The saying goes, you can never eat just one.
In this week's Mailbag below there is mention of a potato chip factory on C Street SE in the 1940s operated by a Mr. Skipworth. When Frances Dunlap sent in the email about the Skipworths, it jogged my memory about a potato chip factory in Ardmore long before 1940. It took me only a few minutes to find the info. It was located on 5th SW just west of the present day Baldwin's Restaurant.
August 16, 1925: NEW POTATO CHIP FACTORY IS READY- After an enforced idleness on account of fire that destroyed the plant, the Ardmore Potato Chip factory will resume business at its former scale Monday morning according to an announcement of Harry Sharkey, manager of the factory, Saturday. Mr. Sharkey states that the new plant has been carefully equipped and better prepared to take care of the constantly growing business than ever before. The new factory was erected on the site of the one recently burned at 22 5th Avenue, Southwest.
Q. This town is a county seat in northeast Oklahoma. In February 2011, the
town gained fame as the site of the coldest temperature in Oklahoma recorded
history, as the thermometer bottomed out at a frigid -31 degrees Fahrenheit.
Name this town.
A. The Oklahoma Mesonet weather
station at Nowata reached minus 31 degrees Fahrenheit actual temperature at
7:40 a.m. February 10, 2011.
Q. Where was the hottest temperature ever recorded in Oklahoma?
A. (answer in next week's T&T)
From This and That newsletter archives of February 5, 2001:
Ardmoreite Robert Hensley came through this
week with a great pic of the invisible "little helper" and Dr. Washington,
Choctaw Indian doctor, that was featured in the Daily Ardmoreite on January 21,
1979.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/WashingtonHelper.jpg
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Ardmoreite Obie Johnson acquitted of
the murder of Henry Guess at the Blue Front Cafe. Here is the article about the
February 2, 1947 shooting from the Daily Ardmoreite:
"Obie Johnson was acquitted of murder
charges in connection with the death of Henry Guess in the district court
Friday, as Judge Monroe presided.
Johnson was charge with shooting Henry Guess to death in front of the Blue Front
cafe on Caddo Street, February 2, 1947. The defense headed by Joe Ben Champion
and Wilson Wallace of Champion, Champion and Wallace produced witnesses who
testified that Johnson acted in self defense of his life and business.
Guess had caused trouble in the establishment several times, and had been told
to stay out of the Blue Front, which is owned by Johnson's uncle Earl Mann,
according to testimony. On the night of February 2, Johnson had asked Guess to
leave and in the argument that followed it was testified that Guess pulled a
knife on Johnson, and the later was forced to shoot to protect his life.
Alvin Bruce and Joe Culp represented the State in the case."
Here is a newspaper clipping announcing Obie Johnson's bid for Constable of
District 1 during this same time with his picture.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos13a/ObieJohnsonAnnouncement.jpg
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"Butch- The picture with the men
described as Tom-Fleet Cooper's garage may not be correct. The reason for me
saying this is that my dad, Brook Simmons, is in the picture. My mother had this
picture and as I remember, Dad worked for a freight company which I thought was
in or to the south of Echol's Storage building north of Bluebonnet. Cooper's
dealership and garage, as I remember in the late 40's, was located where the
county health office is now. Maybe someone with a better memory than me will
respond. Dad is 6th from the left. The 5th man may be Alton Greenway, but not
certain. There was a Bob Dulaney Freight company in Ardmore in the early years.
Notice the freight crates and no greasy mechanics. Surprised to see the
picture."
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/photos/CooperAuto1925.jpg
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Ardmoreite Robert Hensley sent me a
photo of the old Jordan bus cafe taken in 1948, located at #30 South Washington,
corner of 1st St S.E. and south Washington. Seated under coke sign is Darryl
Sears, Jordan bus driver, woman in plaid is Zela McClain. Notice signs, Barbecue
beef sandwich, .30 cents and plate lunch for .55 cents! Times sure have changed!
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/photos/JordanBus1948.jpg
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"I read A. Bob Jordan's obituary in The
Daily Oklahoman a couple of months ago. His bus line served much of southeast
Oklahoma. (And when I used to ride the Nichols Hills Transportation Company city
buses in the Oklahoma City metro area two or three decades ago, several of the
N.H.T. drivers were eager to get back downtown because they also drove for
Jordan Bus Lines and were often cutting the time very short before they had to
take a Jordan bus out. Before that, when I lived in Konawa in the early 1950s,
all the bus service (quite a few buses a day) was Jordan/Denco. I never was
entirely sure what the connection was between Jordan and Denco, but I believe
they were affiliated in some way. My January, 1931, copy of Russell's Guides
shows schedules for Jordan Bus Lines." -Robert Hensley
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"Here is the information my husband and
I combined put together on Chili Bowl Chili and we thought your readers might be
interested in the strong connection to Ardmore. A Mr. Otho Hutchins worked at
H.A. Brooks Gro store on N. Washington back in the 30's. He made a very good
chili. He moved to Tulsa and started making spices and later his chili. He had a
brother-in-law named Matt Berryhill. They went into business together making
Chili Bowl Chili. The Berryhill family were still running the Chili Bowl Co. as
late as the l980's. I have lost tract of the company in the last few years."
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"Butch, The following classified ad
appeared in the Ardmoreite this week:
Announcements
Personals
"In 1933 M&M Luther ARNOLD and daughter Geraldine of Ardmore testified in
Machine Gun Kelly case. Author seeking how to locate Geraldine or her children.
703-960-3119."
Obviously, "M&M" stands for Mr & Mrs, but I didn't know anyone from Ardmore had
ties to Machine Gun Kelly. The area code in the ad is from Virginia. Finding
these people sounds like a job for the readers of This & That!!!"
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"Butch: The mines that were located at
Overbrook, Oklahoma were asphalt mines, according to the following article. The
Daily Ardmoreite, Sunday, July 25, 1993 (special birthday insert) "Young
Ardmore" The Manuscript of Julia K. Sparger pg 4 ,column 2, second paragraph
(the following is a partial copy). Another resource of the area was begun south
of Ardmore in 1890 by S. Zuckerman, M. Munzesheimer & B.C. Burney, later M.
Westheimer & S. Daube. About 1895 the first paving with asphalt from mines near
Overbrook began. The operators paid the Chickasaw Nation $500.00 a year for
their lease & 10 cents for each ton sold. The asphalt was one of the stimuli
later for a search for oil in Carter County. I have a postcard showing paving
main street Ardmore I.T. with asphalt from the Ardmore area."
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A couple weeks ago I talked about Hunts
chili being made by my friend George Hunt back in the 60s at their store at 726
3rd NE here in Ardmore. I guess George heard about my article on his chili (he
doesn't have a computer) and last Monday morning, there was a block of his chili
on my desk! Friends are Priceless.
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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.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/puregas.html
Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....
"Butch, In reference to last week's question concerning "Ballard Park'. Ballard Park was located at Reagan, Oklahoma. It had the swimming pool and a large wooden skating rink. In the 1950's it cost 25 cents to swim and 50 cents to skate. They sold snow cones and popcorn and maybe candy as well as I can remember. A part of Pennington creek was diverted to run through the swimming pool which sat beside the creek. I swam there many times and never found the water to be "DIRTY". Pennington creek was and still is crystal clear most of the time. A lot of area schools had a school picnic at Ballard Park in the spring time. It was a popular area for many years." -Ted Pittman
Dallas Sidewalk Sale
Date: Saturday February 15, 2014
Time: 6:00 am - 6:00 pm
Location: 1100 Woodall-Rodgers Freeway, Dallas, TX
http://www.sidewalksale.com/
In the articles from 2001, the potato chips that were made at 621 C Street SE were called Skippys. They were made in a small house behind Mr. Skipworth’s house. I don’t remember his first name but everyone called him Skippy. His son’s name was Walter and he lived in the house many years after his father died. I believe the 2 story rock building that the other fellow mentioned was probably Mr. Hunt’s. They lived in a rock garage apartment behind Thad Day’s rock house before he built the larger home on the south.
To the fellow who remembers Ballard Park, I also remember the park. We did not go there often but I do remember going there in the late forties and early fifties. Was there a skating rink there? And is that where there was a waterwheel? I think at one time it was a very popular place to go. As best I can remember it was a short distance NW of Tishomingo. It was somewhere near Tish. I don’t know if I could even find my way there again.
A couple of weeks ago you mentioned the Longhorn Trading Post near Overbrook. When it was first opened it was named Hardy Oaks and was a café. I believe it was owned by Dr. Hardy. I had a friend who was a waitress there. There was also a “tourist court.” -Frances Dunlap"Butch, here's a link to a USGS Topographical Map in "mosaic" form that I put together using about 30 separate map sections. With it you can follow the ONM&P (Santa Fe) Ringling Road Line from Ringling to Ardmore. It includes Cobalt Junction, Healdton, Wilson, and Lone Grove. Right click on the map and select "original" size to see it at full resolution. You will have to scroll around to view it all and you can also download it to you computer and view it with practically any photo software since it's in jpg format. I'm working on more such maps of abandoned railroads in Oklahoma and will send them to you as I finish them." -C. Dwane Stevens
http://www.flickr.com/photos/railheadok/12449034013/
"Butch, I read some responses in your T&T last week to my photo of the Lake Murray spillway. There were some comments about when the water first ran over the spillway. I don't know when the lake first overflowed but I have attached a couple of photos my Mom took of me and my Dad at the Lake Murray spillway when the water was coming across it. The photos show the tag on my Dad's car dated 1949 and my Mom wrote on the back of the photos, "Dwane & Steve at Lake Murray Spillway washing the Car." I guess it would have been spring/summer of 1949 when the photos were taken." -C. Dwane Stevens
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/LakeMurraySpillway1949a.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/LakeMurraySpillway1949b.jpg
Turner Falls February 2014 ice storm
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/TurnerFalls020114.jpg
"Friday - a place to go. Atoka, Oklahoma - Museum & Confederate Cemetery - a ceremony at 1:00 p.m. commemorating the Civil War Battle of Muddy Boggy where Union and Confederate forces met in Indian Territory February 13, 1864." -J. Nell Beck Truitt
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/BattleOfMiddleBoggy2014.jpg
http://www.civilwaralbum.com/atoka/battle.htm
"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as you ever can." -John Wesley
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Nashobish Ikana
PO Box 11
Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
Bells of Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
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/
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