Santa Claus Bank Robbery
Encyclopedia
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
town of Cisco
Cisco, Texas
Cisco is a city in Eastland County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,851 at the 2000 census.-History:Conrad Hilton started the Hilton Hotel chain with a single hotel bought in Cisco. Hilton came to Cisco to buy a bank, but the bank cost too much; so he purchased the Mobley Hotel in 1919...
. Marshall Ratliff, dressed as Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
, along with Henry Helms and Robert Hill, all ex-cons
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
, and Louis Davis, a relative of Helms, held up the First National Bank in Cisco. The robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
is one of Texas' most infamous crimes, having invoked the largest manhunt
Manhunt (law enforcement)
In law enforcement, a manhunt is a search for a dangerous fugitive involving the use of all available police units and technology and sometimes help from the public....
ever seen in the state. Eyewitness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
, Boyce House, wrote that this was "the most spectacular crime in the history of the Southwest ... surpassing any in which Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
or the James
Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...
boys had ever figured."
Valera, Texas
Valera is an unincorporated community in Coleman County, Texas, United States.The Panther Creek Consolidated Independent School District serves area students and is approximately 8 miles south on FM 503....
by Cisco Chief of Police, G.E. "Bit" Bedford. Though Ratliff was given a long prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
sentence, he had been parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
d just before the infamous bank robbery. He initially planned to rob the Cisco bank with his brother, Lee, however Lee had been arrested again. Ratliff pulled in Helms and Hill, whom he knew from Huntsville
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
, and a fourth man who was good with safe
Safe
A safe is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or damage. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face removable or hinged to form a door. The body and door may be cast from metal or formed out of plastic through blow molding...
s. As they planned the crime in Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
, the safe-cracker came down with the flu, and the trio pulled in Davis, a relative of Helms and a family man in need, promising a large return for his participation. During this period in Texas three or four bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s were being robbed every day, and in response the Texas Bankers Association had offered a $5,000 reward to anyone shooting a bank robber during the crime. In addition, Ratliff knew that he would be immediately recognized if he returned to Cisco. This made the heist a particularly dangerous undertaking for the four men, so Ratliff decided to conceal his identity by disguising himself as Santa Claus. Such a disguise would also allay any suspicions by people in the bank. Stealing a car in Wichita Falls, they headed for Cisco and arrived on the morning of December 23.
As the group neared the bank, Ratliff donned a Santa Claus suit he had borrowed from Mrs. Midge Tellet, who ran the boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
where they had been staying in Wichita Falls. They let Ratliff out several blocks from the bank. Ratliff, dressed as Santa, was smiling as he came along Main Street, stopping to chat with eager children, answering their questions and patting them on the head. The main street of Cisco was crowded with people going about their daily activities. The town had the normal decorations for the season. Everyone was in the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
spirit, so no one thought it odd when Santa came walking down the street around noon, one day before Christmas Eve. Still followed by children attracted to "Santa," Ratliff joined the other three in an alley
Alley
An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane found in urban areas, often for pedestrians only, which usually runs between or behind buildings. In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath in an urban setting...
and led the way to the bank. Some of the happy children who had followed Santa continued into the bank after him.
Once inside, Ratliff received a pleasant greeting of "Hello, Santa," from the cashier
Cashier
Cashier is an occupation focused on the handling of cash money.- Retail :In a shop, a cashier is a person who scans the goods through a machine called a cash register that the consumer wishes to purchase at the retail store. After all of the goods have been scanned, the cashier then collects...
. He did not respond, but walked to a desk in the middle of the lobby, where bank customers wrote out their deposit
Deposit account
A deposit account is a current account, savings account, or other type of bank account, at a banking institution that allows money to be deposited and withdrawn by the account holder. These transactions are recorded on the bank's books, and the resulting balance is recorded as a liability for the...
slips. A few customers were already at the teller's
Bank teller
A teller is an employee of a bank who deals directly with most customers. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier. Most teller jobs require cash handling experience and a high school diploma. Most banks provide on the job training....
window making their deposits. The cashier again called out, "Hello, Santa." Again, no response.
Right about at this point, Ratliff's accomplice, Robert Hill, entered the Bank, pointed a pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
at the cashier, and snarled, "Hands up!!" The second bandit, Henry Helms, also entered brandishing a gun, followed by the third armed man, Davis.
Ratliff pushed through a swinging door, past the cashier's desk, went into the cashier's cage, opened a drawer under the counter, and removed a pistol from that location, stuffing it under his red Santa suit. Now there were four armed men, including "Santa Claus".
"Santa" ordered the assistant cashier to open the safe, and began stuffing money and bonds
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
into a sack he had hidden beneath his costume. While the others covered the customers and employees, Ratliff grabbed money from the tellers and forced one to open the vault
Bank vault
A bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents can be stored. It is intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, just like a safe...
.
Unseen by the four robbers, bank patron Mrs. B. P. Blassengame and her six year old daughter, Frances, entered the bank in hopes of seeing Santa, not knowing a robbery was in progress. Immediately realizing the danger, Mrs. Blassengame charged her way with her daughter through the bookkeeping
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include sales, purchases, income, receipts and payments by an individual or organization. Bookkeeping is usually performed by a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping should not be confused with accounting. The accounting process is usually...
office of the bank, announcing "They are robbing the bank," as she reached for the door to the alley. She quickly unlocked the door, thrusting her daughter out into the alley while yelling at her to run and, despite warnings from the robbers that they would shoot, escaping herself. She screamed for help as she ran the one block to city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
and the police department, alerting Chief of Police G. E. (Bit) Bedford and most of the Cisco citizenry about the robbery.
According to eyewitness Boyce House, "Police Chief G.E. "Bit" Bedford [was] a giant of a man and a veteran peace officer." Seizing a riot gun
Riot gun
A riot gun or less-lethal launcher is a type of firearm that is used to fire "non-lethal" ammunition for the purpose of suppressing riots. Less-lethal launchers may be special purpose firearms designed for riot control use, or standard firearms, usually shotguns and grenade launchers, adapted to...
, he started for the scene and instructed officers R.T. Redies and George Carmichael to cover the back door of the bank. The chief posted himself at the alley, which ran alongside the bank and opened at the bank's front on Main Street, while Officer Carmichael took a position near another alley which ran behind the bank and intersected the first.
Meanwhile, inside the bank, one of the men, with an automatic weapon in each hand, growled at the bookkeeper, "Don't look at me!" By this time, "Santa Claus" had filled his sack and exited the vault.
It is uncertain who fired the first shot. Some sources state Ratliff, dressed as Santa, fired first, the bullet striking the bank's plate glass window, possibly to signal unseen accomplices that the robbery had been accomplished. Other sources say that Hill, seeing someone outside, fired a shot through the window, and a shot was returned, prompting Hill to fire several more shots into the ceiling to show that they were armed.
Immediately, Bedford and Carmichael directed cross fire at the side door and the two-gunned robber fired back, first at Carmichael and then at Bedford.
A fusillade of gunfire began, as many citizens who owned guns were now outside the bank, and many more had rushed to hardware stores for pistols and rifles. The Assistant Postmaster and the Postmaster were two of the citizens that took up arms against the robbers. They opened fire, and a rifle bullet struck one of the fugitives in the arm and "spun him around." A bullet also struck a cashier in the jaw, another struck a bank customer in the leg. One customer made a run for it and was able to tell Bedford and Carmichael about the hostages. The robbers forced all of the people in the bank out the door and towards their blue sedan. Several of these hostages were wounded as they emerged into the alley, including Alex Spears, the bank president. Most of the customers escaped; however the robbers kept as hostages two little girls, Laverne Comer (12) and Emma May Robertson (10). Using the girls as shields, the four made their way into the alley their getaway car.
More than a hundred shots had already been fired before the shootout in the alley where the robbers returned to their getaway car. In the alley, Chief Bedford and Deputy George Carmichael were mortally wounded; Officer Carmichael found himself reeling from a bullet that had been fired from one of the robbers' guns. Officer Redies, who had witnessed his partner being shot, went to him to assist in any way he could. As Redies dodged the robbers' gunfire, the four made their way to the getaway car. At the head of the alley, Police Chief G.E. Bedford stood in their way. In the exchange of fire, Chief Badford, who had been a Peace Officer in the area for some 25 years, was shot five times.
Bedford died several hours later on Christmas Day, and Carmichael died almost a month later on January 17. Six other citizens were wounded. Davis was severely wounded in the shootout, while Ratliff suffered from two wounds, one in the chin and one in the leg.
Officer Redies ran to the police station and retrieved a rifle and began to pursue the robbers on foot. He was soon picked up and continued the pursuit with a citizen.
As the four robbers began their getaway
Getaway
Getaway is Australia's longest-running and most popular holiday and travel television programme. Debuting on 14 May 1992, it is currently broadcast on the Nine Network and TLC...
, traveling south on Main with their hostages, they realized that they were almost out of gas, having forgotten to fill the tank beforehand. As they neared the edge of town, pursued by the mob
Crowd
A crowd is a large and definable group of people, while "the crowd" is referred to as the so-called lower orders of people in general...
, one of their tires was flattened by a shot from law enforcement. The robbers lurched out of the vehicle, brandishing their guns to commandeer a passing Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
driven by fourteen year old Woodrow Wilson Harris, who relinquished the car. The robbers transferred the loot, hostages and injured comrade to the Oldsmobile, in the midst of gunfire. When they had finally transferred themselves to the new getaway car, only then did they realize that they could not start the car because Harris had cleverly taken the keys from the ignition when ordered to stop. Davis was by then unconscious, so they left him in the car and moved back to the first car with their two hostages. Robert Hill, the one who had followed Ratliff into the bank, was struck by a rifle bullet during the aborted transfer to Harris's car. They did not realize until later that they had left the money in the Oldsmobile with Davis.
The mob found Davis and the money and temporarily gave up the chase. The money was returned to the bank. They had stolen $12,400 in cash and $150,000 in nonnegotiable securities. Estimates were made that there were at least 200 bullet holes in the bank, a number which many thought too low. Besides the two police officers, there had been six townspeople wounded in the shootout, but no one was sure whether the robbers or the mob was responsible. For Davis, who was a last minute replacement for the group, this was the only crime in his lifetime. He was taken to a Ft. Worth hospital after his capture, but efforts to save his life failed. He died from bullet wounds he received in the gunbattle at the bank.
The trio had raced back out onto Main, two of the "desperadoes
Desperadoes
Desperadoes is a Weird West-style comic book series written by Jeff Mariotte. It is currently being published by IDW Publishing.-Publication:Each story arc is a limited series which has been collected in a number of volumes:...
" firing back at an automobile filled with pursuers. The driver swung east onto a dirt road and his companions began throwing out roofing nails in an effort to puncture the tires of the posse's machines. He then turned into a pasture, dashing through cactus, mesquite, and scrub oak. The growth became so heavy that further progress was impossible, and the robbers abandoned their bullet-riddled car and the two hostages several miles from town and continued on foot.
Sheriff John Hart and his deputies of Eastland, the county seat, had been called by long distance and given the news of the bank robbery; they piled into automobiles and sped to the spot where the bandits had abandoned the car. Reporters, including Boyce House, followed the action in another vehicle. By House's account, "officers and citizens poured in from all that section of the state and such a manhunt as Western Texas had never seen before was soon in progress .... Many members of the posse were on horseback or on foot as they beat their way through clumps of trees, searched high grass in the bottoms of ravines and peered around boulders in canyons." One search party discovered an overcoat and bloodstained gloves. Later, citizens found a suitcase and a pile of bloodstained rags. In the suitcase were cotton and gauze, showing that the bandits had entered their enterprise with the knowledge that there might be shedding of blood. Despite the search efforts, the bandits were able to evade search parties and steal another car the next morning. The pursuit continued throughout Saturday and Saturday night. One of the results of the Yuletide crime was its tragic implications for little children in Eastland County. On Christmas Eve, a church in Eastland was filled and as jolly Saint Nicholas entered, a little boy called out, with a quaver in his voice: "Santa Claus, why did you rob that bank?"
When the bandits wrecked their car in Putnam, they then successfully commandeered a vehicle driven by Carl Wylie, a young driller, forcing him as their hostage to drive. During the seizure Mr. Wylie's father fired his shotgun after the fleeing car. The bullets struck his son.
After hiding out all night with nothing to eat but oranges, which they did not offer to the injured young hostage, Helms, Hill and Ratliff decided to return to Cisco to hide in plain sight. They released Wylie and his car and stole another. The wounded bandits, especially Ratliff, were doing very poorly due to their injuries, lack of food, and the icy, sleeting conditions.
The threesome was ambushed the next morning by Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Foster in the little town of South Bend, in Young County
Young County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,943 people, 7,167 households, and 5,081 families residing in the county. The population density was 20 people per square mile . There were 8,504 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile...
. As they tried to cross the Brazos River
Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
, officers spotted the single-seated machine with three occupants approaching. The driver caught sight of a gun in the hands of one of the officers and began backing rapidly down the road. Then, as the members of the posse scurried into their automobiles, the car whirled and rushed away. A car chase followed, with a shootout in an oil field as the three tried to escape, running toward the wells.
Involved in the firefight was Deputy Sheriff Cy Bradford, famous for bringing law and order into the coal fields of Strawn and neighboring towns and later as a Texas ranger during the turbulent oil days. His career was filled with gunfights in which Bradford's coolheadedness and marksmanship always brought him out the victor. Before Bradford's car had rolled to a stop, he was out with "Old Betsy," his double-barreled shotgun, an extra pair of shells in one hand. Bradford fired once and one of he fugitives fell. Bradford reloaded before firing again. "I did not want to be caught with an empty gun if they turned and made a stand," he explained afterward. The bandits ran on, firing back over their shoulders. Again Bradford shot, and a man went down but arose and staggered on. The officer shoved the other shell into the gun and shot again and the third desperado slumped to his knees but got up and reeled on, disappearing among the derricks. Ratliff was hit and fell to the ground while Helms and Hill, although wounded, escaped into the woods by the Brazos River, which offered ideal concealment. Ratliff was reportedly a "walking arsenal," bearing no fewer than six gunshot wounds and six pistols when captured, including the one he took from the bank. "Santa" had been caught.
The intense manhunt for Helms and Hill, directed by Ranger Captain Tom Hickman, pressed on so as not to allow the wounded men an opportunity for rest. Despite airplane assistance the search team could not spot the fleeing men. In the process, two more men were wounded from accidental discharge of their weapons, bringing the total number of wounded to eight, excluding the three surviving robbers. However, their trail was eventually picked up and it seemed evident that the end of the chase was not far because the footprints were close-spaced, showing that they were wearing from the long chase and weak from loss of blood. Marks showed that, to climb even a small rise, they had been forced to crawl. They were finally apprehended in Graham, Texas
Graham, Texas
Graham is a city in north central Texas. It is the county seat of Young County, and as of the 2010 Census had a population of 8,903.-History:...
on December 30, seven days after the bank robbery. They had been attempting to find the location of a rooming house in Graham, but the man from whom they asked directions noticed their pistols and notified the authorities. Presumably exhausted, the two were taken into custody without a fight. Hill was captured with three pistols, and Helms with four.
Though Helms, Hill, and Ratliff had several wounds apiece and had not eaten for days, all three survived and faced trials. Helms was second to stand trial after Ratliff. He was identified as the one who had gunned down both lawmen and was given the death sentence in late February. After an unsuccessful insanity plea, he was executed by electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
on September 6, 1929 in Huntsville, Texas. It is said that he had cabbage, sausage, tomatoes, coffee, and pie for his last meal. Hill was last to be tried. He pled guilty to armed robbery and took the stand on his own behalf, crying for mercy and citing his unhappy childhood. In March he was given a sentence of life imprisonment—99 years. He escaped from prison three times but was recaptured each time. After settling down, he was paroled in the mid-1940s, changed his name, and became a productive citizen.
Ratliff was convicted of armed robbery on January 27, 1928, and was also sentenced to 99 years in prison. It was little ten-year-old Emma May Robinson's testimony that identified Ratliff as the man disguised as Santa Claus who had robbed the bank and kidnapped her. On the way to his cell, Ratliff muttered, "That's no hill for a high-stepper like me." Months later, on March 30 he was sentenced to execution for his role in the deaths of Bedford and Carmichael, although no one could testify to having seen Ratliff, dressed as Santa, fire a gun from the bank. Ratliff appealed his case and, when that failed, began behaving oddly in hopes of an insanity plea. He began acting insane the day of Helms's execution, much to the conviction of his jailers. His mother, Rilla Carter, filed for a lunacy hearing in Huntsville
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
.
The citizens of Eastland County grew infuriated to learn Ratliff had not already been executed for his deeds, and were further aggravated by this new development. Judge Davenport ordered Ratliff be extradited to Eastland County jail, writing a bench warrant for armed robbery of the Harris' Oldsmobile. On November 18, while awaiting execution there, Ratliff feigned paralysis, convincing his jailers, Pack Kilbourn and Tom A. "Uncle Tom" Jones, necessitating the two to feed and bathe him, and take him to the toilet. Having duped the two jailers, the man who had played Santa managed to get hold of a six shooter in an office desk, fatally wounding Jones, and violently fighting the second jailer in hand-to-hand combat, sometimes shooting a few rounds that, fortunately for Kilbourn, missed their mark. Most of the town, including the fighting jailer's daughter, watched helplessly through the jail windows, unable to break open the steel door to help Kilbourn as he pinned Ratliff down, beat him into unconsciousness, then returned him to his cell.
A crowd began to gather the next morning and, by nightfall, had grown to nearly 2,000 all clamoring for Ratliff. Kilbourn refused their demand but was overpowered by fifteen to twenty men who rushed in and dragged Ratliff out. They tied his hands and feet, carrying him to a vacant lot behind the local Majestic Theater on Mulberry Street, where the play "The Noose
The Noose (play)
The Noose is a play written by Willard Mack. It was later adapted as the film The Noose.The play opened on Broadway the night of October 20, 1926 at the Hudson Theatre. It is perhaps best known today for introducing the previously unknown Barbara Stanwyck. It also featured actors Rex Cherryman and...
" was being presented. There, they threw a rope over a guy-wire
Guy-wire
A guy-wire or guy-rope, also known as simply a guy, is a tensioned cable designed to add stability to structures . One end of the cable is attached to the structure, and the other is anchored to the ground at a distance from the structure's base...
between two telephone poles, on which they intended to hang him. The first attempt failed when the knot came loose and he fell to the ground. The second time, however, they used a stronger rope and were successful. His last words were, "Forgive me, boys," before he was hoisted 15 feet in the air. He was pronounced dead 20 minutes later, at 9:55 P.M. on November 19. Some Eastland Countians have erected a marker and picket fence around a utility pole in back of the Majestic Theater on Mulberry Street, although this marker may or may not be the actual pole. Jones died that evening, bringing the total number of dead as a result of the Santa Claus Bank Robbery, including three bank robbers, to six.
No one was ever tried in association with the lynching, although a grand jury was formed. Several thousand persons viewed Ratliff's body the next day at a furniture store in Eastland before Judge Garrett ordered the corpse locked up. Ratliff's family took possession of the body and arranged for a funeral in Fort Worth, with burial at Olivet Cemetery. Many people in Cisco over the years have claimed to have been present at the robbery or related to someone who was, and it is now a part of local folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. The greatest manhunt in the history of Western Texas had ended. And the most celebrated of all the trials ever held in Eastland District Court's old courthouse, was also the last. At the end of this trial, the building was demolished. The First National Bank still stands in Cisco, although it is in a new building. It features a painting of the robbery, as well as a collection of newspaper clippings and pictures of those involved. In 1967 the Texas State Historical Survey Committee (now the Texas Historical Commission
Texas Historical Commission
The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas....
) placed a medallion on the bank commemorating the robbery.
Sources
- http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/jbs2.html
- http://www.texasescapes.com/MaggieVanOstrand/The-Night-the-Posse-Chased-Santa.htm
- http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/1999/greene.htm
- http://web2.unt.edu/untpress/catalog/detail.cfm?ID=123
- http://www.ciscotx.com/ciscopd/santaclaus.html
- http://www.our-town.com/~brit/cisco.htm