This and That
Newsletter
A Weekly Publication
Vol 14 Issue 717 Circulation 5,000 October 21, 2010
PO Box 11
Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
email address: [email protected]
580-657-8616
No Man's Land. In 1890 Beaver County, sometimes known as the Neutral Strip, No Man's Land, or Cimarron Territory, was added to Oklahoma. This strip of land, 167 miles long and 35 miles wide, containing 3,682,369 acres, belonged to Mexico and afterward was a part of the Republic of Texas, but was not admitted as a part of the State of Texas because it lies north of 36 degrees, 30', the northern limit of slave territory. For a number of years it was not part of any state or territory. It was settled, however, and the citizens met, organized a government, and named the country Cimarron Territory. They elected officers and even sent a delegation to Congress, but they were not recognized.
-from Geography of Oklahoma by Charles N. Gould 1909. Printed by Bunn Brothers, Ardmore, Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/No_Mans_Land_Oklahoma1.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/oklahoma_territory_map.jpg
The link I had in my newsletter last week to the Devils Den photos (north of Tishomingo) had some kind of problem. The link worked but the pictures were no longer available for viewing. But a Reader sent me the photos by email this week, and are they great photographs! Really brings back memories!
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/devilsden/
From This and That October 1997:
Around 1971 a young couple was getting married about 25 miles east of Ardmore in
Madill, Oklahoma. At that time the "new highway" between Madill and Ardmore only
went about 5 miles west of Madill and abruptly came to an end. We in this area
all called it "the highway to nowhere". It was suppose to go on to Ardmore, but
the money stopped and so did the highway, at the Marshall-Carter county line.
There were barricades and barrels to stop drivers from continuing on west. A car
would have to almost come to a complete stop and turn south into a narrow,
crooked county road to continue on to Ardmore. It was Friday night, the young
bride and groom just repeated their wedding vows, left the church, and headed
out on their honeymoon and new life. They were traveling at a pretty fast clip
(in 1971 the speed limit in Oklahoma was 70), probably sneaking a few kisses,
traveling west toward a dead end highway, not realizing they were on the wrong
highway. Wham. Crash. Bam. Highway signs, plastic barrels, barricades and
reflectors went everywhere. I happened to be on ambulance duty that night. Those
newlyweds were in tears, scared to death, and probably wondering if they made a
big mistake getting married. But God was with them, they only had scrapes and
scratches, treated at the E.R. and released. But one thing I'm sure of.... their
honeymoon and night of wedding bliss was not going to take place that night. I
never heard from them again. But I hope they stuck it out, loved each other more
then ever, and are still together, looking back to that year and unforgettable
night with great big laughs and smiles :-)
Q. What Oklahoman was
"America's Favorite Cowgirl?"
A.
Lucille Mulhall
http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/wildwest/mulhalllucille.html
Q. What Oklahoma city was
accidentally bombed during WWII?
A. (answer in next week's issue)
Gas prices today in the Ardmore area......
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/gasprices.html
Some mail from this week's MAILBAG....."Butch, in your article about the Davis Grocery, 207 C NW, Ardmore, in photo 4, you mentioned the two part-time employees (without names). The first young man is Ted Jones, my wife's (Margarette Jones) youngest brother. The other young man we do not recognize, even though he looks familiar. I think he was a friend to Ted. Ted worked there for sometime - paying his way through college." -Wayne Drewery
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/DavisStoreEmployees1954.jpg
"Does anyone remember when channel 12 had teen dances after school each week ? They were televised. This would have been late fifties or early sixties. Would there be copies of these, or even photos?" -Josie
"Butch, I just read about Ponder's closing. How sad. I worked there 1976-1978. And, I'll never forget the drive-in/restaurant they had on North Commerce. Best chopped bar-b-que beef sandwich I ever ate." -Nelda in MO
"We, too, are sad that Ponder's Restaurant is a thing of the past. We've only known Ponder's since 1978; we always enjoyed their food, liked seeing the owners and the staff, the accommodations for a meeting room, the take-out food, and the general atmosphere of a social club. Guess all good things must come to an end." -Elmer and Renate Hoyle
"I am looking for a picture that I have seen in my past years and have not found it on the internet, so I'm asking for more help. The painting or drawing is of a lone Indian standing on a cliff overlooking a deep canyon with his hands over the top of his eye's as if trying to keep the sun from his eye's, as he looks over the deep gorge. If you have seen it or know where I can find it I would be. I do not know who the artist was I could have a surprise for the first one to send the correct one to me. Thank you. -Cole
"I also remember our trip to Devil's den back in the 50. That was quite a trip for our family of 7. We were the SE kids (Jefferson elementary) that was one of only 3 trips that I can remember with my family." -Judie
"Butch I saw where a reader wanted to know how to make the Chuck Wagon Apple Dumplings. I used to work at the Chuck Wagon BBQ (east side of Ardmore) back in 1971 to 1972 as a busboy before I went to college. Jean Bailey - owner of the restaurant told me the "secret" recipe to making them. I make them often and they taste just like they came from the Chuck Wagon restaurant."
Chuck Wagon Apple Dumpling Recipe
Roll pie dough out into 8 - 10 inch squares or use pie dough your can buy at the store.
Peel and core an apple and place on the center of the pie dough square, they used Red Delicious apples at the Chuck Wagon.
Add 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon on apple
Add 1 tablespoon of butter on top of apple
Gather the edges of the pie dough square and pinch together around the apple
Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown crust.
Vanilla sauce:
depending on how many apple dumplings you are making , use box(s) of vanilla Jello pudding and pie
filling , (not the instant type).
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/ChuckWagonAppleDumplings.txt
"Hi Butch, I read the article about Cole Younger. My husband here in Houston has an Uncle (he is deceased now) who was a distant relative of Cole Younger. His name is Jim Younger. He died in his late 80's.
The story goes that Belle Starr the famous female outlaw ran with the Quantrill gang and the James brothers, and the Younger brothers. Her name was Myra Maybelle Shirley. She was a teen when she ran with the gang. She accompanied the gang on the attack on Lawrence, Kansas on August 22, 1863.
Later she went to Dallas and became the mistress of Cole Younger. It is said that they had a child together. But Cole later abandoned Belle Star and the child. Then she took up with Jim Reed a small time outlaw. They married and she had another child. He was killed in a gunfight. Belle took off for Indian territory and married a Cherokee named Sam Starr in 1880. They set up shop on aa ranch that became a regular hangout for members of the James gang.
Belle later was caught stealing a horse and sentenced to nine months in Jail. Years later she was widowed when Sam Starr was killed. She moved in with a half Breed named Blue Duck. Within a year he was gone. Sentenced to life in prison.
Historian Joyce Gibson Roach tells of the story of a 1880's cowboy who spent a night in San Antonio hotel with a strange woman he met there. They talked about Belle Starr and her famous deeds. The next morning as he and his partner saddled up to go their separate ways, he remarked, "I'd sure like to meet her" The other rider turned to him and shouted," Well, You slept with her last night"! After one more marriage Belle was gunned down in 1889 in Oklahoma by a bushwhacker hired by her husband, who was afraid she would testify against him in his trial for horse theft.
So goes the story of Belle Starr and Cole Younger." -Bobbie
The Cottage Hotel was a business at Berwyn (now Gene Autry, OK) according to the 1906 newspaper The Berwyn Light: The Cottage Hotel, J P. MORAN, proprietor
"As you know, the ballot for the election next month will be full of choices. Eleven (11) of them are Oklahoma State Questions concerning constitutional changes and other regulations. The State was nice enough to publish the list of questions online so the voters can read them before they step off in the ballot booth."
http://www.ok.gov/elections/documents/sq_gen10.pdf
"I don't know anyone who knew Jean Edwards who didn't love and admire her. That wheelchair never stopped her and she encouraged anyone who was in one to get out and go everywhere. Her paintings were fantastic. She is missed by all of us." -Millie
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/JeanEdwardsPainting1.jpg
RE: Davis Grocery- "It's humbling to read the kind comments about my family and the grocery store. I knew a lot of the neighbor customers as I was an AHS grad of 1960. As for Viola Cameron's offspring, I recall a lot of items in the store you couldn't buy closer than OKC or Dallas. I won't try to list them this time but one was Davis Chili or as the ad would say, "NUFSED". I was in school at OU in 1961 when I got word they were "liquidating" the store. I wasn't sure what that meant until my tuition ran out but I think it was in March or April of that year. My dad was Warren and he died of a stroke in January, 1963, of sadness and boredom. That was his life along with his family." -George Davis [email protected]
"Boggy Depot Bigfoot Conference, Atoka, Oklahoma: If you're look'n for a fun time this Friday and Saturday... check out the website below."
http://www.boggydepotbigfoot.com/
"The railroad line that ran near Springdale Road was actually used by the Rock Island and the Frisco railroads. The Frisco came into Ardmore from Madill and the R.I. came into Ardmore via Tishomingo (this was the southern most part of the old R.I. line from Haileyville). The two lines joined up at a point about 12.6 miles east of Ardmore (as best I can tell from different sources). In other words, the line you refer to near Springdale Rd. was actually a joint or shared track with the two railroads, Frisco & Rock Island, (not Katy) and the two split into different lines further East of Ardmore at a point sometimes called Frisco Junction at Mile Post 103.8 The Mile Post at Ardmore was 116.4 The two railroads (using the same track) also operated jointly over the old trestles in Ardmore that were removed a couple of years back. After coming off the overpass bridge (which crossed the BNSF north/south main, previously Santa Fe) and trestle system, the lines split again with the RI heading into the west side of the Ardmore depot and the Frisco went on to the Ringling Road Station on N. Washington and 3rd Ave. NW. Frisco did have a loading/freight depot of their own on A St N.E. for freight about a half block from the current Amtrak station. When the Rock Island was dismantled before WWII, the Frisco began using all the tracks on the west side of the current depot and later part of their loading/freight depot was used for passengers. This was after the Ringling Road Station on N. Washington was abandoned and the tracks to it were removed. (The tracks from Ardmore to Ringling were rerouted along the south side of Ardmore near the old Osteopathic Hospital). The RI and Frisco had a joint roundhouse in SW Ardmore where a turntable was located." -Dwane Stevens [email protected]
http://rides.webshots.com/album/575290695ynOJtd
Barkingwater Productions, Inc. of Lawton, OK will present the Lawton Fort Sill Cowboy Story Hour on Saturday, November 13, at 7 p.m. at the McMahon Memorial Auditorium at 801 N. W. Ferris in Lawton. We will be sharing the lives and times of those who lived in the late 1880's and helped settle this great state of ours. We will have the stories of the cowboys as told by Wallace C. Moore, Sr. Wallace is a cowboy poet, storyteller, historian, and author of "Ebony Shadows of the Trail". Wallace will also tell the story of the Buffalo Soldiers who built Fort Sill. Ms. Debra Coppinger Hill of Northeast Oklahoma will share with us in her cowboy poetry the views of that time from a woman's perspective. Mr. Timothy Tate Nevaquaya with fill the air with the sounds of his Native American Flutes and share that history with us. Mr. Kris Forsyth will fill the background with his guitar music before and throughout the show. There is NO admission for this show. After the show donations for Prevent Blindness Oklahoma will be taken as this organization travels to all 77 counties of Oklahoma and does vision screening on school children. Last year they screened over 260,000 children in our state. This year the goal is 275,000 children will have their eyes screened. We know that children can not learn if they can not see, and research has shown 1 in 4 school age children have a vision problem. This show is being sponsored by the City of Lawton, LAHC, NEA, and Oklahoma Arts Council. If you need more information, you may call Marcia Peppel at 580-351-8862 or email us a [email protected]
Check us out at www.barkingwaterproductions.com
Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right. -H.L. Mencken 1956
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Nashobish Ikana
PO Box 11
Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Save on long distance calls, just a couple cents a
minute!
http://www.CheapLongDistance.org
Ardmore High School Criterions Online
http://www.ardmorecriterion.com/
Oklahoma Bells:
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/bellpage.html
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 schools, past and present
http://community.webshots.com/user/oklahomahistory
Carter County Government Website
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/
Ardmore School Criterions
http://www.ArdmoreCriterion.com
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