Special to the Times-Review
March 19, 2009 10:09 am
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At the tender age of 12, Ray Cavender ambled out of the woods and into a clearing grinning from ear-to-ear.
It was the early 1930s in Ovilla, and the farm boy was proud to emerge from the underbrush with a feast for his family — two large swamp rabbits he landed with his shotgun.
In his peripheral vision on a hill to his right, he saw a familiar sight to some of his family members in his small community, though no one talked publicly about it.
A Ford V-8 idled from its vantage point as the occupant eyed the boy wielding the weapon.
Cavender knew immediately who it was.
He put down the rabbits, held out the gun for the driver to see and removed the shell from the gun’s barrel. He held up the shell and then deposited it in his shirt pocket.
The car ventured near, and the female driver offered salutations to the boy as her passenger slept.
“You reckon you and Clyde would like one of these swamp rabbits?” Cavender said.
“Why we sure would appreciate that,” the lady said.
“Let me get it skinned and gutted for you,” Cavender said.
“Honey,” said Bonnie Parker. “If Clyde can’t skin it, gut it and take it to the creek and wash it, why he don’t need the rabbit no how.”
Such is the stuff of legends, and at the age of 88 Ray Cavender recalls his boyhood adventures with candor — days when Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker secreted away from the long arm of the law in the community where Cavender grew up.
Cavender’s father, Bliss, his Uncle Bob and Uncle Jessie were raised riding horses alongside the Barrow family.
Whenever Uncle Bob saw the familiar Ford idling beside his pasture, he would wordlessly walk to the gate, open it and allow the car to enter.
He returned to the house to inform his wife, Johnnie, who whipped up an impromptu meal of red beans, potatoes, cornbread and a gallon of fresh-brewed tea with ice.
Cavender ferried the undercover sustenance into the barn.
He also provided gasoline at the filling station where he worked pumping gas.
Cavender’s first encounter with the notorious couple took place at his stepfather’s filling station in Cedar Hill.
“A little Ford come a wheelin’ in there and sliding on all four wheels, and he said, ‘Fill ‘er up, boy. I’m in a hurry; I gotta go,’ ” Ray said. “He said, ‘I’ll be back by in a day or two’ and [Bonnie] was sitting there with that Tommy gun of hers, and he lit out of there like the hounds were coming after them.”
True to his word, Barrow returned a few days later and presented Cavender with a $20 bill. He told Cavender to “keep the change.”
“He said, ‘Put it in your pocket, enjoy it, but keep your nose clean,’ ” Cavender said.
“I really do think that a whole lot was blamed on them — that if something would go wrong, and they didn’t know who to blame, they’d say, ‘Blame it on Bonnie and Clyde,’” said Cavender’s wife, Georgia.
“They seem like just ordinary people,” Cavender said. “I had nothing against ’em.”
Ray and Georgia Cavender still live in Ovilla, helping keep Barrow’s memory alive.
The Cavenders, who recently celebrated their 72nd anniversary, are part of the clientele Meals-on-Wheels of Johnson and Ellis Counties serves.
This month Meals-on-Wheels along with other meal programs throughout the country, is participating in the “March for Meals” campaign. This year’s slogan is “So No Senior Goes Hungry.”
The campaign has three primary goals: to raise awareness of senior hunger, recruit new volunteers to help address the issue, and raise needed funds to be used at the local level.
Meals-on-Wheels is promoting the local program through media outlets, Mayors for Meals, and a special event, Night Under the Stars campaign kickoff and celebration.
Mayors for Meals was Wednesday, with local mayors delivering meals in their respective communities.
The campaign kickoff for the new kitchen facility will be held March 28 at the new site of the kitchen at TXI Railport with a reception and barbecue dinner to follow, live entertainment, dancing, and chances to win prizes.
U.S Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the honorary kitchen campaign chair, will be the special guest. The Joe Barton Family Foundation has made the lead gift for the building of the kitchen.
“We encourage anyone who would like to help or be involved anyway that you can; whether that be through volunteering, donating, coming to our event, or just telling others about our services,” said Amy Jackson, director of development.
For information contact the Meals-on-Wheels offices at 817-558-2840 or 972-351-9943, or visit www.servingthechildrenofyesterday.org.
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