Long before it was Soap Creek Saloon, this building three miles from town and up the hill from Bee Cave Road was the Elm Grove Lodge. On June 17, 1947 it was the site of a murder, when Arnold W. Barrier, who managed The Windmill club on the San Antonio Highway (far South Congress), was badly beaten by brothers- Elmo “Blondie” Wright and Chester “Curley” Wright – and died three days later. Lodge owner F.B. Cochran and his 18-year-old son Brooks were also pistol-whipped, and the phone lines were cut. It was a Tuesday night and the club hosted a small wedding party that Barrier crashed with his son-in-law, a woman and her 11-year-old daughter, arriving in a dump truck. The wedding band was Steve Lightsey and the Rhythm Kings, who often played at the Windmill. Lightsey testified that one of the Wright brothers (whose sister was the bride) sucker-punched Barrier, then the other brother pistol-whipped and stomped him.

Jeff Baker
August 31, 2021Steve Lightsey was my maternal grandfather. He passed away the year that I was born. I appreciate the story and shared it with my 81 year old mother. She remembers the Elm Grove Lodge as a child going to see her daddy play stand up base in the band. She said that many people who witnessed the beating/murder would not testify but Grandpa Lightsey did because he was a good man. His brother Joel Lightsey was a police officer with the Austin Police Department during the 30’s through 50’s, as well.