PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Email: [email protected]
Not to far from our place is an Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association sign hanging in front of the rancher’s front pasture. I remember back around 1980 an investigator for the association lived at Sulphur by the name of Joe Ramer. He was a professional special officer dedicated to finding cattle rustlers and bring them to justice. I would see him on a regular basis at the sheriffs office since he worked closely with sheriff Robert Denney when there were cattle thieves working the area.
One of Sheriff Robert Denney‘s field deputies was Lloyd Hudson who had a large collection of pocket knives hanging on the wall. He collected them wherever and from whoever he could through the years. He must have had a couple hundred attached to a sheet of plywood on display for anyone to see who came in the office.
One day Joe Ramer was visiting the office and decided to play a little joke on Lloyd. Joe removed one of Lloyd’s knives from the wall when he wasn’t looking and put it in his pocket. When Lloyd came back in the room, Joe asked him if he wanted to buy a pocket knife. Lloyd asked to see it, and replied he already had a knife like it, but what would he take for it. Joe said he’d take $2. Lloyd gave Joe Ramer 2 bucks for his own knife and everyone starting laughing. Lloyd was a wonderful guy who’d give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, as would Joe Ramer. Lloyd Hudson (1921-1991) has since passed on to that big ranch in the sky. Here’s the pic of the Cattlemen’s Association sign I took just the other day that brought back to me some great memories of three great men.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/OklahomaCattlemensAssn.jpg
One more last note of Lloyd Hudson. In his younger days he was a pretty salty boxer, and could knock a guy’s lights out with one punch.
My uncle Donald Bridges in California wrote in this week to share something funny. After we talked about drivers licenses last week, he remembered his Oklahoma driver license issued in 1945 had an F on it for the sex (FEMALE)! He carried it around for 3 years before he even noticed it.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/OKDriverLicense1945.jpg
This week the Carter county commissioners put on an employee Appreciate Day for everyone. There must have been about 80 in attendance at noon to partake in the BBQ and hamburgers with all the trimmings at the Annex Building. Everyone had a really great time. Its during that one hour at noon when it really confirms what I’ve known all along: I work with some of the best co-workers, and 3 excellent bosses, Bill McLaughlin, Dale Ott, Kevin Robinson. I’m really thankful I work there.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/AppreciationDay072209a.jpg
Of course, I had to take a picture of my hamburger the county commissioners cooked for everyone. It was good to the last bite. And those home grown tomatoes really topped it off!
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/hamburger072209.jpg
Rick Feiler wrote in this week to tell about an unusual visitor. He had a billy goat take up residence at his place SW of Ardmore. If anyone is missing a goat, give Rick a shout and identify. [email protected]
Since we moved to the country, I’ve found I need a utility trailer to pull behind my pickup. The other day I had to take our riding lawnmower to town, and it was a chore for Jill and I to get it up in the truck bed. If anyone has a small trailer they’ll sell, send me an email.
To test eggs for freshness, lower them into a bowl of water. If they lie on their sides at the bottom they are quite fresh, if they float to the top they are stale and probably bad.
Ten cheapest places to buy gas in the Ardmore area……
https://oklahomahistory.net/gasprices.html
Q. Who established Ft Sill in 1869?
A. General Philip Sheridan
Q. What river was tamed to make Oklahoma’s Port of Catoosa?
A. (answer in next week’s T&T)
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..“Dear Mr. Bridges, Since some of your family is from Gainesville, I am hoping you can help me verify a family story that I think happened around 1920. According to a story my mother told us, some boys in her father’s family got into serious trouble for telling the community that the world was coming to an end. A sign that the end was near would be a ringing of a bell in the sky. The teenagers then caught a bird and tied a bell to its leg and let it go just at dusk scaring the community to death. Supposedly the boys had to leave town in the middle of the night to keep from being arrested. Has anyone ever heard of something like this happening in or near Gainesville? I would be most interested in hear from you or your readers.” [email protected]
“Just wanted to share this bit of information with you all. My older sister was once married to a man name Don Hill. They were very young when they were married and so you know how that goes. This marriage produced four lovely girls. Donny as we call him is a relative of Bill Doolin through his mother’s side. When we lived in the west rural part of Sasakwa, Ok, my mother was also friends with a lady name Jesse Doolin. They are the nicest people I have ever met. We grew up with Don Hill and his brothers and sisters. My mom use to baby sit Donny’s younger brother and sisters. We still get together with my ex-brother-in-law for family functions from time to time. I did not know until later years that they were even connected to Bill Doolin. Despite the fact that they are kin to someone so notorious, I like the family. After all, you don’t pick your relative. Click on the link below to read an article about Donny’s older brother. It is very interesting.” – Leona Mars, Goldsby, OK
http://www.roxygordon.com/putt/roxy20.html
“Why don’t you just write a book called “101 Uses for Wood Pallets”!?
“Butch, The wind turbines you saw traveling may be headed to the wind farm on Highway 58 North of Medicine Park. They have several hundred to the west of 58 and are erecting 38 more on the east side. I watch them daily as they are going up. The blades aren’t on any yet, but half of the poles are already up. I love watching the huge wind turbines at work. They are beautiful on the horizon and it’s nice to know they are creating energy naturally. Awesome!” -Joy Willingham at Medicine Park
“Does no one proof read anymore? I took this entertaining picture myself in Ardmore on July 17, 2009. I’ve been told that companies are intentionally putting errors on signs to get our attention, because the brain ignores anything that is “normal”??” https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/DrPepperAd071709.jpg
“Butch, With the recent talk and pictures of grave markers of the outlaws buried in the Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, I thought I’d add that there is also at least one law enforcement officer who died in the line of duty buried there. He is Mulhall City Marshal James Hercules Rundell who was killed while pursuing a speeder. The chase went for over 20 miles that Sunday morning September 21, 1930. It ended north of Perry when the car Rundell was chasing swerved into his motorcycle and made him crash, killing him. His story and picture are on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com I wrote a more in depth article on Rundell for the Oklahombres quarterly Journal. I’ve attached pictures of the Rundell family plot plus the headstone of James and his wife in Summit View. While your readers are on the memorial’s web site they might check out also pictures of the “Memorial Damage” caused by the high winds back on the morning of May 13th.”
Dennis Lippe, Chairman
Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial
e-mail: [email protected]
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/RundellMarker09a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/RundellMarker09b.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/RundellMarker09c.jpg
“The springs are running again and the visitors are in Chickasaw National Recreation Area enjoying them. There were so many people at Little Niagara last weekend, you couldn’t have “stirred them with a stick!”
I’m attaching a picture of swimmers enjoying Little Niagara on Saturday. The dam that creates the falls has been repaired and the diving area dredged out. I’m told the deepest part is now 12 feet. It will silt in some eventually, but for now it is quite deep. Also attached is a picture of the bison named “Crooked Horn” who died and is now stuffed and on display at the Nature Center. Visitors can see some interesting displays and informative films at the Nature Center.” -Mary Lou
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/LittleNiagara09a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/LittleNiagara09d.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/CrookedHorn09.jpg
“Butch, a postcard I found here in South Florida in an antique store. It is dated 1950 on the back. -Larry Martin, South Florida
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/Ardmore1950.jpg
“Butch, Lynn McCumber’s picture below have some funny long necked animals in the picture. Did he know the Giraffe were in the field? It sure caught my eye.” -Claude in Juneau
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/WashitaValley071309.jpg
“If you can’t get a Black Diamond in your area, your second best bet are Rocky Ford (Colo) melons if anyone delivers them over there. Some folks from Rocky Ford brings them to Angel Fire and believe it or not I saw a stand beside the road here in Arizona last year.” -Serena
“I know you said you wanted to find a Black Diamond watermelon in Ardmore, but if you’re up for a drive, go to Terral, OK. They are the best melons anywhere.” -Nelda True
“If you can get a Orange Glow from Mr. Winchester try it. They are the best melon I have ever had. The only problem is the rind is so thin that if you hit a bump they may burst. I cut a small one today.” -Dewayne
“Hi, Butch. Curious, do you have a Facebook account? It would be a neat way for your Readers to have an online forum to share with each other.”
http://www.facebook.com/butchbridges
“Here’s hoping you success in your worm raising – We had a neighbor on B st SE just off 10th around 1950 or so that made his living raising worms. He had a tin shed probably 20 by 40 or thereabouts with raised beds covering most of the floor about a foot deep. One thing I remember is Mom and Grandma saving their coffee grounds for him. He would box them up in a 2-3 dozen batch in a half pint white ice cream box and sell them to the bait shops on Lake Murray Dr.” -T. E. (Thal) McGinness Houston, TX [email protected]
“I have been driving past this tree for 7 years. It is south of Waurika right before you cross the Red River. When you turn south on 79 off 70 west of Waurika and head down to Wichita Falls it is about 2 miles on the west side. Just about a mile before you get to Bills Catfish there at the river. I am guessing a goat or antelope but a horned animal. Pretty neat sight.” -Doug Williams
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/WaurikaTree09a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/WaurikaTree09b.jpg
“Butch, do you know the history of the house on 610 “C” SE? It is being renovated and we have heard some stories about it. Thought someone might know something. Thanks!”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/610_C_SE_Ardmore.jpg
“Butch-We need help! A B-26C Martin “Marauder” crashed and burned near Port Vincent, Louisiana, July 12, 1943. It was with five other B-26s being flown in loose formation to Ardmore Army Air Field from MacDill Field, Tampa, Florida. All support personnel and 33 B-26 aircraft were moving to Ardmore to train as B-26 combat crews. Seven crewmen died in the crash and burn; the cause of the crash was never determined. Recently, the sister of the co-pilot, Lt. William M. Lester, 26, became interested in knowing the details of her brother’s death and where the accident occurred. She had mentioned to a neighbor that a brother was killed in a plane crash in 1943 and she knew nothing about the details. The computer savvy neighbor asked his name and began an Internet search. Since the accident was included on the Ardmore Army Air Field website, http://www.brightok.net/~gsimmons, we became involved with furnishing what we knew about the crash and its approximate location in Louisiana. The determined sister found relatives of the now deceased owners of the farm where the plane crashed and learned the name of a five-year old boy, at the time, who lived near the crash site. Feeling a need to see the site and meet the residents who had furnished information, the Birmingham, Alabama couple, in their late 80s, journeyed to Louisiana. Some measure of closure accompanied unleashed emotions, these 66-years later, as they were taken to the crash area, July 11, 2009. Lt. Lester had his 26th birthday, July 9, 1943. While at the site, the sister found the “fastener” or ? and asked if we could identify its purpose as part of clothing or equipment. The WWII veterans I have made contact with do not recognize the item. It is about the size of a mid-size button. If a reader knows, please contact [email protected] Thanks in advance!”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/MysteryButton09a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/MysteryButton09b.jpg
“I WONDER IF YOU COULD ASK IF ANYONE HAS KNOWLEDGE OF WHEN THE OIL SPRINGS CEMETERY WAS BEGUN. OUR GRANDFATHER, N.W. GRISHAM, DONATED THE LAND AND HE AND FAMILY ARE BURIED THERE. WE ALSO HAD HEARD HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST COUNTY COMMISSIONERS IN THAT AREA AROUND GRAHAM, AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THIS. THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE PROBABLY IN THE TWENTIES OR THIRTIES. THANKS AGAIN FOR YOU RESPONSE AND HELP.” -ELISABETH [email protected]
“I’ve launched a freelance web services business. If you need Web site management or social network marketing services for your small business, please think of me! Visit my Web site.” -Julie Riggs http://webcitizensms.com/
“Have you ever seen the picture of the hanging in Ardmore that happened in 1904? On the back of the picture, it says a guy by the name of Rufus Binyon was hung for murder, the gallows in the Federal Jail SW corner of Main & “B” St. S.W., present day location of The Old Fashion Soda Shop.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/ArdmoreHanging1904.jpg
“This picture is the Mother Bear looking for salmon coming up the creek. I think she probably ate the last one earlier in the morning. Her tummy sure looked full in the first picture of her. She looks brown but it is a brown phase black bear. For the last three years, she had been escorting around twins but got rid of them this spring so she could raise the new family. With her last twins, one was black and one was brown. They are around somewhere but she keeps them away. They are very protective of their young.” -Claude in Juneau
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos9a/MommyBear.jpg
“Here are some cars being crushed in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Pretty fast operation.” -Doug Williams
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esFsPqKF1lIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzzF_zqCvvI
The Lone Grove Ledger
From the Archives 85 years ago
11-18-1912 ~ A Masonic Lodge building, two stories high is to be erected at once in Wilson by the Masons of Hewitt, who yesterday closed a deal for lots on which to erect the building. This is the first secret order to commence a building in Wilson, but practically all of the church organizations have secured locations to be put up in the near future.
4-14-1912 ~ New Wilson, the infant city on the line of the ONM&P, is proud of the new high school building just completed. When the town was first organized, it was decided to invest ten thousand dollars in a new high school building. Each room is equipped with its own heating plant, which makes each independent of the other. Prof. A. A. Rogers will be the head of the school, and will be assisted by Mrs. A. A. Rogers, Miss Florence Corley, Miss Ruth Hewitt, Miss Marian Prater, Miss Alice Woods, and Miss Helen Goff.
11-11-1912 ~ Wilson is the “Wonder city of Carter County, the fastest growing place in the state at the present time.” Only in an oilfield where faith has been followed by rapid development could a town grow so fast within sixty days time. With the telegraph service being installed by the Ringling Railroad, and a complete telephone system throughout the town and surrounding country now in operation, Wilson is in direct connection with the entire world. Wilson now has 800 people and 500 teams. Everything that goes to the Healdton field must come to Wilson by train. The town has four lumber yards, three oil supply houses, two hotels, a half dozen restaurants, a steam laundry and a moving picture man in town.
12- 8-1912 ~ New Wilson. Mr. Foster has just completed a hotel on the west side of town which will be known as the Teamster’s Beanery. Miss Shannon of Marietta has built one of the finest rooming houses in the city. Rhodes Brothers of Stroud have purchased the dry goods business of Mobley, the tailor. Work will soon begin on the grading of the streets and oil will be sprinkled daily, which will be one of the greatest boosts for our little city of nearly 3,000 people.
~ Wilson Historical Museum opened Tues., Thurs., Fri., Sat. 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
There is a lot more juice in grapefruit than meets the eye. -author unknown
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore Oklahoma
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443https://oklahomahistory.net
Save on long distance calls, just a couple cents a minute!
http://www.CheapLongDistance.org
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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