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My, my, my, how times flies when you’re having fun. I can hardly believe next week’s newsletter will be issue 1,000. There has been several times over the past years I thought about discontinuing my weekly publication. But when I mentioned it in my newsletter, here come the email into my Inbox pleading, no. How could I stop. Besides, I was not only learning Oklahoma history along with everyone else, but having fun doing it! So my ramblings continue, at least for now. lol
Found a great site with photos of all the courthouses in Oklahoma for viewing.
Here is an interesting piece of Ardmore history I received this week”
“Butch, A scouting friend of mine from Arkansas found this old BSA Charter at a garage sale and recognized Ardmore. This was a charter for Boy Scout Troop 14 sponsored by the Ardmore Fire Department in 1934. This was when we were Chickasaw Council before we merged with Pontotoc Council in 1945 and became Arbuckle Area Council. Maybe some of your older readers will recognize some of the names from that time.” -Rick Woodbridge
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16a/BSAOldCharterArdmore1934.jpg
Bartlesville, Oklahoma now has hot water.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16a/BartlesvilleWaterTanks.jpg
Fort Sill, Oklahoma: The first Quaker Boarding School – 1871
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16a/FirstQuakerBoardingSchoolOKla1871.jpg
This was sent in by a friend in Ardmore from her collection. The E.T. Foster Seed Store on Ardmore’s Main Street.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16a/ETFosterSeedsArdmore.jpg
February 1988
Bill George says the rare Jackalope can only be hunted on Monday, February 29th, which comes only once every 4 years. The scientific name for a Jackalope, according to George, is “Lepus Outofsiteofus”. Hunters must have a valid Jackalope license before hunting the creature which comes equipped with dangerous, sharp pronged antlers growing behind its ears. George is organizing a Jackalope hunt, and among the first one to sign up was Shauna Glenn, a Long Grove 9th grader.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope
About a month ago I did a test to compare my tried and true Marvel Mystery Oil I had been using for years for improved gas mileage. In February I started using Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant in the gas tank. I was surprised by the results.
https://oklahomahistory.net/marvelmysteryoil.htm
You can find current gas prices for a particular Oklahoma town by entering the name or zip code in the GasBuddy search box.
http://www.oklahomagasprices.com/
My regime of Coconut Oil in my hot tea and coffee along with my Probiotic I have been taking everyday is working great. My blood pressure is really down since taking a teaspoon a day in my hot tea. Plus it has been working a miracle on my skin blemishes, etc. the past month.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16a/CoconutOilComparisonJan2016.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/probiotics.html
In the summer months 60% or more of your electric bill can be attributed to the air conditioner running day and night to keep your house cool. Several of my friends have found out how to reduce those high electric bills by maybe 15% or more. The Okie Power Saver takes difference of the watts you are being billed for, and what you are actually using, and recycles those watts. The Okie Power Saver is a great way to reduce that electric bill and save money year round.
Q. Where in Oklahoma is the National Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame museum?
A. Afton, Oklahoma
http://darrylstarbird.com/
Q. Turner Falls is the tallest falls in Oklahoma. But I will add over the years as I see it and take photos, it looks like the rocks has worn down. Anyway, where is the 2nd highest water falls in Oklahoma? https://oklahomahistory.net/turnerfalls/
A. (answer in next week’s T&T)
From This and That newsletter archives of March 16, 2002:
I noticed this week a realtor had a For Sale sign in front of 1224 Bixby Southwest. That house was built by my grandfather Stanley Carmon back in the 20s. He bought the lot from C.A. and Myrtle Sessions on January 21, 1921 for $1,250. Stanley took out a couple of mortgages from B.A. Simpson at 8% interest for two years to build the house. The house is located in Highland Park Addition Number 1. I found this information in the County Clerks Office in Deeds Records, Deed 46 Page 257. And there’s an interesting story behind it: Stanley Carmon built the house on the assumption he and his wife Addie would move from 1001 3rd NE to the new house on Bixby. My grandmother, Addie Carmon, told him he could move over there by himself, because she wasn’t moving from 3rd Northeast. Needless to say, they never moved to Bixby Southwest. lol
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/1224bixh.jpg
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Ardmoreite Neta Gibson gave me some old photos of Hoxbar school this week. Her mother went to Hoxbar school and that’s how Neta had those historical photos. Hoxbar was a town of 150 people back in 1897 when it was being surveyed by United States Surveyors for record. Oscar Jones and J.H. Harrison started the survey on November 20, 1897 and completed it November 29, 1897. The following is the field notes of these two surveyors as taken from the “Field Notes” surveyor book at the Carter County Clerks office.
“Field Notes of the survey of the subdivision lines of Township No 5 South, Range No 2 East of the Indian base and meridian in the Indian territory as surveyed by Oscar Jones and J.H. Harrison, U.S. Surveyors. Page 515. General Description. This township consists of newly all rolling land, a small portion nears the center being level land. The soil is classed as 2, 3, and 4th rates. About 2, 3, of the township is timbered the remainder, prairie. The timber consists of oak, hickory and pecan and are of fair quality. The township is well watered by man small branches which flows in a southerly direction. The roads are many which lead to Ardmore. A large part of the township is fenced for farming and live stock raising. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe RR enters the township in Section 20 and leaving in Section 6. In Section 8 is located a coal mine which has been well worked, but owing to the poor quality of the coal has been abandoned. Hoxbar Post Office is located in Section 36 and consists of one store and several houses. The estimated population is about 150. Signed: J. Scott Harrison, U.S. Surveyor.”
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“Hello Butch, I am sending you this picture of the Ft Arbuckle Baseball Team from back around 1916. My father, Doc Slaughter, gave me this picture and could not remember everyone in it. My father would have only been about 2 yrs old at the time this photo was prob. taken. My Dad told me that the young man holding the bat in the back is Sam Myers (second son to W.H.H. and Mary Jane ,(Molly Brawley,Myers. The first one in second row (facing the pic on your left) is Charlie Myers, third son of W.H.H. and Mary Jane Brawley Myers, the man next to him “looks to me like”, Bill Myers ,(youngest son to W.H.H. and M. Brawley Myers), who married Pearl Hobbs, but I am not sure of this. The young man in the front in the middle is,Thomas ” Tom” Anderson, who married Mamie Myers, youngest daughter of W.H.H. and Molly Brawley Myers. My Uncle, Bill Slaughter, of Pauls Valley, says Murphy Box, Perrin “Britches” Grant, Lestie Randolf, and, “Booger Red” Morris, are prob. in this pic but could not say which ones they are. The man, second from your right facing the pic “could be”, “Booger Red” Morris, as he does resemble another pic I have of him, but not real sure of that either. This team would play baseball about 3/4 of a mile south of the old Ft Arbuckle Store that my Grt Grandparents, W.H.H. and Molly Myers had at that time. It is said that people would come in wagons from all over that country to watch them play. It is said that they were a heck of a baseball team. I wonder if any of your readers would know of this great bunch of guys and of their baseball team. If you do post this, perhaps someone will recognize someone in this pic or know something about this team and will be able to elaborate on it. I would love to find out more. Thank you ahead of time for reading and hopefully posting this on your wonderful newsletter. As many others do, I enjoy your newsletters so much and look forward to reading them each Saturday. Feel free to give my e-mail address to anyone with any information.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/arbuc16b.jpg
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“Hi Butch, Just wanted to mention a few things brought to mind by recent letter in T & T. No one has mentioned the Roxy theater on East Main owned by Herschal Gilliam who later had the Globe. Also, Otto Powell never did win the race for Sheriff. People voted for him as a joke because they thought he was funny. He drew big crowds at the “Speakings.” One year he placed in the runoff and it scared the voters enough that it was the end of his running. But then some people actually thought he might make a good sheriff. On the outhouses: Dub Scott of Union Valley (SE of Ada) left $100,000 to the Union Valley Baptist Church. The church sat where the Union Valley School once stood. Dub Scott had attended school there and married one of the teachers. The only stipulation was that the outdoor privy be maintained. It was left over from school days. It stands beside the road near the church and the last time I passed there it had a new coat of white paint. Randall Christie is the pastor and his wife, the former Susie Skidmore, is from the Ardmore area.”
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“Hi Butch! Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the T&T each week. I had to write this time because Minnie Lou Whittington’s post about the outhouse and the roosters cracked me up! My grandparents used to live in Gene Autry and had a small house on the side of the hill overlooking the General Store. They had an outhouse in back. My sister and I had gotten a blue colored Easter chick one year and left it with my grandparents since we had no place to keep a chicken. We named it Linda. Linda turned into a mean ugly white rooster, (we think it was his name that made him so testy!) and would wait outside the outhouse for any one unlucky enough to be caught inside when he was on the prowl. One night Linda was the unlucky one and caught my grandfather in the outhouse. When Gran’daddy emerged, Linda jumped on him from the top of the outhouse and flogged him about the head and back with his wings and sharp-as-a-razor claws. Linda was the main entre the next day at Sunday Dinner. (and no, my sister and I were not there to partake!) Thanks again so much. T&T makes my day!”
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Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..“I am looking for a male that was born May 30, 1950 and given up for adoption, he was born in the Comanche Oklahoma Hospital. I don’t want to put the parents name in, they are both deceased now, but would love to find this man as he would be my uncle. I just now got his birthdate and the hospital where he was born and given up.”
“About 1941 Jack took our son Dale Gant for his first haircut to Art Barber shop, wish I had the cute pictures he made then. Jack also introduced Dale to James Jones and called him Turkey. Later that day while walking along the sidewalk on Main Street, Dale met another black man and said, “Daddy, There’s another turkey!”. We always remember those first remarks by our first born children, even when they reach 75, and it brings a smile . Thanks for the memory.” -Evelyn Gant
“I am not sure if your train enthusiasts know about this. In OKC parallel to I-235 there are maybe two miles of train locomotives sitting on the siding. You can see them from either I-235 or Santa Fe Street north of 23rd Street, just west of the Capitol. They have been there most of the winter I think. Saw them again this week and thought of you. Many look old so I don?t know if this is a locomotive grave yard or they are waiting for something else.” -Rick
Q. County Commissioners for Carter County are mentioned often in T&T, and I was wondering who had served the most years, for which district, and what years were they? Thanks for any information you might give.A. District 1 County Commissioner Huss Standifer 1959-1986 (28 years)
Find-A-Grave CLICK HERE
“Once men have tasted caviar, it baffles me how they settle for catfish.”
In Oklahoma:
Catfish might as well be a food group
See everyone next week!
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