This and That Newsletter
Vol 21 Issue 1045 Circulation 5,000 February 2, 2017
Ardmore, Oklahoma
My permanent email address: butch[email protected]
580-490-6823
Some Ardmoreites were not really eccentric, just practical jokers who honed their skills to the point of genius. One such was Kirk Morgan, whose talent for safe-cracking was known far and wide, even as far away as McAlester. If a merchant or a citizens locked himself out of his safe, not to worry; just call Kirk Morgan. Maynard Reavis did not doubt Morgan's ability to put but simply felt that he had purchased a safe so Superior that it defied even this expert's ability. He proudly placed it in his drug store at 125 - 127 West Main, a popular gathering place for the use of Ardmore, with a long soda fountain and boost for socializing. In this safe he sometimes rested another purchase of understandable pride, a handsome diamond ring, confident that it was as safe as if it were in Fort Knox. He had verbalized this feeling of security in the presence of Morgan. So it was with shock of seismic proportions that, one day, he looked down at Morgan's hand as it rested on the counter and saw his diamond ring glittering on one finger. The expert had proved his point. -Sally Gray, Territory Town, The Ardmore Story published 2006
Joseph Muhlbacher of Cheyenne Oklahoma was a legendary recluse and eccentric artist. Joe Muhlbacher, better known as "The Hermit", died in the Cheyenne hospital on July 9, 1955.
http://newsok.com/article/2424954
http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entryname=JOSEPH+MUHLBACHER
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/OKROGERM/2002-04/1019910820
A fortress built for protection, Muhlbacher, built a house, fence and tower of concrete with sculpted room beams, exaggerated small male and female figures, etc. He began his underground “bunker-like” environment in anticipation of a supposed German invasion.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/JosephMuhlbacherHomeCheyenneOK1.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/JosephMuhlbacherHomeCheyenneOK2.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/JosephMuhlbacherHomeCheyenneOK3.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/JosephMuhlbacherHomeCheyenneOK4.jpg
Bathhouse in Chandler, Oklahoma from bygone days.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/BathHouseChandlerOK.jpg
December 1932
R.L. Thomas, government wolf trapper in Carter County, captured 13 wolves last month. Lute Weems, another government trapper in Marshall County caught 4 wolves. The trappers also reported that they caught and killed 10 bobcats and 13 coyotes.December 1932
Seventy-five unemployed men will be given work under Governor Murray's relief program for Carter County. This 75 men will be selected Monday morning at 10 a.m. from applicants who appear at the county barn. 50 of the men are to be employed cutting wood, and 25 will be used on a road project. There are more than 4,000 men listed on the unemployed rolls.December 1932
December 1963
A second offer has been made to put out-of-work-men to work. 1,500 additional men will be given 13 days work under Governor Murray's relief plan. During the first offer men cut and delivered approximately 400 ricks of wood to yards in the county. The wood was distributed to worthy families in need of fuel free of charge. 40 miles of roads were also built when the first offer of employment was in progress. The new plan is to use two days labor for a man and his team, and three days for the men who have no team. This means that each receives approximately $7 for his labor.
Governor Henry Bellmon today ordered an immediate start on a crash program to construct a "straight line" free road between Purcell and Ardmore. In a surprise announcement Bellmon said $2.1 million in surplus state funds will be matched with Federal money to build the missing link of Interstate 35 in Oklahoma.I received a phone call week before last from Texas. A man had ran across 12 education certificates and documents of Kate Galt Zaneis, the first Carter county superintendent of schools. He was wondering if any of the Galt and Zaneis descendants are still in the Ardmore are. Did not have an answer from him, maybe someone on the T&T list knows?
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/KateGaltZaneis012217a.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/KateGaltZaneis012217c.jpg
Some pavers I recently sandblasted.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/BSA/BSAGrahamReadnour.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/BSA/BSAKylanSpencer.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 city in Oklahoma is home to the American Banjo Museum?
A. Oklahoma City
http://www.americanbanjomuseum.com/Q. Where in Oklahoma is a petrified 250 Million year old, now extinct, tree?
A. Answer in next week's newsletterBelow is from This and That newsletter archives of February 1, 2005
"My mother was Jan Fielder Deason - Chief Stewardess for American Flyers at the time of the 1966 accident and she lived in Ardmore. I was twenty years old, married and living in Alabama at the time of the crash. After hearing the news on the radio, it took hours to get through to Ardmore to find out that she had not been on the flight. I then spent eighteen hours on a Greyhound bus getting to Ardmore. The sorrow that my family felt for the crew and the military personnel cannot ever be described. American Flyers was a very close family and my mother took it very hard that she had lost such close friends, including two of "her girls". For those of you that knew her, she just passed away this April and I don't think that she ever spent one day these past forty years without thinking of her friends both lost and remaining. She loved everyone of them. She was privileged to know about the memorial and I think that she was able to attend the dedication. Thank you to all of those that helped to build this memorial as I know that it did provide healing for her as well as others even after all of the years that have passed. I hope to be able to visit the memorial in the near future." -Shirley Mondeaux, Churchville, Pennsylvania
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I stopped by the Broadway Cafe at 813 West Broadway (next door to Cableone) last Saturday and saw the proprietor, Jim Baker. Jim is the grandson of Freeman Baker who started Cashway Lumber Company (3rd & A NE) many moons ago. Whatta you bet Jim knows what a 10 penny nail looks like too? Anyway, he fixes a hamburger the old fashion way, it reminds me of the burgers my mother used to make. Boy, talk about a good hamburger, the Broadway Cafe has one. I bought their regular hamburger for $2.75 and it was a filling meal all by itself. And Jim's hamburger is not dry like some of those you buy at the 'big box'. Now I want you to take a look at this close-up pic I took of Jim's hamburger and tell me it don't make your mouth water?
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/BroadwayCafeBurger05a.jpghttp://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/JimBaker012905.jpg
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"Butch after high school and a couple of semesters at a trade school I went to work for BS&B (Black, Sivels and Bryson) at the Ardmore Airpark. That was in 1962, as I am sure you know they wound fiberglass rail road cars as well as other configurations of fiberglass tanks. I worked in the machine shop with some very talented folks. The Supervisor was Dwayne Near, he could measure within a millimeter using a six inch scale! There was another fellow Wayne Dingler, he was a part time gun smith that specialized making very high power long range rifles. Another name that comes to mind is "Pumpkin" Thompson. Pumpkin bought, restored and learned to fly a small aircraft while I worked there. Pumpkin lived across the river from the airpark so it was a short flight or a long drive! The last name that comes to mind is Fred Mueller, I heard many years ago from his widow that he had passed away. I was wondering if any of your readers know of any of these folks and could tell me what happened to them. Any info would be appreciated." -Gary Melton
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"Butch- Have you ever seen a photograph of the roundhouse, it sat where Ardmore Mall was later built. I've heard many stories about it and the old ONM&P line that ran where Grand Avenue is today -- but I don't ever remember seeing a photo of any kind. That would be a rare treasure."
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"Butch, A couple of weeks ago you included a picture of the Mt. Washington class of 1944 Commencement Program. You mentioned you were unable to safely scan the Baccalaureate program. I am attaching a copy of that Baccalaureate. I am also attaching a copy of the Mt. Washington Class of 1944 photo. I've been married to the valedictorian of that class for almost 59 years (Virginia Gilstrap). The graduating class from left to right is Wendell Hughes, Virginia Gilstrap (Farrington), G. W. Vineyard and Willie Mae Jones. Wendell and Virginia are the 2 remaining members of that class and they still talk by phone on a regular basis."
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/MtWashingtonGrad44.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/MtWashingtonBacc44.jpg
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"Butch-- I laughed out loud when I read the story about the bull frogs. I hunted those for years when growing up and brought a bunch home to my new bride one evening. If you don't cut the leader in the back legs, they will kick like the dickens when they hit that hot grease. I must have missed a leader and the resultant kicking created a runaway at my house. I eventually got her to return home with the promise that it would never happen again. Keep up the good work. I'm one of the thousands that remain a well satisfied reader of This and That."
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"Here are the Lake Murray Killdeer pictures I took (April 2001) off the video camera and put in a folder and I did not know which one it was. Anyway, it is of the Killdeer and her four eggs. If you remember, she got close to me a couple times. The second and third picture is where she is setting on the nest. Then she started her antics to lead me away." -Claude in Alaska
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/KilldeerLakeMurray1.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/KilldeerLakeMurray2.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/KilldeerLakeMurray3.jpg
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The Evening News, Ada Oklahoma, May 16, 1906
U.S. Marshal Ambushed and Shot in Breast
Coalgate, I.T.--Last Sunday a man came to Coalgate and shot up the town and when Deputy Marshal BRADSHAW attempted to arrest him he compelled him to drop his pistol at the point of a Winchester. Monday night as he was in search of the party Bradshaw was ambushed by four men who began firing on him. He returned the fire until his ammunition was exhausted, when he retreated with a wound in the left breast. Hearing of the difficulty a posse from this city started to the scene, and when about three miles from the city they were assailed by a party armed with Winchesters, who compelled them to return in haste. A large force of United States Marshals and citizens are searching the woods for the gang and it is thought their capture is only a matter of a few hours. It was reported in surrounding towns that Bradshaw had been killed and his many friends will be glad to learn that he is very much alive, his wound being but slight.The Evening News, Ada Oklahoma, January 6, 1911
Oklahoma City--FRANK HENSON, the black man of Tulsa convicted of murder, must hang January 27, the date set by the lower court, unless his sentence in commuted. The criminal court of appeals Thursday in an opinion by Justice THOMAS DOYLE rendered a decision to Governor HASKELL on its review of the lower court proceedings and found that Mr. Henson had been properly tried and that the record is correct. The law requires the governor to have the higher court review the record in a case where capital punishment is prescribed, and the defendant does not appeal. Henson killed Deputy Sheriff CHARLES STAMPER in a "joint" at Dawson in Tulsa county, on October 8 last. It was charged that the deputy sheriff was inveigled into the joint and slain. He went in to discharge his duties as a peace officer, and was shot without warning. The case of GEORGE W. McNAUGHT of Kingfisher county, given a life sentence, was affirmed for lack of appeal being prosecuted.The Evening News, Ada Oklahoma, May 16, 1906
U.S. Marshal Ambushed and Shot in Breast
Coalgate, I.T.--Last Sunday a man came to Coalgate and shot up the town and when Deputy Marshal BRADSHAW attempted to arrest him he compelled him to drop his pistol at the point of a Winchester. Monday night as he was in search of the party Bradshaw was ambushed by four men who began firing on him. He returned the fire until his ammunition was exhausted, when he retreated with a wound in the left breast. Hearing of the difficulty a posse from this city started to the scene, and when about three miles from the city they were assailed by a party armed with Winchesters, who compelled them to return in haste. A large force of United States Marshals and citizens are searching the woods for the gang and it is thought their capture is only a matter of a few hours. It was reported in surrounding towns that Bradshaw had been killed and his many friends will be glad to learn that he is very much alive, his wound being but slight.Ardmore, I.T.--DEL GIBSON, who was shot by City Marshal BUD MOORE, at Mill Creek, on June 15, died yesterday of wounds. Gibson was intoxicated and resisted arrest and in the fight was shot through the body by the officer.
The Evening News, Ada Oklahoma, February 15, 1910
Fugitives and Officers Battle
Outlaw Killed And Officer Wounded
Wilburton, OK--In a battle fought between officers from this place and two outlaws, who were located in the mountains, four miles east of here, about noon yesterday, one of the outlaws was instantly killed and City Marshal DAVE NOWLIN of Wilburton was shot through the lungs. At an early hour this morning it was reported to Sheriff FRED LAWRENCE of this place that two men had been located in the mountains and that they were heavily armed. The officers had been on the lookout for the men who robbed the bank at Wister, thirty miles east of here, last week, and when the report came, Sheriff Lawrence, with his deputies, MAHAN, NEWSOME, and HOLLY, left for the place of hiding. After locating the men and finding that they were armed with rifles, he sent Deputy Mahan back to Wilburton for rifles and City Marshall Nowlin. The officer climbed the rock cliffs surrounding the fugitives and when they were within 100 yards they demanded that the men surrender. Their demand was answered by shots. Mahan and Nowlin who were the only ones in a position to answer the fire, opened up, and after something like twenty shots had been exchanged, it was found that one of the outlaws was dead, with two shots through his body and one through his head. Nowlin was shot through the lungs. Seeing his pal was dead, the other man slipped down between the rocks and made his escape. Marshal Nowlin will possibly recover. The dead outlaw's body was removed to STRANGE'S undertaking establishment in this city, where it will be held awaiting identification. Two horses, two saddles, two Winchesters and three automatic revolvers, with a large bunch of keys and full set of burglar's tools, was recovered by Sheriff Lawrence. The dead man was about 26 years old; six feet high, weight 175; has brown eyes and black hair, and just behind the left ear there is a spot the size of a silver dollar on which there is no hair. He looks to be part Indian.The Evening News, Ada Oklahoma, May 9, 1911
Tulsa, OK--TOM JORDAN, one of the last of the bad men of the old Indian Territory days, met a tragic death at 4 o'clock Monday afternoon while attempting to rob the Keystone State bank. His body Monday night is lying on the porch in front of the bank while a coroner's jury is hearing evidence. A verdict will not be rendered until Tuesday morning. Five bullet holes are visible through the clothing. Of these three plowed their way through his breast while one tore through the hip and another through the fleshy part of the leg. Saturday C.C. MARSHALL, sheriff of Pawnee county, was tipped off relative to the proposed hold up. Jordon and TOM PHOENIX rode into Keystone, eighteen miles west of Tulsa and dismounted before the bank building immediately preceding the shooting. Phoenix was next to the frame-up, and when Jordan entered the bank he went across the street. When Jordan commanded, H.C. VINEYARD, cashier to shove out the cash, Sheriff Marshall ordered Jordan to hold up his hands. Jordan was armed with two .38 Colts. He whipped out one of these and a volley of shots were exchanged with him and the sheriff. Jordan staggered from the building still defiant. Assistants of the sheriff opened fire and Jordan fell, rolling off the elevated porch. Jordan was about 47 years old, a part Cherokee Indian. He lived on a farm two miles east of Collinsville, about twenty miles north of Tulsa. He leaves a wife and several children. He was a son of Colonel Jordan, well respected resident of Cleveland, OK. Jordan had only recently been released from the state penitentiary sent up on a charge of disposing of mortgaged property. During the panic of 1907, he entered the Collinsville bank and made its officers pay him money instead of scrip at the point of a gun. He is said to have been associated with many of the daring escapades indulged in by the famous bandit, HENRY STARR.The Evening News, Ada Oklahoma, May 15, 1911
Muskogee, OK--Manacled together, BOB & AMON DAVIS, wanted for the murder of Deputy Sheriff JAMES WORK of Porum, on the afternoon of May the fourth, are speeding on a train from Denver to Muskogee, under the watchful eyes of Deputies DEPEW and NICHOLSON.
A quarrel over a game of cards while escaping on a train into the west is responsible for the capture of the two men. According to press dispatches to the Phoenix, Bob Davis quarreled with a fellow passenger with whom he was playing, a few miles outside of Denver. So violent did he become that the train was stopped at a small station and Davis was arrested. He was fined and released. He continued his flight to Denver, but his quarrel had aroused the suspicions of the law and had given the authorities a chance to look the man in the face. Last Monday morning he was placed under arrest in Denver, directly charged with being the man wanted for the murder of JAMES WORK. At first he denied his identity, giving the name of JACK JONES. He said he was a laboring man. Paper currency of the First National bank of Muskogee to the amount of $1,997, found in his clothes, however, convinced the officers of Denver that they had Bob Davis under arrest. Later, when he saw that further denial was useless, he admitted he is the man and his brother, AMON, who escaped with him, surrendered to the police. The escape of the two Davis boys is almost miraculous. With the whole countryside alarmed, the two men, without having the saddle even for a drink of water, rode about a hundred miles to Cushing, OK. Even then they did not leave their horses until the train pulled in. Then they quickly dismounted and jumping aboard, were off for the west. It is probable that had they not been captured they would not have stopped at the Pacific ocean. so well supplied with money were they. The capture of Bob and Amon Davis ends the man hunt for the slayers of Deputy JAMES WORK. PAT ROBINSON is held in jail as a suspect, LEONARD McCULLOUGH is being held as an accomplice, and BUCK DAVIS and ROBERT WORTHMAN are held "pending investigation". The authorities are inclined to believe that they were "imported" to Porum to "do mischief". Worthman is said to have confessed with a rope around his neck, that he intended dynamiting the homes of three witnesses against Bob Davis.
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----------------------------------------------------Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....
"Mentioning of Stobtown brings back something that has always bothered me. It was around 1951 that a high school buddy and I were going duck hunting. We were not sophisticated hunters and the way we hunted was to sneak up on a pond and blast any ducks setting there with our shotguns. Very crude technique. We were too young to drive so my buddys' father agreed to drive us to our favorite duck hunting ponds. Somehow we found ourselves in the Stobtown area. I couldn't tell you today where that was but, his father knew the area and said that was where we were. The father waited in the car as me and my buddy crept upon the pond to surprise any ducks that were there. We filled the sky with buckshot but no ducks fell. As we pondered our situation along the pond shore, we came upon an old dead tree with a hollow at its' base. As I poked into that tree hollow, I discovered a dress and other clothing poked up into the tree. I was 14 or 15 and didn't give much thought as to why those clothes were hidden in that tree hollow. We relaid the finding to my friends' father but, he discounted our findings and that was that. For 70 years, I have often wondered about that discovery. I could not tell you where that pond was exactly, I just recall, it was near Stobtown." -Dale Young
Q. "About 1966 or 1967 I remember hearing about an organization in Ardmore that was called "Dare To Be Great" or something like that. As explained to me, it sounded like a Ponzi scheme. Was there something like that in Ardmore during this timeframe?"
A. 08/22/87 The founder of the ''Dare to be Great'' motivational program has been sentenced to seven years in prison for using an illegal pyramid scheme to bilk people out of thousands of dollars. Glenn W. Turner, 53 years old, was sentenced along with Edward G. Rechtor by Superior Court Judge Bernard J. Dougherty. Mr. Turner and Mr. Rechtor, who also received seven years, were convicted in July of 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud and promoting a pyramid scheme. Jurors found them not guilty of 27 counts of securities violations involving Challenge Inc., a motivational company.
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/22/business/glenn-turner-sentenced.html
"I just opened and read your column for the week. Sorry I had not opened it as soon as it came but, I was late due to unforeseen problems! I was so delighted to see the picture of Uncle Arthur Willingham and the Ardmore Indians back in1950. He was uncle to my late husband Gilbert and such a loved person in his family. I noticed the picture of the man on the far right seated at the table and wearing a dark shirt. That was Bob Willingham, son of Arthur and later on became Drilling Superintendent for the Willingham Drilling Company. They drilled in several places in and around Ardmore and their offices were later located to Sherman, Texas. My husband worked for Uncle Arthur in most of those places. I have saved all of the pictures you have printed of Uncle Arthur and the Indians in your past editions. Give my 'thanks' to Ernesto for the photos he sent, it was good to have the memories of those times. I lost my husband in February of 2010, but, he would have been so pleased to have seen this photo. Thanks again, Butch, for all the good memories of our life and past in our hometown of Ardmore. Keep up the good work." -Kathryn (Kathy) Donham Davoult
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/ArdmoreIndiansArthurWilliams1950.jpg
Drip gas is defined in the United States Code of Federal Regulations as "consisting of butane, pentane, and hexane hydrocarbons. These are all 4, 5, and 6 carbon compounds. It's also known as casing head gas, natural gasoline, raw gas, white gas, and condensate. Remember the 1915 explosion in the Ardmore rail yard.
Folder of postcards and cabinet photographs from the past -Robert HensleyBelow is a link to the metal Indian statue that was on display at Turner falls in the 30s.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/IndianStatueTurnerFalls7.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/postcards
I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.
-Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_NewtonSee everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
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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