In the 1940s an old codger by the name of Ollie Roberts, aka "Brushy Bill" Roberts or William Henry Roberts, a resident of Hico (pronounced HIGH-co), Texas, claimed to have been the outlaw Billy The Kid. Although his claim has been pretty much debunked, the little central Texas town of Hico has capitalized on his infamy and the town has become somewhat of a tourist attraction. Billy The Kid keeps the commerce of Hico in good shape with the local museum, a statute of the outlaw in the center of town, several antique stores, a well-known restaurant known far and wide for its chicken fried steak, an ice cream parlor, a fudge shop, and plenty of authentic ghost signs. It a fun little place to visit. Joining with other sign sillies at Lesley's Signs, Signs. Check it out!
15 comments:
Great looking sign.
Excellent sign.
Great lookin' sign. Rather clever of old Ollie!
my first thought was the man on the sign is certainly no KID, then i read the story... glad he is keeping the town afloat
What a terrific sign. And interesting that they can build a whole business around an impostor!
i bet he believed he was billy the kid.
I would have thought he might be tempting getting locked up making claims like that. At least it was good for the town.
We do love our outlaws, I guess. He even has a statue. Wonder what his victims would think about that.
I love that they could capitalize on this impostor!
Hmm, maybe his victims now would think it a badge of honour to have been killed by "The Kid'?!
Fun even if it isn't true. Seems like I remember a guy in Washington State (when I was a kid) claiming to be the original Butch Cassidy....we wanted it to be true.
What a neat sign!
must be quite a character--and a museum in his honor!:p
Signs
Very cool sign. How strange that someone would want to claim he was Billy the Kid. I can see why Hico would want to believe him though.
Very unique sign! I think he still does a good job for his town :-)
That's a great sign, even if it's based on a bit of creative fiction.
Post a Comment