Hearken to this story on the Nation Historical past X podcast, obtainable on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all different main podcast networks.
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In his autobiography, Johnny Money explains how he’s half gypsy, and half homebody. That’s why he stored a number of houses in a number of locations all through his life, and lived at them in line with a rhythm that might be international to most individuals, however was pure to him. He had his well-known home on Outdated Hickory Lake simply north of Nashville, a farm at Bon Aqua even additional outdoors of Nashville, a home in Port Richey, Florida inherited from his spouse June Carter’s dad and mom, in addition to accommodations and his bus that he spent many evenings in yearly. Then there was his property in Jamaica referred to as Cinnamon Hill.
Money says concerning the island paradise, “Jamaica has renewed me extra instances than I can rely. Partly it’s the isolation. It’s not Nashville, or Tennessee, and even america, and the Jamaican phone system has its personal mysterious schedule past the affect of even crucial individuals. Generally it decides I simply don’t want it. Often it’s proper.”
Money went on to say that Jamaica reminded him of his childhood, from the lushness of the vegetation, to the purity of the air, to the good stars at evening. He talked about how grateful he was for his walks alongside the jungle trails and the smells of the flowers, and selecting bananas proper off the the tree after they’re completely ripe.
He additionally mentions as he reminisces in his autobiography, “I look towards the entrance gate and see a guard strolling the perimeter, one in all our regulars, a wiry, grim-looking character toting a nickel-plated Remington 12-gauge. All I can say about him is that I’m glad he’s on my aspect.”
This alludes to the extra sinister aspect of Jamaica, and Money’s experiences at Cinnamon Hill. That is the story of the Christmas kidnapping and theft of Johnny Money and his household.
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Cinnamon Hill is an property that was first constructed on the Jamaican island in 1734, and was a part of a sugar plantation the place hundreds of slaves labored. With limestone partitions 4 ft thick, and big stable mahogany doorways, it was constructed to maintain the worst of hurricanes that often ravage Jamaica, and has efficiently overwhelmed again dozens of storms over the a long time. It even survived the a number of slave revolts in Jamaica, and the overall rebellion in 1831 when a lot of the different estates on the island had been destroyed. Surrounding the grounds now the place the sugar fields and slaves shacks as soon as had been is a world-famous golf course.
Cinnamon Hill is close by Jamaica’s largest outdated property referred to as Rose Corridor, which was owned by Delaware businessman and politician John Rollins. Rollins was shut buddies with Johnny Money, and took him by Cinnamon Hill on a tour of the property in 1974 when Rollins owned Cinnamon Hill as nicely. Money instantly fell in love with the Cinnamon Hill property, and determined he wished to repair it up and switch it into a house for his household. Rollins didn’t need to promote it, however Money mounted it up anyway at his personal expense, eager to spend Christmas there in 1974. Then after Money had already performed a lot work to the place, he sturdy armed Rollins, who ultimately gave in, and offered Cinnamon Hill to Money.
The property had seen many stately and well-known residents through the years, and housed many vital moments. The unique proprietor was Edward Barrett, who was an ancestor of well-known poet Elizabeth Barrett-Browning of “How do I really like thee. Let me rely the methods” fame. Elizabeth Barrett-Browning had lived at Cinnamon Hill in her period as nicely. Money wrote a lot of his autobiography in the home, in addition to a number of songs. Money’s good buddy and evangelist Billy Graham additionally wrote elements of three books there when the home was on mortgage to him from Money.
One other fascinating tidbit about Cinnamon Hill in line with all earlier and present house owners, in addition to native lore, is that the property is credibly haunted. When Waylon Jennings and spouse Jessi Colter stayed on the home one night, they swore they heard unusual noises. However they had been later defined away as tree limbs brushing in opposition to the roof. This was youngster’s play in comparison with the stuff Johnny Money swears he witnessed first hand.
Money recollects, “Mysterious figures have been seen—a lady, and younger boy—at numerous instances by numerous individuals through the years. As soon as, a lady appeared within the eating room when six of us had been current. All of us noticed her. She got here by means of the door resulting in the kitchen, an individual in her early thirties, I’d say, carrying a full-length white costume, and proceeded throughout the room towards the double doorways within the reverse wall, which had been closed and locked. She went by means of them with out opening them, after which, from the opposite aspect, she knocked rat-tat-tat, rat-tat.”
Money goes on to say that they’ve by no means had any bother with the ghosts. They by no means meant anybody any hurt, and he and his household had been by no means afraid of them. Money says, “The one actually horrifying story about Cinnamon Hill belongs within the realm of the residing and serves to remind me that a few of them are rather more harmful than all of the lifeless put collectively.”
It occurred on Christmas Day 1982 at 6:00 pm, simply as Johnny Money, members of his household, and distinguished visitors had sat down for Christmas dinner, and had been bowing their heads to say the blessing. At that second, three males got here dashing in by means of the three separate entrances to the home, all wearying pantyhose over their heads to hide their id. One had a knife, one other had a hatchet, and the third had a gun. All of them seemed to be comparatively younger, with the ringleader most likely in his early 20s, and the opposite two simply youngsters.
Together with Johnny Money and his spouse June Carter, the couple’s son John Carter Money was there, as was John Carter’s buddy Doug Caldwell, Money’s sister Reba Hancock and her husband Chuck Hussey, together with Money’s buddy and archeologist Ray Fremmer. Additionally in the home was the cook dinner and her stepdaughter, a neighborhood maid, in addition to a family supervisor from Tennessee there for the Vacation. There have been no guards. On the time, they didn’t even lock the doorways of the home. The armed males ordered everybody to put face down on the bottom whereas they yelled, “Someone’s going to die right here tonight!”
Whereas a few of the ladies fainted or started to behave hysterical, Johnny Money tried to stay cool-minded. The robbers demanded one million {dollars}, which Money defined they didn’t have on their individual, and the federal government wouldn’t permit them to carry onto the island. Shortly after making everybody take away their jewellery and watches, the person with the gun put the gun in opposition to the pinnacle of John Carter’s buddy Doug Caldwell and mentioned, “Everyone do as I say, or John Carter goes to die!” Then when everybody was ordered to their ft, the gunman discovered he had the improper child, after which moved over to level the gun at John Carter.
For the subsequent two hours, the intruders went by means of your entire home, room to room, dragging everybody with them, and eradicating any worthwhile objects from every room. In accordance with Money, the intruders had been surprisingly tidy, not tossing the home, however fastidiously going by means of issues to take away the property. By the point they obtained to the main bedroom, the gunman grew to become downright cordial.
Johnny Money requested him to please take away the gun from his son’s head. The gunman responded, “Don’t fear about it, man.” Whereas the opposite two males went by means of the bed room and the gunman was standing on the mattress—nonetheless holding the gun to John Carter’s head—he requested the 11-year-old boy, “What do you do down right here? What do you love to do in Jamaica? Do you snorkel?”
Apparently, John Carter Money was the good man of the entire kidnapped occasion. The gunman requested him at one level, “Would you like a really feel of my gun?” at which John Carter replied, “No, sir. I don’t play with weapons. I’ve a number of respect for them. They’re very harmful.” The gunman replied, “Hey, I such as you man.” John Carter would later recall the harrowing incident by saying fairly nonchalantly, “Yeah, that was fairly an evening!”
As soon as the robbers had bagged all of their loot, the incident was removed from over. In order that they may make a clear getaway, the armed males ordered everybody into the basement, which triggered a renewed spherical of crying and concern from the ladies within the occasion. Everybody was barricaded within the basement, however earlier than the lads left, they slipped a plate of Christmas turkey underneath the door. Seemingly unphased and tremendous hungry at that time, John Carter and his buddy Doug preceded to devour the plate of turkey because the others tried to interrupt down the barricaded door.
One of many particulars that Johnny Money leaves out of his account, maybe resulting from humility, is how the robbers additionally stole 175 pairs of footwear that he and June had bought to offer to youngsters on the native orphanage. The footwear, together with an estimated $35,000-$50,000 in money and jewellery had been loaded into Money’s Vary Rover, and pushed off. Solely because the robber kidnappers had been driving away did they hear the canine outdoors barking. There was a concept that the intruders might need labored on or been to the property earlier than. That’s doubtlessly how they entered undetected.
After about two hours, Money and Chuck Hussey had been capable of break down the barricaded door to the basement. In Johnny Money’s account, they then referred to as the police. However in press accounts, some employees from Cinnamon Hill took the property’s different Vary Rover into Montego Bay to alert authorities. Both means, what would occur subsequent would weigh on the conscience of Johnny Money simply as a lot because the theft and kidnapping itself.
The tales of what occurred afterwards differ, maybe as a result of info and verification within the incident was considerably scarce. Having a distinguished American robbed and kidnapped in Jamaica would have been horrible PR for the tourism trade on the island, and due to his charity work, Money was well-regarded by most locals. What we all know for certain is that the three males who perpetrated the theft all ended up lifeless.
In accordance with Money, the robber with the gun was caught that evening and killed whereas resisting arrest. The opposite two males had been caught in a theft just a few weeks later in Kingston. Then whereas in jail, the 2 males had been provided with a ladder for a piece undertaking. Once they promptly tried to make use of the ladder to flee, they had been shot and killed by the guards simply outdoors of the jail’s partitions, with the insinuation by Money being that the boys had been lured into making an attempt to flee so that they could possibly be killed.
Different accounts say all three males had been a part of a terrorist group whose chief had been killed per week earlier than the theft. The person with the gun was killed the evening of the theft, however the others had been caught per week later on the Montego Bay airport making an attempt to take a flight to Miami to fence the products stolen from Cinnamon Hill. Both means, Money took his assurances of “swift justice” by native authorities to imply there can be no honest trial or rehabilitation. And there wasn’t. All three males ended up lifeless.
The Prime Minister of Jamaica was very upset over the theft, and particularly frightened that Johnny Money would use the incident to depart the island and by no means return. So the Prime Minister ordered armed items from the Jamaican Protection Power to encompass the home till Johnny Money was able to return to america. On the time, the island was affected by political struggles and what Money referred to as “ganja wars” that often resulted in violence, even when the violence often averted vacationer areas to not thrust back American {dollars}.
Money mentioned concerning the incident in his Autobiography:
How do I really feel about it? What’s my emotional response to the actual fact (or at the least the distinct chance) that the determined junkie boys who threatened and traumatized my household and may simply have killed us all (maybe by no means intending any such factor) had been executed for his or her act or murdered, or shot down like canine, have it how you’ll?
I’m out of solutions. My solely certainties are that I grieve for determined younger males and the societies that produce and undergo so a lot of them, and I felt that I knew these boys. We had a kinship, they and I: I knew how they thought, I knew how they wanted. They had been like me.
Johnny Money was in fact referring to his personal battles with substance abuse, and with the regulation. In spite of everything, he’d as soon as been arrested himself making an attempt to move 1,100 drugs throughout america border from Mexico, amongst a number of different infractions all through his life. Money had additionally battled with substance abuse a lot of his days, together with looking for remedy on the Betty Ford Clinic.
The incident exacerbated Johnny Money’s reliance on sleeping drugs, and he began carrying a gun for the primary time. Money was closely conflicted concerning the matter for a few years, however ultimately employed 24-hour armed safety, and put the incident prior to now. Johnny Money refused use the incident as an excuse to desert Cinnamon Hill, or Jamaica.
Money mentioned later, “At the moment I can look again and see that some good got here from all of it. Once I take my walks and golf-cart rides right down to the ocean, I’m usually stopped by native individuals who greet me warmly, and I can’t rely what number of instances I’ve heard gratitude for my resolution to remain in Jamaica. And for the reason that theft I’ve been extra concerned in Jamaican life in numerous methods which were excellent for me. At the moment I really feel really at house on this lovely nation, and I really like and admire its proud and kindly individuals.”
Johnny and June owned Cinnamon Hill for the remainder of their lives. When Johnny Money handed away in 2003, Jamaica despatched an emissary to characterize the island nation on the remembrance.
At the moment, the Cinnamon Hill property is again within the possession of the household of Johnny Money’s buddy John Rollins who Money bought it from. It’s open weekdays for excursions, and the inside is frozen in time to when Johnny Money lived there, with household images, a 560-pound crocodile Johnny helped catch, and a pair of Johnny Money’s work boots on distinguished show.
Christmas is a time of giving, and a time of gratefulness. However many have endured harrowing experiences across the Holidays, which frequently exacerbates the trauma, and makes the recollections stick deeper into the psyche. However few had a Christmas story to inform like Johnny Money. And similar to Johnny did, it’s all a narrative we will draw deeper classes from.
Sources:
Money: The Autobiography – Johnny Money (with Patrick Carr) – 2003
St. Petersburg Occasions – Jan. fifth, 1982 – “Johnny Money theft: ‘The whole lot, or the boy dies‘”
