 
10th Street Baptist

A Novel

By Bobby Everett Smith

November 15, 2018

Copyright © 2018 Bobby Everett Smith

All rights reserved.

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# Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Thursday Night Football

Chapter 2 Friday Night Football

Chapter 3 The Wichitas, High School country western band

Chapter 4 Colored Town

Chapter 5 Planning for College

Chapter 6 Integration of WFHS

Chapter 7 KKK Learns of Integration Plans

Chapter 8 Train trip to Chicago

Chapter 9 The Northwestern Tour

Chapter 10 Billie Reviews Trip

Chapter 11 Sunday School Class

Chapter 12 Billie and JD meet again

Chapter 13 Billie discovers she is pregnant

Chapter 14 Billie decides to have the baby

Chapter 15 JD hears the news

Chapter 16 Billie meets with parents at home to discuss her future

Chapter 17 Church and School Officials Are Not Sympathetic

Chapter 18 KKK Meets to Plan for Disciplinary Action

Chapter 19 Zach to the Rescue

Chapter 20 Planning to Integrate Wichita Falls High School

Chapter 21 Billie and Lucy Move to California

Chapter 22 Zach and JD Drive to Colorado

Chapter 23 KKK Plans to Follow JD

Chapter 24 JD Hides in Colorado Mountains

Chapter 25 Everett Moves to California

Chapter 26 Life in California

Chapter 27 JD in Colorado

Chapter 28 WFSH Integration Plans

Chapter 29 The Integration Day

Chapter 30 Northwestern

Chapter 31 Billie Checks in with Ob/Gyn

Chapter 32 The Birthing

Chapter 33 Zach forms The Singing Longhorns Band

Chapter 34 McKay Is Determined to Kill JD

Chapter 35 JD and Billie Link Up Again

Chapter 36 Everett Goes Into a VC Company

Chapter 37 Lucy Dies of Breast Cancer

Chapter 38 JD and Billie Marry

Epilog

About the author: Bobby Everett Smith

Other eBooks

#  Chapter 1 Thursday Night Football

Wichita Falls, Texas in 1957 is at the heart of the Bible Belt-- big on Baptists and big on high school football. Two high schools, Wichita Falls Senior High and Booker T. Washington High School, provide education and football in separate and segregated parts of town.

The city, like the State of Texas, operates under the 1894 Supreme Court doctrine of "separate but equal" documented by the United States Supreme Court in _Plessy v Ferguson_. The "separate" part was strictly enforced, but the "equal" part, not so much.

Black students had to attend the segregated black high school. The students, their parents, friends and everyone else with black or colored skin adhered to the _Jim Crowe_ Laws: sit in the back of the bus, use Colored restaurants and bathrooms, drink only out of water fountains marked "Colored", live in a separate part of town and don't even think about looking, with lust in your heart at a white girl or woman.

In 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States upped the ante, making it illegal for States and cities to operate segregated schools. "Separate was not equal," the Court said but they failed to put a time limit on the implementation of this new doctrine. As of 1957, not one school in the American south had implemented the new law, _Brown v. the Board of Education_.

A crisp, clear November night in 1957 in North Texas, Thursday, the night for black football at the 15,000-seat high school stadium down Harrison Street at the bottom of the hill. The black students don't get high attendance on their Thursday night games but some of the white students from Wichita Falls High School attended the game just for the fun of it. They cheer and jeer the blacks, but little did they know that the black athletes were the best football players in town.

It's fourth quarter, the final game of the regular season. The _Mustangs_ , Ft. Worth's Black High School, is in town, fighting to advance to the playoffs. The _Mustangs_ lead 17 to 12 with five minutes to go. The _Raiders_ need a touchdown, but they more urgently need a first down and it's fourth down with one yard to go.

JD Bartels, black quarterback for the _Booker T. Washington Raiders_ , made Black All-American last year and is on track to be the number one black quarterback in the nation in 1957. "Over-the-top-31, on two," he barks in the huddle. JD calls for a clownish play for the fullback to take the ball from the quarterback and do a barrel roll over the line just to show off. The white students whoop it up, FIRST DOWN. "Way to go, JD," they yell. Two plays later, JD throws a slant pass into the end zone, TOUCHDOWN. The _Raiders_ lead now 19-17 with two minutes to play.

In the stands, several members of the Wichita Falls High School class cheer the Raiders to victory. Zach Zimmerman is _de facto_ leader of the group, a leader of the class, charismatic and well-liked and leader of the _Wichitas_ , a high school country western band which plays on KFWT every Saturday morning at 6 a.m.—prime time.

The _Raiders_ win the game and the players go to the showers before putting on casual clothes and heading for the school dance. JD meets his steady girlfriend, Tania Wilson, outside the locker room; they hold hands as they stroll to the traditional after-game dance.

"You played another great game," Tania flirts with JD. They know each other well, think they are in love, after going steady for over a year.

"Thanks, babe," JD replies.

"You did a great job too of leading the cheers. I could hear the roar of the crowd all through the game, all 200 of them."

"Ok, so you don't get the crowds, the _Coyotes_ get, but you did have a pretty good game."

"I agree we played well against Ft. Worth, a good team in the state, you will have to admit."

JD and Tania, slow-dance, rubbing their fronts tightly together. They are the leaders of the school, both good looking, smart, and serious about their roles as leaders in the civil rights movements.

When the dance is over at 11 p.m. JD and Tania get in his car, a '49 Oldsmobile, and head out for their favorite parking spot. They kiss in the front seat of the car. JD massages Tania's breasts. They get hot, heavy breathing, sweating, anxious.

"When are we going to have sex?" JD asks.

"You ask me that every time, and my answer is always the same. I want to have sex with you, but we need to wait until we are out of college and we can get married. Brother Johnson preached last week at Church that teen-agers these days are way too aggressive in drinking and having sex. You and I are leaders and we need to set an example."

"I know you're right, but my body is ready to have sex with you. Want me to prove it to you?" he asks as he moves her hand over into his crotch where it is obvious that he is ready to have sex with her.

"You can hold out," she says. "And besides, there is always the chance that I could get pregnant, and we don't want to do that now."

"Of course, you are right," JD responds.

"Changing the subject," he says, "are you coming to the meeting tomorrow afternoon?"

"The integration meeting?"

"Yes, I am leading the meeting tomorrow. We will discuss the background that I think justifies us standing up to integrate _Wichita Falls High School_. I am going to go back to the lynching of Emmett Tills, that boy in Mississippi year before last. He was only 14 years old, and the KKK killed him without a second thought just because they heard he whistled at a white woman."

"Oh my god, I know about that. We must stand up to that. If we don't, it will get just worse and worse."

Talk of the integration meeting cooled off their romantic activities and by then it was midnight. JD drove Tania home and walked her to the front door where a porch light was on waiting for her safe return. "Thanks," JD said. "I had a great time, but one of these days, you are going to lose your cool and we will both lose our virginity at the same time."

"I had a good time too but don't get your hopes up, I have a steel will."

"Good night, my love."

"Good night."

#  Chapter 2 Friday Night Football

Wichita Falls, Texas is a medium-sized family town, peaceful and comfortable, but that would only if you were white and preferably a Southern Baptist. In 1957, the city was occupied by about 65,000 people including 8,000 Negroes who lived in a separate, (but equal) part of town. In 1918 oil drillers discovered an abundant patch of oil in a shallow field near Burkburnett, a suburb of Wichita Falls, about 12 miles to the north just a few miles from the Red River, the northern border of Texas and Oklahoma. Wealth came to many citizens of the North Texas community.

High School Football and the Baptist Church are the two favorite activities in Wichita Falls in late 1950's but if you wanted to get the truth of it, football would undoubtedly win that poll. _Wichita Falls Senior High (WFSH_ ) with 1600 students was the main white school in town and Booker T. Washington High School, just south of downtown with about 400 students serviced the black community.

The white boys at WFSH represented North Texas with style; they made State AAAA championship two years in a row and were heading towards the quarter-finals as of November 15, 1957. Jimmy Sides, the WFSH full-back was not All-American, but he was All-State and a great full back on Coach Golding's single wing formation team.

Joe Golding, the high school football head coach was just about the most famous and richest man in town. Well, not really, a lot of men had made big money in the oil business and they were richer than Joe Golding, but no one was more admired or more famous than Coach Golding, not in Wichita Falls anyway

Since Joe had led the high school team to two State champions in the last two years, he was even better known than before those big wins came along. Joe was a good coach—he made the boys tough and gave them a desire to win, game after game. Joe taught one course of American History because it was required that he teach, but the town wanted him to know they appreciated his contribution to the football team and they rewarded him, legally, with gifts like a new car every year, free rent in a nice house on Tilden Avenue, and lots of other freebies which seemed to show up on an unexpected basis.

When Joe Golding came on-board in 1952, he started a recruiting program much like the colleges did, going out to the rural high schools in the area to scout out the best football players in the region. That program paid high dividends and resulted in the two State AAAA Championships in 1955 and 1956.

Only the best players in the high schools make the varsity team and attaining a starting position on the Wichita Falls Coyotes guaranteed rock-star status at the school and around the town. Local merchants were not above contributing free products to players with especially good performance the week before. A letter jacket at the end of the year presented personally by Coach Golding was nothing short of an Academy Award Oscar.

August in Wichita Falls is hot, but Coach Golding knows that his team will only make that coveted State Championship position if they are well-trained and in good shape. Therefore, he starts Fall Training in mid-August with a morning session at 6 a.m. for two hours and an afternoon session at 4 p.m. Dehydration is not so much a worry to Coach Golding as it was to the local physicians who were sometimes called to treat the dehydrated athletes.

The team practices six days a week from August throughout the season which ends in November or December depending on whether the team makes the playoffs or not. None of the players complain about the heat or the work but they are sweaty when every practice session ends.

Team members return to the locker rooms after practice, remove their sweat shirts and pads, and walk naked into the team shower room where 10 or 12 of them are showering and playing around for another half hour after the workout.

The Wichita Falls team runs the single wing formation with a blocking back, a wing back a full back, and tailback who calls the plays and the snaps. Jimmy Sides, full back, is candidate for _All-State_ , popular, charismatic, and a faithful member of the _10th Street Baptist Church_.

"We have a challenge this year," Coach Golding says. "Every school in Texas is out to get us. And rightfully so, we are the best high school team in Texas and we have the best full back in Texas, Jimmy Sides. I don't mean to put anyone down, but if you want to be better than Jimmy, you've got to show it in practice and in the games. He is the best player in Texas, so let's go out and give him the support he needs to win this game."

The other players like Jimmy. He plays with his heart and he treats his teammates like equals. Jimmy loves the fans and at 6 ft. 1 in. he is a perfect size for high school senior. Jimmy is calm, poised and focused and when the time comes, he puts all 195 pounds into his run. He mostly takes the ball from the center and bashes into the line, off guard, off tackle, or around end. Just for an occasional surprise, he will run out for a pass in the flat, and he is hard to bring down once he catches the ball.

By 7:15 the stands are full, 15,000 fans are ready for a 7:30 kickoff. Both teams kneel for a prayer before returning to the locker rooms for a final briefing from Coach Golding. Jimmy, the team captain, leads the prayer.

"Lord, thank you for allowing us to play this great game against our rival from Dallas, the Woodrow Wilson Mustangs. Please help us to play hard and fair and to bring home another win for our team. Thank you."

Billie Hamilton leads the cheerleaders. She is. a vivacious blonde with a great figure and a dynamic personality-- agile and swift, .. the fans love her along with her other cheerleading mates,. Jeanie Williams and Sue Jackson and two boys, Ralph De Long and Jimmy Pruitt. They cheered:

Go, go, go, go Coyotes

Fight, fight, fight, fight Coyotes

Win, win, win, win Coyotes

Go, fight, and win!

The crowd yelled; the band played the team fight song and Billie and her team lead the singing of the school anthem. Some of the fans shed tears as they prepare for kickoff.

The Coyotes receive and take the ball for a 20-yard return from the 10. Jimmy Sides gets the ball on the first play and plunges into the right guard position for a four-yard gain. The Coyotes play fundamental block and tackle football, three or four yards or sometimes more on every play. It's a winning strategy. They are on track to make the finals for the third out of four years.

"You've been working since August for this game. You can win it too, but you must remember: play with your heart. Never quit; play the entire game, 48 minutes, 4 quarters of 12 minutes each. Never let up or feel sorry for your opponents. If they want more points they must earn them. Now get out there and let's notch one more victory on our belt. Go Coyotes."

The players are pumped. They jump to their feet and run from the locker room to the field. The crowd goes wild as they run onto the field. The Coyotes are favored to win by three touchdowns and go on to win the 4A Texas State High School Championship.

Tonight, Jimmy Sides leads the team to a 48 to 7 victory over the Mustangs. Encouraged by Billie Hamilton's Coyote Cheerleaders, the crowd demands every touchdown.

After the game, girls flirt with Jimmy and other members of the team. The boys got pretty much what they want from the girls who shamelessly throw themselves at them. It's good to be a _Coyote_ in Wichita Falls in 1957—if you are white and Southern Baptist.

#  Chapter 3 The Wichitas

The Wichitas play on KWFT Radio at 6.a.m every Saturday morning for one hour (prime time).

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Zach Zimmerman and the Wichitas, 'Tom Dooly'"

1,2,3,4

Throughout history, there have been many songs written about the eternal triangle. This next one tells the story of Mister Grayson, a beautiful woman, and a condemned man named Tom Dooley. When the sun rises tomorrow, Tom Dooley must hang.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley. Hang down your head and cry.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley. Poor boy, you're bound to die.

I met her on the mountain. There I took her life. Met her on the mountain. Stabbed her with my knife.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley. Hang down your head and cry.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley. Poor boy, you're bound to die.

This time tomorrow. Reckon where I'll be. Hadn't-a been for Grayson, I'd-a been in Tennessee.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley. Hang down your head and cry.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley. Poor boy, you're bound to die.

The Wichitas: led by Zach Zimmerman on the bass fiddle. Jim Joline playing acoustic guitar, Chuck Anthony, the electric guitar, Ray Arthur, Bass Singer and Neil Sanders on the drums. They sing folk songs and Texas-Western, some of which are written by Zach.

Bob Smith is one of the high school groupies, not in the band, but a big fan who gets up every Saturday morning at 6 a.m. to listen to the _Wichitas_ from his bedroom on Britain Street.

All members of the band are also members of the _10th Street Baptist Church_ where you can find them almost any Sunday attending Sunday School at 10 a.m. and listening to Brother James Thompson preach the sermon at 11 a.m., assisted by Donald McKay, leading the choir and the congregation in the singing of Baptist hymns as part of the Sunday ceremony. Dr. Thompson is an impassioned Southern Baptist and he ends every service with a call to join Jesus and to join the _10th Street Baptist_ , which has about half or more of the membership attending services every Sunday.

Zach attends Sunday School at the Church on 10th Street almost every Sunday. Sometimes he teaches the class. He is a devout Christian and pretty much believes what he had learned at church, but he reserves the right to ask questions.

At a high school general assembly one Friday, Mrs. Conklin, the Journalism teacher, introduced the _Wichitas_ :

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce Wichita Falls' own new Country/Western Band, Zach Zimmerman's and _The_ _Wichitas_ :

Zimmerman leads the band as they started playing one of their favorite new songs: _'All the Hard Days Are Gone'_

All of the hard days are gone

it's all beer and whiskey and songs from now on

Laugh at the darkness

and dance until dawn

All of the hard days are gone.

Chorus

We're all safe and warm here my friends

The hard days are gone they won't come again

So, raise up your voices, give us a song

All of the hard days are gone.

Chorus

Life has been cloudy and grey

Take the bad memories and put them away

For the sun has come out, we have waited so long

All of the hard days are gone

Chorus

So, Raise up your glasses and sing

For the hard days are gone

they don't mean a thing

If you want to be happy I will take you along

All of the hard days are gone

Chorus

The assembly cheers.

One Sunday in 1955, between Sunday School and Church, Zach started talking to Jimmy Joline and Chuck Anthony.

"Let's start a band," Zach suggested. "We can play at parties, dances, assemblies, and maybe on the radio. Who knows, we might even get a break and sell some records commercially. It's worth a thought," Zach shared with the other potential band members.

The two Jim's had good voices and were reasonably proficient with their guitars. Zach recruited Ray Arthur, a Bass singer, trained himself well enough to play the bass fiddle and talked his dad into buying him one, $1,000 bucks, a good hunk of change in the 1950's. They began to practice in Zach's garage almost every day, playing popular, country/western songs which went over well in this North Texas town. All the members of the band were white high school boys who attend Wichita Falls Senior High School, and coincidentally, the _10th Street Baptist Church_. This was not uncommon as most students in the city attended WFSH and the _10th Street Baptist Church_.

Zach was creative and idealistic, and he soon wrote a musical documentary about the control of nuclear weapons, an idea he got while studying the _Cold War_ during history classes at WFSH. The band played their music in between narrations given by Zach—admonitions by Zach to support politically the denuclearization of the world.

This program launched the _Wichitas_ into region-wide recognition and Zach talked the local program manager of KWFT, the leading radio station in Wichita Falls, to schedule the band on the radio every Saturday morning at 6 a.m., not exactly prime time, but the band members enjoyed it and many fellow-students set their alarms to get up and listen to the band every Saturday morning, in spite of the early hour.

Everyone on the band had a marvelous time, playing and singing, hamming it up. The girls all liked listening and formed an admiration society that sometimes evolved into romance. The boys in the band were clean-cut, good students, worked at part-time jobs like delivering the _Wichita Falls Record News_. They were good kids and leaders of their class at high school, even though they did not make the _Coyotes_ football team, the band was a next-best thing for notoriety in the high school. It kept them out of trouble and in the limelight.

Even though Zach and the others were good Christians, the idea of segregation never really occurred to them. They had been raised to believe that Blacks had their places-- schools, churches, restaurants, and special seating on busses and trains. Blacks lived in a separate part of town and just to be totally honest about it, Zach thought. "I never gave it a minutes thought."

#  Chapter 4 Colored Town

Wichita Falls, in 1957, was divided into two parts, the White Part which was the dominant part of the city and the Negro part, separate but equal according to the Supreme Court.

Negro town had an elementary school which covered first through eighth grade and _Booker T. Washington High School_ which taught black students in the ninth through the twelfth grade.

Negro town sounds bad, but it was in many ways a decent place to grow up. The blacks had a community and a pretty good time--everyone's parents knew each other, kids sometimes behaved themselves and residents teamed together to improve their lot in society.

"We had the church in the community," JD told his friends, and that was the center of our spiritual life but also our community life. Reverend Ben Johnson was the pastor of the main church, the _Bible Baptist Church_. Reverend Johnson led, preaching with fire and brimstone, not unlike the _10th St. Baptist Church._

JD Bartels grew up in Negro town but in a better home than some. At least it was painted, three bedrooms, one bathroom with a toilet, tub but no shower, a living room, and dining room just next to the kitchen. A small back porch housed the washing machine and ringer and a couple of rinse tubs that JD helped his mom fill up with a hose from the outside on laundry day. In the evenings they sat on the swing on the front porch.

JD's neighbors crowd into one or two rooms of a dilapidated house where they share a hall toilet with several other families. They often cook in a closet, and three or four may sleep in one room. The residents of the area in which they live pay no taxes and have no influence, so the municipality tends to overlook their needs for utilities, and to ignore violations of the housing and sanitary codes.

JD's early life revolved around the one park in Negro Town, _Tidwell Negro Park_. At the park, there were baseball and softball tournaments, Friday night square dances, dominoes and checkers lessons.

JD Bartels was famous because he was a good football player. In fact, he was not just known in Wichita Falls, he was known as the _Black All-American quarterback,_ the best high school quarterback in America.

In addition to being a great athlete, JD was an honor roll student with a 3.8 GPA and the admiration of all his teachers.

JD was a leader in the community, leading the group which planned to integrate _Wichita Falls High Schoo_ l in the coming Fall. Since this was to be the first high school integration in the United States, that was a pretty big deal especially for an 18-year-old young man to be leading.

Tania was JD's girlfriend, the head cheerleader of the Booker T. Washington football team. She was a gorgeous 17-year-old with smooth brown skin and white teeth that complimented her contagious smile. She and JD had been going steady since their junior year in high school. She hoped to follow him to college and to marry him when they graduated together. Like JD, Tania was a leader in the community and was right behind him in leading the organization of the WFSH integration. She was strong in resisting JD's desire for sex but at times, she almost gave in.

Bill Bartels was JD's dad. He and his wife Nancy had been married for 20 years and had lived in the same house in Wichita Falls Colored town during their entire marriage. Bill was a strong leader in the community and he had taught his son how to play football and how to be a leader in the community. Bill, a maintenance man at the Kemp Hotel in downtown Wichita Falls, and his wife Nancy, were totally together in their efforts to raise a responsible son and to lead their neighbors into a better life. This attitude was not true for many Negro families in Colored Town—families that had a single mother and a father, long-gone.

Life in Colored Town was exciting. Adults in JD's neighborhood whispered on front porches about bombings in Birmingham. Bands of white teenagers drove in the streets around Tidwell Park, hurling insults at black residents. They sometimes, on driving tours through Colored town, threw rocks and firecrackers onto the front porches of the Negro residents just to agitate them.

Segregation in the city was convention, not law, but it was front and center on most people's minds with the blacks determined to win their justified Civil Rights starting with integration of Wichita Falls High School and the whites, mostly led by the KKK, equally determined to keep them separated.

#  Chapter 5 Planning for College

Billie Hamilton had attended Sunday School at the 10th Street Baptist Church since she was barely able to walk. She believed what she had learned and was a devout Christian first and Baptist second. She believed in God and heaven. She believed if she were baptized and lived the life they taught her in Sunday School, she would go to heaven when she died, and she would sit on the right hand of God and Jesus and talk to them as physical entities when the need or the occasion arose. She believed that God directly intervened in her life when required.

Billie frequently led the Sunday morning Sunday School lesson and she usually started with a prayer,

"Thank you for allowing this group of students to learn and pray together every Sunday morning, learning the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Southern Baptist Religion. Please bless us and help us to continue to follow your laws. Amen"

Not once in her life had Billie ever thought about the black students who lived and went to church and school on the other side of town."

Billie is not only the Sunday School teacher, she also is the lead cheerleader for the Coyotes, one of the smartest student in the senior class and she wants to be a writer when she finishes college.

After doing some research and talking to some of her teachers, she decides she wants to go to _Northwestern University_ in Evanston, Illinois, just adjacent to Chicago. It has the reputation for being the best university in the country for Creative Writing. Billie has submitted her application in December 1956 and she has plans to take the train to Chicago in February to visit the school, just to make sure it's where she wants to go. She plans to travel alone which will be her first trip anywhere without parents. It's exciting, a bit daring, but that's Billie and she has convinced her parents it will not be too dangerous and that she can do it.

Coaches from all over the country had already recognized that many black students were the best athletes in the country, and they had their eyes on JD. He was a great quarterback, smart, and a leader. No college could ask for more. Southern universities still had not accepted black athletes, but northern schools had; many of them had already contacted JD and invited him to come to their schools for interviews and orientation.

Coincidentally to Billie's plans to attend Northwestern, JD had been invited there and they were scheduled to travel on the same day from Waurika, Oklahoma to Chicago on the _Rock Island Railroad_.

All _the Wichitas_ were headed for different colleges. Zach, Jimmy Brown and Ray Arthur wanted to go to University of Texas, Jim Joline, Colorado School of Mines. Bob Smith applied to Rice Institute in Houston. It was an impressive bunch of high school students. Good students, college bound, law-abiding and ambitious. They all believed in fairness and doing the right thing, but like Billie not one of them had given much if any thought to the Negro students in Wichita Falls.

# Chapter 6 Integration of WFHS

Bill Bartels, JD's father, is proud of the kid's football prowess, but he also wants him to grow up to be a college graduate from a good school and to be a leader of the black community nationwide. JD at age 17 with help from his father, is leading a group of colored folks who believe it is time to integrate schools in the United States. They are planning for Wichita Falls to be the first to implement the Supreme Court case of _Brown vs. the Board of Education_. JD is the leader but not one of six students who intend to press the issue in the fall of 1957. It will be a risky venture with potential violence as the KKK and other racist members of town try to block the entrance to the high school by the colored intruders.

The students who planned to be part of the WFSH integration met with their parents and community leaders at 4 p.m. on Friday. JD as the leader of the meeting speaks to the gathering.

"Good afternoon."

"We're here to plan the integration of the white high school WFSH, or Wichita Falls Senior High. We have set the date of our integration as of September 4, 1957. We will have six students registering with the white school. All the other students that will participate in the event are here today. Nellie, Ike, Terrell, and Vince, Jacob and Tyrone. Parents of those students will also be there to protect and support them. Other members of the Black community will be there as they wish to attend. "

"We expect opposition from members of the KKK which, by the way, is led by Reverend Donald McKay, assistant pastor of the 10th Street Baptist Church. He may or may not be in KKK robes and hoods, but we need to be prepared for the group in any form of dress that they come in."

"Other white members of the community will be there also, and we anticipate up to 1500 people from both sides to be there. Members of the Wichita Falls police department and Wichita County Sheriff's Department have been notified of our intentions and we expect police protection during the event. It is possible that the Governor of the _State of Texas_ will know about the integration effort and he may call out the National Guard. If violence incurs, the President of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower, may be asked to support our cause with members of the _United States Army_. Part of our plan is to notify the Governor and the President 30 days in advance."

"This integration may well draw national attention. We have been in contact with Dr. Martin Luther King and it is possible that he and his group will participate. As the first integration of public high schools in the nation, it is a big deal."

"Let me go over some historical events that have led up to this activity so that we are 'all singing out of the same page.'"

"Since the Civil War of the United States ended in 1865, previous black slaves have been made citizens of the U.S. under the 13th and 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The 13th Amendment freed all slaves in the U.S. and the 14th Amendment gave them the right to vote and to be equal citizens with all white people in the country."

"The period after the Civil War is known as reconstruction and during this period, black people who were previously slaves have been trying to establish themselves within their communities as equal citizens, that is, people with the right to go to equal schools, churches, restaurants, to ride on public transportation and to share the same services like bathrooms, water fountains, public parks, and other public facilities."

"This objective of black people did not go over too well just after the War. Rioting in New Orleans and other cities was common. Many people were killed, either trying to support the black citizens or trying to prevent them from becoming equal citizens."

"This _Jim Crow_ era accompanied the cruelest wave of racial suppression that America has yet experienced. Between 1890 and 1940, millions of African Americans were disenfranchised, killed, and brutalized. About 5,000 men, women, and children were murdered in documented mob violence called lynching. Lynching, not reported by newspapers, plus similar executions under the veneer of due process, may have amounted to 20,000 killings."

"In 1896 the Supreme Court of the United States passed a decision called _Plessy vs. Ferguson_."

"This decision upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities if the segregated facilities were equal in quality – a doctrine that came to be known as ' _separate but equal_.' This legitimized the state laws re-establishing racial segregation that had been passed in the American South after the end of the Reconstruction Era (1865–1877). "

" _Plessy_ is widely regarded as one of the worst decisions in U.S. Supreme Court history. Despite its infamy, the decision itself has never been explicitly overruled. However, a series of subsequent decisions—beginning with _Brown v. Board of Education in 1954,_ which held that Plessy's 'separate but equal' doctrine is unconstitutional in the context of schools and educational facilities—have severely weakened it to the point that it is usually considered to have been de facto overruled."

' _Brown v. Board of Education, (1954_ ), was a case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The decision effectively overturned the _Plessy v. Ferguson_ decision of 1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation, insofar as it applied to public education. Handed down on May 17, 1954, the Warren Court's unanimous (9–0) decision stated that 'separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.'

'As a result, racial segregation was ruled a violation of the _Equal Protection Clause_ of the _Fourteenth Amendment_ of the United States Constitution. This ruling paved the way for integration and was a major victory of the Civil Rights Movement, and a model for many future impact litigation cases. However, the decision's fourteen pages did not spell out any sort of method for ending racial segregation in schools, and the Court's second decision only ordered states to desegregate 'with all deliberate speed'".

"Folks, that's why we are here today. Somebody must step up and be the first to implement the _Brown v. Board of Education_ decision. We are the ones. We can do this, and we will do it.

Are there any questions?

Nellie. Go ahead.

"Can we get the U.S. Army there in advance? I know these people and I have no doubt that they will put a bullet in our heads if we don't do what they say."

"Like I said, we are alerting the Governor and the President, and we expect they will support us, but I don't think they will be here at the beginning and will only show up if the event turns violent. That may mean that someone has to die."

"Are we ready to die to support this cause?" JD asks.

"Yes, I am willing to die to support it, but I prefer not to, so I am hoping that we do everything possible to prevent our deaths."

"I agree, we don't want to die but we have to be very determined."

Any other questions.

The group is silent, and JD adjourns the meeting after scheduling a follow-up meeting the next week.

# Chapter 7 KKK Learns of Integration Plans

Security amongst the black community is not too tight and within a few minutes after the Friday afternoon meeting, Donald McKay, leader of the KKK, has the information. He is determined to stop the integration of WFSH.

"We will not become the first school in the country to be integrated," he tells himself.

He calls an emergency meeting of the Executive Board of the Wichita Falls KKK.

"We need to get together immediately to discuss how we intend to prevent this effort to integrate our high school. This cannot happen."

About 20 members of the Klan show up in civilian garb at the meeting room of the _City National Bank Building_ in downtown Wichita Falls.

McKay leads the meeting.

"I have information that members of the black community are planning to try to integrate _Wichita Falls Senior High School_ on September 4, 1957. If they were to be successful, this would be the first integration of a white high school in the nation. We are here to prevent that from happening."

"It looks like JD Bartels, the high school quarterback, is running the show over in Negro town. It's hard to believe they don't have an adult to lead such an important cause but that's what I've learned to expect from that bunch."

"I hear that they have alerted the Governor and the President and there is a good possibility that we will face both the _National Guard_ from the _State of Texas_ and _the U. S. Army_. I can't believe that Dwight Eisenhower would take the side of those Negros but if he does, we have to be prepared to face and defeat the _U.S. Army_."

"We need as many loyal Klan members as we can get to show up at the registration. We need weapons, both lethal and non-lethal, like ball bats and other clubs, weapons from your private staches, and whatever else would be helpful in breaking up a riot."

"I hear they are planning to sign up six students, three boys and three girls, all seniors in high school."

"Why don't we just kill those black kids right now?" a voice from the audience popped up.

"We need to accomplish our mission with the least possible violence, so as to minimize the amount of outside help the blacks attract, but if we have to kill them to stop them, we will do just that."

McKay continued, "I am alerting the national chapter of the _KKK_ and asking for their support. I've heard that MLK may be here with his bunch, so I am preparing to have national support if we can get it."

"Any new ideas?"

"We need tear gas and hand grenades. Any way to get that kind of stuff?

"You're right. I will look in to getting a stash of riot-control weapons."

"Intelligence is important. I have insiders that get back to me right away when any news comes up, but it would be helpful to expand our intelligence gathering now to get and verify additional information when it happens."

"What about the high school authorities? Are they on our side or not?"

"They say they are on our side, but I don't totally trust them. We need to keep an eye on that and to increase our gathering of information from the Board of Education."

"What do you think we can expect from the community? I know many of them don't want any kind of integration but this whole Civil Rights movement is gaining momentum and I am not sure that we can prevent it in the long run. This _Board of Education_ decision by the Supreme Court is just one example. It's not been implemented yet, but it is now already the law, so the possibility of integration is gaining strength."

"Yes, and the Klan seems to be losing strength and growth. Our total cause may be heading downhill. We need some new leadership in the White House and in Austin that will support our efforts."

"Alright, guys, mark your calendars. September 4 is the date and we will all be there with as many of our cohorts as we can get. We need to be prepared for war even against the _U.S. Army_ if it is required. I'll call meetings every week or two to keep everyone posted. Spread the word from today amongst your friends and allies. We're adjourned until our next meeting."

# Chapter 8 Train trip to Chicago

On February 5, 1957 both JD and Billie woke up early to get to the train in Waurika, Oklahoma by 6 a.m. That's when the _Rock Island Red_ rolls through town enroute to Oklahoma City and then Kansas City where both students will change for the train to Chicago. It's about a one-hour drive from Wichita Falls to Waurika, but there's hardly any traffic. Everett Hamilton, Billie's dad, will drive her to the train station for her trip to _Northwestern University_. Same for JD Bartels with his dad, Bill.

It's still dark at 5:30 a.m. and both students are already on the platform waiting for the train. When it arrives, JD gets on the last car which is reserved for colored riders and Billie gets on the second car where she has an economy reservation. The trip will be three days, two of which will be riding on the train for 17 hours each day. Wednesday they will both attend orientation meetings for freshmen coming into the next class in September. In addition, JD is meeting the head football coach, Craig Kelly, for interviews. JD is Black All-American Quarterback and several of the midwestern, western and eastern schools are trying to recruit him for their team. JD has Northwestern on the top of the list as it has a good team where he could probably get some good playing time in his freshmen year, but it is also academically challenging. That's what JD wants.

Billie and Everett leave their house at 4:30 heading for Oklahoma.

"Thanks for taking me to the train, dad. I know you don't enjoy getting up so early."

"Not a problem," Everett replies. "You're my favorite daughter."

"Of course, you're only daughter," Billie replies.

"That's true but you might be favorite even out of many. You are quite the young lady and I am very proud of you."

"Of course, you are a bit independent now and then, but I can live with that. In fact, I kind of like it most of the time."

Everett is a lawyer in Wichita Falls, Texas at the firm of _Taylor, Fillmore, and Kemp_. He has been with them over ten years after graduating from the _University of Texas Law School_ in Austin in 1947, two years after the end of World War II. Everett has established a good reputation in North Texas as a criminal defense lawyer. He makes moderately good money and he attends the _10th Street Baptist Church_ along with Billie and his wife, Lucy every Sunday.

"We have an extra half hour to spare so take a nap and when you wake up, we should be just about there. Weather is good although it is below freezing but no ice or snow. We shouldn't have any trouble getting there."

"It's nice to have some time alone with you, dad; so, thanks again for taking me. I know you and mom have been concerned about my traveling alone but believe me, I am 17 and totally capable of taking care of myself."

"We have confidence in you. Otherwise, we would not let you go alone to Chicago. That's a big trip for a young lady."

"There has to come a time in everyone's life when they step out on their own for the first time."

"We realize that, but it is still hard for us to make that first step. You've never once done anything that caused us any doubt about your sense of responsibility."

JD and Bill chatted casually on their trip to Waurika, too, but their attention soon turned to the integration of _Wichita Falls Senior High_ the following fall. Both these black men were leaders in the community and despite his age, JD was leading the organization and planning of the integration movement. JD had the leadership position because he was the most respected, admired, and reliable person in the black community. The fact that he was 18 had no relevance to his ability to inspire and motivate his friends.

At the train platform, JD and Billie glanced at each other but they had never met, and they did not know the other person or where they might be heading. The _Rock Island Red_ came in at precisely 6 a.m. Billie kissed her dad good bye and got on the train at her car the second one from the front. JD shook hands with his dad and boarded the train, on the last car, which under the _Jim Crowe laws_ was reserved for Colored Folks, separate but equal.

Billie found her aisle seat about half way back. She stowed her carry-on bag and plopped down in her seat. She almost immediately went to sleep and did not wake up until the train pulled into the Oklahoma City station. Next stop, Kansas City, Missouri. JD napped too in the Colored Car.

The pair changed trains in Kansas City taking the _Golden State Limited_ to Chicago. On this leg of the trip, there is no Colored car and no segregation. JD moves to the front and finds a seat just across the aisle from Billie. He intentionally picks that seat as she is a pretty white girl and he just wants to show that he is up to the challenge of sitting near her and perhaps even talking to her. Billie notices that he sits across from her, but she makes no effort to communicate with him.

It takes nine hours to Chicago and after about an hour, Billie decides to try to find the Dining Car and have some lunch. She walks towards the back of the train and finds the car with white table cloths and black waiters serving food and drinks. The car is almost empty, and Billie takes a seat, reviews the menu.

Within 15 minutes, JD arrives in the dining car. "Do you mind if I join you?" he asks. That is not done in Wichita Falls. A black boy would know better than to ask a white girl to sit down at her table for a meal, but they were on their way to Northwestern, and things were different there. JD decided to test when the difference showed up and whether it might work with Billie.

"OK, have a seat," Billie replied.

So now for the first time in both of their lives, JD, a handsome, competent, young black boy was sitting at a table in a public diner with a good looking, white girl, about his same age.

"I saw you get on the dock in Waurika. Where are you from?" JD asks the girl acting like he was her equal.

"Wichita Falls."

"Me too. I am a senior at _Booker T. Washington High School_ ," JD responded.

"I go to _WFSH_ , also a senior."

"It's pretty unusual for a black boy to ask to sit with a white girl at a public dining facility. In fact, I have never seen that happen in my life." Billie declared.

"Same here," said JD, and I don't mean to be impudent, but we are heading north where segregation does not apply, and I just decided to give it a try."

"To be honest," Billie said, "I don't mind. I think the _Jim Crowe_ rules are obsolete and I expect that soon, they will start to be overturned. In fact, the _Supreme Court_ has just ruled in 1954 that separate but equal does not apply to schools. Even so, that law has not been implemented anywhere."

"It's funny you mention that." JD replied, "some of the Colored folks in Wichita Falls have been talking about integrating the white school next year. Have you heard of that?

They talked without letup for the rest of the trip. Billie realized that he was the All-American straight A Quarterback on the black high school team and JD learned that Billie was the head cheerleader of the _Coyotes_. They were both going to _Northwestern_ for a freshman orientation session.

"It's been good to meet you and nice to talk to you," Billie said. "I am hoping that sometime in the not too distant future that you and I and people like us can talk to each other, eat together and go to school together."

"That's what I hope too." JD replied.

When they arrived in Chicago, a Northwestern student with a sign, ' _Northwestern Orientation_ ' was waiting. They rendezvoused with five other students from other cities. JD got special treatment from the football coach who was waiting there for him.

# Chapter 9 The Northwestern Tour

The next day Billie signs in for the tour and takes a seat in a conference room where she is directed. She nods at JD when he arrives a few minutes late. He takes a seat across the room from Billie and he notes that there are three other football candidates in the room, two of them black.

Billie has breakfast in the dorm dining hall and grabs her bag from her room. Her roommate, Maggie, is leaving at the same time to return home to Cincinnati.

"I love this school," Billie tells Maggie.

"Yea, so do I," says Maggie.

"If my dad can afford it, I will be coming here next fall. How about you?"

"I've made up my mind to come here too," said Maggie. "I've been thinking about it ever since my 10th grade in Cincinnati. This is closer to home for me, but it's still not too far for you, I am guessing. Since you have such good grades and are the leader of the cheerleading squad, I expect you will get a scholarship. Looks like we will be seeing each other next fall."

"That's true. I've enjoyed getting to know you and look forward to seeing you again next semester."

"Let's get on the bus to the train station."

"Right, I am ready," and they head through the lobby of the dorm to the waiting bus. Five other prospective students are on the bus and they take the 45-minute trip to _Central Station_.

Billie gets on her train at 11:00 a.m. and settles down for the 17-hour trip back to Waurika via a change in Kansas City. Her dad will be waiting for her when the train from Kansas City arrives.

JD does not take the same train home and Billie does not see him again on this trip.

In Waurika, Everett is waiting when the _Rock Island Red_ rolls into the station about 5 a.m. He left home at 3:30 to allow himself plenty of time. Weather was good, but cold.

Everett greets Billie with a hug. "How was your trip?"

"it was fantastic. I've made up my mind to go there if you and Mom are willing. It's expensive but they told me I had a pretty good chance to get a partial scholarship for tuition. That would cut the cost by a lot. What do you think?"

"I hate to see you go that far away, but I want you to have the best education you can get, so I am willing to dig down and come up with the money required. I will talk to your mother about her objections to your going so far away and to such a big city as Chicago."

"Well, it's not really Chicago. It's in the suburbs and I doubt that living there would be any more dangerous than going to _Midwestern_ or the _University of Texas_. I am growing up, dad; so, you and mom had better realize that and be willing to cut the cord."

"Yep, I get it." Everett says.

They drive home and Billie talks to Lucy for a while about the trip, then goes to her room to take a nap.

#  Chapter 10 Billie Reviews Trip

"Mom, I loved Northwestern. I shared a room in the dorm with another freshman from Cincinnati, Maggie. She will be going there in the fall assuming that she gets accepted which looks like a no brainer. I want to go there too. Dad and I talked it over, and I realize how expensive it is, but they told me I had a good chance to get a scholarship for at least part of tuition, and dad said he could dig down for the rest of the money, if you agreed."

"It's not just the money, I don't like the idea of your being so far away and in such a large city."

"Actually, Northwestern is not in Chicago. It's in the suburbs and Evanston is a nice small college town which is ideal for a superior college like _Northwestern_."

"You will be proud of me when I graduate from there.:

"That's true, I will be proud of you, and I have confidence in your ability to take care of yourself even at a great distance from us. But I would like for you to think some more about _Midwestern_. It's right down the street almost and it is getting a better reputation for academics every year. You would be just as happy there and it would be so much cheaper. Even _Texas_ , in Austin, would be a lot cheaper and a lot closer. Most of your friends who go to college will be going there. What's wrong with going to the _University of Texas_?"

"Nothing is wrong with either of them. I am just ready to get away from home and live independently for a while. Plus, I want to get the best education possible and start a career in writing. _Northwestern_ is far and away a better school for that than _Midwestern_ or _Texas_."

"Well, I am opposed to your going to _Northwestern_ , but I will talk it over with Dad and we will decide when and if you get your acceptance papers. You forget that you have not been accepted yet."

"That's a good point. If I don't get accepted, I will go to either _Texas_ or _Midwestern_. Probably _Texas_ unless you are opposed to that as well. I want you to know this. I have complete faith in you. I know how much you love going to the Baptist Church and I have every belief that you will keep that up, continue teaching Sunday School and staying out of trouble."

"Thanks, Mom. Let's just wait till ' _Acceptance Day_ " and we can make a final decision then. Thanks for making this great lunch. I love chicken salad."

"You're welcome. Why don't you take a nap after lunch after riding that train all night, you must be exhausted?"

"That's my plan. I hardly slept at all on the train and it was a quick, busy trip. I could use some sleep in my own bed."

Billie went to sleep the instant her head hit the pillow and she slept for four hours straight. When she woke up, she called Jeanie, then Sue to tell them about the trip. She did mention JD unlike in her conversations with her mom and dad.

"I'm going to _Northwestern_ ," Billie told her two classmates. "My mom is opposed to my going so far away from home and the cost of it hurts too, but I have always been able to manage her, and I still can."

"That's fantastic," Jeanie replied, but I too was hoping you would be going to _UT_. We could join the same sorority and continue being friends for life. I am scared that if you head off to the Big City of Chicago, we will never see you again."

"That's not going to happen. Wichita Falls will always be my home and I will see you at every holiday and Spring Break. We will be friends for life."

"By the way, Excitement. I was sitting on the train just out of Kansas City and a handsome young black boy came and sat down next to me. Can you believe it? His name was JD Bartels, the Quarterback at _Booker T. Washington High School_. He was on his way to _Northwestern_ too. They are trying to recruit him to be their next quarterback. He was charming and smart, has a 3.8 GPA and expects to make All American for the second time this year. We saw him play a couple of weeks ago."

"I can't believe that a black boy from Wichita Falls sat down by me, but he was kind of brazen and once we got into Missouri, he could sit wherever he wanted to."

"If he were a white boy, I would be chasing him all over town. It's too bad that we don't get to talk to Negro boys as well as white ones. I really don't go with this idea of segregation, separate but equal. That's just not true. You've been down to Negro Town and it's total poverty. I hate too that they must use separate bathrooms, water fountains, eat in their own restaurants, and sit in the back of the train or bus. I think things will get better in our lifetime. Jesus would not accept segregation, I firmly believe that."

"Maybe not," Jeanie replied, "but you better be careful what you say around Wichita Falls. That KKK would just as soon put a noose around your neck and hang you from the old oak tree down on the corner."

"I know. I am just talking to you and you will keep your mouth shut, right?"

"Yep, I don't want to have to cut you down from the old oak tree."

#  Chapter 11 Sunday School Class

"Today we are going to study the Southern Baptist's position on segregation in the church and in other facilities around town," she said. "Our doctrine believes in the Supreme Court decision _of Plessy v. Ferguson_ which calls for "separate but equal" facilities for whites and blacks. That's why the Negroes all live in what we call Negro town (you've all been there at one time or another.) The Church believes that Negroes should have their own living area, their own restaurants, their own bathrooms in public facilities and their own churches."

"I'll be honest with you. I don't agree with the _Southern Baptist_ or the _Supreme Court_. Separate but equal is not equal. In fact, in 1954, the Supreme Court passed a new decision which said that schools in the United States should not be segregated. They said that schools should begin to integrate students as soon as possible, but they did not put a time limit on it."

"I have heard that there is some planning going on to integrate our school next fall, but I don't have any concrete evidence about that."

"The KKK is adamantly opposed to any kind of integration and they have vowed to take every effort possible to stop integration anywhere they can including Wichita Falls."

"Our lesson for today advocates the separate but equal treatment of blacks and whites throughout the Southern Baptist area. I would be remiss not to teach that doctrine to you in our lesson today, but I can't help myself from expressing my own opinion about things that I think are wrong."

"Does anyone have any comments about segregation they would like to make."

Sue Jackson spoke up, "you're my best friend, but I don't agree with you. I believe, just like the Southern Baptist doctrine, that Negroes should have their own facilities and whites should have theirs. I cannot stand the thought of going to school with Negroes or eating lunch with them or attending the same classes. I want them to stay where they belong in the train station. Can you imagine sitting down at Kress's lunch line and have a Negro sit right next to you? Not me. Or do you want to sit on the same toilet at the bus station or at school that some Negro has just sat on? Would you like to go to a swimming pool that was full of black people? Anyway, that's my point."

"It's definitely a controversial issue," replied Billie.

Jeanie popped up. "The Bible says that black and white people should be separated."

"Oh really, where is that?" asked Billie.

"You know, I am not a scholar, but I have read just recently something like this:

_Southern Baptists_ have been using a reference in Genesis to justify owning slaves — the so-called " _Mark of Cain_." In _Genesis 4_ , we read of God placing a visible "mark" of some sort on Cain for murdering his brother and lying about it when God asked what had happened. As early as the fifth century, Cain's curse was interpreted as black skin, and millions of Christians have used it to justify slavery."

"Thanks, Jeanie, I've heard of that before. One thing we know for sure is that there are millions of black people around and they are usually smelly, dirty, and they talk kind of funny. I don't like being around them from that point of view, but some of them are like Dr. Martin Luther King. They are clean, well-educated, polite, nice people. I have no trouble associating closely with that type of person. There are plenty of white people who are nasty and inconsiderate who will kill you or rob you in a heartbeat."

"What about the _Ku Klux Klan_? I have heard that some members of our church are leaders in the _Klan_?"

Mary Jo asked, "If we are going to integrate schools, churches, and swimming pools, what about the idea of marrying or at least dating a black man?"

"That's a good question, Mary Jo. Thanks for bringing it up."

"Does anyone have any thoughts about interracial dating, marriage, or the like?"

"I think it's just like you said earlier. If the person of the other race is working, making good money, clean, educated, a member of the church, and a nice person, I don't have any problems dating or maybe even marrying them."

"Good point, but you can get yourself in big trouble around here if you pontificate that kind of thinking."

"That's all the time we have this morning. Thanks for your participation. This is an important subject currently of American History and in our Church. Let's talk about these issues again. We are adjourned for today and I will see you in the Church service which starts at 11 a.m. Dr. Thompson will be preaching this morning and Reverend McKay will be leading the choir and the singing from the congregation."

# 

#  Chapter 12 Billie and JD meet again

Billie is returning home from cheerleader practice when she stops for gasoline. Gas sells for 27 cents per gallon so a tankful for her 1956 _Chevrolet Bel Air_ was about $5.00.

Serendipity. Also getting gas at the same station is J.D. Billie sees him and gives him a wave. JD comes over and asks about the return home.

The attendant at the gasoline station is filling the tank of Billie's car while they chat. He looks curiously at the pair as they talk, almost like equals. When the tank is full, Billie pays in cash and gets ready to leave. As an almost second thought, she asks JD if he wants to go for a drive. It's about 9 p.m.

"Sure, why not? Well, we're taking a risk but what the hell?"

"I'll park my car next door at Danny's BBQ. Pick me up over there." JD says.

"Ok, see you there."

Billie and JD drive in separate cars to the BBQ on Brook Street. JD parks at the end of the parking which is totally empty at that time of night.

Billie is driving, and JD gets in the passenger seat.

"I don't want to be seen in the front seat with you, but it's after dark so I think we will be ok," JD says to Billie.

"Let's don't worry about it." Billie says as she heads down Brook Street to the Seymour Highway where she turns left to head west out of the city.

She drives, and they listen to KWFT playing country western music.

5 miles west on Seymour Highway, she takes a turn on a rural unpaved and very dark road. JD asks if she is taking him somewhere. They laugh and in a couple of minutes, Billie stops at the side of the road and turns off the lights.

It's obvious that they are attracted to each other physically. They kiss and then kiss again. Breathing gets heavy. JD puts his hand on her breasts and they touch tongues. Billie is getting hot. She thinks about sex, but she has never had sex with a man before and does not know what to do.

"Are we going to keep going with this?" he asks.

"Shut up and don't talk," Billie says.

He starts to remove her panties by pulling them down somewhat. She needs to raise her butt for him to get them off. She does that, and he pulls them off exposing her genitals. It's the first time she has ever been able to have sex. Her vagina is wet and inviting. He massages her clit with his hand; she moans encouraging him to keep going.

She is starting to get frightened, but her hormones are in control. She unfastens his pants exposing his erect penis. Billie has no experience with a man's penis, so she does not know if it is big or small. She can tell though that he is ready to have sex with her, and she is just as ready.

"Do you have a rubber?" she asks.

"No,"

She kisses him in the mouth and they exchange tongues. Meanwhile, he continues to massage her clit and she is getting close to orgasm.

She rubs his penis. He moves on top of her in the driver's seat.

"I'll pull out before I come," he says.

She is thinking only about sex.

He places his penis to move inside her. She guides his penis inside her vagina and within a couple of thrusts, he ejaculates. She orgasms at the same time.

They both relax.

"I did not expect that," he says.

"I have a girlfriend and we have never had sex. She wants to wait until we are married. But you made me crazy." JD says.

"Neither did I," Billie replied. I was a virgin until now. You broke my hymen and I have a little bit of blood coming out along with a big dose of semen that you shot into me."

The damage is done. She wipes off the come and puts on her panties. She drives them back to Danny's BBQ and JD gets out of the car and drives home.

# Chapter 13 Billie discovers she is pregnant

Her period is due in about two weeks and for the last several years she has been very regular, every 30 days and she has three days of bleeding. Two weeks after her meeting with JD, it is time for her next period, but nothing. Deep down she knows that she is pregnant.

"Oh shit, what do I do now? It would be bad enough to be pregnant but with a black father, that's a disaster." She keeps watching for a sign of her period, but nothing happens. She notices a tenderness in her breasts, feeling slightly nauseous in the mornings.

Most women know they're expecting after missing a period. But, other early symptoms of pregnancy are feeling tired, bloated, going to the bathroom more than usual, being moody, feeling sick, and/or swollen boobs.

She has not told anyone about her soiree with JD and hardly even recognizes it to herself although when she does think about it, she remembers the fantastic feeling she had when they both orgasmed together. She felt the hot semen penetrating deep into her vagina. She hugged him around the neck and kissed his mouth and tongue. It was the greatest feeling she had ever had.

Three weeks after the event, she knows for sure that she is pregnant. "What do I do now?" she asks herself. I can get an abortion, but I don't know where or how to go about it and it costs money. I can have the baby and give it up for adoption or I can raise a mixed-race child.

Abortion is against the law. She knows that she and JD are in big trouble. If the word gets out that he is the father of her child, his life will literally be in danger.

"Should she tell her parents? Her best friends? JD? Go to the doctor? Tell the school? Soon she will begin to show, and it would really be too late to have an abortion. She must find out the details, how much? Where? Is it safe? How long does it take? Recuperation? She decides to discuss it with her best friends, Jeanie and Sue." The three girls meet in Billie's bedroom. Big news and I need your help.

"You will probably find this hard to believe," she starts out. "Three weeks ago, I was coming home from cheerleading practice about 9 p.m. I stopped for gas at the Conoco station on Brook Street and 9th. While I was getting filled up, I was sitting in the driver's seat and I see a black man who looked familiar. He was getting gas at another pump. I looked again, and I realized I had met him on the trip to Chicago. It was JD Bartels, the quarterback of the _Booker T. Washington High School_ football team. He had taken a seat next to me after we changed trains in Kansas City when _Jim Crowe_ laws were no longer in effect. We talked all the way to Chicago. He was handsome, smart, and a lot of fun to talk to. I did not speak to him after we arrived in Chicago and he was not on the same train as I was on the way home."

"I waved at him in the gas station and he recognized me and waved back. The attendant saw me speak to him and looked at me disapprovingly. Anyway, JD came over to my car and said hello."

"We chatted for a few minutes. I paid my bill and he started to say goodbye. I don't know why I did it, but I asked him if he wanted to go for a drive. He said sure, and I suggested he park next door in the parking lot of the BBQ restaurant there. I drove over to where he was parked, and he got in. We drove around town, after dark for a little while, I was driving and after about 30 minutes I turned off on a dirt road about five miles west of town out the Seymour highway. It was pitch dark and after about a mile, I pulled over and turned off the lights."

"That's got to be a come on to any boy," said Sue.

"I bet I know where this is going." Jeanie said;

"He kissed me, and I kissed him back, sitting in the front seat of the car." Billie said.

"Things started to get hotter and before you know it, I opened his pants and exposed his penis. It was long, hard, and drippy. I had never seen a penis before, only pictures in Sex Ed class. I got even hotter and my pussy got the wettest it has ever been. He started to massage my clit with his fingers under my panties. I was going crazy."

"He started to take off my underwear and I raised my ass to make it possible for him to remove them. He tossed them in the floor of the car and I unfastened his belt and opened his pants."

Before I knew it, he was on top of me, thrusting around with his long, hard dick. I guided him inside me and it did not take more than a few seconds before we both had an orgasm. He shot a huge wad of semen inside me. I could feel it hot and wet mixing with my wetness. We both relaxed and sat there in a daze."

"Pretty soon, I regained my composure, put my panties back on. He buckled up and zipped his pants and I drove us back to the BBQ stand."

"I usually get me period right on schedule but this time, two weeks later nothing happened except my boobs started feeling a little bit tender. "

"Long story short, I am pregnant and not only that the father is a well-known black boy. We are in extremely serious trouble. It would be bad enough if the father was a nice white boy but if the word gets out that a Negro fucked the head cheerleader of WFSH, he will be a dead man. The KKK will not put up with that for a minute."

"I had to tell someone and you two are my best friends. I need some advice and someone to talk to. I am thinking about getting an abortion which is the best thing to do but I don't know where to go or how to go about it."

"If either of you tells even one person, my life and JD's will be over, so I beg you not to tell your mother, your boyfriend or anyone else. OK?"

"I won't tell anyone. But I don't know what to do to help you." Jeanie said.

"Same here," said Sue, but deep down she was thinking that she would never put herself in a position to get pregnant by a black boy, not something she would do.

"Here's my plan," said Billie. "I have to move fast because pretty soon it will become obvious that I am pregnant, and I will have to tell at least my parents what happened. I want to investigate having an abortion. I am hoping you can help me find out the details of that without spilling the beans. Are you willing to help?"

"Of course, I know of a girl who got an abortion last year. I will get in touch with her and see if she will tell me how it went and how much it cost." Sue said.

"I don't know anyone who has had an abortion, but I will talk to the school nurse without telling her who I am asking for. Maybe she can help without getting too nosey."

"Thanks to both of you. Can you do that soon? Maybe we can get back together again tomorrow." Billie replied.

The same time the next day, the three girls got together again in Billie's bedroom.

Sue reported, "I called Jackie Story, the girl who had an abortion last year. She was helpful and said that she had to go to a doctor in Ft. Worth. His name is Dr. Ramirez, and he performed the surgery in his office on an _out-patient_ basis. She had her mother with her and it cost about $350.00. Once it was over, it was over, and she never mentioned it to anyone else but even so, I knew about it so other people must have known about it too. She said she would give you his address and phone number if you want to go forward with it. I did not tell her who it was I was asking for."

Jeanie said, "I talked to the nurse and she gave me the standard line of crap that abortion is illegal, unhealthy, and immoral. She recommended that an unwed mother go for a full-term pregnancy and give me baby up for adoption after the birth. She gave no helpful advice about an abortion doctor. She did suggest that the best thing to do was to go to your parents and tell them what was going on. I know that would be hard, but I agree that you need to tell them as soon as possible."

"Once I tell them, they will probably kill me," Billie said.

"Thanks for the information. I am still chewing on what to do. I have thought about suicide as another alternative, but I don't believe in that and I don't think I would ever do that."

"I do not believe in abortion either even though I think a girl or woman should be able to make up her own mind about whether or not to have the baby. In any case, I need to decide in the next few days. And even if I decide to have an abortion, I don't have that much money. Daddy would probably come up with it, if he does not completely blow his mind when I give him the news. Also, I have not told JD either and don't know whether I should or not."

The girls split up and Billie was left alone to decide what to do next. She was scared and anxious, but she knows that the future was her responsibility and he was determined to face it with courage and determination to do the right thing. Sue and Jeanie were good friends and very helpful, but in the end, Billie was on her own.

# 

#  Chapter 14 Billie Decides to Have the Baby

Over the next 24 hours, Billie thinks about nothing but what to do. Should she tell JD? Of course, he must protect himself if the Klan gets the word. She doesn't even know how to reach him. This will require more research but since JD is so well known, it should not be too hard to find him. His father's name might even be in the phone book.

Having an abortion does not appeal to Billie. She has a baby and it is her baby. She has no desire under any circumstance to kill that child. Billie is totally faithful to the church and she further believes that an abortion is a mortal sin. She does not want to do it but having a baby in Wichita Falls with a black father is a dangerous situation.

She cannot bring herself to an abortion even with a mixed-race baby.

"I brought this on myself she tells herself. If I don't get an abortion and that must happen soon, I need to decide whether to give the baby up for adoption or to raise the baby myself."

She decides to tell JD.

Jeanie and Sue have sworn themselves to secrecy. They will not tell a soul. However, Jeanie has a boyfriend, Bob. Jeanie slips and tells Bob—"Billie is pregnant and not only that, the father is JD Bartels, the quarterback at _Booker T. Washington_.

"Oh shit," Bob responds. "He could be in real danger if the KKK hears about that, especially with Billie being the leader of her class academically and socially, along with being a cheerleader, they will string JD up for sure and maybe Billie too."

#  Chapter 15 JD hears the news

Billie first looks in the _White Pages_ of the phone book to try to find JD's phone number. With no problem, she finds William Bartels, and it looks like the right part of town where JD would live. The number if 7 6564. It's 5 p.m. and Billie dials the number.

JD answers the phone. "JD, this is Billie."

"Hello, what's up?"

"I need to talk to you, right away. Can you meet me on Brook Street at the Conoco station in an hour?"

"What's happening?"

"Can you come now?"

"OK, but let's meet in the parking lot at the BBQ restaurant. See you in an hour."

"I'll be there."

JD parked as far away from other cars as he could. Billie arrives shortly after he does, and he goes to her car and gets into the front seat, slouching so as not to be readily visible to anyone looking at them.

"Thanks for coming." Billie said, "I have some news for you that cannot wait. I will get right to the point. I am pregnant, and you are the father."

"Oh shit, I was afraid that's what you were going to say. Are you sure I am the father?"

"Of course, you are the only person I have ever had sex with at any time. It can only be you."

"Who else knows?" JD asks.

"I have told two of my friends, Sue and Jeanie. I needed some help and they are the most trustworthy friends that I have."

"Do you plan to have an abortion? That's the best thing to do in the circumstances."

"I have researched that, and I have found a doctor in Ft. Worth who would do the job for $350. I have not talked to him yet. I have to tell my parents before going forward."

"I can pay for it, if you decide to do it."

"Money is the least of our problems right now." Billie replied.

"My life is in danger. The KKK will kill me if they find out. I am not trying to tell you what to do, but I am in favor of your having an abortion if you are asking me what I think you should do."

"I am a faithful member of the 10th Street Baptist _Church_ and I fully believe in the teachings of Christ. I don't think I can have an abortion. It is a mortal sin."

"You should talk to your parents and make that decision. Either way, can you keep me informed? Well, I don't know how to tell you to do that because I have to go into hiding immediately unless I find want to find myself at the end of a rope on the old oak tree."

"You need to go home and get some supplies and go where you will be hard to find, and I think you should do it right now. If you're parents are not home, just leave them a note. Tell them you have a problem and need to be out of town for a few days, you will be back in touch," Billie instructed JD with an element of confidence and authority."

"I know you are right, but this totally disrupts my life, and yours too. You need to tell your parents tonight."

"That's what I am going to do. My mother may kill me, but I will just have to deal with that."

"My father is a criminal defense attorney. He knows a lot of people in town. Once he gets over the shock and disappointment in me, I think he will be a help. If you must talk to me or give me some information, call him on his private work number, 7 9876."

"Well, to say the least, this is exciting," JD replied. "it's hard to imagine that I may be dead within the next 12 hours."

"Let's be smart and not too emotional, and we can get through this." Billie replied.

"I agree but I am going to have to talk to my dad. He may know somewhere I can hide--for a few days anyway."

"All right, sorry for the disaster I have made of our lives but what's done is done and we both now need to focus on staying alive."

"Thanks for telling me. I am off and will let you know where I am as soon as I think it is safe."

JD gets out of Billie's car, jumps into his car and heads for his home in Negro town.

By 5:30 when JD gets home, his father, Bill Bartels is home. JD goes in the house and the two of them are alone.

"How did your day go?" Bill asks his son.

"I have some news that I have to talk to you about right now."

"Ok, shoot. I am all ears," Bill replies.

"I met a white girl on the way to Chicago and sat next to her once we got to Kansas City where the _Jim Crowe_ laws are not in effect. I liked her, and she liked me, but I did not see her again until a couple of weeks ago when I ran into her at the gas station on Brook Street. We went for a drive and I swear, she came on to me, but whatever, we had sex and she just told me a few minutes ago that she is pregnant. You and I both know that once the KKK finds out about this, they will be after me and my life will be in danger. You have a right to be mad at me and I wouldn't blame you if you are, but what's done is done and I need to find a hiding place starting immediately. Are you able to help me?"

"Oh shit, this could not be a worse situation. Of course, I will help you. I have a friend who owns a cabin up on Possum Kingdom Lake. I think he will loan it to us for a few days at least. You can stay there until we work out a more permanent plan."

"That sounds great. Do you have a key for the cabin?"

"No, I don't have a key, but I know where he keeps one outside the front door. You can find it under a rock about three feet from the left side of the door."

"You get packed for a few days and I will get you some food to take with you. I think you should take your .22 rifle and I will give you my revolver and some ammunition. This is a serious situation and you may have to use fire arms to protect yourself."

JD packed and moved into the car. It's now 6 p.m. and dark in February 1957 in Wichita Falls, Texas.

JD follows route 287 to Graham, Texas and then a rural route to the lake where without too much trouble in the dark of the night, he finds the cabin. Using his flashlight, he finds the rock and looks under it for the key. There it is, and he goes inside the cabin and turns on the lights. It's one room and a small bathroom to the far side, a bed, table, sink and stove. There is a fireplace and some firewood. JD makes a fire. He unpacks his guns and the food he brought with him and lies down on the bed, unbelieving where he is and what is going on.

# Chapter 16 Billie meets with parents at home to discuss her future

Billie picks at her meal nervously during dinner and after they have finished eating, she says,

"I have some news for you, something you are not going to want to hear."

Lucy's face turned white and Everett looked at her like the attorney that he was.

"Going to Chicago, I met a boy on the train and coincidentally, he was going to the same meeting at Northwestern that I was. He sat next to me for a while and we talked. I met him again at the gas station a few weeks ago. To make a long story short, he and I went for a drive and one thing led to another. I am pregnant and to make matters worse, the father is black. He is JD Bartels, the quarterback of the _Booker T. Washington_ football team."

Lucy nearly threw up, but she controlled herself. Everett lost the color in his face but did not speak.

When Lucy finally got the composure to speak, she said, "I am sick and about to puke. How could you let something like this happen to you? Your whole life is ruined. We need to find a way to get you an abortion immediately."

"Mom, I know you are mad and sick and justifiably so. I am sorry and cannot explain how it happened. It just did. I have thought about getting an abortion and I have already researched it. I have a friend of a friend who got an abortion last year from a doctor in Ft. Worth. It cost $350 but that might be the cheapest way to go. I have thought about it and here's another blockbuster for you, I don't want to get an abortion. It's against my faith. I intend to have the baby and either give it up for adoption or raise it permanently. I have not decided yet."

"You seem to have anything all worked out. Have you been to a doctor?" Lucy said.

"No, but I was hoping you would go with me tomorrow if we can get an appointment."

Everett finally spoke up. "Billie, I am shocked and surprised, but I want you to know that I am behind you and will help in any way possible. The pregnancy thing is one issue we need to address but the other is even more urgent. The KKK will not tolerate this and they will make every effort possible to find the father and probably kill him. I have no doubt about that. In fact, I know that Reverend McKay, the choir director at the Church, is the leader of the KKK in Wichita Falls. He acts like a nice Christian man, but I know for a fact that he will not tolerate black fathers to white girls in Wichita Falls. He will find and kill the father of this child as soon as he can make it happen. I don't think you want that to happen. I know you too well to believe that you would stand by and allow this boy to be lynched if there were anyway for you to stop it."

"I completely agree," Billie replied.

"I have already told JD to tell his parents and to leave immediately to somewhere that would be hard to find. I would not be surprised to learn that he is somewhere right now trying to make that happen. Even so, the Klan I have heard, is resourceful, so I don't think anywhere around town here can be safe for him."

"The Klan might not be tolerant of your having sex with a black boy, so I am not certain that you are safe either. Let's take things one step at a time." Everett says.

"We need to get you to Dr. Peterson tomorrow. I will take a sick day and go with you and will talk to the receptionists to let her know we have an emergency and must see the doctor immediately." Lucy said.

Billie is surprisingly controlled. She has told her friends, JD, her parents and they are over the initial shock of the news. Billie has decided to carry the baby to term and she is still trying to decide whether she will give it up for adoption or raise it herself. She knows that if she does intend to raise the child, she will have to move to another state. What will she do for money? Her education? Any future life?

At 8 a.m. the following morning, Lucy calls the doctor's office. Dr. Peterson has been caring for Billie since she was born. He knows her well. Carrie, the receptionist, asks Lucy what the problem is.

"We just need to see the doctor immediately. It's an emergency and I can only talk to him. Can you please work us in for an appointment this morning as soon as possible? We could be there within 30 minutes."

"We have a full calendar this morning. Let me check with Dr. Peterson."

Carrie puts Lucy on hold and goes to talk with the doctor.

"He says for you and Billie to be here at 10 a.m. We will work you in."

"Thanks so much," Lucy replies.

She yells at Billie, "they want us there at 10 a.m. Get your shower and let's have some breakfast. We should leave at 9:30."

Dr. Peterson takes Billie promptly at 10 a.m. leaving other patients to wait.

Lucy accompanies her into the exam room.

"Ok, what's the emergency?" he asks Lucy.

"I'll let Billie tell you," Lucy replies.

"I think I'm pregnant," Billie tells the doctor but that's not the end of the story. The father of the child is JD Bartels, the Quarterback at _Booker T Washington High School_."

Dr. Peterson does not act surprised. "OK," he says let's run some tests and examine you to confirm that you really are pregnant. When was your last period?"

"Seven weeks ago." Billie replied.

"Have you had sex with anyone in that period?"

"Yes, one time. I was a virgin until then and have not had sex with anyone else in my life."

The doctor had the nurse draw some blood and have Billie remove her clothes and get into a hospital gown. He examined her breasts and pelvis and reviewed the blood work when the tests came back two hours later.

"Well, I've got good news and bad news for you. You are pregnant, and I would estimate the delivery date to be about December 30, 1957. You have an additional problem as you are already aware, we live in a society where whites and black races are not allowed to co-mingle. You and the father of this child could and in fact, probably are, in mortal danger. You must take steps immediately to protect yourselves. Who else knows about this?"

"I have told the father, mom and dad and two of my girlfriends. That's all that I have told."

"That's more than enough to get the _KKK_ rolling. You are probably aware that the local leader of the Klan is also the assistant pastor of the _10th Street Baptist_ Church. Don't get me started on that."

"Can your mom and dad help you to avoid contact with the Klan? Because that's the real danger. You're a healthy young woman and I don't see any problem with delivering a baby in nine months, but the Klan is ruthless and totally immoral. I don't trust them with your life or JD's."

"We will do anything in our power to protect her. Her biggest danger is that I may kill her myself."

"I understand your anger, but I know you don't mean that." Dr. Peterson replied.

"No, I don't but I may take a belt to her."

"That's not going to help. I am going to prescribe some meds for Billie. Get the script filled and then you and Everett get together as soon as possible to make plans to protect her physically for the next eight plus months. Any questions?"

# Chapter 17 Church and School Officials Are Not Sympathetic

Lucy and Billie drive home stopping at _Walgreen's_ to drop off the prescriptions for the new medicine Dr. Peterson has prescribed, mostly just supplemental meds to help the growth and health of the new baby. The two women say little during the drive home.

Everett arrives home early, and they sit down to a quick evening meal.

"So, Doctor Peterson confirmed that you are pregnant, and the baby will be due if you carry it to term about November 1 next Fall." Everett said to start the conversation.

"I have no doubt that the Klan will soon hear about this, and when they do, I expect them to come looking for JD and when they find him they will shoot him or hang him on a tree somewhere. That's the brutal fact of the matter."

"They may come after Billie too and perhaps even us," adds Lucy.

"Billie, I am furious with you for allowing this to happen, but you are my daughter and I will protect you with my life. There is absolutely nothing I will not do to protect you. I think Billie and I should get out of town immediately. We can go to my mother's house in De Graffe, Ohio. That's a Union state and she lives out in the country about 150 miles north of Cincinnati on a 160-acre farm. We should be safe there at least for a while. They will put us up."

"I can go by myself," Billie says.

"Well, you are not going by yourself," Everett replies, "but I agree we need to move quickly. Your mother's place will be the first place they would look. I recommend that we tell the school, the church, and your friends that we are going there, but we head west"

"I hate to lie but we are in survival mode here and we have to use our common sense."

"My next question is whether or not you want to have an abortion. That's a sin, I know, but I think the choice is yours." Lucy says.

"No, I have thought of it for the last three weeks, and I don't intend to do that. I would rather die myself than kill this baby. I don't want to do it. I still have not decided whether I will keep the baby or not, but I will not have an abortion."

"We support you in that decision. But you cannot have a mixed-race baby in Wichita Falls, plus I don't think they will allow you to continue going to high school while you are pregnant. We can find that out tomorrow," Everett continues.

"I have made some friends at a law firm in Palo Alto, California, the home of _Stanford University_ and the center of the action they are calling _Silicon Valley_. I am thinking about calling my friend Mario Rosati to see if they might have a spot for me. They are growing fast, making a lot of money, and they are one of the largest law firms in California. Plus, California is noted for its diversity and I don't think you would face any opposition at all to a mixed-race child out there. You can study at home to finish your high school education and you could possibly go to _Stanford_ and stay home where mom could take care of your child. I think you two girls should leave tomorrow night for Palo Alto and I will stay here to wind things up. I say we are moving to California."

"Oh my God, I could never imagine leaving my home and friends here in Wichita Falls. I love this Church and this city. But I agree and am ready to start packing." Lucy responded.

"Thank you so much," Billie replied. "I am sorry I put you into this mess."

"What's done is done. We have the essence of a plan and I think we should go to the school in the morning, tell them the least we can and check out of the school. I suspect they will expel you after thinking it over."

Everett instructs, "We need to follow these rules. 1. We are heading for de Graffe, Ohio to stay with your mother for a while. We don't need to give a reason. 2. We don't tell anyone who does not have a need to know about what is happening and 3. no one gets to hear that the father of the child is a black boy. His life could well depend on our discretion."

The next morning at 9 a.m. Billie and both her parents drive to Wichita Falls Senior High on Avenue H about 10 blocks from their house. They walk to the Principal's office and, unannounced, they ask to see him immediately. The receptionists take the message to the Principal, Dave Hursley.

"Good morning," the Principal says cheerily, "what can I do for you?"

"We need to speak to you privately," Everett says.

"Ok, come into my office and we can shut the door for complete privacy."

"I will get right to the point," Everett says. "Billie has announced to us that she had an encounter a few weeks ago that has led to her pregnancy. We are here to withdraw her from school. We will be moving to Lucy's mother's place in Ohio effective immediately."

# Chapter 18 KKK Meets to Plan for Disciplinary Action

"Thanks for coming, gentlemen. We have an emergency here ln this city that requires our immediate attention. The word is out that Billie Hamilton has told the school that she is pregnant. The parents were with her at the school this morning, confirmed that Dr. Peterson had examined her, and she is pregnant. The parents reported to the school that she was leaving immediately to her grandmother's farm in Ohio. I got this information from my sources at the high school.

"I don't have firm corroboration on this part yet, but I am led to believe that the father of this new child is JD Bartels, the black quarterback of the _Booker T. Washington_ football team and leader of the group that is planning to integrate the high school next fall. We can kill two birds with one stone by taking care of this kid. He cannot be allowed to get away with fucking a white girl, who by the way, happens to be the lead cheer leader of the _Coyotes_ and a senior in high school."

"I think we should continue to gather information, but I recommend we start immediately to find and capture JD Bartels and if he is guilty, put him to death. I need your vote right now if you support this idea."

"Let's go around the room and take a vote."

McKay took a roll call around the room and all twenty of the participants voted yes, kill JD Bartels by hanging effective immediately.

McKay appointed himself and four others as a committee to execute the order.

"The rest of you are welcome to stay and have a beer but the execution committee will stay here with me to plan how we can find JD and carry out the plan."

"First step let's go to his house in Negro town and see what his father and mother have to say. They will lie to protect him, but we may be able to get some information about where he might be hiding."

"I would like to talk to Everett Hamilton, Billie's father, to see what he knows. He may corroborate that JD is the father but even if he does not, we are going to capture that Negro bastard and skin him. I think I will go to his office first thing this afternoon and offer him a chance to be the legal counsel for the organization that is being formed to stop the integration effort. I doubt he will take the offer but one way or the other it will give me a chance to talk to him."

The five members of the execution squad get in two cars and head for JD's house in Negro town. They have guns, ropes, handcuffs, and other equipment that will be useful in carrying out their tasks.

McKay knocks on JD's front door. Bill Bartels answers.

"Bill, I am Donald McKay, Assistant Pastor of the _10th Street Baptist Church_. I am here to warn you that your son is in danger and I would like to try to help him. Can you tell me where he is?"

"No sir, Reverend McKay, I have not seen him this afternoon and I don't know where he would be, but I sure do thank you for offering to help him. These are pretty tough times especially here in the South."

"Are you sure you haven't at least talked to him on the phone?'

"Yes sir, I am sure. I don't have any idea where he might be but if I do hear from him, I will give him your message and ask him to call you."

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you, Bill?"

"No sir, I know better than to lie to a white man especially one of your disposition."

"If JD were hiding somewhere, where do you think he would go?"

"Well, he's pretty tight with the football team. You might check with Coach Colson. He could be working out somewhere."

"Also, he might contact Sheriff Murphy."

"All right, I may be back. You better tell me the truth when you talk to me."

"Yes sir, I will sure do that."

McKay and his crew turned around and headed for the black school to see if they could find the coach.

"Not too many places around here he can hide. Let's split up. One car goes over to the high school and talk to the coach and I will head downtown to see if I can find Everett Hamilton and get some information from him."

At the offices of _Taylor, Fillmore, and Kemp_ , on the seventh floor of the _City National Bank Building_ , McKay approached the receptionists as he got off the elevator at the largest law firm in town.

"Hello, I am Reverend McKay of the _10th Street Baptist Church_. I have an urgent but short need to talk to Everett Hamilton. Is he in? Can he meet with me briefly?"

"I will check if he is available. Please have a seat and I will be right back."

"Mr. Hamilton can see you now, Reverend."

McKay walks into Everett's office. "Hello, I am Donald McKay of the _10th Street Baptist Church_. I have heard that a Negro boy by the name of JD Bartels is in trouble and that the _Ku Klux Klan_ may be looking for him. I don't want any harm to come to anyone from Wichita Falls and I was hoping you might be able to help me find him."

"Why do you think they are looking for him, Brother McKay?"

"The word I got was that he got some white girl pregnant and that's not something the _Klan_ will put up with."

"Did they say who the girl was?"

"No, they did not say who she was."

"Well, I don't have any idea where that boy might be. I have to be in court tomorrow, so I have been working here all afternoon and have not heard a word from outside the office."

"I am trying to help him, so if you find out anything about his whereabouts, I would appreciate hearing from you. If we can stop any kind of violence in our city before it happens, everybody will be better off for it."

"By the way, Mr. Hamilton, I have another topic I would like to discuss with you if you have a minute."

"I am very busy getting ready for my trial tomorrow, but since you are already here, I will take a minute."

"I know of an organization that is being formed to stop the proposed integration of _Wichita Falls Senior High_ next September. The group needs a lawyer and they asked me to talk to you about the possibility of representing them in legal matters. Would you consider taking on that group as one of your clients?"

"Thanks so much for considering me, but I am totally booked all the way through the end of the year. If you like, I can pass this request on to the leader of our firm, Jack Kemp. He might have a good recommendation for you."

"Thanks, Mr. Hamilton for seeing me and helping me find a good lawyer to stymie this integration next fall."

"Sorry, I could not be of more help in finding JD. I certainly hope you can keep him out of danger. You might speak to Sherriff Murphy, he gets a lot of information about what is going on in the county."

McKay left the law office and headed over to the Sheriff's office located in the County Jail in downtown Wichita Falls.

"Sheriff Murphy, how are you?" McKay greeted the sheriff.

"Good, Brother McKay, how are you?"

"I am looking for a black boy, JD Bartels. He may be in trouble with the _Klan_ and I was hoping you might tell me where I could find him."

"I have heard a rumor that he is the father of a child being grown by a white girl from the senior high school. I don't know where JD might be, but I do know that his father is friends with a Negro who has a secluded cabin up on _Possum Kingdom Lake_. You might check it out up there."

"Ok, that's good information. I will check that out first thing tomorrow. In the meantime, if you hear anything more affirmative about that boy, please give me a call at the church. I would hate to see something like happened to that Emmett Tills boy in Mississippi."

"By the way, Sheriff, I hear that a group of black students supported by their parents and maybe even Martin Luther King and his group are planning to integrate _Wichita Falls Senior High_ with six Negro kids next fall in accordance with the Supreme Court Decision of a couple of years ago, _Brown v. The Board of Education_. I am sure you have heard of it. I just wanted to let you know because I am certain that there will be violence if that group of Negros tries to get into the high school. We sure don't want any violence, but we don't want to lead the nation in integrating our white high school either."

"Thanks for telling me that. I had already heard that a small group was making plans. If you learn any more about what is going on, please let me know. I must be prepared to stop any violence that might take place."

McKay went directly to the Church where he called a friend at the Court House in Palo Pinto County where _Possum Kingdom Lake_ is located.

"Can you help me find the location of a cabin up on the lake? I think it is owned by Rufus Johnson?"

"Let me see if I can find it?" replied Mary Smith of the Clerk's Court in Palo Pinto County."

"Ok, we are in luck. She gave instructions to the cabin to McKay and he wrote them down."

He then called his sidekick, Clarence Daniels, who was working with him on the execution committee. "We've got him, I think, up on _Possum Kingdom Lake_. I have the instructions to a cabin up there and I will bet the collection on Sunday that we will find him there. Let's get the crew together and meet at the Sun gasoline station on Holiday Street just south of town, in 30 minutes."

"Ok, I will meet you there with the other guys. It takes about an hour and a half to get to the lake and a few more minutes to find the cabin. If we leave at 6:30, we should be there by 8:15 or 8:30."

"We'll see you in a bit."

In the meantime, Bob Smith has learned from his girlfriend, Jeanie, about the pregnancy and that the _Klan_ has a hit contract on JD Bartels. He decides he needs to help defend JD, so he goes to his friend and the leader of _The_ _Wichitas_ , Zach Zimmerman, who, in the afternoon, is at the _Wichitas_ Band practice getting ready for their Saturday morning show on KWFT.

"Zach, sorry to bother you at practice, but Jeanie told me some information that I think you might want to know. Our head cheerleader of the Coyotes football team is pregnant, wow, big news, but here's the biggest news. She met JD Bartels, quarterback of the Booker T Washington high school team while she was on her trip to Northwestern University a few weeks ago. She and JD got together, and one thing led to another. He is the father of her baby and the _KKK_ has a hit contract to find and kill him. I know that's the kind of thing that you might like to know about, so I decided to bring the information to you."

"Thanks, Bob, I do want to know that. I cannot tolerate the _KKK_ and I am totally against violence especially someone in our age group. I need to think this over but thanks again for letting me know. Do you have any idea where JD might be?"

"No idea, but if I were starting to look for him, I would go to Billie's father. He's a lawyer at a big law firm downtown and he gets a lot of information about what is going on in Wichita Falls."

"That's a good idea. I think I will go down to see him and see if he is interested in helping me find JD. I want to get him out of the State where I think he will be safer."

Zach goes back to the practice and tells the members of the band that he is taking off for a couple of days. In case we don't have another practice before Saturday, I will be at the radio station at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning."

Zach calls his mom and tells her that he will be out of town for a couple of days starting this afternoon.

"What are you up to?" Janelle Zimmerman asks.

"I can't tell you, but I will let you know every night that I am ok."

"Don't you go getting yourself into trouble."

"I won't Mom, trust me. I'll be ok."

Zach headed for Everett's office and went through the similar introduction to the receptionists that Reverend McKay had presented.

After checking, the receptionists said, "Mr. Hamilton will see you now."

"Hello, Mr. Hamilton, I am Zach Zimmerman, a senior at high school and friend of your daughter, Billie. I have a serious issue to discuss with you if you will give me a few minutes of your time."

"OK, Zach, I am familiar with your band and I sometimes listen to you early on Saturday mornings. What can I do for you?"

"This is pretty personal, but I don't know any other way to handle it; so, I am just going to say straight out what's on my mind. I hear that Billie is pregnant and that the father is JD Bartels, a black senior at _Booker T Washington_ high school. I presume you have already heard that because I heard that you were at WFSH this morning with your wife and Billie and I know that had to be a magnificent problem for all of you to be there together.

The biggest part of the problem is that the _KKK_ is out to capture and kill JD Bartels. You might be one of the kill team, I don't know, but I am here to try to help JD and I am asking you to help me do that. Pretty fantastic, I realize."

"Yes, that is fantastic and especially that you would come here to give me that kind of news without knowing my attitude about that what's going on."

"I have already heard the rumor this afternoon, and I don't want that young man to get hurt or even killed. So, I am going to do my best to help you."

"Reverend McKay of the _10th Street Baptist Church_ was here just a few minutes ago. He said he was here to help JD, but I believe that he is the leader of the _Klan_ in Wichita Falls and he was questioning me to verify the rumor and to see if I knew where JD might be hiding."

"I don't know for sure where JD is but there is a good chance that he is in a cabin up on _Possum Kingdom Lake_ that is owned by a friend of Bill Bartel's, JD's father. I know where that cabin is, and it would take you about 1.5 to 2 hours to get there if you left right now. If you find him, I suggest you take him immediately to Colorado. I think he would be safe from the _Klan_ there and I have access to another cabin west of Boulder that I can reserve for him for a couple of weeks. I will even give you some money for gas and food. So, are you up to this? If the _Klan_ discovers that you are helping him, your life will be in danger as well as his."

"I am up for it, and I thank you totally for helping. You have every right be upset over this and might even wish JD dead yourself."

"I might feel that way, but the truth is, I believe most of what I learn at church on Sunday's and I follow those teachings. I want segregation to end and I am prepared to support the integration of the high school that is planned for next fall."

"So, if you are going to do this, you need to get going because what I know will surely come back to the Klan shortly. Here's $50 which will help some in paying for gas and food. Call me on a pay phone when you get to Boulder. Here is also my private phone number where you can call anytime, day or night. "

Zach took the money, ran to the elevator and out to his car. He swished out of the parking lot heading for _Possum Kingdom_.

Back at the Sherriff's office, Sherriff Murphy calls his friend at _Palo Pinto County_. Sherriff Johnson, I have two groups from Wichita heading your way right now and there is a good chance there may be violence in your territory tonight. The _Klan_ is hunting a local black boy who is hiding at the Rufus Johnson cabin on your lake. I have a young man, senior in high school, who is also heading that way to try to help the Negro boy escape the _Klan_. I am sure they plan to kill him. I am heading your way too as soon as I can get out the door, can you meet me at the cabin?

"Thanks for the heads up, Mike, I can definitely help you. It will take you a couple of hours to get here but I will be waiting for you at the cabin hopefully before any bloodshed occurs."

Therefore, as of 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, four different groups with different agendas are heading for a secluded cabin on Possum Kingdom Lake, the _Klan_ , the rescuer, Zach Zimmerman, and the Sheriffs of Wichita and Palo Pinto Counties. So much for secrecy. JD has no idea that any of them are on their way to help or hurt him.

#  Chapter 19 Zach to the Rescue

Back at the lake, it's almost dark and JD is feeling somewhat secure although he is still anxious. The fire in the fireplace has warmed the cabin and created a nice ambiance. JD is starting to believe that he can survive.

Donald McKay and his crew in two cars have pulled up about 100 yards from the cabin as the sun goes down below the winter horizon. It is quickly dark, but they can see the light of the fireplace just to their north. The five men gather around McKay's car to discuss their attack on the cabin.

"Clarence, you get the ropes, Sam you bring two automatic weapons, everyone brings his own handcuffs and pistols. We will approach the cabin, two from the front, two from the rear, and I will stand by about 50 yards from the front door to back up any possible attempt at escape."

"We will enter the cabin on my signal and catch him by surprise. He might be armed so be prepared to shoot if he makes any effort to fire a gun. Any questions?"

The men slowly and quietly approach the cabin. There is no movement inside and the two front guards move to surround the door.

When everyone is in place, Donald McKay gives the signal by lighting his cigarette lighter. The two men at the front door kick in the door and the other two come around from the back to follow them into the cabin.

JD is resting on the bed. He does not hear them until he hears the shattering of the door as the two men with pistols drawn burst through. JD jumps up and tries to grab his own semi-automatic 9 mm pistol, but he is too late. He is staring down the barrel of Clarence Daniels's .38, and he dares not make a move.

McKay follows the other four into the cabin. Clarence grabs JD's arms behind him and places him in handcuffs.

"Don't move, boy; we've got you now," shouts McKay.

JD is scared, the most scared he has ever been in his life--surrounded by five men with guns, ropes, handcuffs. He expects that they are going to kill him as they or Klansmen just like him have done over the south for the last 90 years.

"You JD?" McKay asks.

"Yes sir."

"Well, don't worry, we know who you are, and you know why we are here. You are going to die tonight so the main question right now is whether you die a nice peaceful death at the end of this rope or if you want to find out what it's like to be tortured by the KKK."

"Which way do you want to go?" asks McKay.

"Don't kill me. I ain't done nothing wrong,"

McKay clinches his fist and backhands him against his check, almost knocking him to the floor.

JD rubs his cheek. "What do you want from me," he asks politely.

"Did you rape that white girl, Billie Hamilton?"

"No sir, I am still a virgin. I ain't never raped a white girl or any other girl."

"Don't you lie to me, boy. I know better than that."

"No sir, I won't lie to you, but I didn't rape no white girl." JD speaks in off-English like McKay and the others expect to hear from a black person.

"Clarence, go fill that tub up with water. I want to see if this nigger boy can breathe underwater."

"Ok, that's a good idea," Clarence responds as he goes over to the tub and turns on the faucets to fill it up.

JD starts to tremble.

"Let's make it good and cold. Make sure the hot water is not working.

"I want to see if he can hold his breath for over a minute. Clarence, once you get that tub filled, you can be the timer. "

"JD, take your shirt off."

"Please don't do that to me," JD asks again politely but he makes no effort to resist or fight back. "There were five of them and only one of me," he thought.

Even so, JD was thinking as fast as his mind could work of how he might be able to make a run for it. He knew that if he could get out into the pine trees, he could outrun the white men who were in considerably worst shape than he was.

"Ok now take your pants off and pull your shorts down. I want to see what you used to get that white girl pregnant."

The other Klansmen stripped JD of his shirt and pulled his pants and undershorts down. JD was standing there with his hands behind his back in handcuffs but otherwise stark naked.

"Ok, bring him over to the tub and Clarence, you get your watch ready. I am going to hold his head underwater for one minute. If he makes that, we will see if he can go a minute and a half."

The men pushed JD over to the edge of the tub and McKay pushed him down astraddle the edge of the tub. He held his head from behind and dunked him into the water. JD struggled but he could not provide enough leverage to get away from McKay. He felt like he was drowning and after what seemed like an hour he could no longer hold his breath and was just about to inhale a breath of pure water, when McKay pulled his head out of the tub.

"Pretty good. You've got great lung capacity."

JD coughed and spit trying to get rid of the excess water in his lungs. Snot was pouring out of his nose and he was trembling, scared to death, believing that he was going to be dead in the next few minutes.

Suddenly, Sheriff Murphy and Sheriff Jones came bursting through the front door, pistols drawn. "Ok, the party is over," Murphy announced. "Drop your weapons and move to the center of the room or I will shoot everyone of you. Now move."

McKay could not believe it. He was being challenged and all he was doing was trying to get justice for a white woman.

"Sheriff, you don't understand. This nigger boy has raped or fucked somehow a white woman in Wichita Falls and got her pregnant. We are just here to get justice for that white girl, who happens to be the leader of the _Coyote_ cheerleader squad."

"I don't care what he has done," Sheriff Jones responded. "We don't put up with vigilante justice in Palo Pinto County. You are all under arrest. Put your hands behind your back and don't make a move."

McKay signaled the crew to obey the Sheriff's orders and they all gathered in the center of the room where each one of the five was handcuffed or had their hands tied with plastic tape.

Next, outside the cabin, the party gets a new member. Zach has shown up and parked his car in the woods behind the sheriff's two cars. He walked up to the cabin and looked in just as the Sheriff's began to handcuff the five KKK members.

JD was astounded, standing by the tub, beginning to get his breath back. His pants and shorts were dangling around his feet which still had his running shoes on and tied. His shirt was off and he was basically naked.

The two sheriffs started to escort the prisoners to their cars where they intended to load them two in one car and three in the other. They were on their way to the Palo Pinto jail.

McKay continued to protest. "I can't believe you two white men are here arresting us protecting that black nigger."

"Keep your mouth shut," Murphy commanded.

When the sheriffs were outside with their five prisoners heading towards the car, Zach sneaks around to the front door and moves inside. JD sees him wondering what the hell was going on.

"I am Zach Zimmerman, _Wichita Falls Senior High_. I am here to help. Grab your pants and shirt and let's get out of here before the sheriff gets back. Everett Hamilton sent me to help and I intend to get you to safety tonight."

Those were welcome words to JD. He had heard of Zach but did not know him. He did know who Everett Hamilton was.

"Let's get going," he thought.

The two boys, one almost naked, headed for the door. With Zach leading, they launched into the closest woods and Zach headed for his car. When they got there, JD pulled up his pants and slipped on his shirt.

"Let's get the hell out of here."

Zach started the car. The sheriff yelled at him to stop, but he headed for the dirt road that led into the cabin. Five minutes later, they were on a paved road, heading north back towards Wichita Falls. Zach gunned it going as fast as he thought he could go. JD was alive and in relatively good shape.

"Looks like we have ditched them at least for a while. My plan is to drive you to Colorado where Everett is renting a secluded cabin for you to hide in until all of this blows over," Zach explains to JD.

"Oh shit, I thought I was a goner. Thanks for helping me out. They were planning to kill me tonight. They even told me they were going to kill me, and I would make the news much like Emmett Tills had done." JD responded.

They drove without speaking for the next hour, heading towards Seymour, Texas and then taking a northwest highway towards Amarillo. As the miles passed behind them both JD and Zach began to feel an ease in their tension as an element of safety began to envelop them.

Sheriff Murphy and Sheriff Jones did not know who it was that had spun off with JD, but they were totally consumed with the arrest and jailing of the five _KKK_ members, so they were unable to pursue the fleeing car. They drove to the Palo Pinto jail where they placed the five _KKK_ members in a large single cell. Sheriff Jones held them there for the night but allowed them to make a call the following morning. A lawyer showed up at 10 a.m., posted bail and drove the five men back to Wichita Falls in a Chevrolet Van. No one spoke on the two-hour drive back to the city and the lawyer dropped them off at the Sun station where some of their cars were parked.

McKay instructed his fellow Klansmen to meet at his house at 4 p.m. to discuss next steps in the search for JD.

#  Chapter 20 Planning to Integrate Wichita Falls High School

A group of six black students and their parents meet at the _Bible Baptist Church_ in Colored Town. JD's parents are normally part of this group, but they are now focused on keeping their son alive, so they are not there. The students are Nellie, Ida, Terrell, Vince. They are all juniors at Booker T. Washington High School, but their plan is to register in Wichita Falls High School the next fall to become the first black students in the history of the school. They all know that it will be a risky and potentially violent event, maybe with nationwide news coverage.

In the absence of his son, Bill Bartels takes over leadership of the committee to integrate _Wichita Falls High School_.

"Let's get started," Bill announces to the group of about 20 black people who have come to the _Bible Baptist Church_ to continue planning to integrate the white high school.

"My son, JD, is not here this afternoon but hopefully he will be back for our next meeting. If he is not back, I will continue to lead this committee."

"We intend to integrate three boys and three girls from this group into Wichita Falls High School on September 4, 1957. This will be the first effort to implement the latest Supreme Court Decision, _Brown v. the Board of Education -- 1954_. That's the first effort nationwide, so we have to expect that local people and outsiders will be there to keep us from succeeding."

"We have been in touch with local, state and Federal authorities. I am hopeful that if worse comes to worse, the President, Dwight D. Eisenhower will call in Federal troops to support us. We won't know for sure if that will happen until it does."

"Our young people will be in danger both outside the school and inside once the registration and entrance are complete. Are you guys willing to risk your lives to make this happen?"

Each of the five students nod their heads in agreement.

"The time has come for us to take a stand and to make some real progress in advancing civil rights in this country."

"We will meet every week at this same time and place until the end of August at which time, we need to scout the location of the actual integration queue that we intend to set up outside the school."

"Does anyone have any questions or comments?"

"Do we have a committee set up to contact other authorities like the local police, the State and the Federal Government?'

"Yes, Charlie McClure is leading a committee to start contacting those authorities. Charlie, can you be prepared to report on your progress with that by next meeting?"

"I'll do my best," Charlie replied.

#  Chapter 21 Billie and Lucy Move to California

The family, Everett, Lucy and Billie meet at the dinner table to discuss their plans.

"Here's where we are so far," Everett announces.

"We have decided to move to California, probably in the Silicon Valley Area near San Francisco. Our destination will depend on where I can get a permanent position with a good law firm. I am pretty confident that I can find a position probably making less money than I make now but that's ok."

"We are telling everybody that we are going to Lucy's mother's house in Ohio out in the boon docks not too far from Cincinnati, OH. We will not give them a reason why and we will not disclose or confirm to anyone who the father of this child is."

"No abortions in this family."

"I've mapped out a route for you two to drive to Palo Alto, going from here through Midland, Texas, El Paso, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and ending up in Palo Alto. Driving about 500 miles per day should take you about three or four days to get there; it's about 1600 miles by the route I have chosen. AAA has provided us maps and travel books which have some interesting information to entertain and educate you along the way. I suggest you start right after dinner tomorrow night, stopping about midnight and after that driving in the day time."

"I have not made reservations, but I think you can find a spot each night along the way at a _Best Western_ or _Holiday Inn_. You can take rest stops and lunch and dinner stops as you find them."

"When you get to Palo Alto, check into a long-term motel at least for a couple of weeks and I will join you out there as soon as I can. I need to put the house up for sale, complete my work at the office, and get some resumes out to California. I expect to get some invitations for job interviews within a couple of weeks and if I get lucky, I will head first to talk to Mario Rosati. "

"Any questions?"

"What about me?" Lucy asks. "Do you want me to start looking for a job out there? I will let them know at my paralegal job here tomorrow that I will be moving immediately to my mother's house. They don't need to know why."

"I am just going to tell two of my friends here that I am leaving, Jeanie and Sue. I will lie to them about where we are going. So far, we have not heard anything about where JD is, but I did hear that Zach Zimmerman is out of town unexpectedly. I wonder if he is involved. It would be just like him to want to help JD escape from the _KKK_. He is really a magnificent person." Billie declares.

"OK," said Everett we have a plan and this time tomorrow night we are heading west, first stop Midland, Texas."

At 6 p.m. the following night, Lucy driving and Billie riding as a passenger get in their 1956 _Buick Electra_ and head west towards Seymour, Texas on U.S. 277. They agree to drive alternatively in four hour shifts. Lucy has the wheel till about 10 p.m., and they plan to stop at midnight when they see a suitable motel.

Billie sleeps until about 8 p.m. and then she wakes up and they chat.

"Do you really believe in God?" Billie asks her mom.

"Yes, but I don't know that I believe in an entity like they describe at church. Does God have a form? A body? A personality? I am not so sure of that."

"Does God really have awareness of everything that goes on in this universe? Is there even more than one Universe?'

"Most of what I have been taught in Sunday School is that God is a creature in man's image and he sits on a throne wearing a long robe and white beard on a deck of clouds surrounded by gold and gemstones," said Billie.

"Yea, that's what I have been taught at Sunday School and in Church sermons but it's hard to get my arms around that kind of concept. It's so unlike anything that we experience here on Earth."

"God is _all-knowing_. He has a plan for every living creature."

"Do you really think so?' Billie asks.

"God exists but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it."

"Some atheists avoid the concept of God, whilst accepting that it is significant to many; other non-theists understand God as a symbol of human values and aspirations. There is no God", because the word 'God' is to me a sound conveying no clear or distinct affirmation."

"Who or what created the universe? If the answer is God, then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created God? Atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities."

Billie pulled into a _Best Western_ motel with a vacancy. She and Lucy had separate beds in one room. Billie woke up with her usual morning nausea which lasted about 30 minutes.

They went to breakfast and Lucy took the wheel on the next leg.

'Do you think that God specifically answers your prayers? "Billie asks.

"Possibly. I believe that God hears our prayers, but I am not sure I am smart enough to understand God's answers. Sometimes, God may answer, but the fact that he did may not be clear to me. For example, I have prayed to him about solving this problem with your having a mixed-race child, but here we are out in the boonies heading west as fast as we can go."

"By praying, I think we focus on a certain problem or concept and that alone helps us to use all of our brain power to resolve the issue." Billie replied.

West Texas is bleak. In February, it is cold and windy but on this trip the skies are clear every day—no rain, ice, or snow. The heater kept the car perfectly climatized, so the two women are comfortable. They could drive about 250 miles on a tank of gas which took four to five hours. Then, they would stop, use the rest room, wash their hands and face and buy some snacks like chips and candy or cokes for the next step.

"You are going to be a very young mother. How do you feel about that?" Lucy asked.

"Pretty good. Except for the nausea, I am surprisingly calm. I do worry about JD, but I have decided I have done all I can to help him. Hopefully, he will escape these vigilantes. If Zach Zimmerman is helping him, his chances will be better."

The second night they stopped on the western side of El Paso in New Mexico. Motels were cheap, and they got another room with two double beds. The rooms were a bit dingy but clean enough. They had a TV and the two women watched the news the next morning as they prepared for their third day of travel. There was no mention of any Klan activity, so their event had not made the national news.

In the Phoenix area, temperatures are warm but not hot. Mile after mile of orange grove dominate the landscape. The saguaro cactus begins to spout along the side of the road.

Lucy started reading travel information to Billie. It helped to pass the time. The two women got along great which was somewhat a surprise given the stressful nature of this departure and their situation.

As the trip progressed, they talked more and more about a new baby in the family and what they would have to do to take care of him or her.

Lucy and Billie began to bond more and more. Lucy started to lose her animosity for Billie uprooting her life. By the end of the third day, they had travelled about 1200 miles and were on the outskirts of Phoenix. They stopped for lunch at a nicer place than usual and spent a couple of hours. It was two hours earlier now than it was in Wichita Falls which was on central time.

Lucy called Everett at his private number on the fourth day. He answered from his office in the _City National_.

"How is your trip?"

"We're just outside of Phoenix and I expect to make it north of Los Angeles tomorrow. We may head north on the eastern side of LA and go up towards Palo Alto on the East side of the mountains. The weather has been beautiful the whole way and Billie and I have developed a certain bond that is even deeper than we have ever had before. She is nauseous in the morning for a while but the rest of the day, she rides well and takes her turn every four hours when we shift drivers. It's been a fun trip overall."

"I got a call from Mario Rosati. He wants to review my resume and get some of his partners to look it over but if all goes well, he will invite me out for an interview and if that goes well, a job offer. That would be my first choice."

"I spoke to Zach Zimmerman in Boulder yesterday. They escaped from the _Klan_ and JD is now holed up safely in a cabin I provided about 100 miles west of Boulder. Zach will be returning home tomorrow, I think, and JD will be left there, safely, I hope, but basically in solitary confinement. I have heard he is planning to go to _Northwestern_ in the Fall if he is still alive by then."

"We have decided that the Klan will not chase JD into integrated States like Illinois and Colorado, but we really don't know that for sure. "

Zach said that JD is in good spirits and he plans to study, workout, and may even try to get a part time job to help with his expenses. There is a small town with some businesses about ten miles from the cabin. I have bought him a cheap car which will allow him to get into town when it is necessary."

"That sounds good. You are an angel, and I mean that explicitly."

"Thanks, it is just the right thing to do. I hate the _Klan_ and I will do anything possible to protect him from them. "

"You guys have a nice trip today. California is so beautiful. I know you will enjoy this leg the most. I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow if you can call before you take off on your final leg of the trip. With luck, you will be in your semi-permanent hotel within two more days. I've been very busy and speaking of angels, Jack Kemp, my boss, has been one to me. He has even offered to buy our house, but I am not sure I want to put that burden on him. It shouldn't be too hard to sell if we put a decent price on it. We can talk more about that tomorrow."

"Good bye, I love you and look forward to your being out here with us. We need you here."

# Chapter 22 Zach and JD Drive to Colorado

Zach drives out of the lake resort, thinking about what he is doing now and what he must do to stay alive. JD immediately falls asleep in the passenger seat exhausted from the stress and activities of the day.

Zach is amazed that Billie's father is helping him protect JD from certain death if the KKK captures him.

"The Klan would not hesitate to include him in their death plans for helping JD escape."

Zach also wonders what will happen in Colorado—

"Will the Klan follow him that far? How long will they pursue the chase? Is Billie and her mother safe? I hope the Klan does not punish my family for helping JD."

Zach plans to drive west of Wichita Falls on back road eventually getting on 287 west heading for Amarillo.

"I should be safe from the _Klan_ if I can make it that far, perhaps by midnight. I'll keep driving as long as I can stay awake, or I can possibly let JD drive for a while so that I can get some sleep."

JD sleeps for a couple of hours.

"Where are we," he asks?

"We're about 25 miles west of Wichita Falls. I am heading for Amarillo as our next milestone. So far, I have not passed any suspicious cars, so I think we are ok at least for the moment. "

"I don't mean to be too personal, but how did you get yourself into this mess?" Zach asks.

"I don't really know myself," JD responds.

"I met Billie on the train going up to visit Northwestern University a few weeks ago. When we got to Missouri, I was not restricted by where I sat on the train, so I went up into the car where Billie was sitting, (I had seen her on the platform in Waurika). The seat next to her was empty and I asked if I could sit by her."

"She looked surprised, but she said ok, so I sat down, and we talked all the rest of the way to Chicago even after we changed trains in Kansas City, Missouri. It was fun talking to her especially since I had never been allowed to talk to a white girl in my entire life. She is pretty, smart, and a lot of fun. We had a good time, one of the best times of my life, and I thought about what the future might hold going to a large university in a non-segregated state like Illinois."

"The next day I saw her at the University conference but did not speak to her again nor did I see her again on the way home. I think we took separate trains since I had additional meetings with the coach."

"A couple of weeks after we got back home, I was getting gas at the station on Brook Street and 9th. Coincidentally, she was there too getting filled up with gas. It was about 9 p.m. I waved at her and she waved back and when she was finished with her service, I walked over to her car to say hi. She asked me if I wanted to go for a drive and I unfortunately said yes."

We parked my car at the BBQ next door and I got in the passenger seat of her car and we toured around the city for a while mostly on back roads where we would not be seen. She pulled off onto a dirt road out on the Seymour Highway and drove about a mile. It was pitch black. She pulled off the road, doused the lights and one thing led to another. I guarantee you I had no ideas about having sex with her. In fact I have a girlfriend at Booker T. named Tania, and I have never even had sex with her in spite of the fact that we are in love and having been dating for two years. One thing led to another, we had sex and got dressed and drove back to pick up my car."

"A couple of weeks later, maybe three, I got a call from her. Pregnant, she said. And here we are running for our lives from a ruthless bunch of vigilantes who without question would like to kill me and possibly you for helping me."

"Life happens," Zimmerman says.

He knows Billie very well and he knows that she is impulsive and adventuresome. He can easily believe that she was the aggressor and initiated having sex with JD although he suspected that up until that time she was a virgin.

Changing the subject slightly, Zach asked, "what's it like living in Negro town and being on the black side of the segregation laws that exist throughout the south?"

"It's not all bad," JD replies. I am the quarterback of the football team and the captain as well. I am a leader of our plans to integrate Wichita Falls High School next fall. Everybody in Negro town knows me and I think most of them like and respect me. It might not be like that if I went to WFSH."

"But on the other hand, we are treated like second class citizens. We must sit in the back of the bus, live in a segregated neighborhood, eat at restaurants that are for blacks alone, go to our own church and schools. Drink out of separate water fountains and go to separate bathrooms. We cannot use the white swimming pools or parks and a black boy like myself will be hung for even talking to a white girl or woman let alone making love with her and getting her pregnant."

"Here's a short version of the story about Emmett Tills:"

"Emmett was a young black boy who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 at the age of 14, after being accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store."

"Till was born and raised in Chicago. During summer vacation in August 1955, he was visiting relatives near Money, in the Mississippi Delta region. He spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the white married proprietor of a small grocery store there. Till was accused of flirting with or whistling at Bryant."

"Till's interaction with Bryant violated the strictures of conduct for a Black American male interacting with a white woman in the _Jim Crow_ -era South. Several nights after the store incident, Bryant's husband, Roy and his half-brother J.W. Milam went, armed, to Till's great-uncle's house and abducted the boy. They took him away and beat and mutilated him before shooting him in the head and sinking his body in the Tallahatchie River."

"In September 1955, Bryant and Milam were acquitted by an all-white jury of Till's kidnapping and murder. Protected against double jeopardy, the two men publicly admitted in a 1956 interview with _Look_ magazine that they had killed Till. Till's murder was a catalyst for the next phase of the Civil Rights Movement. In December 1955, the Montgomery bus boycott began in Alabama and lasted more than a year, resulting eventually in a US Supreme Court ruling that segregated buses were unconstitutional."

"That takes us to where we are right now. I am somewhat the leader of the black group that is planning to try to integrate the white high school this coming fall. In addition, I am now not only accused of but guilty of getting a popular, well-known white girl pregnant. The Klan is out to get me right now and thanks to you I am trying to escape in the middle of the night heading from Wichita Falls to Boulder, Colorado. I am hopeful that the Klan will not chase us into Colorado, but I don't know what I will do or what you will do when we get to our destination."

"I don't have any money, or any source of income. I have to eat, and I don't have a car even to get me to the store and I presume it will be a ways from the cabin we are going to the nearest town or store."

"Everett and I will provide you with enough money to eat on and keep you alive, but we have not thought about getting you a car. I will mention that to Everett the next time we talk. Maybe he will come up with enough dough to buy a cheap car that will get you through the rest of the Spring. If you finish your studies and get accepted at Northwestern or some other non-segregated school, you can be in college, playing football, and totally safe by September. That's my goal if that suits you." Zach said.

"We don't intend for you to end up like Emmett Tills." Zach continued.

"Thanks for that. I have the secondary issue of helping with the high school integration. I don't know how I am going to do that from Colorado, but right now, we just need to stay alive."

By 10 a.m. the following morning, Zach pulled into a _Super 8 Motel_ in Boulder and registered for a two-bed room. The manager gave no thought at all apparently to a black man and a white man traveling together.

Zach and JD showered, took a nap, got some lunch, and Zach went out to a pay phone to call Everett

"We made it to Boulder, currently logged into a _Super 8 Motel_ and we have showered and napped and had some lunch. We are ready for the next phase of our trip."

"OK, good to hear from you," Everett replied.

"I have been worried about you. My intel here in Wichita Falls tells me that the Klan missed you by a half hour on Possum Kingdom Lake. The sheriffs from both Wichita and Pina Punta County were about another half hour behind them. I am told that McKay and his crew drove back to his house and they are not trying to follow you at this point. Maybe they will pass this case onto colleagues in Colorado, so I don't think we can relax at this point."

"We haven't talked about this before, but if I leave JD in a remote cabin in the Rockies, which is our plan, he will not have any transportation to the store, medical, whatever."

"I thought of that," Everett replies.

"I have rented a cabin where he can stay for the next several months if necessary and I will buy him a cheap car. He can pay me back when he finishes college and gets a job. Maybe he will be a professional athlete and make millions."

"Got a pencil? I have directions to the cabin."

"Shoot," Zach says, and he writes the instructions to the cabin, about two hours away in the mountains west of Boulder.

"You are headed for Oak Creek, Colorado and the cabin is about 10 miles south of town isolated in the Rocky Mountains. The town only has about 1000 people in it and most of them are white, so it may become obvious that you are there soon. But let's give it a try, the Colorado people don't have the same attitude about Negroes that we have in Texas, so I think JD will be ok there although he may get lonesome. Better lonesome than dead. He can probably buy an old car in Oak Creek and I will arrange to send him enough money to pay for it. $500 should do it but just let me know what he needs, and I will get the money to him."

"Any questions?"

"No, I've got that down and we have a good Colorado map. We should be able to make it there in a couple of hours. I will call you again when we get there."

Zach headed west out of Boulder for Oak Creek. The mountains were beautiful, and the skies were totally clear, not a cloud in sight. "We're lucky to have such nice weather," he remarks to JD. Here's the ad for the city posted on the window of the City Hall:

Nestled neatly in Colorado's rich and fertile Yampa Valley, Oak Creek, Colorado is a statutory town just south of Steamboat Springs. Our population of just around 1000 comprises a lively collection of people from local ranching families to folks from all over the country. With activities and attractions from skiing to boating and horseback riding to hiking in the National Forest, we also entertain visitors from all over the world. Have a look around to find out more about our town and discover all the ways that Oak Creek is made for four seasons of fun!

They find Oak Creek with no trouble and the spot to register for the cabin which is furnished with bed, linens, towels, a bath and small kitchen. Pots and Pans and a small refrigerator.

Zach and JD stop at the General Store in Oak Creek and purchase food and toilet paper, other necessities. The proprietor of the store tells them where they can buy a car and they head southwest on County road 25 for the cabin.

It's in a remote area along a mountain road at an elevation of 8,000 feet. Both the boys have some trouble adjusting to the altitude, but they get the car unloaded and the cabin somewhat set up to accommodate JD for the next few months.

Zach stays the night sleeping on the couch. The next morning the two boys head out on an exploratory trip around the neighborhood. JD enjoys the area and believes that with a car he can find a low-pay job, enough to cover, his groceries and other basics, without too much trouble.

Zach and JD head down the mountain to Oak Creek and go to the car dealership (if you want to call it that.) They find a 1949 Chevrolet for $500 and Zach calls Everett to ask him to send the money.

The dealer talks to Everett and finds out a little bit about JD. That's good enough for him. JD drives the car home i.e. back to the cabin and Zach spends the night again. They cook dinner, have a couple of beers and go to bed early.

The next morning Zach is on the road early heading back to Texas via Denver. JD is alone, a little scared but happy to be alive.

# Chapter 23 KKK Plans to Follow JD

McKay leads his team back to his home in Wichita Falls. They must reconnoiter, he thinks, get their ducks in a row. The Klan meets at McKay's house and are joined with five other Klan members including Chuck Anthony of the _Wichitas_.

"The mother fucker escaped. He had to have had some help. Who was it?"

Anthony volunteers his suspicion that his band leader, Zach, might be involved. They have no idea that Everett would help a black man who impregnated his daughter would be involved. They decide to continue their search for JD locally, within 100 miles, but not to search beyond that. We just need to be patient. He will eventually show up back here in Wichita Falls and when he does, we will get him. They did not discuss it, but they all knew that the _Klan_ was heading down hill and they were struggling to keep up membership and achieve the results that had been available to them 20 years earlier.

"We are limited to a 100-mile search radius from Wichita Falls," McKay says. If they go further than that we will have to postpone our execution until he returns home and we can catch him then. We have a long memory."

"In the meantime, if that Zimmerman boy is indeed helping him to escape, we need to make him pay for that. His dad owns the _Wichita Furniture Co_. downtown. What do you say we place a bomb in the alley just behind the store for detonation tonight about midnight?"

"That's a good idea," Anthony replies, and the others shake their heads in agreement.

McKay calls his bomb expert, Bill Cherry. We want to destroy the _Wichita Furniture Co._ building, but I don't want to kill or injure anyone," McKay instructed.

"OK, I recommend we use about 5 to 10 sticks of dynamite with a timer and set it to go off about midnight when no one is in the store. Does that sound all right to you?"

"Perfect, can you set that up to go off tonight?"

"You bet, I'll get right on it."

Bill started gathering his equipment right away, 10 sticks of dynamite, a timer, and a detonator. At 10 p.m., he drove to the furniture store on Scott Street in downtown Wichita Falls, where he planted the bomb adjacent to the building in the alley just next to the back exit. He set the timer for 12 a.m. and parked his car one block down the street where he would be out of range of the blast.

The explosion blew a hole measuring seven feet in diameter in the store rear wall. Several cars parked near the site of the blast were destroyed, and windows of properties located more than one block from the church were also damaged. All but one of the store's windows were destroyed in the explosion.

# Chapter 24 JD Hides in Colorado Mountains

JD settles into his cabin life. He knows that in February some heavy mountain weather was still ahead. He brings in several loads of firewood which he stacks next to the fireplace. He also has a smaller wood-burning stove for his major heat. The cabin has one large room with a small kitchen, a side bathroom, and a king-sized bed. Dishes and kitchen utensils are stored in the cabinets over the sink and drainboard. It's a nice but small cabin, easy to keep warm and cozy with the two sets of heat-making stoves and fireplaces. There is no phone or television.

The following day after Zach left to return to Texas, a car pulls up in the front of the cabin with one person only on board. A man about 40-50 years old comes to the front door and knocks.

JD answers the door.

"Hi, I'm Jim Cavanaugh, owner of the cabin here. I just wanted to check with you to see if everything is ok."

"Sure, come on in." JD invites. "Everything is fine; it's a very nice cabin and so far, I have everything that I need."

"I'm glad to hear that. I take it you are here by yourself."

"Yep, I am."

"I don't mean to be too nosey, but you are a young man, not my typical tenant. Do you mind telling me what you're doing here?"

JD hesitates to answer. He knows he needs to keep his whereabouts secret, but on the other hand, he does not want to live in total solitaire seclusion for the next four or five months.

"I am not hiding from the law, so you can relax about that, but I am hiding so let me be honest with you."

"I'm from Texas, and I got a white girl in trouble. The _KKK_ is looking for me and if you are familiar with the story about Emmett Tills, you know that the _Klan_ is not tolerant of black boys associating with white girls in any way, especially getting them pregnant."

"I spoke to your mentor, Everett Hamilton before I rented the cabin to him. He said you were traveling incognito but you were not doing anything against the law." Jim responds.

"That's true. Everett has helped me to escape from the _KKK_ so far. He bought me the car and is paying my rent."

"You look to be in good shape. Are you an athlete?"

"Yes, I am quarterback on the _Booker T. Washington_ football team in Wichita Falls, and if you will excuse me for bragging, I made All American last year and expect to make it again this year. I am applying for schools in the North where black athletes can play with white athletes to come up with the best possible team. I am looking closely at attending Northwestern, but now that I am not going to finish high school, I may not be able to do that. I will be studying here, and I plan to take my GED exam to finish high school. "My hope is that the coach can give me some help and the school will take me with a GED exam. I make really good grades, so I don't think that will be a big problem."

"Wow, you're a real celebrity. Football is big around here. I could introduce you to the local high school coach if you are interested."

"That would be great, but I need to talk to Everett first to get his advice on who I can discuss my status with."

"I also need a part time job to help me buy groceries and stuff. Do you know anyone that might have a need for a strong, hard-working young man?"

"I can probably help you with that," Cavanaugh replies.

The two men continue talking for the next hour. Cavanaugh leaves and returns to his real estate office in Oak Creek. He calls the football coach of the Oak Creek High School team,

"You are not going to believe who has just rented my cabin for four months down on Oak Creek. JD Bartels, All-American High School football quarterback last year and in line to be the same again this year. He is hiding from the _KKK_ after getting a white girl pregnant in Wichita Falls, Texas."

"OMG, we could use him. We are just starting Spring training next week. Do you think he would join our team? Is he a senior in high school? I've got to find out some more about him," Coach Carter replied.

"I promised to keep his whereabouts secret so can I trust you to do that too?"

"Of course, but I am very excited to introduce him to the team."

"You don't have any problems with black boys on the team, do you?"

"Hell no, we already have three black boys on the team. I am just looking for someone to help us get to the AA State Championship next fall." Carter replied.

Cavanaugh drives out to the cabin again the following day.

"I spoke to Coach Carter at the Oak Creek High School football team. He would like to meet you if you are willing. They are starting Spring training next week and you might want to join them for workouts or maybe as an assistant coach."

"Ok, I would like to meet him and see what develops from there. I am just so scared that someone is going to notify the _Klan_ in Wichita Falls and they will come screaming up here with a rope or a rifle or something else lethal like that."

"I understand your fear, but we will help protect you, this is a tough town but a good bunch of people up here. I guarantee you are going to like them once you get to know them."

"I have another suggestion, you need a phone. The line is already installed so you just must buy the phone itself and sign up for a number. It will cost about $30 to get the number and about $7 per month once you have all the preliminaries taken care of. If you've got that much money, I will set that up for you with the phone company."

"Can I sign up with an anonymous name?"

"Maybe an unlisted number. That's what most people do who are in hiding."

"I also suggest you get in touch with Sherriff Baylock of Rouff County. I guarantee you he does not like the KKK and will be an asset to you in staying clear of them. You can find him at the County Court House just next to my office. Why don't you come into town tomorrow and I will introduce you to him and with your permission, I will call the phone company and get that line set up for you. You can buy a phone at the General Store when you come into town tomorrow."

"Ok, that sounds great. I do need a phone."

Cavanaugh left. JD made a peanut butter sandwich for lunch which he consumed with a glass of milk and a couple of store-bought chocolate chip cookies. He took a short nap and got up to start his self-studies that will get him a GED high school diploma. He is very disciplined in his studies, trigonometry, English Literature, and American History, three hours per day with some homework where required.

The following day at 11 a.m. he takes the 10-minute drive into Oak Creek where he parks on the street just outside the courthouse. He goes into Cavanaugh's office. He is expected.

"Lots of news," Jim says.

"Here's your new phone number, 7-4608. Plug your new phone into the wall socket with the connection wire attached when you buy it and you will be ready to make calls. Everything is long distance so be careful not to run up too big a bill."

"I told the sheriff we would stop by and if it's ok with you, we can go to lunch with him after we speak in his office for a few minutes."

"That sounds good," JD responds.

"Coach Carter called. He did some research on you in high school publications. You are a real star, he tells me."

"I'm just lucky to be a good football player," JD replies.

"You're more than good. You are the best in the United States, he tells me and every coach in non-segregated schools is trying to recruit you."

"I've talked to several of them, but right now I am favoring Northwestern if I can still get in given my current situation," JD responds.

"I am pretty sure that every school in America will let you in. The question is, will the Klan leave you alone in a non-segregated State?"

"That is the question. I did not tell you, but Everett Hamilton is the father of the girl carrying my child. He is a prince of a man for helping me escape. Without his help I would be at the bottom of a swamp or creek somewhere. His daughter's name is Billie and she and her mother have moved to Ohio."

"Here's some more news I got from Coach Carter. A furniture store named _Wichita Furniture_ was bombed last night and destroyed. The owner of the store was Herbert Zimmerman. Wasn't the other boy who checked in with you named Zimmerman?"

"Yep, Zach Zimmerman. He's another prince of a man, a senior in Wichita Falls Senior High."

"This just goes to show you the depth of destruction this bunch of racists will go to to prove their white supremacy."

"Was anyone hurt or killed in the explosion?"

"Not to my knowledge. Just property damage but the inventory and the building all burned to the ground, Coach Carter told me."

"Oh shit," JD exclaimed. "I wonder if they will be coming up here next."

"I will keep my eyes and ears open and let you know if I hear anything. Sheriff Baylock will help you too. He hates vigilantes and that's what the Klan is, pure and simple."

"Let's go meet the sheriff and have some lunch."

"Sheriff, here's the young man staying in my Oak Creek Cabin. I told you about him yesterday.

JD, this is John Baylock, Sheriff of Rouff County."

"Glad to meet you Sheriff. I want to tell you what I told Jim the other day, I am not hiding from the law, but I am on the run from the KKK in Texas. I got a high school senior pregnant and the Klan does not like that. They just bombed a furniture store in Wichita Falls and it just so happens that the owner of the store is the father of Zach Zimmerman, who drove me up here to escape a lynching. That's the price they had to pay to help me."

"I am very sorry to hear that news," the sheriff said. "I am not a fan of the KKK and I will help protect you in any way possible."

"How long do you plan to stay here?"

"Right now, I plan to stay until school starts next fall. I have two major events then. One is I am leading (or was leading) a group that plans to try to integrate _Wichita Falls High School_ this coming September. It will be the first integration since the passage of _Brown v. Board of Education_ by the Supreme Court, which is a big deal."

"The other thing for the fall, probably September also, I am planning to start college, and right now I am most favored to go to Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois. The problem there is I have not let them know I favor them, nor have I explained my current situation."

The trio had lunch at the local restaurant in Oak Creek, _Mama's Kitchen_. It was a homey little place with about 20 kitchen tables covered with plastic table cloths. They served fried chicken, country steak with white gravy, and sometimes roast beef. Today, JD ordered fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans with a desert of Microsystems pie. He was hungry, and this was the first real meal he had had in the last five or six days.

Jim took JD over to the high school after lunch and introduced him to Coach Carter.

"I am glad to meet you," Coach replied. "Jim told me about you."

"What brings you to Oak Creek?"

JD told him the story again.

"Your personal affairs don't bother me," Coach Carter said.

"We are starting Spring Training next week and I would like you to join us in practice. We have one final game at the end of the training with _Steam Boat Springs High School_. You could practice with us just to stay in shape or you could be an assistant coach, helping me get the boys in shape."

"I need to check with my mentor in Wichita Falls to see if he thinks playing with your team would be a risk, but if it's ok with him, I will be ready to start next week. I have a new phone and I plan to call him this afternoon," JD said.

JD bought his telephone at the General Store and headed back to his cabin. He plugged the phone into the jack and gave Cavanaugh a call to check that it worked, which it did.

At 5 p.m., he called Everett on his private number in Wichita Falls.

"Hello, Everett Hamilton." Everett answered.

"Hi, Mr. Hamilton, this is JD."

"Nice to hear from you. How are things going?"

"Very well, the cabin is really nice and the owner of it has introduced me to the Sheriff and the High School Football coach. I wanted to talk to you before I told anyone else, but this is a very small town and it is hard to keep a secret for very long." JD said.

"I heard about the explosion at the furniture store. Was anyone hurt?"

"No, thankfully, no one was hurt but the store and all its inventory were demolished. I spoke to Zach last night. He is devastated and realizes what a ruthless bunch this KKK can be."

"I think you are safe for the time being, but I cannot guarantee that. I get reports from my confidential informants and they are telling me now that the Klan will not pursue you into non-segregated States. I will let you know if that changes."

"How's Billie?"

"She is physically fine. We have told everyone that she has moved to Ohio where she is living with her grandmother. My wife, Lucy, is with her. That's all I want to tell you about them for the moment. If anything, material comes up, I will let you know."

"Thanks, I was able to get a phone. My number is 7-4608. I am there almost all the time.

"One other thing, Coach Carter has asked me to practice with them in Spring Training which starts next week. Do you think it will be all right if I do that?"

"Yes, go ahead but continue to be discrete and don't tell anyone any more than you have to about who you are and why you are there."

"Right, I totally agree with that. Once again, let me thank you for helping me. I am certain that without your help and that of Zach Zimmerman, I would be dead right now. That can still happen but let's just take it a step at a time."

"You are welcome, JD. I hate the Klan and I am most respectful of you even though I sincerely regret what happened to Billie. I still hold you responsible for that although she said it was her doing."

"I'll let you go for now, please call any time if you need to talk to me." JD concluded.

"Take care of yourself and I will call if I have any news," responded Everett

The following week, JD reported for football practice as scheduled. Three other black players were on the team and Coach Carter introduced JD as a visiting member of the team to help during Spring Training. They worked out and played football five days a week, two hours per day. The team members accepted JD and bonded with him quickly. JD felt good about his relationship with Coach Carter and the players.

JD picked up on Coach Carter's playbook with no trouble and within a few days, he had every play memorized and he practiced without pads but with instructions to the players not to hit him. The receivers were in awe at the distance JD could throw the ball and it usually went right into their hands.

# 

# Chapter 25 Everett Moves to California

Lucy is depressed about leaving Texas, her friends, church, lifetime home, but her daughter's welfare, even though she made a huge mistake, is more important to her. She likes California and Everett seems enthusiastic about the prospects of getting in on the boom in technology that is taking place in Silicon Valley.

Shortly after they arrive, Lucy calls a real estate agent and makes an appointment to start looking for a permanent residence. She finds David Couch at _San Francisco Properties_ who makes a favorable impression on her.

Lucy and Billie shop Palo Alto and vicinity housing the next day. Prices are very high compared to Wichita Falls, but they find a house on Ramona Street in Palo Alto which suits them both—about 2800 sq. feet, three bedrooms, two baths and a two-car garage. It's in the heart of Palo Alto about a 20-minute drive from several of the law firms that Everett is considering. $57,000 which is double what they can sell their house for in Texas but the rumor here is that housing prices will be going up exponentially over the next thirty years. It could be a good buy.

"I'll discuss it with my husband by phone tonight. He is planning to be here next week for job interviews and I don't want to buy anything until he sees it." Lucy replied.

"Properties out here don't stay on the market too long, so if you lose this one, we will just have to find something else. I know pretty much what you are looking for now," said Couch

"Thanks, I will let you know as soon as I have talked to him." Lucy said

"We can afford this house but it's at the top of our budget."

Lucy and Billie drove around the Stanford campus, a beautiful school and one of the most prestigious schools in the country, also the hardest to get into. Billie was confident about her ability to get in, not counting the baby thing.

Both the women loved California. In the Spring, the flowers, and lots of them, come out early. Days are warm, and nights are cool. Traffic is heavy but there are lots of restaurants, things to see and do, and a great place to live.

Billie thinks about trying to contact JD but then changes her mind. Too risky. It might put him in danger. "I will just ask my dad if he has heard anything from him. "

Billie talked to her friend, Sue and learned about the bombing of the furniture store. Those bastards, she thought.

"In a way all of this is my fault, but I can't be responsible for what those crazy racists do."

Billie continues to prepare for her baby. She has now decided to keep the baby permanently and "if anyone does not like her having a mixed-race child, that would be their problem, not hers," she thought. She was now planning to raise the baby and then to go to college in the Bay Area, maybe Stanford, if she could get in, Santa Clara University, or one of the community colleges if that worked out best for her. She realized how lucky she was to have such supportive parents. She had no plans to contact JD and she wondered if he would even live through the next year.

Sunday, they went to the _First Baptist Church_ in Palo Alto. They did not disclose that they were from Wichita Falls, just Southern Baptists from Texas. The congregation of about 500 welcomed them with open arms. Services and teachings were different but the sermons and lessons in Sunday School were quite similar. Billie was happy to find a group of young women to join in Sunday worship.

Everett takes two telephone interviews with WSGR and gets favorable feedback. They invite him to Palo Alto for onsite interviews. He makes plans to leave the following day, heading for the _San Jose International Airport_ where he will rent a car and head for the apartment where his wife and daughter are staying. His interviews start the next day.

Mario Rosati, senior partner, hits it off with Everett who in addition interviews with all the senior partners and several of the more prestigious lawyers of the firm. They make him an offer and after talking it over with Lucy and Billie, he decides to move to California permanently. He will be assigned to the Microsoft account team.

Everett tells his partners in Wichita Falls that he is moving to California. They understand his personal problems and are sympathetic to his need to move. He will leave at the end of the month and he puts his house on Buchanan Street on the market immediately. Lucy starts looking for a permanent home and church in the Palo Alto area.

Lucy calls Everett at the end of a day of hunting real estate.

"How's your job hunt coming," she asks.

"Pretty good, I have had two phone interviews with WSGR and I am waiting to hear now if I am invited for an on-site interview session. They are supposed to call today."

"If that happens, will you be flying out here right away?" Lucy asks.

"Yep, probably the next day if that suits their schedules. I understand I will be interviewed by up to 10 lawyers and some personnel staff as well. It's the largest law firm on the west coast and I would be lucky to get a position with them. Not only that, but the technology market is hot and growing hotter daily. That's their specialty. It would be a real coup for me if I could get in with them at this stage of their development."

"Billy and I went house hunting today. Lots of choices but compared to Wichita Falls, prices are sky high. I am thinking to get what we want, we will have to pay in the $50,000 to $60,000 range. I never in my life thought we would spend that much money on a house. I found one today on Ramona Street in Palo Alto. It's about ten years old and has three bedrooms, two baths, and a two-car garage. It's within 20 minutes of your new office assuming you go to work there. Price is $57,000."

"Wow, that's steep, but I think salaries are commensurate with that kind of pricing. I will be making good money if I go to work for WSGR."

How's our daughter and her baby?"

"She's still nauseous in the mornings but it goes away, and she is good for the rest of the day. She is gaining weight, but she is happy, enthusiastic, and looking forward to being a mother. I am very proud of her."

"We drove around the Stanford campus which is near the house I described. It's a wonderful school, one of the best in the nation. I would like for her to attend there if she can get accepted. She is worried about adverse effects of having a baby midway through her senior year of high school. She can teach herself her remaining courses and get a GED if they require a high school degree. I am planning to tend the baby while she goes to school, and she can stay living with us as long as needed."

The next day, Everett called. "OK, I got the interview and they want me to travel tomorrow and have the interviews starting Wednesday. They should last for two days and if everything goes well at the end of that time, I should know whether they want me. I will make reservations now and fly into _San Jose International Airport_ tomorrow evening. Do you want to meet me at the airport?"

"Sure, Billie and I will be there, just give us your flight information and time and we will be there. It's about a 30-minute drive from our hotel."

Billie drove her and Lucy to the airport and waited inside for Everett to exit the _American Airline_ flight from Salt Lake City where he had changed planes and airlines. It was early evening, about 6 p.m.

"Welcome to California, Dad. I love it here. I hope you like it as well as I do." Billie said.

"How about we stop for dinner and then we can go back to our motel for the rest of the evening. It's very good to see you again. Seems like a hundred years since we left Wichita Falls. I've rented a separate car so let me get that checked out and I will just follow you up to Palo Alto where we can find a nice restaurant."

The next morning, Everett got up at 7 a.m., had a free breakfast at the hotel, and drove to the WSGR offices where he started a two-day round of interviews. He started with Mario Rosati who passed him along in succession to the other three senior partners. By the end of the day, he was optimistic, but exhausted. He drove back to the hotel where he and Lucy had a drink and Billie had an iced tea.

WSGR is even better than I expected," Everett explained. They are the largest firm on the west coast and they are the leading firm for almost all the new startups like Intel, AOL, and Oracle. Mario is a prince of a man and I would like to work for him without question. They are considering me for their intellectual property specialist with Intel as my main account, so I would have to study up to get up to speed on that subject. It's a high-paying job and if they take me, I would have a chance to become a partner within three to five years."

"If I get the job, they would want me on site within two or at the most three weeks. I would have to go home, wrap up my clients and get the house sold, schedule the movers, and head out here. I would probably drive my car, but I think I can make it a bit faster than you did."

"It's too early to put a contract down on the Ramona Street house. If it's not on the market by the time I get back, and optimistically if I get the job with WSGR, we can stay here until we find a house that we can buy and move into within a week or two."

The second day of interviews went well, and Everett found himself sitting in Mario's office with the other three senior partners at the end of the day.

"We've talked it over and we all agree. We need a Texan on our staff. We are prepared to make you an offer as an attorney with WSGR starting as soon as you can make it but no longer than three weeks from now. We've got a lot of business and we do need you to start as soon as possible. Also, you need to start working on Intellectual Property and maybe even start studying one of two cases that we are taking on right away."

"Well, that's fantastic," Everett replied. "I am honored that you would consider me and given that we work out the compensation for the job, I am ready to go. I can fly back to Texas tomorrow, give notice to my current firm, arrange for the move of our furniture, and stuff and be here in no more than three weeks, maybe less. My wife and daughter are already here, staying in a long-term hotel right up the road."

Over dinner that night, Everett broke the news, "We are officially moving to California. I start work as Intellectual Property Lawyer for WSGR in three weeks. I am heading back to Wichita Falls tomorrow and will put our house on the market, give notice to my firm, connect with JD in Colorado and order the movers to come for our furniture."

"Do you need me to go back to manage the movers?" Lucy asked.

"No, I can handle that. The company is paying for the move, so I will get the shippers to do the packing and loading. You stay here and get us moving into another home as soon as possible. In fact, if the Ramona Street house in Palo Alto is still on the market, let's make an offer on that, and move there if we get our contract accepted."

"Boy, this is exciting. Aren't you guys glad we are still not just sitting around Wichita Falls waiting for something to happen. We are in a world class situation out here. I've been studying up on Silicon Valley and it is trending on a 30 or more-year growth curve." Billie said.

"Not that I like our motivations for being here, but we are soon to be grandparents in a bright new location," Lucy remarked.

# Chapter 26 Life in California

Billy delivered a healthy baby girl right on schedule. She was dark-skinned but had a beautiful smile. Her name is Peony Joyce. Her mom and grandparents bonded with her immediately. She was the best thing that had happened in their family. Lucy soon got over how much she missed her friends in Texas. She joined the Baptist Church in the area and soon began making new friends there. She never told anyone why they moved to California. It was none of their business. Billie was a perfect young mother, albeit without a father for the new baby. Everett filled that role happily.

Everett's job turned out even better than he expected. He soon found himself working with the top Venture Capitalists in the Valley who in turn were funding the top technology ventures in the world, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and Microsystems were amongst the companies just getting ramped up and going public in those days of the late 1950's. The lawyers were getting stock options for the companies they supported and soon, they started making millions for themselves as well as billions for their clients.

The Hamiltons bought the Ramona Street house in Palo Alto, three bedrooms, two baths, two car garage, a nice house in a semi-affluent neighborhood. They paid $57,000 for it, a hefty sum in 1958.

By the end of March, Everett was at work in California and the Hamilton's were moved into their new home. Billie was feeling better in the mornings and her baby bump was growing by the day. She shifted into maternity clothes.

Lucy and Billie got along better than they ever had before. Billie repeatedly thanked her mother for taking care of her and being tolerant of her indiscretion.

# Chapter 27 JD in Colorado

By April JD had become an accepted member of the Oak Creek Community. He shopped in the stores for his groceries and supplies, he attended church regularly, and he worked out in Spring Training with the high school football team. Coach Carter treated him as an Assistant Coach and he played as quarterback during practice games internally and he coached the varsity team in its final spring training game with Steamboat Springs.

One Sunday, JD asked the pastor if he could make a short talk to the congregation before the sermon. Reverend Johnson readily agreed. This was one of two churches in the community, one Catholic and the other this one, a non-denominational church which serviced Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians, plus any other groups who wanted to attend.

When the group of about 200 were seated, they sang a couple of hymns, and then Reverend Johnson started to introduce JD to say a few words.

"Ladies and gentlemen, most of you have met a new member of our congregation, JD Bartels. JD is an All-American Black Football player and he has been assisting Coach Carter in building up our high school team. I believe many of you have met him. JD is living out in the Oak Creek Cabin owned by Jim Cavanaugh. Here's JD."

"Hello, everyone. I'm JD Bartels and I have met and become friends with many of you. I have been living here in your community since February and I expect to be here for another few months. I want to tell you about my life before I got here and what brings me here."

"As you can see, I have black skin and I am of the Negro race. I was born and raised in Texas, Wichita Falls, Texas. Texas is a southern and segregated state. The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that black citizens can have equal facilities and rights to white citizens, but they must be segregated if the State so declares."

"I grew up in a segregated home, State, church and school. Earlier this year I was a senior in high school going to _Booker T. Washington_ in Wichita Falls. I was quarterback on the Booker T football team and last year I was fortunate enough to be elected to the Black All American high school football team. That made me famous in high school, but I still had to sit in the back of the bus, eat in Colored Restaurants, use the Colored bathrooms, and drink out of Colored water fountains which were provided separately from the White facilities. I had to live in what the whites called Negro Town. I could not even speak to a white girl let alone date her."

"I met one of the white cheer leaders on a trip I took to Northwestern University to check out the school and the team. Back home, we met again, and she got in trouble. The KKK does not tolerate Negro boys going out with white girls and they put out a contract to kill me, much like was done to Emmett Tills in Mississippi in 1955. He was murdered for just whistling at a white woman."

"Friends in the white community helped me to escape and I am now in hiding here, worried that the Klan is still out to kill me."

"I want to thank all of you whom I have met for accepting me into your community. I live in one of your cabins, I eat in your restaurants, and I attend this church. You treat me like I am an equal human being and I cannot tell you how much it has meant to me to be treated like that. I especially thank Jim Cavanaugh, Sheriff Baylock, and Coach Carter. They have been wonderful to me."

"One last thing, I want to tell you about a project I was working on, in fact leading, before I left Wichita Falls. A group of six senior students in high school are making plans to integrate the _Wichita Falls High School_ this coming fall. If I can make it, I plan to attend that event. There is a strong possibility of violence and even deaths. These students are willing to risk their lives to make progress towards having equal civil rights anywhere in the United States. I ask here and now for your prayers and kind thoughts as we prepare for this event. If we are successful, there is a good chance that many schools throughout the nation will begin accepting black students on an equal basis with whites. Thanks for listening. Thank you for making me feel like an equal American."

The congregation rose to their feet in thunderous applause. They cheered him for a couple of minutes before calming down and returning the floor to Reverend Johnson.

"Wow, that's a powerful message, JD. I am certain that I speak for the church and the community in welcoming you here. You have made a great contribution to our football team and I have had nothing but praise for you from our citizens who have met you. We wish you well in your future life and especially in your efforts to integrate _Wichita Falls High School_. We are integrated here, and I am sure that's the Christian thing to do."

Two weeks later, a car pulls up to the parking area of JD's cabin and a young man about JD's age comes to the door.

"JD, I heard you speak at Church a couple of weeks ago. I want you to know that not everyone in town is with you. In fact, we know where you are, and I want you to know, you are not safe."

With that dramatic statement, the young man returned to his car and fish-tailed out of the parking area.

JD was flabbergasted.

# 

# Chapter 28 WFSH Integration Plans

Two weeks before the day for high school registration and the first high school integration in the nation, the six students, their parents, and other supporters met at the _Bible Baptist Church_ in Wichita Falls to make final plans for the integration. The students were nervous as were their parents, but they were determined to go forward with the integration.

KKK and other racists knew that the integration was coming, and they had their own meeting to keep the black students out of the school.

Local school officials knew it was coming too and they communicated with members of the governor's office. He planned to call the national guard if required. Federal officials also took note of the potential integration effort and they made contingency plans.

In early June the Integration Committee in the _Bible Baptist Church_ met to continue planning for the integration event. Without JD's presence, his Dad, Bill Bartels, leads the meeting. Tania is also present with the other six students who would be the principals in the integration itself.

"I have been in touch with JD. He is incognito but in good health and he is planning, if possible, and not too risky, to be here for the actual integration effort. Here's the status.

"We have informed the school administration and he Wichita County Sheriff's office that we intend to integrate WFHS. The sheriff has notified Governor Shiver and his staff about the event and alerted them to the possibility that we will need support of the _Texas National Guard_ to prevent bloodshed."

"President Eisenhower and his staff have not yet been alerted but I personally think we should do that now. We are acting here under the authority of the Supreme Court, _Brown v. The Board of Education 1954_ and this will be the first serious effort by a black community to integrate a white high school in the American South. The decision's fourteen pages did not spell out any sort of method for ending racial segregation in schools, and the Court's second decision in Brown II (1955)) only ordered states to desegregate 'with all deliberate speed'"

"Does everybody agree that we should notify the president? If so, I will begin the process this week."

Everyone voted AYE, and Bill said he would start working on letting the president know immediately.

"Here is a little more background on the Civil Rights movement."

"In the summer of 1905, W. E. B. Du Bois and 28 other Black-American men met secretly at Niagara Falls, Ontario. There, they produced a manifesto calling for an end to racial discrimination, full civil liberties for black Americans and recognition of human brotherhood. The organization they established came to be called the _Niagara Movement_. After the Springfield, Illinois race riot of 1908, a group of Whites joined with the leadership of the _Niagara Movement_ and formed the _National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)_ a year later, in 1909. Under the leadership of Du Bois, the _NAACP_ mounted legal challenges to segregation and lobbied legislatures on behalf of black Americans."

"While the NAACP use the court system to promote equality, at the local level, Black Americans adopted a self-help strategy. They pooled their resources to create independent community and institutional lives for themselves. They established schools, churches, social welfare institutions, banks, Black-American newspapers and small businesses to serve the needs of their communities. The main organizer of national and local self-help organizations was Alabama educator Booker T. Washington."

"We expect about 700 to 1000 protesters, led by the KKK to be present outside the high school prior to our integration efforts. We expect the Principal, the Mayor and possibly the Governor to be at the school in the doorway prepared to block any of our students from entering and registering."

"Locally, we need to match them at least one for one. We can use as many on our side as we can get, so we need to begin recruiting volunteers to show up on September 4 to support our cause. Even with all the help we can recruit, we are going to need support from the Federal government."

"That's where the president will come in. We need the U.S. Army to ensure that we can get into the school and begin the registration process. Our intelligence informs us that about half the students inside the school will tolerate the integration and the other half may be opposed even violently opposed."

"Protesters outside will include the KKK and I expect them to be armed perhaps with guns and ball bats, long sticks, and other types of non-lethal weapons. They will be highly motivated to keep this integration from happening."

"We can expect national television coverage, so media trucks will undoubtedly be present outside the school."

"We want to keep the event peaceful, so everyone is encouraged, in fact, ordered to show passive resistance only. If violence breaks out, we will meet action where it is necessary but for the most part we want the local leaders of the school and the city to know that this is a peaceful event and we wish no violence or injury to anyone on either side of the issue."

"That's all I have for today. Any questions?"

The meeting adjourned with a schedule to meet again next Monday at the same place and time."

# Chapter 29 The Integration Day

Six black students and their parents, and supporters met at the sidewalk in front of the school on registration day at 7 a.m. They were prepared and determined to go to school at WFSH that day.

The Klan and all their supporters were also there just as determined to make sure the black students did not make it inside the school. Violence was not out of the question and KKK members had weapons ready to use when required. The KKK had put the search for JD on the back burner. Keeping the high school segregated was much more important.

The Governor of Texas had requested 1000 members of the _Texas National Guard_ be available and they were waiting on Monroe Street about six blocks away from the high school.

JD Bartels showed up at 7:30 a.m. with a body guard--100 members of the Oak Creek, Colorado community. They had all driven 700 miles to Wichita Falls to show their respect and admiration for JD and to also show the rest of the world that Colorado citizens were not in favor of segregation or the denial of civil rights to American citizens no matter what their color. The _Colorado Committee_ as they called themselves were armed much the same way the KKK, non-lethal weapons like ball bats and golf clubs.

On September 3, Harold Wilson, the mayor of Wichita Falls, telegrammed President Eisenhower and asked him to send federal troops to enforce integration and protect the six students. The President ordered the _101st Airborne Division_ of the _United States Army_ —without its black soldiers, to Wichita Falls. He further federalized the entire 10,000-member _Texas National Guard_ , taking it out of Governor Allen Shiver's control.

{President Eisenhower's speech modified for this fictional account.}

President Eisenhower addressed the nation to explain his actions. That address appears below.

Good Evening, My Fellow Citizens: For a few minutes this evening I want to speak to you about the serious situation that has arisen in Wichita Falls. Texas. To make this talk I have come to the President's office in the White House. I could have spoken from Rhode Island, where I have been staying recently, but I felt that, in speaking from the house of Lincoln, of Jackson and of Wilson, my words would better convey both the sadness I feel in the action I was compelled today to take and the firmness with which I intend to pursue this course until the orders of the Federal Court at Wichita Falls can be executed without unlawful interference.

In that city, under the leadership of demagogic extremists, disorderly mobs have deliberately prevented the carrying out of proper orders from a Federal Court.

This morning the mob gathered in front of the Senior High School of Wichita Falls, obviously for the purpose of preventing the carrying out of the Court's order relating to the admission of Negro children to that school.

Whenever normal agencies prove inadequate to the task and it becomes necessary for the Executive Branch of the Federal Government to use its powers and authority to uphold Federal Courts, the President's responsibility is inescapable. In accordance with that responsibility, I have today issued an Executive Order directing the use of troops under Federal authority to aid in the execution of Federal law at Wichita Falls, Texas. This became necessary when my Proclamation of yesterday was not observed, and the obstruction of justice still continues.

It is important that the reasons for my action be understood by all our citizens. As you know, the Supreme Court of the United States has decided that separate public educational facilities for the races are inherently unequal and therefore compulsory school segregation laws are unconstitutional.

Our personal opinions about the decision have no bearing on the matter of enforcement; the responsibility and authority of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution are very clear. Local Federal Courts were instructed by the Supreme Court to issue such orders and decrees as might be necessary to achieve admission to public schools without regard to race—and with all deliberate speed.

During the past several years, many communities in our Southern States have instituted public school plans for gradual progress in the enrollment and attendance of school children of all races in order to bring themselves into compliance with the law of the land. They thus demonstrated to the world that we are a nation in which laws, not men, are supreme.

I regret to say that this truth—the cornerstone of our liberties—was not observed in this instance.

It was my hope that this localized situation would be brought under control by city and State authorities. If the use of local police powers had been sufficient, our traditional method of leaving the problems in those hands would have been pursued. But when large gatherings of obstructionists made it impossible for the decrees of the Court to be carried out, both the law and the national interest demanded that the President take action.

Here is the sequence of events in the development of the Wichita Falls school case.

In May of 1955, the Wichita Falls School Board approved a moderate plan for the gradual desegregation of the public schools in that city. It provided that a start toward integration would be made at the present term in the high school, and that the plan would be in full operation by 1963. Here I might say that in a number of communities in Texas integration in the schools has already started and without violence of any kind. Now this Wichita Falls plan was challenged in the courts by some who believed that the period of time as proposed in the plan was too long.

The United States Court at Wichita Falls, which has supervisory responsibility under the law for the plan of desegregation in the public schools, dismissed the challenge, thus approving a gradual rather than an abrupt change from the existing system. The court found that the school board had acted in good faith in planning for a public-school system free from racial discrimination.

Since that time, the court has on three separate occasions issued orders directing that the plan be carried out. All persons were instructed to refrain from interfering with the efforts of the school board to comply with the law.

Proper and sensible observance of the law then demanded the respectful obedience which the nation has a right to expect from all its people. This, unfortunately, has not been the case at Wichita Falls. Certain misguided persons, many of them imported into Wichita Falls by agitators, have insisted upon defying the law and have sought to bring it into disrepute. The orders of the court have thus been frustrated.

The very basis of our individual rights and freedoms rests upon the certainty that the President and the Executive Branch of Government will support and insure the carrying out of the decisions of the Federal Courts, even, when necessary with all the means at the President's command.

Unless the President did so, anarchy would result.

There would be no security for any except that which each one of us could provide for himself.

The interest of the nation in the proper fulfillment of the law's requirements cannot yield to opposition and demonstrations by some few persons.

Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts.

Now, let me make it very clear that Federal troops are not being used to relieve local and state authorities of their primary duty to preserve the peace and order of the community. Nor are the troops there for the purpose of taking over the responsibility of the School Board and the other responsible local officials in running Wichita Falls High School. The running of our school system and the maintenance of peace and order in each of our States are strictly local affairs and the Federal Government does not interfere except in a very few special cases and when requested by one of the several States. In the present case the troops are there, pursuant to law, solely for the purpose of preventing interference with the orders of the Court.

The proper use of the powers of the Executive Branch to enforce the orders of a Federal Court is limited to extraordinary and compelling circumstances. Manifestly, such an extreme situation has been created in Wichita Falls. This challenge must be met and with such measures as will preserve to the people as a whole their lawfully-protected rights in a climate permitting their free and fair exercise. The overwhelming majority of our people in every section of the country are united in their respect for observance of the law—even in those cases where they may disagree with that law.

They deplore the call of extremists to violence.

The decision of the Supreme Court concerning school integration, of course, affects the South more seriously than it does other sections of the country. In that region I have many warm friends, some of them in the city of Wichita Falls. I have deemed it a great personal privilege to spend in our Southland tours of duty while in the military service and enjoyable recreational periods since that time.

So from intimate personal knowledge, I know that the overwhelming majority of the people in the South—including those of Texas and of Wichita Falls—are of good will, united in their efforts to preserve and respect the law even when they disagree with it. They do not sympathize with mob rule. They, like the rest of our nation, have proved in two great wars their readiness to sacrifice for America.

A foundation of our American way of life is our national respect for law.

In the South, as elsewhere, citizens are keenly aware of the tremendous disservice that has been done to the people of Texas in the eyes of the nation, and that has been done to the nation in the eyes of the world.

At a time when we face grave situations abroad because of the hatred that Communism bears toward a system of government based on human rights, it would be difficult to exaggerate the harm that is being done to the prestige and influence, and indeed to the safety, of our nation and the world.

Our enemies are gloating over this incident and using it everywhere to misrepresent our whole nation. We are portrayed as a violator of those standards of conduct which the peoples of the world united to proclaim in the Charter of the United Nations. There they affirmed "faith in fundamental human rights" and "in the dignity and worth of the human person" and they did so "without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion."

And so, with deep confidence, I call upon the citizens of the State of Texas to assist in bringing to an immediate end all interference with the law and its processes. If resistance to the Federal Court orders ceases at once, the further presence of Federal troops will be unnecessary, and the City of Wichita Falls will return to its normal habits of peace and order and a blot upon the fair name and high honor of our nation in the world will be removed.

Thus, will be restored the image of America and of all its parts as one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Good night and thank you very much.

Elements of the division's _1st Airborne Battle Group, 327th Infantry_ , were transported to Wichita Falls to escort the students into the formerly segregated school. The division was under the command of Captain John Walker, who was committed to protecting the black students. The Army group of 1000 soldiers was deployed to the school front entrance on the morning of integration event.

At 8 a.m., Captain Walker, addressed his troops,

" **Atten—shun. Fix Bayonets. Form Protective Escort of Designated Students**."

The soldiers surrounded the high school students.

" **For--ward March** ," commanded Captain Walker.

Escorting the students up the steps to the front door of the school, the Infantry Platoon marched in step to the entrance.

" **Halt** ," Captain Walker commanded.

Standing in the doorway of the school was Governor Allen Shiver, the Principal, Gary Freeman and a small group of their assistants.

Captain Walker addressed the Governor,

"I am Captain John Walker, _101st Airborne Division_. I am here at the orders of President Dwight D. Eisenhower under the authority of the United States Supreme Court _Brown v. the Board of Education --1954_. I have orders to escort these six black students into the school where they are to be registered and assigned to classes for future graduation from this high school."

Governor Shiver responded, "Your orders cannot be obeyed under the authority of the United States Constitution which gives states the rights to provide public education for their citizens. Please remove yourself and your troops from this property."

"Governor, I have already cited my authority. You have sixty seconds after I start the count to clear this entrance or I will place you and your associates under arrest and remove you physically from this entrance."

" I am starting my count as of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

Governor Shiver consulted with the principal and other members of the group blocking the entrance.

He stepped aside allowing Captain Walker and his troops to escort the students inside WFSH.

Inside, members of the 101st lined the walls as the six students walked slowly to the administrative offices on the first floor of the high school. They were greeted politely by members of the staff and registered as students in their senior year.

Outside members of the KKK moved to confront JD Bartels. His body guards closed ranks around him providing a protective shield. The KKK backed down.

# Chapter 30 Northwestern

JD traveled to the _Wichita Falls Municipal Airport_ on September 15. Six black students were enrolled in _Wichita Falls High School_ for the first time in history. They were protected by the _National Guard_ and a contingency of the _101_ st _Infantry_. Tensions inside the school were usually high but there was no violence. JD was still concerned that the KKK were out to murder him but his body guards from Colorado and his local friends in Wichita provided protection for him while he was in Texas. He caught a _Braniff Airlines_ flight to Dallas, where he transferred after a one-hour layover, to a flight from Dallas to Chicago.

The Quarterback coach at Northwestern met him at the airport and drove him to the athletic dormitory where he would be staying if he was on the team.

"You'll be trying out for first string of the Northwestern varsity," Coach Harvey told him, "but its very competitive and I cannot guarantee you, you will make the first string maybe not even the varsity team. It will be up to you to win that position based on your own talent and performance."

"That's what I expected, Coach. I intend to give it my best. I've had an exciting summer, so I am highly motivated to prove to you and the other players and coaches that I am up to the challenge."

"That's the kind of attitude I am looking for," Coach Harvey replied.

Phil Ryan, Senior Quarterback for the Northwestern football team, expected to be the starting quarterback as he had been for the previous two years, but he looked at JD during their first practice together with a degree of apprehension. JD could throw more accurately, further, and quicker than Phil Ryan or any other player on the team. He learned the plays and the plan faster than anyone else on the team and by October 1, he was playing first team in practice with some hope that he would start the next game against Purdue.

Ryan got the starting call for the Purdue game and midway through the second quarter he faded back for a long throw to his wide receiver. He had to scramble to find someone open. Sacked, Phil was down. The trainers were out on the field immediately and they transported the ailing quarterback to the locker room on a stretcher. JD got the call to step in as quarterback.

First play, the coach called a running back to plough through the right guard position after taking a handoff from the quarterback. Score 0-0. Northwestern gained three yards. Now it was second down and seven yards for a first down from their own 40-yard line. "Let's give JD a shot at a long one." Coach Harvey said.

Wide receivers went long crossing midfield. JD retreated from blitzing line-backers and through a 50-yard pass to the Wide Receiver on the left side. He hit him right in the shoulder pad, caught. Ten-yard run to the end zone. Northwestern 6 Purdue 0.

Word from the locker room was that Ryan had broken his Achilles tendon; he was out for the season. JD did not get that word until after the game was over, but he continued to play well, passing and running too. Northwestern won the game 32-24. It looked like JD had a job for the rest of the year.

After the game, team members thanked and congratulated JD. Even with the win and the potential to be playing first team for the rest of the year, he was depressed. He thought about Billie coming up on her eighth month of pregnancy. He thought about the six kids in Wichita Falls integrating the high school, risking their lives for a principle they believed in. JD walked slowly back to his dorm. Here he was ready to move forward and as far as he knew, he was the only Negro quarterback on a major college team in the United States. Even so, JD was without close friends on campus. He missed his family and he thought a lot about the mother of his forthcoming child.

Monday afternoon before practice, Coach Harvey called JD into his office for a one-on-one discussion.

"You did great, better, even than I expected," the coach expressed himself to JD. Ryan is out for the rest of the year with a broken Achilles tendon. You will be my starter for the rest of the year. I am counting on you."

"Thank you, Coach. I am honored to be your quarterback and I will do the best that I can, believe me."

"I do believe you and I want to see you as the starting quarterback in the Rose Bowl in 1958."

"That's quite a challenge," JD replied.

"Ok, enough talk. Let's get going and don't forget to keep up your grades."

"I never have had any trouble with my studies but thanks for reminding me."

# Chapter 31 Billie Checks in with Ob/GYN

Meanwhile in California, the Hamilton family has settled into their new house on Romana Street in Palo Alto. Everett likes his new job with WSGR and is enthusiastic about the future for Silicon Valley and the Information Technology industry. Billie is in her eighth month of pregnancy and her baby bump is growing by the day. Lucy supports Billie with trips to the doctor, cooking and cleaning and getting to know some new friends in their neighborhood.

Billie walks daily and sometimes Lucy goes with her, sometimes not. Everyone is healthy and they like California and the area even better than they anticipated when they left Wichita Falls four months ago.

The new house has a large kitchen with a breakfast nook that looks out over the back yard. They have appliances like a gas grill and oven, large refrigerator, and a dish washer, which they had never had before. Lucy and Billie spend a lot of time in the kitchen, either cooking or just sitting in the breakfast nook having a cup of coffee or a coca cola. Neighbors frequently dropped in for a chat and a cup of coffee.

On October 1, 1957, Billie has an appointment with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Dr. C. Lee who will examine Billie, and with good chemistry, deliver the new baby around November 1. Lucy and Billie drive together to the doctor's office and Billie fills out the new-patient questionnaire while Lucy reads the latest issue of _Better Homes and Gardens_. About ten other new mothers are waiting to see their doctor for a checkup on baby's and mother's health.

"I like the feeling I am getting here," Billie says to her mother.

"I do too. It's professional but warm and friendly. You picked a good location to have your baby," Lucy said.

"I have some questions here about the father," Billie says. "Shall I leave the answers blank or just make something up?"

"Leave them blank. You will, of course, check the box that asks if the father is Negro or not."

"Of course, I do know the answer to that one."

Dr. Lee examined Billie with Lucy looking on attentively. "You are a healthy young woman and the baby seems to be progressing well. Your delivery date is around November 1. You can use the hospital facilities here for the delivery. That's what most of my patients do."

"I notice that you are unmarried, and the baby has a Negro father. Do you want to tell me about that?" Dr. Lee asked.

"My family has just moved here from Wichita Falls, Texas. I had an encounter with a senior in the _Booker T. Washington High School_ which resulted in this pregnancy. He is Black All-American Quarterback, good looking and very smart. He plans to go to Northwestern if he can survive the efforts of the Ku Klux Klan to lynch him. My family gave up their business and social lives to bring me here to avoid the KKK and the derisive comments of members of our church and school."

"That's exciting," Dr. Lee responded, "I will be here to help you and I assure you that I have no bias towards mixed-race babies. I will make every effort to keep you and the baby healthy and safe."

"Thank you, Dr. Lee. We have had a pretty traumatic time since we made the decision to leave Texas and make a new home here in California. My dad is fortunate enough to get a new position as a lawyer with _Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich, and Rosati_."

"Yes, I know that firm, very prestigious. Sounds like your family is behind you on this delivery and I am most happy to see that."

On the way home, Billie said, "Mom, I just want you to know how much I love you for dropping your entire lives and starting over just to support my indiscretions."

"Honey, you are the most important person in my life, and there is nothing I would not do to help you in your time of need and to be honest, I really like it out here in California. It's beautiful and a fun place to be; your father has a great new job which looks like it could turn into a real money-maker if the national economy develops the way we expect it to. Things are looking good, but my only fear is that something bad will happen to JD. I would not want that nor would your father."

"I have not heard a word from him directly, but I have gotten some feedback from Zach and JD has contacted Dad a few times, but he does not share that with me. I do know that JD was in Wichita Falls for the high school integration and several, many I hear, friends he has made in Colorado showed up as body guards for him. He's a real leader in his community and I support him in the cause. It's ridiculous to have separate schools, churches, and restaurants for colored people."

"Í admire your support for integration even though in Texas we get a strong message from the church to keep the races separated."

Billie and Lucy arrived back at their new Palo Alto home.

Billie prepares for the baby to sleep in her bedroom. She buys and installs a new crib and places a mobile over the bed. Lucy pays for all the expenses and new purchases. Billy promises to go to school or to work after the baby is born.

# Chapter 32 The Birthing

About six weeks before the expected delivery date, Billie and Lucy are having coffee in the kitchen.

"Mom, there are classes at the hospital about giving birth and caring for the baby after it is born. I would like to attend and would like you to join me if you can. In fact, as you are the _de facto_ dad of this situation, we might join the class for dads so that we get that kind of education as well."

"Yes, I want to go and in fact had been thinking about asking you if you wanted to attend. Will you be embarrassed by not having a real daddy there with you?"

"That does not bother me at all and I feel so fortunate to have you and my daddy supporting me. I will get on the phone this morning and sign up for two classes. I think they last about four weeks, so time is of the essence."

A few hours later, Billie said, "Mom, they have two classes over-lapping. One is for the _Basics_ of giving birth and caring for the new infant and the other is for dads to learn how to take care of the baby. You are the dad in this case."

The first class is next Monday at 4 p.m. at the Palo Alto Medical Center. The classes last a couple of hours each for three days a week in four weeks. We can't really wait much longer than that if we want to finish the classes before the due date."

"I am good with that. Do we have any reading or homework to do before the first class?"

"Nothing to do before the first class."

On Monday Lucy and Billie show up in the appointed classroom ten minutes before the projected start time. The class is taught by a _Certified Birthing Nurse_ and there are about nine other couples in the class.

"Welcome and Congratulations," Nurse Young starts out.

"This is a class on _Birthing and Care of Your New Baby_. Most of the mothers in the class are here with their first baby. Husbands and _de facto_ husbands are here too and welcome."

"We will have classes three days a week for the next four weeks at this time and each class will last about two hours."

"This class provides lessons for labor, delivery, and postpartum issues. We will also discuss managing the pain of childbirth. Finally, we will cover the basics of caring for your baby once you are back home and on your own. Our final class will be on breast-feeding so those of you who are planning to nurse your child will learn about that then. If you are going to start out bottle-feeding, you can choose whether or not you need to attend this class."

The first two hours went by quickly for Lucy and Billie. They liked being in the class together and Lucy felt that this was the closes relationship with her daughter that she had ever had. Billie did not say it, but she felt the same way.

The dad's class covered much of the same material as the birthing class but oriented around the father and his role in the birthing and subsequent care of the baby. Lucy re-learned how to change a diaper and feed an infant.

There are many natural ways, such as relaxation, to find greater comfort in childbirth and help labor progress. Every woman is unique and has her own ways of feeling safe, comfortable and relaxed. Whether she uses a hot shower or bath, hip squeezes and pressure points, or birth ball exercises, dads can help mom identify the pain-relief tools that are best suited for her individual needs.

Birth can be exhausting for both mom and baby, and dad can help to support both after birth. He can help mom by managing visitor times, rocking baby to sleep after feeding, and making sure mom is fed and gets enough rest.

On October 28, Billie begins to get cramps. "Mom, I think it's time."

They get in the car and drive to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. The nurses examine her, and Dr. Lee comes into check her out.

"I expect you to deliver this baby right on schedule within the next 24 hours" Dr. Lee says. "You're a young mother but old enough. I am admitting you for the delivery now. The nurse will take care of you and I will be on call if you go fully into labor."

Billie asked Dr Lee about having an epidural to block the pain.

Epidural anesthesia is a regional anesthesia that blocks pain in a region of the body. The goal of an epidural is to provide pain relief rather than anesthesia, which leads to total lack of feeling. Epidurals block the nerve impulses from the lower spinal segments. This results increased sensation in the lower half of the body.

Lucy and Everett were instructed to wait outside during the birthing.

Billie's labor lasted about 9 hours. Lucy and Everett waited anxiously outside but they were not allowed into the delivery room.

Peony Hamilton was delivered onto this planet at 7:30 a.m. on December 29, 1957. Once cleaned up and breathing smoothly, she was a beautiful baby. The nurse carried her into Billie's room and placed the baby girl on her mother's chest. Billie was awake and smiling. Everett and Lucy were with her too, smiling. The little girl weighed 7 lbs. and 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. She was light dark skin. Billie hugged her gently while her parents looked on.

A bouquet of flowers arrived at her room later that afternoon. The card said, "hope you and baby are doing ok. JD."

Billie cried for one of the few times since this whole ordeal had begun. "I wish JD could see this beautiful baby," she thought to herself.

Lucy and Everett drove to the hospital on New Year's Day to pick up Billie and Peony. Billie sat in a wheel chair holding the child as they traversed their way through the hospital corridors to the front entrance. Everett was waiting for "the girls" with his engine running and a warm inviting car and family ready for their first trip to their home.

"Welcome to our world, Peony," Everett said as he kissed his three girls on entering the house in Palo Alto. "And Happy New Near too."

# Chapter 33 Zach forms _The Singing Longhorns_ Band at the University of Texas—1958

In September 1957, _The Wichitas_ played their last morning gig on KWFT radio in Wichita Falls. All the players were heading for different colleges. Zach Zimmerman has been accepted to the _University of Texas_ in Austin, Texas. Zach is determined to continue with his music and has plans in the back of his mind to set up a new folk music and country western band, traditional, but targeted at the college sets in America.

Shortly after Thanksgiving holiday in his freshman year, Zach invited two other like-minded musicians to join him in forming "The _Singing Longhorns_ ". Zach would continue to play the bass fiddle, Lafayette Murray, banjo, and Rick Goodman, guitar. This group would play and sing, and Russell Rogers accompanied them on the drums. They were all Freshmen at UT from different cities throughout Texas.

Never mind the popularity of their singing, _The Singing Longhorns_ had one more distinguishing feature. Rick Goodman, from Houston, Texas, was black. But he could really play the guitar and sing, and Zach was more than happy to be the first to present an integrated band in the Austin, Texas area.

The group got their first gig as an Austin Area nightclub act in downtown Austin not far from the _University of Texas_ campus. They quickly rose in popularity and began selling 33⅓ rpm long-playing record albums (LPs) in the Austin area. Soon they were playing across Texas in night clubs and bars near local colleges.

_The_ _Singing Longhorns_ began to gain national prominence in the pop-folk boom in 1961. _The Singing Longhorns_ released five albums that made Billboard's Top 100. Four of the group's LPs charted among the 10 top-selling albums for five weeks in November and December 1961. The group was so popular they had to cut back on their studies, but they were making so much money, they agreed amongst themselves that a college degree was not as important as it once was.

_The University of Texas_ was still segregated in 1959 but in 1956 a few black students began to organize and make efforts to integrate the University.

Rick Goodman could live in the dorms but was not allowed to eat in any cafeterias. He could attend classes but could not take part in nearly any student organizations. He could cheer for his school's football team but could not expect to see any athletes who looked like him. _The Singing Longhorns_ was a private organization and the school made no attempt to control the racial makeup of its membership. Zach started in his freshman year to lead the efforts to integrate all of _the University of Texas_.

Rick said he vividly remembers attending the first football game of the 1958 season, in which the _Longhorns_ played the University of Southern California. USC had black players on its team, but UT did not.

"Throughout the game, we're sitting here... surrounded with nothing but [the chant] 'Kill that nigger,' talking about the black player on USC's team, running up and down the field, trouncing UT's team," Holland said. "'Gee, who are you going to pull for?' 'I'm going to pull for USC.'... That's what set the tone for the rest of the time here."

"I truly hated [the way I was treated], but it wasn't in me to give up," Rick said of her time at the University. "I stayed because we had a right to be there. And by the way I loved being a member of _The Singing Longhorns_ and being able to work and sing with Zach Zimmerman, a prince of a human being."

Because of their segregated living situations, black students grew especially close and often passed notes about which professors to take. Rick said certain professors, such as Seward Robb, went out of their way to help and welcome black students. Other professors refused to call on black students in courses where class participation was a mandatory part of the grade, resulting in unfair markdowns. "That's why I sort of pointed [toward recognizing] what took place," Rick said. "You could be bitter, yes, but you also have to know that this is building awareness, and we all have to work together to improve it and keep making progress."

# Chapter 34 McKay Is determined to kill JD

Donald McKay wore two hats and two faces—he was assistant pastor and choir director at the _10_ th _Street Baptist Church_ but he was also the leader of the Ku Klux Klan in Wichita Falls. He was a devout Christian, but he believed in his heart that the black and white races should be separated. He was happy to endorse "separate but equal", but if a black person got out of his proper position in life, he was happy to put a rope around his neck and hang him from the Old Oak Tree down by the Little Wichita Creek.

In McKay's mind there was no conflict between segregation and Christianity. He believed that the Bible clearly authorized the separation of the races and thus required that good Christians support the concept of the _Jim Crowe_ laws and in fact, McKay thought they were right during the time of slavery, but the Civil War had at least temporarily settled that. McKay hoped that someday, America would return to the good old days where slavery was legal and authorized at least throughout the South.

After McKay and his execution team lost JD at Possum Kingdom, they returned to their normal activities in Wichita Falls. At the Baptist Church, McKay led the congregation in singing gospel hymns. His baritone voice was powerful and inspirational; his singing resonated throughout the church auditorium. He was strong, handsome, and intelligent. Outside the church McKay was a good leader of the KKK chapter fully believing that it was important and proper for whites to keep blacks in their place. He had no conscience about hanging a black person who violated his perception of the rules. He had no trouble recruiting members who were willing to kill to participate in the Klan.

In July, McKay called a meeting of the Klan at his house on Hayes Street. About 20 members of the chapter attended and opened beers in the sunroom at the back of the house.

"Thanks for coming, gentlemen, I want to go over some unfinished business and some plans to finish that business. As you know we have an open execution order against JD Bartels for getting that white girl, Billie Hamilton, pregnant. We missed capturing JD by a small amount no thanks to our brilliant sheriff and his friend the sheriff of Palo Pinto County. JD was aided in his escape by Zach Zimmerman whose father owns the _Wichita Furniture Store_. Zach's father had to pay the price when we burned down his store with 10 sticks of dynamite.

For what we know, JD is in hiding in a cabin in Colorado about 100 miles west of Boulder. He has been open about where he is staying and is playing football with the local high school team where he is acting assistant coach. We sent a member of our team to see JD last month just to let him know that his still on our radar.

Bill and Nancy Bartels still live in Nigger town and we drive by their house occasionally just to let them too know that we are watching them. Tania Wilson, JD's girlfriend, is a senior in high school at Booker T. Washington High.

We have been instructed by the national KKK organization not to pursue JD out of Texas; so, we are leaving him alone for now subject to carrying out the death sentence if he returns to Wichita Falls which is possible because I hear they are still planning to attempt to integrate WFHS in September. We will be there to stop them if possible.

That's going to be our focus for the rest of the summer and early fall. We want to keep those niggers out of our high school no matter what the cost. With the new Supreme Court decision that is going to be a tough row to hoe, but we must do the best job that we can.

We don't want to let JD off the hook completely, so I am proposing today that we have a little fun with his girlfriend, Tania Wilson. We could pick her up and take her out in the boondocks somewhere and take turns showing her what it's like to have a real man fucking her. Maybe about five guys. Anybody interested.

All hands went up and McKay set up a lottery with five slips of paper with _Yes_ written on them and 15 slips with blank. The members who drew the _Yes_ would be allowed to participate in the forthcoming event. McKay gave himself a Yes slip before the drawing started to ensure that he would be leading the team.

Tania had a piano lesson at the _Bible Baptist Church_ every Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. McKay surveilled her for a few days and determined that they could kidnap her as she was leaving that lesson the following Wednesday. The team of five gathered in a van and parked outside the Church. When Tania came out, they grabbed her and threw her into the side door of the van.

They drove to an abandoned farm house about five miles West of Wichita Falls. They took Tania into the dilapidated house, spread a blanket on the floor and stripped Tania of her clothes. McKay, as the leader got to go first. The others got sloppy seconds and they drew straws to determine the order.

Tania struggled to prevent them from taking her clothes off, but she was no match for five strong men. When Tania was naked, on her back and being held down at the shoulders and feet, McKay dropped his pants and gave his penis a couple of jerks to encourage a hard on. When he was ready, he got on top of Tania who continued to struggle. "I'm a virgin" she said, "please don't do this."

That just made McKay and his cohorts more enthusiastic. McKay ejaculated and got off Tania and Clarence Daniels who got second pick jumped on. They followed in order, ignoring Tania's pleads, and cries for relief and help.

When they were all finished, Tania was lying on the blanket. Her vagina was wet with semen from the five men. They all pulled up their pants and McKay threw her clothes to Tania, "Get dressed, you little bitch. You're not a virgin any longer."

They drove by Tania's house and threw her out of the van while it was still moving. Crying, she got up from the road and went into her house. Her mother asked what had happened and Tania told her.

They called the sheriff and he came to their house and took a statement from Tania, but he did not offer to take her to the hospital or a doctor. He asked the names of the men who had gang-raped her but she did not know them except for Don McKay whom she had recognized from pictures in the _Wichita Daily Times_.

In 1965, the Civil War was supposed to have been over for 100 years, but the racial hatred and bigotry of some of the southern white folks was still rampant. The police and the Ku Klux Klan were often the same. Judges and other prominent people supported the KKK and White Supremacists.

The Sheriff knew that no white jury in Wichita County would convict a white man for raping a black girl, so he did not even bother to make an arrest.

Tania was devastated, depressed and injured but she knew that there was little if anything she could do. She was not even in touch with JD when he had fled to Colorado. Her parents consoled her as did the community who just made more determined resolutions to integrate the high school and continue progress with Civil Rights laws in America.

# Chapter 35 JD and Billie link up again-1960—Civil Rights

Shortly after Peony's birth, Billie made the decision to start back to school and she prepared her applications for _Stanford_ and a couple of smaller schools in he Bay Area. She was accepted to Stanford despite her lack of high school degree. Her participation in leading the cheer leading squad plus very good grades which included some of the main courses that Stanford was looking for, propelled her to becoming a freshman at Stanford in September 1958.

Lucy agreed to take care of the baby while Billie was at school and Everett and Lucy agreed to pay for the schooling and allow Billie to continue to live with them with no rent. Billie felt guilty and was determined to repay her parents as soon as she graduated and got employment.

In January 1958 with her new baby joining the family for dinner, the conversation turned to Billie's education and future.

"Dad, I've been thinking a few things about continuing my education. We have one of the best schools in the country just down the road from us. I would like to go to Stanford if I can get in and you may be surprised to hear this, but I want to become a lawyer just like you. That means going through undergraduate and law schools which is probably seven years.

"As you know, I have no money, but I can work some and borrow some, but I will need your financial help in addition to the moral support you and mom have already given me."

"Billie, I was planning to pay for your undergraduate degree anyway and if you want to get a law degree, believe me, we can work it out financially. What you need to be aware of is that _Stanford_ has rigid acceptance requirements and I mean for example, you don't even have a high school diploma."

"I know about the diploma, but I have talked to a lady in Admissions, and she said with my grades, they would probably waive the diploma requirement especially since I have completed all of the mandatory classes required for admission.

"As for finances, if you can and would be willing to let me continue to live here, take care of my baby while I am at school and pay for my law degree, I would agree to pay you back when I graduate and go into practice."

"Are you thinking about specializing in your law studies?"

"I'm still in the early stages but I am interested in Civil Rights, especially based on all the activities we have been through in Wichita Falls. Plus, the country, especially the South, is still operating under the _Jim Crowe_ laws. I am opposed to that, so I could go into that field, if there is such a field, with some experience and a passion for getting the laws of the land set up to be fair to all citizens, no matter what their color."

"That's one reason, I love you so much. You are passionate about being fair to all people and I totally agree that that is the right thing to do."

"I also believe that it is the right thing to do and I would consider it my honor to help take care of this precious baby while you go to school.;" Lucy said.

"I am making good money now, so it will not be a hardship for me. You can repay me all or part of the money at anytime in the future. I will be leaving all my estate to you anyway so in the long run, it's your money."

The next day, Billie completed her application and mailed it to the Admissions Office at Stanford University. If accepted she intended to take Pre-Law Undergraduate and to get into Law School as soon as possible for a JD/PhD with a specialty in _Constitutional_ and _Civil Rights_ Law.

In his Sophomore year at Northwestern, JD was elected to All-American team and he continued to be elected through his Junior and Senior Years. Northwestern played in the Rose Bowl in January 1961 with JD leading his team to victory over the _University of Alabama_.

Towards the end of his senior year, JD is drafted by the _San Francisco 49ers_. He reports for team tryouts in July 1962.

In mid-August, Billie is having breakfast with her mom.

"I'm going to _Candle Stick Park_ this afternoon with Peony and I hope to be able to see JD there. Do you have any problem with that?"

"No, I think the baby's father deserves to meet her for the first time. The only question is, what's the next step? Are you suggesting that JD become a part of her life? Would you allow him to take her for an afternoon alone? What if he wanted to go back to Wichita Falls with her for a visit with his parents? Do you anticipate any conflicts about possession between you and him?"

"I haven't really thought all those questions with their answers through. Don't you think I can at least let him see this precious baby without having her entire life laid out?"

"I just don't want to see you get hurt but if you want to go to the practice this afternoon, it's ok with me. I don't think your dad will object either. We'll work on the next step when it happens."

"One last question, are you going to tell Peony that JD is her father?"

"I've thought about that and decided that she has a right to know and the sooner the better."

"Ok, but she looks on Everett as her father now. Don't you think it will be confusing to her?"

"Yes, I believe it will. But if not now, when? She's a smart little girl and I think that she can handle it. We will treat all these relationships with love. That's the principle I want her to learn."

"Good luck, my dear."

"Come on, sweetheart, let's you and mommy get dressed. We are going for a very special outing this afternoon."

"Where are we going, mommy?"

"I have someone I want you to meet. He's a football player for the _49ers_ and we are going to see him after practice at _Candle Stick Park_."

"Do you want to wear that pretty little dress that I bought for you last week?"

"Yes, that's my favorite dress. I've never met a football player before."

"Oh my, you look beautiful," Lucy said. "Let me take a picture of you two before you go."

Peony and Billie drove the 45 minutes north from their house to _Candle Stick_ park, arriving there just before 5 p.m. when Billie had been told that practice would be over. The two girls walk to the locker room and Billie approaches a man in civilian clothes.

"I wonder if you could help me? We are looking for JD Bartels. Do you know how I could find him?"

"He's probably in the locker room. If you like, I'll go tell him that you are out here."

JD came out the door dressed in a long sleeve shirt, khaki pants and brown dress shoes. He was astounded when he saw the two girls. He had no idea that Billie would be there, but he had been thinking about seeing her soon. In fact, one of the reasons he settled on the _49ers_ was so that he could be near them.

"Hello, JD. Remember me? I'm Billie and I have someone I would like for you to meet."

"JD, this is your daughter, Peony Bartels."

"Peony, honey, this is your daddy."

JD did not know what to say; he was flabbergasted. His heart was pounding. He stood and looked at this beautiful brown-skinned girl and he began to cry. He could not control himself. During all the emotions of the Wichita Falls KKK escape and the integration of Wichita Falls High School, he had never been this emotional.

"I thought Everett was my daddy," Peony said.

"Actually, Everett is your grand father and JD is your daddy."

"I don't want another daddy," Peony replied, and she too started to cry. Soon all three of them were standing in front of the locker room door, bawling their eyes out. Other players emerged from the locker room and looked at the newly met couple in surprise, but no one said anything.

JD kneeled to get himself on Peony's level. He took her hand and looked her in the eye.

"You are a beautiful little girl. It's the greatest thrill of my life to meet you," he said.

"I'm sorry to surprise you like this but it took a while to get my courage up to come see you and I didn't want either of us to have the chance to back out of the meeting." Billie said.

"We don't live far from here—in Palo Alto. I would like for you to come for a visit and to meet my parents. That is, if you have time."

"Nothing could be more important. Thank you for coming and inviting me to visit. That's awesome."

"Could I check with my mom and then give you a call?"

"Of course, I'm tied up on Sundays for the game but anytime during the early part of the week would work for me."

"Give me your number and I will call you back within a few days, OK?

"That sounds great. I am so excited."

"It's good to see you, JD" Billie replied.

"Mommy, I don't understand." Peony said on the way home.

# Chapter 36 Everett goes into a VC Company—1962

A busy year, 1962, JD goes to _49er's_ after graduating from Northwestern as an All-American quarterback. Billie starts Law School at _Stanford_ and Everett leaves _Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati_ to join a private equity firm in Menlo Park, California, later to become known as the birthplace of Venture Capital. Peony meets her dad, JD, at Candle Stick Park where he is practicing with the San Francisco 49ers. Lucy checks in with her doctor to diagnose a small lump in her breast. Zach forms The Singing Longhorns at the University of Texas.

In the summer of 1961, Lucy and Everett were having breakfast one Saturday morning in the sun room of their house in Palo Alto.

"I got a notice yesterday that _Rice_ is having their annual homecoming the weekend of November 14 in Houston for the _University of Texas_ game. That will be my 20th reunion and I would like to go. Are you interested in going with me?"

"Sure, I'm interested. It would be a good time for a break from my duties around here. We will have to set it up with Billie to take care of the baby while we are gone."

"I'm sure we can arrange that, we will only be gone for a few days like from Wednesday of that week through Monday the following.

Saturday, November 17, Lucy and Everett dress in the _Hilton_ on South Main Street in Houston for the homecoming dinner and dance.

"Amazing how fast the last 20 years have gone."

"I was just thinking that myself."

Everett was seated for dinner next to Phil Smith his Sophomore year roommate and on the other side of Lucy was George Hawkins and his wife.

"What have you been up to, Everett?"

"We moved to Palo Alto, California about four years ago," Everett replied. "I'm with a large law firm in what we are calling Silicon Valley. Business is exciting out there right now. I specialize as a lawyer in Intellectual Property or the rights to software that is being developed out there for all the new computers. A lot of people are thinking that Silicon Valley will be the next big business boom worldwide." Everett opined.

"What about you, Les?"

"I'm here in Houston working as an independent oil drilling company. It's a risky and volatile business but if I hit the well, we are drilling in the Gulf, I will be rich."

"George, what's up with you?"

"You guys have me beat. I'm working in the office furniture business here in Houston."

Everett directed the conversation back to the computer business and Silicon Valley.

"You know what guys, I've been thinking about changing professions, going to investments in the computer industry out in California. There's a fair chance that San Jose, Mountain View, Palo Alto will become the center of information technology development worldwide. Being a private equity capitalist could be just as profitable than drilling for oil in the gulf. What do you think?

"Interesting idea," Les replied and George agreed.

Back home the following week, Everett had lunch with Mario Rosati, one of the senior partners at WSGR.

"I went to my Rice homecoming last week back in Houston and I got to talking to a couple of my roommates while I was going to school there. These guys are brilliant and already successful entrepreneurs. We talked about starting our own private equity firm. What do you think about that?"

"It's funny you should bring it up. That was the topic of our last executive board meeting. I think you would make a terrific contribution to that kind of business and if we are right about the IT business in Silicon Valley, you could make a lot of money. We would miss you here but if you would use us as your legal firm, we could all work together. I think it's a great idea."

The next day Everett set up a call with his two Texas friends.

"I am serious about this. We would make a great team and you guys would love living in California. We only have two problems setting up a new investment company. We need entrepreneurs who need our funding and we need the funds."

"That's like saying the only challenge to golf is the direction you hit the ball and the distance that it goes."

"Right, that's an over simplification but I am still intrigued with what you are saying," Randolph replied.

"Before I could consider moving to California, I would need something solid on the table, like a new company with a brilliant future. We can raise the capital from oil men here in Houston if it sounds like a good deal. Most of my friends need some diversification."

At the end of the call, Everett suggested, "If it's ok with you guys, I will draft a preliminary business plan and present it to you guys. I've already talked to Mario on of the senior partners at WSGR and he is enthusiastic about the idea."

Putting his recent experience in Intellectual Property knowledge together, Everett began work on a preliminary business plan, describing the goals of the new business, how they were going to achieve the goals, the risks they were going to take a financial proforma of the expected revenue and expenses.

When he was finished, he asked himself, "Can a business like this work? Can I and a couple of newbies in this area put it together and make money?

Taking the plan to Mario, they went over it line by line." This is a good plan, Mario replied. I am impressed with it and with a couple of minor suggestions, if you follow them, I think you could turn this into a productive business. One thing, you probably want to give yourself more time to make the business profitable. You've got to get it started, raise a fund and simultaneously find and entrepreneur or two who has a unique idea that is looking for funding."

Everett called his potential partners. He had to sell them on the idea well enough for them to sell their businesses and move to California. A challenging assignment, full of risk, possible bankruptcy, but with plenty of reward, even filthy riches if everything worked out.

Everett went over the plan with Lucy and Billie. They saw the potential but were more risk averse than Everett. You could lose all the money that we have, Lucy said.

"That's true, but I have law degree in a hot part of the economy and the best part of the world. I could always get another job."

"The worst thing that could happen is hat you have to start over."

Everett spread the word amongst the lawyers at WSGR. We're looking for entrepreneurs. We will be one of the first capitalists, I call it Venture Capitalists, to fund start-up technology companies to get their business growing. George and Les are looking around the oil investors in the Houston area to see if they want to fund us, in other words, the funders of the funders.

Within a month, on the next regular conference call, Everett announced, "I have a couple of companies that are innovators in IT. One is called _Microsystems_ , who is a developer of desktop computers and the software it takes to run them. They have a very bright couple of young men, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak who have developed a desktop computer that looks very promising. The other is _Intel_. They are a high-tech company that is working on the microchips that drive the computer. They believe that every computer in the world would be in their market if they can get enough funding to get started. I think with those two companies we could get at least a piece of the pie for around $5 million. I know that's a lot, but we could work with some other investors to split up the total if that is the best we could do.

"I want to talk to some of my advisors," said Les. "But right now, I am packing my bags and heading your way. I've already got a few investors that I know will kick in a couple of million. We could be off and running and I am willing to take a shot at it."

"Same here," George Hawkins said. "I have a store manager who can run the store while I diversify"

"Ok, then, I am in too. Let's say that right now as of May 17, 1962, we are starting a new company and in fact a new industry. We will call it the _Venture Capital_ Industry and we will be the first or at least one of the first to get into it."

"Let's name our new company, _Hamilton, Hawkins and Smith_ , Venture Capitalists," Phil Smith proposed.

"That's good with me," George replied.

# Chapter 37 Lucy Dies of Breast Cancer—1964

By May 1963, the new business was in full bloom. Entrepreneurs with fantastic ideas about the computer business were everywhere. They had plans, they had products, and they were wild with enthusiasm. We've got a microchip, we've got a work station with a new operating system, we've got applications in word processing, computer aided design, and a new type of spread sheet.

Investors were searching them out too. They came to their new offices on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, "I hear you are representing entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. My firm is looking to get a piece of the action, how can we get in."

Working 12-hour days, six days a week, Everett was exhausted by Sunday every week, but the life of an entrepreneur like himself was tough and he was determined to keep going no matter what the cost.

At breakfast, on Sunday morning in May, the family, Everett, Lucy, Billie and Peony were sitting at the table having scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits and orange juice.

Lucy said, "I don't want to scare anyone, but I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow—my ob/gyn who delivered Peony. I have a lump in my breast. It's small and I don't think it's anything, but I want to check it out."

"Do you need me to drive you to the doctor's office?"

"No, I'm good, but can you stay home tomorrow and take care of Peony?"

"That's not a problem," Billie replied. I can work on my courses from home, and I do have one lecture, but I will check with a friend to get his notes on the lecture, Civil Rights Legislation."

AT the doctor's office the next morning, the nurse had her undress and put on a hospital gown. She took x-rays that smashed her breasts up against the machine and hurt like hell.

Dr Peterson examined her breast and agreed that she had a small lump in her right breast.

"I need to do an autopsy," he said. That scared the hell out of Lucy.

The doctor and nurse performed the procedure to recover a small piece of tissue from Lucy's breast.

"I'll get back to you in about a week. If there is no problem, I will send you a letter to confirm. If you need further diagnosis, I will ask you to come back in for additional tests."

One week later, the nurse called, "Lucy, this is the nurse at Dr. Peterson's office. We need you to come back in."

"Oh my god, have I got cancer?"

"I can't answer that for you right now. Can you be here at 10 a.m. tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"The x-rays and the biopsy confirm. You've got breast cancer," Dr. Peterson told her without hesitation.

Lucy was dumbfounded, scared, nervous, anxious. Who's going to care for Peony was her first thought.

"Oh shit, that's what I was afraid of. What do I do next?"

"You have to start a treatment of radiation and chemo therapy. It's pretty painful and disrupting so you need to prepare immediately for a change in lifestyle."

"Is this a fatal cancer?"

"Possibly, but if you take the treatments and follow my instructions your potential will be better. You are in generally good health except for the lump. We may have to do surgery which means the removal of one or both of your breasts. I know that does not sound like fun, but it's best in the long run if I am honest with you upfront."

"Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, do I have to go to the hospital right away?"

"We will start your treatments in an outpatient capacity but if you don't respond, we will consider hospitalization at that time."

"OK, I'm ready."

That night at dinner, Everett asked, "How did your tests at the doctor's go?"

"I've been waiting for you to ask. They did not go well. I have cancer and must start treatment immediately. It's potentially life-threatening but the doctor says that if I take my treatments and follow his instructions, I have a better chance."

Billie started crying and Peony did too although she did not know why she was crying. Pretty soon everyone at the table was bawling their eyes out including Everett.

"Honey just know this we are all here with you and will do everything we can to help you get well. You are a strong woman with a good faith. I think God will protect you and help you get well."

For the next six months, Lucy took the radiation and chemo. The treatment was worse than the disease. After every dose of chemo, Lucy would be nauseous, vomiting half the day and passed out in bed the rest of the time. Taking care of Peony became a problem but friends from the neighborhood and the church came over to help almost every day, always bringing food with them.

Just before Christmas in 1963, Lucy went to see Dr. Peterson for a checkup.

"You're not responding to the treatment, I am sorry to tell you. I need to admit you to the hospital and we should consider removing at least your right breast, but the better treatment would be to remove both."

At the _Stanford Medical Center_ , the Oncologist examined Lucy's breast, reevaluated her medical charts and with Dr. Peterson, came into Lucy's room for a conference.

"I'm afraid I have bad news, Lucy," Dr. Pierce said. "Instead of getting smaller, your tumor is growing, and the cancer has begun to spread throughout your lymphnodes."

"What's the prognosis from that information," Lucy asked while Billie and Everett looked on.

"We need to remove your right breast immediately, and if it were me, I would have both breasts removed at the same time. We will try to remove any cancer in your lymphnodes but that is not a sure thing. The odds are that your cancer will continue to spread throughout your body and you will pass away within the next one or two months."

"So, I am on my death bed?"

"I'm afraid so," the doctor replied.

When the doctors left the hospital room, Billie and Everett stayed behind. They held Billie by the hand and did their best to comfort her. It was hard to believe that their wife, mother, and grandmother, not to mention their best friend was soon to be dead.

Lucy remains in the hospital for a week and Dr. Peterson goes over more details about breast cancer. The Doctor suggests that Lucy return home and that she be admitted to hospice care at her home.

Dr. Peterson explained to Lucy and Everett, "Research has shown that hospice can increase both the quality of life and how long a life. Families who receive hospice near the very end--just a few days to a week--have been shown to have a harder time adjusting during the bereavement period than do those whose loved one receives hospice care for weeks and months before passing on.

"Hospice care offers assistance with bathing and grooming, emotional and spiritual support, and telephone access to caregiving advice. I recommend two to three months of care. If you would like more information on when to start hospice, I have some pamphlets which will give you more information. My nurse will get that for you."

Monday morning, 10 a.m. Lucy is in her bedroom at home in Palo Alto. Billie is there and the new Hospice nurse, Jan Cooper, comes into the bedroom.

"Hello, Lucy, I am Jan Cooper and I will be your hospice nurse for a while. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," Lucy replies.

"I am here to help you be as comfortable as possible. I know your doctor has explained to you that breast cancer can be very harmful and, in some cases, fatal. We are not saying that you are dying but you are very sick, and we want you to be as comfortable as possible. That's why I am here. I will be here every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. I will talk to your family and friends and do anything for you that the doctor will allow. Is that all ok with you?"

"Yea, I am familiar with hospice services. I expect that my life is essentially over and that we are just waiting for the end," Lucy responded.

"Like I said, we are not giving up on you at this point, so the doctor has not indicated that you are in your final days, but we don't want to mislead you into thinking that things are better than they really are," Jan Cooper said.

"I appreciate your help," Lucy responded, "I want you to know I am aware of my pending demise and I am prepared for it. I want to be as comfortable as possible, but I still have a few family and business activities that I need to perform, and I want to get those done as soon as possible."

"We're on the same page," replied Jan.

For the next few weeks, Jan and Lucy become good friends. Lucy works at the desk in his bedroom for a couple of hours per day. She sleeps the rest of the time."

Billy and Peony are in and out of his bedroom frequently and guests come by regularly. In fact, it gets to the point that Jan must set up visiting hours to give Lucy some time to sleep and rest. Her condition continues to deteriorate.

On the last day of July, Lucy is barely conscious. Dr. Peterson comes by the house to check her. He warns Billie that Lucy is reaching the end of her life, and while Billie has been preparing for this moment, it hits her harder than she had ever imagined it would.

At 4 p.m., Billie and Jan Cooper are in the bedroom with Lucy. She appears to be unconscious. Billie says, "Mom I love you and I want you to know you are the best mother I could have had and my best friend. Thank you for taking care of my baby and understanding my errors."

Lucy smiled, took a deep breath and passed away. Billie and Jan cried.

Billie called Everett at his office and gave him the word. He came home right away and comforted Billie and Peony.

# Chapter 38 JD and Billie Marry

Not long after their meeting at _Candle Stick_ , JD called Billie.

"I would like to accept your invitation to come to your house and meet your parents if you are still open for that."

"OK, what's a good time for you?"

"I have practice till about 5 p.m. weekdays and games on Sunday. If I could come after practice during the week, that would work out best for me."

"Why don't we plan for next Wednesday, say 6 p.m. Plan to join us for dinner."

JD came for dinner, the first of many. He and Billie began to see each other regularly although not romantically.

"What do you want to do when you grow up?" Billie asked.

"I want to do something that helps my race join a normal, integrated society. What do you want to do?"

"I want to graduate from Law School, specializing in Constitutional Law with Civil Rights as my main interest. We have somewhat similar interests, it seems."

Peony grew to like JD and recognize him as her Daddy. Everett was happy to have a member of the San Francisco 49ers in his home.

Soon, JD asked Billie to go out with him, dinner and a movie, just the two of them.

They enjoyed each other's company and soon they were spending a lot of time together, dating, at Billie's house and finally at JD's apartment.

Billie was the still the aggressor but soon they resumed their love making, but this time with birth control protection. They were naturally attracted to each other and they grew increasingly fond of the other. They had sex at the end of almost every date.

"I am in love with you and I want to marry you and raise our child and a future family together. Will you marry me?" JD expressed.

"Absolutely. I totally love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you."

JD, who was making seven figure money at the 49ers, could afford a fancy diamond ring and he bought a two-carat round and perfect diamond ring for their engagement. It cost $20,000. Billie could not belief it when she saw it and she cried.

They both informed their parents of the decision. Lucy and Everett were happy to hear it, Bill and Nancy still living in Wichita Falls were not so happy about it. Don McKay heard about it and decided to try again to lynch JD and he thought it would be a good idea to include Billie in the killing as well. He was constrained by their being in Palo Alto, California but he vowed to get them if they ever came back to his home.

Billie and JD went to Maui for their honeymoon and stayed there for two weeks while Lucy and Everett took care of Peony.

The wedding was planned for June 5, 1963 at the First Baptist Church in Palo Alto with a reception in the Palo Alto Country Club following. Everett agreed to foot most of the bill.

# Epilog

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted July 2, 1964. It is a landmark civil rights law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national. This law prohibits segregation in schools, churches, restaurants, and on public transportation. It allows minority races to purchase and live in housing in predominantly white neighborhoods.

The legislation had been proposed by President John F. Kennedy in June 1963 but opposed by filibuster in the Senate. After Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed the bill forward, which in its final form was passed in the U.S. Congress by a Senate vote of 73–27 and House vote of 289–126. The Act was signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964, at the White House.

Powers given to enforce the act were initially weak but were supplemented during later years. Congress asserted its authority to legislate under several different parts of the United States Constitution, principally its power to regulate interstate commerce under Article One (section 8), its duty to guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment, and its duty to protect voting rights under the Fifteenth Amendment.

# About the author: Bobby Everett Smith

Author of 15 self-published e-books on Smashwords.com https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/744702)

Both fiction and non-fiction, my eBooks are crammed full of substance—some fun and some just important and useful content. My professional life includes jobs as CEO of a software development company in Silicon Valley and Principal in IBM 's Customer Relationship Management Consulting Practice. Before IBM, I worked in the computer industry as an executive in sales and marketing.

A native Texan, my first job out of Rice Institute in 1956, was nine years as a pilot in the U.S. Navy, where I enjoyed extreme adventure, flying off aircraft carriers in the 7th Fleet. I approach my current jobs as a writer with the same passion and enthusiasm that I approached my Cold-War missions in the Navy. Please read my books described in the table below:

# Other eBooks

by Bobby Everett Smith, Published on http//Smashwords.com. Search for Bobby Everett Smith

Title Smashwords Code # Price Class

Write, Publish, Market eBooks, First Edition 537886 Free Non-Fiction

Write, Publish, Market eBooks, Second Edition 680027 $9.99 Non-Fiction

Winning the War Against ISIS 625047 $4.99 Non-Fiction

Flying Under the Radar 530875 $3.99 Fiction

Navy Wings 552902 $2.99 Fiction

WestPac 553702 $2.99 Fiction

Blue February 559732 $2.99 Fiction

Settle Down—Making Money in Retirement 528786 $9.99 Non-Fiction

Job Search 543714 $2.99 Non-Fiction

The Man in White 547479 $2.99 Fiction

Benghazi, the Politics 641861 $4.99 Non-Fiction

Mo Highgate 744702 $9.95 Fiction

