D.C. (Deputy Cat) was a stray cat who showed up at the Winkler County courthouse as a kitten, and lived there for the next 14 years. When he passed away in 1991, Winkler Co. employees buried their friend on the courthouse grounds, and erected a simple tombstone in his honor.
Mama Blaster called the courthouse on 4 Mar 2013 and spoke with the Winkler County Judge Bonnie Leck. She had many fond memories of D.C., who was well-loved at the courthouse:
"D. C. was our Courthouse Cat. He is mentioned in our Winkler County history book as well. D.C. was a big black longhaired cat who showed up as a stray kitten and lived here. The County Clerk who was here for about a hundred years liked cats, and so she fed him and he became our Courthouse Cat. Everybody loved him, well, except for the County Sheriff [laughing], who didn't care much for cats. The County Clerk had cushions on the chairs in the courthouse, and with a longhaired black cat we were always going around with these rollers to get the long black cat hair up. D. C. ruled the roost here -- and was even featured in a story on the TV show Texas Country Reporter."
In Texas, it is a BIG DEAL to be featured on Texas Country Reporter. (
visit link) Unfortunately, the archive on line only goes back to 2003, and this story would have aired in the 1980s most likely. Old episodes of TCR air on RFD-TV, so maybe one day we will get to see D.C. wander through across his domain again.
Until that day, Blasterz are happy to be able to share the heartwarming story of D.C. the Courthouse Cat.
Judge Leck sent Blasterz a Xerox of the book "A Local History of Winkler County 1187-1984, A collection of historical sketches and family histories composed by County residents, compiled by the Winkler County History Book Committee under supervision of the Winkler County Historical Commission." The book is not available online so we have typed the article out here:
"D. C. THE CAT
Perhaps the most interesting occupant of the Winkler County Courthouse is D.C. - a large black tom cat. Contrary to what some people will tell you, his proper name is Deputy Cat, since he was adopted originally by the Sheriff's Office in 1979.
DC has become somewhat of a fixture around the courthouse and a celebrity in his own right. When a new District Judge came to Kermit and conducted a trial on Saturday Morning, DC felt it was his duty to investigate the situation -- until the the judge decided it would be a better idea to remove DC from the area. DC was on television during the Michael Sharp hearings and later Channel 7 did a special segment on Kermit's Deputy Cat. They had an interesting presentation and some good pictures of DC on camera. In a radio interview, Tumbleweed Smith asked County Judge Frances Clark about the deputy cat, and the Winkler County news did a feature article about him.
New DC spends the majority of his time during the week in County Clerk Ruth Godwin's office, where he has his own box on her desk. After dinner, he is put outside for the evenings and on weekend he fends for himself. But there is never a lack of food for him, and once a year a collection is taken up for his vaccinations.
DC is loved by some, tolerated by most, and disliked by a few.
-- by Barbara Sabonya"