Věstník (West, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 2, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 14, 1953 Page: 12 of 32
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Strana 1% 7
’///
iJ VĚSTNÍK—* WEST, TEXAS
Wednesday, January 14, 1953
HOUSTON POLICEMAN HONORED
The readers of the Věstník will re-
call a story, printed in the Věstník only
a shcrt while back, about a young dope
fighter who had enrolled at the
Wichita Fa lis High School to uproot a
gang that had been selling marijuana
to students there. Kolore printing the
to say, much more like a chapter from I quarters detail. In his spáre time he at-
a western thriller tha.n a sketch of a
reál lile.
This young Houston policeman was
selected fůr his amazing undercover
work, while still a rookie cop, in at-
story, I wrote to Brother Otto Stehlík" taekin§’ the d°Pe traffic. Loaned to the
president of Independence Lodge No. 76
in Wichita Falls, inquiring how much
of the story was a pure fiction and
what part of it was trne.
Brother Stehlík replied that every
word of it was. true. Not only that, buf
Brother Stehlík gave me the young
maiťs name, his Houston address, also
his telephone number. At that time,
of course, I was not free to reveal the
identity of the Houston policeman,
Last week Brother Stehlík mailed me
a clipping from a Wichita Falls news-
páper. The clipping is reprinted for the
benefit of those who had read the pre-
vious story published in the Vestnik. It
says:
JOE FOSTER IS HONORED
BY JAYCEES
Texas Joe Foster of Houston, 26, who
won nation-wide fame for his outstand-
ing work in cracking a dope ring oper at-
ihg among teenagers in Wichita Falls,
has been named by the U. S. Junior
Chamber of Commerce as one of the 10
outstanding meh 'of the country for
1952.
Bettcr known here as “Weedhead,” a
title given him by officers and news-
papers untii his identity was made
public months later, Texas Foster posed
as a. teen-age dope addict, attended
Wichita Falls public schools and breezed
up and down Wichita Falls streets in
a flashy automobile as he gathered evi-
dence that blew the lid off a narcotics
ring providing dope for teen-agers here
and elsewhere.
His work here and the resulting story
won for him nation-wide publicity. A
member of the Houston police depart-
ment, Foster undertook the undercover
work because of his intense hafcred for
peddlers of narcotics. His father, work-
ing to track down a narcotics ring, was
killed in the line of duty while Foster
was a smáli boy. ;
The following day after I received
Brother Stehlik’s letter with the above
newspaper story, The Houston Chron-
icle, in its Sun day issue, January 4, 1953,
brought a pielure of Texas J. Foster,
Houston policeman, receiving the con-
gratulation of Jesse H. Jones for Foster’s
undercover work as a nareotie inspector.
Bureau of Narcotics by. Houston Police
Chief Morrison (my former professor
when I studiecl criminology at the
University of Houston), Texas J. Foster
roamecl over Texas and Mexico, made
frequent forays into Oklahoma and
Louisiana, and for seven months lived
as a ťugitive dope peddler under the
names' of Alexander Garza and Duke
Dawson.
Foster made ccntact With the big ped-
dlers and the petty peddlers. He joined
teen-aged órgies, and, as already stated,
he even enrolled in the Wichita Falls
High School.
On one occasion, he drove a truck in-
to Mexico with a Fort Wortli underworld
character and returned with a big load
of marijuana cojncealed in the falše
bot tom of the truck’s bed.
More than once, so complete was Fos-
ter’s disguise, he was pícked up by police
departments elsewhere in Texas and
jailed and fined as a vagrant.
Sometimes he was to be found at the
wheel of a broken down jalopý. Then
agairi, he woulcl flash out in expensive
Chryslers and Cadillacs, It all depended
on what the5 situation called for and
how big werc the gangsters he was deal-
ing with.
Many times his life was in danger and
once he was set upcn in a San Antonio
dive by six knife-wielding, dope-crazed
thugs tipped off by a wornaii that he
was a undercover agent.
There ensued a thrilling, onesided bat-
tle reminiscent of Douglas Fairbanks in
his heyday and Foster escaped, literally
by the skin of his teeth, although his
coat was slit írom collar to liern,
His aclventures were legton through
his seven-month career blit in the cncl
he was called off. The department could
not permít Foster to risk his liře further.-
Foster had beconie “too hol” for his
job and he quietly went back to the
humdrum life of a uniformed officer.
But he had worked well.
As a rcsuit cf his efforts, a state-
wide roun dup of dope peddlers netted
the arrest of 170 persons, all of whom
were subsequently convicted. The Juve-
nile delinquency situation was improved
in many of the cities where he worked.
Texas Foster, who is mnrried and the
tends the University of Hcuston, where
he is studying criminology under my
former professor and his boss, Police
Chief Morrison.
—-r~y * 4, ♦ (________
TAKÉ ONE DAY AT A TIME
Just for today, I will try to li ve this
day only and* not tackle all my prob-
lems at once, I can do some things for
twelve hours that would overwhelm me
if I felt I had to keep them up tor a
lifetime.
Just for today, I will be happy. What
Abraham Lincoln said is true—that
“most folks are about as happy as they
make up their minds to be.” «
Just for today, I will ad just" myself
to what is and not try to adjust every-
thing to my own desires; I will také
my íamily, my business and my luck as
they come.
Just for today, I will learn something
useful. I will read something that re-
quires efřort, thought and concentration.
Just for today, I will do at least one
thing I don’t want to do, as William
James suggests—just for éxercise. I will
not show anyone that my feelings are
hurt. They may be hurt, but today I
won’t show it.
Just for today, I will be agreeable. I
will look as well as I can, dress as be-
comingly as possible, talk low, act cour-
teously, nct find fault, and not try to
regulate or improve anyone but my-
self.
Just for today, I will be irnafraid, so I
will feel free from anxiety and therefore
able to appreciate what is beautiful, to
love, and to believe that those I love,
love me.
---) ♦ * ♦ (—------
MIRACLE OF FARMING
A farmer had planted a crop of flax,
and had a tablecloth made from the
linen he produced. SométimeTater he re-
marked to a guest at dinner, “I grew
this tablecloth myself.”
“Did you, really?” the lady remarked
with a little sarcasm. “How do yo ever
manage to grow such things?”
“Premise you won’t telí, mauam? he
asked.
She promised.
“Well,” he whispered solemnly, “I
planted a napkin.” (By L. O. H.)
—) ♦ * ♦ (-—
THAT’S LIFE
Life is darn shert—only tour letters
in it. Three -quarters of it is a “lie” and
halí’ of it is “if”. ( By L. O. H.)
) ♦ * ♦ C--—
Judging from the amount of liquor
father of ťwo smáli children, is now as-!seen in the dry states there must be a
The Houston Chronicle had a bit more* signed to the police'department head- lot of snakes there-abouts.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Valcik, Stephen. Věstník (West, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 2, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 14, 1953, newspaper, January 14, 1953; West, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth625065/m1/12/?rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas.