L.J. "Boots" Hinton
"They knew they would die, but they would die together. It was a love story that shamed Romeo and Juliet," declares L.J. "Boots" Hinton. A retired lawman, the 75 year old Hinton is now the proprietor of the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum in Gibsland, Louisiana. Boots Hinton knows the stories of the notorious lover criminals all too well. He is the son of Deputy Sheriff Ted Hinton, a participant in the May 23, 1934 ambush outside of Gibsland.
Known locally as the "Marshal of Main Street", Boots constantly peers out his plate glass window, ever monitoring the goings on in the sleepy Southern town. The town will soon awake from it's slumber, however. This photo was taken a few days before the 75th anniversary of the bloody ambush. Gibsland holds a festival each year to commemorate the event. Boots is expecting the 75th anniversary to be especially busy. All the while he sat for his portrait in the natural light of his office, his Bluetooth kept him busy. His desk phone kept ringing. Calls were coming in from all over the United States, and as far away as Europe.
Labels: Photographs, Portraiture
posted by Xavier at 5:04 PM
4 Comments:
You could probably sit with this guy for days and hear stories about the wild days in TX. Bonnie and Clyde were a long way from the romantics portrayed by Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.
The interesting aspect of the ambush was that it was led by Frank Hamer, a Texas Ranger, yet it was outside of his jurisdiction in Louisiana. The FBI was the source of the federal warrant based on transporting a stolen automobile across state lines.
Few folks know that in the Twentieth Century the TX Rangers have seldom been a force larger than around 75 to 100 men. "One riot, one ranger" was born of necessity!
I think that it is interesting to see someone dressed as an old school cowboy with a bluetooth earpiece in his ear. It kind of jars the senses. (in a good way)
I have been an enthusiast of the Bonnie and Clyde story since I saw the Dunaway/Beatty film when it first came out (and many times since then) and I really enjoyed meeting and chatting with "Boots" Hinton for the first time at the museum last year. If I lived nearby, or had the time while visiting in Louisiana, I could enjoy listening to him 2-3 hours or more. He is a colorful part of the story. Just think, he was 5 months old when the outlaws were killed.
Very nice man. Enjoyed talking with him today. We must have talked over an hour. Seems like we have know each other all our lives.
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