George Berham Parr (March 1, 1901 - April 1, 1975) was an American politician, who controlled a Democratic political machine that dominated Duval County, Texas and, to a lesser extent, Jim Wells County. For San Diego, it was a new beginning, though the new world was not so different from the old one. Shepperd was a political advisor to Johnson even as he attempted to bring indictments against Parr. Bouche : Du sel, du bois brl et de la fume de tourbe porte par une belle texture huileuse. News of the gang rape did not appear in local newspapers, although almost everyone in town knew what had happened by late Sunday. Arvada Obituaries | Local Obits for Arvada, CO - Legacy.com When San Diegoans talk of their families, they talk of loss: the mother who went mad, the brother who stole the inheritance, the son killed in an automobile accident on Christmas Eve. He graduated from Shades Valley High School and earned a degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University. Roberto Perez, who dumped Linda Gaitan by the railroad tracks, had been indicted in 1980 on a charge of aggravated assault for shooting a man with a .22 rifle. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ridoutsvalleychapel.com for the Parr family. Him too? was all Frankie could say, as he sobbed along with his wife. Parr was a legislative page at the Texas capitol during one of his father's terms in the Texas Legislature and attended the West Texas Military Academy for four years. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. View local obituaries in maryland. In this town of five thousand, everyone belongs. Patronage was the reward for those who helped to keep Parr in power and what law there was, was Parr law. Small for his age, he walks with a confident swagger and has a few tattoos, crosses mostly, on his arms and legs. He married the love of his life Mayre on March 14, 1964 and they spent 58 wonderful years together. Later, Frankie went back to Corando Perezs house; he heard sounds inside but got no answer when he banged on the door. A crowd that had formed began to laugh at Briones, especially when Garza pushed me down between her legs like I was a dog, as Briones later said in his statement. Garza, Torres, and Vela loitered on the west-side steps. Finale : D'une belle longueur, sale et fume. Their courtship, Frankie says, shaking his head, grinning, and dragging on a cigarette, wasnt all champagne and wine. He met Linda after a basketball game, when he bet a friend his last cigarette that he could get her to tell him where she lived. His family has been in San Diego for generations, and a brief job in Irving served only to convince him that San Diego was the place for him. After all, home was just around the corner. ", In 1948 Coke R. Stevenson, Lyndon B. Johnson and others ran in Democratic primary election for U.S. Senate. Someone gave him a few weeks at camp, and the family moved away temporarily. Finally he began forcing her to have oral sex. According to Dudley Lunchs history, The Duke of Duval County, Anglo powers paid off the crucial witness, and the men were acquitted. It did not matter that city-hall windows in San Diego had to be boarded up and white-washed because, one woman explained, we have a man who doesnt like glass. In San Diego it is better to sit in the dark than to punish the man with the rock in his hand. Later that morning, tearful and disoriented, Linda stood before an elderly justice of the peace and named her attackers so that warrants for their arrest could be issued. Then after sunrise on Palm Sunday, Frank Gaitan, betrayed by his buddies, betrayed them in turn. It is possible that he will not be the prosecutor for all the rape and kidnapping cases; the Duval County DA lost to a man from Starr County in the last election, so come January Gutierrez will most likely be out of a job. Finally, when her husbands fury seemed more menacing than her attackers threats, Linda Gaitan told him she had been raped. Pressed to turn on their own, townspeople recalled the agonies of the Parr days and found themselves paralyzed. Alanizs hair is blacker now that it was in photos in the fifties, but that small vanity cannot obscure the weariness in his face and voice. He wouldnt let you breathe, one citizen said. Over the next two years Linda and Frankie had two children, and the days blended together. Outsiders donated a Corpus apartment to the couple when it was reported that they were being threatened by the accused. Given her pick of restaurants, Linda opts for Chuck E. Cheese because the kids like it. [8][13], Struggles and demise of political machine, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno, 1948 United States Senate election in Texas, "Duval County Museum reveals little-known tales through anecdotes. Later in the summer, when the original trial date of July 11 was rescheduled for September 12, Orlando Garzas probation was finally revoked, and he was thrown in jail. He graduated from Shades Valley High School and earned a degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University. The cameras whirred, and the news that a nineteen-year-old mother of two had been raped by upward of twenty neighbors at an illegal cockfight in San Diego, Texas went out not just all over the country but all over the world. That this would not blow over was apparent by Monday morning, when San Diegoans awoke to find that someone had painted Cut the balls off the rapist on the town-square gazebo. I dont talk about it, Linda Gaitan tells me with a toss of her head, a grimace, and a finality that brooks no argument. George Berham Parr - TEXAS HISTORY NOTEBOOK Any follower of Duval County or Texas politics is familiar with the name of George B. Parr, the patron and political kingmaker. To hear Alaniz talk, the entire case was concocted by outsiders. The principal assigned a teachers aide to watch over the boyshe turned out to be an aunt of one of the suspects. Marked by history, they had only one place to feel at home. The few spacious Spanish colonial mansions, their windows covered with extravagant grillwork, overlook the shacks of Naked Citya poor neighborhood so named because the babies run around without clothes. Archer Parr passed away at age 75 years old on November 2, 2000. Then Jim Wells County amended its return, adding 202 additional votes, 200 of which were for Johnson. Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. Garza caught her, however, threw her on the hood of a car, and began raping her again. Taylor Prewitt is the newsletter editor for Texas Monthly. Roberto Perez faced a charge with sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping. A doctor prescribed medication for his heart. After dinner we decide to go to the beach. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. The death of George B. Parr wrote the final chapter in the story of the Parr political dynasty, which established a record of fraud, bribery, corruption and self-dealing unmatched in the long history of South Texas politics. Marked ballots were used, armed guards appointed by Parr patrolled polling places, election returns were changed to suit the need. The accused were finely woven into the fabric of the town; news accounts frequently noted that nine out of ten of the suspects were related through either blood or marriage. The Press Herald has published an obituary of Parr. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Long ago she made peace with the conceit that the man of the house was also just another child to be pampered and soothed. Archie made sure there were no opponents on the ballot. [citation needed] More importantly, his own political career included serving as both the Duval County Judge and Sheriff. He was the only fish purveyor for me because he was amazing to work with, and he cared a lot about where and how fish were sourced, said Cara Stadler, chef-owner of Bao Bao Dumpling House in Portland and Zao Ze Cafe in Brunswick, among others. What Frankie could not have dreamed at that moment, when the treachery of his friends stung like the slice of a knife across his cheek, was that the worst was yet to come. His growing political power was based on his long association with Mexican-Americans in Duval County. This memorial website was created in memory of George Parr, 73, born on September 14, 1892 and passed away on June 0, 1966. We settle on some concrete bleachers north of the Holiday Inn and watch the color drain out of the sky. She had married Parr when he was in his fifties and she was fifteen, the courthouse janitors daughter. He was a Mexican: Archer Parr had spoken a mangled and halting Spanish; George, who took over from his. I just dont know what happened.. Over and over again townspeople insisted to visiting reporters that these were good boys from good families. Roel Torres was placed on probation when, as a juvenile, he had cut a boy on his left arm and wrist with a knife at school. There they plotted with Texas State senator Alvin J. Wirtz, Texas state representative Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr., and the Bexar County machine to defeat four term Republican Congressman Harry M. Wurzbach in the upcoming election. Roberto Perez faced a charge of sexual assault and two charges of aggravated kidnapping. A jury found him guilty on all eight counts. George Parr Obituary - Homewood, AL Finally, Frankie curses and sighs from the back seat. James Albon Mattox, successfully relied on the old Parr network in his run as the Democratic Party nominee for Texas Attorney General, garnering a majority of the vote in the county despite running against a Mexican-American. Felipe Chew, who had never made bond and had remained in jail since the indictments, was called to the stand the next day for a bail-reduction hearing. Men like Alex Bear and Ruben Vela had served probationary terms for petty theft. He was convicted of tax evasion in March, 1974, for failing to list $287,000 in income between 1966 and 1969. Texas Rangers, deputy sheriffs and United States marshals in a helicopter found the body of the man, whose political power helped send Lyndon B. Johnson to the United States Senate in 1948. Survivors: Wife of 49 years, Betty Evans Parr; sons, Jeffrey Parr of Dallas, Jack Parr and wife, Lisa, and their children, Nathan, Reid and Sheridan of Frisco, and Jonathan Parr and wife, Kamela, and their children, Hunt and Hayden of Amelia Island, Fla.; as well as his beloved dog . The first George B. Parr also died a violent death The definitive guide to Portland's food scene. He failed to report a $25,000 bribe from a road-building contractor. In 1950, Parr had become a thorn in the side of Governor Allan Shivers and Attorney General John Ben Shepperd. As the nine oclock hearing approached, the men took their places at the courthouse. In 1954 Governor Allen Shivers declared war on the Parr Faction and sent down a team of Texas Rangers and state investigators. Donated toys are strewn about the floor, and velveteen hangings from Frankies mother decorate the wallsone of Christ, the cross inside his heart ablaze, another of bears frolicking in the stream filled with pink fish. After a group of Anglos shot down three local Mexicans on election day in the dusty main street of San Diego, Archie Parr, who spoke Spanish, took the side of the Mexicans. Torres ambles forward until he is directly behind us. Then please fill out our Contact Form, wed love to hear all about it. Sometimes, when he had money, Frankie took his wife to Jerrys Diner for a night on the town. Frankie is the only surviving child of a widow who cleaned the church for a living; his father died when he was a boy. For years after Texas won its independence from Mexico, the region remained disputed territory, and even when the issue of sovereignty was settled, the issue of which race and culture would rule was not. Obituary: George Douglas Parr - Portland Press Herald But hell recognize Frank Junior, Linda whispers, frantic. Alex Bear, Corando Perez, Orlando Garza, Felipe Chew, and Roberto Garcia were charged with sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping. George Christopher Parr , age 85 of Hoover, Alabama passed away on December 20, 2022. Later Frankie gave his wife a tattoo on her shoulder, Soy GaitanIm a Gaitanit said, over a rose that bloomed. George Parr 1807-1884 - Ancestry George Parr Birth 20 Sep 1807 - Radcliffe on Trent, Nottinghamshire, England Death Jun 1884 - Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England Mother Sarah Rockley Father Joseph Parr Quick access Family tree 48 New search George Parr family tree Family tree Explore more family trees Parents Joseph Parr 1783 - 1856 Sarah Rockley It is, like most small towns, neither interested in nor of interest to the person just passing through. Hispanics lined up behind one man whose loyalty had never wavered: Archer Parr. The Parrs lost control of that district court, an important office the Parr Machine was used to controlling all over South Texas. She is, actually, afraid to go outside at all. His lawyer advised him to take the Fifth. This Court must now look at the facts above in the light of 18 U.S.C. She knew them better than she should have, he said. Whatever it was, she had fun with it. George Berham Parr - Wikipedia In his statement, Frankie told law-enforcement officials that Ruben Vela bragged to him and Roel that he had had sex with a woman at the Gallegos ranch. The Garcia faction has even been embroiled in political scandals, proof that the old days are far from gone in San Diego. Marrying at Hampton Court, Katherine and Henry were together for four years, from 1543 until his death in 1547. Around five on a sunny evening, I ask Linda and Frankie to dinner. Sign up for service and obituary updates. [1] Mezzotint of Francis Charteris, around 1730-1732. Finally, according to the officials account of the rape, Perez dumped her near the railroad tracks around four in the morning. Then he drove the few blocks home to his place on Tovar Street, just a few short steps from the rickety King Street shack of the woman he had spent the night assaulting. There will be deals, there will be payoffs, knowledgeable cynics say with certainty. In tiny San Diego (pop. Stevenson showed up at a bank in Alice which had the precinct boxes. At midsummer, the small frame house he shared with his mother and siblings was empty. "[7], Most contemporary observers accept that Parr used his influence to affect the Jim Wells County vote totals in Johnson's favor. Slumped over the steering wheel, a bullet in his brain, was George B. Parr, 74, the "Duke of Duval," an affable, unimposing man who for decades reigned as one of America's most autarchic political bosses, the man who reputedly put Lyndon. The majority of these good boys from good families had had problems with the law. Resigned to the price of passion, townspeople are all too familiar with tragic results of beer-joint fights and late-night lovers quarrels. George Parr, seafood supplier and 'character' on Portland's waterfront For him and his brutalized wife, the price would be expulsion. Ruben Velas mother worked as secretary in the sheriffs office. When that was violated he was sent to the El Reno Reformatory in Oklahoma, where he served nine months and while there worked in the prison library. We are sitting in the living room of the Gaitans donated apartment, a small, dark place in front of a trailer park in Corpus Christi. A local fund established for Gaitan came up with only $70; a fund administered by Corpus Christi Crisis Services and fueled by the Chorpus Christi Caller-Times stories raised almost $10,000. George B. Parr, the political boss of Duval County for more than thirty years, son of Elizabeth Allen and Archer Parr, was born in San Diego, Texas, on March 1, 1901. Police officials said the body of the 74yearold Duke of Duval was slumped over the steering wheel of his car. He was convicted of tax evasion in 1932, and eventually served nine months in Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno after violating his parole. Others who did took their lives in their hands. To survive, the people of San Diego learned to submitor to be cast out into a world they did not want, that did not want them. The law finally caught up with Parr in 1974 when he was convicted of income tax evasion and given a ten-year prison term. People here are epicures of talk, but the stories they embroider and embellish have the haunting beauty of a mournful corrido. [1][8], The Parr Machine functioned on bribery, graft, and illegal donations. English is spoken only intermittently in San Diego. The bond revocation hearing was called, on allegations that Mr. Parr was carrying a weapon and might be a danger to the community. He died at his house in Bloomsbury on 27 May 1732. The people would not speak out against one another, and in refusing to choose sides, they chose one: Linda Gaitan had no family in Sand Diego, her husband had some but little compared with the defendants. Only Federal agents and the Texas Rangers ever successfully questioned his authority. Info Share. Implicated in the assassination of the son of a Parr enemy, Alaniz was acquitted in the fifties. Archer (Archie) Parr grew up on Matagorda Island. The people learned what he wanted them to learn; when the American Legion campaigned to raise the countrys literacy rate, Parr abolished Duvals veterans training program. As the summer wore on, townspeople wished the trial would be movedalmost impossible, unless the defense were to request a change of venue, and unlikely, since the odds for the defendants were so much better in Duval County.

Incident In Armley Leeds Today, Colony Theater Chicago, Providence Journal Obituaries Today, True Crossword Clue 8 Letters, Articles G