Ranch2

A door attendant admitted only white, presentable, and sober men into the parlor,
where chairs stood on both sides of the room. No cursing or drinking was allowed of the
men, or the women for that matter. Edna charged a quarter for the jukebox, seventy-
five cents for cigarettes, and a dollar for a Coke, steep prices for the sixties. The
women asked for music and Cokes to promote business. The going rate for their
services was fifteen dollars for fifteen minutes, though more expensive options were
added in the sixties. A girl would have from five to twenty customers a day. After
giving an estimated 75% to Edna, the women still made $300 a week and had no
expenses. Edna took care of taxes, insurance, utilities, food (two meals a day), weekly
doctor visits, two attendants, maids, a cook and laundry bills. Even before profits from
the Cokes, cigarettes and jukebox, it has been estimated that the ranch had an income
of more than $500,000 a year. All new employees were fingerprinted and photographed
by Sheriff Flournoy before they could start work, and a criminal record of any kind
prevented their employment. Flournoy caught a few women wanted on warrants this
way. Once at the ranch, the women had to subscribe to strict rules written by Miss
Edna.

The Chicken Ranch continued operating successfully until mid-1973. That year,
consumer-affairs reporter Marvin Zindler from KTRK-TV in Houston ran a week-long
expose on the ranch. He claimed that his motive was inaction on the part of the Texas
Department of Public Safety and local law officers to combat the organized crime and
corruption allegedly evident at the ranch. All of the attention drawn to the ranch
forced the governor, Dolph Briscoe, to meet with the head of the DPS, the state
attorney general, and Zindler. At the meeting it was disclosed that the DPS had run a
two-month surveillance on the Chicken Ranch and had failed to find evidence of
connection with organized crime. However, the pressure on the governor was such
that he could not ignore the problem. He scheduled a meeting with Sheriff Jim Flournoy
and ordered the house closed. The sheriff, along with some of the citizens of La
Grange, saw little reason to close the ranch, but thought he had to do it anyway. He
informed Edna of the situation, and by Wednesday morning of the week following
Zindler's expose, August 1, 1973, the ranch was closed and the women had left.
Flournoy left for his meeting with the governor with a petition signed by nearly 3,000
people, but upon arriving was informed that the governor had canceled the meeting
when he heard the house was closed. Most of the ranch's employees had headed for
Austin or Houston; only Edna and a few maids were left. Edna attempted to buy a
house in La Grange, but her down payment was returned. She subsequently got
married and moved to an East Texas town where her husband owned several
restaurants.

Although the Chicken Ranch was officially closed, the story was not over. Customers
showed up for more than two years looking for the place. Zindler also came back for a
follow-up story and in the midst of an argument with Sheriff Flournoy was pushed down.
This resulted in a $3 million lawsuit against the sheriff. Many local people began
contributing to Flournoy's cause by selling T-shirts and bumper stickers. Flournoy
settled out of court for much less than $3 million. The musical about the ranch was
very successful. Edna had a silent role in the Broadway production, which was later
turned into a movie. Two lawyers from Houston bought the building and land and in
1977 moved part of the building, in its original condition, to Dallas to open a restaurant
named the Chicken Ranch. It opened in September 1977 with Miss Edna as the
hostess, the building and furniture in their original condition, and a menu of mainly
chicken dishes. The restaurant closed in January 1978. The building and furniture were
auctioned off at the site of the restaurant in late June of that year in a foreclosure sale
ordered by the Small Business Administration. Sheriff Flournoy resigned in 1980, saying
that he and his wife were sick of hearing about the Chicken Ranch and did not want to
hear the name again. When he died in October 1982, his funeral was attended by Lt.
Governor Bill Hobby and nearly 100 lawmen. He was credited with solving every murder
and bank robbery in Fayette County during his 34 year term. The Chicken Ranch had
helped his criminal investigations.