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Vol 25  Issue 1,291   October 21, 2021

Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

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

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us,
What we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”


A Glimpse Into The Past
The Ardmore Morning Democrat
March 23, 1935

Arrest Made in Transient Death Case
State Bureau Officers to Visit Death Site Again This Morning

Two operatives from the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation will make a trip to Lake Murray this morning to investigate further the death of Arthur A. Morris, 43, whose decomposed body was found last Sunday in the Lake Murray basin.

William “Blackie” Neal said be one of the three men who were in company with Morris when he was last seen alive November 28th, he is under arrest and is being held in the jail at Marietta pending the outcome of the investigation.

Neal was arrested at Oklahoma City and brought to Marietta yesterday.

The two operatives from the state Bureau, Duncan and Davis, will join with the sheriff and County attorney of Love County, and Frank Jackson, special officer at Lake Murray, at 8 o’clock this morning at the transient camp.

They will make a careful survey of the scene of Morris’ death and see if further clues can be developed.

Morris was buried in Tuesday afternoon at Rose Hill Cemetery. Individuals at the lodge made the rough casket in which he was buried and conducted the burial.

Although the body was so badly decomposed when it was found that it was impossible to say definitely that he had been murdered, still there were indications that he had met with foul play, and Jackson has kept an investigation constantly under way, in an effort to learn definitely the manner in which Morris met his death.

A Glimpse Into The Past
The Ardmore Morning Democrat
March 23, 1935

Brakeman Loses Leg Under Train
Jesse Crowe Badly Injured Friday Morning

Fall under a Santa Fe train on which he was working resulted in the loss of the left leg, just below the knee, to Jesse Crow, 1125 Bixby.

The accident occurred early Friday morning, near the Wirt Franklin refinery. It had been raining. Whether his foot slipped and he fell, or whether his raincoat caught on a car and caused him to fall, Crowe did not know. Crowe was taken to a local hospital where he is recovering.

I pulled Jesse Crowe up on Find A Grave and he lived for 3 years after the accident and died at 38 years of age. Probably from infection of the leg. For years I had a Reader in Alabama who would send me an email every now and then, sharing some history. He had kin in this area and I bet this Jesse Crowe was related. His name was Taylor Crowe. I haven’t heard from him in several years. He only signed his name as “old Crowe in Alabama.”

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16549055/jesse-e-crowe

Solomon’s Bakery opens July 1, 1903

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos21b/SolomonBakeryOpens1903.jpg

August 16, 1910 North Washington street is to be paved from 5th to 6th.

August 16, 1910 Cut Your Weeds! Beginning Monday morning Aug 22nd we are going to enforce the weed ordinance. This is your last warning
-B.C. Burnitt, Commissioner

July 1, 1903 Dog Catcher’s Report: Jim Staples, the dog catcher, reports that the 13 days the dog law has been in effect he impounded 71 dogs. 9 were redeemed by the owners and 62 were killed.

A Reader sent in this week an interesting Youtube video that mentioned the airbase at Gene Autry during WWII. The presenter is John Day a Ball Turret gunner on a B-17 plane. The video is 1 hour and 35 minutes long but 20 minutes and 50 seconds into the video he mentions the training he received at the Ardmore Army field NE of Ardmore. He goes into detail about the gun torret’s operation and shows in shows up close how the torrent was operated in an actual B-17. Its really an amazing plane and the torrent he operated was small and complicated. John Day said if you were 6 feet tall you wouldn’t even fit in the turret, he was 5′ 7″ so he was “nominated” to get in the turret. Anyway check it out at the link below.

Still finding people in Oklahoma with unclaimed money. We’re now over the $1,560,000.00 dollar mark. Sometimes progress is slow locating people or their kin with unclaimed insurance money at the State Treasurers office in OKC but we keep moving forward.

How long has it been since you checked your name or a family member’s name? Its easy to do a search at the Oklahoma State Treasurer link below. I think every state in the union has a unclaimed property website through the respective state treasures website.
https://apps.ok.gov/unclaimed/

If you have Facebook, I created a new Page called Southern Oklahoma Unclaimed Insurance Money. The only Post that will go on that page is names and towns of people we are looking for with unclaimed money;

Q.  What is the official state beverage of Oklahoma?
A.   Milk

Q.  Who won the battle of the Red River Villages?
A.  Answer in next week’s newsletter

Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..

Mr. Bridges I copied this photo from a family album, i thought you an your readers would enjoy it. Maybe some of your readers will remember them. My wife’s grandfather was on that team his name was listed wrong in the picture instead of Buck Moore it should be Buck McMullen.  -Jim Wright
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos21b/ArdmoreRedsBaseballTeam1898.jpg
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Pauls Valley Fly-in, car show, and food court – Nov 6th
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos21b/PaulsValleyFlyIn.jpg
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Below is from This and That newsletter archives of October 22, 2009“I have heard there is a monument on the west side of the courthouse in Ardmore that lists all the Carter County Commissioners since 1907. Do you have a picture of the memorial and list?”https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/CommissionersMemorial09a.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/CommissionersMemorial09b.jpg

http://www.cartercountyok.us/government/board_of_commissioners/past_county_commissioners.php
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“My biologist son says these look like Stinkhorn Fungus.  With all the recent rains, there are many types of fungus growing around the area.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/MysteryThings09a.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/MysteryThings09b.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/MysteryThings09c.jpg
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The Daily Ardmoreite
June 14, 1918
Penney Store Opens Here on Saturday
Ardmore’s newest store will be opened by the J. C. Penney Company Inc., tomorrow, being the 183rd store of a chain of 197 in operation, largely throughout the west and northwest. A stock of general merchandise, dry goods and clothing will be kept. The location is in the heart of the city, being in the Odd Fellow’s building, opposite the post office. The Ardmore store will be managed by R. B. Gilbert, who comes here from Leavenworth, Wash., and who is an owner of a one-third interest in the store. Mr. Gilbert has been in Ardmore for several weeks and has already come into active touch with many of our people through his active participation in the Red Cross drive. Lew V. Day, district manager, who came here several months ago to make the lease of the building and to conduct the preliminary arrangements for the opening, will leave Sunday to return to his home in Everett, Wash. Mr. Day is enthusiastic about the prospects for Ardmore and for the Ardmore store, seeing as he does, the continuation of the city’s present rapid growth.
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Museum Memories
Contributed by Melinda Taylor
The Wilson News
June 29, 1916
STREET FIGHT TUESDAY
Last Tuesday afternoon there was a big free-for-all fight between Jim, Newt, Earnest and Jack with the result that two were landed in jail in Ardmore and one was laid up in bed for several days. While the fight was at its best some stranger from the country jumped into it with a scantling and knocked the whole bunch out and when the smoke cleared away he could not be found. During the fight a gun was brought into play and a couple of shots fired, but no damage done. It was claimed that one of the boys done the shooting. Charley Jones took two of the pugilists to Ardmore and filed charges against them for assault. It was said that the trouble arose over a check that had been given by by one of the boys from town.
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Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. -Robert Louis Stevenson

See everyone next week!

Butch and Jill Bridges“Friends Make Life Worth Living”Ardmore, Oklahoma