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Authors: M. Bruce Jones,Trudy J Smith

Tags: #Lawson family, #Murder

White Christmas, bloody Christmas (11 page)

BOOK: White Christmas, bloody Christmas
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Is this something the old man knew for a fact? Was it merely his own speculation or had he been told this by someone whom Fannie or Arthur had confided in? Could he perhaps have received this information from a person who witnessed or overheard one of the family arguments?

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Who was this bearded old man? The anonymous caller did not know who he was. Several people later confirmed that an old man with a white beard had, indeed, shown people over the property. There seemed to be some question of his identity, but with more research, it appears that this man was Sam Hill. Sam Hill lived only three miles from the murder scene and was a relative of the Lawsons. It seems that he was probably the person my caller had spoken to.

Being sure that the old man did exist, it seemed prudent to investigate this disturbing rumor. Some dismissed it as being preposterous. Some openly admitted that it was true (to their own knowledge) and some insisted that it was true for a fact. However, there seemed to be no one who could or would be able to settle the issue satisfactorily. That is, until one of the Lawson family members who knew the truth finally decided she would tell what had happened. As she began to realize that this book was only a few days from going to press, Stella Boles realized that the last, and most important window of opportunity to finally unburden her mind was closing. She was torn between honoring a promise spanning most of her lifetime, and the realization that it was time for the world to know the truth. The knowledge of what actually happened has weighed heavily on her for many long years. She realized that all of the probing and all of the questioning was likely to continue to haunt her and future generations of Lawsons as long as the mystery remained unsolved. After giving it a great deal of thought and prayer, she decided that she would tell the world the full truth about what was wrong and what had happened in the Lawson household that fall...

On the evening of December 27, 1929, the closest family members gathered together after the funeral to comfort and console each other in their overwhelming loss and to make some decisions about what some of them had come to know about the circumstances surrounding the murders.

Nina Lawson, Ida Lawson and some of the other ladies had formed a group to one side of the room and were deep in a

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discussion about the murders. When young Stella joined them, she was shocked to hear what they were saying about her cousin, Marie... -

Stella Lawson was only twelve years old in 1928 when her mother, Jettie, died. Suddenly, there was no mother figure in the household—no one for a young girl to talk to or confide in. Her Aunt Nina (who was the wife of her father's youngest brother, George) filled the special place in Stella's life that her mother had occupied.

Several years after the murders, when Stella had grown to maturity, her Aunt Nina spoke to her at length about what had happened concerning the murders. Stella's Aunt Nina did not realize what a burden she was placing on her niece's shoulders when she told her the entire story.

She told her that shortly before Christmas Fannie Lawson had, indeed, become aware of Marie's pregnancy. Fannie, being only human, desperately needed to confide in someone. In actuality, she had confided in at least three of her sister-in-laws, Nina Lawson, Ida Lawson, and Jettie Lawson (Stella Lawson's mother). Jettie Lawson died on May first of 1928. Even as far back as this, Fannie had begun to fear that there was more than just a typical father-daughter relationship between Charlie and Marie...

By the time she had learned the full truth and the fact that Charlie was the father of Marie's baby, the family was literally falling apart. She was both furious with and frightened of her husband. Charlie was becoming more violent and irrational. Marie's desire to leave and marry another man, coupled with Charlie's excruciating headaches and insomnia had turned him into a disturbed, calculating, and violent man who only his son, Arthur, seemed able to subdue...

Stella's Aunt Nina told her of all these things and asked her not to repeat it. It was such a scandalous thing to have happened in the family and the murders had been more than enough for the family to endure...

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Stella honored her promise for all these years. It was an enormous emotional burden. Her knowledge of the truth caused her a problem that her Aunt Nina had failed to consider. In order to keep the secret, she was forced to lie. Certainly no one would have expected the inquiry into the murders to continue for so long. The sad fact is that it has continued and surely would continue for many more years as long as there remained a mystery. Now, thanks to the courage of Stella Boles, who certainly may have to bear the scrutiny of relatives who disagree with her decision, the mystery of the Lawson murders has finally been solved. At long last, the prophecy of the inscription on the tombstone has been realized:

"We have read the meaning of our tears, and now we understand..."

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-38-

Marie's Raisin Cake

Marie Lawson's raisin cake may have been one of the most famous and talked-about cakes in history. It was viewed by thousands of people during the five years the house was toured and it is amazing how much interest many people in the southeast still have in it. Because of this, and even though it may seem unusual, we have decided to include the recipe for it in this book. It is one of the few pleasant things to have come from this very sad story. We hope you will enjoy it—it is quite delicious.

This recipe was a basic one used by many of the women of the area during the first half of the century. It changed according to the types of fruits or flavors available during each season.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (or margarine)

2 cups sugar

3 cups self-rising flour 1 cup milk

1 box of raisins (roll them in flour) 1 tsp vanilla 3 eggs

Cream the butter and sugar together with the eggs. (Marie would have stolen the whites from the eggs to use in the frosting. This made the cake very soft and crumbly. If you want the cake to cut nicely, leave the whites in and break more eggs for the icing.) To this mixture, add the milk.

Slowly, beat the flour into the mixture. Next, add the vanilla flavoring.

Take a small bowl and put a small amount of flour in it. Roll the raisins in the flour. Carefully pick up the raisins and drop on top and fold gently into the batter.

Pour the batter into greased and floured 9 inch circular pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Check for doneness during last few minutes. (Marie probably would have used a broomstraw.) When the edge of the cake pulls away from the pan it should be done.

Remove the layers from pans and cool on rack until they are room temperature.

Icing:

For the icing, you will need the whites of 3 eggs and eight tablespoons of sugar. Beat these together until frothy. Spread evenly over cake and dot with raisins.

Acknowledgements

There are a great many people to whom we owe appreciation in helpingus to complete this book. To name all of the people to whom we have spoken would be impossible. I do want to mention the names of some of the people whose help was essential. First, I must thank my special friend, Velna Throckmorton, who encouraged me to begin the book and introduced me to some of the first people I interviewed. Some other important names are: Mr. Powell Neal, Mr. Sherman Voss, Mrs. Sally Mabe, Mr. Leonard Bibey, Mr. Gid Mitchell, Mr. Hassel Miller, Mr. Bill Flynt, Mr. Bill Prince (owner of the barber shop in Walnut Cove), Mrs. Ruby Crews, Mr. William Gomer Burrows, Mr. Bob Rogers (owner of Bob Rogers Restaurant in Madison), Mr. Charlie Davis, Mrs. Sadie Hampton and her husband, Hill Hampton (who we regret to report is recently deceased), and Mr. Boley Tuttle (also deceased since my interview with him).

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Appreciation is also extended to Kinney Rorrer for the use of information and photos from his book, and to Mr. Bill Flynt for trusting us with his original set of sixty-year-old photos.

Thank you to Grace Harris whose many years of cooking experience allowed us all the opportunity to enjoy Marie's raisin cake.

Thank you also to my daughter, Teresa Sink, and to Mrs. Inez Smith who helped with proof-reading.

A special thank you to my daughter, Trudy, for reading my thoughts and feelings and putting it all into words.

And last, my deepest appreciation to Charlie Lawson's niece, Mrs. Stella Lawson Boles. Without her knowledge and courageous cooperation, this book would not have been complete.

We thank you all.

The Authors...

M. Bruce Jones is a native North Carolinian, and currently resides in Jamestown, North Carolina.

Trudy J. Smith is the daughter of M. Bruce Jones and resides with her husband and son in Sophia, North Carolina. She is currently completing her Bachelor's Degree at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.

King Public Library

PC Box 629

King, NC 27021

Member of

Northwestern Regional Library

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JA M 11 2007

BOOK: White Christmas, bloody Christmas
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