McKynna Cocanougher

McKynna is a Senior Political Science and Public Relations and Advertising Double major. She is from Fort Worth, Texas and is the current Co-Captain of the Hardin-Siimmons University Spurs Dance Team. She is also the Social Chair and SING Business Chair in her social club, Alpha Iota Omega. She hopes to get a Masters Degree in Journalism after graduating from Hardin-Simmons.

This semester in Advertising Production Methods, McKynna created a Facebook page to promote the exhibit as well as making periodic posts about the Bankhead Highway. The purpose of this was to get the word out about the exhibit and to educate the public about the Bankhead Highway in various communities around Texas.

1st post– Who/What/When/Where/Why post posted on March 24th, 2016

U.S. Senator John H. Bankhead of Alabama and John Asa Rountree, a newspaperman from Alabama created the idea for the Bankhead Highway. It became the first all-weather, intercontinental highway connecting America from Washington D.C. to San Diego, California. Automobiles became more prevalent in the early 1900s, so the need for better roads was crucial to Americans as was the ability for our military to travel across the country. We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Bankhead Highway, as it was finished in 1916. It was built with bricks, concrete and asphalt and in Texas, the highway continues to play a role in the states’ economy and future development.

2nd post- Military- convoys, bases and museums post on March 31st

The military and the Bankhead Highway coincide in several fashions. The Bankhead Highway, being the first transcontinental all-weather highway connecting east and west coast, was originally conceived to aid military travel. Army forts were first built throughout the Texas Forts trail region prior to the Civil War as protection for pioneers and settlers and as a way to map the western territories. Some of these historic forts within the Bankhead Highway area include: Fort Griffin in Albany, Fort Phantom Hill in Abilene and Fort Richardson in Jacksboro. The 12th Armored Division traces its development along the Bankhead to Abilene where it traveled to complete its training at Camp Barkley prior to serving in the European Theater of combat during World War II. The official museum for this armored unit chronicles the history of the 12th and displays several facets vital to the success of the U.S military. Materials such as weaponry, clothing, artifacts, and vehicles are preserved at the museum. The newest exhibit at the museum features rooms with dioramas representing war scenarios encompassing key battle scenes from the unit’s service in France and Germany.

3rd post- Crime and Culture post on April 21st

The Bankhead Highway covers a long stretch of the United States and each city on the route has unique stories and colorful characters. Crime, money, and big business all could be found along the Texas Forts Trail on the south loop of the Bankhead Highway. In Cisco, Texas Conrad Hilton built his first hotel in 1916, na med the Mobley. Today the Mobley serves as a Chamber of Commerce and community center for Cisco with two of the rooms preserved as they were in 1916 and a third as a museum about Conrad Hilton and the Hilton chain of properties.

On December 23, 1927 in Cisco, one of the most famous Texas bank robberies occurred. Marshall Ratliff dressed as Santa Claus and three accomplices held up First National Bank of Cisco and made a botched getaway. After the robbery, one of the largest manhunts in Texas history was done to find Ratliff and the others. Ratliff, executed by a lynch mob outside the Connellee Hotel in Cisco, uttered his last words, “Forgive me boys” in what was the last public hanging in Texas.

In 1934 Bonnie and Clyde robbed the National Guard Armory in Ranger, Texas during their notorious crime spree. Former Texas Ranger, Frank Hamer came out of retirement to hunt them down.

Tallulah Bankhead, Alabama Senator John Bankhead’s daughter was the inspiration for the character, Cruella De Vil in the Disney movie, “101 Dalmatians”. Tallulah Bankhead was a famous actress known for her rough voice, smoking, and colorful lifestyle in Hollywood.