Willow Oak
06-29-2012, 09:06 PM
Poor Joe. He just could not catch a break. Everybody was after him; they all wanted to see him dead. People from all
over, even from around the country drove to the state where Joe lived, intent on finding and killing the infamous “Joe.”
Not only were the locals out to get Joe, eventually even the FBI was after him! And not only the FBI, but victims
screamed out so loudly for justice, that at one point even the president of the United States of America, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, put out the word: “Get Joe!”
The order to get Joe did not include the phrase “dead or alive,” especially not in Joe’s case. No, the only way to bring
Joe in was dead. In the end, Joe would be caught, and he would be killed, and the infamy of Joe would be so great that
Joe’s carcass would actually be stuffed and placed in an enclosed glass case to be put on public display!
Who is this Joe, and why was he so notorious as to be wanted by then FBI and the president of the United States?
What had he done, this Joe, to incur such wrath?
Joe lived during one of the turbulent eras of the United States. Spurred on by the Great Depression of the early 1930’s,
many citizens of the United States had resorted to standing in “bread lines,” or panhandling in the streets. Families
were torn apart as siblings were shipped hither and yon among relatives. Most people in the U. S. survived the Great
Depression without resorting to nefarious occupations, but there was a select few who chose another path.
Among those who chose to take a wayward path in order to support themselves were such notorious characters as John
Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Machine Gun Kelly, Al Capone, Frank Costello, Bonnie and Clyde, and Lucky Luciano.
The depression, combined with the era of prohibition had produced the most violent era in United States history … and
a new government agency: the Federal Bureau of investigation.
The FBI would get its man, and in every case the notorious gangsters of the twenties and the thirties were eventually
hunted down and either killed or sent to prison.
Then there was Joe. What had Joe done to be placed on the FBI’s list of the very-much sought after? How many banks
had Joe robbed? How many holdups had Joe committed. In how many murders was Joe involved?
The answer? None. As a matter of fact, according to the local citizens of Marion County, Florida, Joe was a peace-
loving individual, and had done wrong to no one. Even though many citizens of the town of Ocala had been close
enough to Joe to have been caused much harm, Joe had gone about his way, ignoring those about him, leaving alone,
and wanting to be left alone. Joe, living in the swamps of southern Florida, did what so many of his era did and are still
doing: he hunted and killed only that, which he intended to devour for sustenance. Otherwise, Joe committed no acts of
violence; nor did he intrude upon anyone else’s rights.
Yet Joe found himself on the wrong end of the law, and would eventually pay with his life. Furthermore, Joe would have
to suffer the indignity (if the dead can so suffer) of being stuffed and put on public display.
Why? “Why,” we ask ourselves. What did Joe do? Why was the FBI after him? Why was FBI director J. Edgar Hoover
personally involved in the hunt? Why did even the president of the United States get so involved?
Well, it just so happens that living near the swamp where Joe resided were a young man and his aged mother. Fred
Blackbird and his mother Kate had recently acquired the house near the swamp, and were living their lives in peace and
serenity. Fred was staying with his mother who was too old to properly care for herself, and the family had heretofore
made enough money that they could afford to so reside without having to resort to the daily rummaging for food and
comfort as did Joe.
The year was 1935, and all of the then-known notorious criminals had either been killed or jailed, yet there remained a
couple. Yes, the last of the famous outlaws of the time were hold up in that house. So why was the FBI after Joe
instead of the two infamous criminals living in the house? And who were this Fred and Kate Blackbird, anyway?
Fred was Kate’s son, one of four born to Kate. One son was dead; one son was in jail; one son was living with his
girlfriend in New Orleans; and one son was with her. Kate was not her real name – neither was “Blackbird.” Her real
name was Arizona: Arizona Donnie Clark. She had changed her name to “Kate” years before, and due to the nature of
the family “business,” one which was very lucrative, and very destructive, she and her son had plenty of money on which
to live. Besides the son living in New Orleans, Kate and her son were the lone remaining of the infamous gangsters of
the early 20th century, and the FBI was out to get them and put an end to the violence of that era.
So what does all of this have to do with poor Joe? Well, Joe was somewhat of a legend in his county. More than that,
Joe had become a legend all over the state of Florida and beyond. Joe, you see, was a three-legged alligator. Many of
the locals said that although Joe was an alligator he was known to not bother humans – even little children – who
happened to be swimming in the waters near him. And even though in 1935 the FBI was out in full force to find Joe, Joe
survived until a poacher shot and killed him in 1966.
Fred Blackbird had been a member of a notorious gang that included two brothers and a host of other ne’er-do-wells.
They had committed bank robberies and armed holdups; they had killed policemen in cold blood; they had killed
ordinary and innocent citizens in cold blood, just to erase witnesses. And they had kidnapped and held for ransom a
prominent local businessman who happened to be a close friend to Franklin Roosevelt.
Among the gang of hooligans that had run with Fred Blackbird was one named Byron Bolton. After being captured, and
in exchange for a bit of leniency, Byron informed the authorities that he might be able to help them find the leader of the
notorious gang. The only information that he had on Fred, was that he was living with his mother in Florida, and had
gone to hunt down “Old Joe.” And that was the only information that he had given police, and it was the only information
needed by the FBI.
I didn’t take long for a bit of investigation to lead authorities to the swamp where “Old Joe” lived, and after that to find the
house where a mysterious old lady and her young son were living. The FBI closed in and surrounded the house, and
what ensued was a shoot-out that would last for four hours. In the end, the old woman and her son would be found
dead inside the house. The last of the gangsters was dead. The gangster era was over. The public would henceforth
be safe. And it is all owed to the fact that some old three-legged alligator named “Joe,” had managed to be what those
of his kind rarely are: a kindly old soul. And that kindness had earned for Joe such a reputation that the FBI in its hour
of need, need only go to the state of Florida, mention the name “Old Joe,” and they would be directed to his
whereabouts.
About the old woman: her real name was not Kate, as we have mentioned; and no one ever referred to her by her real
name of Arizona. However most people have heard of her, and when they do talk of her they refer to her as “Ma.”
Ma Barker.
over, even from around the country drove to the state where Joe lived, intent on finding and killing the infamous “Joe.”
Not only were the locals out to get Joe, eventually even the FBI was after him! And not only the FBI, but victims
screamed out so loudly for justice, that at one point even the president of the United States of America, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, put out the word: “Get Joe!”
The order to get Joe did not include the phrase “dead or alive,” especially not in Joe’s case. No, the only way to bring
Joe in was dead. In the end, Joe would be caught, and he would be killed, and the infamy of Joe would be so great that
Joe’s carcass would actually be stuffed and placed in an enclosed glass case to be put on public display!
Who is this Joe, and why was he so notorious as to be wanted by then FBI and the president of the United States?
What had he done, this Joe, to incur such wrath?
Joe lived during one of the turbulent eras of the United States. Spurred on by the Great Depression of the early 1930’s,
many citizens of the United States had resorted to standing in “bread lines,” or panhandling in the streets. Families
were torn apart as siblings were shipped hither and yon among relatives. Most people in the U. S. survived the Great
Depression without resorting to nefarious occupations, but there was a select few who chose another path.
Among those who chose to take a wayward path in order to support themselves were such notorious characters as John
Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Machine Gun Kelly, Al Capone, Frank Costello, Bonnie and Clyde, and Lucky Luciano.
The depression, combined with the era of prohibition had produced the most violent era in United States history … and
a new government agency: the Federal Bureau of investigation.
The FBI would get its man, and in every case the notorious gangsters of the twenties and the thirties were eventually
hunted down and either killed or sent to prison.
Then there was Joe. What had Joe done to be placed on the FBI’s list of the very-much sought after? How many banks
had Joe robbed? How many holdups had Joe committed. In how many murders was Joe involved?
The answer? None. As a matter of fact, according to the local citizens of Marion County, Florida, Joe was a peace-
loving individual, and had done wrong to no one. Even though many citizens of the town of Ocala had been close
enough to Joe to have been caused much harm, Joe had gone about his way, ignoring those about him, leaving alone,
and wanting to be left alone. Joe, living in the swamps of southern Florida, did what so many of his era did and are still
doing: he hunted and killed only that, which he intended to devour for sustenance. Otherwise, Joe committed no acts of
violence; nor did he intrude upon anyone else’s rights.
Yet Joe found himself on the wrong end of the law, and would eventually pay with his life. Furthermore, Joe would have
to suffer the indignity (if the dead can so suffer) of being stuffed and put on public display.
Why? “Why,” we ask ourselves. What did Joe do? Why was the FBI after him? Why was FBI director J. Edgar Hoover
personally involved in the hunt? Why did even the president of the United States get so involved?
Well, it just so happens that living near the swamp where Joe resided were a young man and his aged mother. Fred
Blackbird and his mother Kate had recently acquired the house near the swamp, and were living their lives in peace and
serenity. Fred was staying with his mother who was too old to properly care for herself, and the family had heretofore
made enough money that they could afford to so reside without having to resort to the daily rummaging for food and
comfort as did Joe.
The year was 1935, and all of the then-known notorious criminals had either been killed or jailed, yet there remained a
couple. Yes, the last of the famous outlaws of the time were hold up in that house. So why was the FBI after Joe
instead of the two infamous criminals living in the house? And who were this Fred and Kate Blackbird, anyway?
Fred was Kate’s son, one of four born to Kate. One son was dead; one son was in jail; one son was living with his
girlfriend in New Orleans; and one son was with her. Kate was not her real name – neither was “Blackbird.” Her real
name was Arizona: Arizona Donnie Clark. She had changed her name to “Kate” years before, and due to the nature of
the family “business,” one which was very lucrative, and very destructive, she and her son had plenty of money on which
to live. Besides the son living in New Orleans, Kate and her son were the lone remaining of the infamous gangsters of
the early 20th century, and the FBI was out to get them and put an end to the violence of that era.
So what does all of this have to do with poor Joe? Well, Joe was somewhat of a legend in his county. More than that,
Joe had become a legend all over the state of Florida and beyond. Joe, you see, was a three-legged alligator. Many of
the locals said that although Joe was an alligator he was known to not bother humans – even little children – who
happened to be swimming in the waters near him. And even though in 1935 the FBI was out in full force to find Joe, Joe
survived until a poacher shot and killed him in 1966.
Fred Blackbird had been a member of a notorious gang that included two brothers and a host of other ne’er-do-wells.
They had committed bank robberies and armed holdups; they had killed policemen in cold blood; they had killed
ordinary and innocent citizens in cold blood, just to erase witnesses. And they had kidnapped and held for ransom a
prominent local businessman who happened to be a close friend to Franklin Roosevelt.
Among the gang of hooligans that had run with Fred Blackbird was one named Byron Bolton. After being captured, and
in exchange for a bit of leniency, Byron informed the authorities that he might be able to help them find the leader of the
notorious gang. The only information that he had on Fred, was that he was living with his mother in Florida, and had
gone to hunt down “Old Joe.” And that was the only information that he had given police, and it was the only information
needed by the FBI.
I didn’t take long for a bit of investigation to lead authorities to the swamp where “Old Joe” lived, and after that to find the
house where a mysterious old lady and her young son were living. The FBI closed in and surrounded the house, and
what ensued was a shoot-out that would last for four hours. In the end, the old woman and her son would be found
dead inside the house. The last of the gangsters was dead. The gangster era was over. The public would henceforth
be safe. And it is all owed to the fact that some old three-legged alligator named “Joe,” had managed to be what those
of his kind rarely are: a kindly old soul. And that kindness had earned for Joe such a reputation that the FBI in its hour
of need, need only go to the state of Florida, mention the name “Old Joe,” and they would be directed to his
whereabouts.
About the old woman: her real name was not Kate, as we have mentioned; and no one ever referred to her by her real
name of Arizona. However most people have heard of her, and when they do talk of her they refer to her as “Ma.”
Ma Barker.