This
and That Newsletter
www.OklahomaHistory.net
Vol
21 Issue 1,083 Circulation 5,000
October 26, 2017
Ardmore,
Oklahoma
My
permanent email address: butch[email protected]
580-490-6823
This week I
almost didn't get out my newsletter. I have had an internet
connection problem since tuesday night and still am working in my
spare time to correct it. So this week's newsletter is coming to you
from my laptop instead of my usual PC. So this issue is going to be a
short one. Hopefully this weekend I will have time to work on the
internet connection problem and get back to my PC. Wish me luck as I
haven't made much progress testing with the limited time I've had
working full time.
September
1933
The Adam's
Trio singers from Prairie Valley provided entertainment at the Lone
Grove park with the assistance of Miss Edith Swan vocalist. The
Adam's Trio composed of Miss Dorothy Adams, Miss Juhree Adams and
Miss Lillian Adams sang four selections.
September
1933
Speaking of
old times, John Galt, said he was a big 14 year old boy when he came
to Lone Grove. That was some time before the Santa Fe came to
Ardmore. Lone Grove when I first knew it had one large general store
conducted by Sweet Price. His was the only business for a long time.
When he discovered that I could handle a team fairly well, he
entrusted me with hauling goods from Gainesville to Lone Grove. His
shipments usually consisted of dry and wet goods about equally
divided, and as there was a demand for both kinds in the Indian
Territory I guess he made a good profit on his investment.
September
1962
Citizens of
Dougherty, Oklahoma are jubilant over a recent turn of events. After
nearly 12 years of near isolation caused by the washout of the bridge
over the Washita River, the construction of a new bridge across the
Washita, a scenic approach to the new bridge, and plans for a 13
million dollar lake has been announced by the U.S. Congress. The
series of events promises to make Dougherty a beehive community no
longer disappearing because of near isolation.
September
1962
Jim Snow, a
Lone Grove farmer, harvested the first bale of cotton in the area. It
weighed in at 1,660 pounds of seed cotton and ginned out at 430 lbs
of lint cotton. Snow was paid $0.32 a pound, which was a premium
price as it was the first of the year in this area.
A couple of
the pavers I sandblasted this week.
http://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/BlackjackDogPaver.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/UnderdogPaver.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. Oklahoma
born Woody Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter who is regarded
as one of the most significant figures in American folk music; his
songs, including social justice songs, such as "This Land Is
Your Land", have inspired several generations both politically
and musically. Where in Oklahoma stands a life size bronze statue of
Woody Guthrie?
A. Okemah, Oklahoma.
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14366
Q. Where in
Oklahoma is the Centennial Land Run Monument that was completed in
2015?
A. Answer in next week's newsletter
Below
is from This and That newsletter archives of October 21, 2005
"Roy
Rogers and Dale Evans came to southern Oklahoma in 1946 to shoot the
movie "Home in Oklahoma". Scenes were shot at the Flying L
Ranch near Davis, the Hereford Heaven Ranch near Sulphur, and at
Turner Falls. In late 1947, they returned to the area and were
married in a private ceremony at the Flying L Ranch on December 31,
1947. The next day, they repeated their vows in a public ceremony at
Ardmore's Civic Auditorium. Music was provided by the Sons of the
Pioneers and admission was fifty cents." -Mark
Coe
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Roy
Rogers and Dale Evans appeared at Civic Auditorium in Ardmore
sometime between July 1946 (when I moved to Ardmore) and Aug. 1948.
Dale used crutches because of a broken leg. I went with a group of
girls."
-Voncille
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The
dugout was there during the early 1900s, when he was an adult. He had
a house at LG and probably used the dugout as a place to stay between
Wilson area and LG. My grandfather said in the early 1900s there were
16 gates between Wilson and Ardmore that had to be opened and closed
to make the trip so it is easy to see why he would need an in-between
place to stay, especially if he was out at night. The dugout is no
longer there." -mindy <-----
Click Here
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"I
finally put the names of the 12 military passengers who died in the
Annapolis, MD crash of the C-119F (March 19, 1954) on the Ardmore
AAFld/AAFB site. I still don't have the hometown or ages of most of
them and that will be hard to get unless someone who knows sees the
site and contacts me. They now have their names on the "wall."
Four of them were with the Air Force "Drum and Bugle Corps."
-Gary Simmons <-----
Click Here
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"Butch,
This map must be 1904 or earlier. The two railroads shown as
paralleling each other going east from Ardmore were the Frisco and
the Rock Island. The Frisco from Ardmore to the point where the two
lines went their separate ways (built in 1902-1903) discontinued
operation in 1904 and the Frisco used the Rock Island from there into
Ardmore after that. There were hardly any roads worthy of the name in
1904." -Wes Leatherock [email protected] <-----
Click Here
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Butch,
you brought back a few memories when you showed the Ardmore Hotel.
The Glider Room in the basement was a fun place to go. The mezzanine
was one place to have luncheons...I forget the "social"
club that used to honor Senior girls every year but they had a
luncheon there. Thanks for the
memory!!!!"
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"It
wasn't just the pecan pie store, it was a full service restaurant
that we stopped at many times for lunch or dinner. Very good
food--and they did have the pies for sale. The Field pie factory
still exists in the south part of Pauls Valley, on or near Airport
Road, and has a sales kiosk where they sell frozen Field's pies. I
think it may be under other ownership now. For a while the factory
had several other flavors, but they apparently were not as successful
and they now appear to make just the pecan pies, which are indeed
superior. Their web site is www.fieldspies.com. <
----- Click Here
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"Hello
Butch. I do so enjoy reading your newsletter. I live in California
and know very little about Oklahoma. I do have friends from Oklahoma
and have heard them talk about the state from time to time. We
Californians are all "from somewhere else." I came with my
family from Texas back in the early 1940s. I see in your newsletter
this week where it is mentioned that some are searching for grave
sites of relations. My family has been searching for the final
resting place of my great-great-grandfather Col. Almanzon Houston for
many years. Col. Almanzon fought with General Sam Houston in 1835 in
Texas. The Colonel lived in Texas. But, died in Louisiana while
stopping over at a daughter's home there. He was retiring from
Washington, DC, where he had made a journey on military business. If
anyone knows anything at all about Col. Almanzon Houston, I would so
much appreciate hearing. I thank you very much - Marge Israel in
Stockton at:
[email protected]
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"Butch,
I really enjoy the T&T! Since I retired and moved to Tulsa, it is
one of my very best ties back to home. I had a wonderful career in
Southern Oklahoma and served for 32 years as Game Warden. The last 16
years of my career was spent as Supervisor to the Wardens from the
Red River to Stillwater. Southern Oklahoma is some of the most
beautiful country in the world. The people are friendly and for the
most part law-abiding. I really miss my friends, and my church,
Crystalrock Cathedral. My quartet, (the Eastland Quartet) has been
singing at homecomings and church services all over the state. Thanks
for your T&T, it means a lot." -Rome
Ingle
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"I
was on the internet the other evening playing "free poker"
at PokerParty.Com and two of the players were from Oklahoma - one
from Tulsa and the other from Altus. As we were playing it hit me
that Tulsa and Altus are spelled with the same letters just different
- man did I ever feel dumb that I had never noticed this after all
these years. Makes one wonder how much they really do know about
their home State of
Oklahoma."
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"True,
the welders caused a blaze at the old Ardmore Hotel but it wasn't as
drastic as reported. Welders, in the process of cutting up and
removing the hotel's main water tank (a huge steel gravity tank
housed in its separate blockhouse in the top of the building),
accidentally ignited some of the wood bracing used to support this
tank. The tank's steel plates were being cut up to facilitate
removal. The resulting fire, while hot and smoky, was limited to this
only and was in a small area of the top floor. It was extinguished
without much fanfare. It was not a threatening fire. This occurred in
1963, at the beginning of the renovation of the hotel into Lincoln
Center...not in the 1980's as mentioned. Lincoln Bank opened the
following February, 1964, upon completion of this
remodeling/renovation. Prior to that time, during its life as a
hotel, no major changes were made to the structure other than the
drilling of a private water well in the basement of the hotel in 1956
during the severe summer drought. It is still there and operable as
far as I
know."
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"Butch,
It is a young milk snake." -Tom, University of Kentucky <-----
Click Here
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"Depending
on where Ardmore is, that's either a Texas Rat snake or a Black Rat
Snake. Both are harmless and feed on rodents." <-----
Click Here
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"here
is the West Side Garage in Sulphur, Oklahoma." <
----- Click Here
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"Was
looking through your emails and when I saw the email about the
railroad I thought I would post a question for all of your readers. I
just turned 57 years old and up until I was in my mid 20's I always
thought I had some exotic first name. My aunt Juanita was half
Cherokee Indian and look full blood. She named me Tarva my mom added
Annette. When I finally asked her one day what my name meant in
Indian she was quite amused and proceeded to tell the story of my
name. She said originally the name would have been for her daughter
but she and my uncle only had one son. I was the next to come along
and she and my mom were close so my first name became Tarva and mom
named me Annette. My aunt told me one evening while on the way home
in Miami, Oklahoma they had to stop for the train to pass. She said
she counted almost 100 cars that day. One of the cars had the
initials T.A.R.V.A. on the side and she liked it. So my dreams of
being named after some wonderful Indian princess were pretty much
squashed the day she told me I was named after an acronym. Box car
Annie I was called...HA! My question to all of you out there is (drum
roll): Do any of you know what it stands for? What rail company might
have had it on their cars? I wrote a couple of places but no one ever
wrote me back. I would really like to know what my name means...hope
to hear from someone." -Annette
Nickles
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"Stella
LeFlore. The reason I'm looking for this person is that I have come
into possession of a "charm" necklace made from silver
quarters, most dated in the 1870s to 1880s with personal engravings
presumably of meaning to the owner. Several of the engravements have
the name Stella LaFlore. Other engravings of note are "Oklahoma
City", "my beautiful girl with the lovely voice",
several "Italian" mementos, "take my car", etc.
My research to date has lead me to Estella LeFlore, daughter of a
Charles M. LeFlore and Mary Angeline Guy of the Ardmore area
1860s-1890s. I believe this is the most likely candidate for the
ownership in that there is no record of a Stella LaFlore of that area
and time period. The previous owners of the necklace thought the
person (Stella) was either a popular singer or opera singer at that
time. They acquired the necklace in the 1970s in the Denver area. The
piece of jewelry for antique value is probably limited. It may have
some historic value and or some value to descendants of Ms. LeFlore.
If this is something you might have information about or you would
like to research for me, I can be reached at my office. The records
on Ms. LaFlore indicate that she married George H. Webb September 5,
1883 in Limestone Gap, Choctaw Nation. Apparently father Charles M.
LeFlore was a lawman with the Indian police and her mother was
possibly related to an early Territorial Governor of Oklahoma. Any
help on this is
appreciated"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Came
across your web site while researching for subject who lived in
Ardmore around 1910-1930 according to US Census, perhaps before that.
I think he was in Ardmore in 1900. He married my great aunt (nee
Carney) in Spring Place (Murray Co) GA about 1884 they went to
Ardmore and she died. He came back and married my aunt Margaret Ellen
Carney 1897-1900 and again back to Ardmore where she also died. (Must
have been a bad period for the residents). How would I find dates of
death and burial places for them if all died in OK, Carter CO or
Ardmore? Thanks for any
help."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Butch,
you might let the readers know that Roy and Dale were married at
Sulphur. You can obtain a copy of their marriage license from the
county court house there. Mine cost .50 a few years ago. Also tell
the readers that the foremost authority on the Dalton family is
LT.Co. Nancy Samuelson from Sacramento. She says the Daltons were
never at the location where the museum is. By the way Butch the
oldest know bridge in the state is north of Konawa, OK crossing salt
creek 6 miles north of Konawa. You can find great pictures of the old
bridge on the net. A friend of mine down loaded me some of the
pictures. Butch also I still have a few copies of the Dalton Book
written by Mrs. Samuelson. It is quite a popular book. It sells for
25.00 if anyone is interested call me at 405-946-2096. I also have
the new Catchem Alive Jack Abernathy book that also sells for 25.00.
Butch tell Anne Tate Boland that Richard Jones has copies of the 'He
Made It Safe to Murder' for $30 availible in hardback. It is over 700
pages and over 100 stories. You can reach Richard at 405-631-2355 or
[email protected] -Herman
Kirkwood
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Dear
Butch, Do you have any history about the Oklahoma City Coliseum? My
mother's family used to go watch wrestling there. I can't find
anything else on the internet. I would be grateful for any info you
could pass along." -Kelly in Oklahoma City
[email protected]
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"Hello
Mr. Bridges, I need to be in the library there in Ardmore trying to
find My Wife's Great uncle Charles P Jones of wilson. We were up
there and found his grave but being as he was a U S Deputy Marshal
and speaker pro tem of the Oklahoma House it seems we should be able
to find a few articles ref him or his family. I tried searching THIS
& THAT; found one item where he was running for Justice of the
Peace. Would you have any suggestions that might be a help towards
that
end?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Is
anyone riding in the bicycle race in Tishomingo this weekend? I have
never really spent much time around the area, except for the swimming
area. Does anyone know what the scenery is like in that area? We will
be traveling on 377 to highway 7 to Milburn, then back toward the
starting point. Traveling from the Dallas area, and was always around
the Ardmore area." Cecil Higginbotham, TX
[email protected]
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"Dougherty
Building Remodel Underway...Workers lift a steel beam last week onto
one of the oldest buildings in the county, located in Dougherty, as
it is being rebuilt. Fire gutted the building in July. A burned-out
building that has a past as colorful as the town of Dougherty got a
new lease on life last week as workers began rebuilding it. The
two-story rock building, built in 1887, was gutted by fire about
three months ago. It had served as the town's post office for 43
years and an ice cream parlor. It was reportedly the oldest Masonic
Lodge Building in the nation and featured in the 1972 movie
"Dillinger". At the time of the fire, building owner Jo Ann
Riddle said she would try to do what's best for the town of
Dougherty, and to her, re-building is the best thing for the town."
<-----
Click Here <-----
Click Here <-----
Click Here
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Some mail
from this week's MAILBAG.....
Good morning
Butch,
I really
enjoy your weekly report and recently discovered something of
interest. In reorganizing some of the Marietta Monitor archives, we
discovered a very small photo of the day that President Truman spoke
from his rail car in Marietta. I scanned, retouched and attached the
photo, taken on September 28, 1948. Marietta was his fourth of ten
speeches that day. He began in Sherman Texas, then went to
Whitesboro, Gainesville, Marietta, Ardmore, Davis, Pauls Valley,
Purcell, Norman and Oklahoma City. His "Whistlestop Speaking
Tour" schedule is available, along with transcripts of many
speeches, at
https://trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/1948campaign/large/docs/campaignstops.php
-----------------------------------------------
This
may be a deja vu ---
My Father,
1898-1976, was a great people person, a conversationalist and
raconteur. His gun shop, 1960s, on So. Commerce, visiting was as much
a product as selling his wares. Sam Wood was a frequent counterpart
in that they spent quite a lot of time down memory lane. Wood, well
known business man, was quite a lot older but they had experienced
early-day Oklahoma and had a lot in common.
I was very
interested in Sam's early experiences.
This story
1960s, came about when he brought his pistol, a .41 DA Colt
Thunderer, out to the shop to show my Father. He was orphaned as a
kid about age 14. Early 1890s, he was in a cattle drive from Texas,
North thru Oklahoma.
On the cattle
drive one of the cowboys constantly bullied him, mistreating
miserably. The Trail Boss tried to keep a lid on it but couldn't be
on hand all the time. When the herd was near Wichita Falls he took
young Sam into town and bought him this pistol - told him he could
defend himself. I guess the offending cowboy didn't know about the
gun and kept up his thing. During one of the events Sam said he shot
the miscreant five times. He recovered and in the end it turned out
well and they both benefitted from the experience. Sam said they
became fast friends.
Sam rode
horseback to California and back. It was in Arizona, I think, he
looked back and saw a rider following him back about quarter mile.
Stopped and waited, thinking it would be good to have some company.
The rider stopped too. He went on and after a while stopped and
waited again. Same thing, repeated it again, same. Sam decided the
follower was up to no good. That night to avoid a possible visit, he
build a fire and rode on a while before putting down his bed roll.
Couple, maybe three days went by same thing.
He decided to
put an end to what he took to be a menace. At this point he was in a
kind of flat land with mountains coming down and disappearing in the
flat. Riding around the points rather than over the ridges, he showed
with his hand pressed against the counter with fingers indicating the
mountain ridges.
Sam said he
took his Winchester, laid down and held about four feet over the
rider and fired one shot. The rider "rolled out of the saddle"
and he never saw him again. He went on to comment that he often
wondered if maybe the bullet passed too close for comfort or the
rider saw the smoke when he fired and he dodged, knowing what was
coming, or if he did hit him. -Robert McCory
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-----------------------------------------------
A
people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and
culture is like a tree without roots.
See
everyone next week!
Butch
and Jill Bridges
"Friends
Make Life Worth Living"
PO Box
2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net
Vicious 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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