to hand over the money. Assistant cashier Ruth Stephenson, Bank Director C.B. Blankenship and G.M Nichols were told to remain calm and stay where they were. The men left the bank and returned to Meyer's house with a flour sack containing $700 in stolen money.
The money was divvied up and the group went their separate ways, confident that their efforts had come off without a hitch; but not so fast. As is the case with most illegal bank withdrawals, secrecy is of the utmost importance and it was that lack of secrecy which led to the apprehension of all five participants. Too many relatives and outsiders had been privy to the plan and it was just a matter of time before folks started talking.
The lawbreakers, the scoundrels, were arrested and all save one, Henry L. Strange, were convicted and sentenced to prison terms. Rowe, Duvall and Meyers received sentences of 25 years, while Bailey was to serve a term in the penitentiary lasting 20 years.
The Doolin gang continued its bank robbing ways until 1896 when Bill Doolin was arrested by Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Doolin soon escaped but, later that same year, Deputy U.S. Marshall Heck Thomas tracked him to Lawson, Oklahoma, where he ended Doolin's criminal ways and, with a gunshot, also ended his life.
Both gangs thought that pilfering the money kept in the Southwest City bank was easier than working for it. It was a small bank in a sleepy Missouri town and the task at hand and the rewards to be gained seemed too good to be true; and so in fact it was too good to be true.
Stan Fine is a retired police officer and Verizon Security Department investigator who, after retiring in 2006, moved from Tampa, Fla., to Noel. Stan's connection to Noel can be traced back to his grandparents who lived most of their lives there. Stan began writing after the passing of his wife Robin in 2013. Opinions expressed are those of the author.