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Ma Barker: America’s Most Wanted Mother

In a time when notorious Depression-era criminals were terrorizing the country, the Barker-Karpis Gang stole more money than mobsters John Dillinger, Vern Miller, and Bonnie and Clyde combined. Five of the most wanted thieves, murderers, and kidnappers by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the 1930s were from the same family. Authorities believed the woman behind the band of violent hoodlums that ravaged the Midwest was their mother, Kate “Ma” Barker.

It was a raw, gusty day in mid-January 1934 when bank president Edward G. Bremer dropped off his nine-year-old daughter, Betty, at Summit School in St. Paul, Minnesota. Parents and children dressed in heavy overcoats and wearing woolen hats hurried across the street and passed in front of Edward’s black Lincoln sedan on their way to the building. A light snow began to fall as he pulled away from the elementary school and headed toward his office. Edward was the president of the Commercial State Bank and traveled the same route to work every day. Each morning he waved good–bye to his little girl at 8:25 and proceeded to his job. He traveled along Lexington Avenue for a half hour, stopping at all the traffic signs along the way.

The car Edward drove was comfortable and warm, and cheerful music spilled from the radio as he contemplated the paperwork waiting for him on his desk. He cast a glance in his rearview mirror every so often but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until Edward stopped at a stop sign and Alvin Karpis, a tall, slim man in a blue shirt streaked with mud, hurried to the driver’s side window holding a gun, that he considered anything was wrong. Edward was stunned and didn’t move as the armed man flung the driver’s side door open and shoved the weapon into his side. “Move over or I’ll kill you,” Alvin barked at him.

Before Edward had a chance to comply, the passenger’s side door of his car was jerked open, and Arthur “Doc” Barker leaned inside the vehicle. Arthur struck Edward on the head several times with the butt end of a .45 caliber automatic revolver. Blood from the gash sprayed the dashboard. Edward slumped in his seat, unconscious, and Alvin pushed him onto the floor. Arthur jumped inside the car and closed the passenger’s side door.

To learn more about Ma Barker and the Barker-Karpis Gang read

Ma Barker: America’s Most Wanted Mother.

The Ma Barker Giveaway

Send Ma Barker to the New York Times Bestseller’s list

Ma Barker: America’s Most Wanted Mother by Howard Kazanjian and Chris Enss tells the story of the Gangster Era criminals whose mother literally let them get away with murder. Ma Barker is unique in criminal history. Although she was involved in numerous illegal activities for more than twenty years she was never arrested, fingerprinted, or photographed perpetrating a crime. Yet Ma controlled two dozen gang members who did exactly as she told them.

Step 1 – Enter the Ma Barker giveaway!

Enter for your chance to win a Ma Barker gift basket which includes a two-night stay at a resort in one of Ma Barker’s favorite hideout cities, Reno, Nevada.

(You can also enter the GoodRead’s Ma Barker Giveaway, opens in a new tab so you can finish here.)

Step 2 – Pre-order the book so you are eligible to win!

As soon as you complete the entry form below, you will be redirected to Amazon.com to Pre-Order the book. Make sure you complete your purchase in order to confirm your eligibility.

Visit www.chrisenss.com to enter!

Last Chance to Enter to Win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.

Between 1847 and 1858, more than six hundred female teachers traveled across the frontier to provide youngsters with an education, and the numbers grew rapidly in the decades to come. Enduring hardship, the dozen women included in Frontier Teachers demonstrated untold dedication and sacrifice to bring formal education to the Wild West. These women introduced their students to a world of possibilities – and changed America forever. Women like:

Olive Mann Isbell and Hannah Clapp, who came to class armed with guns to keep students safe from hostile natives.

Eliza Mott, who, lacking schoolbooks and supplies, taught the alphabet using the inscriptions on tombstones.

Lucia Darling and Mary Graves McLench, who trekked hundreds of miles through treacherous country to teach children in the most remote regions.

To learn more read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.

Enter to win a copy of the book

Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.

Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.

Tears streamed down twelve-year-old Bethenia Owens’s face as she watched her teacher pack his belongings into a faded, leather saddlebag and slip his coat on over his shoulder. She was heartbroken that the gracious man who introduced her to the alphabet and arithmetic would be leaving to teach school at a far off location. Bethenia’s brothers and sister gathered around him, hugging his legs and hanging onto his hands. Mr. Beaufort had boarded with the Owens family during the three-month summer school term in 1852, and everyone had grown quite attached to him, especially Bethenia.

Mr. Beaufort smiled sweetly at Bethenia as she wiped her face dry with the back of her dirty hand. Streaks of grim lined her thin features and continued on into her hairline. Her long, brown locks protruded haphazardly out of the pigtails behind each ear. The dainty ribbons that once held her hair in place were untied and dangling down the back of her soiled, well-worn gingham dress.

Bethenia would remember this day for the rest of her life and her first teacher Mr. Beaufort. It was his kindness and dedication to education that inspired her to want to be a teacher.

To learn more about Bethenia Owens Adair, the schools teachers like her established, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.

Enter to win a copy of the book

Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.

Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.

Mary Graves Clarke, a dark-haired woman with a pale face and deep age lines marking her high cheekbones and small mouth, sat behind a wooden desk staring out a window that was slightly tinged around the edges with frost. The view of the distant snow-covered mountains that loomed over Huntington Lake in Tulare County held her attention for a long while.

The eleven students in the one-room schoolhouse where Mary taught pored over the books in their laps, quietly waiting for their teacher to address them. The pupils ranged in age from six to fifteen years. The majority of the class was girls, a few of whom couldn’t help themselves from whispering while casting worried glances at their distracted teacher. Finally, one of the children asked, “Mrs. Clarke, are you all right?”

Mary slowly turned to the pupils and nodded. “I’m fine,” she assured them. “I was just remembering.”

According to the journal kept by one of Mary’s students, her “expression was one of sadness.” In spite of her melancholy spirit she led the students through a series of lessons then dismissed them for recess. She followed them outside and for a moment was content simply to watch them play. A cold breeze drew her attention back to the mountains and drove her thoughts back to a time when she was a teenager, hopeful and happy; traveling west with her family and other members of the Donner Party.

To learn more about Mary Clarke Graves, the schools teachers like her established, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read

Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.