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Vol 12  Issue 571   January 3, 2008

PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net, Phone: 580-490-6823

In last week’s T&T former Ardmoreite Tom Elmore mention in an email about the railroad  “Y” on Grand Avenue near the Ardmore Mall.  Garth Hoard sent in a aerial view of Ardmore taken in 1940 and the “Y” is clearly visible.

In Garth’s own words:  “A cropped scan of the referenced “Y” is attached, along with a reduced size full scan. Anyhow, using a stereo viewer those 4-15-40 photos, there’s not much at that junction which came together on the east about halfway btw K & L, on the west just w of (what would become*) 77, and on the south just e of (what would become*) 77 and a little closer to 2nd than 3rd. *the thru road appears to run from commerce e on Bdwy to ‘K’ then n to 12th where it jogs back w to commerce and on north, avoiding that RR ‘Y’.”

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/CFN-10-84c-cropped2.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/CFN-10-84c-sm.jpg

Something interesting I notice besides the “Y” is the highway running west of Ardmore.  You will see it starts on the south side of Central Park and went west on McLish (this was before Highway 77/Commerce). Several years ago I had an article in a T&T about a auto hitting a train at the McLish crossing, but I can’t find the article right now.

Garth also dropped me off great aerials of southern Oklahoma back around 1940 and before. I have not had time to go through them all yet, but here is a birdseye view of Dougherty, Oklahoma in 1937

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/Dougherty1937.jpg

This is a 1937 aerial of Davis, Oklahoma

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/Davis1937.jpg

And this is a view of Springer, Oklahoma in 1937.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/springer1937.jpgI’ll have more birdseye views of south central Oklahoma in future issues.

Dwane Stevens has upload 2 more videos on youtube. In Dwane’s own words:   “I uploaded a few more clips of the old video of the trestle system in Ardmore, Ok along with some photos of it as well. A little more Ardmore Switcher action also.  http://youtube.com/watch?v=_QZH_blVUOw

Last week Jill and I wanted something so we decided to try a veggie pizza from Papa’s Pizzeria in downtown Lone Grove. It was a great pizza and it just so happened drinks are free on Sunday evening when we stopped by.  But the first thing I noticed when I entered the door was the old commercial dough maker they had on display. Quite an interesting piece of history.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/PapasPizzeriaDoughMaker.jpg

Our new skype.com toll free number to anyone calling us in Oklahom is 580-215-4333. If you live in Oklahoma, it is toll free. If you live outside Oklahoma, is will be like making a regular long distance call. When we move to Lone Grove in hopefully a couple weeks, the skype number will be replacing our 223-0892 number here in Ardmore.

Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..“Happy New Year Cuz and Mrs. Cuz, Really enjoyed the pictures of downtown Ardmore all lit up for Christmas. Brought back a lot of memories of my pre-teen years when we would drive down from Davis just to see all the window displays that were up for Christmas. I do believe back then that Daube’s had the best displays of all as they were the ones with the moving animation characters that all us kids loved to stand and watch for hours.” -Poss in Korea


“No doubt you’ve heard/read about the $40 coupons for converter boxes being made available for folks who receive TV signals by antenna. Two coupons are permitted per household. The digital signals will not begin until Feb. 18, 2009, but the demand for the coupons is likely to be strong so submitting a request soon might be wise. Converter boxes aren’t needed for TV sets receiving signals by satellite or cable. The coupons can be requested online: www.dtv2009.gov and by phone: (888) DTV-2009 The program is handled by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. http://www.ntia.doc.gov The boxes are expected to cost $50 to $70 each.”  -Elizabeth Dyer


“Speaking of knives my father had one that he carried for many years.  It was a Case knife according to my older brothers. He had it when they were small my mom gave it to me when he passed away. It now lies at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. I was on a troop ship on my way to Germany we had to weather a storm in mid Atlantic and I had it in my hand cleaning my nails when the ship made a hard roll to the left. Someone lost his footing and slammed into me.  I grabbed for him and lost my knife to the sea. But I kept the guy from going overboard. A small price to pay for that feeling. I hope Neptune has taken good care of it.” -Paskell


“Butch, I lived at 707 K St. NW from about 1946 until 1954. The store I remember was at the NE corner of K Street and 8th. I do not know the names of the people who owned it. I have a cute story about that store and the different times back then. At about age 5 or so I decided to take some change from my mother’s purse and go over to the store for a treat. I believe I bought a pop and a candy bar. By the time I got home my mother was waiting for me. The people at the store knew I shouldn’t have had that much money and that I wasn’t allowed to cross the street without permission. They called my mother to let her know I was buying candy and pop. I got to cut my own willow switch from the tree out back. I learned several good lessons that day.” -Carrol Evans


Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

See everyone next week!

Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore Oklahoma
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
https://oklahomahistory.net

Save on long distance calls, just a couple cents a minute!
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Oklahoma Bells: https://oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
American Flyers Memorial Fund – Administration Webpage
https://oklahomahistory.net/crash66.html
Official American Flyers Memorial Website
http://www.brightok.net/~wwwafm
Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force Base Website
http://www.brightok.net/~gsimmons
Mirror Site of the Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force Website
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Carter county schools, past and present
http://community.webshots.com/user/oklahomahistory
Carter County Government Website
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