History Detectives
EPISODE AIRED SEPTEMBER
13, 2004 AT 8 P.M.
Here
is what Ozarks Public Television Programming Guide said
about the episode:
Episode
10 - Pretty Boy Floyd Handgun, Paul Cuffee Muster Roll. Pop
Lloyd Baseball Field
Monday, September 13, 8:00 p.m.
"Pretty Boy Floyd Handgun—A man in La Verne, California, owns
a vintage Colt automatic handgun, which family legend suggests
once belonged to the Depression-era desperado, Charles 'Pretty
Boy' Floyd. According to the legend, Floyd gave the gun to the
contributor's uncle who had served as the lookout for 'Pretty
Boy.' To find out if the story behind the gun is true, History
Detective Wes Cowan travels to California, Oklahoma and
Missouri. In the process, he discovers why gangsters became
heroes to the rural population of the Midwest and reveals the
true story behind the dramatic rise and fall of a man who
ranks alongside Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger as one of
the most colorful bank robbers in American history. "
Find out more about the episode at http://www.pbs.org
To read a transcript of the episode click
here
TELEVISION
SERIES FILMS SEGMENT IN POLK COUNTY
Story
and photos by Katie Duncan
From the Bolivar
Herald-Free Press, June 4, 2004, page 1-A.
(Reprinted with permission. A big thank-you to BH-FP!)
"History Detectives" host Wes Cowan and producer
Candice Weiner
The Polk County
Genealogical Society turned into a television studio for
a few hours Wednesday morning. The renovated first floor
of the building will be the back drop for a segment for
the public television series "History Detectives."
The
series utilizes local genealogical societies, historical
societies and other sources of historical information to
reveal the historical significance of artifacts, buildings and
legends from cities and towns across America and answer
mysteries.
The segment filmed
in Polk County centers around a family legend submitted to
the show by Richard Kee of La Verne, Calif. Kee owns a
vintage Colt automatic handgun, which family legend suggests
once belonged to Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd.
According to the legend, Floyd gave the gun to Kee's uncle
who lived near Sentinel in northeast Polk County. As a
teenager he acted as the lookout for "Pretty Boy," whose car
had broken down on his desperate, final flight from the FBI.
"Our research involves finding authorities on the question
or part of the question," associate producer Courtney
Engelstein said. "We try to find the most knowledgeable and
relevant people whose expertise make them experts on a
story."
Engelstein contacted Polk County Genealogical Society
President Susan Sparks for more information about Floyd's
involvement in the Polk County area.
"I said I would get back to her in a week or two but
she said no, I need it right away," Sparks said.
Sparks began the search for information about Floyd and the
kidnapping of former Polk County Sheriff Jack Killingsworth
in 1933.
Wes Cowan looks at newspaper microfilm of the
story.
Floyd took Killingsworth hostage after Killingsworth walked
into the local Chevrolet garage in Bolivar. Floyd and Andy
Ricchetti brought the car to the garage after it broke down
on their way to Kansas City.
Sparks gathered 1930s newspapers clippings from the
kidnapping and old county maps showing the route Floyd took
to Kansas City.
"Susan Sparks has been key in the investigation of the
story," Engelstein said.
The cameraman Simon Fanthorpe gets ready to film.
Two weeks later, a production crew arrived in Bolivar to
begin filming
the Polk County portion of the segment.
The final product will be around 14 to 17 minutes long,
producer Candice Weiner said.
The production crew also traveled to Oklahoma and California
in their investigation.
The segment will air during the series' second season set to
debut this month on PBS.
The Floyd mystery is scheduled to air this fall,
Engelstein said.
A co-production of Oregon Public Broadcasting and Lion
Television,
"History Detectives" airs at 8 p.m. Mondays on PBS.
The southwest corner
of the PCGS Library's ground floor
Website
for the History Detectives and Wes Cowan, host
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives
Go
to PCGS
Home Page Go to Our
Library
Copyright 2003-2020, Polk County Genealogical Society, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Last revised: January 1, 2018
Located on the southeast corner of the courthouse square in Bolivar, MO