The following story was told by Jenna Mathews, great-granddaughter of Martha Jane Conner Witt, at the 1997 Roark-Conner Reunion. She said that she got the story from Woodrow Witt, of Fletcher, OK.
"One fine day, after the Witt's skinned and butchered a calf for meat for the family, the surplus was passed around to friends and neighbors (since there were no electric refrigerators back then). While delivering the fresh meat to other families, Calvin learned there was to be a party that night and certain young men would be passing by to attend the party. Calvin set about the mischievous work of stuffing the calf hide with straw and sewing it up; using some wire and rope. He tied it around the stuffed calf, then threw the wire over a forked limb of a big oak tree by the road. He tied the other end of the rope to his saddle horn; then Calvin, waiting in the edge of the woods; heard the young men approaching on their horses. He backed up his horse further into the woods, pulling the rope and making the stuffed calf appear to be climbing the big oak tree...of course this spooked the horses; throwing the riders as they yelled.... Bear...Bear in the tree!!! They ran terrified the rest of the way to the party. Needless to say, they had all the folks of Springtown, Texas out "huntin bear".
And to this day, as far as we know, not a single bear has ever been sighted in Springtown, Texas!!!!