| Little remains of the city jail, built in the 1920's .... |
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Still, it is a popular attraction for those visiting Shidler ... |
| Shidler jail was built in 1922 and served all the surrounding communities. This was
one of the largest jails around, having 2 cells. Henry Majors was Shidler's first lawman. The town of Denoya, better known as Whizbang, was the most colorful of the oilfield boomtowns in this area. It was populated by many gamblers and a very rough element. Shootings occurred almost every night and the bank was robbed twice. It was said that a woman wasn't safe to be out on the streets of Whizbang after dark. No one is sure where the name Whizbang originated. Some say it was named after Whizbang Red an infamous lady of the evening. Some say it was named after Whizbang Willie, a favorite magazine of the time. Jose Alvarado, the law of Whizbang, and the Shidler Sheriff had a shutout one night. Alvarado, although a lawman, was known as a cold-blooded killer. He killed Jane Watson who was trying to save merchandise from a burning general store. He claimed he thought she was a looter. Nevertheless, this story ends up with Alvarado opening fire on the Shidler lawman who, coincidentally, had been seeing Jane. Alvarado gets shot in the chest but keeps on firing and hits the Shidler lawman with four of his six shots. Alvarado then ducks for cover to reload but only managed to cover the upper part of his body and was shot several times breaking both legs. |
