This and That Newsletter
A Weekly Publication

www.OklahomaHistory.net

Vol 17  Issue 838      Circulation 5,000       February 14, 2013

PO Box 2

Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

email address:  butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net

580-657-8616


Last year I mentioned something called Pink Slime. Until then I had never heard of pink slime and I didn't know it was being mixed in ground beef and sold to Americans by some big box supermarkets and even worse, to some school cafeterias across the nation where children eat school lunches.  Pink slime is a mix beef trimmings and other beef byproducts that is originally used in animal food. It is specially processed with chemicals to make it safe to eat. We really need to be careful where we buy our meats, and know if the meat we are buying is mixed with pink slime. So with that said, I'd like to share an email I received this week from an Ardmore grocery store.

"Butch: History continues as February marks the 60 year anniversary of City Produce/Farmers Market of Ardmore. The business was founded in 1953 by R.D. (Bob) Bell at the age of 21. It's now being run by the second and third generation of the Bell family. We would like to say thanks to the people of southern Oklahoma for the years of support." -R.G. (Bobby) Bell

I know there are other grocery stores in Ardmore that sells quality meat, but I do know the meat sold by Farmers Market is of the highest quality, and does not contain pink slime. Their meat market is like the old-fashioned market where our grandparents bought their meat years ago. You are face to face with the meat cutters, you can see him or her eye to eye, and ask questions about the meat you are about to purchase. The butcher will cut it exactly as you want it, then wrap it up in butcher paper, weigh it, and put the price on the package, with you standing there watching it all. Nothing is left to guess.

This week we bought a rump roast on sale at the Lone Grove Farmers Market that was so tender after being cooked all that one needed is a fork to cut it. Of course Jill knew how to cook it too. I don't know the exact recipe she uses, but I do know Jill said to cook it right, it must be cooked in a cast iron pot. And I know when she's through cooking it, it almost melts in your mouth.

I snapped this picture of the rump roast from Farmers Market right after I brought it home. This is a beautiful piece of fresh meat, ready to cook.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/RumpRoast021213.jpg

There is an old mailbox in the Colston building's lobby by the elevator (Main and B Street). I would assume the mailbox is as old as the building itself, 1917. This mailbox is a collector box for mail dropped through a chute from the upper floors of the building. The chute runs all the way down to the first floor mailbox. So tenants on the upper floors of the building, just walk over to the south wall by the elevator, place their letters in the mail drop, and the letters drop all the way down a chute to the first floor mailbox. Each day the downtown letter carrier picks up mail from the first floor box.

Here is a pic I took of the mail drop in 2002.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/Maildrop2002.jpg

I took this photo today of the lobby area and mail drop.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/MailDrop021413.jpg

The following question has come up in the "Facebook Bulldogs" group. "How did we become the Healdton Bulldogs?" So far, no one knows the answer. Does anyone know the answer?

Crawford Roofing Company out of Chickasha, Oklahoma set up their crane and equipment on the east side of the courthouse this week as workers start replacing the ageing roof.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/CourthouseCrane021313a.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/CrawfordRoofing021413a.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/CrawfordRoofing021413b.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/CrawfordRoofing021413c.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/CrawfordRoofing021413d.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/CrawfordRoofing021413e.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/CrawfordRoofing021413f.jpg

Hailey Craighead was at the election board last Friday to vote and brought with her, her adorable puppy. I snapped a picture, sure makes me want a puppy again.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/ChiefLoneWolf020813.jpg

We were at Sulphur last week messing around, snapped a pic of the new Artesian Hotel as it nears completion. It's such a beautiful structure and a replica of the old Artesian Hotel of years ago.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/ArtesianHotel021013.jpg

Just off Sulphur's Main street on the side of a building is a beautiful mural.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/SulphurMural.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/SulphurMural2.jpg

154 years ago today George Ferris Jr. invented the Ferris Wheel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Gale_Ferris,_Jr.

Q. What major highway in Oklahoma City eventually becomes two different turnpikes, depending on direction of travel?
A. I-44 (Turner Turnpike) and I-44 (H. E. Bailey Turnpike)

Q. In 1910, a group made a "midnight run" to get the state seal from Guthrie and move it to Oklahoma City. What then-Governor led the way?
A.  (answer in next week's T&T)

From This and That newsletter archives of February 12, 2000:

"Butch this morning's T&T had a lot of things that I remember. First the Henry Guess killing. I was in my teens and I remember well because my family knew Henry and he was the youngest brother of Bill Guess. None of the family really believed that the true story got out and a lot was covered up but that was a long time ago. I remember the early morning telephone call that my father got because the police were trying to find out how to contact the Guess family as all the brothers were living in California. Henry was a nice man that became involved in that old demon "alcohol"."
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Ardmore, Oklahoma, Saturday, May 2, 1925

Police Cars to Be Equipped With Sirens
The police department is thinking of installing sirens on all cars owned by the city policemen in order that they may proceed with haste in making an arrest. At the present time the officers are sometimes delayed in answering a call due to the fact they are held up by traffic congestion. The car of Fred McNeely is now equipped with a siren similar to the ones on the fire trucks. If this system proves satisfactory more cars will be equipped with sirens it was stated at the police station yesterday.
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"In the late 30's or early 40's there was a butcher that worked at the grocery store and I guess it was Hunts and his name was Henry Brumley. He made the chili for the store and it was supposedly a secret recipe. He was a friend of my dad's and gave him this recipe but said he could never give it away. For years I remember going with Dad to the store, the one on East Main and I believe it was Fraziers. The meat had to be specially cut, beef roasts and port loin. He picked his spices carefully and always fresh garlic but what now seems absolutely gross is he would buy SUET. Most of you know suet is just the hard fat on the beef. Pounds of suet. When we moved to Colorado we would go downtown in Denver and get these same ingredients. He would also use venison and antelope at times to replace the beef. Never any beans. It was good to me then but as I got older the "grease" just made me ill. But this man Henry Brumley was the butcher there in probably 1939. His daughter was Nettie Peden of the Peden Jewelry Store that used to be on Main near the old Paramount Theater. Just fun recollections."
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"I live at Wilson, and wanted to say something about DemiJon. It is a creek, almost two miles south of the Wilson park, located on Highway 76, but extends east-west quite a way. It runs into Walnut Bayou. I don't know about there being a community near it called DemiJon at the turn of the century, but it is possible. There were several now defunct communities located down that way. Also wanted to say I enjoyed the Big Foot report. (I've become a believer, though I've never seen one.) Thanks for the T&T, I look forward to it every weekend and have learned a lot about this area that I didn't know."
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"Butch. Just going over the information that you have been putting out, and you do have some interesting information etc. In reference to the person that was in need of knowledge about the location of demijohn. I along with countless others used to play on the creek of demijohn south of Wilson, Oklahoma. There was a store, and residence at the county road intersection just before you got to the creek named demijohn, coming from Wilson. There were several homes in the sparsely populated area. I would think that this is the location your reader is referring to. This would be approx a mile and one half or possibly two miles south of Wilson."

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"Butch, I know that you read the obituary columns in the Ardmoreite but did you notice the death of Jack H. Smith (June 11, 1924 - February 4, 2000) in this weeks paper? There was no mention that he once served as City Manager of Ardmore (in the 50's I think). I don't have a story to relate about him but maybe it should be noted that he was a home grown Ardmoreite (which is unusual)."

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"Butch, I saw in "This and That" that an author is looking for the Arnolds who testified against Machine Gun Kelly and his wife Kathryn. The following is some information about the Arnold's testimony in the Machine Gun Kelly kidnapping trial in Oklahoma City. Also, is the narrative about an incident that ended in Ardmore involving one of Kelly's associates. I hope you find it interesting. The book is very interesting. There is a bank robbery described that occurred in Mill Creek."
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/MachineGunKelly.txt

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Gas prices today in the Ardmore area......

http://www.oklahomagasprices.com/index.aspx?mss=152754

Check gas prices by town or zip code anywhere in U.S.

http://www.kmov.com/traffic/gas-buddy

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

"Do anyone know of any photos of Ardmore's Cardinal Park as it originally was, with the clubhouses, wooden bleachers and plank fence? I've wondered if maybe whoever renovated it to today's rather-more-humble status with the chain-link fence took any pictures of the old before they tore it out." -Tom Elmore, Moore, Oklahoma
"I also received some input from another source and here are the names of some of the other students in the picture but I don't know which names match which faces. Billie Walker, Betty Louise Piersan, Christine Taylor, Mary Dinnie, Bertha Tindell, Pat Ross, Georgia?, Carl Giles, Kenneth Walker, Preston Ashley, C.R. Jones, W.F. Ross, Floyd Vancel and Richard Thompson. I think the year was 1939" -Leta
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/WheelerSchool1940.jpg
"I live on the banks of the Red River on the Texas side. My ex-wife was kin to Virgil Lambeth in Ringling, Ok. He had a small Phillips 66 with two pumps, regular and hi test and a few groceries. I loved that old man and time when I go back that way I stop at the cemetery and say high to him and a couple times I left a can of beer for him! He must've drank it cause the next time I'd go the can was gone!  Anyhow I have Direct TV and on a science channel they did a thing on Bigfoot. Their theory was "Bigfoot" was an alien. There's really never been any physical proof that Bigfoot is real! All we ever get is people who swear they saw him! But it's funny no one has ever snapped a picture of the rascal!  There's lots of things that go in in this world and other worlds that are unexplained so maybe there is a Bigfoot!  I'd sure like to see one."  -Jake Kessler, Lindsay, Texas
"I still buy frozen Chili Bowl at Warehouse Markets in Tulsa. I'm not sure where you can buy it elsewhere. It is the absolute best...... never a piece of gristle or fat. It is delicious and relatively inexpensive. I thought there might be something in this that your Readers might like. It has phone # and address in case anyone is interested in getting in touch with them. It is delicious!" -Marjorie
http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/The.Original.Chili.Bowl.Inc.918-628-0225

Note:  Heartland Foods in Ardmore sells Chili Bowl Chili.  Its $10.65 for a 5 lb tub.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/HeartlandFood010213a.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/HeartlandFood010213b.jpg


"Butch, I don't remember all the details but Chili Bowl Chili was first made in Ardmore by members of the Berryhill family. The ones who moved to Tulsa started making it there and distributing it. The one Berryhill I remember was Matt Berryhill. When we owned Quality Food Distributors they were one of our products." -Charlene Gilliam
"After 3 days of my gallbladder giving me fits I finally caved & drank my concoction of apple juice & apple cider vinegar. If I didn't have this concoction I would have had my GB out MANY years ago!! It makes the pain go 100% away within about 5 minutes. I just HATE doing it because it's so nasty!!! I literally close my nose while I chug it down!!"
http://rapidcycling.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/gallbladder-attack-cure/
"Butch, in this week's newsletter, you posted a note from Dan Holder about Miller's Dairy Queen. He asked if I was maybe in his sixth grade class in Franklin Elementary.  And the answer is yes. I well remember him as he was one of the first men teachers I had in school. Ken Brooks was the other and also our coach. Both of these men were excellent teachers and good men for the young boys to look up too. Ironically, Ken followed our class all the way through school by being Junior high principal when we were freshmen and the high school principal when we were seniors. Mr. Holder and Mr. Brooks, as well as the principal at Franklin, I believe, he was Mr. Morris, had Franklin School in a good place as far as discipline goes. We had many super dedicated teachers, back then, but 5-6th grade boys tend to get a tad loud and rowdy at times, and Holder and Brooks had a way of ending that really fast. Those were some great days made that way because of great teachers. Plus Mr. Holder and Mr. Brooks would go to the playground with us and were both young enough to help us with our sports activities. So, after 55 years, it's probably a little late, but thank you, Mr. Holder, you were a teacher that had a good influence on me. What great memories of Franklin. It was wonderful." -Jay Cook  jcook01@centurytel.net
1943 '44 St. Louis, Okla. (Pop City, Okla.)

A Valentine Story.

I was in the First or Second grade of school. I had fallen madly in love with a cute little girl named Lois Clark. I had told my Mother and Sister that I needed to buy Valentines for the class party we were going to have at school. We drove to Shawnee or Seminole, the closest "big" towns and went to Woolworth or Wacker's dime stores (George F. Wacker). I saw this particularly large valentine that I wanted to buy for Lois. And after much consideration I bought it and several more small ones for my classmates. After getting home, I signed all the cards including the large one with LOVE and Be my Valentine.

I could hardly wait to get to school the next day. Came time for the party and everyone put their valentines in a box on the Teacher's desk. I didn't want anyone to see the big valentine I had got for Lois and besides it wouldn't fit in the box slot! What a dilemma. I couldn't just hand it to her. I was too shy or embarrassed to be that bold right here in class with everyone looking. I carefully slipped her Valentine into my lunch box and waited till school was out. And then waited for all the buses to leave taking her home. I knew where she lived so I walked to her house, probably a good mile. I knocked on the door and her Mother answered the door. I almost turned and ran, but got up enough courage to ask if Lois was there. She came to the door and I handed her the Valentine, turned and ran. I whistled and sang all the way home.

The next day in school, I thought surely she would hug my neck or maybe kiss me on the cheek. You know she completely ignored me. Absolutely nothing! I was heartbroken. I was in mourning for about three days, when I noticed this cute little redheaded girl named Ginger.  -Ken @ Wilson

"Hey Butch, unreal how low all the lakes are getting. Its about the same here in Wise county Tx. This sight has some great photos of the new parts of OKC .. Always enjoy your news letter." -Gary
http://archive.alonzoadamsphotography.com/
How to Switch to VoIP and Ditch Your Home Phone Bill Forever.
http://www.howtogeek.com/136959/how-to-switch-to-voip-and-ditch-your-home-phone-bill-forever/
These are great pictures of the Old West back in the 1870's. It shows real Indians and how they dressed, not like the movies show.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2149899/The-American-West-youve-seen-Amazing-19th-century-pictures-landscape-chartered-time.html
Ghostery is your window into the invisible web ? tags, web bugs, pixels and beacons that are included on web pages in order to get an idea of your online behavior. Ghostery tracks over 1,200 trackers and gives you a roll-call of the ad networks, behavioral data providers, web publishers, and other companies interested in your activity. Ghostery puts your web privacy back in your hands.
http://www.ghostery.com/

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt. -Charles M. Schulz

See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges

PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443

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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