Suicide Hill
#1
Posted 16 October 2008 - 09:55 AM
Also, there was a story about a witch who lived in the woods near there...
Just wondering if anybody else had heard those stories... other than me...
#2
Posted 16 October 2008 - 10:18 AM
Also, there was a story about a witch who lived in the woods near there...
Just wondering if anybody else had heard those stories... other than me...
I grew up in the 50's and 60's and as far back as I can remember, it was known as suicide hill. As a crazy teenager, we used to have fun driving down the hill. You could very easily overdo it and end up in the creek.
#3
Posted 16 October 2008 - 10:23 AM
#4
Posted 16 October 2008 - 10:26 AM
Those were the days...
#5 qedwiz
Posted 16 October 2008 - 10:32 AM
Also, there was a story about a witch who lived in the woods near there...
Just wondering if anybody else had heard those stories... other than me...
I don't know about the witch, but this accident did happen around 1955 or 1956. A kid named Ronnie Hewitt died when his head hit the road or curb. Bruce Hayden cracked his skull and had a steel plate inserted. The crash occurred at the bottom of the hill where Overton Road now intesects. At the time, there were few houses in the Tanglewood area.
#6
Posted 16 October 2008 - 12:54 PM
Yes, I recall Ranch View Road, where it ran from Autumn Drive or the street above that down to Overton Park East, being called suicide hill. I had a paper route which I delivered on my bike, and it included houses along Overton Park East and up on top of Ranch View, almost all the way to Westcliff Shopping Center, so I pushed my bike up that hill many times.
I was never very brave coming down, by the way. I had my brakes on pretty hard all the way down.
#7
Posted 16 October 2008 - 01:10 PM
I used to live near there -we used to ride bikes around that area, through the woods --everybody would be WAY ahead of me! I'd be pedaling and pedaling. Never got anywhere, seemed like...
Just not much of a bike rider, I suppose. Or just had a crummy bike!
#8 qedwiz
Posted 16 October 2008 - 01:43 PM
I used to live near there -we used to ride bikes around that area, through the woods --everybody would be WAY ahead of me! I'd be pedaling and pedaling. Never got anywhere, seemed like...
Just not much of a bike rider, I suppose. Or just had a crummy bike!
At the time in the mid-'50s, Ranch View Road did not extend past Overton. You could go only left or right on Overton, or go straight and end up in the creek. Also, there was just one Overton Road, not the Overton (East) and Overton (West) as it exists today.
It was considered a fun ride (for some people) to go down "Suicide Hill." However, there were quite a few cars that didn't navigate the fast and sharp turn onto Overton and jumped the curb and ran into the woods and/or the creek. That was until the fatal one-car accident in 1955 or 1956.
Shortly after that, Ranch View was extended further west over the creek, and Overton Road (west) was constructed. At the time, the Tanglewood additon was north of Bellaire Drive (South), which is now West Berry Street. There were no houses close to the present intersection of Ranch View and Overton.
One who is interested may research the Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives for further details. It made the front page news. I personally knew the victims, Ronnie Hewitt and Bruce Hayden. There were a couple of other guys in that car, but I don't remember their names.
#9
Posted 16 October 2008 - 03:25 PM
Fortman
Jeff Rattikin
#10
Posted 16 October 2008 - 04:49 PM
The road that crosses that makes it level a bit you really had to watch for because if you hit that too fast the road starts curving to the right and you could end up in a wreck real quick
I would not advise doing this at all and if you did you would definately want to drive down in the daylight first to get a feel for it. Even driving it slow with the lights off would get most passengers unglued though
#11
Posted 16 October 2008 - 09:58 PM
#12
Posted 17 October 2008 - 06:42 PM
Also, there was a story about a witch who lived in the woods near there...
Just wondering if anybody else had heard those stories... other than me...
I don't know about the witch, but this accident did happen around 1955 or 1956. A kid named Ronnie Hewitt died when his head hit the road or curb. Bruce Hayden cracked his skull and had a steel plate inserted. The crash occurred at the bottom of the hill where Overton Road now intesects. At the time, there were few houses in the Tanglewood area.
gedwiz....Did you know Bruces' older brother Doug? I've been trying to find him for years. Any info would be appreciated.
#13
Posted 18 October 2008 - 08:49 PM
#14
Posted 19 October 2008 - 02:02 AM
Ah, those were the days circa '59 or '60. It is hard to believe that junior high kids could legally drive back then at the age of 14. All you had to do was take a drivers education class, and you were good to go.
#15
Posted 22 October 2008 - 09:41 PM
#16
Posted 24 October 2008 - 10:21 PM
Some years ago my father was cleaning out the flower beds and found a bowling ball resting against the fence behind the rose bushes. No idea where it came from or how long it had been there. Only thing we could think of was that someone had tossed it out of a passing car, or it had fallen out of someone's vehicle and rolled all the way down the hill and finally came to rest in the yard. (I jokingly called it "the meteorite from planet Brunswick.") Since no one in our family bowls, we had no idea what to do with it. Dad ultimately threw it into a neighbor's yard in the middle of the night and let him worry about it.
#17
Posted 25 October 2008 - 01:35 AM
#18
Posted 25 October 2008 - 06:24 AM
#19
Posted 25 October 2008 - 03:17 PM
I remember the suicide hill story as being true. There also was one about a ghost and of course the one about "The Hook". Creepy stories made your date snuggle a little closer so she could feel protected. Of couse the guy, being the hero, would never take advantage of the situation unless, of course, there was a medical emergency.
Forth Worth Man
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