Some headstones tell you everything, while others tell you almost nothing.
When I first stopped at William Newit Doles' grave, there were only a few words carbed in to the stone. Name. A pair of Dates. And, "Someday we'll understand."
Understand what?
Then I started reading the newspapers....
The Grave
In Cottage Grove Cemetery, Benton, Louisiana, an unassuming granite stone near soaring obelisks marks the grave of William Newit Doles II, giving no indication of the dramatic events leading up to his death. Courtesy of Tarah Thomas.
The Shooting
The shooting of his wife was was not Will's first public act of violence, but it was the one that received the most press. Courtesy of Newspapers.com and the Shreveport Times.
The Reconciliation
Newspapers reported that Will Doles and his wife had reconciled after the shooting. They were starting a new life in California. But were they really? Courtesy of Newspapers.com and the Shreveport Journal.
The End
Eventually, Doles campaign of violence caught up with him. In 1934, he attacked J.T. Ellis. Ellis fought back, and the resulting fight left Doles dead from a skull fracture. Courtesy of Newspapers.com and the Shreveport Times.
The New Beginning
Will Doles' death was the end of his life. But it was really just the beginning for his wife Minnie. In 1944, she became Poster Master of Gilliam, Louisiana. Courtesy of Ancestry.com and the National Archives and Records Administration.
The Life Well Lived
Minnie spent the rest of her life, attaining an education, opening businesses, visiting with family, and traveling with friends. Courtesy of Newspapers.com and the Bossier-Banner Progress.
The newspapers remembered violence. The headstone remembered the name.
But history also belongs to those who ensure. And Minnie's life reminds us that survival is its own quiet victory.
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