Move over Wyatt Earp. The gunfight at the OK Corral ain’t got nothing on this. Chances are most folks never heard of the gunfight at House. It happened back in 1939. A lot of blood was spilled that day. One man died, but it could have been worse, according to Mr. Junior Joiner who still lives in the House community. He might very well be the only living eyewitness to the horrific lead fest.
At age 97, Mr. Junior’s memories of the event were clear and detailed as he described it: “We were having a big basketball tournament. A bunch of schools were there. The big boys were playing in the gym. We younger ones were playing outside on the dirt court. I was in the eighth grade at the time. We were just having a good time like young boys will do and then all of sudden we hear guns shooting. Didn’t think too much about it. Nothing unusual. We just thought they were playing. We kept on playing ball. Then the coach hollered at us to run and get under that road bank. I looked around and sure enough the shooting was for real. We all got in the ditch and under the road bank. We were scared but you know how a bunch of boys are. We’d stick out heads up every now and then just to see what was happening. Coach would yell, “Y’all stay down.” Directly I saw where he was right. People were getting shot up there. Folks running every which away. It was awful.
Mr. Junior went on to tell me that one person died and as he remembered it, four more were shot. One girl took a bullet in the leg. She was sitting in the bleachers inside the gym when a stray bullet came through the door and hit her. He went on to say that a fellow trying to get away from the mayhem caught a ride with a man driving a T-Model Ford. As the car struggled to get up the hill and away, the man jumped out of the car and lit out on foot. Another car came by and offered him a ride and said, no thanks I’m in a hurry.
When asked if anybody ever went to jail for the shooting, Mr. Junior said he didn’t remember it if they did. He said two sawmill crews were feuding and had actually planned to meet at the gym to settle the dispute. Whether or not the men knew there was a tournament going at the time they planned it, is anybody’s guess. Either way, the gunfight went on as planned. Well, maybe not exactly as planned!
There are several theories as to what the feud was all about, but this writer will forgo any speculation on that. The House Gym is gone now, but the memory of that day will forever be etched in the memory of Mr. Junior Joiner. When asked what they did after the shootout, Mr. Junior said, “We went back to playing ball.”
