PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

Email: [email protected], Phone: 580-490-6823

A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST

Below are a couple of excerpts from James Clark’s book A Journey Through the Mind of a Lawyer:

“Do you know what contempt of court is, Mr. Studeman?”

“Yeah, That’s when you think the judge trying your case is trying to screw you and you let him know it. That pretty close?”

Judge LeVally: “Sir, that’s another count. This court hereby finds you guilty of three instances of direct contempt of court for accusing me of trying to railroad you in court, being agin” you and also tryin’ to screw you. Do you have anything to say to the court on your behalf before the court passes sentence?”

Ed: “Yeah, I think you should give it your best shot, Judge Loosely,”

Judge LeVally: “It’s LeVally. Mr. Clark, do you have anything to say as defendant’s counsel in mitigation of punishment?”

Mr. Clark: “No, Your Honor. I remind the Court that I’m standby counsel and in that capacity, lack standing to make a statement to the court in mitigation of punishment unless Mr. Studeman consents.”

Ed: “Shut up!”

Mr. Clark: “I interpret that as no consent, Your Honor.”

Earl E. LeVally 1921-2002
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=25252667

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And further….

“As Bud Hunt put Venable into the back seat of his Rambler patrol car,” Sheriff Robert Denney reported, “he pulled the Magnum out of Bud’s holster and screamed, “I’m gonna kill both of you (expletive)!” So I grabbed the girl beside me by the neck, jerked her across me and fired one shot with my .38 right into Venable’s chest, killing him. He was dead when he hit the pavement in front of the Mulkey Hotel. I called for an ambulance and Butch Bridges reported he was on his way. Then, the girl and the other guy sat down on the pavement and started kissing. It was disgusting to me.”

Photo of Sheriff Robert Denney
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/RobertDenney8.jpg

Robert Denney 1926-1998
Find-A-Grave

You can purchase a copy of James’ book at The Bookseller at 614 West Main Street in Ardmore to read the complete story on the above excerpts, and a lot more true stories like those in James’ 500 page book!

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/JourneyThroughTheMindOfALawyer.jpg

A Reader sent in this week an old aerial photo of the Veterans Home on South Commerce. Really neat to look at it and see how it’s change through the years.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/ArdmoreVeteransHomeAerialArdmoreOK.jpg

Below is a Google aerial picture from this year.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/ArdmoreVeteransCenterAerial2017.jpg

Just to dispel the rumor that’s going around, the Fried Pie place near Turner Falls is NOT closing it’s doors. I sure love their apricot pies!

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/FriedPies010910.jpg

From my June 26, 2004 newsletter: “Butch, You cost me some money last week by discussing ‘them fried pies!’ (Exit 51 at Davis, Oklahoma). Was on my way to Norman to see my dad on Father’s Day and bought some pies for my brothers and sister – and dad – he likes coconut. Well, I had to eat a chocolate pie to get me on up the road, and then my kin ate every one that was left. However, I made the turn going back south and got three apricot pies to get me home…’them fried pies sure are good.’ Talked with Nancy, Bo, and Amanda at the shop and they say a lot of people are mentioning your name having seen the pie pictures on your Oklahomahistory website. They are open 7 to 7, seven days a week. Good southern Oklahoma people with a fine product.” -Gary Heartsill

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos4a/FultonPies0604a.jpg

I was at the Greater Southwest Museum in Ardmore this week and saw the new additions out behind. If you haven’t visited the museum lately, you are missing out on some beautiful antiques and all.  Here are a couple pictures I took.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/Museum081817a.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/Museum081817b.jpg

Henryetta, Oklahoma street scene from 1938.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/HenryettaOK1938.jpg

“Indian Territory Bromide Spring”. This is when the bromide water came from the side of the mountain and prior to the building of the Spring House on the south side of Rock Creek. The postcard was printed prior to 1907.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/BromideSpringSulphur1907.jpg

Grand Rapids, known as Little Niagara today, at Sulphur, Oklahoma

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/GrandRapidsSulphur.jpg

First National Bank at Roff, Oklahoma

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/FirstNationalBankRoffOK1934.jpg

The old Stratford, Oklahoma depot.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/StratfordOKdepot.jpg

The First National Bank of Stratford, Oklahoma.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/FirstNationalBankStratfordOK1908.jpg

The Economy General Store in Sallisaw, Indian Territory.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/EconomyStoreSallisawOK.jpg

A friend of many years ago from the northeast, won’t say how many years, it will give away his age, let me take a picture of this rock cabin print his daughter bought at an antique store in OKC. The cabin used to be located on the east side of Lake Murray. The picture I took does not do it justice, the print is really clear and beautiful. You can see to the right a partial view of Rock Tower which still stands today. Seems like I read somewhere the governor of Oklahoma used the cabin as a vacation retreat years ago. Then later it became a Boy Scout headquarters, and somehow burned to the ground during that period of time.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/RockHouseLakeMurray2017.jpg

Here is a pic of the rock house from my archives.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16a/RockHouseLakeMurray.jpg

From my March 2008 archive: “Butch, My Granddad Doc Young and My Uncle Albert Young helped to build Lake Murray and I heard them speak of the CC camp that was there, Rock Tower was a look out for the guards, to the east of rock tower back in the woods is an old mule camp, what they would do is fill the old trucks back then with sand in order to build the beaches and would back the truck as far out as possible til it died then would hook the mules up to it and pull it out of the water after the dirt had been hand shoveled out of it and dry out the distributor and start the truck back up and go for more sand.” -Allen Young

A sandstone I sandblasted last Saturday. I sure miss Mike Johnson.

https://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/MichaelJohnsonPaver.jpg

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/

Q. Where in Oklahoma is there a Gravity Hill besides west of Springer, Oklahoma?
A.  Bartlesville, Oklahoma
http://newsok.com/article/3317299

Q. Where in Oklahoma is the famous horse Mr. Ed buried?
A. Answer in next week’s newsletter

Below is from This and That newsletter archives of August 25, 2005

Last week we talked about the movie theater at the Ardmore Airbase back in the 1950s. A Reader sent me in a photograph of Ardmoreite Lee Evers when he worked at the base theater.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/LeeEversAirbase.jpg
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“Butch, That is J.C. Dunn in the middle back row (5th from left). He was the player-manager of the Ardmore Cardinals, which was a farm club of the St. Louis Cardinals.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/ArdmoreCardinalsGroup.jpg
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“Butch does anyone remember the the soap factory on Myall Road. we called it Plainview road back then. Man it stunk to high heaven. Got a dead animal, just call them and they were johnny on the spot with a a winch truck.”
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“The Southern National Bank of Wynnewood. The picture is probably of the second bank to be organized in Wynnewood and was called “The Southern National Bank” of Wynnewood. It was granted a Charter in March, 1901 with a capital of $50,000.00.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/SouthernBankWynnewood.jpg
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Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..

“The Mercy Train is tentatively planned to be moved Friday, September 8th. The route for the move will be from Hardy Murphy Coliseum south to Springdale Road then east to P Street NE,  then north on P Street NE, then west on White Street NE, north on either K or N Street NE, then west on East Main Street. and across the tracks on Main to Depot Park.”
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Chinaman’s restaurant east of Marietta. My memory of eating there as a kid, they had pretty good food except one time I got a burger to go. The waiter looked kind of funny when I ordered the burger. When I got it and was out in the boat I opened the paper around it and the burger meat smelled rotten or spoiled. Dad took the burger back to the restaurant and got his money back. Dad told me the restaurant was called china man’s restaurant.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/ChinamansRestaurantLoveCounty1960.jpg
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“Happy to see they are finally moving the locomotive back to the train Depot in Ardmore. My Grandpa Prater was so angry when they moved it out to its current location. He and Grandma Bestie bought a little three room house just South of main road across from the snow cone stand where the road turned South. Thanks for reviving a great memory of my childhood.” -Poss

‘City Of New Orleans’ by Arlo Guthrie 1972 (son of Oklahoma born Woody Guthrie)

Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin’ trains that have no names,
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvMS_ykiLiQSee everyone next week!Butch and Jill Bridges“Friends Make Life Worth Living”PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443https://oklahomahistory.netVicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma
https://oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
Oklahoma Bells: https://oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
Bill Hamm’s Cemetery Database
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/carter/cartercm.htm
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 Government Website
http://cartercountyok.us