DeFuniak's BIG NEWS today

[hensylee]

Some while back, bones were found at an old house/yard, APB went out to find whose they were. Nobody seemed to know. Mystery seems to be solved and I had to chuckle. Maybe you will, too. It had the whole town talking:

Jail Site Bones

Gloom was a cow. You might remember the reports on WZEP First News recently were we told you of the medical examiner and DeFuniak Springs Police investigating bones and a tombstone found while clearing old houses for jail expansion. The property is located on 6th street with the clearing of
several old board houses being done for jail expansion. While clearing, a
cement tombstone was discovered with the name J. Fuller Gloom, a date, a
picture and the words, "here lies the carcass". DeFuniak Springs Police
Chief says the bones found are those of a cow. Burgess does not
know why a tombstone was made nor if it was indeed for the cow. So far no
one has come forth with any information. No human bones were found and the
clearing has resumed.

 

[ShezaGirlie]

Nahhhhhhhhh!

Nahhhhhhhhh!

And here I was thinking DeFuniak Springs was a one horse town...

 

[ccrawford]

Well dad gummit all. Things are really hopping in Defuniak Springs, and here I am stuck in Coal City. The last time we had anything exciting was last summer when some of the local boys found a Boa about 25 feet long that one of the locals had let loose. All of the wannabees made a photo op out of that. any more excitement and I'll have to start a competing radio show to see if we can outdo Lake Woebegone.

 

[hensylee]

further news on J Fuller GLOOM

further news on J Fuller GLOOM

J. Fuller Gloom



It was Friday, January 7th, 1921 and the townspeople of DeFuniak Springs were told to leave their grouch at home and wear all the crape they could find. An article in the DeFuniak Herald Newspaper said the people in Santa Rosa had no ?Old Man Gloom? to bury, but would be with the people in DeFuniak Springs in spirit and they wanted to see the old devil buried so deep it would take a thousand years to dig him out. Gloom was laid to rest but Walton?s need for a new jail has reopened the grave as crews were recently clearing land north of the current jail. The tombstone unearthed was that of J. Fuller Gloom.



Since the unearthing, local authorities have been trying to solve the puzzle of who is J. Fuller Gloom. Bones were found but the medical examiner determined they were those of a cow. Resident James Aubrey Hobbs remembered the story and burial of Gloom after a media report reminded him of the event. Hobbs? daughter got busy researching and found newspaper archives detailing the day?s event. Apparently Gloom was no actual person, but gloom was very real to the people of DeFuniak Springs. Not wanting gloom to stay around they decided to bury it or rather bury the personification of gloom as J. Fuller Gloom.



An article in the Thursday, January 13th, 1921 edition of the DeFuniak Herald says the funeral of J. Fuller Gloom was a ?howling success?. The article says the ?Old son of a gun was given a funeral worthy of a better man, and finally consigned to his last resting place with great cheer.?



The body was prepared for burial at the Ogburn Furniture Company?s store located in the Masonic Temple. The newspaper report says Gloom was never much of anything and while some of the funeral eulogy was of a very eloquent nature, the reporter never saw the first ?confounded tear? at the funeral.



A procession left the Masonic Temple at 9:00am in the morning and proceeded south to Baldwin Avenue and eventually to the Chautauqua Auditorium with a horn band leading the way. The funeral procession had people from DeFuniak Springs and elsewhere and the report indicates the crowd was the largest ever seen at the Chautauqua Auditorium with people witnessing the ?funeral orgies? of J. Fuller Gloom. The body was deposited on the rostrum. Speeches were delivered by Judge A. G. Campbell, former Governor Catts and others.



Apparently the media covering the funeral of Gloom expanded to newspapers all over the country, bringing recognition to DeFuniak Springs. The article says the recognition brought to the city wasn?t going to hurt anybody. The article also referenced some of Gloom?s ?relatives? who had problems with the mock funeral being sacrilegious.



While J. Fuller Gloom was not physically real, his procession and funeral and grave were. The tombstone recently found certainly was real and apparently for the people of DeFuniak Springs on that day in January of 1921, the effects of Gloom and the hope of a change was also real.



The tombstone is currently in possession of Walton County. While damaged, it is in enough pieces the wording and a picture can still be seen.