Local
2A • Daily Corinthian
Sunday, August 26, 2012
PUSSER CONTINUED FROM 1A
stincts toward the task. He started digging into what had been published about Pusser during his lifetime in magazines and newsprint. He made pilgrimages to Corinth and McNairy County to talk to people who knew Pusser and people involved in the media creation known as the State Line Mob. And as Elam learned more and more, his outright admiration for the “Walking Tall” sheriff turned into something else entirely. The purpose of Elam’s upcoming tour is to share what he has learned over almost a decade of research, to contrast what he has discovered against the longstanding legend of Buford Pusser. He regularly shares and discusses these findings on the Yahoo online discussion group called “crimemyths.” It was through this group that the tour was organized. “We’re not trying to convince anyone one way or another,” said Elam. “We’re taking the movie version and comparing it to the information we now have.” Elam has planned a tour that will be conducted on Saturday and next Sunday. On both days, Elam and the group will begin at 9 a.m. at the Econo Lodge in Corinth. The tour group will travel first north across the state line to the site near New Hope Church where, as the established version goes, Buford and Pauline were ambushed by unknown gunmen early on the morning of Aug. 12, 1967. The ambush left Pauline dead and Buford seriously wounded. It is a pivotal moment in the Pusser legend, the inspiration for the title of the late W.R. Morris’ book “The Twelfth of August.” But based on his research and the testimony of people close to the events, Elam has arrived at a very different conclusion regarding what happened that morning and who was really responsible for the death of Pauline Pusser. At the ambush site, the group will compare information from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation files with Pusser’s accounts of what happened. They will also try to recreate some the events of that morning to demonstrate why Elam believes something much more sinister – and potentially fatal to the Pusser myth – happened at this site 45 years ago. From there, the tour will go to the ruins of the old Shamrock restaurant
and motel, the site of another event in the accepted Pusser story that Elam believes to be false – the shooting of its proprietor, Louise Hathcock. According to the official story, Pusser shot and killed Hathcock in self defense in Hathcock’s private room at the Shamrock on the first day of February, 1966. But Elam’s research hints at a very different scenario. On the tour, participants will learn what Elam believes really happened, specifically based on the record of Hathcock’s autopsy report. Here another canonical event in the Pusser narrative will go under scrutiny. From the Shamrock, the tour will travel to other dives and sites from the Pusser/State Line heyday, including the White Iris, the former site of Hollis Jourdan’s bar, the sites where Willy B’s and the Old Hickory were located, the old Alan McCoy store site and the McNairy County Courthouse and jail. After lunch at a Selmer restaurant, the tour will move on to places associated with the last night of Pusser’s life – the McNairy County Fairgrounds where Pusser was last seen alive before his fatal accident. Next is the Pusser crash site near Adamsville, and the cemetery where the sheriff and his wife were laid to rest. While in Adamsville, the tour will visit the Pusser Home and Museum before trekking back to Corinth. Back in the Crossroads City, the tour will view the remaining buildings and locations of more places important to the story, including the Rustic Inn, the Bloody Bucket, the home of Jack and Louise Hathcock and site of the El Ray Motel, where infamous State Line gangster Towhead White met his end on April 2, 1969. Finally the tour will make its way back to the Corinth Econo to meet for a car caravan to trace the route Pusser took from Adamsville to the state line the morning of the ambush. After the car caravan, participants will return to the Econo for a viewing of the raw footage made by author W.R. Morris while he was working on his own movie version of “The Twelfth of August.” The production was stopped by a court order by Pusser, who maintained that Morris did not have movie rights to his story. The footage was shot in various clubs in the area, including Junior and Shirley Smith’s Old Hickory Grill. “This will give every-
Pusser tour Saturday — no available seats For more information or to reserve a Sunday seat; Send an email to Elam: mikeelam2010@ yahoo.com body an opportunity to see what these clubs looked like on the inside,” said Elam. Elam insists his goal is not to change anybody’s mind, but to present the information he has uncovered and to let people make up their own minds about what really happened all those years ago. In all of his discussions and debates on the “crimemyths” discussion group, there is one phrase Elam has returned to again and again. “The truth has no agenda,” is his mantra. The tour, he said, will be a chance for people like himself, who first knew the Pusser story through the movies, to come to grips with the information he has amassed over years of research. “We’re going to hold the story up against the reality. When the movie came out, we didn’t have all of this information. There were so many things we didn’t know that we know now,” Elam said. “I want people to make up their own mind by a comparison of the movie to the information we have, to let everybody see if the legend is true – or if it’s a moneymaking scheme by Hollywood.” In addition to the tour, Elam is currently working on a book about what he has discovered in his years of chasing down the Pusser legend. While the book is slow going, he plans to retire soon to devote more time to finishing his version of the story. He hopes the book – and next weekend’s tour – will be a step toward reawakening interest in a story that started in the counties of Alcorn and McNairy, but reached people around the globe. “Here you’ve got a story that one time held such national prominence – and now everybody has forgotten,” he said. “Let’s dust it off and see what there is to it.” The same itinerary will be followed both Saturday and Sunday. All of the seats for Saturday’s tour have been booked, but seats are still available for the tour on Sunday. For more information, or to reserve a seat, send an email to Elam at mikeelam2010@ yahoo.com.
Brothers keep alive case of father missing 4 years TALLASSEE, Tenn. — Two brothers whose father disappeared four years ago just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park have all but given up finding him alive but they hope someday to get an answer to what happened to him. Michael Hearon, 51, was last seen Aug. 23, 2008. He had taken his pickup and trailer with a mower and an all-terrain vehicle to mow land he owned abutting the park in Blount County. A neighbor said he exchanged waves with Hearon as the man rode his 4-wheeler down the one-lane Bell Branch Road. No one acknowledges seeing him after
that. Days of searching the forests and hollows failed to turn up evidence of what happened to Hearon. Officials found his pickup truck with his keys, wallet and cell phone. His ATV sat in bushes nearby with the key still in the ignition. There were no footprints or vehicle tracks. His sons, Matt and Andy Hearon, told The Knoxville News Sentinel they think he came across something he wasn’t meant to see and fell victim to foul play. Marian O’Briant, spokeswoman for the Blount County Sheriff’s Office, said the Hearon case is open but there have been no new leads in about a year. The Hearon family was to hold its annual “Hike for Mike” Saturday to raise awareness of the case.
PINECREST CONTINUED FROM 1A
Bags are sent to the six schools each Friday during the school year. Close to $20,000 was spent on the ministry last year. This year the program has received a tax-empt 501(c)3 nonprofit status. Organizers can now gain financial support through grant writing. “We have converted to a full charity,” said Brooks. “Some corporations can’t give to a church but they can a charity,” added Brooks’ wife, Linda. “The program is still tied to the church, but now has its own charity exemption,” said Haney. Church members churn out the bags in assembly line fashion, filling each with a bottle of water and numerous other nutritious items. A Christian tract is also placed in each bag that contains service times on the other side. “The idea is to feed hungry kids, but we also hope to reach lost souls,” said R.M. The over 200 bags is expected to rise before the year is over. “By mid-September, we should have an increase,” said Linda. “The decline in the economy has caused
How to help Send donations to: Pinecrest Weekend Snack Pack Fund 310 Pinecrest Road Corinth, Miss. 38834 (It is now a tax-empt 501(c)3 non-profit status.)
“We have heard so many wonderful stories from children who have received food. It is a blessing to serve the Lord this way and our prayer is that someone will be saved as a result of caring for children.”
the snack packs to rise.” R.M. Brooks came up with the food idea after being saved. “I felt like the Lord was calling me to do something to help children,” he said. Brooks shared the idea with his wife and Haney. After praying about the mission, Brooks learned of a similar ministry in Arkansas. It began as a backpack mission before making the switch. “The schools asked us to use bags because it was easier for teachers to just put them in their backpack,” added R.M. Two other churches have now started the food program after seeing the success at Pinecrest. “I thought this was a wonderful idea and something that was very much needed,” said church
member Betty Elam. “We have never had a shortage of help since we started.” “We have heard so many wonderful stories from children who have received food,” said Linda Brooks. “It is a blessing to serve the Lord this way and our prayer is that someone will be saved as a result of caring for children.” Those who would like to donate to the program can do so by sending a check to Pinecrest Weekend Snack Pack Fund, 310 Pinecrest Road, Corinth, Ms. 38834. “Every cent given goes for food to be put in the bags,” added R.M.
next 3-4 days. Local officials will respond accordingly when the area forecasts con-
tain more information, he said. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
plained. “You’ve got to write about how you feel about something. You can’t just write nonsense.” Martin donated the rights for “Shiloh” to the park on a trip to Tennessee in June. The park can now use his song in any way, he explained. “They said they haven’t decided what they’re go-
ing to do with it yet,” Martin said. “I’m just happy I gave it to them. They can do anything they want with it.” For more information about Sean Martin visit seanmartin.info or search for “Sean Martin Fan Club” on Facebook. His songs are available on iTunes and Amazon.
Linda Brooks
ISAAC CONTINUED FROM 1A
ing at all” when Isaac makes landfall in the
SHILOH CONTINUED FROM 1A
Security guard says he is scapegoat
“I’ve been doing it for it seems like forever — but I still get excited,” he said. Over the years Martin has written many songs, but songwriting is still a serious business, he said. “You’re capturing a moment,” he ex-
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — A security guard at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge says he is being used as a scapegoat after an embarrassing incident where peace protesters infiltrated the facility. Kirk Garland told the Knoxville News Sentinel that he was the only person fired after the July 28 break-in. He said the termination notice from security contractor WSIOak Ridge accuses him of showing “blatant disregard for the situation.” Garland said he was the first officer on the scene at the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. He said there was no need to use force with the protesters because they were peaceful and obeyed his commands.
Sean Martin records a song at Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn., with a portrait of Elvis Presley looking down from the wall.
State Briefs Associated Press
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Members of Pinecrest Baptist Church get over 200 bags of food ready for their weekend snack pack ministry.
Submitted photo