They said this photo shows Melvin Drum and his son Delvin and was probably taken in the town where they lived: Perryton, Texas. My ancestors arrived in Ochiltree county, where Perryton is located, before 1910.
My grandmother grew up in a family of 11 children - 5 girls and 6 boys. The age range was so great that the only female sibling left at home while she grew up was her sister Mae, so the two sisters became very close. Mae had a daughter Thelma who married a man named Drum. Thelma and her husband named their son Melvin Drum.
My father had just joined the Air Force in 1959 and was stationed in Nebraska, so it is likely he visited his mother in the Oklahoma panhandle that year and visited Melvin and his family in Perryton located about an hour away while he was in the area. That is probably where he took this photo.
This piqued my interest so I did a bit of research this week.
In 1979 Melvin became a deputy in the Perryton Police Department. By 1987, he was Chief Deputy and his son Delvin, the little boy in the photo above, was also a deputy for Perryton.
On Saturday March 28, 1987 in Perryton, Alvin Crane and his wife Linda were having a domestic dispute. Alvin broke the windows on his wife's car with a shovel and the police were called twice. In the afternoon of that same day, Linda went to a 91-year old woman's home to perform her job as a practical nurse. Alvin showed up, so Linda called the police for the third time that day.
Delvin was on duty and Melvin heard the call on his scanner. Knowing his son would have to handle the situation, Melvin sat a red flashing police light on the dash of his unmarked car and drove to the 91-year old's house. He was the first to arrive and was not in uniform but had pinned his badge to his western style shirt.
Before he could exit his car, Alvin Crane approached and shot Melvin in the face at close range with a 16 gauge shotgun. Melvin died at the scene. Alvin fled before Delvin arrived and discovered his 57 year old father had been murdered.
Roadblocks were quickly set up throughout Texas and Oklahoma. Alvin Crane was captured a few hours later near his home in Beaver County, Oklahoma. Alvin was convicted and sentenced to death. The state of Texas carried out the sentence on Tuesday, October 12th, 1999 at 6 PM.
Melvin was the first - and hopefully last - officer to die in the line of duty in Perryton.
Delvin Drum died of cancer 7 years after his father's death. Delvin was only 39 years old.
The last time I saw them I was 1 year old so I have no recollection, but my relatives speak very fondly of Melvin, Delvin, and the rest of the Drum family. They were - and are - a great bunch of people and we're proud to have them in our family tree.
And that's the sad tale behind this sweet photo. Rest in peace, Melvin and Delvin. You are not forgotten.
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