This and That Newsletter
www.OklahomaHistory.net
Vol 24  Issue 1,235     Circulation 5,000      September 24, 2020
Ardmore, Oklahoma
My email address:  [email protected]
580-490-6823

A Glimpse Into The Past

The mail must go through. The photo below is Roy Withers, now of Wirt, as he started on his mail run one day from old Healdton, 1/2 mile east of the present Healdton, before the railroad came through that area. The mail was picked up each day at Ardmore, hauled in covered wagons and various other vehicles, some with as many as four horses pulling them. Mr. Withers was the only one equipped with a car at that time. He's pictured in the photo as he started from Healdton, the distribution point, to deliver his load at Ragtown, Old Cornish and Butcher Knife. It must have taken some loading to get everything in the rusty old touring car. He remembers this day well, the round boxes tied on the front contain derby hats. Mr. Withers had just got started when the lashings broke and some new derby's ended up as flat as pancake.
-From Carter County History book 1927

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos20b/WithersMailService.jpg

What caught my attention in the above photo is so many mailbags. That's a lot of mail, but remember Healdton and Ragtown had as many as 5,000 people at one time during the oil boom days. I doubt Healdton gets that many mailbags today.

July 1950
Joseph Benjamin Moxley, the eight-year-old son of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Moxley, drowned at his father's ranch near Cheek when he was swept from a road crossing into a flood swollen creek. The boy was riding in a car driven by an older cousin who stopped the vehicle and got out to check the height of the water flowing across the road. He told the younger boy to stay in the car but Joseph Moxley got out of the vehicle and slipped into the swift-moving Stream.

July 1926
Sam Lynch, a farmer living east of Lone Grove, was found in violation of the milk ordinance. Lynch, it is alleged, is selling milk from three cows that have not passed inspection, from dairy equipment not up to the standard, and has no license.

About 15 or 20 years ago the Carter County Commissioners had me type up some historical information for a plaque to go on the south side of the courthouse. Jim Ford Sign Company was chosen to make the plaque. Over the years it became really weather beaten, so another was made this month to replace the old one. When Darrell Vaughn contacted me a couple months ago asking if I still had the info/template on computer. It took me weeks to find it out of the over 30,000 pictures I have on my computer because I couldn't remember how I named the file, but I finally did, and a new plaque is now in place for people to read as they enter the south entrance of the courthouse.

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos20b/CourthouseHistoricalPlaque.jpg

From my February 9, 2002 T&T Weekly. I wonder if the time capsule was ever opened at a later date?

"The Daily Ardmoreite had a nice write-up this week on the laying of the cornerstone at the Carter County Courthouse in 1911, revealing a time capsule was set inside that same time." -The Daily Ardmoreite

About halfway between Duncan and Waurika Oklahoma (in Jefferson county) is the little town of Addington. It may be small, but in Addington (pop 107) you will find one the best antique stores with the most unusual items in Southern Oklahoma. Its ran by Pat Sumner Webb. Its been about 10 years since we stopped there and boy has it grown with many additions. I was through Addington last Tuesday, didn't have time to stop and look around, but I did snapped these pictures. A great place to visit, browse around, and well worth the drive

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos20b/AddingtonOKantiques092220a.jpg

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos20b/AddingtonOKantiques092220b.jpg

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos20b/AddingtonOKantiques092220c.jpg

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos20b/AddingtonOKantiques092220d.jpg

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos20b/AddingtonOKantiques092220e.jpg

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos20b/AddingtonOKantiques092220f.jpg

Rosine Clock Repair in Duncan. Over the past few years I've seen people post on here seeking a clock repairman. I've had a number of people ask me if I repair clocks since I fixed the one in the courthouse dome in 1998 (no I do not fix clocks. lol) Anyway, I was in Duncan today in a residential area and saw this sign, thought I'd post it here in case anyone is looking.

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos20b/RosineClockRepairDuncan.jpg

Q. What city in Oklahoma was saved by a trolley line in 2001?
A.  Enid Oklahoma

Q.  Where in Oklahoma is the secret cave the Marlow brothers hid in to escape the law?
A.  Answer in next week's newsletter

Below is from This and That newsletter archives of September 25, 2008

Last week Jill and I went to the dedication of the new memorial marker at the depot in memory of those who died in the Big Explosion of 1915. The dedication was a part of the Taste of Ardmore, and if you didn't make it that night, you missed out on a great time.  A thank you goes to Tom Walker who was the MC for the memorial dedication and also a special thanks to Wilson Monuments of Lone Grove who donated the beautiful granite marker.
 http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/Memorial092715.jpg
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 During the Taste of Ardmore and Black Gold Festival last Thursday, there was a trolley available to take folks on a tour of the downtown area. Tom Walker gave insights to the places of interest along the route as the trolley moved from place to place. (By the way, if you haven't been on one of his "Walking Tours" of downtown Ardmore, you have missed out on a ton of local history.)http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/TomWalkerTour091808.jpg

And to top the evening off, just as Jill and I were walking to the car, someone hollered at me, motioning me over to his pickup.  It was Jerry and Ruth Holley from out at Dickson. Jerry had just come from a garage sale, and ran across a real piece of history. He found at the sale an old Stanley #45 Planer. And if that was not enough, the planer came with a wooden box that held the metal cutters. I didn't get a picture of the actual box with the lid off, but inside were about 10 different size cutters.  I don't know what Jerry gave for this antique planer, but I can tell you on the internet they go for around $150 bucks. I doubt if there is another wood plane like this one in Ardmore.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/StanleyPlaner8a.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/StanleyPlanerCutters.jpg
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Albert and Rita Cullum at Overbrook celebrated their 53rd Wedding anniversary this week. Al stopped by to show me a handmade quilt he had Calico Country Crafts on Main Street make for the occasion. The blanket was a surprise gift and Al said he had a hard time sneaking photos out of the house without his wife knowing it.  lol   It is a beautiful blanket, with family photos and relatives and even a picture of their wedding license stitched into the blanket. The pic I took below does not do justice for this hand crafted blanket.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/CullumBlanket8a.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/CullumBlanket8b.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/CullumBlanket8c.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/CalicoCountryCrafts.jpg
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 After Harold Newman completed drilling our water well to a depth of 185 feet and placing 4 1/2 inch PVC pipe (not 4 inch) down the hole, he finished it up by dropping pea gravel down the outside of the PVC. The pea gravel is small, about 3/8 inch, and can only be found in one place in Oklahoma according to Harold, near Asher Oklahoma. Here is a picture I took of a small pile of pea gravel he left on the ground near the well...........
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/PeaGravel.jpg
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 "Across from Franklin School,  J.D. Lane grocery was at 6th ave & E St NW in the 1920s.  The building is still there on the SE corner and the name can still be seen up on the North side.  I was driving by and saw it which triggered my memory.  I went to Franklin School from about '31-'35 and recall the sign then but I don't recall whether the store was still operating in the '30s. Highway 77 was on E Street then and the Ardmore Police Dept had a man there to make cars stop for kids at the crossing, then in the middle of the block facing the then school's front door.  I was one of the "Junior Police", something of an honor, who actually held out the 'stop' flags while the policeman stood by  -kindly "Ole Man Naylor", not in uniform but with a badge and gun.  He once fired at a car that failed to stop but it kept going.  I recently gave away my white canvas sam brown belt, marked "JUNIOR POLICE", that we wore when we were doing our thing"  -Bob McCrory
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I certainly remember the leopard. I was a reporter for The Daily Oklahoman and was assigned to the night shift covering the story. A command post was set up at the zoo and most of the information came out of the command post (don't know if "command post" was the terminology used then.)

I had a company car with a telephone, a rarity in those days. There were only one or two company cars with phones, and I believe the one I had was rotated among the reporters covering the search, which went on 24/7 for several days.

Lot of volunteers set out across eastern and northeastern Oklahoma to participate in the search, most of them carrying firearms. I thought at the time, and most agreed with me, that there was more danger from this disorganized group of armed hunters, especially as they blundered around in the night, than from any leopard.  Surprisingly no accidents or injuries were reported."  -Wes Leatherock
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Butch: My daughter son in law and 2 grandchildren live just north of Houston, Hurricane Ike knocked out their power and blew down about all their trees, knocking out some of their privacy fence. They tried to find a generator that would give them enough power to run the house and help with cleanup. There were no generators to be found! My daughter started to Healdton all the while looking for a generator, she called me and I started looking, I checked from Ft Worth all the way to OKC, no generators to be found! While looking and calling one of my daughters long time friends from Wilson called to ask how my daughter was after going through the Hurricane? I explained she need a generator and I could not find one anywhere! A few minutes later she called back and said her and her husband had one they would loan my daughter! Exactly what my daughter needed! She said she and husband Berry would deliver it to my house at 8:00 pm the exact time my daughter would arrive from Houston! The Lord works in mysterious ways!

The daughter returned home with generator and in just one day they had just about cleaned up their place, cut all trees up and patched their fence! Their electricity came on a couple of days later! I know my daughter and son in law will always be grateful to Sarah and Berry Hickman of Wilson Oklahoma." -Hoot Gibson
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....

Butch - Haven't talked to you since trying to save the ''Brewer Tree'' on Stanley. It is still hanging in there, and I haven't had a chance to do a more permanent repair to the tree. I need to replace the temporary fix with i-bolt turnbuckles and cable. You know, best laid plans and all - ''The Colonel'' used to tell Tom Miller and myself that the highway to Hell is paved with good intentions. Sure miss big brother Tom - he talked of you often.

I'm hoping that you can help find a photo or some documentation of the door step cap (see below) that was part of the old Ardmore Indian Territory court-house/jail. ''The Colonel'' received this from a friend of his that helped raze the old structure. This friend had kept this as a memento from the old Indian Territory days of Ardmore. He gifted it to dad (''The Colonel'') as a token of their friendship. Dad used it as a step cap for his cabin at Clayton Lake. It is cast iron with just the year 1895 in the middle. It has a front lip that curls down covering a concrete step at the old structure. It is quite heavy, and requires some doing to move it around. The 1895 year was of course the year of the fire and many structures were rapidly built that year in an effort to restore downtown. My nephew in Texas has the step cap, and I am trying to have it returned to Oklahoma where it needs to be. I need some documentation to help seal the deal. Otherwise it will sadly be lost to posterity with no knowledge of its importance or why it even existed. Since Tom and ''The Colonel'' are no longer with us, I am the only one left around these parts who knows it exists. I was hoping you could put the ''word'' out in order to find anything or anyone that would document its existence and tie to Ardmore. There has to be a photo somewhere out there or a friend of a friend who knew about it.

Any help would be greatly from any of your Readers is appreciated. We aren't getting any younger, and this old friend of Ardmore needs to come home......

Thanks Butch,

-Steve Miller
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos20b/CastIronStep.jpg
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.

See everyone next week!

Butch and Jill Bridges

"Friends Make Life Worth Living"
Lone Grove, Oklahoma
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
Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force Website
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/airbase/
Carter County Government Website
http://cartercountyok.us

All previous issues of This & That can be found on my Website's archives.
Feel free to forward this free newsletter. Mailouts: over 1,300.
To be removed from my T&T mailings, just send me an email.
I do not sell, trade or give my mailing list to anyone for any reason.