TERRY DICKSON – OHP:In 1987, OHP Trooper Terry Dickson made a routine traffic stop of a Texas-registered vehicle in front of McCoy’s Lumber Company in Ardmore. A young Black man, later identified as Michael Whitmill, was in the driver’s seat of the stopped car from Texas. Whitmill, the subject of an arrest warrant from Texas,…

AN EMPLOYEE BENEFIT THAT ONLY ONE PERSON TOOK ADVANTAGE OF: When I was CEO of IMTEC Corporation in Ardmore we had over 300 employees. We paid top wages and lots of benefits, but I wanted to offer something no other employer did: A fully paid college education. So, I designed the plan and explained it…

Hugo, Choctaw County, Oklahoma:Even as early as 9 years old, I was interested in the law. So, I decided to attend a court session in Choctaw County District Court. I went to the courthouse and searched around until I saw some people in a courtroom. I went to the door, knocked and a big guy…

A MURDER CASE I DIDN’T WANT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES: A true story. After I left the District Attorney’s office I was sought out by many persons that I had prosecuted. A man came to my office once asking me to defend his son who was in the County jail charged with a homicide. From the…

I first started practicing law decades ago, I started a little program that had some marketing overtones. I had my secretary keep a list of children of my clients, their names, addresses and ages. On December 1 or so, I’d go to the bank and secure a pile of $2 bills and Yuletide envelopes. I’d…

MR HUGHES AND THE DIXIE THEATER:When I was 9 years old, I looked forward to Saturday nights. All the kids had a weekly appointment with Mr. Hughes, the owner of a grocery store in my hometown.Each Saturday, at 5 pm, he’d come out of his store and head for his pickup truck. In the bed,…

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.…

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…