In July 1933 the notorious Barrow Gang was involved in a shootout with a posse at the old Dexfield Amusement Park outside Dexter. Gang members Buck and Blanche Barrow were captured, and the mortally wounded Buck was brought to the Kings Daughters Hospital in Perry, where he died after five days.
These and similar events from the life and times of Bonnie and Clyde and the Barrow Gang were brought to life Sunday when noted Dallas County historian Rod Stanley delivered a free lecture at the Carnegie Library Museum in Perry. The lecture was part of a continuing exhibition at the Carnegie of Bonnie and Clyde artifacts on loan from the Dallas County Conservation Department’s Forest Park Museum in Perry.
Stanley, a retired history teacher from Panora, has given hundreds of talks to civic groups about Iowa’s connection to Bonnie and Clyde. The 15 people attending his lecture seemed to enjoy Stanley’s animated style and casual manner.
“Bonnie and Clyde wouldn’t have lasted so long nowadays, what with all our surveillance cameras,” Stanley said.
The Bonnie and Clyde exhibit remains on view through May 31 at the Carnegie Library Museum, 1123 Willis Ave. in Perry. The exhibit features relics from Bonnie and Clyde and a number of photos from their story, with a particular focus on Buck and Blanche Barrow. Several other crime related artifacts are also on display.
My grandfather, Everett Farley, was Perry Chief of Police and stood guard for awhile outside the hospital door of Buck Barrow. I have the newspaper article describing that somewhere.
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