I am always amazed what I find in the area history museums. Sometimes when I pass a museum, and nearly every town in southern Oklahoma and north Texas has one, I think, I don't need to go in there, I've already visited that museum. Wrong. Even if we've been in a museum once, we should go back every now and then. There will always be something you missed the first time, plus they are continually adding new things to see.
I remember a Reader contacted me several times last year on a book she was writing and asked if I had any photos in my archives of ferry crossings in this area. I had maybe one, that was about it. This week I received an email with a number of great attachments. Great photos of the old Brown Springs Ferry crossing, all coming from the Morton Museum of History in Gainesville, Texas. Wish I had known/remember these photos existed in the Morton Museum.
These are photos of the Toll Bridge north of Gainesville copied from files at the Morton Museum in Gainesville. Several are of Brown's Ferry. Some are form the Dallas archives). I received these in an email this week.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BrownsFerryPhoto1.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BrownsFerryPhoto2.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BrownsFerryPhoto3.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BrownsFerryGainesville1.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BrownsFerryGainesville2.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BrownsFerryGainesville3.jpg
Below is pictures of the pump station that existed along the Red River when they pumped water to the City of Dallas back in the 50s.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/RedRiverGainesville1.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/RedRiverGainesville2.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/RedRiverGainesville3.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/RedRiverGainesville4.jpg
And below is the 1954 letter from the City of Dallas concerning the pump stations. It's in PDF format, so you need Acrobat Reader to view it.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/1954MemorandumRedRiver.pdf
July 1932
Carter County voters went to the polls Tuesday and cast 14,255 volts
establishing a new record for all-time in this County. The closest race was for
District #2 commissioner seat. Incumbent Kirb Drain led challenger, Tab Maddox
by 4 votes. In local races Cook had 350 votes to beat Coffee 136 votes for the
local office of Justice of the Peace. Cummings with 261 votes won the
Constable's job by a vote of 225 for Price.
July 1956
A "test" water well near Newport is expected to be completed for a test blow
this weekend. A group of Ardmore citizens, working anonymously, are privately
financing the reworking of the old oil well on the Newport area to convert into
a water well. Geologist estimate that between 12 and 15 wells can supply Lone
Grove when the city reservoirs in the City Lake are exhausted.
July 1963
Lark School patrons approved a sale of $12,500 in bonds to pay for a new school
building. The school system plans to build a three-room school building. LarK
School is located 15 miles south of Madill near Lake Texoma and has grades 1
through 8 only.
July 1963
A legal battle is shaping up over the alignment of I-35 through the Arbuckle
Mountains. The state highway commission approved the longer route, that will
extend to within one mile of the towns of Pauls Valley, Davis, Paoli and
Wynnewood. The federal government, which is paying 90% of the costs, want the
shorter more direct route which would bypass the towns.
July 1963
Two Carter County men who invented a first-in-the-world car wash facility have
sold their process to a Chicago firm for an undisclosed price. The unique coin
operated, self-service process, was sold by Jack Thompson and Travis Harris to
ALD Incorporated, a national organization probably best known for its activities
in the national distribution of Westinghouse equipped Laundromat & Dry Cleaner
facilities. The first coin operated car wash was open Thanksgiving Day 1962 at
North Washington and Monroe Street in Ardmore. A total of 60 cars went through
the one stall that day. The customer uses the stall for 25 cents for 5 minutes.
1949 Sheriff Howard Johnson was
located on the second floor of the Carter county Courthouse.
1949 Carter county jail was at 107 1st SW next door to the Courthouse (Annex
bldg is today)
1951 Helen Carmon was employed as a sales clerk by Klein's Ready to Wear Shop at
109 West Main in Ardmore. Edward Klein 1897-1953 was the proprietor. Helen
married to my uncle Pratt Carmon.
1950 Corral Restaurant was at L and 12th NW. Proprietor was Loyd Hardin
1960 Corral Restaurant was at 1611 North Commerce. Proprietor was Milton T.
Scott
Otterville, Oklahoma was one mile west and one mile south of Woodford in Carter county.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/CarterCountyTowns.html
I am sure glad Ardmore has someone locally that works on clocks. My cuckoo clock from the Germany's Black Forest that I've had since the 80s quit cuckooing over a month ago. The time part worked fine but the little birdie quit sounding off. I looked inside and the problem had something to do with the chain mostly, but decided not to attempt the repair myself. Needed itty bitty hands. lol Anyway, I took it to Ardmoreite Doug Acox and he repaired it to perfect condition! If you have an ailing old clock, you can find Doug every Saturday around noon at the antique shop at 3rd and A Street NE. He and his friend have a booth inside. Below is a picture I snapped of Doug at the antique shop Saturday a week ago holding my clock, in a box, and ready to take home!
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/DougAcoxClock.jpg
Someone asked last week if there was a eating place on West Broadway called the "Filling Station". I didn't remember such a business. This week several wrote in with the answer.
A. "Butch, The Filling Station was a restaurant in the late 80's at 817 W. Broadway where the current Daylight Donuts is located." -Chris O'Donnell (It was ran by Steve Ellis.)
A sandstone paver from eastern Oklahoma I sandblasted this week. I've known the Mayes family since a teen. Proud to make it for them.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bricks/DeeMayesPaver.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 is the deepest oil
well in Oklahoma?
A. April 13, 1974 ? Oklahoma Well sets World Depth Record. After 504
days and about $7 million, the Bertha Rogers No. 1 well reaches a total depth of
31,441 feet, stopped by liquid sulfur. Drilled in the heart of Oklahoma?s
Anadarko Basin, it is the deepest hole in world for several years and the
deepest in the United States for three decades until finally exceeded in 2004.
Q. Where is the longest river
in Oklahoma?
A. (answer in next week's T&T)
From This and That newsletter archives of September 7, 2002:
Bill Dixon of Healdton, Oklahoma went to
Tuskahoma, Oklahoma this past weekend to see the Choctaw Festival. Since he was
only a few miles from Krebs, Oklahoma he went on there and the priest at St
Joseph Catholic Church let him take some photo of that old bell named after
Sybil Rex back around 1887.
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/bellphotos/sybilc.jpg
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A Reader in Pauls Valley told me about a
new sport or hobby or fade or whatever you want to call it this week. The object
is to login to their website and find instructions to a hidden cache somewhere
in your area. But you have to have a GPS device to find the cache, since the
only way to the location is by using the GPS readouts in the instructions. So if
you have a GPS unit you can check out all the details at this website.
http://www.geocaching.com
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"The historical records of Southwestern
Bell Telephone Company (don't know if those records still exist) had an entry
about some Texas promoters building a telephone line from Texas into Ardmore or
Durant or perhaps both without ever seeking approval from the tribe. When the
Chickasaw Council heard of this they ordered the Chickasha Indian police to go
out and chop down the poles, which they did. The Texas promoters then appeared
before the council, hats in hand, and applied for permission to build the line,
which was ultimately granted with certain conditions."
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"Hi Butch, I have finally cut down my
article on the Warthen Station in Ringling, Oklahoma from 2 pages to 3
paragraphs. I have attached the article but if you feel it is too long for the
T&T don't worry about using it. I needed to put that information in my computer
anyhow. Wish I had a good picture to send along with it but can't find one.
Thanks." -Barbara Warthen Wallace
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/textfiles/warthen9.txt
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Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....
"50 years ago the 1966 Ardmore High School football team completed its season with 9 wins and 1 lose. AHS went to the quarter finals against the Enid Plainsmen and lost. This team was one of the best teams ever produced by Coach Tip Jacobson. We will have a 50 year reunion to celebrate a special event in our high school years. The October 28th reunion is for anyone who was in any way a part of that season. The event coincides with the Friday night AHS game against Duncan and all participants are invited to attend courtesy of AHS. The reunion will start at 4 PM at the High School with a tour of the sports facilities by Coach Jimmy Holloway followed with a tailgate in the parking lot beginning at 5. The 7 PM game will top off the reunion. Anyone able to continue after the game are free to do. Any questions may me." -Dan Mahoney d.mahoney07@gmail.com"Dear Butch, I found your website and was instantly inspired. My project turned out to be a little more complicated, as my pallets were not square. I certainly appreciate you sharing your experience and your advice. I think it saved me quite a bit of hassle when it came to figuring out a few things. Aside from the gravel to fill it, I finished the structure this weekend. We left some overhang and 1x4 out so we could attach lattice next spring and grow vegetables. Here are some photos. Best of luck." -Christian in Terre Haute, IN
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/PalletShed090416.jpg
"Hi Butch, The only ?Filling Station? I remember was a place on the South side of Main Street in Davis, Oklahoma. They had converted and old service station into a restaurant that served onion burgers etc. It was there in the 90?s or early 2000?s. All their menu items were given a gas station handle. Thanks." -Tom Rankin
"The Orange Castle Cafe at 12th and Wolverton was ran by Red and Florence Newnum."
"My wife and I took advantage of a beautiful day to drop the top and go on a road trip. This time we wound up at Younger's Bend just below the Lake Eufaula Dam. We parked at the sign and made about a 10 minute hike into the woods to find Belle Starr's grave. I forgot my camera but snapped a few shots on my phone. Hopefully these are worthwhile. I had looked up the coordinates before we left, but found they were wrong so I captured the coordinates as we sat in front of the Younger's Bend sign. The GPS below should be accurate to get you started at the head of the trail." -Gerald L. Whitworth
35.3021011,-95.3379974
N35? 18.064? W95? 20.339?
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BelleStarrGrave090415a.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BelleStarrGrave090415b.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BelleStarrGrave090415c.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos16b/BelleStarrGrave090415d.jpg
At the link below are 9 more scans of old photographs this week. They include photos of Mamie Hutchins, G.H. Bruce family photo, Maggie Foster, John H. & Mamie Hutchins photo, and a couple more people who remain unknown. -Robert Hensley
http://oklahomahistory.net/postcards
"Oklahoma's always been good to me." -Alan Jackson
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
236 Timber Road
Ardmore, Oklahoma
580-490-6823
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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