A found an article in the Daily Ardmoreite archives where my grandfather, Stanley Carmon, was the General Contractor for the new Church of Christ at 4th and A NW in Ardmore back in 1920. I assumed he was the one how laid the red bricks for the building, because that was his trade, bricklayer. My family told me before opening his lumber yard at 3rd and H Northeast about 1938 he built many homes and buildings in southern Oklahoma, including 29, mostly country schools, during the depression years, including the old Church of Christ on A NW. But thanks to the Ardmoreite archives I found out my grandfather (on my mother's side) was the general contractor.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/carmon/ChurchOfChristCarmon082420.jpg
This is a photo I took in August 2001 of the old church building just before it was razed by a demolition crew.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/ChurchOfChrist4thNW.jpg
Here is a photo of my grandfather, Stanley Carmon, standing in front of his lumber yard. He was the only father I ever knew since my dad ran off and married another woman when I was only 6 months old, leaving me and my mother to live with my grandparents next door to their lumber yard on 3rd NE. My mother said an anonymous lady called her that day and said, "if you go over this house on A Street NW you will find your husband with another woman." My mother had no car (my dad had their only car), so she hired a taxi, it was raining out, to take her to the address on A Street. She walked around to the backdoor, and looked in, and that sat my dad and this woman at the kitchen table eating all kinds of foodstuff while we had hardly nothing to eat at home. She was so mad, she walked home in the rain back to 3rd NE and never talked to my dad again. Stanley Carmon became my dad at that point. He passed away in 1969 and I love him more with each passing day for raising me and teaching me about life.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/carmon/StanleyCarmonSuite.jpg
April 1956
T.C. Graham once lived only 3.5 miles from the old coal mine, the mounds of
which are now to be seen in Lake Murray Park. He once went down 1,100 feet. He
thinks the mineshaft extended under the present highway through Lake Murray
Park. When he was 5 when he saw the first Santa Fe train pass Graham.
April 1988
Mountain Lake opened to the public for fishing in 1927. Woodford was established
in the late 1870s when a post office was started. The post office was
established by Mr. Wood Smith, for whom a local historian said the town was
named.
A few pavers I sandblasted the past few days.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bricks/UntiedtOKCPaver.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bricks/LilyDogPaver.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/BSA/BSABuckmasterPaver.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/
Temps sure have cooled the past few days, but you know the hot summer temps will be back. And you know what that means, A/C running and higher electric bills. 60% or more of your electric bill can be attributed to the air conditioner running day and night to keep your house cool. The Okie Power Saver is a great way to reduce that electric bill and save money year round. Plus it's a full house surge protector and with Spring storms here, it's important to do every thing you can to protect your electrical equipment.
06/07/16 "Hi Butch. Looking at my low energy uses per week since Feb. 2016. I remember the much higher weekly readings before you installed the Okie Power Saver. I am so very happy with these readings. I am ready for summer." -Shafter
Q. Where in Oklahoma is an astrobleme
10 miles wide?
A. Ames, Major County, Oklahoma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ames_crater
Q. There is no chapel in the
world like one built in 1936 in Oklahoma. Where is this unique chapel located?
A. (answer in next week's T&T)
From This and That newsletter archives of June 8, 2002:
At 11:27am Friday June 7, 2002 "The Guardian", a 17 foot tall statue by Oklahoman Kelly Haney, was hoisted to the top of the new dome at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City. It was a proud moment for me and it was a proud moment for Native Americans everywhere. Channel 9 in OKC carried the once in a lifetime event live for one hour, ending the broadcast at 11am. I only wish the thousands of Oklahomans watching by TV could have seen the finale 27 minutes later live on their television sets. The new dome dedication and raising of the 6,000 pound bronze statue was an event I wish I could have seen in person. The next time I am in Oklahoma City you can be sure I'll go by and see this piece of history.http://arts.ok.gov/Art_at_the_Capitol/Capitol_Collection/Haney/The_Guardian.html
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I had the pleasure of meeting four ladies from Texas this week. They were all kin, like two sisters, an aunt and the mother of the two sisters, I think. I can't remember their names, but they came up here to Ardmore from east Texas. They have a motor home and spend lots of time at different camp sites around the bordering states. On this trip to Ardmore the four of them were staying 2 weeks. I asked what made them decide to come to Ardmore, and they really didn't know. They even had second thoughts about coming here, thinking there was nothing here to see or do. But they said they sure were wrong about that! They were amazed at all the places to go in southern Oklahoma and things to do. I asked them what surprised them about the area there, they said the lack of flowers. I said what? Flowers? All four agreed that in their area of east Texas there are flower beds everywhere you look, in yards, on corners, along sidewalks, in front of businesses. They said everywhere they looked here, they see very few flower beds and potted flowers. I guess I never noticed it myself. But you know, I think its a wonderful idea, maybe some organizations here will launch a flower planting campaign. And maybe all the ladies with green thumbs will start nurturing more flower beds around town. Yep, sounds like a great idea!
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Quanah Parker was the last Comanche chief in the southwest plains. When I was out at Lone Grove the other day visiting Mary Wilson at her monument business, she had a painting of chief Quanah Parker on her wall. It was painted by a former Healdtonite, now living in Sulphur, artist by the name of Keith Murray. It thought the painting was so good, I had to scan a pic of it so everyone can see this most famous Indian Chief. I have travelled down a highway named after him, Highway 62, west out of Lawton, Oklahoma... Quanah Parker Highway. Quanah Parker's grandson presently lives in Duncan, Oklahoma.
By the way,
when you walk into the front door of Medical Arts Clinic you will see a painting
on the wall of Dr. Hobson Veazey. This painting was also by artist Keith Murray.
I've looked at that photo many times when I was at the clinic with patients
during my years with the ambulance service, but I never knew it was painted by
the artist Keith Murray.
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/ttphotos/qparker.jpg
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In 1908 there must have been one heck
of a shoot-out in Marietta, Oklahoma. John Braziel shot and killed two men, one
a policeman. The policeman was Smith Redmon, and the other person was T.C.
Bridgeman. Three other men were wounded by Braziel according to the info I've
researched so far.
Follow-up 06/08/16: "Butch, Thanks for reminding me of officer Smith Redmon. I had him in blue on my list which means "Needs more research". He is one of those I had not researched yet.
I have in the last two days found that Smith Redmon survived his 4 shotgun pellet wounds he received on Dec 1, 1908, and went back to work on Dec 22nd according to Ardmoreite of 12-23-1908 page 5 col 3.
Also see Ardmoreite of 12-11-1908 page 5 col 7 ref he was seen
in town and recovering from his wounds. It appears he was an Ardmore Police
Officer. I had him listed as a Marietta Police Officer. The articles all seem to
indicate the shooting was in Ardmore. A 12 year old boy named Luther Ford
(05/11/1896-12/01/1908 buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Ardmore) was killed in
that shootout. Not sure if William Ballew died or not." -Dennis Lippe
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From The Daily Ardmoreite microfilm
archives.....
January 6, 1909: Battle of Honey Springs south of McAlester, Oklahoma in July 1863 (Civil War) is one of the "greatest and most serious in the southwest".
January 1909: "Maywood the Beautiful" addition on the north edge of Ardmore is being sold lot by lot.
January 1909: Harper Bromide Water is being given away free each day at the Ardmoreite office by Ardmore Mineral Water Company.
January 18, 1909: Lee Cruce is President of Ardmore National Bank.
January 11, 1909: Criminal Docket for February 8, 1909 includes W.M. Ballew, murder.
January 12, 1909: Guthrie, Oklahoma deputy sheriff B.F. Milligan of Cimarron county killed by Elra R. Revis. $500 dollar reward offered for Revis.
January 21, 1909: Tyler & Simpson commercial ad for flour.
January 29, 1909: Brown & Bridgeman Funeral Directors and Embalmers ad.
January 29, 1909: Sheriff Akers reports that 3 inmates escaped from a road crew near Baum, Oklahoma in eastern Carter county. They escaped from their tent during the night. Their sentences was from 60 to 90 days.
January 25, 1909: Postmaster Stephen A.
Douglas is exonerated. The report of the postoffice department in Washington,
D.C. on the charges against Stephen A. Douglas, postmaster of Ardmore, is
favorable and his confirmation by the senate is now expected at any time.
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/ttphotos/doug09.jpg
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"Some readers might be interested to know
that they can go directly to the National Archives in Ft. Worth webpage - not
having to go through Rootsweb. I even found where my great-grandfather was
prosecuted in Ft. Smith for making whiskey - imagine that."
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Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....
Q. "Hi, I was wondering if you had any info on the Stephenson brothers, Jim (James) & John Houston from the Pauls Valley area? James killed Marshall Cathey in Pauls Valley in 1907. John Houston killed constable Joe Gaines and killed another man Jack Sherran by cutting his head off and putting his body in the well. John was killed in 1908 in Pauls Valley and Jim was beaten so badly in Tulsa at the age of 84, he died a month later from the injuries. Both men were acquitted. The same man that represented them represented the 4 men hanged in Ada, which is the reason that the hanging took place. Mr Moman Pruitt! The attorney that made it safe to murder." -Karri
A. http://www.cdagro.com/TNG/getperson.php?personID=I8505&tree=1001
"Butch, For anyone that grew up in Ardmore, downtown has countless memories from Daube's windows, movies at the Tivoli and Park theaters on Saturday afternoon, to Solomon's Bakery, eating at the Hamburger Inn, Priddy's and Eden's and of course....listening to our favorite 45 at Luke's Music Store, don't forget "window shopping" and "dragging Main". It pulls on my heart strings.
Once again your newsletter last week mentions the wonderful old building that I renovated at 117 East Main, the Greenberg building. The Greenberg family and their building were vital to the early history of Ardmore. The Greenberg family sold many items at this location over the years, general merchandise, jewelry, guns, musical instruments to mention a few. In last few years before selling the building, it was known as Greenberg's Pawn Shop. If those old brick walls could speak, we could fill up history books. During the renovation, I found a box with a packing list enclosed in the ceiling crawl space (see attached photos).
I had the pleasure of meeting the Greenberg's daughter, Isabel Greenberg Oscherwitz, and her family several years ago. She shared some memories and photos.
I asked her several questions:
Jadean: The space below the street level has beautiful brick walls and arches. What was this space used for? (FYI, you could go from street level to below the floor by lifting the trap door. I have included photos of the trap door and metal stairs to the "cellar".)
Isabel: We stored our perishables....like a root cellar. In the early years, there was no electricity in the building. And transients (nice name for homeless) used it to sleep.
Jadean: Did you ever go into the tunnels?
Isabel: No, the tunnels were scary. They were like a mineshaft - not very tall and dark. You had to use a candle or lantern. But I did walk the brick hallways which ran east and west from the building. The streets were dirt and you could use the hallways to access other buildings without going outside on Main Street.
Jadean: There appears to be an addition on the north side of the building as I see a definite division in the brick and I found a room on the second level.
Isabel: Yes, (smiling) my father added on to the building to bring in running water and plumbing. Being frugal, he rented that space to pay for the renovations. The shop was accessed from Paradise Alley. And the space upstairs was used as an office.
While looking at old photos that I have collected, Isabel pointed out a street vendor at the corner of Main and Caddo. She exclaimed " that was my grandfather and he sold fruit on the corner until the day he died". (photo attached).
I'm so glad I returned to Ardmore..............thanks for the memories." -Jadeanhttp://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/GreenbergPackingList1.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/GreenbergPackingList2.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/GreenbergPackingList3.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/GreenbergOriginalSign.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/GreenbergWindows2008.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/ArdmoreMainStreetScene1909.jpg
"Thank you for all the newsletters. Although I left Lone Grove 3.5 years ago when I sold my Mazzio's Pizza in Ardmore I really miss the folks that became my friends. Keep em coming. FYI: The oldest flying fighter jet in the world is now owned and operated from Grove, Oklahoma. A 1946 fully restored F-86A Sabre aircraft." -Monty
https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-news-and-aviation-news/news/10-21-2015-sabre-flies-again
"KVSO radio had a program called The Line Riders, I remember the announcer saying "The Line Riders are on the air". I also remember when a man named Jelly West had a little diner not far from the bus station on Washington who served really great red top stew." -Wayne
"Hi Butch, Here are a couple of pictures that I took years ago. The picture of Sander's Camera Shop is the old 1889 Edmond Public School before it was restored for the 100 year Centennial." -Cecil Elliott
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/EdmondPublicSchool1889a.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/EdmondPublicSchool1889b.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/EdmondPublicSchool1889c.jpg
"These are of Lake Altus to the Great Plains park and the Wichita Mountains. We have such a beautiful state to enjoy." -Doug Williams
https://dougwilliamsphotography.smugmug.com/Western-Oklahoma/
Here are 3 more scans of old postcards from Ardmore, Oklahoma. -Robert Hensley
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/CatholicConventArdmoreOK.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/USPostOfficeAndCourtHouseArdmoreOK.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/MunicipalBuildingArdmoreOK.jpg
More and more, when I single out the person out who inspired me most, I go back to my grandfather. -James Earl Jones
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
Bells of Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
Carter County Courthouse Paver Project
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/pavers
Ardmore High School Criterions Online
http://www.ArdmoreCriterion.com/
Oklahoma Bells:
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/bellpage.html
Bill Hamm's Cemetery Database
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/carter/cartercm.htm
American Flyers Memorial
Fund - Administration Webpage
http://www.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
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/airbase/
Carter County
Government Website
http://cartercountyOK.us/
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