This and That Newsletter
A Weekly Publication

www.OklahomaHistory.net

Vol 17  Issue 871      Circulation 5,000       October 3, 2013

PO Box 2

Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

email address:  butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net

580-657-8616


Last week I received a 1958 aerial picture of the old Ardmore Airbase NE of Ardmore. There are about (what is thought to be) 70 C130's on the runways and tarmacs.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/ArdmoreAirfieldAerial1958.jpg

On Tuesday of this week I was proud to attend an appreciation event for Leland Walker at the District 1 county barn at Springer, Oklahoma. It was in recognition of Leland's 50 years service working for Carter county government. Leland started in 1963 and has worked for 5 administrators; Commissioners Huss Standifer, Boise Harris, Joe Dean McReynolds, Bill McLaughlin, and now present Commissioner Joe David McReynolds. I say I was proud to attend because I can hardly imagine anyone achieving 50 years of continuous employment in the county government system in this state. Leland has probably set a record for county government. Senator Frank Simpson, Representative Pat Ownbey, and Representative Tommy Hardin were on hand to present certificates of appreciation to Leland including an appreciation certificate from Governor Mary Fallin.

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/LelandWalker100113a.jpg

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/LelandWalker100113b.jpg

Commissioner Joe David McReynolds presented Leland with a plaque in appreciation for his years of service to District 1.

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/LelandWalker100113c.jpg

Everyone in attendance had a great time and we all partook of punch and cake with a Diecast model grader atop the cake that fit the celebration.

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/LelandWalkerCake1.jpg

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/LelandWalkerCake2.jpg

Oh, and I need to mention, this was not a retirement party, Leland Walker is still on the job! Congrats Leland for 50 years of service and still going!

Oklahoma's smallest bank survives, thrives in Elmore City, Oklahoma.

http://newsok.com/oklahomas-smallest-bank-survives-thrives-in-elmore-city/article/3878024

Last month the old home of Ardmore oilman Waco Turner was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The old mansion was located at 1501 3rd Southwest. Waco is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.

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

Group photo of Ardmore Police Department - 1964.

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/ArdmorePD1964.jpg

In the southeast corner of Ardmore's City Hall stands a monument erected in 1987 to honor the mayors of Ardmore from 1887 to 1987.

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

Bill Dixon at Healdton was in Ardmore this week and brought me a couple of train videos recorded in West Virginia. Bill said when he saw them the first thing he thought of was Dwane Stevens and me. Bill asked that I pass them along to Dwane in Lone Grove when I'm through watching them. I know Dwane would like to get his hands of these as soon as possible but he'll have to wait until next week. I have special plans for these train videos over the next few days.

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

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

I bought a new sandblast gun the other day smaller than the one I've been using to make custom engraved bricks. The 3/16 hole cuts much better than the 1/8 inch opening that I've been using to cut the letters. Plus I've switched from the ceramic nozzle end to a tungsten carbide nozzle.  The tungsten carbide will last through 100's of sandblast jobs instead of about 30 when I was using the ceramic. Amazing what 1/16th of an inch can make. Below is a 6 inch by 12 inch by 1 inch thick marker I made for a family at Wilson, Oklahoma.

http://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/CauthronMarker.jpg

Q.  In 1889 the opening to white settlement of a choice portion of Indian Territory in Oklahoma set off one of the most bizarre and chaotic episodes of town founding in world history. What was the name of that Oklahoma town?
A.  Guthrie, Oklahoma.  Went from zero population to 10,000 in the matter of a few hours. Nothing had ever happened like that in the history of the world.

Q.  Only one Geronimo automobile still exists. What Oklahoma town made the Geronimo autos for a period of time?
A.  (answer in next week's T&T)

From This and That newsletter archives of October 2, 1999:

I've lived all my life here. I've been through Dickson, Oklahoma (9 miles east of Ardmore) a million times. A couple weeks ago I first noticed two things in the center of Dickson along highway 199. First, there is one of those green historical markers on the south side of the highway, across from the Dickson High School. That marker tells about a Durwood, Oklahoma (located just south of Dickson) resident by the name of Rosella Hightower. Ms. Rosella Hightower was born in 1920 and later became a renown prima ballerina. The U.S. produced five world leading prima ballerinas at the same time, and they all were from the eastern half of Oklahoma, all of Indian heritage. No other nation ever produced five prima ballerinas at the same time. The five prima ballerinas were: Yvonne Chouteau (Cherokee Indian) from Vinita, Oklahoma; Moscelyne Larkin (Peoria Indian) of Miami, Oklahoma; Maria and sister Majorie Tallchief (Osage Indian) of Fairfax, Oklahoma; and Rosella Hightower (Chickasaw Indian) of Durwood, Oklahoma. Here is a photo of the historical marker in Dickson, Oklahoma dedicated to Ms. Hightower.
http://oklahomahistory.net/photos/rosella1.jpg

Secondly, in Dickson, Oklahoma right beside the above historical marker is a sign denoting a park. I have never heard of this park nor do I know anything about it. The sign reads Lazy Creek Park. You travel south a few hundred feet and come to what I guess is the park. But when I was there, the gate was closed and locked. Maybe someone knows more about this park?
http://oklahomahistory.net/photos/lazypark.jpg

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The present day Durwood Baptist Church was erected in 1963 thanks to the generosity of an Indian lady by the name of Janie Chubbee.
http://oklahomahistory.net/photos/chubbee1.jpg
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Last week I was visiting the Chickasaw Regional Library and across the street in an open field sat a helicopter. I was told the pilot had landed/parked there while staying at the Hampton Inn next door. I happen to noticed on the helicopter tail the words "boatpix.com" Come to find out the helicopter is from Florida and used by a company to take photos of boats. I still kick myself for not asking for a ride!
http://oklahomahistory.net/photos/boatpix.jpg
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"Gee, thanks. Your story about Chock and the Hamburger Inn just set my taste buds for a couple of coneys and an order of those wonderful, greasy fries they used to serve. Heaven! And they're nothing even remotely close to either one in Norman, so far as I know. Does the Inn still have the same food that it used to have? I haven't eaten there in years; when I'm in Ardmore the place is always closed. When I was in high school in the early seventies, we used to RUN, not walk, to the Hamburger Inn for lunch. We'd go to the drive up window and order a coney or burger, fries, and a coke, and sit outside on the patio in the back to eat lunch. It cost a buck or so, maybe a little more. Lunchtime has never gotten any better than that."
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"Man, some people will do almost anything for a coconut cream pie from Hamburger Inn, huh?"

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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

Non-ethanol gas (pure gas) stations in the Ardmore area (updated).

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/puregas.html

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

"Hi Butch,  Latest T&T prompts a few comments from Memory Lane... Hamburger Inn, I graduated 1941 and sometime bought lunch there thru the window on the street. Never went inside but recall they had about 5 stools at the counter... Mid to late '30s I went several times to Adcock's drug store, then 3 or 4 doors West of Caddo, on Main So. side...'40-41 Martin-Fedler drug was on NW corner Main & Caddo, they had a popular huge malt-freeze for a nickel... The Turner Falls view gas station & gift shop, site of the mentioned Palacine Indian, was run for years,, by Doc Long & wife Volley, lived there, 1930s. My Dad, 1930-31 was 'Filling Station Manager' for Wirt Franklin, OK City, & had dozens of the Palacine Indian ashtrays at home, kept to present to good customers, actually made of pot-metal then, replacing the earlier one of heavy bronze... I recall several times stopping at Bob's Pig Stand when we went thru Pauls Valley." -Bob McCrory


JUST PUBLISHED BY iUniverse

THE REAL POLICEMAN II
By Ron Owens

This book leads you down the halls of the OCPD and the streets of Oklahoma City of four decades ago. It puts you in the roll call lineups, in the patrol cars and detective cruisers, on the radio calls, in the streets and in the interview rooms, in the chases, arrests, gunfights, fist fights, hostage situations and investigations?not on a movie set but the real thing.
You experience the sights, the sounds, the smells of a cop?s days and nights. You hear their words and those of the victims, witnesses, and suspects when they?re not reading from a screenwriter?s script or posturing for the cameras of a ?reality? show. It is populated not with fictional creations but real characters, by every definition of those words.
The events, emotions and language are all served raw?no dressing, no garnish. The rookie?s enthusiasm, the experienced veteran?s cynicism, the boredom of routine, the thrill of the pursuit, the satisfaction of a job well done, the frustration when events go bad, the anger, the hilarity, the dark and irreverent sense of humor, all pathways to the Ph. D. in Human Nature every street cop earns in a big city.
A sequel to the first book under this title, if you were there you?ll recognize the names, the places, and some of the events. If you weren?t, you?ll learn a lot about cops that you didn?t know. Either way, you will read about some men who truly became legends.

Serving over thirty years with the OCPD, Ron Owens spent over 18 of those years in the patrol and detective cruisers he writes about including assignments in Homicide, Sex Crimes, Special Projects, Narcotics, Criminal Intelligence/Gang Enforcement and Tactical Team Hostage Negotiations. He retired as a captain in 2000.
Softcover and e-book versions available online from www.iUniverse.com/bookstore or order toll free at 1-800-288-4677. Also available online from BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com and other book retailers. Retail priced at $20.95 U.S.?270 pages?True Crime


"I remember the Bourns family well. Someone was trying to remember Sonny Bourns' wife first name, and I think her name was Charlene. I also remember hearing Ricky sign off the air at midnight saying his sign off song which was a top hit called "Soul Deep." I was totally shocked to learn the next AM what had happened to Ricky. I am aware that both of his parents never were the same after losing him. He was a fun loving kid, and was nice to all the customers at the W. Broadway Pac A Sak."
Soul Deep by the Box Tops - 1969.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--f55NUHGbo
"Butch, that picture is not the bank, but it is the old General Store at Gene Autry.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/BerwynBank1907.jpg

The old Berwyn bank (now Gene Autry, OK) was located south and across the street and on the WEST side. The floor is still in this location on the west side, or it was a few years ago. The two buildings look a little alike, but are two separate locations." -Mike

Infamous Quotes:  The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it's still on my list.

See everyone next week!

Butch and Jill Bridges

PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443

Carter County Courthouse Paver Project
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/pavers
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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