PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net, Phone: 580-490-6823
Last week we mention how infamous the old Mulkey Hotel at 2nd and North Washington has been over the years. Lots of stories I know could be told about that Ardmore landmark. When we mentioned last week that Sheriff Robert Denney shot and killed Frank Anderson Venable, 25, of Baxter Springs, Kansas, that piqued Willis Choate’s attention at Marietta (robbery took place in Marietta). Willis wrote in asking if I knew more about the incident. I thought for a second, and gave a grin, because I do have more info on this March 7, 1972 shooting. But in reality I was only at the place of the shooting about 3 minutes, just long enough to place the wounded robbery suspect in our 1967 Chevrolet station wagon ambulance, and rush him to the hospital.
But I remembered back in 2002 when James Clark, the DA at the time of the Mulkey shooting shared his memories of the incident with Correna Wilson and I through an email. James has shared some really great local history over the years, and his recollection is an insight to this shooting few people today know. Below is the 1972 Mulkey Hotel shooting in his own words:
Jammey Howard of Lone Grove sent in a couple photos of a bird nest on her porch, and was wondering if anyone recognizes what family of birds these little guys belong to?
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/JammeyBird08a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/JammeyBird08b.jpg
And speaking of bird nest, the mother and little wrens that were in the bird house on our front porch are now gone. I hope they lived to fly away with their mother.
It’s was July 25th when Harold Newman drilled a water well on our 3 acres, reaching a depth of 185 feet. Harold reached the first water/sand zone at 80 feet and the second zone at about 120 feet, going through 2 layers of rock on the way down. After Harold left and I checked the water level, the water stood at about 42 feet from the surface each day. Bear in mind this well was drilled when the temperatures hovered around 105 degrees every day and VERY dry. Last week and this week we have had some fairly good rains, even a slow 1 inch rain last Friday evening. I decided to check the water level last evening (Wednesday), and low and behold, it was up 10 feet, around 30 or 32 feet from the ground to the water level in the pipe. So it looks like Harold got us a good well producing about 15 gpm. I think water well drilling is like horse racing, you don’t know the winner until the finish line.
The moving dates are set. The Carter County Clerks office inside the courthouse will be closed September 3rd, 4th and 5th. County Clerk Cynthia Harmon will be moving her office to the new location in the old Health Department building at 101 1st Street SW. The Clerks office will open again on Monday September 8th.
http://www.CarterCountyClerk.org
Visit the Oklahoma History Boards, start a topic if you want too!
http://oklahomaroots.proboards83.com/
Q. In 1892 a coal mine explosion occurred in what town?
A. Krebs, Oklahoma
Q. Where was No Mans Land?
A. (answer in next weeks T&T)
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..“Good morning Butch, This is a bell in a museum in Wrangell, Alaska we took from our trip to Alaska. It supposedly was on a riverboat that brought miners from the “states” to the Alaskan gold rush. One day, you need to take Jill to Alaska, it is beautiful.” -Jerry Landrum
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/WrangellAKBell08.jpg
“Butch, Terri and I were at the Chickasaw National Recreation Area at Sulphur, Oklahoma Friday. We timed it just right because that day the weather had cooled down quite a bit. We enjoyed the cool refreshing spring water near the Nature Center and walked the trails East of the Center to where the springs originate at Antelope Springs and Buffalo Springs. I know most of your readers have probably seen the springs before but maybe not from underwater. Attached are some photos I shot of where the waters originate, from both above and below the water. One of my digital cameras is capable of taking still photos and video with sound underwater. Some of the algae formations (at least that’s what I think they are) look quite striking from below the surface of the water. Also check out the links to the underwater video that I posted to YouTube. Some kind of gas escapes from the bottom surface sort of like little geysers. They have a regular cycle of a few seconds or so. The camera has a waterproof microphone and captured some strange sounds of the gases escaping. The drumming sound is actually bubbles of gas escaping from some of the fissures.” -Dwane Stevens
YouTube links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3erUYhZLi4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7PBTnpG8io
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2R9d4G35wE
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/AntelopeSprings081008.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/BuffaloSprings081008.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/AntelopeSpringsUnderwater1.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/AntelopeSpringsUnderwater2.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/AntelopeSpringsUnderwater3.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/BuffaloSpringsUnderwater1.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/BuffaloSpringsUnderwater2.jpg
“Gibble Gas’s headquarters was (may still be) in Cushing. There were quite a few of them around Oklahoma…I don’t know if they extended into other states.
There was a Gibble Gas station not too far from where I lived in Oklahoma City, and on my way to and from work. It had discount prices and I got gas there many times. They honored all credit cards.
There was an interesting thing about Giggle Gas…when the Cimarron Turnpike (from Tulsa to I-35 north of Perry, also a spur to Stillwater) was under construction they took bids for a gas station and rest area about halfway between Tulsa and I-35. Apparently not being considered a big money maker by the major oil companies, none of them bid on it–only Gibble Gas. The Turnpike Authority seemed rather embarrassed about putting a discount gas station on one of their turnpikes, but since there were no other bidders and Gibble’s bid met all the specifications, they finally accepted it. It is not Gibble Gas now; I have been along there in the past year and it is something else now. I believe the rest area is called “Lone Mountain.”
There really was a Mr. Gibble (I forget his first name) and he was quoted several times in the newspapers when the discussions about the rest area station. It turned out he put in a station that was just as nice as the other gas stations/rest areas on the turnpike system.
The turnpike for a number of years has also been designated U.S. 412 as well as “Cimarron Turnpike.” -Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com
“Hi Butch: A lady wrote about the location of Fort Arbuckle. I remembered from my readings that soldiers from Ft. Arbuckle were sent to find a location for a new fort in the Apache-Kiowa area of Southwestern Oklahoma. (The fort was later named Ft. Sill.) The present location was chosen because of the proximity of water in Medicine Creek. The bluffs above the creek was a vantage point, and also prohibited flooding. I have a question for some of your readers. On the highway that goes from just west of Waurika to Wichita Falls, there is a sign that says “Old Ft. Sill Road”. Does anyone know where this “road” originates, or originated, and where it ends. I am assuming it was Ft. Sill. Could it have been from Ft. Washita? Thanks, Butch – God Bless.” -Anna Marie.
“Hello Butch, There is a lot of History on George Washington Carver here in Newton County, Missouri. George went to school in a little house which is in the North part of Neosho. The house is still there but it was a school when George went. At Diamond Missouri, a small town about 10 miles from Neosho has a museum with some of George’s things in it. It is quite interesting. Some of his crocheting he done is there. His bed and closet is another. He invented so much stuff. Peanut Butter is one and crayola colors is another. He loved plants. You can walk a path and see his plants, plus a house some lived in. At the end of the walk there is a cemetery where some were buried. We used to go every mothers day back in the 1970s over to the park that surrounds the museum and have a picnic. If anyone is interested in checking this out they could get in touch with the Chamber of Commerce and possibly get the address.” -Evelyn
“Butch, Some time ago, someone sent an e-mail saying that all the Pig Stands in Texas had closed for good. I think they were closed for a while, but the ones in and around San Antonio are open for business as usual. They still have mighty tasty food.” -Bowden Miller in La Vernia, TX
“We are getting close to September 18th and have had a few inquiries about the Black Gold Festival and getting the word out to the community.” -James M. Lamey, Executive Director, Ardmore Main Street Authority 580-226-6246
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/BlackGold091808.pdf
“I too have had very few butterflies. I saw a few monarch at the beginning of Spring, a few little yellow ones and a few bees like my Russian Sage. But no bumblebees at all this year. We’ve had very little rain this year. I assumed it was too hot and dry for them. My flower beds are as organic as I can get them and no poisons have been used.” -Minnie Lou Whittington
“Joh in Sulphur, mentioned that there were no butterflies this summer. We live in Pauls Valley and just the past week or so have begun noticing butterflies amongst the perennial phlox in our yard. We have bumblebees and honey bees, too, so perhaps there is hope yet. It does seem that they are later than usual this year. We do make an effort to keep our birdbaths full and set the sprinkler on sometime during the day for the turtles, insects and other critters that come to visit.” -Louise in Pauls Valley
“Several have mentioned no butterflies, what about lightning bugs? Anyone see them lately?”
“Nice piece on the Chigley history where Davis now sits. My Uncle Leslie Bailey and Grandpa James Prater relocated from the Gainesville, Texas area in the early 1900’s while working for the Railroad. Uncle Leslie used the money he received from the land sale in Gainesville to buy a lot of land just west of the railroad tracks there in Davis and built a two bedroom rock home. In addition, he also built a rock bunkhouse out back for all the Prater and Bailey kids to stay during their frequent visits with each other. My Grandpa Prater bought a little three room wooden home just west of the railroad in Ardmore just off Caddo about two blocks south of Ardmore High School. In his later years, he had a room at the Mulkey Hotel. He used to wear my Uncle’s Ardmore High letter jacket around Ardmore High and tell all the girls that he played sports at Ardmore. Sadly however, he died in the Railroad Hospital in Waco a few years after that. Thanks for bringing back some good memories.” -Poss
“Those pics brought back gook memories. Before Jake Hollenbeck bought the station it belonged for many years to Bill Osborne (his wife’s name was Dorothy). My Dad Bennie Ricketts worked for Mr. Osborne for several years. I know from my time in grade school at Charles Evans until I started high school. We lived at 713 Davis and I can remember many bicycle trips up to the station to see Daddy. He, Bill and Jake would get Cokes from the machine and the one with the farthest bottling mark on the bottom of the bottle had to buy. Coke’s were a dime.” -Jackie Ricketts
“The Chigley family is mentioned on the 1871 surveys that was recently put online. Thus far I’ve only scanned four counties, but plan to scan all of the records for the counties mentioned on the Bureau of Land Management files. Keep in mind that these are primary records.
Patricia Adkins-Rochette, 580-252-2094
1509 Shadybrook Lane
Duncan, OK 73533 www.bourlandcivilwar.com
BOURLAND IN NORTH TEXAS AND INDIAN TERRITORY IN NORTH TEXAS DURING THE CIVIL WAR: FORT COBB, FORT ARBUCKLE, AND THE WICHITA MOUNTAINS
http://www.bourlandcivilwar.com/MurrayCounty.htm
http://www.bourlandcivilwar.com/GarvinCounty.htm
http://www.bourlandcivilwar.com/BLMsurveys.htm
“Butch, ref that ‘mystery bell’, while in the Marine Corps about 1954 I was on the USNS LT Robert Craig for about six weeks. On the bridge there were three or four speaking tubes that looked much like the one in your picture. These tubes went to the engine room and other places that I do not remember. If the electronic communications failed, one could communicate by shouting into the tube. They were pretty effective as I could hear sound thru the tubes even over normal ship noise. My post was right by the those tubes for four hours at a time. The tubes on the Craig were bent at a right angle to the deck and the bell shaped end was about six inches in diameter. When the ship entered/left port there would be emergency communications set up with the engine room, the steering motor room just over the rudder and with the look outs. I was on standby in the steering motor room while leaving port a couple of times in case the steering system failed. Those sailors were prepared for all kinds of emergencies and it was fun to watch. I really enjoyed my time on the ship when we went from Oakland, Ca to Dahlgren, Va. There were only five Marines on the ship while I was aboard.” -Jerry Brown in CA
‘Only You and You Alone’ by The Platters 1955
Only you can make this world seem right
Only you can make the darkness bright
Only you and you alone
can thrill me like you do
and fill my heart with love for only you
Only you can make this change in me
for it’s true, you are my destiny
When you hold my hand
understand the magic that you do
You’re my dream come true
my one and only you
Only you can make this change in me
for it’s true, you are my destiny
When you hold my hand
I understand the magic that you do
You’re my dream come true
my one and only you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEe4zMBQlaQ&feature=related
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore Oklahoma
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443https://oklahomahistory.net
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Oklahoma Bells: https://oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
American Flyers Memorial Fund – Administration Webpage
https://oklahomahistory.net/crash66.html
Official American Flyers Memorial Website
http://www.brightok.net/~wwwafm
Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force Base Website
http://www.brightok.net/~gsimmons
Mirror Site of the Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force Website
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Carter county schools, past and present
http://community.webshots.com/user/oklahomahistory
Carter County Government Website
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/
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