Unrest at a Funeral
Unrest at a Funeral
(Burnt Corn, AL) Mourners from all over gathered in Burnt Corn to give their respect and say goodbye to local celebrity Ricky “the Ramma Slamma” Henchcombe (82). Hundreds of people crammed into the town hall for the memorial service and hundreds more were present at Heavenly Pass Cemetery. While most of the days events went off without a hitch, it was during the potluck dinner in the town square when the day of memorial turned into a day of mayhem that witnesses have already dubbed “The Fried Chicken Smackdown,” most likely due to Ramma Slamma’s 40-year professional wrestling career.
Henchcombe was born in 1938 to Anne and Burge Henchcombe on their farm just outside city limits. According to his 2004 autobiography Pinned but Never Defeated, he was the runt of a litter that included 6 brothers and 4 sisters until a major growth spirt at age 14. In 1955 he left town with a traveling circus as a wrestler. After 2 seasons of honing his skills and tossing around local tough guys, he joined the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. He would then spend the rest of his career bouncing around from one wrestling outfit to another. While his career was long, he was never a household name outside of Burnt Corn.
After retiring in 1997 Henchcombe returned home and found a new life in advertising, most notably for his commercials for Flair’s Car Dealership. The most common commercial would have Henchcombe dressed in a black shirt that read “High Prices.” Flair would come up and hit him with a chair and yell, “I always beat down high prices!” He would perform in many different variations of this commercial for nearly all the businesses in Monroe and Conecuh Counties.
Henchcombe was also very involved in the local schools, especially with his “Be Active” campaign. He had been on social media a lot during the pandemic making Tik Tok videos. It was during his last Tik Tok video when he fell off his roof and died from the injuries.
Witness Alice Shallops (Frisco City, 55) pointed out, “Considering who he (Henchcombe) was, it only makes sense what happened today. But it ain’t right, and I don’t like it. I am embarrassed of our town.”
What caused a brawl that leave the town square a complete mess, 6 people in the hospital, and at least 25 more arrested? According to Assistant District Attorney Bill Hogan, it was fried chicken. Indeed, it was a fried chicken recipe that caused Gemma Michaels (Frisco City, 80) to assault Elizabeth Benoit (Burnt Corn, 80) with a drumstick, which would be the catalyst for the mayhem to follow.
Millie Hart (Burnt Corn, 80) witnessed everything and explained, “I saw it all, but to be honest, this whole thing started back in ’55 or ’56.” She said that Gemma and Elizabeth both dated Steve Benoit in high school.
Two years after school he married Elizabeth. Millie went on to say, “One night at the Lawler Bowling alley, someone asked Steve why he chose Elizabeth over Gemma, and he joked that it was Elizabeth’s fried chicken that put her over the top.” Millie said that Gemma took it to heart and has been searching for the best fried chicken recipe ever since.
Millie continued, “And it don’t make sense, Gemma married Ron Hellwig in ’60 and has 4 children and bunch of grand- and great-grandkids, but she still pines over Steve. Every potluck or event, she fries up some chicken and makes sure Steve gets a piece, as if one of these days he is gonna eat a piece of her chicken and decide to runoff with her. It’s just silly.”
Paul Piper (Burnt Corn, 65) was talking to Steve when he witnessed the initial assault. He said, “Steve was a little drunk, he was good friends with Ricky (Henchcombe) and was taking it hard, so he had some whiskey to dull things.
I tried to take his mind off things and brought up Elizabeth’s fried chicken. I asked him how she makes it crispy. I had no idea he was really going to tell me, and if he weren’t drunk, I doubt he would have. And we would be better off if he hadn’t.”
Piper went on, “Once Millie heard what the secret ingredient was, I saw her eyes grow cold. It scared me a little.” Piper said there was no stopping her. She dropped her plate on the ground, grabbed a drumstick from Elizabeth’s chicken platter, and marched straight to Elizabeth.
Officer Rhodes reported, “Several eyewitnesses have confirmed that Mrs. Gemma Hellwig turned Mrs. Elizabeth Benoit around by her shoulders and shouted ‘Corn Flakes, Corn Flakes, Corn Flakes,’ and then assaulted her repeatedly with a drumstick. The fight then expanded to include all members of the Benoit and Hellwig families, and eventually onlookers joined in. Tables and chairs were used as weapons and launching devices. It looked like the ’92 Royal Rumble that Henchcombe almost won.”
The Assistant DA and police are interviewing witnesses and combatants alike to determine what charges will be filed. Thousands of dollars’ worth of food was destroyed along with damage to the town square. When asked about Elizabeth Benoit, he replied, “Right now she is being treated at Hardy Memorial Hospital along with everyone else who was injured. As of right now it’s not illegal to use Corn Flakes when frying chicken, but it is something that needs to be addressed. Just because it’s legal don’t make it right. We are not ruling out an impersonation charge. Cornflakes, really?”
Sam Orton (Burnt Corn, 58), who owns Orton Creamery, summed the incident up this way: “Tables and chairs can be replaced, but what about trust? I have been eating her (Elizabeth's) chicken since I was a kid and now, I don’t know what to believe. I think it’s tyme for the Benoits to leave. I hear there are places up north that puts a bunch of veggies in their Chicken and Dumplings, that’s where she belongs.”