DUBYA AND THE TOMBSTONE TOURIST

(MARCH 16, 2018) Today was an off day for the tournament games here in Dallas so I used the day to visit the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. This is another of my bucket list items that I can scratch off of my list. With my visit earlier this week to the Bush 41 Museum and hopefully a Visit to the Johnson Library in Austin  I will be able to scratch all three Texas Presidential Sites off of my list.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on the campus of Southern Methodist University. It is the newest of the Presidential Museum and like his dad's museum, the staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful.

I have been to several of the Presidential Museums, including the The Clinton, Carter, Eisenhower, Truman, FDR, Lincoln, and Hoover and I must say that up until now the Eisenhower and Truman Museums have been my favorites. But after visiting both of the Bush Museums I have to add them to my list of favorites.

The defining event of President George W. Bush's term in office was the attacks of September 11,
2001. And the Museum starts your visit with a look at those events and the tough decisions that President Bush had to make.

This is as political as I am going to get, but I think he did an exceptional job, and was an exceptional president.  People can question and debate the decisions that he made but as he once said, I don't think you can question the results. I am glad he was our president during this terrible time and he along with his father, Presidents Eisenhower and Truman are my favorite President.

The museum also features exhibits on Camp David and the Presidents Texas Ranch near Midland. There is also a first ladies exhibit along with the state gifts presents to the President when he traveled abroad.

I spent about 4-hours visiting the Museum and enjoyed every minute of it.

Following my visit to the Bush 43 Museum, I turned into the Tombstone Tourist and visited a couple of cemeteries in North Dallas. I started my Tombstone Tour with a stop at Sparkman-Hillcrest Cemetery just a about 5-miles from the SMU Campus.

I have been to Sparkman-Hillcrest back in 2006 during my previous NCAA Tournament vacation to the Dallas area. But I wanted to visits again and visit some of the graves that I missed on my previous visit.

There are a number of well known people buried here and I start at the Grand Mausoleum. The Grand Mausoleum is the largest structure in the cemetery and is very well marked. So if you know the location of the person, it is relatively easy to find them.


My first stop was in the Hall of St. Matthew and the tomb of Mickey Mantle. "The Mick" is one of the most beloved, and well known, of the Yankee Greats. During his Yankee Career he hit at total of 536 home runs with a lifetime batting average of .298.  He was a 20-time all-star and his Jersey #7 has been retired by the Yankees.  Mickey Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.

Just a short walk down the adjacent hallway to the Court of Adoration is the tomb of Judge Sarah T. Hughes. Young people today probably won't have any idea who Judge Hughes is or the place she holds in history. You see, on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.  Vice President Lyndon Johnson who was also in the motorcade was present at Parkland Hospital when President Kennedy died.  At the suggestion of the Secret Service, Vice President Johnson was immediately taken to the safety of Air Force One which was parked at Love Field.

Once the Vice President was safely on board, Johnson wanted the Oath of Office administered before the plane left Dallas.  It was decided that a federal judge should be summoned to Air Force One to administer the Oath to Johnson.

Judge Sarah T. Hughes who only two years into her term on the Federal bench was quickly brought to Air Force One. Then with Johnson standing between his wife Lady Bird and Mrs. Kennedy, Judge Hughes administered the Oath of Office to President Johnson.

After administering the Oath, Judge Hughes was quickly ushered off the aircraft and Air Force One quickly departed and returned both President Kennedy and President Johnson to Washington.

The photo of Judge Hughes administering the Oath to President Johnson is one of the most famous photo in presidential history.

A couple of hallway over from Judge Hughes is the tomb of Sheriff Bill Decker, who was the Dallas County Sheriff at the time President Kennedy was assassinated.

After leaving the Grand Mausoleum, it ventured outdoors and visited the grave of another Kennedy Assassination figure Henry M. Wade, who was the Dallas District Attorney during the Kennedy Assassination. Wade was a prominent figure immediately following the assassination when he told the Secret Service that an autopsy must be performed on President Kennedy before the body could be returned to Washington. This set off a series of confrontations between local and federal officials in hallways at Parkland Hospital. Eventually the Secret Service and member of President Kennedy's staff removed the body from the hospital and transported it to Air Force One.  The official autopsy was performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital in the evening of November 22 and the early morning Hours of November 23. Henry Wade was also noted as the Wade in the Roe v. Wade Abortion Case that was argued before the United States Supreme Court.

Just across the road in the Monument Garden is the grave of possibly the most revered of all of the Dallas Cowboy's; their long time coach Tom Landry.  Coach Landry was the coach of the Cowboys from 1960-1988 and had a career record of 270-187-6 with five NFC Championships and 2-Super Bowls.  When Jerry Jones bought the Cowboy in 1988, he fired Coach Landry and hired Jimmy Johnson as the coach. Coach Landry's firing brought and out pouring of resentment from Cowboy fans that still lingers today.

While at Sparkman Hillcrest I was able to locate and visit the graves of Clint Murchison who was the founder an owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Murchison was a Texas Oil Millionaire who was the principal owner of the upstart Dallas Cowboy. He was mostly a hand off owner leaving operational control of the team to his general manager Tex Schramm who was credited with hiring Tom Landry.

After visiting a few other graves, including actress Greer Garson, H. L. Hunt and Senator John Tower, it was time to move about 5-miles down the road to Crown Hill Memorial Park. Here near the entrance is the final resting place of Bonnie Parker of Bonnie and Clyde Fame.

Following their death near Gibsland, Louisiana on May 23, 1934 (you can read about it here)
when they were ambushed by Law Enforcement the duo's bodies were returned to Dallas. Bonnie and Clyde wished to be buried side by side but Bonnie's family would not allow it. Her funeral was conducted on May 26, 1934 and was attended by more then 20,000 people. Flower arrangements and card came from all over the country including flower and cards from John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd. Following her funeral she was originally laid to rest in the Fishtrap Cemetery.  In 1945 Bonnie was moved to the new Crown Hill Cemetery where she rests today.

When I got to Crown Hill, I noticed a couple of homeless men laying near Bonnie's Grave. The attempted to charge me $5.00 per photo. I declined to pay and was able to snap couple of photos and move on down the road.

I consider heading back to the hotel as it wasn't but about 5-miles away, but looking at the GPS Traffic Map, I decided to head about 15-miles away to Grove Hill Cemetery.  The 15 mile drive wasn't too bad as it took me only about 35-minutes to make it across town.

Arriving at Grove Hill about 3:30, I was surprised to find the cemetery crowded with two large funeral party's near the entrance.  I made my way past them without being intrusive and thanks to having correct GPS Coordinates, I was able to quickly find the grave of Blanche Frasure.

Who is Blanche Frasure you ask? Well you may know her by another name, Blanche Barrow.  Yes Blanche Barrow was the wife of Buck Barrow, who was the Brother of Clyde Barrow.

Blanche and Buck were with Bonnie and Clyde when they were involved in a shootout at the Red Crown Tourist Court near Platte City Missouri. During the shootout Buck was critically wounded but the gang escaped.

Several days later in a park near Dexter, Iowa, Blanche and Buck were captured. As a result of her wound Blanche would loose the sight in her left eye and Buck would die on July 29, 1933.  Blanche
be tried and sentenced to 10-years in prison. Following her release from prison Blanche moved to Dallas where she met Eddie Frasure in 1940 and the two married a short time later.  Blanche lived a quiet and lawful life working at various jobs but often reminiscing about the Barrow brothers and Bonnie who she called her sister.  Eddie Frasure died in 1969, but Blanche lived quietly another 19-years. She died from the complications of cancer on December 24, 1988. She was 77-years old.

Another grave that I wanted to visit was that of Chief Jesse Curry.  Chief Curry was the Dallas Police Chief as the time of the Kennedy Assassination. He and Dallas Sheriff Bill Decker were riding in the lead car during the Kennedy Motorcade and they were just approaching the triple underpass when the first shots rang out. He can be seen during the evening of the assassination commenting to the press on the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, and the status of the investigation.


It was later in the afternoon when I finished my visit to Grove Hill. But, I less than two miles from State Fair Park so I decided to make my final of the day at the site of the State Fair of Texas.  It is also the site of the Cotton Bowl.

It took only a couple of minutes to make my way to the Park and I was surprised to find the gates open and I was able to drive right up to Cotton Bowl Stadium and the Texas Star.

The Cotton Bowl Stadium was the site of the New Years Day Bowl Game from 1937 - 2009. The  Cotton Bowl game is now played at the new AT&T Stadium.  The annual Red River Shootout, between Texas and Oklahoma is still played at the Cotton Bowl each year during the State Fair of Texas.

Right next to the Cotton Bowl is the Texas Star, which is one of the largest ferris wheels in North America.  Standing 212 feet tall, the Texas Star has 44 gondolas and can carry up to 264 passengers.  It affords riders an exceptional view of the the Dallas Skyline and it is the fairs most popular ride.

I wrapped up my day by having dinner at a nearby Cracker Barrel before returning to my Hotel and catching up on the second day of March Madness.   Tomorrow, my games at the American Airlines Center are late start so I will head out to do some more exploring before head down for my final live games of the season.

TODAY'S MILES:   58
TOTAL MILES:  2,236