It has been 65 years since Marion County Sheriff J.V. Polk was senselessly murdered on his front porch by bootleggers during the prohibition, and he will finally be remembered in perpetuity. Next Friday, Sept. 19, at 10 a.m., a segment of Mississippi 35 N. will be forever named Sheriff J.V. Polk Memorial Highway with a ceremony scheduled to take place at Bunker Hill Baptist Church.
Sheriff Polk’s daughter, Janice Polk Shivers Loftin, said she has been trying to make something like this happen for 45 years.
“I have basically been fanatical about it — I really have,” she said. “I don’t mean it unkindly to people who were honored, but every time I’d see another highway sign honoring somebody, I’d think, ‘That’s not right.’ It was right for them, but I wanted Daddy honored. I think some people think I’m crazy still waiting this long, but I don’t care. It needed to be done.”
Present-day Sheriff Berkley Hall said he believes Sheriff Polk should have been honored sooner with a memorial highway, but he’s glad it is finally happening.
“The man put his life on the line and lost it to enforce the law in Marion County,” Hall said. “I was nothing but a young chap when it happened, but I remember the talk about it. As I got older, I got to know his children and widow real well over the years. Not only did he sacrifice his life, but they gave up their husband and daddy. I’m proud they’re doing it — it just should have been done 50 years ago.”
Although Loftin had previously been told that too much time had passed for a memorial highway resolution honoring her father to be approved, Rep. Ken Morgan, R-Morgantown told her he would be glad to try and make it happen when she approached him.
“He has been my hero,” Loftin said of Morgan. “He really has.”
Morgan said he was a child when it happened, and he remembers listening to the trial live on the radio. He said he was happy to make it happen for the Polk family.
“I think Sheriff Polk was trying to do the right thing and was a victim of misfortune,” Morgan said. “(His death) is something that should be documented and go down in history, so to speak. Back then, liquor was illegal and that’s what he ran his platform on — cleaning up the county.”
Loftin said she knows that the younger generation will pass by the sign for years to come and not know who her father is, but she hopes their parents will teach them about him and the prohibition in Marion County.
Sheriff Polk was killed on April 22, 1960, by Willie McCain following a raid carried out by Sheriff Polk and his deputies. McCain hid in the bushes in Sheriff Polk’s yard before shooting him.
Hillary Thornhill, who was referred to as the “kingpin of Marion County bootleggers” by press at the time, was the mastermind behind the killing and was sentenced to life imprisonment just like McCain. Several others were arrested and charged for the slaying.
“It was just like living in a nightmare,” Loftin said about her teenage years. “Back in those days, you didn’t have counselors. You didn’t have anybody to talk to. You just sucked it up. It messed me up bad. I was studying to be a classical pianist, and dad was my No. 1 fan.”
In return, Loftin has tried to be his No. 1 fan in his death, continuing to push to get him honored.
“I love my daddy,” she said.
Following Sheriff Polk’s death, his wife, Ollie, was named interim sheriff by the Board of Supervisors then proceeded to win the following special election to remain sheriff over eight men. She was the first woman in Mississippi to be elected sheriff.
