The September issue of the Oak Cliff Advocate features a story about Ken Holmes, the 1971 Kimball High School graduate whose company offers tours related to Bonnie and Clyde. He also owns the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum in Gibsland, La.
Holmes says he thinks the biggest misconception about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow is, “that their lives were glamorous.” The murderous bank robbers ran from the law for years, and even before their deaths, they paid for it. By the end of their lives, Parker and Barrow were notorious celebrities. Their pictures had been published in newspapers across the country, and they were recognized everywhere. They couldn’t risk getting motel rooms, and none of their relatives could help them. So they often had dirty clothes and bathed in creeks.
Romantic accounts of the couple often leave out the part where Parker’s legs were severely burned in a car accident. She was delerious for a week. Barrow had to carry her around and keep her drunk to control the pain since she never saw a doctor for the burns. And it’s hardly ever mentioned that Bonnie, whose father died when she was little, was a teenage bride. And even though her husband neglected her, she never divorced him.
