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Changing a tire with no jack – a true story
My late father, Joseph Marion Clark, was an unbelievably powerful man. He died when I was a young man, leaving my mom as his widow.With her death only months away, I tried to visit her often. I delighted in hearing how difficult it was rearing five children with virtually no income.I asked her one day…
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Courthouse Shoeshine Man
One day in the early 70’s when I was District Attorney, I entered the courthouse from the west side and noticed Mr. Berry sitting high on his stand, head resting against the wall, with feet on the footrests. He was fast asleep and quietly snoring. I couldn’t resist playing a little prank on him. Without…
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James A. Clark 1941-2023
James A. Clark – Author, Historian, Storyteller & Recollections 1. Callie Ferguson’s eatery in Hugo, Oklahoma 2. Escape from poverty 3. Manson like murder in Davis, Oklahoma 4. Unsolved homicide in SW Ardmore 5. Courthouse shoeshine man 6. Changing a tire with no jack 7. Burying a bull next to the property line 8. Mr.…
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Escape from poverty
AN ESCAPE FROM GRINDING POVERTY:My best friend Jerry Holmes lived about 1/4 mile from my old section house that was located about 50’ from the Frisco Railroad tracks south of Grant, Choctaw County, Oklahoma. Jerry and I would agree and would meet near an old oak tree located halfway between our houses. We’d come equipped…
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Homicide in SW Ardmore
A true crime story that haunts me still since it was the only case I never solved when I was District Attorney: Early in my first term as Chief Prosecutor of a 5-County district, I received a phone call from the Davis Police Department. “D.A. We have a possible crime here & need your assistance.…
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A Manson like murder in Davis
A true crime story that haunts me still since it was the only case I never solved when I was District Attorney: Early in my first term as Chief Prosecutor of a 5-County district, I received a phone call from the Davis Police Department. “D.A. We have a possible crime here & need your assistance.…
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Callie Ferguson’s Eatery – Hugo
CALLIE FERGUSON’S IN HUGO, OKLAHOMA – A WONDERFUL PLACE TO EAT:By James A. ClarkWhen I was 12, working as a DJ at KXII-AM 1340 in Hugo, I heard about a widow named Callie Ferguson, who had opened an eatery for lunch in her home. Her husband had died 3-4 years before and left her with…
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Vol 26 Issue 1,320 May 12, 2022
It was in Harper’s livery stable on North Caddo, that the Great Fire of 1895 started, wiping out or damaging all buildings in Ardmore’s business district. 46 structures were destroyed and nine others sustained damage. The fire burn through the area bound by A Street northwest, North Caddo, Broadway and Main Street, taking with it…
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Carmon and Bridges Family Tree
My maternal grandparents, Stanley and Addie Carmon, were early day pioneers of Ardmore, Oklahoma. Stanley was born in Gainesville, Texas in 1889. His parents, Howard and and Ada (Jacobs) Carmon, had moved to Gainesville from Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. Stanley’s parents died when he was around 12 years old. There is an interesting obituary in the Hesperian Newspaper,…
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Vol 26 Issue 1,319 May 5, 2022
OKLAHOMA’S CONFEDERATE HOME (1911 – 1942)The United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1906 began a temporary establishment in McAlester, Oklahoma, to house indigent veterans, their wives and their widows, but this was only temporary. Action toward the construction of a permanent building began on Feb. 20, 1909, when eight Confederate veterans met in Oklahoma City,…
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