Robberies after 1876 are the work of the James Gang.Ĭore members of the James-Younger Gang were Cole Younger, John Jarrett and Jesse and Frank James. Pre-1869 hold-ups which have been attributed to the Gang may have had one or more members involved but not the Gang as we know it today. The James-Younger Gang originated in 1868 with the Russellville, Kentucky bank robbery and terminated in 1876 with a similar caper in Northfield, Minnesota. He said that he wanted to see how Bill was getting along and to take a look at the penitentiary from the inside. Jesse had no thoughts of attempting Ryan’s release. The visit was merely one of daring and friendship. Of course, Ryan was surprised to see him, but understood his business well enough to conceal his business. He represented himself as a friend of Ryan’s and conducted himself as any other visitor. Jim Cummins and others advised him not to attempt anything of the kind, but the bandit was determined, and straightway came to Jefferson City and stopped at the Nichols house.The next day he visited the penitentiary and had a talk with Ryan and left that night. Some time after Bill Ryan had been sentenced to the penitentiary for complicity in the Blue Cut train robbery, Jesse James conceived the daring idea of coming straight to Jefferson City and having a talk with Ryan. Joseph Weekly Gazette, ApJesse James’ Daring ![]() With loud screams of laughter, the ladies started to run down the hill, with the domesticated guerrilla and train robber in close pursuit, showering snow on the heads of the fleeing bevy of beauties.” “In a spirit of mischief, one of the ladies molded a snowball and threw it at Jesse, who burst into a hearty laugh, and gathering up a handful of snow began to throw back at his aggressors. Unbeknownst to the young ladies was that their neighbor was the infamous outlaw Jesse Woodson James. During this snowstorm, a few young ladies were snowballing each other in the front yard of their house at 1820 Lafayette Street when along came their neighbor, Mr. Joseph with a considerable volume of snow. O n March 9, 1882, a severe winter storm swept over north-west Missouri blanketing the city of St. Listen to Jim’s violin and watch the restoration!ĭid you know? Jesse W. Following Wilbur Zink’s passing in 2010 some of his collection was put up for auction among the items was Jim’s violin which was sold in June of 2013.” It certainly sounded like it had not been played for 100 years! My sister, Evelyn Hall, made the CD recording (with Matt Audette on guitar) in Phoenix. After the repairs I played a few tunes on the fiddle for Wilbur, using my bow. I re-haired the bow but the bow stick was “lifeless” so another bow was used in the recording. The bow was devoid of all but a few hairs and the frog a rough-cut version out of a piece of bone. The violin size, 7/8, is slightly smaller than a full size. I cut and fitted a new bridge and replaced the tail gut, and that’s all I can remember about the violin repair. The sound post seemed to be glued in place, an absolute no-no but maybe the final act of frustration by someone who could not get it wedged in place properly. Fortunately, no cracks were found in the top or back. Both the top and back of the fiddle had glue failure to the ribs in several places, each of which were reglued, as was the fingerboard. ![]() Upon arrival in Scottsdale, I backed my pickup, loaded with Sharon and violin tools, into Wilbur’s empty carport stall where I did the repairs on my rug covered tailgate. We settled on January 1997 in Scottsdale Arizona the time and place for the repairs. After the talk I gave the instrument close scrutiny and offered to restore it to playable condition provided that he would get a case that would not blow apart in a gust of wind, and that I would rustle up some letters of recommendation to put him at ease. ![]() Upon opening, Wilbur withdrew a violin in considerable disrepair – stringless, bridgeless, fingerboard loose, all visible from a distance. The case which held the violin bore the marks of a rough history – wood splintered, latches missing, and held together by a few wraps of string. Frank explains: “At the third General Meeting of the James-Younger Gang Wilbur Zink gave a talk about one of his most-prized possessions, the violin once owned and played by Jim Younger. Frank plays and repairs musical instruments. In 1996, Frank Younger, a distant relative of the Younger brothers, met Wilbur and the violin.
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