Book Updates

March 2011 – The book continues to sell at a moderate pace as we enter the seventh year of publication. We have had several people contact us about various people featured in the book. We continue to stop at the Big Timbers Museum north of Lamar, Colo., to sign books. We are interested in how the new addition to the museum will expand the exhibit area, and possibly have a new protected place for the Fleagle car. Every once in a while we hear from the Big Timbers curator that someone has stopped by to talk about the First National Bank robbery and in a few cases they have brought new items to be added to the robbery and trial collection.

 

Feb. 2009 - There are two new reviews on Amazon.com. They are both interesting reviews as they come from very different perspecives. The most recent was posted in January by someone who calls himself Northwest Reader. He had some very pointed criticisms of the book and how the author put it together. On some of the points we would agree, but we feel it is a bit better job than he is giving us credit for. What we did find in all this person's reviews is he enjoys taking knocks at all he has picked on, and apparently has not found a single book he feels deserves a high rating.

The second review was posted last fall by Ken Taylor, who is the author of The Standup Comedian and a couple other books. He said he enjoyed the book, but it was not the kind of book he usually reads.

We thank everyone who has written a review, and hope others will consider doing so whether you want to rate it high or low we appreciate the feedback and interest. It seems impossible, but the book is about to celebrate the fourth year since it was published next month. We know more than 1,000 copies have been sold and a few seem to sell each month. We know it is not going to win any major awards, but have been satisfied with the response we have had.

It would be great if someone from Hollywood would pick the story up for a mini-series for TV or even a movie. We know at one time a proposed movie manuscript was being floated around the movie people, but nothing seems to have come of it over the years.

(April 2010 - We had a call from History's Mystery public television program that they are working on a program that deals with the Fleagle Gang from 1933. We are hoping to help get them the information and graphics to move the program ahead.)

May 2008 - A new review of the book has been posted on Amazon.com. It is a wonderful review, and comes at the book from a very different point of view. Nice to see after three years the book continues to get some good reviews.

April 2008 - Was asked to be the program at the Goodland Kiwanis, and had a good audience. Sold one book and had good response from those present. Hard to believe the book has now been out for three years. Know we have sold more than 1,000 copies, and that is a good feeling. Found out about another layout error in the book - oops.

March 2008 - Made a presentation about the book to the Book for Lunch group at the Pioneer Library in Colby on March 5. We had a good response and sold out of the books we had taken. One of those present brought us their copy of the book to sign. There were about 30 people at the lunch program and they had some good questions.

Feb. 14, 2007 ­ It is hard to believe the book has been out for two years, and we continue to get good comments from peole who have read it. We recently got a call from a young girl who is the granddaughterof Dr. Wineinger of Dighton who was killed by the Fleagle's after he was kidnapped to treat gang member Herbert Royston. She said she had found my book and was doing a report for her school. She asked us about a story that was told to me by a Fleagle relative, and I put in the book about her grandmother being a bridesmaid for the wife of Ralph Clayton Fleagle. She said her grandmother did not remember anything about that story. I told her I could not tell her any more about the story, and thanked her for calling. She said she would send a copy of her report. Have not seen anything yet. We have renewed the contract with Authorhouse for at least two more years to keep the book on the lists. Over the Christmas season the book did pretty well. We have been buried in snow around here, but when spring does come we will be looking for other ways to promote the book. We hope to work with the Finney County Museum to do some more fund raising for the Fleagle car they have. If you have questions or comments about the book or the Fleagle family we would like to hear from you by e-mail to ntbetz@nwkansas.com, or by writing to me at 1205 Main, Goodland, KS 67735.

Sept. 22, 2006 ­ The book has been available for about 16 months, and we continue to see some sales, but not as many as the first year. It is fun to hear from people about their memories of the robbery and what their connection was to the events or the families involved in the story. We had an interesting one recently. We were talking to or mother down in Arizona, and she said a woman from Missouri called to ask if she was related to the author of The Fleagle Gang. I would guess she found mom through the Internet, but she was telling her how much she enjoyed reading the book. A few days later I received a note card in the mail from Mildred Cornelius of Thayer, Mo.She said: "Your mother may have told you that I called her to inquire about you. I found your address on the Internet. I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your book about the Fleagle Gang. My family moved to Lamar the day of the robbery so don't remember much about it. I looked on Google and found your book and bought it. It inspired me to write a journal to pass on to my children about growing up in southeast Colorado. I raised all my children here in Missouri. My maiden name was Keeton and I was four years ahead of your dad in school. My husband was not related to Bob and Gerbing Cournelius (They ran Cornelius Transfer and Storage in Lamar) but we met and married in Lamar.

Some other stories we have heard about the events and the people. Tiny Venn was 10 at the time of the robbery. Her mother had sent her downtown to the Butler's department store, and she came out of the store shortly after the robbery. She saw a crowd gathered in front of the bank, but did not think anything of it and went home. Then she saw the news of what it was.

Keith Bachman said his father, M.P. had a farm north of Lamar and saw the getaway car go by. He said he remembered seeing the car earlier and thought the gang was making a practice run.

Tony Peck of Lamar said Otis Randolf who lived in western Kansas was working on a windmill when a Fleagle took him at gunpoint to his house.

We have been contacted by a television company from England who are using a photos of Jake Fleagle from the book in a television program. Any publicity we can get for the book helps enlarging the audience and possibly sales of the book.

July 22, 2006 ­ It has been more than a year since The Fleagle Gang hit the book market, and we continue to get great feedback from people who have read it. We are pleased that people have found it interesting to read. Many of the people we have heard from have a personal or family interest in the book, and the events from those exciting days. It has been 78 years since the Lamar robbery, but I get a thrill about the forensic science every time I hear a story about someone being caught by a fingerprint. Of course, DNA has become as important in catching criminals, but the first thing the criminal scene investigators look for are fingerprints.

I traveled to Lamar on July 1, 2006, to watch The Great Race come through town. It was great to see the old 1927 blue Buick that began the whole story for me 39 years ago when it was put on display in Prowers County. It sent a chill up my spine to see the car sitting on a Lamar street surrounded by other classic cars.

March 24, 2006 ­ Book sales continue to add up. The Christmas season was the best, but that was to be expected. We check the online sites pretty regularly, and the book seems to do better through Barnes & Noble than through Amazon. On Barnes & Noble the book has been in the top 10 bestsellers a few times under the true crime/robbery and burglary category. The bestseller list changes frequently, and the other day the book was listed at No. 23 of 169. I am surprised by how the book moves up and down on the Amazon.com list. On Amazon the book has fallen nearly to the bottom of their list, but suddenly it will pop up into the top 10 percent. Sales through Authorhouse have been the slowest, but then I think both Amazon and Barnes & Noble have the book listed at a cheaper price. I have been pleased with the total sales which are nearing 1,000 books in the first year ­ for a self-publish and self-promoted book that is pretty good. We continue to hear good comments about the book, and hope some of the more outlying areas where the Fleagle Gang operated find it helpful.

There was a good crowd at the joint book signing at the Fick History and Fossil Museum in Oakley on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2005. The first part of the program was a presentation by Mike Everhart about his new book "Oceans of Kansas," which is about the prehistoric fish and birds found fossilized in the Smoky Hill River area of western Kansas. Switching from prehistoric animals we followed with a presentation about the Fleagle gang. There were about three dozen books sold and more than 40 signed, and again some nice compliments. One question that seems to come up is whether there is any evidence that the Fleagle gang buried loot after bank robberies. Sadly, I have found no evidence that they buried anything. In most cases the evidence is they would burn up anything that was not negotiable, and there is evidence the two Fleagle brothers put their money in banks throughout western Kansas under aliases. Old man Jake Fleagle is the only family member who seemed to have a penchant for burying loot or storing it in hidden places in his home.

Over 75 people turned out for the Scott County Historical Society membership meeting on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2005, and they sold all 39 books they had on hand and were taking orders for 16 more. The audience was quite complimentary, and we met a number of people who remembered the Fleagle family members who have lived in the area. The El Quartelejo Museum is well worth seeing as Tom Graham gave us a quick tour before the program began. It is wonderful to have people enjoying the book, and we hope they are sharing the story with their family and friends. This is a story that has no ending, and we expect other people to publish more books with other parts of the story of this professional gang of bank and train robbers.

There was a good crowd for the fall picnic at the Finney County Museum on Oct. 2, 2005. They sold about 25 books, and I signed about a dozen that had been purchased previous to the picnic. One man had sent the book to his brother in Florida for his birthday. He read it and sent it back to his brother to have me sign it. At the same time the museum had the "Fleagle Family" car on display. It is a green 1929 Model A, I believe Ralph was driving when he was arrested in Kankakee, Ill. We know that Eleanor Fleagle Hooker and Walter Fleagle drove the car for many years. The car was given to the museum by Kenneth Hooker, and they are raising money to have it restored. It looks better today than when I fist saw it. The car has new tires all around, and the wheels have been cleaned, greased and repainted black.

Charlie Norton, noted sculptor from Leoti, has been promoting the book. Norton said he has been carrying his copy of the book everywhere he goes.

In Lamar, Colo. signed books are available at Big Timbers Museum north of the city. Books are available at the Lane County Museum in Dighton, Kan., the Holly Library, Holly, Colo., the Fick Fossil and History Museum in Oakley, Kan., Finney County Museum and Hastings Book Store in Garden City, Kan., the Greeley County Museum in Tribune, Kan., the High Plains Museum in Goodland, Kan., The El Quartelejo Museum in Scott City and the Colorado Prison Museum in Canon City, Colo. Linda Knott of Knott Just Books can order the book, and can be contacted at 785-890-6444 or check her online bookstore at www.knottjustbooks.spreadtheword.com.

We recently found a site on the Internet that had a listing of old Gangbusters radio programs from the past. The information was that there was a program that mentioned the Fleagle brothers: ­ Gangbusters. May 26, 1937. CBS network. "Jake and Ralph Fleagle". Sponsored by: Palmolive Shave Cream. 10:00 P. M. The Fleagle brothers are bank robbers and cold-blooded killers. Gangbusters Clues: Wanted for murder: a forty-three year old man with scars on his forehead, tattoos on his arm. Frank Byrne (escaped murderer): scars on his eyebrows and finger. Madeline Raymond: escaped from a Massachusetts reformatory. In Minnesota: a man driving a stolen 1936 Ford coupe is wanted for murder. In Iowa: kidnappers driving a 1936 Plymouth. The script was previously used on "G-Men" on September 21, 1935. Phillips H. Lord (host, director), Erik Rolf (announcer), Bea Beekman (commercial spokesman: head coach of the 9136 women's Olympic team). 29:37.