On Monday, September 27, 1915
Martial Law was declared in Ardmore, Oklahoma by Ardmore Chief of Police Bob
Hutchins as a result of what would from that day forward be known as the "big
explosion". A railroad worker caused some kind of spark while working on a 250
barrel gasoline tanker near East Main and the Santa Fe Railroad tracks. The
explosion was so great that it nearly demolished the entire downtown business
district of Ardmore. Dozens of people were killed and many more injured by
falling stone walls and flying glass. People and even mule teams were buried by
the rubble. Local authorities sent out by telegraph a cry for help. Oklahoma
City would respond with doctors, nurses and medical supplies. They dispatched
the needed people and supplies on a special train to Ardmore. It was said that
Engine 1108 traveled the 100 miles in record time. The actual locomotive that
made that "run of mercy" was finally placed on display here in Ardmore at the
Hardy Murphy Coliseum and is still there as a reminder of that 1915 disaster.
http://newsok.com/article/2649927
Below is a Folder with a special edition from the Ardmoreite on the explosion.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/1915explosion/
June 1932
Overly enthusiastic campaigners for the various candidates had better watch
their step on election day. Under the provisions of the revamped election law,
it is no longer illegal to pile up about the polls and pass out literature to
prospective voters. The new law requires that no campaigner be within 300 feet
of the voting box, and no one may stand within 50 feet of the polls while a
voter is balloting. Under the old law it was customary for candidates to plant a
score or more of charming young girls about the voting places.
June 1956
Robert Denney, Lone Grove Constable, said today that he intends to "clamp down"
on speeders and reckless drivers in the Lone Grove vicinity. Denney, who has
made 5 traffic violations arrests this week, said he had received complaints for
speeding on Highway 70 and in the Lone Grove City Limits. Fines for such
infractions range from $18.50 to $23.50.
A few pavers I sandblasted this week.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bricks/EstelleDanielPaver.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bricks/SkylerNeelyPaver.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. What is Oklahoma's largest
lake?
A. Grand Lake o' the Cherokees simply called Grand Lake east of
Vinita, Oklahoma.
Q. What is the deepest lake in
Oklahoma?
A. (answer in next week's T&T)
From This and That newsletter archives of July 27, 2002:
County Races On; 93 Hopefuls Seek 32
Elective Positions
The Daily Ardmoreite
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Sunday May 4, 1958
Carter County political races are on, and a record number of 93 candidates has
filed hoping to win one of the 32 offices in the forthcoming elections. The
previous record was four years ago when 69 filed.
Actually the number of candidates the people will decide upon is 81 because 12
of the 93 are unopposed. Heading the list of unopposed candidates is County
Judge Christine Legate. According to court house observers, the hottest race
will be between 12 candidates seeking the office of sheriff. Sheriff Enoch
Watterson did not file for re-election.
County Commissioners Paul Heartsill, Lonnie Rooney and Mont Kern, seeking
re-election, all have opponents. Heartsill, commissioner of District 1, has nine
opponents, Kern, of District 2 has six and Rooney, one.
Here is a list of candidates:
County Judge, Christine Legate. County Superintendent of Schools, Omer Rowe.
County Surveyor, R.C. Bates. County Weigher, Raymond C. Boutwell. J-P of
Healdton, Emmett G. Chase. Constable, Healdton, W.M. Ratliff. J-P, Wilson, O.B.
Orr. Constable, Wilson, Elbert C. Adams. J-P Lone Grove, Arthur C. Reneau.
Constable, Akers Township, Edward J. Merritt. J-P Hewitt Township, Charles P.
Jones. Constable, Berwyn Township, Milton E. Dillon.
Sheriff: Gerald Theo Cobb, Skeet Lewis, Robert Price, W. Robert Denney, Otto
Powell, Billy Hensley, Jim Eskew, Jr., Fred C. Thompson, Cortez Craddock,
Charles H. Beane, Wade Shelton, Lee Carlton.
County Commissioner, District 1, Paul Heartsill, Huss Standifer, Roscoe Smith,
Iley E. Oxford, A. E. Holt, Herman Day, Joe E. Buchanan, Vanoy Green, Odis A.
Deatherage, W.M. West.
County Commissioner, District 2, L.R. Cullom, W.L. Kern, Bill Muse, Theron
Godwin, Jess Phipps, Robert Nickson Bass, Finis Smalley.
County Commissioner, District 3, Lonnie Rooney, Thomas M. Fraser,
Court Clerk, Ancel Graham, Joe Maddox
County Clerk, Jerry McCharren McMahan, R.J. Meek.
County Attorney, James D. Payne, Claud H. Smith, E.C. Nelson.
County Treasurer, C. Roy Bigbie, O.A. Sparks.
County Assessor, Ulis S. Barnett, W. H. France
J-P Ardmore, 1, G. W. Puny Sparger, Arthur O. Stewart, Sterling Paskell.
J-P, Ardmore, 2, Fred Johnson, Calvin B. Keith, H.C. Davenport Jr.
Constable, Ardmore 1, Elmer Wintin, Gene Willingham, Ira Wells.
Constable, Ardmore 2, Hale Dunn, Buddie McClaine, Leroy Hattensty, L.A. Snider.
Constable, Hewitt Township, Royce Arnold, Frank Lowery, Dewey Keith, John R.
Fanning, John Chatham.
J-P, Graham Township, Monroe H. Short, C.H. Denney, Roy Moss.
Constable, Graham Township, Charlie Brown, Sidney C. Ross, Lee Byram, Howell
Fore.
Constable, Morgan Township, Luther Berry, Earl H. Minter, Willie Fisher, Maiklan
Cain, Him Orsaole.
Constable, Lone Grove Township, Claude Baker, Clinton C. Bennett, Valton Jones,
Lawrence Blalock, Ernest E. Smith.
J-P, Wilson Township, James A Preston, G.H. McKee.
Constable, Wilson Township, J.V. Wells, C.L. Holt.
----------------------------------------------------
"Yes, the various Indian Nations did
require "whites" to get a permit to work in the Nation. Many of the records
reside with the various tribes (Choctaw, Cherokee, etc) but the majority are in
the archives in Fort Worth."
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"Hey Butch, Gosh! I was afraid I was going
to miss this weeks letter. My computer messed up and I couldn't retrieve my mail
for a couple of days. Had me worried because I really look forward to it. I see
we are still on the little stores. Had the one at Overbrook been mentioned yet?
I missed it if it was. It was also a post office. I was down that way today and
the TINY little building is still there! Of course they now have another
building for a post office and I am sure the lady who ran it when I was a kid is
long gone. Another one that was a real landmark was torn down a few years ago
too. It was the Ambert AND HELMA Page store on the corner of Oswalt Road and the
road going north to Marsden. The school bus used to let kids off there as he
went east and we would get pop and candy then he would pick us up again on the
way back to finish his route. We laughingly called it our local newspaper too
because they always knew everything that was going on in the whole area. One
more thing. Could you please ask people to add their names, some do but there
have been some that mention where they lived or something and I really wonder if
I might remember them??? Thanks and hope you had a GREAT birthday." -Nellie Fox
Combe
-------------------------------------------------
"I went to Third Ward Elementary School
(Lincoln) in Ardmore and my first grade teacher was Miss Nanny Burkshire. She
had taught my three older sisters, Kathryn, Florence and Lena Stonum. Miss Nanny
also taught my younger sister, Mary Frances, after me. My first day of school I
went to Miss Nanny's room and sat in the row in front of her desk. She was not
there but there was a little blonde headed girl already seated in the first desk
of that row. I sat down behind her and she turned around and said "Hello, my
name is Mary Wirt Head, who are you?" I replied, "I'm Tweed Stonum" and she said
"Let's be best friends" and I said "OK, I would like that". And we became best
friends. She lived on D Street S.W., the street behind our street. I remember
having a birthday party soon after school started. My best friend brought me a
fairly good size box of Pangburn's chocolate candy. I remember the two of us
went behind the barn in back of my home and ate every piece of candy in the box.
Mama let me invite the entire class, so I think my best friend must have gotten
there early. When the other kids arrived I wasn't feeling too good, but we had
the party and that night Mama had to call Dr. Von Keller. I don't know whether I
ever told them about the candy. In those days the popular theory pertaining to
healthy children was to give them a round of little pink pills, called
Calilactose, every spring. I think the routine was to take a little pink pill
for so many hours apart for two days. Then follow that medication with Castor
oil. The pink pills stirred up your liver and believe me, the nausea we endured
was horrible. The castor oil was horrid to take - especially when you were
already so nauseated. Needless to say I never gave my children Cali lactose or
Castor oil. Another old custom was to put long underwear (they were called Union
Suits) on your children every winter on a certain date. I know we couldn't take
them off until a certain date. We also wore long cotton stockings and high top
shoes that buckled down the outer side. We used what we called "shoe hooks" to
hook the buttons in the button holes. Our shoes were leather or kid, sometimes
the lower part was patent. As soon as some of us got to school we'd head for the
basement where the bathrooms were. We would roll up our long underwear sleeves
and the legs of our underwear. I remember the pouchy look under my dress sleeves
from the rolled up underwear. Before walking home from school we'd head back
down to the basement and roll the underwear legs and sleeves back down. I wonder
if I was an incorrigible child - childhood in those days was so unrestricted it
seems. We had such freedom." -Tweed Stonum Machock (born 1915 in Ardmore,
Oklahoma)
----------------------------------------------------
searching... In the early sixty's there
was a county commissioner by the name of Hargus.. John matter of fact, He was
married to Mattie that worked at the hospital. They lived in Davis but his
office was in Sulpher. They never had children..but I'm their niece..Arella
Hargus/.. At one time in my early childhood I remember spending a summer with
them ..during an election year..there were bumper stickers for his re-election
..I would like to find one to pass on to my grandkids. articles of any news
would be great. If there is anyone you know that might have information about
Uncle John.. would you pass it on, please..thanx [email protected] The courthouse
had a fire years ago and some information was lost.. I know this is a stretch
but just maybe......
----------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....
"Here are a couple of Belle Starr images at Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Refuge north of Tulsa that I took on August 23, 2015. -Cecil Elliott
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BelleStarrStatue2015a.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BelleStarrStatue2015b.jpg
"This photo originally was owned by Homer McCabe who grew up in Wilson and Ardmore. Homer ran a Billiard parlor on North Washington in the 1940s. This is not it. His brother Charley ran one in Wilson. Again, not it. This appears to be an earlier period. 1920s or 1930s. I'm guessing Wilson area? Hopefully there is somebody still alive that can tell us about this Oklahoma business." -LaRita Reynes [email protected]
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/HomerMcCabePhoto.jpg
"I found this picture among Tressia McCabe's possessions after her death. It was taken in Ardmore about 1955 in the operators' lounge at a tea given by Southwestern Bell for the mothers of their telephone Operators. No names were written on the back. I can tell you that Tressia McCabe is 4th from right in front of table. The chief Operator is behind the table and 5th from right in the dark dress with stripes. I can't find her name. Perhaps there are people who can give us names." -LaRita Reynes
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/TressiaHendersonSWBellTea1955.jpg
"Hi Butch. Thanks for that recommendation for Adware Removal Tool. I'm trying it out now as I type. I like to keep my PC 'lean and mean' by removing everything I don't need. BTW - you can still get the free version of Malwarebytes, but it's not easily identified on their website. On their homepage, click on the button that says "Download", then be careful to select the free version from that target page." -Ron McFarlane in Australia
http://www.adwareremovaltool.org/
"Hi there - I was looking for old pictures of Venus and I came across your site where you mention ""This is an old school. On the back the postmark says Venus Mar 5 - 7AM 1909 TEX. The pencil is so light that I have to get my large magnifying glass and see what it says. I have never heard of Venus, Texas. I wonder if it still is a town? Our town (and yes it's still a town as I'm sure you know by now since your original post was dated in 2000) does not have but a small handful of pictures from the past and I'm not sure I've seen the one you have. Would you mind sharing how you came about having this picture. I was a little surprised to see it posted on an Oklahoma history page, I would love to know the tory behind that." Thanks so much for you time -Jeanine
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/VenusTXschool1909.jpg
"Grocery stores were mentioned on T&T. Down memory lane -- bigger than most, Newman & Boucher at NW corner of Caddo & 3rd Ave, 1930s & as late as 1941. I would drive my G-Father to his office in the morning & he let me take his cherished Model A Ford coupe & park at high school. Pick him up at lunch, etc. After school I had use of the car till 5 o'clock, pick him up & usually stop by Newman-Boucher's for a quart of milk or plug of tobacco on the way home." -Bob McCrory
"Enjoyed the Family Lamb piece today and it brought to mind that we had an elderly woman with the last name of Lamb who we used to visit in Lone Grove back in the early 50's. Her house was on the North side of U.S. 70 as you entered the town coming from the East. Can't recall where she was in our Family relatives, Bridges or Prater. She had a Sister who lived South of the old Woodland School off Highway 7 coming West. Had a little Country store that we visited from time to time as well." -Ralph Ford
Butch, the largest lake in Oklahoma used to be Grand Lake, unless a newer one supplanted it. In fact, for a period of time after it was first created, Grand Lake was the largest manmade lake, shoreline-wise in the world. This is what we were told back when I lived there, so hope it is correct info.
"Hi Butch, Happy Birthday for July 18th the years sure seem to come around a lot quicker than they used to. I know my old body lets me know on a regular basis, hope you and Jill are in good health and hope to be able to call in for a visit again one day." -Steve and Sonnia in Australia
Here are 3 more scans of old postcards. -Robert Hensley
Ardmore City Lake north edge of Ardmore
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/CityLakeArdmoreOK.jpg
Ardmore's Main Street looking west from Main and Caddo.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/MainStreetArdmoreLookingWest.jpg
Greetings postcard from Ardmore, Oklahoma pre-statehood.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/GreetingsArdmoreIT.jpg
"Everything I've done in my career is a result of growing up in rural Oklahoma, because if I hadn't had the training from Mama and Daddy to work hard, to do what I'm told, to take directions, to mind and to do a good job at anything I set out to do, then I wouldn't be where I am today." -Reba McEntire
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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