Jesus In Cowboy Boots

Evergreen Cemetery in Paris, Texas is the final resting place for over 40,000 souls. Founded by charter in 1866 by some of Paris’ most influential personalities, it was established in response to the growing needs of the growing city. The original cemetery was composed of only 16 acres and was sold to the cemetery association by George Wright for $320. When it was chartered, it had already had a history as a family cemetery, and since the original land sale, it has grown through grants and additional sales of land.

Today, Evergreen Cemetery is best known for the poignant headstones; the beautifully carved tributes to the loved and lost. They are emblems of history, art, and a window into the lives of those buried and their families. Among these markers are a variety of angels, both winged and not, young and old, each carved with a care and elegance that is increasingly rare in this modern world. There are also plants; leaves, ivies and broken trees. Perhaps these are a testament to the love of the natural world that someone once had. In addition, there are anchors and chains, a carved newspaper front page, a variety of sheep, and a resting buffalo.

Statue on the Babcock Family
 grave

With over 40,000 graves though, it’s the headstone of a small-town furniture maker which gets most of the attention. People come from near and far to see the grave they’ve heard about. Most don’t know the person buried there, they really just want to see what’s above him – Jesus in cowboy boots.

Jesus in cowboy boots?

Willet Babcock is the man in eternal rest beneath the boot-wearing Jesus. Willet was originally from New York and he owned two cabinet-making factories. He brought automation to his factories which helped Paris become the cabinet-making center of Texas in the 1870’s; he helped charter a railroad company; and he served on several boards of directors, including the Evergreen Cemetery.

However, few if any of the visitors know any of that. Actually, nobody really knows for sure if it really is Jesus up on the pedestal above Willet’s grave. Look closely and you might say he’s not as macho as most other depictions of Jesus. That same close inspection will also reveal Jesus is not carrying a cross, but is instead leaning on it. Some people think the figure is simply an angel leaning on a cross mourning over a grave. A local historian whose grandfather supposedly was friends with Willet is of the opinion that it is really a Shakespearian character up there as Willet was a big fan of the Bard, but he can’t say which character it is and besides, it’s highly doubtful any of them purchased their footwear from Sheplers.

Still other locals report Willet and his wife were atheists and the whole thing is just their tongue-in-cheek tweak-of-the-nose toward the ultra-religious conservatives in town. It is a long-held tradition, especially in the south, for people to be buried with their feet to the east. The east is the direction of Jerusalem, of the 2^ndcoming, and Archangel Gabriel’s horn will sound from that quarter. In order to be facing Christ when they rise from their graves on Judgment Day, the dead must lie with their feet to the east. A posthumous punishment given to those who have extraordinary sins (murder, suicide) is to bury them on a north-south axis so the poor soul will rise facing in the wrong direction. The Babcock’s is the only statue in the cemetery that does not face east. Also, carved into the pedestal base are inverted torches and anything upside down is a sure sign of godlessness. The boots are simply a kicker, the final act of blasphemy, sort of like putting a Stetson on Noah.

What do you think?

The superintendent of Evergreen Cemetery has his own theory however. He thinks Willet simply had a sense of humor about the whole thing and that’s why he set it up that way, so it would give everybody something to cogitate on. He postulates that had Willet died today, we would probably see the same statue up there wearing Nikes. Maybe he was, after all, just a pretty cool guy.

Smiley, A Texas Ghost

Quiet, peaceful Mills Cemetery - by day

In the city of Garland, Texas, which just happens to be my hometown, is a creepy ghostly legend. Mills Cemetery, located on Commerce St. 1 block from the intersection of Rt. 66 & Centerville Rd., was established in 1860. Within this cemetery is an individual grave, a mass grave which holds all 5 members of a single family. It is well known locally as “Smiley’s Grave.” The poor, unfortunate members of the Smiley family all died on the same day and they share a moderate-sized individual tombstone which reads; Smiley – Mother Belle Hall, Oct. 30, 1890; Father Chas. Oscar, Mar 17, 1890; Daughters Lilath Merle, June 20, 1914; Greeta May, Oct 27, 1915; Charlena, Feb 20, 1926; All Died May 9, 1927. A family of 5 all buried in the same grave and all died on the same day? That fact alone begs an answer to the question of, ”What the hell happened?”

But maybe not so peaceful in 
the dark hours

The story goes that Smiley was a mean man; a very mean man. One dark, overcast day, for reason or reasons unknown, Smiley became a very angry mean man. So angry that in his rage, he killed his wife and three daughters. A short time later when his anger subsided and he realized what he had done, he hung himself in remorse.

The Smiley Family headstone

Mills Cemetery is peaceful by day; well maintained with lots of shade trees. After dark however, that is not the case. It is said that Smiley is still mean and still angry; so angry at what he did to his family and to himself, that his ghost roams this restless cemetery each night looking for someone to take out his anger on, another person to take down with him. There are sounds in the cemetery at night if you listen for them - a barely perceptible moaning sound as of wind through the trees even when there is not a breath of air flowing; footsteps on dry leaves when nobody is moving; twigs snapping when you are sure nobody else is there. Some have seen strange lights bobbing around that cannot be explained. And it is said, if you stand on Smiley’s grave in the dark, a sense of sadness will overcome you; you will have trouble keeping your balance and you may feel a cold puff of wind around your ankles. For those brave enough, or perhaps foolish enough, on Halloween at midnight, if you lay on Smiley’s grave, you will begin to feel pressure on your chest, a pair of cold arms encircling you, and it will be hard to rise up – you will begin to struggle and scream in terror as Smiley tries to pull you down into the very depths of hell with him.

The mass grave of the unfortunate 
Smiley Family

Nobody alive today knows the facts for sure. Some claim the whole family was killed in a tornado that ripped through Garland on May 9, 1927. Research reveals that indeed, a tornado tore through Garland, killing at least 9 people, including Garland’s ex-mayor. However, the Smiley family is not listed among those killed. Another story is that a developer in the area wanted to build a road through Smiley’s property, but Smiley would not sell to him. Trying to force his hand, the man intended to burn down the Smiley residence one night when the family was away visiting relatives. However, their plans changed at the last minute and they all perished in the house fire he set. It seems nobody knows for sure so perhaps the murder/suicide story is true after all. And perhaps, just perhaps, angry, tortured Smiley really does wander the cemetery all night, every night; looking to add another innocent victim to his family’s mass grave.

Grand Granite Grand

Tyler is a small, pretty city in east Texas. There’s a lot of roses grown around the area. If you buy a rose anywhere in America, there’s a good chance it either was grown in Tyler or was processed in Tyler. It has a beautiful public rose garden which you shouldn’t miss if you find yourself in the area, and hosts the fun Texas Rose Festival each year. It is known as the “Rose Capital of the Nation.” In 1985, the International Adopt-A-Highway movement originated in Tyler when the local Civitan chapter adopted 2 miles of U.S. Hwy 69. It is the home of at least 4 Miss Texas winners, a Miss America winner, Sandy Duncan, the actress, Dooley Wilson, famous for playing Sam in the movie Casablanca, Earl Campbell and numerous other professional athletes, musicians, actors, and Kelley Thompson, Playboy Playmate for the month of November, 2009.

Even though I was born and raised in and around Dallas, Texas, I’m not fond of cities. I try to stay away from cities. Too much traffic, too crowded. If I’m driving on a road wider than 2 lanes, then it’s because for some unavoidable reason I’m in a hurry or there isn't another way to get from here to there. Tyler is a city, but it is an exception to my rule. You see, my son and grandson live there. Plus there's some mighty good Bar-B-Que joints in Tyler so I go there as often as I can.

So why am I telling a story of Tyler? Because Tyler is also home to a story I like; a story about a person who was a little weird, a bit eccentric – right up my alley.

Madge Ward was a life-long player of the piano. She never obtained celebrity-hood during her 83 years, but she managed to make a good living taking her 1-woman show around the country to resorts, hotels, clubs and on cruise ships. She entertained the troops in World War II and when she wasn’t on tour, she taught children how to tickle the ivories. She had an interesting life, but relatively speaking, not that many people outside of her family really noticed or gave her a lot of thought.

Madge passed away on May 4, 1995 and was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery. Very soon after, lots of folks took note of her. As a matter of fact, she started a small war of words among the citizens of Tyler.

You see, a year before her death, she commissioned a Tyler memorial builder to design a gravestone that symbolized the love, the passion she had held with the piano her whole life. The result was the largest single-person monument in the cemetery; an 8-foot tall, 25-ton granite grand piano mausoleum, inside of which Madge will spend eternity. The price tag has never been revealed, but Madge told a few people she had saved for 35 years to afford it. Poor Madge never got to actually see it before being laid to rest in it. She saw pictures and drawings, but it was so big, the local maker couldn’t handle the job so it was actually cut outside the state and shipped to the cemetery shortly after her passing.

A good number of the movers and shakers in Tyler didn’t appreciate such a grand monument being in Tyler’s largest cemetery, which just happens to be the resting place for their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents, the movers and shakers during Tyler’s earlier days. Seeing as how Madge had made her living as a ”B-list” entertainer didn’t help. But there was no law or even a cemetery rule against it and the grand granite Grand still remains.

Today, Rose Hill gets a lot of visitors, many of them stopping by to see the piano headstone of Madge Ward. Locals bring their out-of-town visitors to see it, people from around the country stop by, even tour buses cruise through and stop for their passengers to take pictures. Madge was an entertainer in life and, in Tyler, she’s still attracting an audience, even in death.