PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net
I’ve had so much fun looking at old maps, I decided in this issue to throw some more out there for viewing.
In 1924 behind Daube’s Department Store on East Main (Daube’s was built in 1920) was the Central Wagon Yard. I’ve also marked the California Cafe where the famous 1919 shootout that took the life of ex- U.S. Marshal Dow Braziel. The location of the shootout is where the old Stolfa’s Hardware used to be located in the NW corner of East Main and Mill Street.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/CentralWagonYard1924.jpg
But if you go back to 1907 you will see another wagon yard on to the north of Central Wagon Yard (north side of Broadway Street), called Caddo Wagon Yard. I also see the Hudson Houston Lumber Yard at North Washington and Broadway.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/CentralWagonYard1907.jpg
In 1907 St Mary’s Catholic Church was known as St Agnes Roman Catholic Church. Next door on the north side of St Agnes Church was St Agnes Academy. It would later be moved across the street on the east side of E Street SW where it still stands today.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/StAgnesChurch1907.jpg
And behind the church on the west side of F Street was the 3rd Ward Public School. It’s known today as Lincoln School.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/3rdWardSchool1907.jpg
In 1924 the Methodist Church stood at the same location it is today, West Main and E Street.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/MethodistChurch1924.jpg
Where the Chickasaw Towers stands today, back in 1924 C.C. Jones Cotton Gin stood. From Broadway you will not see a G Street going north. In the 1924 map G Street NW started at Palmer Street, a block north of the Chickasaw Towers. The cotton gin took up that whole area.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/JonesCottonGin1924.jpg
Ardmoreite Rick Feiler has quite a display at his place of business just off Main Street and A SW behind Citizens National Bank. Rick has collected paper money from all around the world and has them pinned to a wall in his office. Some of them are really beautiful. If your down near Main and B street, stop in and see Rick’s collection.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/FeilerBills8c.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/FeilerBills8d.jpg
If you need a last minute gift for that grandchild, I can’t think of a better gift than an old silver dollar. Stop by Rick’s coin shop, buy a silver dollar, and watch a young boy smile when he open’s that Christmas present to find a silver dollar!
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/RickFeilerCoins.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/FeilerCoinShop.jpg
I don’t know if anyone noticed in the Indian statue photos last week, but there were no cedar trees in the background in the Arbuckle mountains. The photos are from around 1930. I wish the State could put together some program to rid Oklahoma of this scourge, before its too late.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/PalacineIndianNorth2.jpg
But you can see where Cedar trees have been planted as part of the landscaping around the curio shop at Turner Falls. Little did they know back then what would happen in 80 years. Terrible, just a terrible shame. On a brighter note, I like those gravity feed gas pumps!
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/PalacineIndianSouth2.jpg
Ten cheapest places to buy gas in the Ardmore area……
https://oklahomahistory.net/gasprices.html
There are new postings. Check out the Oklahoma History Boards!
http://oklahomaroots.proboards83.com/
Q. What Oklahoma outlaw was once one of Quantrill’s Raiders?
A. Jesse James (some historians refute the above claim)
Q. Where did the Seminole people live before removal to OK?
A. (answer in next week’s T&T)
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..“The 200 block North Washington was being one of the topics in the Nov. 27 2008 T&T. My grandfather’s brother family lived in the 200 block of N Washington. In my quest for family answers on my grandfather, I’ve looked at old telephone directories. I knew my great-uncle lived on North Washington for numerous years, and moved to the Ardmore area before my grandparents. Searching a family time line, I had made a copy of some pages out of the 1916 Statesman’s Ardmore Directory. The street section – Washington North and Washington South. I’ll share the information for the two hundred block.
202 — Washington Apartments
206 — Hanks, C. B.
208 — Paris, A. C.
210 — Attaway, Mrs. R. F.
214 — Allen, F. E.
216 — Hewett, Chas. H
201 – 19 — High School
221 — Buck Garritt
222 — Burnitt, W. R.
As you and the readers can tell the east side and the west side of N.
Washington.
the three hundred block:
310 — Bleakmore, W. H.
314 — Gleasco, R. J.
319 — Scivally, R. F.
320 — Shackleford, Dr. J. W.
[on the next page Dr. Shackleford is repeated with this addition ‘office
and residence under the heading “North Washington”]
the four hundred block:
402 — Goodwin, Dr. G. E.
406 — Goddard, Chas. B
407 — Car, F. C.
409 — Corlew, B. H.
411 — Brady, A. N.
412 — McNeese, Dr. J. C.
416 — Duncan, R. A.
419 — Bruce, G. H.
422 — Chapman, J. R.
“These two pages hold some interesting information. I didn’t intend to included more blocks than 200 block, but got caught up with the moment of sharing. My great-uncle hadn’t moved to the 200 block of North Washington in 1919. They were Geo and Ada Smith and their daughter, Bertha worked for Ardmore Hotel for many years. The daughter & husband continue to lived in the 200 block after Geo and Ada’s death. The home was sold after the daughter’s death and later torn down.” -Fran Tate
“Thanks again for the weekly visit to Ardmore. Yesterday morning here in Baton Rouge, we woke up to a three or four inch blanket of snow. The third best snow in a hundred years I heard. It is still on our roofs and in the yards. Beautiful.” fjsmathers@aol.com
SPRINGER CHRISTMAS PARADE, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2008 1:00PM. ALL ENTRIES MEET ON SOUTH SIDE OF SPRINGER SCHOOL PARKING LOT AT 12:30PM. OPEN TO ALL RIDING CLUBS, CAR CLUBS, ATV, MOTORCYCLES, CHURCH GROUPS, FLOATS, ANIMALS AND WALKERS. DONATION ENTRY FEE ? ONE (1) NEW TOY PER ENTRY. CONTACT EVELYN 580- 653-2324 0R TERRI 580- 653-2829 FOR ADDITIONAL INFO OR CITY HALL 580-653-2500
1932 Helicron
In the late 1930s this one-of-a-kind Helicron was placed in a barn and forgotten. More than six decades later this odd lost little gem was rediscovered, rebuilt, and reintroduced to the world. Although the manufacturer is unknown, it’s believed that this car was built in France 1932. Following the first World War it was not uncommon for recently displaced airplane engineers to look towards the automobile industry for employment.
As in this example, a few entrepreneurs developed propeller-powered cars with the notion that propeller power was an efficient means of moving a vehicle. On this car, when the wooden propeller is spinning at full speed and efficiently, this little 1,000-pound boat-tailed skiff can hit freeway speeds exceeding 75 mph. This is the one and only Helicron in existence, owned by Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, TN.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/HelicronAuto1932.jpg
“J.T. tells me he grew up with Betty West whose Dad owned the West Wagon Yard and she had two brothers named Billy and Jerry. It was on the block of E & 1st S.W. by Central Park”
Submitted by Bruce Hamm:
From Mac’s book “Reporter’s Notebook” published in 1973. Here’s a transcription of the article
FROM ARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA—-September 20, 1970
My Question has been answered. What does the word “Ardmore” mean?
It is an Irish word meaning “high ground”.
The authority for this answer is the editor of the newspaper at Ardmore, Pennsylvania. He is Bernard Kramer, and the name of his newspaper is “The Main Line Chronicle.” His town is on the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, as Ardmore, Okla., is on the main line of the Santa Fe.
In a recent letter, part of a series of swapping data with us, Mr. Kramer reported, “Ardmore, Pa., was named by residents who in 1873 didn’t like the name Athensville. We are two miles from Bryn Mawr, a name that has been local since about 1690. Bryn Mawr is Welsh for high ground, and the township was first settle by Welsh Quakers with William Penn. Ardmore, or Athensville as it was then known, had a large Irish population who boasted that their town was on a higher elevation than their rival, Bryn Mawr. So they decided to rename the place Ardmore, which is Irish for high ground. However, when a topographical survey was made, it was discovered that there is a spot in Bryn Mawr that is six feet higher than any spot in Ardmore.”
Kramer lives in Wynnewood, Pa., which they pronounce Wynne-wood instead of our “Winnewood”.
On the naming of Ardmore, Okla., he wrote “Among the railroad construction crews who were employed on the Santa Fe job were foremen and workers who had been employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1882, and one of these men conceived the idea of naming the stations on the Santa Fe main line after stations on the main line of the Pennsy. I had the whole story in my files, but we had a disastrous fire Jan. 9, 1966, which destroyed everything. So I have to depend entirely on memory for the story. But my memory is good despite my 74 years, of which 55 years were spent as a newsman. -Bernard Kramer
“GOOD EVENING BUTCH & JILL: The lady that sent the pictures of the long eared Deer has nothing on the ears of these animals. (We have the Mule Deer here also.) These two are resident at large at Oatman, Arizona. When were there in Sept. these two were just 2 of a bunch that roam all over the place. The Baby was only 3 weeks old and her name is Lily. Oatman, Arizona is on old hwy. route 66 on the western border next to Calif. There is not much there but was a enjoyment to be there on that hot summer day. We followed Route 66 all the way to Williams, Arizona then turned North to the Grand Canyon what a trip. Keep up the good work, look forward to every issue.” -Bob Cole, Oregon Okie
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/ArizonaBigEarDeer.jpg
“Once again, you walked me down memory lane. My favorite Priddy’s was the pimento cheese which Mom and/or my Aunt would always buy for me to make sandwiches when I was hungry and no one was there to make them for me. I still eat pimento cheese sandwiches here in Korea, but it’s not Priddy’s.” -Poss in Korea bridgesford42@hotmail.com
“You mentioned Dubiel Arms and I remember them swimming at Lake Ardmore in the 50’s. They had a son, John, who graduated in 1964 from AHS. Their house was on Broadway at “Q” Street I believe. It was on the corner on the south side of the street. It seems like John’s uncle was the local highway patrolman assigned to Ardmore in the early to mid 60’s. Occasionally, there would be a poker game there and Hank Thompson, the singer, would participate.
It’s getting close to Christmas and I was thinking back to my Christmases in Ardmore in the early 50’s. Before there were frozen turkeys, you could buy locally grown birds in Ardmore. It seems like there were two turkey farms located on US 77 south of town. They were both on the west side of the road. My mother always insisted on a tom turkey. I remember my mother pulling the last remaining quills from the bird and singeing off the last remaining pin feathers before stuffing the bird the night before Christmas.
I recently saw a magazine article about the trucks out on the roads mapping streets. I think the main focus was for mobile GPS devices. There was a picture of one of the trucks and it had four camera mounted on the roof along with laser guns for measuring distances.” -Monroe Cameron
“Hi Butch. My dad knew Joe Dubiel quite well and I own a .257 Roberts rifle manufactured by Joe Dubiel’ s gun works. It is one of my most prized possessions and was passed down to me as a birthday present from my dad some thirty years ago. The Dubiel rifles were works of art and would print minute of angle consistently. Jo Dubiel, the granddaughter of Joe Dubiel, went to high school with me and I count her as a friend to this day although I’ve not seen her in several years. She attends the First Presbyterian church in Ardmore.”
Dubiel .276 Rife
http://www.hoferwaffen.com/hofer_10p.php?pid=263&cid=5&lang=en
“The 1917 year was the earliest records we found in regard to Plainview teachers, board members, census and budget. There may be other records that we did not find. In the earlier years we listed the first two teachers in the records as Superintendent and Principal. The later years the first two listed are shown as Supt. and Prin. The earliest records we found was 1914 by the Enumerator – listing students name, grade, age, sex, birth date and parents name. It appears that each year when the Enumerator completed their task the information was provided to the County Superintendent to be forwarded to the State. These Enumerator records should show when the first grade 9 students were recorded. From my research it appears that high school started about 1919-1920!!!! It is also interesting that the census dropped to 68 about 1930. This must be when the school burned. The early records are very fragile and are deteriorating rapidly.” -Wes Hull, Ardmore whull@att.net
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/PlainviewSchoolRecords.htm
Where exactly is the Cole Cemetery located? I know it is located north of Ardmore but that covers quite a territory. Les Segler, Ardmore Police Chief 1919, is buried at the Cole Cemetery (formally Yates cemetery).
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/lesliesegler.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/LeslieSeglerGrave.jpghttps://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/ColeCemeteryMap.jpg
With Christmas right around the corner, I hope those of you who live nearby have made it by to see see the Festival of Lights at the north edge of Ardmore. Here is a video tour someone posted on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAhKgW5tJUI
And let’s not forget downtown Ardmore. Back in 1919 Wilson, Oklahoma bragged about their “great white way”. I wish those who experienced the ‘great white way’ back in 1919 could see Main Street Ardmore today all decked out with the white Christmas lights up and down both sides of the street. When I drove down it the other evening, I was reminded of “the great white way” described in 1915.
Wilson, Oklahoma October 14, 1915
Main Street Lighted Up
“Say, did you ever see the great white way in the larger cities, well, we have a white way here in Wilson that has them all beat. The Yale theatre has put up two large electric lights on Main Street which lights up a whole block and helps the appearance of the city a great deal.”
As we sit in our warm homes this Christmas and enjoy the good food, the presents, the tree, the lights, family and friends, let’s not forget those in this country and around the world who are less fortunate, who won’t even have Christmas this year. It takes only one dream to set a nation free. Pray for peace on Christmas Day and remember the reason for the season, the birth of the Christ child.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8jw-ifqwkM
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
https://oklahomahistory.net/airbase/
Carter county schools, past and present
http://community.webshots.com/user/oklahomahistory
Carter County Government Website
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/
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