HOWARD HALL MURDER
SHERMAN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 11, 1932



Barrow's Wanted Poster Here




NEWS ARTICLE

On October 11, 1932 at approximately 6:25 p.m., Clyde Barrow and two accomplices entered
Sherman, Texas and parked their car on Hazelwood Street just north of Wells Street. Their
robbery target was the Little Grocery Store at the northwest corner of Wells and Vaden Streets.

Above, is photo of the murder site as it looks today, looking northwest from the intersection
of Vaden Street and Wells Street. Clyde entered from the Vaden Street entrance about 20 feet
behind the existing stop sign and Mr. Hall fell mortally wounded from the Wells Street entrance,
roughly near where the van is located in the photo. Clyde escaped to the west on foot or to the
left in this picture.

Authorities believed that Clyde Barrow and his two accomplices had been in the general area
for approximately three days. The Little Grocery was most likely chosen for its isolated suburban
location. The Little Grocery Store was owned by Sidney R. Little, a Sherman businessman who also
co-owned a grocery store on Tennessee Street. Both stores were suburban grocery stores surrounded
by residential neighborhoods. The Little Grocery Store at 624 S. Vaden was advertised as
"The Service Store".

Vintage 1926 ad for the Little Grocery Store

In his employ were Homer Glaze and Lester C. Butler, both clerks and Howard Hall,
a 57 year old master grocer that had taken a position in the store as the meat market
manager in 1929. Mr. Hall was born in 1875 and had moved to Sherman from McKinney, Texas
in 1904. He had owned his own grocery business on East Brockett Street for over a decade
prior to his employment with Mr. Little. In Howard Hall, Sidney Little found a dedicated,
hard working and experienced manager. In Sidney Little and his grocery business, Howard
Hall found the opportunity to work in the profession that he loved and had immense knowledge
in, without the pressures that generally accompany ownership. Perhaps Mr. Hall was seeking
the opportunity to slow down and enjoy his life and family.






Grocery Store stood here
Now a vacant lot on the corner of South Vaden Street and East Wells Ave.

At around 6:30 p.m. Clyde Barrow walked to the front entrance of the store on Vaden Street. 
Mr. Glaze was the clerk on duty and Mr. Hall was at the rear of the building in the meat market
area. Both were preparing to close the store. Just minutes prior Mr. Little had moved most of
the proceeds from the day to his home, just north of the grocery store. He had left approximately
$60 in the register to allow for last minute customer purchases at the end of the workday.
At this same moment Mrs. Lester C. Butler pulled up to the Wells Street side entrance to make
a last minute purchase before going home.

The store was oblong with the narrow end facing Vaden Street and the wider side facing Wells
Street. The main entrance faced east onto Vaden Street and the side entrance faced south onto
Wells Street. A long east/west counter stretched along the north side of the store and a shorter
north/south glass counter was located at the back of the store. Mr. Hall's meat market area was
located behind this glass counter at the rear or west end of the store. There was an opening
between the long counter and the glass meat counter and another opening between the meat counter
and the south wall of the building. The cash register was located on the west end of the long
counter.

According to Mr. Glaze, Clyde Barrow looked nervous as he entered the store from Vaden Street
about 6:30 p.m. He did not recognize Clyde as a previous customer and attributed his nervousness
to a new customer being in an unfamiliar store. Clyde picked up a loaf of bread and walked to
the cash register at the northwest part of the building. Mr. Glaze asked him if he needed anything
else and he said "yes, a half-dozen eggs and some lunch meat". After collecting these items
he handed Mr. Glaze a dollar for the purchase. Mr. Glaze looked down and opened the register to
make change. When he looked up, Clyde flashed a gun, moved him out of the way and began to rifle
the till. Mr. Hall, as he looked up and realized what was happening, walked between the south
end of the glass meat market counter and the south wall of the store and exclaimed "young man,
you can't do that". 

The bandit was instantly infuriated and backed Mr. Glaze to the center of the store and ordered
Mr. Hall to the same area. He then began backing both men toward the side entrance at Wells St.
while kicking, hitting and cursing at Mr. Hall. Mrs. Butler as she began to walk into the store
observed the crime in progress and sought refuge at the southwest corner of the building. As the
three men neared the side door, Clyde hit Mr. Hall in the face so hard that his glasses flew out
the door and onto the Wells Street sidewalk. He began to strike again and Mr. Hall reached for
the striking arm. Clyde immediately opened fire, mortally wounding Mr. Hall with three bullets
to the chest. Mr. Hall fell out of the side door and Clyde stepped over him and shot at him one
more time as he lay on the sidewalk. He then turned his attention to Mr. Glaze who stood in shock
and horror, just inside of the open door. 

Clyde aimed at Mr. Glaze and pulled the trigger but the gun misfired. He then ran west along Wells
Street past Mrs. Butler and two boys that were playing and entered a large Buick sedan that was
parked facing north on Hazlewood Street just north of Wells Street. Mr. Hall was carried by
ambulance attendants to the St.Vincent's Sanitarium, just across Wells Street.

By 1935 Homer Glaze had found a new employment with the W.H. Lucas grocery

1930 Sherman City Directory

1935 Sherman City Directory


Mr. Glaze went on to work for Kroger Grocery and passed away in 1980.



Escape route bandits used when escaping from the crime. 
Their car was parked on Hazelwood, just north of Wells St.

CRIME SCENE LAYOUT



A postcard of St. Vincent's Sanitarium. Later, neighborhoods were developed around the sanitarium.
Mr. Hall was carried up the stairs and into the sanitarium after he was mortally wounded.

Actual historical photograph

Medical personnel indicated that Mr. Hall was conscious for some time but died at around 7:30 p.m.
The bandits proceeded north to Highway 82 where they sped east to Bells, Texas. They then reversed
their direction and traveled south and west along the back roads to Denton, Texas. They crossed the
Red River and fled northward into Oklahoma the following morning. It is believed that Clyde diverted
the vehicle back to Denton, Texas to mislead authorities about the direction of his escape and also
to pick-up Bonnie who was waiting for him there.
(E. R. Milner, The Lives and Times of Bonnie and Clyde, 1996).


Old 1912 news snippit



HOWARD HALL WITH WIFE EMMA

FaulknerLine photo



The final resting place of Howard Hall (left) and Emma Hall (right)
in the West Hill Cemetery, Sherman, Texas.



Mr. Hall's Death Certificate Here




AFTERMATH
Clyde was identified the next day by photos provided by Dallas, Texas authorities. 
Mr. Glaze, Mrs. Butler and a witness on Highway 82 all made positive identification.
A funeral service was held at Mr. Hall's residence on East Lamar Street the following
afternoon and he was laid to rest in West Hill Cemetery on October 12, 1932. Mrs. Hall,
moved out of the area soon after the murder and died in Navarro County in 1970. Her body
was brought back to be buried next to her husband. Mr. Little died several years later
in 1935 and the Little Grocery Store structure was removed from the site in the early
1970s. Mr. Hall was described as a quiet and decent citizen.


The residence of Howard Hall at 1027 E. Lamar Street. Mr. Halls funeral
service was done at this residence the afternoon following his murder.

He was obviously very industrious and enjoyed the service that he provided to his community. 
His attempted intervention in the robbery at Mr. Little's store reflected his courage and
dedication to his employer. He could not have known that the young diminutive bandit in
front of him was actually a volatile, murderous and desperate ex-convict.  

Experts disagree on whether the bandit was actually Clyde Barrow. Police authorities believed
it was him.  He was positively identified by three eye-witnesses and it appeared that he was
getting ready to take Mr. Glaze and Mr. Hall hostage. He took hostages several times in the
course of his criminal career. However, the robbery did not fully fit his method of operation
since he usually sent two bandits into the target business and left one waiting in the getaway
car (John Neal Phillips, 2001). He also denied, to his family, any involvement in this crime
when typically he acknowledged his other crimes to them (John Neal Phillips, Running with Bonnie
and Clyde, 1996). Could it be possible that if Clyde did do it, he did not want to admit to the
botched robbery and the murder of an unarmed grocer over a $60 cash register till? Although it
generally appears that Clyde was the culprit, we will never know for certain. What cannot be
disputed is that a decent man and a pillar of the Sherman, Texas community lost his life to a
murderous bandit on October 11, 1932.


Residence of Homer Glaze

Residence of Sidney R. Little
The residence of Sidney Little. The cash proceeds were removed from 
the register and taken to this residence just minutes before the crime.


many contributions by Dan Truex. Thanks Dan!