For more than 20 years, whenever Bowie County residents involved with illegal alcohol sales, manufacture or consumption heard the deep, booming voice of "Hoot" Hadaway, they knew they were in trouble.
As of last Saturday, his voice will be missed, because Gibson "Hoot" Hadaway passed away at age 88. However, while he was a firm law enforcer, several county officials also knew him to be a fair man.
"Hoot served our county well," Bowie County Judge James Carlow said of Hadaway, the long-time justice of the peace. "I appreciated his service to our county and I didn't want to see him go, but I know that the Lord knows best."
Following military service in the Navy during the Korean War, Hadaway took on the job as a special agent for the Texas Alcohol Beverage Control Commission in about 1963. Upon being to assigned to Bowie County in 1969, Hadaway continued to work for this state agency before being appointed to serve in the Precinct 1, Place 2 JP position on Oct. 10, 1992. From there, Hadaway served for more than 25 years until his death.
Bowie County Commissioner Mike Carter, who served for nine years as Texarkana, Texas, Dixie Baseball Association president, said that while Hadaway had a reputation as strict law enforcement officer, he still had a heart for children.
"Hoot came out to as many of our baseball games as he could when he wasn't working," Carter said.
Bowie County Clerk Tina Petty agreed regarding Hadaway's love for children.
"If Hoot arrested any bad kids, he believed in giving kids a second chance," she said.
Bowie County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Strain said Hadaway's work hours could be around the clock as well as any and every day of the week.
"Hoot had a job that was basically 24-7 when he worked for the state, but he would later go on to make friends with most of the people he arrested," Strain said. "Even the vilest of the vile would call him 'Mr. Hoot.' They learned that if you wanted to get along with Hoot, you didn't break the law."