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Below is July 1, 2000 to September 30, 2000.
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Saturday, September 30, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 180
Last Tuesday, September 26th, the employees of the Court Clerks Office at the courthouse decided to have a birthday bash for Karen Volino. Karen is the Court Clerk, and when they have a celebration, they have a celebration! Several of her employees got hold of some photos of Karen from her childhood through her teens and on up. They made copies and taped them up all over the courthouse the evening before. When Karen came to work Tuesday morning, was she in for a surprise!
Now we’re talking about major celebrating here. There were black balloons and black streamers hanging all around. The pics were on all three floors and the front doors. There were signs up everywhere, including a banner across the grass in the courtyard. Even signs in the elevator! Yep, you guessed it, they all carried the same theme….. “over the hill”. hahahahaha. They even “remodeled” her office!
Everyone had a great time, from the 4th floor all the way down to the basement. And the birthday cake was delicious! I had two pieces! One of Karen’s employees, Jeannie, is the unofficial cake maker at the courthouse, and believe me, you can’t eat just one piece!
Here’s some pics I snapped of Karen’s birthday bash at the courthouse.
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http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/karen9k.jpgI’ll place all the above pics in a Photo Album under “volino” at my netdrive website for future generations 🙂
http://history.users.netdrive.comTo wish Court Clerk Karen Volino a Happy Birthday, send her email at the following: [email protected]
This week I think we had a flashback to the old movie “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock around the courthouse. In the early mornings there were birds everywhere. But what really was amazing, it seemed like thousands of birds were in the two trees across the street at the Salvation Army building. I mean these little devils made a noise like you wouldn’t believe…. LOUD.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/salarm9.jpgIf you are interested in history from Mannsville, Oklahoma just go check out my friends Leroy and Jimmie’s McDaniel’s Home Page. They live in Mannsville and have been building quite an impressive website about Mannsville.
http://www.brightok.net/~lwmacA couple of weeks ago I mentioned the unbelievable sheriffs race here in Carter county, and how close the primary vote was, one vote forcing the present sheriff into a runoff with Harvey Burkhart. In the runoff election, Harvey won and will take the reins of the county’s law enforcement machine January 1, 2001. The reason I am mentioning this, is I heard on the news this week the sheriff in LeFlore county Oklahoma lost by one vote. He called for a re-count and the recount placed him ahead by one vote. So he got to keep his office. Unusual things are happening more and more it seems.
Speaking of law enforcement, Oklahoma was the first state in the Union to make available to state law enforcement agencies the Oklahoma Department of Corrections database on its inmates about 10 years ago. Now the Department of Corrections has taken another giant step forward. They have placed on the Internet this same searchable database. This is a database of convicted felons from all 77 counties dating back 20 or 25 years. We are talking about several hundred thousands inmates. You can check out Oklahoma’s felon database at the following URL:
http://docapp3.doc.state.ok.us:86/html/public_offender_lookup.htmlThis week a friend called me to say she bought a new computer about a month ago, and since that first day, she hadn’t been able to get on the Internet. So I remembered a modem initialization string my friends at BrightNet gave me some time back…. that usually makes those new KFlex56 modems work. We tried it, and it worked the first time! Here’s the init string we put in the Modem Setup:
+ms=v34SOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“Counter checks were laying around in retail stores, too. Usually from several of the local banks, but no one had any hesitation in crossing out the bank name and filling in theirs if a counter check from their bank wasn’t available. Some banks also provided checks to stores with their name imprinted on them but a separate place to write in your bank’s name and location. Some stores also provided similar checks with a blank space for the bank, with the store name already printed.”
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“Butch, when was the picture “Ardmore West” taken?…looking west from the railroad tracks….I worked at the Glancy, Ford, Hunter Insurance Agency in the 50s…a furniture store was next to Caddo St. (Jones Furniture Co) and the Pepsi plant on the train station side. Across Caddo on the corner (west) Ernest Martin and his dad had a pharmacy. Just curious…it looked to be taken in the 50s judging from some of the cars in the picture. Thanks.”
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“Check out the website at www.ardsoup.com. Anyone is welcome, and they can eat as much as they want at no charge. We have a great time helping prepare the meal and serving. We have adults, homeless, children, and people who just drop by to visit. I worked down there I guess about four different times.”
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“Your account of the train ride to Ft. Worth brought back old memories again. I must have been about 11 or 12 and was in the Girl Scouts. A couple of my friends Nancy and Patsy Veal need uniforms and their grandmother said we should go to Ft. Worth to Singers (dept. store). He husband Mr. Jones worked for the railroad and got us passes so on Saturday we got up early and went to the RR Depot and boarded the train. Now that was over 50 years ago so that train was not like the ones we have now. But for 3 girls who went for a train ride for the first time it was very special. Grandma took us a lunch and we had hard boiled eggs (which I never liked just to eat) It took us about 4 hours because we got there shortly after noon. We did our shopping and made the trip back home. I still think about that time.” Jo Evelyn Franklin Barton [email protected]
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“Mr. Bridges. Do you know if the C.S. bell company (in Ohio) has a web site I would be very happy if you e-mail me it. Thanks.”
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“Butch, I have been out of town for long weekend and was just reading your T & T. My dad was a country veterinarian and did all of his work out of a car or pickup. He had an old cigar box on the dash of his vehicle that had counter checks from all the banks in that area. I think he had 8 or 10 different banks checks. When he would finish a call, he would make out a check from the proper bank and the farmer would sign it. I don’t know how those people at the bank knew whose account to deduct the payment from. Some of those signatures were sure hard to read. I guess they just recognized the scribbling.”
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“Comment on Yellow Hills…Mac MacGalliard wrote a lot of history for his column, as you know, and it is stored at the Public Library on E and Grand. He talked about the Yellow Hills and a leprecon there that a horse and buggy doctor used to show him the way to people’s homes who needed him.”
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“Your efforts to erect a memorial for the lives lost in the crash of the American Flyers plane are most generous. I thought you might like to know that several years ago I had a group of young boys and fathers at the site, and one boy found a St. Christopher medal with a womans name engraved on the back. I believe the name was “Dyanna” and she was one of the female flight attendants on the plane. The mother of the boy who found the medallion tried to find the family of the stewardess. I am not sure if she ever did – will try to track her down.”
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“Mr.. Bridges, I have in my procession, an original copy of the Civil Aeronautics Board’s Aircraft Accident Report for the crash of L-188C, N183H. It was released on April 4, 1967, about 40 pages in length with two fold out maps. I would be glad to send it so you can copy if it is something you can use for your website. I am from the area, Woodford community, and have an interest in the accident.”
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============================================Last Saturday, we got the sprinkler system installed at the American Flyers Memorial at Gene Autry. It waters the lawn and shrubs every night automatically, sure makes it nice. The airpark firemen were doing it. If it hadn’t been for them, we’d lost the bermuda grass and shrubs during that extreme heat wave. Also I want to thank Paul Mitchell who lives at the airpark, he’s kinda taken the memorial under his wings, and watches over it everyday…. he’s been a great help!
Saturday morning about 8am I’ll be at the airpark memorial installing one more pop-up sprinkler to the system. If any of you are in the area, come on out, I’d love the company! I might even find an extra shovel. 🙂
“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
See everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
Ardmore, Oklahoma~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, September 23, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 179
This week I received an interesting call from Los Angeles. A lady was looking for the old counter checks and check books from the 1950s and 1960s. She found her way to my website because I do have some interesting pics of several counter checks on my Home Page.
It reminded me of a story my mother told me years ago about the old First National bank on Main Street here in Ardmore. It seemed like in the 20s the “in thing” for the men to do was stand in front of the banks and swap stories. His two daughters, my mother Louise and her sister Marie, were teens in the 1920s and the two figured out if they asked their dad, Stanley Carmon, for money when he was standing in front of the bank with all his friends, that he would give them some. He didn’t want to refuse them money and look bad in front of all his friends there standing in front of the bank. But Louise and Marie knew they were going to get a whooping from their dad when they got home, but it was worth it in their opinion. Boy, that’s getting spending money the hard way.
Back to the lady in Los Angeles who called this week, if any of you know where a 50s or 60s check book is with the old “counter checks” in it, let me know. She has looked high and low for one!
Here’s a link to the counter checks on my Home Page. Counter checks did not have the routing numbers like the modern checks of today. They were called counter checks because a person just walked into a bank, went to the counter and got a pad of blank checks.
http://www.brightok.net/~bridges/cntcks.htmlI took a train ride last saturday, my first since the 1960s. I needed to attend a meeting in Ft Worth, so I opted to ride the Heartland Flyer from Ardmore to Ft Worth last Saturday. My one-way ticket was only $13, a real bargain in my opinion for the 100 mile trip!
I boarded the train at the Ardmore Depot, found myself an empty seat, and waited for the lady to come by collecting the train fare. In about five minutes we were heading south!
We made good time during the first half of the trip, arriving in Gainesville, Texas in about 40 minutes. This is about the same time it would take to travel by car from Ardmore to Gainesville.
I knew the schedule said the trip would take 2 and one-half hours, a longer ride then by automobile. The extra time came into play the closer we got to Ft Worth because of all the crossings. I was looking out my window when we crossed the Red River that separates Oklahoma from Texas and the train Conductor said the river had been renamed Red Creek. He was referring to the severe drought this whole area was in. I did notice how dry it was everywhere, the grass dead and brown from the lack of rain.
About 25 miles north of Ft Worth we were going through the little town of Justin, Texas. Justin is the home of the Justin Boot Company and to make those cowboy boots requires a number of large buildings in Justin. I owned Justin boots when I was a teen, they are nice boots, but I never realized they were made just 75 miles south of Ardmore.
Even taking into account all the crossings going in to Ft Worth, we made the station 15 minutes a ahead of schedule. My cousin, Carol Jean Cole and her daughter Laura was waiting to pick me up and take me to my meeting at the Holiday Inn in Arlington, a Dallas suburb. But before we got to the Holiday Inn, they treated me to some of that delicious Colter BBQ. I don’t think I have ever eaten Texas BBQ that wasn’t delicious!
Here’s a pic of the inside of the Ft Worth Station. That’s my cousin Carol and her daughter Laura in the center.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/carollau.jpgOn the west side of the station was the Tram booth. A person can ride the trams to dozens and dozens of attractions all day long til 11pm for only 5 bucks! I wanted to take that ride, but had to get to my meeting.
By the way, I heard this week funding has become available to make the Heartland Flyer run to Ft Worth a highspeed trip. Personally I wish it remained the 2.5 hours but I know most people are in a hurry, so that will make it better for them.
Speaking of that meeting, it was a meeting of the ex-employees and retirees of American Flyers. They hold their meeting about every two years, and I really had a wonderful time. I was even asked to sit at the table with the President and Secretary of the association, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hickman. They invited me to speak a few minutes about the American Flyers Memorial that is located at the Airpark north of Ardmore. I hope to make their next meeting in a couple years!
When most of you are reading this issue of This and That, I will be at the airpark memorial Saturday the 23rd installing an automatic sprinkler system around the memorial. That will make it easier to keep the bermuda grass and shrubs alive and green. James Lindsey who is in charge of maintenance at the courthouse is helping install the sprinkler system saturday morning.
This week I received a poem from Melba Wallace here in Ardmore. She wrote about the American Flyers Memorial.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/afapoem.jpgWe recently had some nice ceiling fans installed at the courthouse. They have black blades and look elegant against the white marble walls. There are two on the 2nd floor and two on the 3rd floor.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ceilfan.jpgCASA on the 4th floor of the courthouse was able to acquire the most beautiful chairs for their office the other day. The red chairs Those chairs must be the most beautiful in the complex!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/casachai.jpgSOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“Jerry Royall sent me a copy of your last edition that mentioned “Oklahoma Heritage,” a book written by my partner and myself. We appreciate the compliment. Thought you might want to know that there are also 1989 and 1995 editions of that volume. A new one comes out next year that will be called “Oklahoma Adventure.” I think some of these are available at the Ardmore libraries or they can be purchased from Thompson’s School Book Depository in Oklahoma City. Thanks for the “plug.” It’s great to run into someone who actually cares about the history of the region and who likes to get it right. I’d love to receive your newsletter. Please send it to me at [email protected]
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“Thanks Butch for the creation of the AFA Memorial… I have been reliving that tragic accident for years but this seems to place it in perspective. I was also a flight engineer at American Flyers Airlines at the time that the accident occurred. I can remember hearing the sirens in the background as I telephoned my new wife from Houston,Tx. a short time after our arrival there with three plane loads of attorneys for a convention. Inquiring as to what was happening she thought at the time that there might be another tornado warning in effect… Unfortunately this was not to be the case… as few minutes later as Captain Phleat Boyd was calling in the flight close-out information to operations we found out the grim truth. I knew all of the flight crew having flown with them at various times previous to the accident. American Flyers Airlines STILL has annual reunions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area each year and although their numbers are steadily decreasing it’s always a pleasure to attend. Please keep up the effort on the memorial as this is indeed a good thing.”
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“I sure enjoy reading your This & That. I love preserving history, the way of our lifestyles that are gone, except for memories. So glad that you love preserving and honoring the past, also. I enjoyed reading the note from one of our distinguished former statesmen, the Honorable Senator Ernest Martin, of Ardmore, Oklahoma. Butch, may you keep up the good work, and thanks for all those who write in to you with all of their memories and photos. Have a great day!”
Correna F. Wilson in Wilson, Oklahoma. [email protected]
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“Dear Butch, Just one of your readers, living in Florida, who enjoys This & That very much. Unfortunately, I missed seeing the recipe for Priddy’s Dressing. Will you reprint that, or e-mail it directly to me? Thanks so much.” Fran Conroy Patterson [email protected]
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“According to the book “Oklahoma Place Names” by George H. Shirk -1974 Pg.257 WILLIS, In Marshall County, 15 miles south of Madill. Post office established March 15, 1886. Named for Britt Willis, long-time local resident. WILLIS Marshall County Section 6 Township 8 S Range 5 E”
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“Just wanted to ask you if there are any good message boards in Oklahoma or Texas or even Ardmore. I can’t get into chatrooms on this school computer because we are blocked out of them, but I can usually get into message boards and forums. Just thought it would be fun to yack with different people.” ————————————————————
“The hotel above where Montgomery Wards used to be on Main was called the Marquette Hotel. The Ford Hotel was located on North Washington Street about half-way between Second Avenue, Northwest and Broadway. It was just south of the old bicycle shop across the street from The Daily Ardmoreite office when they were on Washington Street.”
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“I know the Byrds were from around the Willis, OK area. I thought J.A.”Coot” Byrd was a constable of Kingston, OK until I found a newspaper article that said he was the constable of Willis Township. One would think if a person had lived in the area for 20 years, was murdered while on duty, and had a huge funeral, I could find out a little about the rest of his life.!! Genealogy is enough to send one to his grave. I little humor there. Ha!”
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============================================We’ve had some bad fires here in Oklahoma this week. One was just north of Ardmore in the Arbuckle Mountains and another bad one near Guthrie, Oklahoma. They were brought under control in a couple days, nothing like the fires in Montana we heard about a month ago. Here is an astonishing photo sent to me this week of a fire in Bitteroot Valley Montana taken by a firefighter.
http://www.danica.com/flytier/temp4/fire.jpg“To change and to change for the better are two different things.”
Old German ProverbSee everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
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Saturday, September 16, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 178
I received two more pics of bells this week! And they are from Oklahoma towns most people have never heard about. One bell is located at Carrier, Oklahoma in Garfield county just NW of Enid, Oklahoma.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/carrier.jpgThe other bell is located at church on further NW of Enid in Alfalfa county near the Kansas border in a town named Goltry.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/goltry.jpgLast July I was in Marietta, Oklahoma and happened to notice a workman doing some facelifting to the Love county courthouse. Can anyone give us an update as to what all has been done?
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/lovcrth2.jpgThe Love county courthouse is the oldest courthouse in Oklahoma.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/lovcrth4.jpgI was visiting in the Northeast part of Ardmore where I grew up this week, and happened down 6th NE at “H” Street. I stopped and looked at the Martin Luther King Community Bootstrap Garden. It looked good, considering Ardmore hadn’t received rain for 40 days. We finally did get a little rain this week, so that helped plus the temp has dropped below the 100s this week.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/garden6t.jpgWhen I was traveling to Gene Autry, Oklahoma this week, I saw something that’s almost a thing of the past in this area. Someone had what was left of a garden from the 42 days of no rain, and he had a couple of scarecrows in that garden. The two scarecrows were made from paper mache, and looked pretty scary to me. I wonder if they scared off the rain clouds, and they are the reason we didn’t have any rain? hahaha
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/scrow.jpgWant to keep a calendar on the Web? After opening your free account at calendarserver.com you can store your calendar on CalendarServer’s own site, update it, and even link to it from your Web page if you wish. Sharing this way keeps everyone on the same, well, calendar!
http://www.calendarserver.comSOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“OK, now I have to know the story about this smokestack as my gg grandparents lived there according to my grandfather. I do know they were in Indian Territory, Chickasaw Nation Township T.4.S. R 1.E Enu. #141 pg.2 during the 1900 census. I have no clue where this may be!! Please, let me know all the information you compile on this! I am most curious as to what it was. And if it’s that old, should it not be a historical site? haha. Have a great day!” mailto:[email protected]
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“I really appreciate all your hard work on this…I enjoy all the news from Ardmore. And, by the way, I DID get the Priddy’s Parmesan Dressing recipe…Have made it several times…still tastes just as good. Obviously, it does…I’ve gained a few pounds “sampling”!!!”
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“I stumbled onto your site looking for Willis township. Still don’t know where it is. My grandfather James Alexander “Coot” Byrd was the Constable of Willis township in 1927 and killed by his ex-father-in-law, Mr. Hoggard. I have a copy of a newspaper account of that incident. According to the article the Byrd family had lived in the community for many years and was apparently fairly well respected.? I would love to have additional information concerning his activities in the community. I believe that his mother’s family also lived in the area, their name was French. Could you possibly help me find a way to gain more information? I enjoyed reading your “This and That ” site. Thanks for your time.” [email protected]
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“Another subject- the Ford hotel. I am pretty sure that during the time of the Air Base I and some other servicemen stayed at this hotel. Could not come up with the name but if it is the same one, it was on the south side of Main Street near “C” street:, and at that time above several other businesses, probably Montgomery Ward or about where I believe it is Dollar General is now. It was upstairs- and even at a much younger age, there were a lot of steps to climb but the “price was right” for sure. Do not remember what it cost but it fitted into a servicemans budget I recall. On the corner going west was an A&P market and not sure what else came in between but would be right in that area. We used the Whittington, the Mulkey, and the Ford as our 3 choices, leaving out Hotel Ardmore which to us seemed pretty expensive at the time.”
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“Hi Butch. If You would care to mention it, the Mountain Home School Reunion will be held Sat. Sept 30th. in the Ringling, Oklahoma School Gym. Anyone ever attending the Mountain Home is welcome. Mountain Home School was 2 miles north and 1 mile west of Ringling. It was discontinued in the fifties, torn down and nothing there now but a tombstone.”
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“Butch. The Ardmore Soup Kitchen has been in operation since March of this year. It is located where the old Sports Club was North of the Tivoli, on B Street. It is open Monday through Friday and serves a simple meal to anyone who is hungry. The website is www.ardsoup.com for anyone who wants more information.”
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“In your last This & That, a lady wrote and ask the first name of the Highway Patrolman in the picture with Clyde McGill, , Elmer Koscheski, (her dad) et al. The Highway Patrolman in the picture is Johnny Jones. I was the prosecutor in Love County when this picture was taken.” -Ken Bacon
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/elmer.jpg
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This is an historical account of the Governor Bill Murray’s stand off with Texas concerning the calling out of the National Guard in 1931 to dispel a problem (as he saw it) concerning the crossing of Red River across a toll bridge. Reference to: A History of The Sooner State BY Edwin McReynolds (1954,1964) page 364. “In spite of a federal court injunction obtained by toll-bridge operators at Red River crossings,Governor Murray succeeded in opening the free bridge between Denison, Texas and Durant, Oklahoma . Governor Ross Sterling of Texas, under authority of a ruling by Texas courts, proposed to barricade the Texas free-bridge entrance and to guard it with rangers. Murray called out an Oklahoma National Guard unit,ordered it to the bridge on U.S. Highway 69, claimed control of both ends of the structure, and opened it to the traffic on July 25, 1931.”“Read on and learn how Governor Murray put Oklahoma under martial law and shut down all producing wells in Oklahoma because east Texas was producing so much oil that the price of oil had dropped to 15 cents a barrel. Governor Ross Sterling followed suit in Texas, and shut down the east Texas wells – soon the price of oil began an upward trend. In this case you will see that the two states worked together.” There is a book entitled “Oklahoma Heritage” by Sharon Cooper Calhoun and Billie Joan English (1984) that I recommend for a more colorful accounting of the so called “THE GREAT RED RIVER WAR” page 171. This book has an excellent accounting of all aspects of Governor Murray’s administration – I regard it as a “must read” if you are really interested in Oklahoma – particularly in its earlier days.” – Ernest Martin
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“I’m glad to see that someone has remembered this tragedy. I am developing an Oklahoma Aviation webpage that will cover the crash, as well as the 1939 Braniff crash in Oklahoma City that are the only two serious commercial aviation disasters in Oklahoma. I have bookmarked your site, and will add a link. Good job, and keep up the effort, as I’ve noticed that few outside the Ardmore area recall the crash, and the memory of those that were killed should be honored.”
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“In a recent edition of This & That, a reader inquired about the location of Yellow Hills. According to OKLAHOMA PLACE NAMES by George H. Shirk, Yellow hills was in Carter County, 7 miles east of Ardmore. The Post office was established November 25, 1890. The name was changed to Durwood, September 11, 1891. On April 8, 1913, an other Post office was established a few miles east in Marshall County and designated New Durwood. Its name changed to Durwood on October 11, 1931. In 1926, the Post office was moved to Carter County.”
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============================================I received a heart-touching letter this week from the mother of Robert Commune. Robert Commune was one of the 83 soldiers onboard that ill-fated American Flyers plane the night it crashed north of Ardmore in 1966. Mrs.Commune and her husband live in Ansonia, Connecticut. She wanted to thank everyone who made the Memorial possible. They plan to visit the Memorial site in May 2001. She sent a photo of her son, taken just before he died. Except for some of the crew members, all were teen aged Army soldiers who died that night.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/commune.jpg“What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books.”
-Thomas Carlyle 1795-1881
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jcarlyle.htmSee everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
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Saturday, September 9, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 177
This week I learned from a friend about a program called Heartland Share. Even though the program has been operational in Ardmore for nearly 2 years, I didn’t know about it. But it really looks like a great program to help people lower their food bills and also build stronger communities.
All a person has to do is volunteer two hours of service, pay a $14 fee plus tax, and also a $1 transportation fee for each share they want. What does one share consist of? Typically four packages of frozen meat, fresh fruits, vegetables, and two or more staple items. All this would cost approximately $30 or $35 at the grocery store. The Heartland Share organization distributes no generic, seconds or commodity goods. Here is an example of the food included in one monthly share:
20 ounces of BBQ beef, 2 pounds of split chicken breasts, 8 ounces sausage links, 1 pound of chicken fajita meat, 1 pound of hamburger meat, 4 pounds of potatoes, 1 pound of carrots, 2 red peppers, 2 pounds of lettuce, 4 Gala apples, 2 bartlett pears, 1 pound of red seedless grapes, cheese, fudge brownie mix.
The Heartland Share Program looks like a great program to help people, especially when a family has children to feed. I want to share a story with everyone, but we have to go back to 1929. My grandfather, Stanley Carmon, in his own way, helped feed some of the needy children near his home and probably didn’t even realize it at the time. I learned about it 40 or 50 years later, long after my grandfather’s death.
The fall of the stock market in 1929 would mark the beginning of the Great Recession. I might add that because there was not a high tech electronic communication system in place as we have today, it would be three and one-half years later before things had deteriorated to the point the President closed the banks, and declared a “bank holiday”.
Little Elmer Elliott along with his mother, father and brothers and sisters, lived in the 300 block of K Street Northeast. My grandparents lived just around the corner at 3rd and K Northeast. Remember, I was not told by Elmer Elliott this story until about 1970. He told me my grandfather had a good job, making at least $50 a day, when during the depression, men who could get a job, were lucky to make 50 cents a day. My grandfather Carmon was a bricklayer and roofing contractor during the depression, and always had a good income during those years. So they always had plenty to eat at the Carmon house.
Elmer told me he and his brothers and sisters had nothing to eat at their house because his father could not find a job. But they always knew my grandfather would have food on the table around 5:30pm each evening. So they would head over to the Carmon place and Stanley and Addie Carmon would always make room at the table for them and any other children in the neighborhood. Elmer said he really believed they would have starved to death had it not been for the Carmons allowing them to eat at their table during those depression years of the 30s.
Just like my grandparents helped a few Ardmore children to eat back in the 30s, I believe the Heartland Share Program will do the same thing, but on a nationwide scale. The program started in 1983 and is already established in many states with distribution points in cities all across America. If you want to help bring the Heartland Share Program to your area, or if you or someone you know can be helped by just such a program, you can find out more at their website. If you live in the Ardmore area you can call 223-5287 for more information. http://www.heartlandshare.com
Last week there was a going away party for Beth Allen in the County Clerks Office at the courthouse. Beth worked for the County Clerk about 7 years, and her smile is going to be missed around the Carter County Courthouse. Her husband transferred to eastern Oklahoma and everyone tried to talk her into just letting him stay over there, but it was to no avail. True love will always win out!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ballen2.jpgI snapped a pic of Cynthia Anderson, the County Clerk, at her desk while the going away party was in progress. Cynthia was re-elected as County Clerk a couple weeks ago. If any of you out of towners are ever in town and near the courthouse, stop by and tell Cynthia hello. She’s always got a big smile to share!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/cynander.jpgSome real good pics from this area were passed along to me this week, but there are so many, I’ll have to share then with everyone over the next few weeks. Here are some:
This is a pic the New Whittington Hotel that used to be located in the SW corner of Caddo and Main street here in Ardmore.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/newwhit.jpgThis is a aerial photo of the Ardmore Airpark.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/airpk.jpgHere is 1908 photo of the Springer, Oklahoma Public School.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/sprisch8.jpgHere’s another aerial photo in which you can see the old Cola Cola Bottling company in the lower right hand corner. It was torn down to build the present sheriffs office and detention center.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ardcoke.jpgAnother aerial view of downtown Ardmore a few years ago.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/arddt.jpgAn aerial of downtown Ardmore looking west. In the dark building in the lower left hand corner by the railway tracks is the old Santa Fe building. My grandfather, Stanley Carmon, built in back in the 30s.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ardwest.jpgSOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“Butch, I’m the web master for the AHS Reunion Contact site. Thanks for the postings on your site. Every bit helps! I’ve updated the site considerably and added new features. Please give a mention in your postings. There is a new home page now and your earlier postings refer to a page that no longer exists on the web site. The new home page is
http://www.cyberflux-solutions.com/AHSReunion/
I’ve set up a Discussion Web too. The AHS Discussion Web is located here
http://www.cyberflux-solutions.com/AHSReunion/discussion/
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“Hi Butch, I can see this smoke stack from my house and often wonder what it once belonged to. I was told long ago that it was part of a gun factory that was located here in Ardmore. I am including some pictures of the area that is Northwest of Day Concrete just off Refinery Road.”
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/smokest2.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/smokest3.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/smokest4.jpg
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“Mr. Bridges: Mr. Bradley Martin of the Fort Smith Trolley Museum has apparently correctly identified the bell as a carriage bell and not a street car gong. He gives a description of a street car gong in case you ever run across one. I hope this helps.”
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/leebell.jpg
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“My father was one of the first OHP troopers on the scene of the crash. He was a 2lt and was probably in charge of the OHP troopers until a higher up arrived. I remember him bringing home some artifacts from the wreckage. I’ll try to find them the next time I visit my mother in Durant. I believe the head-on collision on the Roosevelt Bridge involving two semi’s occurred the same day as the airplane crash. It was a real soggy day back in 66. I remember my father saying the airplane crash reminded him of WWII experiences with the 45th Infantry Division.”
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“Butch, Years ago, when we still had Constables in our counties, there was a local race which involved Mickey Cain & Earl Minter running heads up against each other. I considered these two men to be personal friends of mine, but it happened that Mickey only lived about a couple of miles down the road from us. The morning of election day – my wife & I discussed who we were going to vote for. Usually we would vote the same way and she indicated that she would vote the way I did. We voted at separate times of the day, and somewhere along the way she was not sure just who we had agreed to vote for. That evening when the vote tally came in, each had received the exact same number of votes. These gentlemen agreed that they would settle the problem with a toss of a coin. This would not have been necessary if we had voted the same way. Another example of one vote making a difference.” Ernest Martin, Ardmore, Oklahoma
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“I stumbled across your website while doing a search for Lake Murray. I didn`t have much luck, maybe you can help. I was wanting information on the Bed and Berth at Lake Murray, the new place. Do you know how I can get in contact with them? I would really appreciate any info you can give…. THANKS !!!” -Wichita Falls, TX”
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“Butch: Thanks for T&T. Is the bell at the church the same one that was in the old Mary Niblack school? If the Evers don’t know Joe McReynolds, County Commissioner, should know. His parents Joe H. and Ruth McReynolds donated the property to construct a church on in the 1940’s. Speaking of Mary Niblack, she was one of the first women to be elected County Superintent of Schools. She may have been the first in Carter County and possibly Oklahoma. This might be some interesting research for you.”
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“Thought you might like this for your file. Can you find out what Highway Patrolman Jones first name is? Elmer Koscheski is my dad. He was later undersheriff when Wesley Liddell became sheriff after Clyde McGill died. The photo was taken in 1964 at the Love county Sheriffs Office in Marietta, Oklahoma”
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/elmer.jpg
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“My sister wanted me to ask you a question that you might have the answer to. What has happened to the old skating rink across from the Whittington park and also the swimming pool at Whittington Park. Are they still there? Jack Floyd ran the rink (I don’t know if he or his family was the owner). He was a friend of my sister and her friends.”
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“Hello Butch, Recently, while visiting relatives in Caddo County, my Aunt inquired about the Ford Hotel that used to be here in Ardmore. During WWll when my uncle was drafted, he was stationed at Gainesville, Tex, for a few weeks. My Aunt, rode a bus to Ardmore, and stayed in the Ford Hotel, my Uncle and one of his buddies would drive to Ardmore, from Gainesville, after duty hours, his buddies wife also stayed in the Ford Hotel. From the way my Aunt described it, it was in downtown Ardmore. She asked me if it was still there? Not being from here originally, I have no knowledge of it. I have resided in Ardmore, for 30 years but don’t think I have heard of this Hotel. I would like to know if anyone remembers it or has any photo’s of it. I think it would mean a lot to my Aunt, who has some special memories of her and my Uncle, who stayed there during those uncertain times. Thanks a lot for your attention to this inquiry.”
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============================================Friday evening Ardmore Airpark Fire Chief, Doug Williams, called to tell me Tuck Wilkinson, Wilkinson Nursery and Landscape, had been working all afternoon to finish up the water supply and electrical for the American Flyers Memorial. When its all done, the newly installed freeze-proof water facet behind the Memorial will allow the airpark firefighters to water the bermuda grass and surrounding trees and plants, much easier. And with the electrical line, we be able to install a couple of 12 volt lights so the Memorial can be view at night.
I saw on the news this week where an ex employee of the Marietta, Oklahoma cookie factory is going to open her own “cookie store” next to the Sonic Drive In in Marietta. The cookie factory announced three weeks ago they were closing their retail outlet after 30 years. Ms Jeannine Hicks of Marietta will not be able to sell the “broken cookies” like the old store, but she will carry most of the Keebler products.
I haven’t said thank you in a few months to everyone who’s wrote asking to receive my This and That newsletter. It seems like the past two or three weeks, I’ve had a upsurge in requests. I hope everyone enjoys getting my T&T as much as I do publishing it each Friday night. It is my hope that the past 4 years I have done a small part to preserve some of the history of Carter county and have some fun along the way doing it. Again, thanks for everyone.
“Would ye both eat your cake and have your cake?” -John Heywood, 1546
This is commonly misquotes as “You can’t have you’re cake and eat it, too.”See everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
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Saturday, September 2, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 176
Oh boy, I got another pic of a bell this week! It is the old school bell from the former Sumner School in Noble county, Oklahoma. The bell is on display in front of the Sumner fire station. Sumner is a small place between Perry and Morrison, Oklahoma. Its on the railway, not the highway. They are trying to preserve their identity as something more then a ghost town!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/sumner.jpgThe court clerks office here received a couple of donations of Elvis collection items to go in their collection. This first item was graciously provided by Marietta attorney Kenneth Delashaw.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/elvis5.jpg
And the next item was given to the court clerks office by Ardmoreite Dean Earhart.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/elvis6.jpgYou can check out the infamous “Elvis Room” on the court clerks
website. http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/crtclerk.htmlHere’s a pic of the court clerks working away on the second floor! http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ctclerk4.jpg
In Healdton, Oklahoma is a Department of Corrections Work Center. One of the inmates there is an artist in tooling leather. Here is a leather notebook he made for the police chief of Kingston, Oklahoma.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/leather2.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/leather3.jpgIn the past I’ve been guilty of saying one vote will not make a difference. I will never make that statement again. In our local sheriffs race last week, one vote held the key. It was absolutely unbelievable. Did you not exercise your right to vote?
http://www.ardmoreite.com/stories/083100/new_following.shtmlSOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“Thought you might like a copy of Palacine Oil Company. Picture dated l929 or 39, not clear on back. Palacine Oil Company was located at 310 West Main, Ardmore. The man on the left is Ira Butler.”
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/paloil.jpg
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“Butch, I was wondering if maybe you might mention something regarding our AHS Millenium Celebration, Classes of 1940 thru 1949 are invited to join us for a a reviewing of old friendships, hospitality, dinner and whatever! This will be Sept. 30th at the Lake Murray Lodge. The cost is $20.00 for singles and $35.00 for couples. We will meet at 2:00PM for refreshments and such. You are free to attend this and/or go golfing, fishing, hiking or take a lake cruise. Whatever you want to do until 6:00 PM. We do ask that they be back at the Lodge in time for the dinner. This is hosted by the Class of 1945. Mail your registration and check to Morene Denney, 226 G SW, Ardmore, Ok 73401. Enclose the names, addresses, phone #s and class year of your party members. We do need these right away, please.”
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“Hi Butch, I’m a new subscriber to your weekly “This and That” and I do enjoy all of it. My Aunt, Idalue of Ft. Worth Tx put me on to your letter and I will be forever grateful to her.I was born and raised in Ardmore, but I joined the Air Force in 1954, so I haven’t lived there since. I still call Ardmore home and I come back as often as I can. Being in the Air Force gave me the opportunity to see most of this “Great Country” of ours and a lot of this old world we live in and I can truthfully say there is no place like home. Ardmore is where my heart is, but because of all my children and grandkids bring here I can’t move home”YET!” I’ve enjoyed reading about the bells, old building, the fountain in the park, but I wonder how many of your readers remember the little passenger train we all called the “Dinky.” I believe it ran to Durant and back. If I’m right, it was the first Diesel Engine train in Ardmore. It sounded different than the big Locomotives and it was dependable. Every morning around 08:00am you would hear its strange sounding whistle as it started its run. Also, I wonder how many remember where the old old Hy 70 east was located. I’m not speaking of what is now Okla 199 east, which was Hy 70east until the new Hy70 east, south of town was built. The old old Hy 70 east was just north of where Okla.199 out of Ardmore is now and ran right close to the San A Fe railroad and a large pond called by the same name. As you might guess, I love Ardmore I wish I was there now, even though there are very few people there that I knew way back when. At least I don’t recognize them if they are. When I’m in Ardmore, I go to WAL-MART just to see if I can recognize someone and you know everyone goes there! ha. I’ve took enough of your time. Keep your letter coming we enjoy it very much!! I have a life time of wonderful memories of Ardmore.”
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“I was Carter County Registrar from 1961 to 1997 and have many memories regarding that 1966 American Flyers fatal crash. I had to issue burial permits/removal permits for all the deceased and helped with some of the death certificates also, I will never forget going to the Civic Auditorium and seeing all the bodies and writing until my hand cramped filling out all the paper work. My brother went on ambulance runs with Joel Bettes and he also was a volunteer deputy. He was one of the first persons at the crash site and helped with transporting some of the bodies but was finally asked by one of the law personnel to help direct traffic. The traffic was miles and miles long and hindered the rescue and recovery units. He worked for over 36 hours without sleep before he went home to sleep a few hours and go to his job.”
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“Hi Butch Saw the inquiry about the Coca Cola sign on the mountain and thought I would pass this information along. We have been told in the 20’s, when the ranch was owned by Cal Washburn, the rocks did indeed spell out Coca Cola. Then the company decided not to renew and the rocks were used to form the now famous Lazy S Ranch sign. The sign measures 70 ft. high x 100 feet wide although that area doubles when it’s time to repaint. HA! If your readers have any more questions about the Lazy S Ranch we would be more than happy to answer them. Keep up the good work with the newsletter.”
[email protected]
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I’m catching up on my e-mail and my eye caught the American Flyers Memorial page(s). It looks like these pages are dedicated to those who flew while serving for the U.S. am I right ? I just wondered, because my father, Frank Falejczyk, who was a pioneer in piloting and experimental flying has a web page that his daughter (yours truly) gave him for his birthday two years ago.
http://fly.to/frankspage
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“Hi Butch – I’ve been enjoying your newsletter. I wonder if you or your readers could suggest how a Dallas family might find cheap land in the Arbuckles? We’d like to find at least 100 acres at way less than $1000 if possible; and if there were options to buy more later that’d be great.. TIA for any polite suggestions!”
[email protected]
Robert Groover, 972-380-6333×230
17000 Preston Rd. no.230, Dallas, TX 75248
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“Mr. Bridges: I copied this picture and your comments and sent them USPS to my long time Ft. Smith, Arkansas friend, Charles Winters, who now lives in Kansas City. He only has Juno e-mail and can’t receive pictures off the Internet. I think what Mr. Evers may have is a bell off a streetcar. The motorman could operate it with his foot and the loudness would be consistent with the requirements of a streetcar. Charles will know because he had one on an old 1940s era Chrysler that he inherited from his father. If I remember correctly the bell came off a Ft Smith Light and Traction Co car. Service was abandoned in 1934. Now our only problem is getting an answer from him. He has e-mail, but won’t use it. I’ll probably have to call him in a couple weeks to see what he has to say about the bell. BTW, Charles is a walking encyclopedia of railroad and Ft Smith, Arkansas history. There aren’t too many question he can’t answer about the two subjects. He is working on a book about the history of the Fort Smith & Western Ry. The FS&W ran from Ft. Smith to Guthrie and Oklahoma City and was abandoned in 1938. Hopefully, he will have it published soon. I’ll let you know what I find out about the bermuda bell.”
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/leebell.jpg
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“Hello from Amarillo. There was a bell on the north east corner of the Berwyn School, now the Gene Autry Museum, I remember Buster Dillion ringing it on the first day of school when I was in the first grade. They took the clapper off and hid it so we could not ring the bell on Halloween, but we found it in the basement and rang in the halloween at midnight, god we were bad back then.”
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“Hello Butch, Recently, while visiting relatives in Caddo County, my Aunt inquired about the Ford Hotel that used to be here in Ardmore. During WWII when my uncle was drafted, he was stationed at Gainesville, Tex, for a few weeks. My Aunt, rode a bus to Ardmore, and stayed in the Ford Hotel, my Uncle and one of his buddies would drive to Ardmore, from Gainesville, after duty hours, his buddies wife also stayed in the Ford Hotel. From the way my Aunt described it, it was in downtown Ardmore. She asked me if it was still there? Not being from here originally, I have no knowledge of it. I have resided in Ardmore, for 30 years but don’t think I have heard of this Hotel. I would like to know if anyone remembers it or has any photo’s of it. I think it would mean a lot to my Aunt, who has some special memories of her and my Uncle, who stayed there during those uncertain times. Thanks a lot for your attention to this inquiry.” [email protected]
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============================================We had some special visitors to the American Flyers Memorial last Sunday afternoon. It was the President and Treasurer of the American Flyers Employee Association, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. They and some others were here to see the memorial before they hold their association meeting September 16th at Arlington, Texas.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/hickman2.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/hickman3.jpgAlso Tuck Wilkinson, Wilkinson Nursery and Landscape here in Ardmore was at the memorial site digging a ditch, in preparation for water lines and electric lines. This will allow the site to be more easily watered, and let us install some 12v lights for night time.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/afmditch.jpgSpeaking about the new Memorial at the airpark, if things go okay, we should be broadcasting live using a video cam from the Memorial site in a couple of weeks. It will probably be on a Saturday morning. And the next Saturday morning we hope do a live broadcast from the top of the courthouse…. letting everyone login and get a view of downtown Ardmore. I know many of you have written me the past 3 or 4 years, telling me you lived in Ardmore 30, 40 or 50 years ago, and but have not been back since a child. I hope these live broadcasts will let you see downtown Ardmore once again! I’ll keep everyone posted on the progress of this first ever event for Ardmore!
I received an email this week from a couple in California. They are moving to Pontotoc, Oklahoma. Thats in Johnston County, just north of Tishomingo. Has anyone been through Pontotoc, Oklahoma lately? Know what is there? Or maybe someone has some other history about Pontotoc, or maybe even a photo? This couple would like to learn as much as they can about their “new home”…. Pontotoc.
“The road to a friend’s house is never long.” – Danish Proverb
See everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
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Saturday, August 26, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 175
This past week I learned about the broken cookie store in Marietta, Oklahoma closing down its retail outlet. Those of you from this area knows how hard it was to drive by that cookie factory, smell those delicious cookies cooking, and try not to stop. A person just had to stop and buy those 99 cent bags of broken cookies. For whatever reason, the retail outlet is now closed after decades of serving the public. Here is a photo of the sign that attracted people to the outlet store in Marietta. The sign has now been painted over.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/cooksign.jpgThis week has sure been a good week for finding bells! One was sent to me by an Ardmore High school teacher. He said he remembered me in high school and I was a good kid. For all you non-believers, I have his email below that proves I was a good kid in school. hahahahaha
“Hello Butch, I enjoy your “This & That” every Saturday. I was a math and science teacher in the Ardmore City Schools as well as a Counselor at Ardmore High School and Assistant Principal at Ardmore Middle School. My career span 25 years beginning in 1964 with the ACS’s and ending with my last 5 years as Principal at Dickson High School, where I retired. I told you all that so I could qualify the statement ” I remember you in school and may have taught you”. The memories are all good! I drove by this bell today and stopped and took a picture for your collection. The bell is located 8 miles north of Maysville, Oklahoma on highway 74, going north toward Purcell. The bell is in a front yard on the East side of the highway.”
From Charles Smith. [email protected]
This bell Charles found puts a whole new meaning to portable bell!!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/maysbell.jpgLee and Peggy Evers live SE of Ardmore and attend the Mary Niblack Baptist Church. For many years there has been a bell in the belfry of the church but most church members had forgot the bell with the passage of time. About ten years ago, a rope was attached to the bell, and its rung every Sunday morning since! Lee let me get a pic of the grand old bell…. and it may be rusty but it is beautiful! The church bell was made in 1886!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/mnbcbell.jpgAround 1950 Lee Evers had a car he drove around, and he had a bell mounted in the floor board. Not just any bell, a bermuda bell. He let me see this unique bell this week, and I was amazed how loud it was, when you mashed on the push rod to make it ring. It did a couple of searches on the Net and couldn’t find anything about the bermuda bell. So I assume it is a very unusual item. Hang on to that bell Lee!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/leebell.jpgLee also had a old bell laying on the ground by his house. He hasn’t had time to get it mounted yet, but he will. Its one of those bells made by C.S. Bell Company of Hillsboro, Ohio in the year 1889. The bell came from the old now non-existent Teller school located just over into Johnston county.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/leebel2.jpgJust west of Harvey Road and McLain Road, SE of Ardmore, I found a house that has TWO bells! That’s right, two bells. The house is located in an area of southeast Ardmore that used to be called Breezy Point 60 and more years ago.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/bpbella.jpg
This is the bell on the west side of the house.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/bpbellb.jpgThe bells added this week brings the total to 54 bells on my Bell page! I know there are more bells around Oklahoma, let me know if you see one! Or better yet, take a pic for me!!!
http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/italy/56/index.htmlAlso just west of Harvey Road and McLain road is one of the few old style iron bridges remaining in Carter county. Its one of those with board slats across it. I sure hate to see all those old bridges being replaced, but its called progress. This one was built about 1910, has the wood slats running across it, a one lane bridge. Maybe it will be around a while longer!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ironbrdg.jpgBack 15 or 20 years ago, before Windows, when we had something on the screen we wanted to print, all one had to do is hit the “Print Screen” key at the upper right hand corner of the keyboard. With the advent of Windows, the print screen key changed a little. You and still print what you see on your screen, but it takes several steps. I had to do just that this week, and it was like dejavu and the DOS days all over again.
The way to Print Screen in Windows is to first open WordPad, Notepad, Word, etc., and have it at a blank screen. Then minimize Wordpad or whatever, and go hack to what you want what you see on your screen and you want to print. Example: Let’s say you are looking at a database record, and you want to print it out. Just click Print Screen (you’ll think nothing happened) and then go to the blank page in your Wordpad. Now while holding down the CTRL key, hit the “V” key. This will paste the webpage into Wordpad. Now you can print it out by just going to File and Print as you usually do. You can also save it to a file if you want too. This can really be a lifesaver sometimes!
I mentioned a few weeks ago about a proposed flowing fountain was talked about being installed in 1915 at the courthouse. The exact time was February of 1915 and there was already a water pipe installed on the west side of the courthouse in the center of the flower plat. The fountain was be made of concrete, a six foot deep area, and backed with rough rock. The ladies civic beauty league had talked about installing the fountain for some time, and it was estimated it could be done for less then $200. If the commissioners did not have the money available to build the fountain, a new movement would be made to revive the stagnated womens league, in hopes of getting the fountain built. In 1915 there was not one fountain in any of the city parks, nor in any of the yards of the more prestigious home in Ardmore. I am still trying to find out if the fountain was actually installed.
Last year I mentioned about a website that lets you send encrypted email called hushmail. The past few weeks I”ve seen a lot more on TV and in magazines about the concern people have about email security. If you are one of those, and want to make sure you email is unreadable except by the person you send it to, go check out hushmail. http://www.hushmail.com
And if you want to hold a conference with up to four people such as a business meeting and give a powerpoint slide presentation, etc., then myplaceware.com has what you need. It has a lot of features, and its free! http://www.myplaceware.com
SOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“I need information about the Ardmore-Akron Tire and Rubber Company regarding a Certificate for 1 share ($100) of Common Stock issued to James R Gentry (my great grandfather) on August 3rd 1921 signed by Fox Wood-President and Roy Wood-Secretary. Any information about this company from August 1921 to present and/or information regarding these certificates of stock from past date to present would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your assistance.” [email protected]
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“Hi, do you have any record of there being Coca-Cola on the mountain off of I-35 that has the Lazy S on it now? Have a sister who claims she can remember that.”
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“Hi Butch, I am glad to see someone is interested in researching that infamous deputy, Bud Ballew, other than myself.I was in London recently and was unable to look up any articles about the infamous duo because I didn’t make a reservation to do research in the library there far enough in advance. I do have a friend in London who said she will have a go at finding articles about them in the London Times when she has a chance. I’ll post them on the net when I get them. Let’s hope she gets around to that soon. I have some questions for Ballew’s greatgranddaughter and or the folks that are planning on writting the book about Ballew. Is there any documentation that Bud was a deputy marshall? If so, from what year to what year? Also, do any of them believe the explanation given by Mrs Riotte as to why Ballew killed Brazil? I for one do not believe it. One reason is that Brazil had never proven himself to be much of a gunman or exceptionally brave. For example, when Brazil attempted to arrest my greatgranfather, George Love, for trafficking whiskey, he and his men ambushed George and fired at him from ther hidding places. And when George killed one of the deputies, they all fled the scene. This is not, I think, the way a lawman who supposedly freightened a character like Ballew would behave. Again, any comment from folks more in the know would be appreciated.” Steve [email protected]
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“Butch, Did you know about the Labor Day weekend there is a Choctaw Fair at Tuskahoma, Oklahoma on September 1-4. On Saturday night there is a free concert with BR5-49, TG Sheppard, Janie Fricke and last but not least Loretta Lynn. On Friday night the singers will be Great Divide, David Frizzell and Diamond Rio. They say to bring your lawn chairs and it is free.”
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“My husband’s g grandfather was to have lived about 18 mi south of Ardmore near Yellow Hill. Do you know of this location?”
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============================================I want to thank those of you who sent me condolences by email and over the phone, when you heard of my uncle, Pratt Carmon’s, death. Time changes things. I think we should live each day as if it was our last. In the real world, there is no crystal ball with which to see into the future. Each day is a present.
“Love builds bridges where there are none.” -R.H. Delaney
See everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
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Saturday, August 19, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 174
I received an interesting letter this week with a check inside for $25. It was from the parents of one of the soldiers killed April 22, 1966 in that plane crash northeast of Ardmore. What made the letter so interesting was the newspaper clipping inside. It was an article from the New Haven, Connecticut newspaper on the American Flyers Memorial that was dedicated last June. http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/memct.jpg
Another letter that came this week was from my friend Herman Kirkwood in Oklahoma City. He is one of the most renown Oklahoma historians I’ve ever met. Herman has probably visited nearly every city and town in Oklahoma, seeking out outlaw and lawman history from the bygone years. A couple years ago Herman was in Ardmore and stopped by for a visit. He was showing me some photos he took in his Oklahoma travels, and one was very unusual. It was of a tombstone at a cemetery at Konawa, Oklahoma.
But there is something strange at the Konawa, Oklahoma cemetery. A monument in memory of a teenage girl who died in 1899 at Konawa. On the grave stone it reads, “Murdered by human wolves”. I wonder what the message is they are trying to tell?
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/konawa88.jpgIf you have a yearning for Oklahoma history on the outlaws and lawmen when Oklahoma was a young state, then make plans to be in Konawa, Oklahoma on October the 21st and 22nd. Herman will be there along with the other Oklahombre members, putting on a Fall 2000 Rendezvous. One of the guest speakers will be Bill James of Carrollton, Texas. He’ll be talking about Jim Miller, one of those four hanged at Ada, mentioned in an email I received this week in the Mailbag below. Attendee will even get to visit the site at Ada, Oklahoma where the hanging took place back in 1909. I’ll be telling more about the Fall 2000 Rendezvous over the next few weeks. I’m planning to attend!
Wetumka, Oklahoma is most widely known for the circus that never came to town during the early 50s. A circus promoter came into Wetumka, or at least he said he was a circus promoter, and sold tickets during the week to the townspeople for a circus that was suppose to be in town the coming Saturday. The circus never came, and the folks knew they were had by a quick talking con artist. The people of Wetumka still have their Sucker Day the last Saturday of August each year to celebrate the circus that never came.
http://www.pe.net/~rksnow/okcountywetumkacev.htmHave you ever had a ceiling fan that was out of balance? I had one this week and made several attempts to balance it. I did a search on the Net for “How to balance a ceiling fan”, and found some interesting help. But in the end, it still wobbled. But those of you who know me, just because of one evening of failure, I’m not going to give up. I’ll attempted to balance that blasted ceiling fan again in a few days, and let you know how it goes.
I had some interesting visitors this week from Canada. Elmer McGinnis and his wife were in Ardmore doing some research on the infamous deputy sheriff Bud Ballew. Bud Ballew was the right hand man for Sheriff Buck Garrett, the most famous sheriff of this county for all time. The McGinnis’ are planning to do a book on Bud Ballew soon, and were seeking info. So I put them in touch with Bud Ballew’s great-granddaughter, Ann Ballew Carlton down in Natchez, Mississippi. Ann too, has been to Ardmore doing research on her famous Great Granddaddy Ballew, so I’m sure they will have lots to talk about!
A reader who was born at Wirt, Oklahoma (western Carter County) sent me a pic of the First Baptist Church at Wirt. Wirt is just a ghost town now…. nothing left but memories.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/wirt1st.jpgLet’s see, first there was Napster for people to use for sharing files, music files. And just when we thought it’s death certificate was about to be signed, a judge somewhere saved it, at least for a little while longer. But Napster’s death would not have made much difference since Gnutella was already moving up to second place, making file sharing as easy as Napster. But now there is a new program out there that allows people to share files world-wide, its called Toadnode. hahahaha http://www.toadnode.com/about.htm
If you use Outlook Express as you email program, and want so really neat and beautiful stationary to make your emails special, just go to http://www.thundercloud.net and download. They’re free! The stationary is listed on the right hand side of the screen. Of course I like the Native American Collection. But there’s something there for everyone!
SOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“I’m looking for pictures of my Great Grandmother’s hotel that she owned in Ardmore many years ago. My mother says that the hotel was called, Jordan Hotel or Babe’s Rooms or the Dixie Hotel. My Great Grandmother may have owned more than one hotel. Her name was Susie Mary Jordan. She married George Washington Jordan. The address of the hotel could have been, 12 A Street, Northeast in Ardmore, Oklahoma. I’ll guess and say the years were between 1930-1948. Here is my email if anyone can help.” [email protected]
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“Check out Blue Grass web page” http://www.sharnetcorp.net/sundown
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“I’m going to be doing a book signing at Hastings Book Store in Ardmore Saturday 26th from 4:00-6:00 pm. I write children’s books and will be autographing the first two in my ‘Land’ series of holiday mysteries. Their titles are “Wonderland” and “Heartland”. We’ll be giving away free books and animals every 30 minutes while I there as a donation from my publishing company, Rainbow Publications. I know how many people read your site and how much I’ve enjoyed it and was hoping you’d put in a good word for me. I’d love to meet the good people who live in my mom’s native state. Also Rainbow Publications and Toys are going to donate books to Ardmore’s Elementary and Middle schools and their public library if their librarian or a representative will be at the signing to accept them and have their picture made with the author.” Jane Hale in Buffalo, MO [email protected]
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“one of your reader’s was looking for info. on deacon jim miller their is a book called shotgun for hire that has a story about the the outlaw and photo’s of other outlaws that (hang) with him”
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Butch, I am looking for some information that I hope your readers can give me. I work at the Greater Southwest Historical Museum in Ardmore, and we are looking to do an exhibit on the history of the building we are in. For those that don’t know we are located at 35 Sunset Drive, Ardmore, OK 73401. Over the years the building has been many things, most people know it as either the old National Guard Armory or the skating rink. It has also been used for gymnastics, as well as other things along the years. We are looking for pictures, actual items that people would be willing to loan us for temporary use, or just stories that people have of coming to the building. If anyone can help us please email me at [email protected] or contact Stephanie at (580) 226-3857, we would love to hear from anyone that has information on our building.”
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============================================Last March I told everyone about my uncle here in Ardmore, Pratt Carmon, having a stroke. He never really got over that stroke and this week he died from complications in Hurst, Texas. Pratt was my mother’s brother.
http://www.ardmoreite.com/stories/081800/obi_carmon.shtml“Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.” -Abraham Lincoln
See everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
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Saturday, August 12, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 173
After a bumpy start, a concrete slab is finally in place in front of the courthouse on which the pavilion will sit. I took some pics of Day Concrete pouring the concrete slab. It was over 100 degree heat, and there were 12 concrete men, working fast and furious to get the slap ready before it set up. But it looks great….. and soon the pavilion will be in place!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/paviln3.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/paviln4.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/paviln5.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/paviln6.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/paviln8.jpg
And here is the finished product!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/paviln9.jpgI been saying for weeks now, when the pavilion is finished, I hope we can have a watermelon feed under it for the courthouse employees at high noon some Friday. We just need to find someone to furnish about 10 or so watermelons, and we can take care of the rest! We need to feed about 50 people. Any watermelon farmers out there?
I noticed the workers with RFD Construction out of Sulphur are going around City Hall here in Ardmore putting in those beautiful red brick sidewalks. They did Main street a long time ago, and the past few weeks have been doing North and South Washington at Main. If things go okay, hopefully we will have the same beautiful bricks around the new pavilion presently being built at the courthouse. Here’s a pic of the work going on around City Hall.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/cbricks.jpgWhile I was out on the forth floor roof of the courthouse, I took a pic of Ardmore looking southeast. The tall structure is Bluebonnet Feeds. You can see the red brick sheriffs office in front of the feed mill.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ardse2.jpgLast week I told about Healdton housewife Martha Treadwell being the first lady to run for the office of county commissioner in Carter county back in 1971. She was truly a trailblazer in her own right. There were so many who ran for the office that year in District 2,I left out two candidates. But as we know E.C. “Chub” Davis won the office. Here are the candidates and the ballots casts:
Chub Davis 1,078; Carl Pevehouse 844; Leon Loftis 424; Jim Dollar 142; Rex Puckett 158; Giffin 100; Don Duke 98; Roscoe O’Dell 82; Martha Treadwell 71; and Moss 37 votes.
SOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“butch, i just got my internet explorer 5.5 downloaded and my computer went from a vw to a rr. also your photos downloaded just fine.”
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“My name is Kim, I live here in Ardmore and am doing some research on a famous gunman. I was reading an article in the Sat. May 9, 1998 Vol 2 Issue 55 you had written. I am looking for any information on killer “Deacon Jim Miller” I am looking for authors, pictures, or relatives with any connection to Jim Miller and the lynching in Ada, Oklahoma (1909).” [email protected]
http://www.brightok.net/~bridges/adalynch.html
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“After reading last weeks newsletter about the bell and Hillsboro, I did a little snooping and could not come up with a foundry in Hillsboro, OR. That’s not to say one existed in the past. Oregon isn’t necessarily “industrialized”, especially years ago, so it’s probably safe to assume Ohio is the place. I won’t abandon the query however. You never know what will turn up under the next rock.”
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“The Hillsboro has to be Ohio where the bell was made. I used to live in Hillsboro, Oregon (1967-72), before coming to Alaska and there were no bells made there. Hillsboro, Oregon, is the outskirts (20 miles West) of Portland, Oregon.”
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“Regarding the 5th Ave. Viaduct. It burned on July 4, 1964. My brother Bobby and I happened to come down 3rd Avenue shortly after the fire started. We stopped the car and walked up close to the burning structure. Since I had an 8mm movie camera with me and a fresh roll (50 feet) of movie film, I shot the whole roll on the fire and got scenes from shortly after the viaduct was engaged until parts of the viaduct collapsed. I would consider making a DV tape or QuickTime movie CD of that fire available to an Ardmore museum or library, if one were interested.”
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“I enjoy reading This & That, you do a wonderful job. I was wondering if you or any of your readers have or know where I could find some old pictures of Caney, Oklahoma. Preferably around 1910 to 1915. I am particularly interested in a drug store on the main street at that time. Thanks.” [email protected]
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“Attached is a picture of “my wifes” bell. We purchased it while on vacation (visiting in-laws!) a few years ago in the northern part of Ohio. It has “No. 1 Yoke 1886” on one side, and “RANKING SNYDER Louisville KY” on the other. We didn’t get any history or other information when we purchased it.”
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ohiobell.jpg
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“Speaking of watermelons, my niece & her husband came up from Mississippi for a short visit a couple of weeks ago & I just knew they would bring one of those big Mississippi watermelons with them but they forgot to. This reminds me of a story that happened one summer when we were visiting down at Mize, Mississippi. This little old town of Mize, Mississippi is known for its timber, freshwater streams, swamps, snakes & agriculture. As a money crop the farmers raise wonderful watermelons that are either trucked out or loaded on to freight trains for shipment north. A buyer showed up on the scene & offered a fair price for all the melons that they would bring in to the loading docks. Truck load after truck load of big watermelons were carted in. The buyer was overwhelmed by the large number of melons he was obligated to buy. Anyway, he decided to renege on the price and offered a much reduced price. The farmers did not say much in response to his crawfishing on the price but that doesn’t mean they did not react. The trucks backed up almost to the dock & one by one, dumped their load on the ground along the railroad track. Then they drove back & forth over the melons until the watermelon juice ran down the ditches as it flowed toward “Clear Creek” near by. The buyer left with NO melons.”
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============================================Two of my long time T&T readers live in Montana. As we have heard from the newscasts, the fires are terrible in that state. Here is an email I received from them late Thursday night…..
“You can’t believe it. It is a true disaster situation. The schools are over flowing with evacuees. The smoke is so thick that you can not see the house right next to your own. Millions of acres are on fire and over a hundred homes have burned. Karry is on the fire now as we speak and haven’t heard from him lately. There are thousands of fires here in Montana and growing every second. Lots of dry lightning.” -Karry and Lezlee in Montana.
If you are a praying person, pray for Karry and Lezlee and the people of Montana, that those fires will be brought under control soon.
“The safety of the state is the highest law.” -Justinian
This quote is above the entrance to our courthouse on the north side. It was chiseled into the granite in 1910 when the courthouse was being built. I watch the news on TV and see all over this country how lawless people are trying to tear down what has took over 250 years to build. Thousands of Americans have given their lives so we can do what we want, go where we want, say what we want and worship where we want. I think how important freedom is, and how people are risking everything to get here, to enjoy the same freedom as we who live here do.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/highlaw.jpgSee everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
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Saturday, August 6, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 172
Last week I told about my next door neighbor’s house getting TeePee’d. Now those little devils are at it again. They teepee’d a house just a block over and south of me. hahahaha
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/320dsw.jpgThis week there’s been a lot of excitement at the county Assessor’s office at the courthouse when a company in Ft Collins, Colorado came down and installed their new assessor’s program. It will replace one they been using since 1988. The program is the cat’s meow….. all Windows 2000 based and packed with features the office didn’t have in the old program. It’s the same program I told you about the Assessor at Oklahoma County (Oklahoma City) using a few months ago. Here is the link to the software company in Colorado that produces the assessment program.
http://www.coloradocustomware.com/I tried to take a screen shot of the program, but the pic didn’t come out very good.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/rscreen1.jpgI did get a couple photos of Colorado RealWare instructors Cindy and Crystal tutoring some of the employees in the Assessor’s Office.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/rcrystal.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/rwcindy.jpgThe new program also allows the attachment of photos of each piece of property to the corresponding record. The office has digital cameras which field employees use to take pics of the properties, bring back to the office, and upload into the new program. It’s all high tech and state of the art, putting the Assessor’s Office into the 21st century!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/rscreen2.jpgI ran a cable this week for a computer that will be used for public access for walk-ins. The computer will be near the front door of the Assessor Office. This means the public will be able to do their own look-ups if they want to do so.
Also the wheels are turning to make the information in the new program available over the Internet. This is the same service the Oklahoma County Assessor provides in his county. It allows the database to be searched by Name, or Address or Parcel Number by any one with Internet access. If all goes as planned, the info should be available on the Net in just a few weeks, making Carter County the second county in Oklahoma to make their Assessor records available on the Net. If you want to get a idea of how it works on the Net, just go to the Oklahoma County Assessors Website and check it out. Just click on “search records”. http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assessor/default.htm If you want to do a search, look up my uncle’s property on OKC using, Bridges Doyle as the search criteria. It looks like he’s a land baron with all the property listings. hahahaha. I’m sure he will send me a nasty email, when he finds out I used his name. hahaha
Two weeks ago I spoke about the 100+ year old “Morris chair” that one of the employees at the courthouse owns. Here are a couple better pics. In one you can see the “slots” used to make the back adjustable.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/chair2.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/chair3.jpgThis week I received a letter in the mail from Arkansas with an American Flyers postcard in it from back in 1964. It was sent to me by one of the American Flyers stewardesses. She is the one standing with brown hair in the 1964 photo.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/afacard2.jpg
Here is a close-up of stewardess Corine I cropped from the postcard.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/corine.jpg
I’ll put the pic of the postcard on the American Flyers Memorial Website and remember the pics are also in the Photo Album under the Folder American Flyers. Just click on “Go to My Pictures”.
http://history.users.netdrive.comDoubleExplore is what you need to copy or move files or folders from one folder to another. Double Explore opens two separate Explorer windows in “Open” view and sizes them side by side or one beneath the other on your Desktop. You will get the same advantages as with all those NC clones, but with the typical Explorer options and much cheaper.
http://www.rsoft-home.de/doubleex.htmlA GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST
In October 1971 about 7 people filed for the Carter County Commissioners post for District 2. There was Carl Pevehouse, a Ratliff City rancher. (The post came up for election when incumbent Joyce Taliaferro died in office in August of 1971.) Others seeking the post were Leon W. Loftis, an Ardmore rancher; Jim Dollar, a Healdton construction worker; and Rex Puckett, an oil field worker. Also running was Donald Duke, who created a special interest in the election since he had the same name as State Representative Don Duke. But also a candidate for the county commissioners office was Healdton, Oklahoma resident Martha Treadwell. Mrs. Treadwell would put her name in history as the first ever female to run for the Carter County commissioners office. In the end, E.C. “Chub” Davis would edge out all those seeking the office, including Mrs. Treadwell.
I should have that photo scanned of Mrs. Treadwell next week.
SOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“Butch, That info I sent you about Woodford I have stuck up on my Ghost Towns section at
http://members.xoom.com/OkieLegacy/ghostowns.html
You or your readers wouldn’t happen to have any recent pics of some of the listed ghost towns in your area, would you? I would love to have some photos of what they look like today.”
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“Butch – the Main Street Authority is trying to locate some interior photos of the old Ardmore Santa Fe Depot. It occurred to me that perhaps some of your readers might have photos we could scan. Judi Elmore (board president of the Main Street Authority).”
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“Before the Postal Service came out with their list of two-letter codes that were designed for the convenience of machines rather than people, the standard abbreviation for Ohio was “O.” Oregon was “Ore.” or “Oreg.” (And Oklahoma was “Okla.”)
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“I did a little research and may have the answer to your question on where the bell originated. There Is not only a Hillsboro, Oregon; there is also a Hillsboro, Ohio and this is more than likely where the bell was made. I found an interesting site with a great picture of a bell tower in Rugby, North Dakota. It mentions one of the bells being made by the C.S. Bell Company in Hillsboro, Ohio and had come from a Presbyterian Church built in 1905.”
http://tradecorridor.com/rugby/bells.htm.
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“Butch, two weeks ago I saw an old bell, much like the one pictured on 3rd NE, in one of the Antique Shops on Main Street of Davis, Oklahoma. I can’t for the life of me remember which one. It was on the South side of the Street and is one of three located there.”
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“Does anyone have photos or history on the original 5th Avenue N.E. Viaduct (or “vie-dock” as neighborhood kids called it)? It was a creosote timber structure, built very much like the G and I Street Frisco Trestles we’re now trying to save. I remember hearing the jingling of washers against the nuts and bolts that held it together as we drove over in Mom and Dad’s ’60 Chevy. It burned in a spectacular fire in the early 60s (Dad got a little 8mm movie footage of the fire) and was replaced by the current concrete and steel version. Photos would be great. I’d particularly like to know if it was actually built by the railroads.”
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“I am helping a friend do a little research into a previous Ardmore Police Chief. The person I am researching is Hubert Bartlett who was Police Chief from @1946 – @1953. He was later a state crime bureau agent. He died in April of 1959 and is buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery. My friend inherited his duty pistol, which is quite fancy and custom made. I am looking for any information about this individual and would especially love to find a photograph of him.”
[email protected]
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“Butch, I found a bell for you while we were in Guthrie, Oklahoma on Monday. I finally got around to downloading the pics from my camera to the HD just now. This bell can be found on the SW corner of Logan & (I can’t remember the N/S street) towards the east side of Guthrie where the Central Elementary School is now.”
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/guthbell.jpg
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============================================I don’t think I’ve ever shown everyone the bell that is in my front yard. I’m always on the look-out for bells. If you seen any, let me know!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/mybell2.jpgA couple months ago I let everyone see a pic of my next door neighbor’s dog….. she is 10 years old and a doll. Never barks at anyone nor gives a minute’s trouble. Even though she belongs to my next door neighbor, she stays at my house a lot because she knows I’ll give her milk and pamper her with treats. Here’s a pic I took of her this week.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/mydog800.jpg“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” -Abraham Lincoln
See everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
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Saturday, July 29, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 171
I got a pic of that bell out on Burns Road, SW of Ardmore. It’s Owner, Roscoe Campbell told me he obtained the bell in 1949 while working on an oil lease near Lindsey, Oklahoma. It’s owner in 1949 was about 80 years old and told Mr. Campbell his mother called him with this bell when he was a kid. He said if Mr. Campbell would promise to keep the bell forever, he’d let him have it free of charge! So to this day its in his front yard on Burns Road SW of Ardmore.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/bellcamp.jpgMr. Campbell’s bell was made in Hillsboro, O. I am not sure what the “O” stands for…. Ohio, Oregon??
Also in Mr. Roscoe Campbell’s front yard was a mini oil well he built out of scrap iron. Pretty neat.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/miniwell.jpgHere’s a pic of a bell in the backyard of a house at 702 11th NW here in Ardmore.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/bell702.jpgI was over in the NE part of Ardmore this week and noticed the old Hunt’s Grocery was closed down. They said it closed down about May of this year. It’s original owner was Herman Hunt, Sr. Herman also built and owned the old “Hilltop” grocery at Wallace and Chickasaw Blvd when he was a young man. He ran both groceries for about two years, then only operated the one on 3rd NE until his death in 1971.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/huntsg.jpgThat digital camera donated by Bill Dixon in Healdton, OK went for $78 on eBay! The $78 will be placed in the American Flyers Memorial Fund showing Bill Dixon as the donor of the money.
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=387121926Adastra Freestar displays a realistic view of the night sky from any place on Earth or point in time. Version 3.5 lets you make stars appear to twinkle by using a “scintillation” effect. Freeware.
http://www.skynow.com/coeli/adastra.htmSOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“Hi Butch, I am wondering if anyone knows of Ruth or her family. Ruth Stamps was a court clerk in Tishomingo, because I have Hal Stamps and Velma Trotter papers..when Hal Stamps died… He owned Stamps Dry Goods. And was stamped by “Ruth Stamps” county clerk. Does anyone remember the Stamps Dry Goods Store or better yet…. a picture? Would love to find out. Ruth Stamps would of worked there in 1971 Thank you.” [email protected]
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“Hi Butch, I just read the article about the Morris chair. Would you believe it is the same Morris family that owns the newspaper in your town and also the newspaper here In Juneau. Mr. William Morris the III is here in Juneau this week.”
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“Butch in the information about the picture of the Hwy Patrol the person mentioned that their Grandfather was a photographer in Marietta, I have been trying to find information about a F.J. Pierce who had a photograph studio in Marietta his wife’s name was Ida; would there be any way you could contact her about this or could I? they are relatives I have been trying to find in my genealogy search.”
[email protected]
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“I saw a pistol like that at a store in Santa Fe. It was a charcoal grill. Perhaps your picture is one, too?”
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/springgn.jpg ————————————————————
“I just talked to my mom on the phone. She grew up in N.E Ardmore, and recalls the old brick yard. She says it was located north of 7th N.E. on the west side of the train tracks. We’ll see if we can come up with a picture of it.”
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“Something you might want to check out. Out near Gene Autry there is a house made of old tires.The has was built by Dale Dixon and his wife. Dale would more than likely let you take pictures of it to share with your reader. They did and excellent job on it and it is recycling at best, plus energy saver.”
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“Every now and then my brothers and I talk about things and places you used to see in downtown Ardmore before the “mall era”. Does anybody remember or have photos of a little eating establishment called “The Little Big Stand”. Seems like it was on the north side of Main down around where Noble Affiliates’ office building is now. I’d also like to find a photo of the locally famous “tamale cart” and the fellow who ran it. Thanks.” [email protected]
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“Butch just wondered if you had ever come across a photography studio named Hartung, Ardmore, IT. I have a photo with that on it and I had never heard of it just wondered if you had ever run across that name.” [email protected]
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“We’ve been digging since around 10:00 this morning to find a picture of the old Ardmore brick yard. Sorry to say that we didn’t have any luck. However, we did come out with some interesting old pictures of Hudson-Houston Lumber Yard. The original Houston Brothers Lumber before it became Hudson-Houston. The pic was taken in 1900. Notice the guys up on the phone pole.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/hhbros.jpgThe Hudson Houston Lumber Company in Wilson, OK. My grandfather, Grover Wells, started that yard. He was the purchasing agent for Hudson-Houston. He is the young man standing on the threshold of the doorway.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/hhwilson.jpgThe Hudson Houston retail store. Grover Wells is on the far left. The other men are unidentified. My mother still has one of those old wooden chairs you see behind and on the left. Taken in the 1920’s.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/hhretail.jpgMy grandfather, Grover S. Wells, at his desk. This was taken not long before his death in 1934.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/gswells.jpgA semi-pro baseball team from the Ardmore area. The only one we know in the picture is Grover Wells, back row, second from right in the Ardmore shirt. Probably taken in the early 1920’s.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ardball.jpgAn old postcard of an early day Ardmore grocery store. No date found on the card, and we’re not sure where the store was located.”
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/higgroc.jpg
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“Butch, I was reading my book (“Ghost Towns of Oklahoma” by John W. Morris) and spotted an interesting little town in your neck of the woods. The name of the town is Woodford (a.k.a. Bywater), Sec. 34, T2S, R1W, 11-1/2 miles north, 9 miles west of Ardmore. According to this book that was written in 1975, Woodford (Bywater) had a Post Office from February 4, 1884 thru November 22, 1974.”
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“NO-FRILLS GRAPHICS EDITOR. ImageForge is an easy-to-use image editor with all of the basics. It’s ideal for painting, merging images, creating art for Web pages, retouching photos, and creating animations.”
http://www.cursorarts.com/ca_prod.html
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============================================I had some history to pass along, but was unable to get a pic of the lady. In 1971 she set a record that had not been done since statehood (1907). She lived in Healdton, OK. I’ll give everyone a glimpse into the past next saturday of this interesting Healdtonite (along with her pic)!
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
– Eleanor RooseveltSee everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, July 22, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 170
This week I found an unusual piece of history at Springer, OK. At the property just to the south of the Carter County District 1 County Barn is this huge metal pistol looking ornament. http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/springgn.jpg
Another reader told me how badly the old Caddo Creek bridge north of Ardmore on Highway 77 needed painted. Yes, it is pretty rusty. http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/springbg.jpg
And a lady on the forth floor of the courthouse said she owns a very old piece of history. A wooden chair made sometime before 1896 by William Morris. The pitch of the back is adjusted using a wooden rod through the chair.
http://www.artlex.com/delahunt/Morris.html
Her chair is an adjustable back chair…. very unique.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/thechair.jpgSince I put a search engine on my website, mainly so people can search through 170 issues of T&Ts, I see the new feature is being used. There has been over 250 searchs performed since in 7 days! I did a search for human wolves…. interesting history. It was in a July 1998 issue of T&T. 1901. Konawa, Oklahoma.
Want a good word processor suite but can’t afford Microsoft Word? Then Software602 is the answer. Has all the features of MS Word and its Free! Plus its a spreadsheet and Photo Editor! http://www.software602.com/
Bill Dixon brought me a digital camera the other day. Since I already have one, he said put it on eBay auction, and whatever it brings, put the money in the American Flyers Memorial Fund. So that’s exactly what we did. If you have anything to auction off on eBay and want the money your item brings in to go on the Memorial, let me hear from you. I think nearly all of us have something we can donate for the auction, and the money raised will go to improve the Memorial. We are looking at putting in more concrete picnic tables ($300 each), adding some lighting for the memorial stone, installing a flag pole, and also we need a culvert to make some off-street parking available. If you want to see how our first item donated for auction with the money going to the Memorial goes…. the link below will let you follow it. Let’s hope it brings a premium price!
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=387121926Kids will be kids. On July the 18th my next door neighbor’s house was TeePee’d. hahahahaha!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/house214.jpgSpeaking of July 18th, that was my birthday and I want to thank everyone who sent me electronic Birthday Cards! I have to tell you the girls at the Court Clerks Office threw me a little party… chocolate cake and all!! I really work with a great bunch of people at the courthouse. It’s like one big family. Oh, by the way, I turned 51 and think I will hold it there! hahahahaha
Speaking of one big family at the courthouse, I want to tell you how a lot of people came together to meet the need of the workers and how that need was met in the most beautiful way. Teresa Morgan works in the Court Clerks Office and her air conditioner at home went out the other day. Now we’re talking about temperatures of way over 100 degrees. She didn’t know how she was going to come up with the money to buy another air conditioner. Unbeknownst to her, a couple of her friends put the word out, and one by one, people starting donating to the cause. Some worked in the courthouse, but some who donated just were in the courthouse and heard about the drive. Within days enough money was raised to buy Teresa brand new air conditioning! Yes, I have the pleasure of working with some super people. To repeat a phrase I have placed in some back issues of my T&T, “Friends, they make life worth living.” Here’s a pic of Teresa with a big smile at the copy machine! http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/teresam.jpg
I received the following email this week from a reader:
“I tried your links to look at pictures at Brown’s Spring and most of them took me to empty pages with just the zooms logo in the top left-hand corner.”
I do not know why the links would not work, so I moved all my info on Brown Springs to my mirror site. Now you can pull up all the photos. Someone asked me the other day when we were going back to Browns Springs. Guess we need to plan another trip! http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/
For all you American history buffs, here some great reading on the John Hanson, a patriot and maybe the first U.S. President. http://www.marshallhall.org/hanson.html
SOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“Butch. There has been quite a bit of talk recently about Legate. In September 1924, my great grandfather Billy Patrick died of a heart attack at the age of 54 while unloading his cotton at the Legate cotton gin. I’ve been told that his son in law John R. Williams was working inside the gin at the time. I’d like to know if anyone would happen to have a picture of that gin. There’s not a sign of it anywhere now days, and none of my family have come up with a picture of it.” Bud Caudle in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
[email protected]
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“Butch, Please add my uncle to your T&T list. I think he would enjoy getting this. He’s recently online. He grew up in the Pauls Valley and Stratford area, but now lives near Portland, OR. He doesnt get back here much anymore but enjoys news and happenings from around the area.”
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“Just perusing todays T&T, which reminded me I did not respond a few weeks ago when you had a pix of a bell in front of a house on 3rd N.E. out by Mary Niblack Road. That is where Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Means live. I go that way at least twice a day. I also like looking at the old gas pump beside the bell. Brings a lot of memories of when I started driving. A few stations in Johnston County had that type of pump back then.(late 50’s, early 60’s).”
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“I just did the thingamajig with the birthday and numbers. That’s cool!!!”
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“There is a bell at the Rosco Campbell residence on Burns Rd. 2 miles South and about a half mile West of Plainview School. Brick house on the North side of the road. I really enjoy your writings. Look forward to getting it every Sat. I was born at Legate and enjoy going back every once in a while – tho most of it is gone. My Grandparents and my brother are buried there. Keep up the good work.”
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“Butch, I have been reading a book entitled “Gunman’s Territory”, which is based on the life of the famous U.S. Deputy Marshall, J. Bob Hutchins. In the book it speaks of him and some other lawmen holding some prisoners overnight at the “Brick Yard” in the north end of Ardmore. I asked someone and they told me that the brick yard had been where Cashway Lumber Co. was on 3rd & A St. N.E. I was wondering if anyone could verify (or correct) that. This book gives so much history of the life & times of that era (late 1800’s/early 1900’s), and the wild and many times dangerous experiences of law enforcement men of that time.”
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“To the person who said they would like the recipe for the Parmesan Dressing, I have that recipe but am very particular to whom I share it. It was put out by Priddy but it was a recipe that a member of his staff made and was originated by her. This person was my aunt and I like to keep a close watch on it. It was given to me by another member of my family and it is a family recipe. The person that made the recipe was Leola Franklin Day. She worked for several years as Salad and Pastry Cook there. As is the custom, if it is made at the Restaurant it belongs to them but it was her own recipe.”
[email protected]
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“Dear Butch, In the early 60’s I worked at Colvert’s Dairy. I think it was on S. Washington St. in Ardmore. Is the plant still there? Could you give me some more info about it. I have seen signs from there in a steak house in Austell, Ga. I have enjoyed your newsletters.”
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/photos/colvertd.jpg
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“Reading about the dollars bills remind me, what I wanted to warn everyone about. My husband Billy, a delivery driver, a customer told him she put the new gold dollar coin in pop machine. She got her pop, but no change. the machine didn’t understand it was a dollar, mistake it for fifty cents/a half dollar coin.”
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“Butch, here is a little something for T&T My mother in law found this photo behind another photo inside a picture frame. She says she believed that it was taken by her Grandfather who ran a photo studio in Marietta. From the looks of the uniform and the car, I’d guess it was taken sometime in the 40’s. Don’t have a clue who the old trooper is, but maybe some of your readers will.”
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/loveohp.jpg
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“When I ran across this, I thought of you immediately and wondered if it might be something that you would enjoy since you have such a passion for bells. Inscription on an old bell:”I Call the Living, Mourn the Dead,
I Tell When Days and Years are Fled,
For Grief and Joy, For Prayer and Praise,
To Heaven My Tuneful Voice I Raise.
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“Hi Butch, enjoy reading your articles about Ardmore. My Dad Sydney (Slim) Pennington and his brother R.L. (Pug) Pennington as well as my granddad Levi Gilliam worked at the ice plant and I do remember the name of Paul Bridges? I remember walking through the ice plant as a kid and afraid of falling into one of the open pit areas where they kept the large blocks of ice.”
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============================================“Justice delayed is justice denied.” -William Gladstone
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRgladstone.htmSee everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, July 15, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 169
This week I feel like I passed a milestone in my nearly four years of sending out my T&T newsletters. I have every issue on my website, but there was not any quick, easy way to search the back issues for something specific you wanted to read. Now there is! There is a search engine right on my First Page that lets you search for anything on my website! Type a word or phrase in the box and click “search”. Viola!
http://www.brightok.net/~bridgesI found another bell just north of town this week on the Rose place. It is about a mile north of the Caddo Creek bridge on the west side of Highway 77, north of Ardmore. She’s a beaut!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/bellrose.jpgAlso on their property was a replica of an old locomotive.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/trainnor.jpgAnd I also got a pic of the bell at the old Eskew Ranch at the south edge of Ardmore on Highway 77. This was my second visit to the Eskew Ranch. Jim Eskew was a world famous trick roper. My first time to visit the Eskew Ranch was in May 1977 when I worked on the ambulance. Mr. Eskew had been sick a long time, and it was then I took him to the hospital where he later died at the age of 59. When I looked at that weather beaten bell this week, I thought how it stood now in silence in memory of a man who set records everywhere he went. In WWII he performed for over 2 Million servicemen. One of his major accomplishments in the Army was his performance on the TC-87, a 3 hour physical endurance test. He scored 596 out of a possible 600, a score that has never been matched.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/eskewbel.jpgI was talking to one of the auditors a while back that comes to the courthouse from time to time to do audits. She commented that one of the first things she notices when she walks in our courthouse, is how computerized it is, with computers everywhere. She told me some courthouses she goes to are fortunate to have 3 or 4 computers in the entire courthouse. Yes, she is right, our courthouse has come a long way in the area of computerization. In January 1995 we had some offices that only had one computer, others with 2 or 3, and the county barns had none. Many of the employees had to share what computers their office did have in place.
To make a long story short, I can report that nearly every employee has a computer workstation on their desks with few exceptions. There has probably been 3 or 4 dozen new, state of the art computers installed within the last year. Even all three county barns have modern computers. Not long ago the two secretaries at the commissioners offices received their two new computers, needless to say they are happy!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/phymich.jpgI did something this week I have never done before on the computer. I went to http://www.qspace.com and obtained my personal credit report. It cost me $8 but worth seeing just what they had on me. Everything looked okay, nothing negative. I did see that the Monkey Wards computers knocked me from a $4,000 credit limit to $520 because I “haven’t used my card in 90 days”. Sounds like I’m being penalized for keeping my bill paid???? And I’ve had their credit card since January 1971. Sounds like I need to give them their card back!!!!
I had a reader email me a pic of Springer, Oklahoma taken back in 1908. That looks like the old Methodist Church in the background, which still stands today.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/spring08.jpgHere is a neat site that tracks your dollar bills as they travel around the country. Interesting.
http://www.wheresgeorge.comTake the number of the month you were born, multiply by 4, add 13, multiply by 25, subtract 200, add the day of the month on which you were born, multiply by 2, subtract 40, multiply by 50, add the last two digits of the year in which you were born, subtract 10,500. Notice anything funny about your answer?
This web site generates truly fascinating personalized web pages for you. They show how your life (or the life of anyone else you choose – for instance, your descendants and ancestors) fits into history as we know it. http://www.ourtimelines.com/
SOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“Hey Butch, Last week, actually the last week of June, I was on my way back from Utah and passed through Junction, Texas. I stopped for gas and while I was pumping gas, my wife spotted a bottle of Grapette. I bought one , in a 12 oz. bottle and tasted, it is not quite like the old 6oz bottle Grapette I enjoyed back in the ’40’s and ’50’s, but I sure enjoyed it anyway.”
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“The line that runs thru McKinney, TX was the Houston & Texas Central (in 1882), becoming part of the Texas & New Orleans, and later the Southern Pacific. It is now part of the Dallas, Garland & Northeastern’s Sherman Sub. For a picture of the depot, you might try inquiring at the local McKinney newspaper, the McKinney Chamber of Commerce or the McKinney Public Library, if you don’t get a response from someone else here on RailSpot.” Robert Hall – Dallas [email protected]
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“Butch, I sure enjoy your “pages” each week. I’m from Ardmore. get there once a month or so…take the Ardmoreite BUT I get more interesting information from you than anything…Maybe because you are more interesting?!!! If anyone finds that Priddy’s Parmesan Salad Dressing recipe… sure would like to have it… My husband of over 40 years and I ate breakfast there and sometimes lunch when we were dating. My mom used to buy it especially for us after we got married and moved away. Thanks again.”
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“Hi Butch, Re Pleasant Mount cemetery near Legate, Oklahoma. I have found what I believe to be the Pleasant Mount cemetery. The directions are kind of complicated so if I had the inquirers address, would be happy to mail a copy of the map. Or perhaps you could pass on my email address.” [email protected]
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“About indexing or searching the past issues of T&T, you might consider a free service called “Pico Search” that is a free search engine you can add to your web site. I have been using it for the OklahombreS web site and it works pretty good.”
http://www.picosearch.com.
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“In one of your mail bog letters in This & That 7/7/00 the person mentioned the ice house at the railroad tracks and C St. SE. Your Uncle Paul Bridges worked out of this plant and he helped deliver ice to residence (customers) who displayed the amount they needed as the ice truck drove by. Your Uncle Doyle Bridges ran a satellite dock on the corner directly across the street from your Grandparents home at 805 3rd NE Street. Doyle chipped sizes of ice from the 100 lb blocks for customers who came to the dock for 12 1/2, 25, 50 lb pieces. Cool jobs during the hot summer months.”
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“Butch, I read your article on the brisket weight loss on your site. Thought that I would help you with an answer. I worked at a BBQ for over 6 years. The weight loss depends on a lot of different factors. How it was smoked, how long, what temp and by what means it was smoked. Those are the variables. The way that we cooked ours was with 100% hickory, no artificial heat. The Brisket would be slow cooked overnight, then hot-fast cooked for about half a day, then left on with a light heat-smoke fire. When cooked in this manner you will get form 30 to 50% weight reduction in the brisket. As a bit of history as to why briskets are used for BBQ, Briskets are full of fat and long stringy meat. They are usually tough if cooked any other way. That is why they are used for BBQ and slow cooked. All the fat helps to tenderize the meat and hold in the juice while cooking. Never trim a brisket before BBQ’ing, you will have a dry piece of meat that will be a lot smaller then you started with. Hope that answers you question. Always enjoy This and That.”
http://www.brightok.net/~bridges/thebeef.html
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“My dad owned a houseboat that was docked at the marina until about a year ago. I know that dumping your sewage ANYWHERE in Lake Murray is illegal. There is a service you pay for once your tank gets to a certain point and they come pump it out for you and dispose of it properly. I thinks it’s about $12 or something. I may be off on the price, but I know it’s not outrageous.”
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“Hi Butch, According to OKLAHOMA PLACE NAMES by George H. Shirk, Legate was located in extreme northeastern Love County. Pleasant Mound Cemetery is located about 5.35 miles north northwest of Enville, Oklahoma, as the crow flies.”
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“When I was in Pennsylvania last August, I saw lots of bells. There were everywhere. Around here, all the bells we have are on boats. From 24″ bells to little tinker bells on the end of the outriggers so they know when a fish is on a line. When I was commercial fishing, that bell ringing was music to my ears. We do have a bigger one at the State Capital. It is a replica of the Liberty bell with crack and all. I drive by it about 5-10 times a week. Love the sound. It is a deep throaty sound. See you Saturday on T&T.” Juneau, Alaska
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“Hello!!! Welcome to the OkHSS InfoNet. The best Oklahoma high school sports coverage in the state. Scores, Standings, Stats, Schedules and much much more….. Check us out today!!!!!”
http://oklahomahighschool.rivals.com/
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============================================I’ve really been excited about the Konica digital camera a reader in Juneau, Alaska sent me. As you can see from some of the photos I took above, it takes remarkably clear photos! Now that I’ve got a new digital camera, I’m ready to get to work, lots of pics to take all in this area and put on the Internet!!!!
One last thing, I’m in the market for a good cable-ready color television. If anyone have one for sale, let me know.
“When I find myself fading, I close my eyes and realize my friends are my energy.” -Anonymous
See everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
Ardmore, Oklahoma~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, July 8, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 168
I have so much to share from my Mail Bag this week, I’ll try to cut this issue short…. don’t like it to get too long. I had something to share with everyone from about 1910, but can’t find the article. I have looked everywhere. It was about a move underway at the courthouse in 1910 to put a fountain in front. I guess it never happened. When I find the article, I will pass it along.
I had a call this week from a Mrs. Lewis Hahn of Carbondale, Illinois. She was looking for any info on her Hahn and Silkwood kinfolk that lived in Ardmore about 1900. They were in Ardmore searching, but found no one. If you know any people with those last names from Ardmore, she’d love to hear from you. Her phone number is 1-618-549-2644. She does not have email.
I would like to put the last four years of my T&Ts into some kind of searchable database. There are about 14 files, each one about 100k in size, text files. I’d like to combine them into one searchable database, so when a person searches, for say Healdton, Oklahoma it will go through every issue of T&T and pull those out. Suggestions? How about some kind of indexing? Seems like a year or so ago, one reader told me they had my T&Ts into some kind of index? I’m open to any suggestions.
Completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive.
http://www.tolvanen.com/eraser/SOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“Though I’m not a native I recall an ice house just across the railroad tracks on C SE. No one has mentioned it yet but during the 1940’s, early, it was there on the left just over the tracks. Another “trivia” need- am sure someone remembers Priddys Parmesan salad dressing- used to serve it at the restaurant on main street, and you could buy it most anywhere. Know they eventually were bought out, but does anyone know if it might still be available somewhere or by chance even have the recipe. We visited Ardmore almost annually and always “smuggled” some jars of it back to Ohio. They can contact me at mailto:[email protected] or maybe others will answer directly to you. Thanks much!”
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“I remember that airplane crash well. My parents and two adult cousins were sitting at the kitchen table that night. They saw the airplane go down and crash. Since mom had had nursing training, they gathered up some blankets and drove to the sight to see if they could help. But by then it had been blocked off by someone. They were not let in. I plan on visiting that memorial next time I am down.”
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“I was with AFA Dec. 26 1961 until July 22 1963. I left to get married, Mr. Pigman begged me not to go, but at that time you could not be married and fly, I thought I just had to get off the plane and get married. HAHA”
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“I wanted to let you know that I was the purchasing agent for American Flyers Airline when 183-H crashed, and was charged with the responsibility of seeing what remained of it. We were able to salvage one “hot section” from one of the engines, and I sold the rest of the $3,000,000 airplane to OK Iron & Metal in Ardmore for $125.00″
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“Enjoy reading your news letter every week. I was born and raised in Durant. I’m trying to find someone that is a railroad buff. Would like information on where I might could get a photo of the Railroad Depot in McKinney, TX in 1882. Was ask once while searching, what railroad ran through there at that time. I have no idea. The reason I would like to find a photo my great-grandmother came from KY in Oct. of 1882 and married on her arrival in the depot. When I went to McKinney I was told the depot had been torn down years ago. I was unaware there were “Trains” magazines until I read in your newsletter this morning of the article of Ardmore in the July issue. Will certainly try to find it. In the mean time if anyone has a photo of the depot in that era. Please contact me. Margie.” [email protected]
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“Hi, Butch, Enjoy all the newsletters so much. Thank you. I have a question for you or some of your readers. Do you remember the wonderful bar-be-cue that was just across the tracks on main street? I remember when we went to church on Sundays, quite often we would get bar-be-cue to have at home. There was gravy included, also. Along with mom’s mashed potatoes, it was a heavenly meal. I have eaten bar-be-cue many times and made my own, but nothing has come close to that wonderful flavor. If you know of anybody that knows how he made his bar-be-cue, would you please let me know?” [email protected]
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“I have found 2 great sites for those who are interested in finding their high school friends. One is www.highschoolalumni.com the other is www.classmates.com the alumni site is all free. The classmates site, which is actually I think better and more used, is free to list your name on, but does have a membership fee to get your classmates e-mail addresses, etc. You can, however see who of your class has registered without having to pay. Also, my class has a site on www.myfamily.com where we can share news, photos, info about reunions, recipes, you name it. Its free. I do not know how to get it organized, but I’m sure you could go to the site and it would be explained there. Its great!”
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“Do you know anything about house boats dumping their sewerage into the lake between Buzzard Roost and the marina? I heard three different people make comments about the pollution. One claimed to be told that as long as you were going 5mph it was safe to do so. This made me wonder about the new Bed and Berth at the end of Tipps Point. Do they have a septic system? Could you check into this. If it is true, I would like to contact whatever agencies necessary to put a stop to this. They have done such a wonderful job cleaning up the camping areas of the lake. I have never seen it looking better.”
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“Just want to let you know that at Kirby’s Bar-b-que in Sanger, Texas every peace officer get’s free dessert compliments of Terry Dickson of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and a caution about being careful. He was my cousin and I do it lest they forget.” Dean Roberts
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“I have found 2 great sites for those who are interested in finding their high school friends.” http://www.highschoolalumni.com
http://www.classmates.com
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“I noticed a bell on McClain Road west of the intersection with Harvey Road. It is on the south side of McClain before you get to the bridge.”
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“They told me they had been searching for Pleasant Mound cemetary for several weeks. After sharing what I had accumulated over the last few years. They agree with me that Pleasant Mound became Legate. Legate got a P.O. in 1905 and their records for Pleasant Mound ended in 1904. I am still trying to find a territorial map that may show Pleasant Mound.”
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“I am curious as to whether you got your camera back. I lost one 1 1/2 years ago in a rental car. The third person who rented the car after I had, found it and it was returned to me 6 weeks later. It was a $500 digital camera. In the mean time I had bought another one. I now have two. If you did not get yours back, let me know and I would love to give you one as a gift, for all the work you do for mankind. I, to enjoy all the photo’s, ideas, and your T&T each week. I have never been in your state but I will be there one of these days to enjoy all it has to offer.” grampe in Juneau, Alaska
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“The database of DAR linage books at www.Ancestry.com is available to view FOR FREE without a paid subscription until July 9th!”
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“Just thought that I would let you know that we had a visitor to the American Flyers Memorial from New Zealand yesterday.”
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“don’t bother trying to log on to http://bigbrother2000.com tonight after CBS just aired the beginning a 3 month adventures of ten people living inside a house without any outside communications. All to see who can stay the longest and get $500,000. students and psychitrists that study human behavorial should have a field day with this next little TV contest.”
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“Could give any information about a place called Paradise court or cove outside of ardmore I believe it was on highway 70 in the early 1900.”
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“Howdy Butch; I was on the Sheriff’s Department site and the link to the Old West section,
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/glimpse.html
was dead. You have a clean, easy to navigate site. Keep up the good work.” Bubba…. The Old West Web Ride
http://theoldwestwebride.net
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“Thought I’d just check in and ask who you recommend I talk to about trying to get Ardmore interested in at least preserving the right-of-way and trestles of the old Frisco line east Ardmore). It seems likely we won’t be able to save the track itself – however, as a functional rail facility, no commercial line I know of in the U.S. is now using anything lighter than 90 lb rail (the line in question, as I recall, is 70 lb rail, the original rail laid in 1901). The absolutely critical thing is the property itself – and the bridges and trestles. This could not be easily or inexpensively replaced; however, if BNSF is going to cede the right-of-way to the city of Ardmore anyway, they might just as well do it with trestles, grade and as much of the track as possible in lace. I have in mind proposing a regional transportation authority based in Ardmore which could buy up or at least take in trust such properties and keep them intact without a tax liability building up on them.” [email protected]
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“In 1997, my parents returned to Springer, OK after nearly 40 years away. Dad’s always been interested in local history, so I forwarded the text of the Ardmoreite’s article about the great 1910 fire. Dad has an old photo of Springer that we think was taken prior to the fire. It’s not original, but does show that commercial district in it’s heyday. He wondered if you’d like a scanned version for the web site.”
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/fire1910.html
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“Did you know that just north of Ames, Oklahoma, in Major county there is….. A local oil field that is one of only three in the western hemishere drilled on an ancient meteor crater; that is around 450-million to 600-million-year old crater… AND… It is eight miles in diameter and supports 65 wells.”
http://www.lasr.net/leisure/oklahoma/ames/
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============================================The American Flyers Memorial is looking more beautiful every day. We have water now, so the shrubs, trees, and bermuda grass that Tuck Wilkinson planted will not die from this drought Oklahoma is in right now. Hot and dry everywhere. We almost have enough donations now to put two more picnic tables near the Memorial. That will make three tables families can sit at, and enjoy time together.
http://www.brightok.net/~bridges/crash66.html“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.” -Oliver Wendell Holmes
See everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
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Saturday, July 1, 2000 Vol 4 Issue 167
A few months ago I read or heard on the news trains were going to start having louder whistles. The past couple of weeks I have heard the train whistle louder then I’ve ever heard it. I guess the trains now are using those louder whistles. At 2am I can’t believe anyone in Ardmore could sleep through it.
In the 60s Mr. George Holloway was the manager of the Community Swimming pool at 3rd and “F” Street NE. Sometimes I’d sit and watch him take his kit of test tube and chemicals to test the water. He’d mix a little water in this tube, put a couple drops in that tube, and 20 minutes later he had the readings. I saw on the TV this week where people with home swimming pools or commercial pools, can use a “test strip” to test the water. Takes one second. http://www.aquachek.com/
Next Saturday July the 8th, 2pm to 7pm is when you can get a Catfish Dinner at the Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum. Five dollars gets you everything, even the drink. I’m planning to go…. so maybe I’ll see some of you there. http://www.cow-boy.com/museum.htm
On Thursday June 29th Gifford Monuments here in Ardmore set a granite stone on the west side of the courthouse. Listed on that stone are all the Carter county commissioners since 1907 (statehood). The artwork is beautiful, and the history a person can imagine is awesome. Hope some of you can get by and see the stone in the front of the courthouse sometime.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ccstone2.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/ccstone8.jpgTalking about the courthouse, we now have a new URL. Because of some “house cleaning” by BrightNet of Oklahoma, our very long and hard to remember URL has been changed to something much more easier to tell someone or write down.
http://www.brightok.net/cartercountyLast October I told about a historical marker beside the highway in Dickson, Oklahoma (9 miles east of Ardmore). On that sign is the name Rosella Hightower, a Chickasaw Indian born south of there at Durwood, OK in 1920. Rosella Hightower would become a world renown Prima Ballerina. This week on the OETA television (educational channel)… Hightower was interviewed and her life story told. All five prima ballerinas in the 30s were from eastern Oklahoma. Something no other nation in the world could claim. Also interviewed were the other four prima ballerinas…. sisters Maria and Marjorie Tallchief (Osage), Yvonne Chouteau (Cherokee), and Moscelyne Larkin (Peoria).
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/OklahomaPast/photos/rosella1.jpgMojave Phone Booth. Remember me talking about it last summer? How a throng of people were trekking to the middle of the Mojave Desert to talk on that payphone? It rang constantly 24 hours a day. It was like some kind of shrine or something. Well, the phone booth as been removed. No agency will take claim for its removal. Another piece of history lost.
http://www.deuceofclubs.com/moj/mojave.htmlSo you want to have a raffle? No tickets? Print your own!
http://www.elkriversystems.com/Products.htmLittle Elian is back in Cuba, and my Poll started 1/05/00 shows 72% agreed he should have been sent back. Guess we need to start another poll, any suggestions? But let’s not let it get to snaky. hahaha http://www.brightok.net/~bridges/thepolls.html
A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST
In 1952 Ardmore Assistant police chief Oscar Wilkes was gunned down in a driveway at 819 Hargrove in Ardmore. The man charged with the murder was John B. Gandy who owned a trucking company and lived at the address. Gandy claimed he and his female companion, Jacqueline Thomas, were in the house that rainy evening when Wilkes drove up. Gandy thought Wilkes was Ms. Thomas’s ex-husband, Raymond Howie, and opened fire with a .38 pistol from the doorway. Wilkes never had a chance, and died sitting in his car, still holding a toothpick in his mouth.
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/wilkes.htmlSOME LETTERS FROM THIS WEEK’S MAILBAG
“We could not go to the dedication of the monument but a friend attended and brought back a program, which I guess is better than nothing. The report we got was that it was a very nice program and everyone was well pleased with the monument and the landscaping. Congrats!!!!! In last weeks T&T someone was asking about 2 other ice plant locations here in Ardmore. There was. They both were on “D” street. One was on “D” S. W. It was located about where the west entrance to the drive in banking for First Bank & Trust is by the alley between the bank and the Baptist Church. The other was on “D” N.W. It was about 2 or 3 blocks north of Main Street on the west side of the street. There was also an inquiry about info on the Small pox Epidemic in Hugo. Perhaps a reference to our web page and then check out the “Oklahoma History Ring”. It may not be listed directly but those folks have Okla. history at there finger tips. Perhaps they could help.”
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“Dear Mr. Bridges, I enjoy your “This and That” every weekend and I learn a lot about your area. I have a request for you that usually goes to a City’s Chamber of Commerce. Can you tell me about some of the industries that are located in and around Ardmore? I am familiar with the Goodyear Plant and that is the extent of my knowledge. Some of my family is interested in locating a business in Ardmore and we were wondering about other industries that might be located there. Any information that you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. O.M. Evans” [email protected]
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“Butch, Maybe you can help me, or one of your many readers, do you know if, when and where, the AHS Class of 1960 will be hosting their reunion? Who is the contact person? How do we get in touch with him or her? Thanks so much, Fran Conroy Patterson” [email protected]
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“The pictures of the memorial look really nice. I wish I’d been able to come to the dedication, but too many things conspired against me to keep me in Norman that weekend. I can’t wait to get down to Ardmore so I can go visit the site. Thanks for getting this project off the ground and seeing it through to the finish. I feel honored to have been able to help in my own small way.”
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“I haven’t seen it mentioned in T&T, so I thought you might like to know that Ardmore and the Ardmore area are the subject of the “On Location” feature in the July 2000 issue of “Trains” magazine.”
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“Over the last few years, I have become an avid movie-goer–a movie buff. Rusty and I go to at least one movie a week. Sometimes several. First runs. I recently started doing movie reviews for some of our friends via email as a joke, but then they started requesting that I do it on a regular basis. I was wondering if any other of my email list would want to receive these reviews. They are short, direct, and pretty much tell it like it is. Since I am fairly conservative, but not prudish, I try to include in what ways a movie is excessively profane, extremely sexual in nature, violent to a fault (?:-)), a waste of time, teenybopperish, historical, funny, or wonderful. I do not give away the plot, yet make an effort to save you money or encourage you to be hopefully entertained for a couple of hours.” [email protected]
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“I picked up on your story about the Memorial to the military personnel who died in the crash near Gene Autry. I was reading all about the Memorial and what little I could find about that crash. Suddenly, I realized that I was away serving in the Marine Corps– that explained why my memory was doing me no good on this subject. Can you tell me more about the crash or where I can find a search engine that will give me that information? I had several friends who flew the Electras. We used to talk about the plane and how it performed or didn’t under certain conditions, even about metal fatigue in the location where the wings joined the fuselage. All these guys are dead now. Great pilots. The Navy flew a military version that was called the P-3 Orion. I flew with an intelligence group in a P-2, which was replaced by the P-3. Just curious about the crash. Thanks.”
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“I am one of the two present owners of American Flyers. We purchased the company from Reed Pigman, Jr. in February, 1980. When the controllers went on strike in 1982, we merged the Ardmore location with our facilities in Dallas and Ft. Worth. I see Reed Jr. and Mildred Whited, one of Mr. Pigmans first employees in Ft. Worth. I am interested in any of the early history of American Flyers. I live in Gainesville, Texas and wished I had know of the memorial function on June 17th. We now have 16 American Flyers’ training facilities in the United States. We often have older men and women stop by our offices and inquire about the “old” American Flyers. I would love to have any other information you may have about American Flyers from 1960 to 1975.” Clark McCormack [email protected]
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“DEAR BUTCH, I STUMBLED ON YOUR “THIS AND THAT” NEWSLETTER WEBSITE AND SAW THAT YOU KNOW A LOT ABOUT ARDMORE, OKLAHOMA AND ITS HISTORY. ARDMORE IS WHERE MY LATE FATHERS FAMILY CAME FROM. HE WENT TO SCHOOL THERE. HIS NAME WAS EDWARD LOUIS CARSON. MY GRANDMOTHER’S MAIDEN NAME WAS OPAL DELANO REXROAT. SHE ONCE TOLD ME THAT HER FATHER WAS A POLITICIAN AT ONE TIME. BUT I CAN’T FIND A THING ABOUT HIM.AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT HIS FULL NAME WAS. I ONLY KNOW HIS LAST NAME WAS REXROAT.CAN YOU HELP ME OUT? THANK YOU KINDLY, ED CARSON JR.” [email protected]
———————————————————–“My grandfather was Mack (Mac) Wilkes and I am in search of information about him. He died in Mississippi but his wife who divorced him moved to Ada Oklahoma. I would like to get any information you may have on Mr. Wilkes.” [email protected]
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============================================I am still receiving a lot of good comments from people how they liked the American Flyers Memorial. I’m thankful for each part many of you played in making the memorial come true. We almost have enough money in the Fund to put a couple more concrete picnic tables near the memorial. I hope over time we can have several picnic tables where families can come out, eat, and spend time together in that beautiful Park. If you know anyone who wants to help with additional picnic tables and also a trash receptacle, let me know. I have a complete accounting on the link below for all donations received and expenses paid.
http://www.brightok.net/~bridges/crash66.html“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” -Mark Twain
See everyone next Saturday!
Butch Bridges
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