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| THE GUN BATTLE Mrs. Mattie (Hunter) relates a story of her grandfather, Newt Lakes, being killed while trying to stop a gunfight from taking place in the church house yard at the given location on a Sunday morning in 1917. "Several men got into a gun battle over at the old Red Lick Church while services were going on inside. As one of the men drew his gun to shoot the other, my grandfather apparently grabbed the pistol in an attempt to divert the shot away from the other man, hoping to resolve the problem without anyone getting hurt. The failed attemt however, resulted in grandpa himself being shot. The bullet hit him in the eye and came out the back of his head. They hauled him in a jolt wagon with a team of mules to his house where he died later that evening." Mattie also states: "I've been told by Mrs. Hunter who was there at the time it took place, that when the shooting broke out members of the congregation were diving out the windows trying to get away from the stray bullets." Mattie was referring to her late husband's (Willard) mother Mrs. Alma Hunter. The late Mr. Richard Casteel (1901-1983) spoke of this incident to his long time friend Mr. Stanley Adams, who is 75 years of age and is known in his own right for having a brilliant memory. "Richard was there when the shooting at the old church occurred. He was just a boy, probably around 16 years old, but he remembered it well and told me about it. Of coarse everybody in this country knew about it back then and they talked about it for years afterward. The way I've always heard the story told was that Author Webb, Emery McAnaly, Woodson Dezarn, and George Hensley got into a gunfight at the old church house over an incident that occurred the year before concerning a man by the name of Green Davidson. Davidson had been sent to prison some time before for killing a man, but had escaped. Sheriff Doug Young lead a posse, which included Emery McAnaly and his brother Raz (His real name was John), to hunt Davidson down. They found Green and his brother, Harrison, rabbit hunting on the racetrack ridge near Needmore. They were both carrying shotguns and elected to shoot it out rather than surrender. Shortly after the shooting started, one of the men in the posses shot Green Davidson squire through with a 30-40 caliber Craig high powered rifle and another wounded his brother Harrison with a shotgun blast, but not bad enough to put him down. Green, probably realizing that his wound was fatal was said to have turned to his brother told him to run off before they killed him too and that's what he did. Emery McAnaly was said to have walked up and shot Davidson several time after he had already been gunned down. There was a grudge between these men over that incident which occurred in the fall of 1916. The gunfight at the old church took place the following year. Anyway, when the smoke cleared, McAnaly lay dead in the church house yard and Newt Lakes, who got shot trying to break the fight up, died later that evening at his house.' Matt Lake also knew about this indicident. Matt is another well known and well respected member of the Red Lick community. "The gun battle at the old church too place the 24th of September in 1916. After Davidson ran off from the penitentiary, a $100 reward was offered for his capture, Deputy Doug Young and his brother George, Will Layer, and the McAnaly brothers Emery and Raz, went after Davidson and caught up with him in the Crane fork of the Lonesome Hollow. Harrison Davidson, Green's brother, was with him. Green told his brother to run away and it's probably a good thing he did or he may have been killed as well. I've always heard those McAnaly boys shot Davidson to pieces after he was already dead." Matt was eight year old when the gun battle took place. "As a boy, I remember seeing McAnaly (Emery) that morning, he had just gotten himself a haircut and apparently somebody had warned him that those boys were going to be at the old church that day, but he was afraid that people would think he was a coward if he didn't go. They may have been having revival at the church. There was a meeting of some type going on, maybe just a regular Sunday morning service. There wasn't many forms of entertainment in those days and a lot of folk just met up outside of churches to have something to do. They would listen to the singing coming from inside the church or just socialize. A bunch of 'em met up and got into a shootout that day. Emery McAnaly was killed and so was Newt Lakes, trying to stop it. Matt was born on the 25 of August in 1909, "My ancestors came from the country of Whales. Our name is Lake from the old country although most of our neighbors calls us Lakes. The "s" was added by the Americans after the family name was established. My great-great grandfather, Jonathon Hunter, owned slaves. We wore the grey. We were Rebels." Matt confirms that the old church house was a log structure. The old church had reportedly burned sometime in the early 1900's. Matt says that this is incorrect. "I don't recall them ever having service after the gun battle took place. The old building just naturally deteriorated. The roof fell in and the whole thing finally just rotted away. By the 1930's there was nothing left." Ruth, Matt's wife, says "The christian people just wondered away after the killing took place. They never met there again." Miss Kates explains "As small children, we visited Aunt Lizzie (As she was commonly called) after she moved to Red Lick in 1929. The remains of the old church sat upon the ridge, just above where we turned to go to Aunt Liza's house. There were a few graves in the cemetery below the church house. The roof of the old church house had already fallen in. Only part of the old logs remained, but they were mostly just laying in a piled up heap, rotting away." |
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