PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net
Phone: 580-490-6823
I received an interesting phone call from Missouri this week from a Nathan McAlister seeking any kinfolk of Ardmoreite W. George Ritter (1854-1927). George Ritter and his descendants were Ardmore pioneers from its beginnings. He came here from the Black Forest of Germany, setting up a bicycle repair shop in Ardmore. But something I learned just this week was G.W. Ritter was a violin maker. Nathan is a collector of fiddles/violins, and ran across a fiddle for sale outside Joplin, Missouri recently. He said it was in really great condition, had been taken care of by its owners, however many that has been through the years. Nate said he could look inside and see, though faint, wrote in pencil, that this was the 13th violin made by W. G. Ritter, and would be his last, signed dated, W.G. Ritter, Ardmore, Oklahoma January 10, 1920.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/RitterViolin1920a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/RitterViolin1920b.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/RitterViolin1920c.jpg
Young Cemetery is NE of Ardmore about 18 or 20 miles. I remember camping as a teenager one Saturday night on the Young family property just across the road south of the cemetery, and spending the night at their farm pond. Most everyone but me had a army cot to sleep on, up off the ground. But I only had a blanket to sleep on right on the ground. I remember Virgil Gaines was one of our chaperone and was sleeping next to me. I would wake him up about every two hours asking if it was time to get up. I couldn’t sleep because I just knew a snake would wither up out of that pond and bite me. lol Anyway, the Young Cemetery now has a website. Its still in the beginning stages, and more will be added as the months go by.
Several years ago I had a article listing the Ardmore physicians of Ardmore in 1963. This week I received an update to the article, about a doctor that was not on the list. Below is the updated list along with info on Dr. Kenneth Wright.
1963 Ardmore Physicians, MD
John R. Adair
Claude H B Brown
Hoyle J Carlock
Frank W. Clark
C.D. Cunningham
Paul W. Dickinson
J.M. Gordon
Ray B. Graybill
W.A. Heflin
Author A. Hellbaum
Malcolm Horne
Lawrence E.C. Joers
Thornton Kell
Loyd L. Long, Jr.
Clifford Lorentzen
Don Mannerberg
Ethel M. Walker
W.R. Mote
J.N. Moxley
R.W. Murphy
John R. Pollock
Roger Reid
Tom Sparks
Hobson J. Veazey
Lyman C. Veazey
Dr Kenneth L. Wright– “Anesthesiologist full time from mid 1950’s to 1965 half time to 1967 when he moved full time to Denton, TX in 1965 to 1967 he covered Ardmore, Gainesville and Denton. Initially lived at 212 4th SW then moved to a house his father built on property he purchased from “hamburger” Brown at 1902 Cloverleaf Lane that the city later changed to 2002 Cloverleaf Lane. The address sign I made in Mr. Dunn’s shop class in Junior High I believe 1963 before we heard in band class JFK had been shot.
Hamburger Inn Mr. Brown also raised hunting dogs and trained them. Owned a large tract of land questionably his farm that an entire neighborhood was made from. Millers Pond was just down the block from us. 212 4th SW had a chicken coop that had a feed storage area that opened on either side of the coop great for hide and seek. At 216 4th SW lived 2 sisters that wrote children’s books had a goldfish pond in their backyard and a great climbing tree. Unfortunately one became senile before we moved. The 212 house had a candlestick phone with phonebox when we moved in. It was replaced with a 1930’s style deco phone, mind you this was the mid 1950’s and we only had basic phone service.” -Michael Wright
1963 Ardmore Physicians, DO
G.W. Beckett
A.H Cockerell
H.W. Kenaga
Newton McBride
Helen L. Montano
Robert Patzkowsky
H.E. Williams
This week I decided to make a tester to check the water level in our water well. It works great!
https://oklahomahistory.net/waterleveltester.html
My friends in Australia, Steve and Sonia Moran sent some neat pictures this week. Seems Sonia was on a little vacation at the west side of Australia at a place called Fitsroy Crossing (they live on the east side north of Sidney). The photos are of some caves dating back 1,000s of years.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/FitzroyCavesAustralia2011a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/FitzroyCavesAustralia2011b.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/FitzroyCavesAustralia2011c.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/FitzroyCavesAustralia2011d.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/FitzroyCavesAustralia2011e.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/FitzroyCavesAustralia2011f.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/FitzroyCavesAustralia2011g.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzroy_Crossing,_Western_Australia
I wish I could divert the water that’s overflowing from the SOWC water tower on South Meridian to our parched land. We’ve been out here 3 years and for about half that time, off and on, this overflow continues 24/7.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/SOWC_overflow.jpg
U.S. drought monitor
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
From This and That newsletter archives of August 15, 1998:
The Gene Autry, Oklahoma Museum now has their own website.
http://www.geneautryokmuseum.com/
Q. What are the 4 mountain ranges of Oklahoma?
A. Oklahoma has four mountain ranges including the Ouachitas, Arbuckles, Wichitas and the Kiamichis.
Q. Who and where was the YIELD sign designed?
A. (answer in next week’s newsletter)
Gas prices today in the Ardmore area……
https://oklahomahistory.net/gasprices.html
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..“The Green Frog was on the north side of Main St. on the west side of the First Methodist Church. It was a little bit west of where McClure Chapel is now. There was parking in the back and they had car hops long before anyone else in Ardmore. It was located there when I was in high school in the 40s. Tom Mason, I am sure that you remember all about that place.” -Frances
“Elisabeth asked if anyone remembered the old fashioned milkshakes. Our sister Barbara Lou worked at Feddler’s Pharmacy, when she was in high school about 50, 5l, 52. They made them the way she described as best I remember.”
Q. “Butch, do you remember the corner store that was right across the street from Washington Elementary? I can’t remember the name. We lived at 7th & G, so were only a block away. My brother & I went here all the time whenever we could get a quarter from daddy or grandpa. We usually got a soda pop & a bag of chips (5 cents) and still had enough left to get some of the penny candies they sold in jars. Then by the time we got up to the 4th, 5th & 6th grades, we older kids were allowed to walk across the street during lunch & buy things. My best friend, Georgia Henry, and I would buy a lemon & have them cut it in half & would get a peppermint stick each. We’d put the peppermint stick in the center of the halved lemon and hide them in our desks. When the teachers weren’t looking we would suck out the lemon juice through the candy stick. The acid in the lemon would eventually hollow out the peppermint stick. My mouth is watering just remembering that!!! Best thing was that we never, ever got caught!!! 🙂 Some of my best childhood memories were at that school and growing up on that street!! It was so much fun. Now sadly, it’s almost scary to drive around that area. Just doesn’t look as safe as it was when we were kids, which is very sad. Folks nowadays just don’t seem to care about their neighborhoods like we did back in the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s.” -Kathi G. Fayetteville, Arkansas
A. Moran’s Grocery, later Cox’s Grocery
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/moran.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/moran2.jpg
“Thanks to Diane Armstrong for tweaking some beautiful memories! I can still smell the fresh bread from the John Small bakery as I did from 812 4th Street NE as a kid.” -Don Bridges in CA
“Mother of all clocks… This is interesting and a bit overwhelming.”
“Diane Armstrong’s note reminded me of a question I’ve had for some time now — Does anybody know who owned or lived in the house with the broad front porch with archway lattice work that sat for years facing west on I Street NE (just north of the place where 2nd Avenue disappeared into the big woods) NE corner– it was on the east side of the street and sat kind-of down low. The back yard of the place seemed to back up against the creek there. It’s gone now, I’ve lately noticed — replaced with a brick veneer house.” -TOM ELMORE
The Daily Ardmoreite – January 23, 1946
Art Center Buys Baker Painting
A large oil painting bearing the title “A Pioneer Mother,” painted by Miss Minnie Baker, Ardmore, head of the art department of Southeastern State college, Durant, has been added to the permanent collection of the Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City. The picture was purchased from funds given to the Oklahoma Art Center, Inc., by S. A. Lindsey, Tyler, Texas. Lindsey gave the funds with the understanding that this particular painting be purchased. This stipulation was made due to the fact that his mother, the late Mrs. B. F. Robinson, was the sitter. Mrs. Robinson was a pioneer Oklahoman. She came to the state while it was still a territory following the death of her husband in the civil war. Mrs. Robinson leased and improved unbroken land, and underwent many hardships in keeping her family together and educating her children. This is the first of several portraits of pioneers painted by Miss Baker, and one of the best, critics say. She painted the only portrait for which Lee Cruce, the second governor of Oklahoma, ever sat. Also the only portrait from life of the pioneer Oklahoma congresswoman, Alice Robertson, Muskogee. This latter painting has been purchased for the school bearing her name, in Muskogee. Miss Baker is a sister of J. Kelly Baker (1903-1984), superintendent of schools in Carter county. She studied at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D. C., and as a student there received several awards for outstanding work. One of these was a scholarship to the Breckenridge summer school at Gloucester, Mass., where she studied under the noted painter, Hugh Breckenridge, and again received recognition for outstanding work.
“In answer to Jim Bramlett from Henrietta, Texas question about the name of the pool hall 1/2 block north of the Tivoli Theater. It was called the Sportsman Club and I played a lot of snooker in there in the mid 50’s and I probably got some of Jim’s dollars. I only played snooker and most of the time it was a game called Golf played on the snooker table. The regular game of pool was for the rookies and the game of snooker, separated the men from the boys. Only the best played the game of snooker.” -Joe Dale Black
Saturday August 20, 2011 is the Dallas Sidewalk Sale http://www.SidewalkSale.com
“I am writing you to let you know that I am an Oklahoma author and have a new book set to be released on September 13. The title is, “Devil’s Hideaway,” and was inspired by my childhood memories of Devils Den near Tishomingo, Oklahoma. I am currently working to get permission for a book signing/promotional at the pavilion on the private park. The book is an adventure story of treasure, mystery, and danger, targeting twelve to eighteen year old emerging adults.” -Mike Taylor, Author
The link to Devil’s Hideaway
http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-61346-053-5
DAVIS NEWS – Davis, Oklahoma 100 YEARS AGO: The courthouse, which was located in an old opera house in East Sulphur, was dynamited. The state Supreme Court dismissed the matter that said the judges were in contempt of court for moving the district court sessions to East Sulphur … and the controversy continued. Two cars of ore were being shipped by the Hope-Sober Co., in the mountains west of Davis.
The city let the contract to build five cement culverts in the south part of town and a cement water basin near the post office.
Farmers were reporting that cotton was deteriorating and would not make anything like as much as promised two or three weeks ago.
It was reported that the Frisco railroad would build into Davis from Sulphur then extended to the Arbuckle mining field.
Two Wynnewood men bought the Majestic moving picture show in Davis from S.H. Copeland.
Attorneys Kendrick and Smith and Ike Adler, real estate dealer, leased the lot from Dr. Howell next to Hutchins Bros. furniture store and were erecting a galvanized iron building for their offices.
J.B. Dickinson speculated that the Davis-Turner Falls railroad line would soon be built. It would also carry ores and machinery to and from the mines. The plan was to build the line around the southeast side of East Timbered Hill, missing the Falls proper about a half mile.The assistant game warden J.C. Looney arrested three men for hunting without a license, which was only $1.25 a year
Q. Does anyone remember the El Paso 10?
A. https://oklahomahistory.net/elpaso10.html
Look at what happened from 1998 until 2008. In just ten years it has grown and grown. Watch the pieces come together as they are sent up from Earth. This is the International Space Station (ISS) Assembly diagram, piece by piece. I had no idea the Space Station had grown to this size.
http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm
“Did you know that the idea of Mother-In-Law Day was promoted by Eleanor Roosevelt on a train trip to Amarillo, Texas in 1938. They turned out school so all the kids could walk to the train station in Stinnett with the hopes that it would stop and Eleanor could make a speech. I mentioned the event in my graduation speech.” -Jim Foreman
http://www.jimforeman.com/Stories/graduation.htm
Here’s the story:
“If anyone has any photos of Lucy Hagen (Dr. Ralph Murphy’s nurse), please send digital images to shellie.lane@gmail.com I can also scan and give you your photos right back. Also, if you have some touching or funny memories of Lucy, please send them to me as well. They will be included in a memory book we are putting together for her. Thanks!” -Shellie Lane, Ardmore
Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to the end, requires some of the same courage which a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men to win them. –Ralph Waldo Emerson
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore Oklahoma
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
Save on long distance calls, just a couple cents a minute!
http://www.CheapLongDistance.org
Ardmore High School Criterions Online
http://www.ardmorecriterion.com/
Oklahoma Bells: 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/
Ardmore School Criterions
http://www.ArdmoreCriterion.com
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