Tiny museum tells of the Bonnie and Clyde ambush

GIBSLAND, La. — To American lawmen of the early 1930s, Bonnie and Clyde were, in a word, infamous. Yet to the average person, wearied by the ravages of the Great Depression, they were folk heroes.

The pair stole from banks that hadn't already collapsed, endearing themselves to those in line at soup kitchens — people willing to overlook the pair's 13 killings, mostly of lawmen.

It was along a back road near here, about 45 miles east of Shreveport, that the lovers died on May 23, 1934, slumped against each other in the front seat of a stolen sedan.

Historical accounts about the pair conflict. But "if you want to see the truth, you'll see it here," said L.J. "Boots" Hinton, director of the Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum. Exhibits consist primarily of voluminous black-and-white photographs and newspaper clippings, with a few of the pair's belongings. Fascinating film footage of the couple together in death is played in a small theater in the museum. But the $7 admission is worth it if just to chat with Boots.

Though he was just 5 months old when Bonnie and Clyde died in a hail of bullets, his father, Ted, was among those who lay in wait. The deputy sheriff from Dallas had spent 17 months tracking the pair. The officer had known Clyde when they were messenger boys together at Western Union in Dallas. "Dad kind of took Clyde under his wing," Boots said, adding that Clyde later veered into the crime world.

Bonne and Clyde still capture the imagination. Two new books appeared in 2009, and this year another movie, "The Story of Bonnie and Clyde," is due out.

The museum is in what had been the cafe where Clyde bought sandwiches minutes before the ambush. A historical marker marks the spot of the attack at the crest of a hill along Louisiana Highway 154.

The Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum (318-843-1934, bonnieandclydemuseum.com is at 2419 Main St. in Gibsland, a couple of miles south of Interstate Highway 20.

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