This and That
Newsletter
A Weekly Publication
Vol 17 Issue 840 Circulation 5,000 February 28, 2013
PO Box 2
Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
email address: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net
580-657-8616
On a recent trip to Madill my mind thought back to my ambulance driving days. 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 called it "the highway to nowhere". It was supposed to go on to Ardmore, but the money stopped and so did the highway, at the Marshall 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 at the dead end and turn south a few feet into a narrow, crooked county road, then continue on west into Ardmore.
It was Friday night, the young bride and groom just repeated their wedding vows, left the church in Madill, 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 the dead end, not realizing they were on the wrong highway. Wham. Crash. Bam. Highway signs, plastic barrels, and reflectors flew everywhere.
I happened to be on ambulance duty that evening. Those newlyweds were in tears, scared to death, and probably wondering if they had made a big mistake in getting married. But God was with them, they only had scrapes and scratches, treated at the Ardmore 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 fateful night with laughs and smiles.
Greater Southwest Historical Museum
Mark your calendars for local historian, Tom Walker, to speak on the murder
mystery of the Ardmore
oil tycoon Jake
Hamon on March 28th at 6:30 pm. This was a 1920 murder that had reached all
the way to Washington DC. This is going to be a must attend!
I bought 3 lbs of pecans at the Ardmore Emporium Antiques (old Daube Department Store building) on East Main Street yesterday. The native pecans were from the Alvin Sweeten pecan orchards at Gene Autry, Oklahoma. Oklahoma's native pecans are small, but good tasting. These are very clean, ready to eat, and vacuum packed for the freezer if you want to store them that way. Ours won't make it to the freezer. lol
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/AlvinSweetenPecans022713.jpg
Sometimes we get a trojan or virus that our usual methods of getting it off the computer just doesn't work. We try this, we try that, and after rebooting, its still there. Microsoft has a stand alone virus checker that really works well. I've taken off several stubborn trojans and spyware using their Security Scanner program.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx
Q. How many famous singers can you
name from Oklahoma?
A. Answers by Cameron Monroe:
Woody Guthrie (his son Arlo went to Montana State and used to play in this area)
Reba McEntire (used to drive by her ranch south of Stringtown going to Checotah
where Tricia's mother lived)
Hoyt Axton (saw him live at the Sword & Stone in OKC)
Anita Bryant (was stepsister to one of my 7th grade classmates)
Wanda Jackson (have seen her perform many times over the years, a great
rockabilly star}
J. J. Cale (recorded for Shelter Records and helped establish the Tulsa sound)
Leon Russell (played piano on numerous hits from the 50's and 60's and owned
Shelter Records)
Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymour (recorded for Shelter as the Dwight Twilley
Band)
David Gates (leader of the group Bread)
Sheb Wooley (Erick, OK native, wrote PURPLE PEOPLE EATER and appeared in the
movie HIGH NOON)
B. J. Thomas (born in Hugo but grew up in Rosenberg, TX)
Henson Cargill (SKIP A ROPE was his first hit)
Mel McDaniel (from Tricia's home town of Checotah)
Carrie Underwood (grew up in Onapa, OK, my brother-in-law taught her to shoot a
pistol for protection)
Patti Page (died 1/1/13)
Mike Brewer of Brewer & Shipley (ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE)
Jimmy Webb (from Elk City, his first song appearing on an album was for the
Supremes' Christmas album)
Mason Williams (first success was CLASSICAL GAS, played on the Smothers Brothers
show)
Lee Hazelwood (before becoming successful himself as a singer, Hazelwood
produced a string of hits for Nancy Sinatra)
Toby Keith (born in Clinton)
Jesse Ed Davis (played guitar break on Jackson Brown's DOCTOR MY EYES, recorded
three solo albums, lead guitarist for Taj Mahal)
Roger Tillison (recorded one album, wrote one hit for Herman's Hermits. I met
him at the Library Bar in Norman in the early 70's.)
Garth Brooks (his parents live in Edmond)
Ty England (Garth Brooks' roommate at OSU and later a member of his band before
starting a solo career)
Norma Jean (she was with Porter Waggoner before Dolly Parton)
Taylor, Isaac, and Zac Hanson
Keith Anderson (country songwriter and singer)
Barry McGuire (EVE OF DESTRUCTION was a hit in 1965)
Vince Gill
Gary P. Nunn (co-wrote SOUTH CANADIAN RIVER SONG and was an original member of
Jerry Jeff Walker's Lost Gonzo Band, also wrote LONDON HOMESICK BLUES and WHAT I
LIKE ABOUT TEXAS)
Joe Diffie (Started his career singing demos in Nashville)
Blake Shelton (Country singer married to Miranda Lambert)
Roger Miller, Erick, Oklahoma
Kay Starr, Dougherty, Oklahoma
Kristin
Chenoweth, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Q. Where would you find the
first two-story home built in Oklahoma?
A. (answer in next week's T&T)
From This and That newsletter archives of March 4, 2000:
I had a visitor from Roff, Oklahoma. He is the son of Ulis Barnett, a Justice of the Peace here in Ardmore back in 1935. He had some old photos, so I scanned one showing Ulis Barnett in his office at the courthouse. His office was in the southwest corner on the first floor, which is now known as the "land records room". This is a 1935 photo belonging to Gary Barnett in Roff, Oklahoma. Thanks Gary for the pic!http://www.oklahomahistory.net/photos/barnett.jpg
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A friend here in Ardmore loaned me their book "Mill Creek, The Life and Times" by Harold Dean Garrison. Mill Creek is about 30 miles east of Ardmore and Mill Creek resident Harold Garrison wrote a very informative book on Mill Creek history in 1995. As I was reading through the book, I noticed several interesting things. In 1921 Mill Creek schools started their football team. But in 1924, their star football player, Curtis Williams, broke his neck in a game against Ada. He died from the injury several days later. It was then Mill Creek closed down their popular football team, never to start it again. Also in 1932 Mill Creek had a very bad shootout with bank robbers. The bank robbers were eventually caught and sent to prison. I don't know if the book's author, Harold Garrison, still has any copies of this most unique book, but if you're interested, give him a call at 580-384-5414. The book is nearly 300 pages with over 50 rare photos in it. If it's Mill Creek, OK history you want, this is a great book!
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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.....
"I enjoyed that picture of the old wooden windmill, Butch. I made a screen saver out of it! There's an old windmill south of me on highway 1199/3108. It's not made of wood but it's set in a clump of trees on the west side of the road. I keep thinking of making a picture of it. I just replaced the batteries in my camera. I think I'll go out to my truck right now and put the camera in it so I can make a picture of it. If it comes out good I'll send you a copy!" -Jake Kessler, Lindsay, Texashttp://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/LoardWindmill.jpg
"Butch: I have attached a couple of photos of the Ardmore Singer shop and surrounds. I scanned these and noticed the quality varies greatly depending on what program is used to open the files. No help on the ?Marshall? safe." -don whitton
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/SingerArdmore1955a.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/SingerArdmore1955b.jpg
"Charles Haskell was the first elected governor of the State of Oklahoma. The territory of Oklahoma had governors appointed, I believe, by POTUS." -Wes
Bob Munden (February 8, 1942 - December 10, 2012) was a world-renowned exhibition shooter and was most well known for holding 18 world-records in Fast Draw and holding the title, "Fastest Man with a Gun Who Ever Lived." http://www.wimp.com/fastestgunman/
"Does anyone have a picture of the old branding iron of the Chigley ranch in Davis, Oklahoma?"
Touching speech made by father of the bride to her new husband.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z65DxDZ8r_E
Old natural asphalt plants up by the Lake of the Arbuckles in Murray county.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/AsphaltPlant022813a.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/AsphaltPlant022813b.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/AsphaltPlant022813c.jpg
Closeup of the Sulphur's new Artesian Hotel taken from atop of Bromide Hill. -Doug Williams
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/ArtesianHotel022813.jpg
If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. -Mark Twain
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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