13-03-2025
Oklahoma's Most Wanted and their colorful stories in one exhibit
PAWNEE, Okla. (KFOR) — The pictures and stories that connect them are entertaining from a historical distance.
Trust us, you wouldn't have wanted anything to do with the likes of Matt Kimes or his brother George.
Both were known killers.
Matt once tried to rob three banks and once in the town of Beggs, Oklahoma, killing the police chief in the attempt.
'These people were either born in Oklahoma, moved to Oklahoma, or hid out in Oklahoma,' says Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum Director Ronny Brown.
The early West in Oklahoma was occupied by outlaw gangs like the Daltons and Doolins who robbed stage coaches and trains.
'Little Bill' Raidler was part of the Doolin Gang.
Most of them died in shootouts with U.S. Marshals, but lookouts like Cattle Annie and Little Britches served prison time and eventually joined polite society.
'Pawnee Bill and Wild Bill would re-create these crimes in their western shows,' said Brown.
His expertise runs along the like of the historic wild west shows, but he's come to understand the universal appeal of colorful outlaws who also roamed the hills around Blue Hawk Peak.
He explains their macabre appeal as, 'When you run a museum you're trying to get people to visit. That's the whole idea.'
The gallery of mug shots and old photos runs from the cowboy days to Oklahoma's prohibition in the 1950s.
The list is far too long to explore, but connections pop up between people like Alvin Karpis and his gang, which included 'Gold Tooth' Harry and 'French Joe.'
The Barker Gang from Tulsa included Ma Barker, 'Doc' and Fred who died in a shootout with law enforcement.
Brown quotes a comic strip Dick Tracy, whose creator grew up in Pawnee, 'little crimes become big crimes.'
You can't make this stuff up.
Alvin Karpis lived long enough to teach a young Charles Manson how to play guitar in prison.
Al Jennings was a lawyer turned outlaw, pardoned from prison, who later ran for governor.
Ronny's favorite mug shot is of Forrest Roy Colson who lived with his parents in Oklahoma, but took regular trips to California to rob supermarkets dressed as 'The Man From Mars.'
Infamous criminals and infamous places like the Bunch Saloon in Grand, Oklahoma, The Sand Bar in Lexington, or the Elephant in the Panhandle represent a 'Wild West' era that lasted much longer here than any other place.
Its violent history is mostly past, but the shots still echo.
'Wanted: Dead or Alive' is a traveling exhibit assembled by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
It's run at the Pawnee Bill Museum, started in February, 2025, and runs through April.
For more information about the exhibit, click here.
Great State is sponsored by True Sky Credit Union
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