PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net
Phone: 580-490-6823
Received an email this week with a picture of an otter attached. His field cam snapped the picture the other night southwest of Dougherty, Oklahoma in the Arbuckle Mountains. He wasn’t real sure if it was an otter or a mink. So I posted it on my Facebook page and over 50 people responded. 99% said it was an otter. The power of Facebook….. awesome.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/ArbuckleOtter.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/ArbuckleOtterCloseup.jpg
Cecil Elliott in OKC is a professional photographer and from time to time he submits photos he’s taken for the T&T newsletter. This week he sent in a picture (there’s more in the Mailbag below) he took of the Dalton cabin at Kingfisher, Oklahoma. The Dalton gang is one of the most infamous outlaw gangs from Oklahoma’s bygone days.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/DaltonCabinAtKingfisherOK.jpg
If you haven’t visited the website www.pinterest.com , don’t, you will get addicted to it.
From This and That newsletter archives of November 7, 1998:
This week a pleasant surprise arrived by the U.S. Mail! It was an envelope with two photos in it….. of this bell located on Hwy 23 at the north edge of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I was in Eureka Springs in the early 70s, but sure didn’t notice this bell. The thing that sticks out in my mind about Eureka Springs was I tried to sleep that night in a Volkswagen Beetle, and I swore I’d never try that again! I hurt all over the next morning. The dumb things we do when young and mindless hahaha. Anyway, the friend that sent these was in Eureka Springs on vacation and I hope they didn’t try what I did in a VW.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/EurekaSpringsARBell_1.jpg
Here’s a close up with the words “THE O.S. BELL CO. HILLSBORO, O.” (The O stands for Ohio)
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/EurekaSpringsARBell_2.jpg
A few months ago I mentioned I had a Memorial Hospital coaster honoring six employees working at the hospital since its opening in 1955. They are top, Woodie Scott and Gwen Sutton; middle, Margorie Whipple and Jean Wages; bottom, Clifford McIntosh and Bill Ford.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/mem1975.jpg
Well, I forgot about the silver medallion I have that the hospital here made in 1980 to celebrate their 25 years of service. What is so unusual about this silver medallion, is the hospital took a bunch of old x-rays, extracted the silver content somehow, and used that silver to make the medallions. Very unique indeed.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/MemorialMedallionA.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/MemorialMedallionB.jpg
There was an article on the front page of the Daily Oklahoma last Saturday (10/31/98) telling about the Amtrak passenger train making runs back through Oklahoma next May. So we just might get to ride that train yet!!!!
A couple months ago I noticed my next door neighbor’s old dog had these great big rough looking calluses behind her “elbows” and “knees”. These were very rough and large, about the size of a silver dollar. So I did some searching on the Net and found several websites on canine care that said to give the dog Shark Liver Oil if he has any kind of hair and skin problems. Not only did she have those calluses, but a lot of her hair was gone and thin. Plus she had no energy whatsoever. So I started pricking a couple of Shark Liver Oil capsules and squeezing them out on some dog food for her. Now two months later, it is like a miracle! The calluses are completely gone, and hair has grown back where the rough spots were. Her coat has grown back thick, black and shiny. And she will run all the way from her yard to mine, which she hasn’t done in several years. Amazing what something so simple as Shark Liver Oil can do.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos3b/sweetpea3g.jpg
If you are still running Windows XP, its time to put it out to pasture.
Q. What is Oklahoma’s state flower?
A: The Hybrid Tea Rose is the official state flower, but we also have the official wildflower, the Indian Blanket, and the state floral, the mistletoe.
Q. Oklahoma is bordered by 6 states. Can you name them all?
A. (answer in next week’s newsletter)
Gas prices today in the Ardmore area……
https://oklahomahistory.net/gasprices.html
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..RE: Ringling Railroad: “I’ve noticed those features before on the topo maps and the aerial views. I went over to Ringling a few years back to see if there were any remnants of the old “Y” left. I really couldn’t tell much from the closest road and didn’t know who to ask for permission to walk in. I did get permission from the land owner where Cobalt Junction used to be and walked all over it and shot pics. Most of the grade is still easily seen and there were at least two old wooden bridges still there. Strangely they had wooden walls, ceiling and flooring inside.
Here’s a shot of the entrance to one of the bridges:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2946116830048365975AchWNZ
Shot of the interior showing the timber walls, floor and ceiling:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2626670620048365975kgwMtO
Shot of a crosstie still laying at Colbalt Junction with a 1929 date nail in it. I left it as I found it:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2610169570048365975CfNgfA
Several years ago I went to the Jefferson County Court House at Waurika to see if they had any info on the old RR line into Ringling. Ringling is just barely in Jefferson County. They dug up some interesting papers that illustrated where the “Y” was and who the property owner was (at least that part not considered RR right-of-way.) Here’s a copy of the first valuation map they gave me dated 1936:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2332817130048365975OQIaZM
The second valuation map they gave me shows to whom portions of the old RR right-of-way Santa Fe deeded to after the line was removed:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2865374980048365975VNQibJ
Notice the dates were 1979. The last train over the line was on Oct. 31, 1976, so the dates on the second valuation map means that all the rails were removed by 1979, about three years later, and the land was deeded to the adjacent land owners.
Takes me a while to dig up all the info I’ve accumulated over the years concerning the old line.” -Dwane Stevens
“I ran across your This ?N That, under Oklahoma History Website Ardmore Oklahoma. I would like to request help from your Readers. My name is Larry Pointer. I wrote the book In Search of Butch Cassidy, Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1977. In it are references to a manuscript written by an old outlaw. In 2011 the complete, unabridged manuscript came to light. Much more detail is there, and I am working on Chapter endnotes for its publication hopefully this coming Spring. What I am looking into, and need your help with, is discussion of a bank robbery by Butch Cassidy?s Wild Bunch, sometime around 1900, at an Oklahoma railroad town, A—. That is the closest identification given. Ardmore seems a prospect, being so near Fort Worth where the famous ?Fort Worth Five? photo of the Wild Bunch members was taken in November, 1900. Other railroad towns in Oklahoma, starting with an ?A? that caught my eye are Ada, Atoka, then Altus to the west, or even Avard or Alva up north. Ardmore seems most likely. Dave Putty and Bud Nolan were arrested following the Wild Bunch Union Pacific train robbery June 2, 1899, at Wilcox, Wyoming. The pair later were released. I saw in one of your columns, where at Leon, Indian Territory, Dave Putty July 5, 1902 was shot and killed by Marshal McLemore. Putty was said to be an Ardmoreite. Nolan was said to have later been sent up to the Federal Pen at Leavenworth. I would appreciate anyone’s thoughts on this puzzle.” -Larry Pointer dgdotter@bresnan.net
“I have been aware of your site for a few weeks. My oldest brother also lives here in Stigler. A couple of weeks ago he brought over a copy of your article about the Drive-in Theaters in Ardmore. I found it most interesting because I was in Ardmore a few months ago and was trying to locate the sites where the drive-ins were. The only one where I knew the exact location was the one not mentioned in your article. I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned it, but there were four of them. The fourth one was located south of town on the east side of 77 and is now a mobile home park. By the way, I have four brothers and we all grew up in Marietta. One brother now lives about two miles south of Woodford on Hickory Road. I was down there to see him. The reason for this email is to let you know what I would tell all my Texas buddies when the subject of state flowers came up. (I am retired from Lockheed Martin, Fort Worth.) I would tell them that yes, I knew the Bluebonnet was the state flower of Texas and not to be outdone us okies had got together and came up with a state flower for Oklahoma. That Flower I would tell them was GOLD MEDAL (cooking flour). If that didn’t leave them bewildered, I would then then tell them our state bird was one finger held high in the air. Something else, Our Dad worked for the Santa Fe and was on the crew that moved the steam engine down to the Hardy Murphy coliseum. The brother who lives on Hickory Road (S.R. Wilson) worked a couple of summers for the railroad and he told me years ago Dad had told him that engine had been the Ringing engine. It was assigned to Ardmore and was only used on that line until it was finally replaced with a Diesel. It then set around the Ardmore yard for some period of time and was finally given to the city. As I recall, that was sometime around 1954 and Waco Turner paid for the move. I know my oldest brother here in Stigler has an original 8×10 photo of the moving crew standing beside the engine and most of them were from Marietta.” -Joe Wilson
April 2002 Issue- Here is the ID on those standing in front of the engine:
“Identification of individuals in the picture are: l to r: Ed Cole, Everett Purcell, Aaron Moore, Bob Smith, J.W. Shortes, Waco Turner, John Crowder, Kenneth Ray Gibbs, W. Wilson, A. Sanders, P.L. Crowder, Hubert A. Wilson (my father), P. Landeros, L. Hughes and P. DeHaven. The listing up thru Waco Turner appears to be correct, however the persons identified to the right of Turner (his left) appears to be wrong. My father is the fourth person to the left of Turner and Kenneth Gibbs is sixth person, so the identification of these individuals is incorrect. This picture appeared on the front page of the Ardmoreite on August 30, 1954. Others articles about the movement of the engine appeared on Aug 8, Aug 15, and one other date which I don’t have, but must have been between the 15 and 30th, as the 30th is the last article that I have. All appear to have been published on the front page.” -Joe Wilson
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/loco1108.jpg
“I enjoy your newsletter and thought you might be interested in hearing that there are several large prairie dog towns in Jefferson county– one four miles north of our house on Old Highway 81 (a gravel road). Here’s a link to a google map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=34.108074,-97.998347&spn=0.015066,0.027595&t=h&z=16&vpsrc=0My husband tells me there is another booming town north and west of house. These are on private property but easily visible from the road. You may want to make a trip in this direction some day. The Ryan Restoration Group has been very busy trying to restore & preserve some of the old downtown buildings including the old Chickasaw capitol building.” -Paula in Ryan, Oklahoma
“Butch: There has always been a large prairie dog town on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. For many years, it was where the Visitor’s Center is now located. However, when the Visitor’s Centers was built, the prairie dog town was moved to a new location about two miles or so east of the Refuge Headquarters on the south side of the road. I drive a Cache school bus and go by it four times every day. It’s a very thriving community. It is visited occasionally by a hungry coyote for an easy meal.” -Royse Samples in Cache, Oklahoma
“Hi Butch, Here are three images from 2007 that I took of the Dougherty depot (moved from Dougherty to west of Sulphur in 1986 or 1987). It looks quite a bit different from the image that was posted in the newsletter a few weeks back. If you double click on the images, they will enlarge for better viewing.” -Cecil Elliott in OKC
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/DoughertyDepotRestaurant2007a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/DoughertyDepotRestaurant2007b.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/DoughertyDepotRestaurant2007c.jpg
“I lived in the Graham area as a child and we would often go to Mountain Lake. On the way north from Woodford, you would come to a well beside the road and Mother would always have my Dad stop and all three of us kids had to get out and drink from that well. We would put up a fuss because it had a sulfur smell, but she would say it was good for us. Does anyone else remember that well, and is it still there? We enjoyed many vacations camped out at Mountain Lake. I also remember the gravity road that was brought up last week.” -Elisabeth
Answer: The stinky sulphur well north of Woodford was still bubbling in 2005. Below are some pictures I took. By the way, on July 16, 1997 I had the water tested by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and tested positive for one or more coliform organisms. So, I sure wouldn’t drink that water for love nor money.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/WoodfordSulphur5a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/WoodfordSulphur5b.jpg
“First of all Butch, I like to thank you for your great web site on the history of Ardmore. I was born in Ardmore Jan 24th 1956 and never got to experience living in Ardmore, since my mom left the area before I was 2 years old. In the May 2009 issue of “This and That”, a Jayson Pruitt posted a link of the Pure Camp Tornado, complete with pictures, provided by a Paul Phillips. My question is: are there any more pictures of this event? and are there any records of the persons killed and injured, that provided names? My step grandfather, J.T. Miller and my future step-father Holmes Laverne Robinson, (a Madill native) were working for a oil company around this time. I wondered if it was for Pure Oil. The reason that I’m looking for additional info is to find my biological father. My step father adopted me in 1964 and my name was changed from Jimmy Doug ? to James Douglas Robinson. He passed away in 1998 and I have been unable to get any information from my mom, who my real father is. She appears to be traumatized every time I ask her. All she tells me is my real dad is dead. If I could also find any birth announcements that may have been printed in the Daily Ardmoreite after my birth, this might solve some of my question for me. So if you have any ideas what direction I should go, it would be greatly appreciated. By the way, the name Jimmy D. Seville is my stage name when I am performing so not to confuse you.”
Thank you for your time
Jimmy D. Seville
aka James Douglas Robinson
jimmydseville@yahoo.com
“Hi Butch, My name is Jacqueline (Jackie) Anderson Thornley, my grandfather, H. Jack Ligon, was a telegraph operator at the Marietta Train Station for years. I don?t know what year that picture was taken of the station, but I remember that as a child in the 50?s. I am sure it is a lot older than that, sure brought back some good memories. I use to go to the show in Marietta for 10 cents, pop and candy 10 cents, so for less than 25 cents I could have an enjoyable Sat. afternoon. Back then was the wonderful years.
I am trying to locate some of my relatives I haven?t seen in years, Betty Fay Anderson was married to Thomas (Tom) S. Anderson of Marietta. I would also like to locate their children, Merlaine, Marian, Thomas. If you could help me in any way I would appreciate it.” -Jackie (Anderson) Thornley jatbrock@centurytel.net class of 1961 Healdton, Oklahoma
“Hi Butch, Seen this building at Maysville, Oklahoma last week from a block away and really thought a plane had crashed into it. Oh well, another conversation piece. I think they call Maysville the home of Wiley Post if I’m not mistaken.” -Russ Martin
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/MaysvilleOKOct2011a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/MaysvilleOKOct2011b.jpg
“Butch, I am still looking for anyone who has a photo or information regarding Frank Buck?s ship- ?The Pirate? that sat along US Highway 70 at the south end of Madill sometime in the 1950s. I remember climbing aboard the famous ship used by Frank Buck to transport wild animals from Africa and India in the 1930s . I understand the ship was relocated from its site just south of ?The Grill? restaurant in Madill to a farm somewhere north of Durant where it was being used to store hay for a long time. Any information would be helpful. I am also working on a book about the stagecoach history of Oklahoma. Any information regarding stage stations / stops, drivers, incidents, etc would be of great interest. Thanks.” -Towana Spivey, 2101 Oak, Duncan, OK 73533 usscout1870@sbcglobal.net
Views of Turner Falls with Fall foliage by Doug Williams on 11/02/11
“Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.”
In the 1700s in the kitchen they would cook over the fire, they had a fireplace in the kitchen/parlor, that was seldom used and sometimes in the master bedroom. They had a big kettle that always hung over the fire and every day they would light the fire and start adding things to the pot. Mostly they ate vegetables, they didn’t get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner then leave the leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew would have food in it that had been in there for a month! Thus the rhyme.
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore Oklahoma
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
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Ardmore High School Criterions Online
http://www.ardmorecriterion.com/
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
https://oklahomahistory.net/airbase/
Carter county schools, past and present
http://community.webshots.com/user/oklahomahistory
Carter County Government Website
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/
Ardmore School Criterions
http://www.ArdmoreCriterion.com
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