A Home Grown Home Page

Home of the This and That Newsletters

Vol 16  Issue 792 March 29, 2012

PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402 Email:  butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net Phone: 580-490-6823

There will be a another great history rendezvous in April.  This time its being held at Muskogee, Oklahoma. I sure hope we can make it that Saturday, there will be a lot of Oklahoma history shared, and the meeting is free to all!

“Butch, Please let your readers know about the next Oklahombres Rendezvous coming up Saturday, April 28th in Muskogee. Everyone is welcome to attend this unique opportunity to walk the ground where history took place at no charge. This year we have selected Younger?s Bend, the home and gravesite of legendary old west femme-fatale Belle Starr as our destination. Dr. Ron Hood purchased the property and has done wonders to make it accessible, as well as reconstructing an 1850s cabin on the land and refurbishing the gravesite and other points of interest. Many historical artifacts will on display at the site and Dr. Hood, who has done yeoman?s work in researching all the local happenings concerning this dramatic history will be sharing his discoveries with us. We will first meet at the Three Rivers Museum in Muskogee at 9 AM the morning of Saturday, April 28th for orientation and a spat of excellent speakers and the viewing of artifacts, as well as fine museum displays, before heading south to Younger?s Bend. Several side trips to historical spots and graves are planned en-route to the property as well.

Since there are no places to eat for many miles of Younger’s Bend a chuck-wagon will be provided on site. So if you plan to attend, please RSVP the Three Rivers Museum by phone or e-mail Ron Morgan at Westboonerat@Windstream.net as soon as possible, cause the owners of the portable eatery need to know the numbers they have to serve ahead of time for obvious reasons. Naturally there will be a fee for the chuck.

On another subject Oklahombres now has a facebook page and we hope everyone will join in the discussions, get weekly updates on our activities, etc. Just go to Facebook and type in ?Oklahombres.? We sincerely hope ya?ll join us at the Rendezvous. Get more information and in on other discussions of Oklahoma history of outlaws and lawmen at http://oklahombres.org Thanks.” -Dennis Lippe

The other day I posted an inquiry on my Facebook Wall asking for info on a cemetery located on an island in the middle of the Red River near Enville, Oklahoma. I received a lot of responses, and wanted to share some of the comments with everyone. This is a map of the Graveyard Bluff area with notations inserted by Tony Martin. Thanks Tony, you have really provided some excellent help for to reference the area.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/GraveyardBluffAreaMap.jpg

Stephen McCord: Lone Oak Cemetery is east of Lebanon the road is before you get to Wilson creek but its a gravel rd that goes south off hwy 32 called loneoak rd go to the end it where hickory creek comes in but look straight south you can see it out there

Joni Arthur Conway: Isn’t that where Judge Tate’s great grandfather Edmund Pickens is buried on an island in Love County.?

Stephen McCord: Its actually south west of loneoak rd pulled it up on Google map its the shape of a ribeye steak.

George Pearson: use the boat ramp on SW side of Hickory Creek bridge on Hwy 32 by where the old Chinaman’s Restaurant used to be located.

Toi Hull Bone: Yes, it’s called Graveyard Bluff. Went by it many times in boat. Never stopped because, like the above have said, heard it was snakey!!

Betty Rackley: My mother always told me my great, great grandfather, John Turner, was buried there. His wife was Indian from the Folsom family. So anything you might find out I’m very interested. She seemed to think the cemetery was under water now.

Brandon Matthews: We go there quite a bit. When the lake is low you can walk to it from the end of Lone Oak road. Been noodling there several times n hog hunted there too. The graves that were not moved when the lake was built were moved recently. The ones that weren’t robbed several years ago anyway. There is an old wagon road up to it from a long time ago. It’s mostly grown up now.

Ray Sam: Edmund Pickens is said to be buried there though it cannot be confirmed.

Ken Bacon: Butch, it is graveyard bluff. I have been there dozens of times in the last forty years. I have even been there several times on a motorcycle over the years. Several times at night, believe it or not. Lol. It is wild and all grown up in …brush and trees. There was a small cemetery out there, however, the graves were dug up by treasure hunters back in the 1920’s. The oldest marked grave out there was Johnson Pickens, born 1822, died 1858. That headstone has been removed. We never found Edmund Pickens grave. We used to noodle catfish out there at the face of the bluff back when the river ran up against the bluff. If you go out there, be careful, there are lots of snakes.

Ken Bacon: Butch, you might want to warn your readers, that if they go to Graveyard Bluff, to be extremely careful, as there is an old hand dug well up there and if they step off in it, they could not possibly come out alive. The well is very, very deep, and bricked all the way to the bottom. It is several feet in diameter, uncovered and a certain death trap, for some unsuspecting “explorer.”. I always thought I would like to meet the man that had the guts to go to the bottom of that well and dig, while his helper mixed mortar and laid the bricks on top at the surface, thus letting all the previously laid bricks slide down the hole, as the “digger” digs away, filling the bucket to be pulled out and dumped. It can be a very dangerous place to “explore”.

Mickey Ivory Stephens: My husband just told me that he has been there and the snakes and wild hogs were terrible. Very interesting! He was arrowhead hunting along the shore.

This is some good info on the beginnings of Graveyard Bluff cemetery.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2177100

Here is a screenshot of the island area southeast of Enville.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/GraveyardBluffMap.jpg

I saw Chan Brewster at the post office the other day and he showed me his new commemorative ring he had just received. The ring commemorates the first ever, Ardmore High School Class 3A state baseball championship set back in 1972, 35-11. Coach was Tom Walton and assistant coach was Ronnie Tipps.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/Champions1972a.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/Champions1972b.jpg

http://www.ardmoreite.com/features/x738247319/Diamond-Reunion

Soapbox:  Four year old killed by pit bull in Houston.

http://www.khou.com/news/Missing-4-year-old-boy-found-dead-in-Victoria–144252875.html

From This and That newsletter archives of March 20, 1999:
“Could you find any pictures of the original Healdton, OK airport called Davis Field located on the east side of the curve coming into town?”
—————————————-
“When I was maybe 5 or 6 years old, Pawnee Bill gave me a dime to put in the slot machine in his trading post (they were illegal then but very common). When I lost the dime, he sat me on his lap and gave me a lecture about how you always lost money gambling. That would be in the early 1930s. He had long white hair and I believe wore buckskin. Sadly, the trading post later burned.” 
Pic of Pawnee Bill’s Trading Post
—————————————-
I know I’m growing older and forgetful, but wasn’t there an Otasco store at Tiffany Plaza?
—————————————-
“The Townley Dairy in OPKC was sold, I believe to Farm Fresh, and no longer operates under that name. But the active Townley now owns the Lifetime Fence Company in Oklahoma City; and the endorsement on my check paying for fencing was “Townley Dairy Company d/b/a Lifetime Fence Company.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/TownleyMilkBottle.jpg

Q. Who was the Oklahoma born “voice actor” of Donald Duck?
A.  Clarence Charles “Ducky” Nash 1904 ? 1985 b. Watonga, OK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w6X_gfXIHc

Q. The nation?s first ?tornado warning? was issued March 25, 1948 in what city?
A. (answer in next week’s T&T)

Gas prices today in the Ardmore area……

https://oklahomahistory.net/gasprices.html

Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..“Butch: Do you remember our emails about the “Standley Family Players”? You had put the verse to one of Johnny Standley’s songs at the end of a newsletter and I had commented that I had known his sister Martha as an actress at the Mummer’s Theater back in the ’50s. That sister, Martha (Standley) Knott has died at age 98 and there will be a memorial service for her this coming Saturday, March 30th., at the Jewel Box Theater in Oklahoma City (address is: 3700 N. Walker). You can find her ‘obit’ at YAHOO Search (and there’s other information at Google). Thought you might like this info for “T&T”. Incidentally, the brother had performed with the Horace Height Orchestra, and had released his recording of “It’s In The Book” with the ‘flip side’ titled “Grandma’s Lye Soap”. -Roy Kendrick

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-theater-standout-martha-knott-dies-at-98/article/3660968

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~okoklaho/obit/knott_robert.htm


“Here are some recent photos of Brown Springs south of Thackerville.” -Doug Williams

http://winterfamily.smugmug.com/Other/Brown-Springs/22091212_RQXVHT#!i=1763055162


“Butch, my wife?s uncle had a small ranch near the treatment plant and would get the treated Okie Dirt and spread on his pasture. Tomatoes would sprout and produce all over the pasture. He also had a garden. Her aunt would not touch a tomato unless she went to the garden and picked them herself. Maybe the treatment today kills the tomato seeds.” -Dan


“Butch, I am wondering if there is anyone out there who remembers the glass straws from many years ago, before the universal use of the paper ones. I am interested in finding documentation as to when they were invented , who invented them , manufactured them, etc.” -Alleda Hale in California


Saw my name mentioned in last week’s T&T. Looking at the names on the sign taped to the car, a little spin thru the criterion pages netted this:

http://www.ardmorecriterion.com/1979Images/Page%2092.jpg

We had a winner with AHS ’79.

On Bob’s Grand & Commerce turntable/roundhouse, have a look at that 1940 aerial photo #CFN-10-84. While that turntable off of Moore St is plainly visible, I can’t find anything similar west of that wye junction where Ardmore Mall is now. There is something inside the wye but that’d be east of (what would become) Commerce.

I know at one time you had a group of those photos on your website so you might share those with Bob. Looks like they’re still there:
https://oklahomahistory.net/maps/

-Garth Hoard, AHS ’75


“Butch, I am Michael Taylor, a faithful reader of This and That, and enjoy the down to earth, common way you keep all of us up to date on the goings on of southern Oklahoma. I spent many of the summers of my childhood camping at Devils Den and always enjoy your reader’s postings of that private park. I only wish it was still open for visitors today. If you remember, I wrote you back in September concerning the release of a book I have written inspired by my memories of Devils Den. The title is “Devil’s Hideaway.” You posted the information concerning its release which I deeply appreciate. A trailer for the book is now up on YouTube and I thought I would send you the link in case some of your readers would like to see what the story is all about. Anyone who has ever spent any time at Devils Den will enjoy the read.” -Michael Taylor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4MI7Tuzqfg&feature=youtu.be


The Market Place in Ardmore will be opening the 2012 season on April 21. The hours are 7:30 a.m.- noon. Call Melvett Chambers at 405-207-6515 to become a vendor/seller. Please like ?The Market Place? on Facebook. We will let you know who is selling what each Saturday so you don?t miss out on the freshest seasonal fruits and veggies!

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/MarketPlace020910.jpg


Hi Butch, I was at Barnes & Noble this afternoon. I came across really neat book on Oklahoma. It has a lot of history in it. I like the layout of the book because it is geared to excursions to sites around the state. I think that it will be great for day trips. It even mentions Lone Grove. The name of the book is:

?ROADSIDE HISTORY of OKLAHOMA?

By Francis L. and Roberta B. Fugate

ISBN ?13: 978-0-8742-272-2

Mountain Press Publishing Company
Missoula, Montana

Paperback 456 Pages

http://www.amazon.com/Roadside-History-Oklahoma-Paperback/dp/0878422722/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332812924&sr=8-1


“In the 1950s one of my relatives, Bert Flanary, ran a service station and feed store on the south side of Hwy 70 across from the old football field (Mclish St.). His wife was Leora Smith and for a while their daughter, Aileen, lived with them. Leora was a lunch room supervisor in the school system. I have their obits, but any other info about them or the business would be greatly appreciated.” -Barry Flanary


“The Natural Corner on Health
By Dr. Lauri Campbell, N.D. Wynnewood, Oklahoma 972-333-4394

How Lithium Changed My Wife

It seems that mental disorders affect far more individuals that you might think. Bipolar disorder or schizophrenia is one such mental disorder that affects thousands of Americans. It is treated by a number of drugs and can be controlled when the individual is consistent in taking their prescribed drugs.

The wife of a dear friend is affected by this disorder and her behavior has been somewhat erratic. She would run away from home and be found miles away speaking gibberish. She was at one point in constant prayer praying without ceasing and being unaware of anything going on around her. Later she became obsessed with sewing and began sewing nonstop making hundreds of little dresses of unique design. One day she got upset and climbed up a fruit tree and fell twenty feet to the ground when the branch broke breaking both feet crushing the bones into hundreds of pieces and damaging her internal organs. We were not sure she would live. After months in an Oklahoma hospital she was finally released and told she would never walk again.

In addition to having to learn to walk again as her feet healed, she went from psychiatrist to psychiatrist from drug to drug hoping to get some balance and sense back in her life. With prescriptions costing over one thousand dollars a month a great strain was placed on her husband?s finances. Finally the right combination was found and little Angie seemed almost normal. She still had fits of crying and emotional super sensitivity but she could be left alone without fear she would do something too crazy. We had her husband give her a high potency vitamin B complex with 100 milligrams of each B vitamin in its formula. She again started to improve and be more normal.

Then a few months ago she and her husband came to visit and she was unusually weepy and sensitive. I recommended a small dose of Lithium Aspartate, just five milligrams twice a day and she started with this natural and safe supplement. A few days later her husband called and said she was much better and calmer and balanced than in years. Now months later she continues acting normally.

What a difference a little mineral made in her life.”


“Just discovered that Georgia has a family connection to Ardmore as far back as 1910. A gentleman by the name of Sion Turner, married one Mary Lulu Stringer, and had some sort of General Store in Ardmore. Died ca. 1923, buried in Rose Hill. Questions. Would any of your readers have any knowledge of this family, the store, or any information at all. My e-mail is frb426@aol.com if there is some information here.” -Bob Gates


“Butch, A few months ago one of your questions was about the Huckins Hotel in Oklahoma City. My dad, Ossian Cameron, lived for some time in the Huckins Hotel. Attached is his ID card from the Huckins dated 1/14/1931. When the hotel was rebuilt in 1908 after a fire, it had the first electric elevator in Oklahoma City. It was originally built by Oscar Lee in 1900 and was named the Lee Hotel, later changed to the Lee Huckins Hotel and finally to the Huckins Hotel. The Huckins Hotel was part of a small chain which included the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco along with the Marion Hotel in Little Rock, the Westbrook Hotel in Fort Worth, the Oxford Hotel in Enid, the Kemp Hotel in Wichita Falls, and the Huckins House in Texarkana.” -Monroe Cameron

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/HuckinsHotel1931.jpg


“My Daddy had old timey longhorn okra seeds at the home place in Ryan. We lost our seeds years ago. All I’ve been able to find is called Cowhorn and it definitely is not the same. Since my husband, Sam, died last Fall my son is helping me with a tiny garden. I would like to have a few of those seeds if anyone can share.”  virginia_cottrell@hotmail.com


5t Annual Thackerville Oklahoma Rattlesnake Roundup March 31 and April 1st.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ThackervilleRattlesnakeRoundup.pdf



?I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.? –Friedrich Nietzsche

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

All previous issues of This & That can be found on my Website.
Feel free to forward this free newsletter. Mailouts: over 1,600.
To be removed from my T&T mailings, just send me an email.
I do not sell, trade or give my mailing list to anyone for any reason.