Summer of 81

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The Summer of 1981 a 15 year old boy was found after a long and exhaustive search. The young black child was from a good family on the east side of town. He was their only son. The police report said that there were no defensive wounds on the body. Which is odd because he was found locked in a refrigerator. Just being desperate to live would have had me pounding and kicking to try to get free if indeed the fridge closed on me. The officers deduced that he was looking for a warm place to rest since it was a cold night. But the boy was alerted as missing earlier in the afternoon of the day he went missing.

Since the Lion's Pool story I am writing will probably included this incident, I am going to try to find out more about this story. The Waco Citizen Newspaper which is not the major paper of the town is the only paper that reported on this story. Again, this leads me to believe that there is more to this story than meets the eye.

Supposedly, we local blacks have always told the tale of the KKK having meetings in our town. The town was also known as six-shooter junction at one time. The city had brothels and hot springs and entertained lots of traveler as the 1900 roared on. For this town to be thought of as the bible-buckle, there has always been a conflict of morality running through its veins.

As children in the 80's, my siblings and I would walk the 9 or so blocks it took to get to the city park. The park was established in 1910 and is 416 acres. It stops at the riverbank and extends into neighborhoods with the park as the backdrop to several pricey homes. We were told that the KKK often met up in the hills of the park. We were warned not to go there alone at night. We often set off early in the morning with lunch and water in tow to march all around the park from the banks to the cliffs.

So, wondering children could be found all over this town during my youth I am sure. Even though the boy was not found in Cameron Park, it doesn't negate the fact that foul play was afoot;- that evil's reach was far and wide in a city that is known for a famous lynching.

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