Billy Joe McCloud

Billy Joe McCloud

Billy Joe McCloud had about the fastest '36 Chevy Coup in Beaufort County. He wore his hair in a 'ducktail' and would have a pack of Marlboro's rolled up in the sleeve of his t-shirt. He had managed to shoehorn a 350, 4 bolt main under the hood and when he popped the clutch on his 4 in the floor, the rear end would just bounce up and down until he eased up a bit and would let it 'dig' in. Thirteen coats of hand rubbed blue lacquer made the paint job look like it was about 6 inches thick. Him and Bessie Hutch could usually be seen huddled together on the front seat of that coupe, as they would drive by. Best look quick though, Billy Joe liked to get where he was going in a hurry. High Sheriff Jasper had made it his personal ambition in life to catch Billy Joe and on several occasions we would be out fishing in Squaw creek and here would come Billy Joe roaring by on the bridge over head and in just a little bit here would come Sheriff Beasley with his red light flashing and siren screaming. Up to now, he had never managed to catch Billy Joe, no matter how he tried. 

One November Billy Joe and Bessie disappeared. We all figured they had run off to South Carolina to get married and expected them back sometime later. Soon enough here that Midnight Blue Coup came roaring through town and Sheriff Beasley was coming right after him. About 30 minutes later here come the sheriff, back into town. He got out of his car shaking his head and said. "Dogged if I can understand it. I thought I had him for sure but lost him at the county line." The same time the next Saturday night, here that Coup came again. Same thing happened. "Lost ‘em at the county line again" This went on all through the winter. Finally Sheriff Beasley had his great idea. The next Sat night he had his deputies block the road on the bridge at Squaw Creek and they swore that they never left that spot and they won't no turn offs and the Sheriff was right behind Billy Joe, but he lost him again. By this time spring was coming in and a bunch of us boys went to Squaw Creek to do a little swimming. We were all splashing and swimming around, and then one of the boys yelled "Hey! Look at this"! He was standing out of the water up to his waist in the middle of the creek. When we went down to see what was there, he was standing on the roof of a Midnight Blue Coup. After the car was drug out and the coroner examined Billy Joe and Bessie, he said they had been there since last fall. 

Every now and then you can see an Electric Blue '36 Chevy Coup come flying down the road, or you may just see some lights. The scientists say it's just swamp gas, but we know better. By the way, that stretch of road out of Pinetown is now called ‘The Devil’s Race Track’.

- Bob Gurkin