mavis badcob

Mavis and her brother Marvis attended first grade with me in Wall, SD circa 1969. At that time, the first grade room was in the sub-basement of the old building, later a library for the elementary students. Mavis' brother Marvis was also a student. Everyone was scared of them. They were tough.
Mavis met Terry Culhane midway through the year. It was love at first fistfight. Terry got the knickname Killer because he killed a pidgeon with a hand ax on the playground, but we figured he was capable of much worse.
Mavis and Killer pretty much ran the pecking order. Lining up at the water fountain, collecting milk money, who got to go pee and when. The teachers were oblivious. They sat across the hall smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. Just like elementary school teachers do now.
Marvis was slow. He peed his pants and cried a lot.Marvis wasn't content with his station in life. He lacked the intellect to find the right path and became a gangster with the 187 Krew just then forming in Kadoka. There he met Maribelle Spooner who had recently been released from the Arkansas State Prison System in Ofalukee. Maribelle was a shiner. She'd done some noodlin' in her time and Marvis took a shine to her. She of the hay-brown skin and rope-like hair. He of the prairie onion and river bank wild potato. Both accustomed to gunpowder and black licorice.
In time, the four met up. Mavis, Killer, Marvis and Maribelle. They rented a small bungalow in Union Center and settled in. Mavis slung hash at the truckstop, Killer road herd for a local rancher and Marvis and Maribelle did little or nothing. Or so it seemed.
On Friday, October 12, 1986, at 2:33 PM Central Standard Time, Marvis and Maribelle tried to rob the Liberty State Bank in Fort Pierre, SD. It was mayhem. When the dust cleared, three people lay dead. Janicet Cooper, the head teller, and Marvis and Maribelle. The bank's money was intact.
Mavis got the news at work. Killer was drunk and couldn't comprehend the gravity of events. But both knew it was only a matter of time. Flatfoots and gumshoes would be all over them. They met at the Silver Dollar in Cottonwood, stole a pickup and headed for Lusk. Mavis had family in Lusk.

Notes on Lusk, Wyoming.
Lusk is located at 42°45′38″N, 104°27′10 W.
As far as we know, there are 1,447 people, 611 households, and 381 families residing in the town. There are 782 housing units. The racial makeup of the town is 98% White, with less than one African American, a few Native Americans, an occasional Asian passing through and two Mexicans, Jose and Andrejillo.
There are 611 countable households out of which 27% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51% were married couples living together, 8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38% were non-families living in sin. 35% of all households were made up of lonely individuals and 17% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older and really lonely. The average household size is 2 and the average family size was 3.
In the town the population is spread out with 22% under the age of 18, 8% from 18 to 24, 26% from 25 to 44, 24% from 45 to 64, and 19% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 82.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75 males. So dudes are getting laid. Statistically speaking.
The median income for a household in the town is $29K and the median income for a family is $37K. Males have a median income of $28K versus $17K for females. The per capita income for the town is $16K. 14% of the population are below the poverty line, including 23% of those under age 18 and 13% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people born in Lusk
* Dick Ellsworth-Major League Baseball pitcher.
* James G. Watt-United States Secretary of the Interior for much of Ronald Reagan's first term.
There are sixteen bars in Lusk and four "casinos". Three "titty-bars" cater to a mostly male clientèle including local area ranchers and sheepherders.
The school system is robust. Andrew Carnegie built a library that does triple duty as the school, school library and large-animal veterinary hospital. Students don't have access to state provided transportation so many either walk or hitchhike to classes on a daily basis.
Other notable facts:
* Van Halen's tour bus hit an antelope just outside of city limits in 1982, no one on the bus was injured. The antelope died and the drinking continued on into Cheyenne where the next gig was scheduled.
* Hootenanny scouted the area for a potential Information Technology Center in March 2007. After due consideration, we determined the cost of two T1 lines would be prohibitive.
* There isn't even a dream that there will ever be live music in Lusk.
* We were surprised to learn they were working on the technology needed to provide air conditioning.

So much for Lusk. Mavis and Killer blew in on the Monday after the failed robbery in a green '84 Pacer. Killer in his denims, Mavis in a floral print, knee length. They booked a room at the TeePee Lodge on 183 and headed over to Bill's Cafe for coffee and news. The sky threatened an early winter storm and sleet already mixed with the rain. Killer reached for Mavis but she dodged his arm and gave him an angry look.


FIRST INSTALLMENT IN THE STORY OF MAVIS BADCOB