Excerpt From "The Crime Watchers"
From the Founder of Youth Crime Watch of America

My grandfather, Carson Bradford Sr., “Papa Bradford,” had built a house on our family property in Ocklawaha in 1930. The 10 acres overlooked beautiful, picturesque Lake Weir.

There was an older cottage on the property that was built by his grandfather. Papa Bradford and his family had vacationed there all his life. When the older generations died, Papa began renting the cottage, but my grandparents never planned to rent their lovely new home next door.

One day in late 1934, Papa got a call from a real estate agent and fishing buddy named Joe Adams. Joe had somehow been contacted about a “lovely old lady” named Kate Blackburn, asking whether she and her sons could possibly rent our new lake house for a couple of months in the winter. The rental agent who was speaking to Joe told him the woman seemed very sweet.

Papa said no. My grandmother, Marion, was even more adamant. Absolutely not, she said. The house was new and she had many treasured family things there. They had brought the furniture down from the Bradford Furniture Factory and Store in Nashville, Tennessee, my great-grandfather’s family business. She worried that renters might not take care of her beloved items and her beautiful new furniture.

But Joe continued to pressure him. “The family is willing to pay a huge amount for rent, and times are not good,” he reminded my grandfather. “You know the house is rarely used during the winter, Carson, and Mrs. Blackburn needs to come to Florida for her health.”

Money was tight during the Depression, and Papa finally gave in and rented it for the winter when we were not going to be using it. With poor roads and long driving distances, he communicated only through Joe, who communicated with the rental agent by mail. Papa never met the “Blackburn” mother and boys, who moved in around Thanksgiving of 1934.

Early on the morning of January 16, 1935, Papa got a piece of news. He was down fishing in the Keys and awoke to a telephone call from a newspaper friend who said, “Do you have a house on Lake Weir rented to the Barker-Karpis Gang?”

Papa Bradford replied, “What are you talking about?”

“You’d better get up here right away,” his friend shouted. “There’s a BIG gun battle going on, and the cops are shooting it up!”

My grandfather jumped on the first train. He was shocked to find the house in shambles. More than 75 crack FBI agents and two of the Barker gang had fired thousands of rounds of ammunition through the house over a course of four long hours, to date still the longest gun battle in FBI history. The house was riddled with holes. Shattered glass, tear gas, bullet shells and a great deal of blood covered the once-beautiful home.
Talk about problem renters!

With the shooting of John Dillinger, the Barker-Karpis gang had just risen to the top of J. Edgar Hoover’s public enemy list to become the notorious “Public Enemy Number One.”

Ma Barker was said to have raised her sons in crime. It apparently began with her covering up petty crimes committed by her rambunctious boys. Rather than correct them and give them moral guidance, she defended them. She progressed to planning their crimes, primarily to keep them from being arrested. When they got in trouble, she bailed them out of jail. As I grew up and studied the Barker-Karpis gang, I became fascinated with how a parent could fail to provide a good role model for her children. This, no doubt, sparked my interest in connecting kids with positive influences, which became my life’s work.

About the Author

Betty Ann Good is the founder of Youth Crime Watch of America, which originated as Youth Crime Watch in 1978 and became international in 1994. She previously founded organizations including the Crime Commission of Greater Miami’s Court Watchers in 1968 and Citizens’ Crime Watch of Miami-Dade County in 1975.

Mrs. Good has been recognized by the Florida Grand Jury Association, the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners, President Ronald Reagan, B’nai B’rith as the Dade County Outstanding Citizen of 1977, and President Bill Clinton for the Presidential Service Award in 1996. She was a national Points of Light Award recipient in 1994.

Mrs. Good graduated from the University of Florida and attended George Washington Law School and the University of Miami Law School. She currently lives in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, spending time with her three children, their spouses and her 11 grandchildren.