BIG SIX---photo---

[boone]

This is a picture of the famous BIG SIX....I will (try) to quote the History Channel for his introduction...He was a federal marshall who terrorized moonshiners in the hills of Kentucky...Or something to that effect...

For those of you who don't know who he is...He busted my grand-father for making moonshine...My folks paid one thousand dollars to help keep it quiet...There was a trial...and this is "The rest of the story".


...BUT he didn't scare my Mom too much...Nor My Aunt Jo...I would love ta tell ya the story what Aunt Jo did but she has asked me not to put it on the net...

I will tell ya what my Mom did...She was clueless as to what was going on right in the basement of that house...My Aunt Jo said my Mom hardly ever--- smoked ------cursed--- or drank----- while they were growing up...

Aunt Jo said Mom was the "Good" twin and she was the "Bad" twin... My Aunt Jo knew what was going on and helped do some of the work that comes with it...My Mom...Oh well...needless to say after it was over...She was "TOLD" what was going on...

The lawyer made my Mom go to the trial to testify that the family car was not used to haul shine...Mom got on the stand and told the truth...

Hell, Big Six was in the drive way.... Grand-Ma and Aunt Jo were in the basement dumping all the jars of shine....and my Mom was asking what was going on?

Anyway...back to the subject...she told the truth. The lawyer told her to answer yes or no---no details about anything---just yes and no.. .When she got off the stand she walked over to BIG SIX and told him if he took their car that she would get a car and run over him! ...Pop's lawyer ran over and put his hand over her mouth and walked her out of the court room...Needless to say when she got off of that stand she understood exactly what was going on ...


Shinnin in Kentucky

Bettye Jo

grand-daughter of Harry Milburn Beam

P.S. Take note...I look at pictures in detail...especially old ones it tells some of the history itself...look at his arms...one is considerably larger that the other...this could have come from some kind of injury, there looks to be a big scar on his forearm...I wonder...and what is in his hand?

[bobbyc]

Kinda favors John Wayne Huh?

[boone]

Well.... He shor nuf does!

Note the name written on the bottom of the picture...Sam Cecil...That's where it came from...It belonged to him...

Bettye Jo

[bobbyc]

John Wayne had ancestors in Kentucky, which I suppose isn't too remarkable considering that a lot of people moved though here on their way west. Amelia and I once had a discussion about when he died ( 1979) she thought later so we got a book about him from the library. His is a fascinating story. He was born and raised in Kansas City , his father had a hardware store . He died when John was young and by coincidence his mother had relatives in Cal. She moved them there,and the rest is history. He was notorious for his ability to drink and carry on all night and then show up for work at 5:30 or 6:00 am clear faced and ready to work. If you had been out with him and came in looking the least bit hungover he would ride your ass mercilessly all day. He only would screw around with a woman that he was in love with, and they said he had the ability to fall in love very quickly!

[bluesbassdad]

Bettye Jo,

There appears to be some additional, very faint, writing above and below the signature. Am I seeing things? Can you read it? Does it help establish the date when the photo was taken?

I'm going to look for, and maybe even find, the tape my son made of the TV show, and try to compare B.S.'s appearance on film to that in the photo.

Yours truly,
Dave Morefield

[boone]

Dave,

It says;

Sincere Reguards to

Sam Cecil

BIG SIX

U.S. Marshal

Bettye Jo