Ardmore's old St Agnes Academy on E Street SW was razed this week. It was originally built in 1898 and was located next door to St Mary's Catholic Church. Some years later the building was moved across the street to 118 E SW.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/StAgnesAcademy031114.jpg
Here is a picture I took of the building right after it was turned into a bed and breakfast a few years ago by its new owners.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos4a/StAgnesB&B.jpg
Speaking of Ardmore buildings be razed, the old Western Heights Pentecostal Church at 12th NW and Rockford Place is now just a memory. Over the next day or two it will be razed.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/12thNWchurch.jpg
Back in 1890 Dr. H.A. Higgins, MD came to Ardmore building a home on E Street NW. I have had several friends tell me Dr. Higgins delivered them years ago. But one thing I learned about Dr. Higgins was that he produced a cure-all oil and only he knew the formula. After he retired he gave his formula to T&M Pharmacy here in Ardmore. T&M is the only pharmacy he authorized to sell it through their store on 12th NW. It is good for all kinds of skin ailments. I keep it on hand all the time and use it quite often.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/HigginsOil031114.jpg
I always enjoy stopping in at T&M Pharmacy and talking to Curtis Trent, an Ardmore historian in his own right.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/CurtisTrent031114.jpg
Speaking of medical establishments, most people never heard of a Walden Hospital in Ardmore. But in 1939 it was located at 907 West Broadway, ran by a Dr. Dewey Walden.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/WaldenHospital1939.jpg
A Reader mailed me a brochure they picked up last year in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It seems they have a tour of the silent city otherwise known as the Eureka Springs cemetery. It has turned out to be quite a hit drawing the largest attendance ever last year. It is an approximately one hour walking tour that includes 5 minute stops with each ?citizen.?
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/EurekaSilentCity2013.jpg
Q. What Oklahoma town was known as "the world's largest oil
field over 100 years ago?"
A. "Butch, Your question this week wasn't very specific. On one hand I
would have to say oil was discovered by the Indians in Carter County because
they used it as medicine long before anyone else showed up. The first oil well
was dug by a gentleman named Palmer who found out that rights to the land
couldn't be obtained because it was in Indian Territory. It was after statehood
that the Santa Fe Railroad explored for oil in Carter County after being
encouraged by B. F. Goodrich but their efforts only produced a high gravity oil
for which there was no market. I'm guessing the railroad was interested in oil
as a replacement for coal as feed for their locomotives.
In 1911, after listening to stories of oil in the county from a man named Francis Cook, Roy Johnson, owner of the ARDMORE STATESMAN, along with Ed Galt and Cook, traveled out to the western part of Carter County to see if Mr. Cook's stories were true. Johnson was convinced because, upon returning to Ardmore, he formed the Plains Development Company. Sam Apple and Wirt Franklin joined with the two others in the oil venture and the Franklin No. 1 was drilled in Healdton. That was the first commercially significant oil development in Carter county and probably the answer to your question." -Monroe
Q. What town in Oklahoma does not spell anything?
A. (answer in next week's T&T)
From This and That newsletter archives of March 11, 2000:
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the round barn northwest of Ardmore on the
Merrick Ranch. I heard it was moved here in the 40s from the Military Depot at
McAlister, Oklahoma. The pic shows the south side of the round barn, it looks
pretty good. But the north side is all caved in and rotten.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/photos/rbarn.jpg
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"You sure did rattle the ole memories in this weeks T&T when you talked about
Ulis Barnett. I knew Ulis because he only lived about 2-3 blocks from my dads
service station and we would watch him go to work and go home in his 3 wheel
specially made bicycle cart. A lot of the times he would stop at the station and
just talk about what ever was going on at the time. I have even watched him
perform a wedding ceremony at the old temporary fire station across the street
from dad's station. I'll bet that his son has a lot of interesting stories."
----------------------------------------------------
"Go out D Street NW to 9th Avenue (Ardmore) and you will find a little park located
between 9th & 10th avenues. There is a plaque that was placed there by the
Oklahoma Methodist Historical Society in 1964 which states, "Hargrove College
1895-1914" "A Methodist college once stood here, begun by the City of Ardmore it
was given to the Indian Mission Conference of the Methodist Church, named in
honor of Bishop Robert K. Hargrove. In 1907 the school burned but was rebuilt
north of the city. It exerted a vital religious & educational influence
throughout the area." I don't know where it was rebuilt but when I was growing
up on 12th. Ave the entire block north of the little park, which would be all
the area between 10th & 11th. NW stood vacant. No houses appeared on that block
for many years - I was told that the land was a part of the Hargrove College
campus. You may find a history of the school in Paul Frame's History of
Ardmore."
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/HargroveCollege1895.jpg
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"Hi, Butch. I was wondering if you know
anything about the "pony boys" who were part of the Pony Express and delivered
the mail. I recently learned that my great grandfather, Robert Lincoln "Link"
Armstrong, was a pony boy and was the first one to deliver the mail to Ardmore.
I do not know when that was but he moved to the Baum, Oklahoma area in the
1870's or 80's and died in the summer of 1933, so that gives us somewhat of a
time-table. Anyway, I am researching the Pony Express and will send you what I
find about the "pony boys"...I did not know that the mail carriers for the
Express were called that. Interesting, huh? If any of your readers have any
info, maybe they could let you know."
----------------------------------------------------
"This is an old school. On the back the
postmark says Venus Mar 5 - 7AM 1909 TEX. The pencil is so light that I have to
get my large magnifying glass and see what it says. I have never heard of Venus,
Texas. I wonder if it still is a town?"
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/VenusTXschool1909.jpg
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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.....
Concerning the concrete structure with steps Doug Williams saw in Paoli, that this is a pedestrian passageway under Highway 77. Note the identical structure on the other side of the highway. I've seen these often times near schools, thus providing safe passage for the children without having to cross a busy street.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/PaoliOKcolumns1.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/PaoliOKcolumns2.jpg
"My mother was born and raised in Paoli. The concrete structures are entryways to a tunnel the children used to use to go under highway 77 to go from and to school. My mother used to use it as a child. Sometime in the past they decided it was to be filled in." -Randy Day
"The pictures of Field Bros Service Station was not the original location of the pie kitchen. Doug Williams was in the right neighborhood, but the pie kitchen was to the south of the restaurant in the picture. The original pie kitchen was in Mrs. Lee Field's house. The cakes were baked at Mrs. Julian Field's house. The pies and cakes were delivered to the Field's Restaurant between 11:00 A.M. & 11:30 A.M. daily. Before I-35 it was a must stop on Highway 77 in PV for the OU-Texas football game traffic. My dad worked at the service station in the picture for 40 + years." -John Cathey
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/OldFieldsPecans1.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/OldFieldsPecans2.jpg
"Butch, There was also a tunnel under Highway 77 in Pauls Valley. It went to Lee School. One of the entries was right across the street to the north of the Pig Stand. We lived a half block from the entrance and when we had tornado alerts in PV, mother took us to the tunnel for a storm shelter." -John Cathey
"Butch, I forgot to mention that the film about Yellowstone is incorrect in that the narrator is saying deer when, in fact, the animals he is talking about are elk. The first sign we noticed of a change in the park after the return of wolves was the reestablishment of willows along rivers. Everyone up here should watch this film because it tells an essential story. Most often the stories we hear are that the wolves are killing off all the elk and that they are killing livestock. The truth is that hunters don't always get an elk when they go hunting so it is easy to blame the reintroduction of wolves. And ranchers also now have an easy excuse for dead animals. I suspect that not a single cow has died of natural causes since the reintroduction of wolves. Ranchers get paid if their livestock die because of a wolf attack in Montana." -Monroe Cameron
http://www.flixxy.com/how-wolves-changed-an-entire-ecosystem.htm
"BUTCH, YOUR WOODEN VIAL THAT YOU FOUND IN YOUR BELONGINGS REMINDS ME OF A WOODEN VIAL THAT I HAVE AND HAVE HAD SINCE 1937. I WAS ABOUT 11 YEARS OLD AND IN THE SUMMERTIME BEFORE A BIRTHDAY. I HAD SEEN SOME OF MY FRIENDS THAT WERE KNITTING AND I WANTED SO MUCH TO LEARN TO ALSO KNIT. YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT THIS WAS DEPRESSION TIME AND MONEY WENT FOR MORE NEEDED SUPPLIES THAN LEARNING TO KNIT. MY FATHER FOUND SOME VERY HEAVY WIRE. HE HAD TWO SIZES OF WIRE AND CUT LENGTHS OF WIRE THAT WOULD MAKE ME TWO SIZES OF NEEDLES. WITH SANDING, STRAIGHTENING AND WORKING ON MAKING POINTES AT THE ENDS OF THE WIRE I HAD TWO SETS OF NEEDLES. TO EQUATE THE SIZES OF THE NEEDLES THEY WERE MAYBE SIZE 5 OR SIX OR SO. HOW COME IT WAS THAT WE HAD A LONG WOODEN CYLINDER VIAL THAT CONTAINED THE WORDS ON THE SIDE EXCELOR KNITTING SET ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE CYLINDER. MY MOTHER HAD MADE BALLS OF TWINE FROM THE UNRAVELING FEED SACKS. SHE HAD TORN SOME DIRECTIONS FROM AN OLD MAGAZINE AND I HAD A ?LEARNING EXPERIENCE? ALONG WITH MY REGULAR BIRTHDAY GIFT IN THE FALL. AT CHRISTMASTIME, SOMEHOW SANTA KNEW ABOUT THIS AND BROUGHT ME SOME MORE REAL NEEDLES, SOME YARN, AND MATERIALS TO WORK WITH. I STILL HAVE THAT VIAL AND THE NEEDLES TO THIS DAY. I HAVE MADE MANY THINGS WITH KNOWING HOW TO KNIT, EVEN HAVE KNITTED A HEAVY WINTER COAT AT ONE POINT. UNFORTUNATELY MY FATHER WAS KILLED THE FOLLOWING SPRING IN A FREAK CAR ACCIDENT AND NEVER KNEW WHAT HE HAD ACCOMPLISHED." -VELMA BOYER ANDERSON
"Hey Butch, Regarding the Lazy S Ranch sign, I remember when it said." Moss Patterson Lazy S Ranch". That was a long time ago. I suppose the ranch has changed hands several times since then." -Happy Trails, Roy Miller
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/photos/lazys3.jpg
"Spent numerous Saturdays at the Park Theatre with my older brother and sister (were required to take me), saw lots of horror and Sci-Fi movies of the late 50s and early 60s at the Park. One of the scariest for me was the Vincent Price movie "The Tingler"! Went to the Tivoli also, they seem to have more mainstream or family oriented movie. The Park seemed less nice than the Tivoli. Will never forget those memories at those theatres." -Randy Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg5nvnUMbbg
The first recording of the "rebel yell" used by Confederate soldiers from the U.S. Civil War was created by The Library of Congress when recording interviews with war veterans in the 1930s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6jSqt39vFM
"Tour of the historic Santa Fe Rail Yard in Albuquerque, NM last year, May 11, 2013." -C. Dwane Stevens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmMLVPZ01QA
It took more than three thousand years to make some of the trees in these western woods ... Through all the wonderful, eventful centuries since Christ's time?and long before that?God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand straining, leveling tempests and floods; but he cannot save them from fools. -John Muir
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
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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