By James Ronald Skains
Journal Correspondent

Ray Worsham, a former resident of Texas and a veteran of the convention and trade show industry, has recently purchased the 130 acre Bonnie and Clyde Trade Days Park that is entering its 16th year of operation.

The 130 acre site is located in the rolling pine covered hills of Bienville parish near Arcadia. The timber was cut on the property to help pay for the cost of development in 1989.

Worsham and his management team have refurbished the park which includes not only the 600 vendor booth sites but also a restaurant, RV Park, and three fishing lakes and acres of parking. In addition, all the access roads to various sections of the Park have been up-graded.

"I had moved back to Dubberly to be close to my parents who were getting up in age a couple of years ago but when I heard that the Bonnie & Clyde Park was closing, I decided that I couldn't let that happen," Worsham told the Piney Woods Journal. "It took a lot of work to get things ready for our October Trade Days, but it was worth it."

"What really encouraged me was how many people came to the Park for the September Trade Days that had been cancelled," Worsham, a dynamo in action said. "The September Trade Days was the first cancellation since the Trade Day started 16 years ago but we are now back in business and with our permanent date for the Trade Days of the weekend before the third Monday of each month."

Trade Day dates have been established through April of 2007 on the weekend before the 3rd Monday of each month in contrast to the Canton, Texas Trade Days which is held the weekend before the first Monday of each month.

Bonnie & Clyde Trade Days opened in 1990 about 5 miles off Interstate 20 in the Louisiana Hill Country under the direction of Roy Jones and his partner from Dallas. It was patterned after the famous Canton, Texas Trade Days.

Initial response from both vendors and shoppers was outstanding drawing thousands of people to the facility located just south of Arcadia, Louisiana on Hwy 9 each Trade Days. It became a regular stop on the circuit of similar shows for dozens of vendors. Later, under the direction of Ed and Kathy Jones, the son and daughter-in-law of one of the co-founders of the Trade Days, the monthly event hit a plateau in attendance and visitors that it successfully maintained for years.

However, in recent years, health problems begin to affect the Jones'. High gasoline prices and affected attendance of visitors and vendors begin to lag. Finally, after 191 consecutive monthly Trade Day shows, the fixture in monthly events in North Louisiana was shuttered.

Then, Ray Worsham who has lived in nearby Dubberly for the past two years entered the picture, "Actually, on the weekend for the show in September, there were probably a couple hundred people who showed up for Trade Days. They were shocked that the show had been cancelled."

Worsham seems to have the ideal background to manage and grow the Bonnie and Clyde Trade Days and Park. Not only has Worsham traveled extensively in the Trade and Convention show industry but has participated in various roles in the entertainment business. He was a member of "re-enactors" show troupes in the Dallas area and has played several small roles in a number of movies.

"I believe that entertainment makes any event more attractive and enjoyable," Worsham pointed out. "We are looking at looking at hosting musical events and other large group events at the Park. We certainly have the facilities to do so."

The RV Park has water, electricity and sewer for several hundred RV's. A washateria and heated and cooled bathhouse are among the amenities offered to RV travelers. A 50' x 200' pavilion with a metal roof is available to host an array of events from family reunions to motorcycle rallies.

A permanent fixture at the Park is the Pointe Barrow Café overlooking Bonnie's Bay which has a well balanced menu. Also, there are three fishing ponds on the grounds and the front porch of the office building was built to stage show specifications.

The Park is situated in an area of significant historical events. The old Mt. Lebanon stagecoach road brushes the southern edge of the property. A few miles to the southeast is Driskill Mountain, the highest point in Louisiana at 586 feet above sea level.

The Park's namesake was the infamous 1930's area outlaw duo from Dallas, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow who met their demise a few miles to the west of the Trade Days Park. In nearby Gibsland, the Ambush Museum, located in the same building that housed Ma Canfield's café in the 1930's is chocked full of Bonnie and Clyde memorabilia including the Movie Car in which the couple took their last ride.

Ma Canfield's Café was a popular eating establishment in those days in Gibsland. The outlaw due had stopped at the café to pickup sandwiches before heading south to their piney woods hideout. They never reached the hideout because a six-man posse was waiting for them and riddled the car with some 150 plus bullets.

Nearby Arcadia has become a center for antique shoppers with several antique shops located in the downtown area in buildings that were built in the early 1900's.

"We are looking at various ways and means to enhance attendance and give those visitors more things to see and do when they come to the Bonnie and Clyde Trade Days Park," Worsham pointed out. "We are looking at both historical possibilities as well as more modern day activities. Next year, our plans are to host the Annual North Louisiana Antique Tractor show among other events."

Worsham and his management team recently met with the owner, Richard Grigsby of the old historical Reader Railroad headquartered in southwest Arkansas. The Reader Railroad has a number of old steam locomotives that pull excursion trains and have appeared in numerous 1800's era movies.

Back