This and That Newsletter

Last week we mention how infamous the old Mulkey Hotel at 2nd and North Washington has been over the years. Lots of stories I know could be told about that Ardmore landmark. When we mentioned last week that Sheriff Robert Denney shot and killed Frank Anderson Venable, 25, of Baxter Springs, Kansas, that piqued Willis Choate's attention at Marietta (robbery took place in Marietta). Willis wrote in asking if I knew more about the incident. I thought for a second, and gave a grin, because I do have more info on this March 7, 1972 shooting. But in reality I was only at the place of the shooting about 3 minutes, just long enough to place the wounded robbery suspect in our 1967 Chevrolet station wagon ambulance, and rush him to the hospital.

But I remembered back in 2002 when James Clark, the DA at the time of the Mulkey shooting shared his memories of the incident with Correna Wilson and I through an email. James has shared some really great local history over the years, and his recollection is an insight to this shooting few people today know. Below is the 1972 Mulkey Hotel shooting in his own words:

Jammey Howard of Lone Grove sent in a couple photos of a bird nest on her porch, and was wondering if anyone recognizes what family of birds these little guys belong to?

And speaking of bird nest, the mother and little wrens that were in the bird house on our front porch are now gone. I hope they lived to fly away with their mother.

It's was July 25th when Harold Newman drilled a water well on our 3 acres, reaching a depth of 185 feet. Harold reached the first water/sand zone at 80 feet and the second zone at about 120 feet, going through 2 layers of rock on the way down. After Harold left and I checked the water level, the water stood at about 42 feet from the surface each day. Bear in mind this well was drilled when the temperatures hovered around 105 degrees every day and VERY dry. Last week and this week we have had some fairly good rains, even a slow 1 inch rain last Friday evening. I decided to check the water level last evening (Wednesday), and low and behold, it was up 10 feet, around 30 or 32 feet from the ground to the water level in the pipe. So it looks like Harold got us a good well producing about 15 gpm. I think water well drilling is like horse racing, you don't know the winner until the finish line.

The moving dates are set. The Carter County Clerks office inside the courthouse will be closed September 3rd, 4th and 5th. County Clerk Cynthia Harmon will be moving her office to the new location in the old Health Department building at 101 1st Street SW. The Clerks office will open again on Monday September 8th.

"Butch, ref that 'mystery bell', while in the Marine Corps about 1954 I was on the USNS LT Robert Craig for about six weeks. On the bridge there were three or four speaking tubes that looked much like the one in your picture. These tubes went to the engine room and other places that I do not remember. If the electronic communications failed, one could communicate by shouting into the tube. They were pretty effective as I could hear sound thru the tubes even over normal ship noise. My post was right by the those tubes for four hours at a time. The tubes on the Craig were bent at a right angle to the deck and the bell shaped end was about six inches in diameter. When the ship entered/left port there would be emergency communications set up with the engine room, the steering motor room just over the rudder and with the look outs. I was on standby in the steering motor room while leaving port a couple of times in case the steering system failed. Those sailors were prepared for all kinds of emergencies and it was fun to watch. I really enjoyed my time on the ship when we went from Oakland, Ca to Dahlgren, Va. There were only five Marines on the ship while I was aboard." -Jerry Brown in CA

Only you can make this world seem right
Only you can make the darkness bright
Only you and you alone
can thrill me like you do
and fill my heart with love for only you

Only you can make this change in me
for it's true, you are my destiny
When you hold my hand
understand the magic that you do

You're my dream come true
my one and only you

Only you can make this change in me
for it's true, you are my destiny
When you hold my hand
I understand the magic that you do

You're my dream come true
my one and only you