Ghost Town

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I live in a ghost town, ghost town, ghost town, ghost town.

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On the empty streets of my downtown, phantoms peer through

boarded up second story windows, witnessing the decay and the

passing of a better day.

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On the waterfront, burnt remnants of piers line the shore from

a long ago fire telling of a once thriving town, never replaced.

A loss never really faced.

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The wraiths of sailors and passengers on ships drowned

at the bar also walk this town. Unlucky fate and bad decisions

by greedy men's ambitions.

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Alonso Tucker and Timothy Pettis murdered by angry men,

still haunt this lonely town. Long forgotten, but still here,

seeking justice, never near.

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And now a dead “hero” adorns a downtown wall.

A young man killed in his prime. His quotes on sidewalk brass.

He ran in circles until his crash.

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A perfect “hero” for this

ghost town, ghost town, ghost town, ghost town.

ghost town, ghost town, ghost town, ghost town

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Note: Alonso Tucker has the distinction of being the only black man lynched in Oregon.

He was chased down by a mob of coal miners on September 18, 1902. He allegedly

assaulted a white woman, but he never went to trial.

The mob was lauded by the press.

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Timothy Pettis was a black janitor and war veteran who walked into the wrong cafe on

July 6, 1924. His castrated body was found floating in Coos Bay a week later. The top

local law enforcement officials decided to take a vacation. It was widely believed to be

the work of the KKK which was quite active in the area at the time.

The murder was never solved.