81 years ago on April 16th, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde robbed Stuart’s First National Bank. After mere minutes inside of the bank, the gang escaped with about $1,200. A large sign on the window of the former bank building, which is now a hair salon, immortalizes the crime. Local historian Rod Stanley says that Bonnie and Clyde liked robbing banks in small towns like Stuart, because back then they didn’t have police departments. “There were constables like Jonn Love, who did something during the day and then at night was town constable. There were no full-time police and they knew that. They knew that if they robbed a bank the odds of them being confronted by someone were low. It wasn’t going to happen.”

MaryKay Best Smith owns MK’s Total Salon, which sits in the former First National Bank building. Smith says while trying to run her hair styling business, she has tourists come in all the time asking about Bonnie and Clyde. “People are under the impression that it’s been preserved as a museum of the bank that was robbed. They come in and want a tour, and souvenirs and the story.”

Rod Stanley will join us today on Let’s Talk Guthrie County to tell us more about Bonnie and Clyde’s Stuart bank robbery. It airs during the 9 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. hours on K107.9 and www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.