-
Chapter 10: Special Officer Webster C. “Jack” Gentry (April 25, 1922)
- University of North Texas Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
289 10 Special Officer Webster C. “Jack” Gentry (APRIL 25, 1922) “ATexan in heart as well as name” WEBSTER GENTRY WAS AN OFFICER who just happened to be working in the private sector at the time of his death. He lost his life performing one of the countless duties that are all in a day’s work for the average lawman. The fact that he was only a provisional, or “special,” officer pressed into service during a natural disaster does not make him any less a policeman-hero. In death he earned the right to be placed on the honor roll of the Fort Worth Police Department’s fallen officers. Nature killed Officer Gentry. It all started on Monday, April 24, 1922, when the skies over Fort Worth opened and a torrent of biblical proportions poured down. Nine inches of rain fell in the next twenty-four hours, causing the Trinity River to rise 36.7 feet, topping the record of the previous biggest flood—the 1908 deluge—by a foot. The Clear Fork, which looped around the downtown area Webster C. Gentry in happier days in his doughboy’s uniform, ca. 1917–1919, probably taken while he was in training at Camp Bowie before going off to France. He came home physically and mentally much the worse for his service. (Courtesy of Richard Opseth, Gentry family descendant) 290 Written in Blood from east to west before heading south, was transformed into a millrace, sweeping everything before it. The city’s levees strained to contain the “avalanche of water” pressing against them. Late Monday night, after most citizens were asleep, the floodwaters began inching up toward the top of the levees. People awoke Tuesday morning to find their electricity out and water lapping at their homes. For many, it was too late to evacuate; all they could do was climb up on their roofs and wait for rescue. Hardest hit were the city’s poor, many of whom lived down in the river bottoms, out of sight and out of mind.1 All day Tuesday, the rains did not let up. Creeks and sewers overflowed, and low-lying areas turned into lakes. The floodwaters reached the horse and mule barns in the North Side stockyards, forcing employees to work frantically to evacuate the animals. The water even threatened to submerge the railroad trestles that connected the city to the outside world. By the second day, refugees had filled the Chamber of Commerce auditorium, the No. 1 fire hall, and every downtown church. With Fort Worth Power and Light (just north of the courthouse) flooded out, the city sent out a distress call to Dallas and Waco asking to “borrow” electricity. The municipal water system was also under siege, causing fears of a contaminated water supply that would produce the sort of epidemic that had last visited the city with the flu pandemic in 1918. By the time the water began receding on Wednesday, forty people were known dead, others were missing, and damage was estimated at $7 million, making it the deadliest flood in city history.2 The Fort Worth Fire and Police departments turned out in force. The Police Department had considerable experience dealing with flooding. Back in 1915, when the Trinity overflowed its banks, Chief Cullen Bailey had organized a miniature fleet of motorized boats under command of Officer Carl “Irish” Thompson to rescue stranded citizens and prevent looting. Before it was over, the little navy also recovered bodies from the river. Now the Department had to gear up again for the Trinity’s latest assault on the city. [18.217.220.114] Project MUSE (2024-04-24 23:38 GMT) Special OfficerWebster C. “Jack” Gentry (April 25, 1922) 291 The word went out from city hall to every officer: “Come quick!” Headquarters was able to save a lot of time by using the telephone to summon the troops, something that would have been impossible just a few years before.3 The Department had fewer than ninety men on the rolls, and every officer was pressed into battling nature while normal crimefighting duties were put on hold. By Monday night police reserves and special officers had also been called in, the latter leaving their regular places of work to report to the Police Department for duty. Holding commissions from the county or city, although they drew their salaries from private employers, they could do no less. When all the reserves and special officers were not enough, the call...