Pool Stick from Frog Level Murder Scene

“The first thing I've got is a pool stick, but on the pool stick there's Waynesville Police Department evidence stickers. The pool stick was found in February of '85 laying next to a murder victim at the Longhorn Saloon in Frog Level. Two Hampton brothers came into the bar. They had had an argument with a Trantham boy and they shot him in the pool room—er, it wasn't a pool room, it was a bar with a pool room in the back. And there's Waynesville evidence stickers and blood that's been taped over on the handle where he was holding the pool stick. I was given the pool stick by June Ray, the clerk of court. It had been in the safe in the Haywood County Courthouse for many years and it was used to turn off a light switch that was out of reach, so they kept it around for that. And that's all I know about the pool stick.”

Interview edited for clarity

Submitted by Alex McKay on July 9, 2022