PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402 Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net Phone: 580-490-6823
Last Saturday Jill and I decided to visit a place most people never heard of, much less what is there. It is Emet, Oklahoma and the weather was the most beautiful blue sky day anyone could hope for. Emet is just a few miles south of Milburn, Oklahoma on Highway 78 like going toward Durant. The reason we picked Emet, Oklahoma is because we saw on TV the Chickasaw Nation was having their Fall Festival at the old Chickasaw White House in Emet. The governor’s mansion was established in 1895 for Chickasaw Governor Douglas Johnston.
Now picture this: Your driving south out of Milburn on Hwy 78 and in 3 or 4 miles you come to Emet. Even google does not know where Emet, Oklahoma is located (must use bing.com maps). At Emet you see a county sign that reads: Mansion Road on the west side of the highway. You slow down to turn west on Mansion Road and all you see is a dirt road going west from the highway. Don’t let the dirt road mislead you, just 1/4 mile down that dirt road is an experience you’ll never forget.
Below is a road map of the Emet (blue dot) area.
https://oklahomahistory.net/maps/EmetOKmap.jpg
This is a aerial of the Chickasaw White House property and grounds.
https://oklahomahistory.net/maps/ChickasawWhiteHouseAerial.jpg
If you have a GPS in your vehicle, you can type the map coordinates below in Google Maps or Bing Maps search box, click the hour glass to the right, and that will take you straight to the Chickasaw White House at Emet, Oklahoma.
34.208493, -96.545609
You can even Copy and Paste the above coordinates in Google Maps, Google Earth, or Bing.com Maps and click go and you go right to the property in Emet.
We hadn’t been on the property 30 minutes and here comes my long time friend Russell Anoatubby. This guy is one in a million. I love this man like a brother. When I first started working on computers and motherboards, when I’d run across a computer that just wouldn’t fix, I’d head over to Russell’s for help. Russ taught me so much about troubleshooting the problems when it came to computer related stuff.
In fact, Russ is the one I called in October 1996 on a Saturday morning to go with me when I went to the top of the courthouse dome to see why the 1928 Seth Thomas tower clock had not run in several years. After finding the problem was electrical and fixing it, we were both standing there, and I said, “well, let’s see what happens.” I flipped the switch to power the clockworks, and we both almost had a runaway. The electric motor that keeps the 110 pound weight ratcheted up for the bell, it kicked in, and it sounded like a freight train coming through. But everything worked and has since 1996. Thanks Russ!
Here is pic I snapped of my wife Jill and Russell Anoatubby waiting for the Chickasaw White House tour to start Saturday morning.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/JillAndRussell102012a.jpg
Below are some pictures I snapped of the outside areas.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/JohnstonMansion102012a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouse102012b.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouse102012c.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouse102012d.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHousePlaque.jpg
There was some grinning and picking going on on the front porch!
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouse102012e.jpg
Everyone who wanted to could take a ride in a wagon pulled by April the horse. That was fun. Here is a pic of me standing beside April (she was born in April).
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/AprilAndButch102012.jpg
Near the fence to the west of the mansion is the dipping trough. Cattle was moved through it years ago for the purpose of killing ticks, etc., with a dipping solution.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouse102012f.jpg
The old water well is next to the breeze way.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouseWaterWell.jpg
Behind the house are the public restrooms. I said to Jill this has got to be one big outhouse if it was this size back in the beginnings of the mansion. lol
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouseOuthouse.jpg
The old cellar is still located on the west side of the homeplace.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouseCellar.jpg
On the west side of the mansion is a glider. This thing is big enough to seat 4 adults easily. Most people today would call it a swing, but back in those days it was a glider because of the way it was constructed.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouseSwing.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouseSwing2.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ChickasawWhiteHouseSwing3.jpg
The Johnston mansion is filled with many of the house items owned by Governor Johnston. You just have to see it to believe all the old antiques in this home. One that really caught my eye was a Square Piano or “coffin” piano. The tour guide said very few were made. She said I could take a picture as long as there was no flash.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/JohnstonPiano102012.jpg
A Reader gave me a 1950s pill bottle by Dr. J. Jay Boyd this week! Needless to say I am very proud to be the new owner, since my mother took me to Dr. Boyd on numerous occasions during my early years. This particular bottle still has the ‘sugar pills’ and liquid still inside and was prescribed for her son in the 50s.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/BoydPillBottle102312.jpg
I always smile when I get something the old fashioned way, in the mail. This week a letter arrived from Laurie Williams and inside was a copy of the August 22, 2012 issue of The Oklahoma Gazette about Healdton/Ardmore oil baron Roy Johnson. There has been a number of mentions about Roy M. Johnson in past issues of T&T. He was the main force in 1917 for the building of the Colston Building (previously named the Simpson Bldg, Little Bldg). Roy was also the only Republican to serve as Carter County Commissioner (1921-1922).
There was a informative reprint from 1966 on Roy Johnson in the 1976 Shrine Club Rodeo Program Book.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/RoyJohnsonStory1966.jpg
Here is the Gazette clipping on a book owned by Roy Johnson that recently sold for $2,750.
http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-16131-hard-more-in-ardmore.html
Mark your calendars: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 ? Trick or Treat on Main Street in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Main Street merchants open their doors from 3:00-5:00 p.m. to friendly ghosts and goblins in this annual event for children of all ages. Free treats (no tricks!) in a safe environment to the delight of children, including a ?best costume? award. No admission charge.
This Friday and Saturday in Ardmore is the 2012 Texoma Hamarama Funfest at the Ardmore Convention Center. If you’re into ham radio and electronics, this is the place to be, it will be packed with a lot to see and do.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/hamarama2012a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/hamarama2012b.jpg
In the last issue I mentioned the granite plaque had came in to attach to the airfield memorial at the Ardmore Airpark. Last Sunday I used Locktite to adhere it to the back of the big granite memorial, so it should stay attached for years to come. Gary Simmons checked it yesterday said it is fine. Here is a pic he snapped.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WWIIdonorsPlaque102412.jpg
Created a new webpage this week to list vicious dog attacks in Oklahoma and Texas. Last month (September) my website received over 31,000 unique Visitors and nearly 1 Million Hits. I know we can bring this every growing problem to the forefront. If you know of a vicious dog attack not listed on my webpage, send me the info and I’ll include it. Thanks.
https://oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
A month or so ago I mentioned that my blood pressure was unusually high and I didn’t know what was causing the problem. Last Wednesday when I took (I take it almost daily) it was 171/98 which is very high. I knew I had to act and act now. So last Friday evening I started the STRICT Paleo Diet. I continued this strict diet every day, and 6 days later my B/P had come down to 133/89. I felt much better. Amazing what one can do when you set your mind to it. In a few days I will build a webpage and describe everything Jill and I are eating on this caveman diet. Below is a document listing the allowed and not allowed foods.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/PaleoDiet101912.rtf
Oklahoma History Revisited by Larry Guthrie, Sulphur
Question: In 1941 Douglas started building what airplane in Oklahoma City?
Answer: Taking over a 300 foot square patch of concrete southeast of Oklahoma City on November 1, 1941 Douglas aircraft plant began small manufacturing, expanding only as contractors completed the mile long building one section at a time. Less than a year later the first plane rolled off the line. It was a C-47, the workhorse plane of the Air Force, and before the war was over, the plant was turning out the planes at a peak rate of 13 per day. That?s not a misprint. 13 per day.
From This and That newsletter archives of October 24, 1998:
I heard on the TV the other day that Amtrak should be running between Kansas, Oklahoma City, Ardmore and Ft Worth by April or May.
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Here’s a great website to learn about those big war birds of WWII. I have enjoyed seeing those old clips from the past!
http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com/
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I received a bar of lye soap in the mail the other day from a man in Alabama! He’s been making it for years, and I will have to say, it is a beautiful bar of soap…smooth, rounded, in a colorful package. Here’s a pic of the box he markets his lye soap in.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/lyesoap.jpg
Below is his story of how he started making lye soap years ago:
“We started making soap about 25 years ago after my mother-in-law got us all together to pass on some of the skills she had learned growing up. We made butter by churning fresh cow’s milk, we made preserves by picking fresh fruit and cooking it down, and she also taught us how to make soap. The butter and preserves were consumed with great gusto, but making them never quite caught on with us.”
“But the soap stuck. We continued to make it, learn about it, and refine it. Over the years, as we studied more and more about how to make it, we discovered that handmade soap, if it is properly made, can be far superior to commercial soap. Commercial soap has lots of additives, and it has all of the glycerine removed that is naturally produced during the soapmaking process. The glycerine is the great moisturizing component in natural soap.”
“Soap is made by a chemical reaction. The reaction occurs when vegetable and animal oils are mixed together with caustic soda (otherwise known as “lye”). That means that ALL soap is “lye soap”. This is probably the biggest misconception about soap in all of America. But there is no lye in soap, because all of the lye has been reacted with the oils to produce soap and glycerine.”
“We use olive oil, coconut oil, and tallow as our oils. When these oils are mixed in the proper proportions with sodium lye, it makes the best soap we have ever seen, even if we do say so ourselves!”
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I saw in the newspaper Friday where an Ardmore businessman and friend passed away at his home in Lone Grove. John C. Simpler was the first person in Ardmore to expose me to the world of computers. He had a two disk drive (10 inch floppys) and let me learn how to write programs and all. I remember when John took his 14 year old daughter to Nashville on January 21, 1984 to record her first record. She was Lorie Simpler and what a voice. John had 1,200 45 rpm records made of his daughter singing original songs by two local songwriters, Danny Puckett and Greg Jean…. “Nobody’s Baby Anymore” and “Someday”. I still have my 45 record and paper insert about Lorie. I’ll try to make a 1 minute music clip of her singing for my next T&T. The record was produced by an Oklahoma City recording company. John was just a few years older then me. Enjoy every day to its fullest…. we just never know.
“Someday”
By Lorie Simpler
Lone Grove, Oklahoma
Songwriters: Danny Puckett, Lone Grove
and Greg Jean, Ardmore
Recorded January 21, 1984
It hurts me to see you unhappy,
Someone like you shouldn’t be,
If I could change the hands of time you’d be with me,
And I’d give you the love you’ve needed so long.
Yes baby you know that I love you so,
But there’s too many hearts in the way,
But baby, who knows, some where some way,
Maybe you and I, maybe some day.
It’s hard being lonely, no one caring,
When we have love we should be sharing,
You remember when he forgot,
You gave me strength when he would not,
So tell me if I’m wrong for loving you.
Yes baby you know that I love you so,
But there’s too many hearts in the way,
But baby who knows, some where some way,
Maybe you and I, maybe some day.
Maybe you and I, maybe some day.
A 90 second clip of the song “Someday”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/someday.mp3
Gas prices today in the Ardmore area……
http://www.oklahomagasprices.com/index.aspx?mss=152754
Check gas prices by town or zip code anywhere in U.S.
http://www.kmov.com/traffic/gas-buddy
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..“I am trying to find a copy of the book Boastown to Ghostown, Our Hometown written by Marshall Don Mitchell. I grew up in Bromide, Oklahoma and would appreciate any help any one has to offer me as where to locate the book. This tells the history of Bromide OK. contact me at” tressa101@gmail.com
I am not sure about Dolly Talkington playing the pipe organ at the First United Methodist Church, but I know for a fact she did at Ardmore’s First Presbyterian Church. She played for all kinds of functions around town even in Central park, Civic Auditorium, etc. She was an outstanding musician, and I remember my grade school music teacher hired her to play for a huge end of school play where I sang with the group of singers. The music teacher was an outstanding pianist too, but she wanted to direct us while someone else played the piano.
I’m pretty sure Lila Stout played the organ at the First Methodist Church, Ardmore at that time. My family attended there from 1950 to about 1964-5.
“Butch: The birds in the photo are the common Grackle. I never checked into where they came from, but if they are pesky, you can google them for ways to keep them away.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/CourthouseBirds100512.jpg
“The Institute for the American Constitutional Heritage was established three years ago by President David Boren at the University of Oklahoma and is going to make weekly programs about American government available on their website concerning constitutional law and history. This is the first installment of the new program. You can sign up and receive it individually. There is no charge for there presentations. Just click on Freedom.ou.edu in the body of the memo below to get started.” -Monroe
http://freedom.ou.edu/
“Do you ever see any Horned Toads? They eat red ants and are very hard to find here in central Texas because the fire ants have killed all the red ants. We have 2 red ant dens that we protect from the fire ants in the hopes that a Horned Toad or two will eventually show up. You might want to do the same.” -Mary Winchell Goertz AHS 1955
“The pinkish, cream cheese with pimentos in it was indeed……..pimento cheese spread. It was made by Kraft and sold in little glasses with flowers on them. There was also pineapple cream cheese, and I think another one that was cream cheese with dill pickles. I still have some of the little juice glasses. We liked the various blends but really liked the glasses.” -g.b. hughes
“You may be thinking of the small spreadable cheeses in little juice glasses put out, I believe by Kraft. There used to a pretty good selection of different flavors but the selection has been much reduced in the last year or two. However, I believe the “Pimento” flavor is still available; in fact there’s some in our refrigerator right now. But I haven’t seen my favorite, “Olive Pimento,” in the last year or two. It’s similar to the “Pimento” but with a small amount of ground-up green olives in it. We’ve always called that series “jar cheese” and we’ve eaten them since we were kids (that’s quite a few years).” -Wes Leatherock
“The person wanting to know what the pinkish cream like cheese that came in a small juice glass is. It is called Kraft Pimento Cheese and it comes in a 5 oz. small juice glass. I keep it in our pantry and eat some of it weekly. I buy it at the Walmart Store here in San Angelo, Texas. I’m sure you can find it at any Walmart. It is really good but a bit pricey.” -Joe Dale Black
“Hello Butch. From this recent newsletter mailbag someone asked about some pimento cheese in a small jar. Sounds like the Kraft Cheese spreads made and sold in small juice glass jars.There were several flavors, Old English, Pimento, Pineapple, Bacon, Roka Blue(Blue Cheese) and maybe more. They are still available in some markets but not as well distributed now. You find them near the Velveeta or sometimes the cracker snacks isles. My favorite is Pineapple. Well that did it, I am hungry now so I guess I will have to go and find me some to eat now.” -Wayne Whitted in Hickory Creek, Texas
http://renchin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/pimento-spread-jars.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Mc2bwv04L._SL500_SS500_.jpg
http://static.caloriecount.about.com/images/medium/kraft-cheese-spread-bacon-16669.jpg
http://www.obsessivecoupondisorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/IMGP5168.jpg
“Google- systemic insect killer. Can’t buy it in okla.. 1 ounce per gallon ( 8 ounce bottle) lots of spray for the money, around $30.00… Best I’ve seen.”
“Can you give info on Ardmore Highs 1952 football team. I played at Sulphur and we were defeated by Ardmore. They had a good Allstate halfback that I played with in the Allstate Game and several of her players who at tended O U and played.” – Gerald Benn- Sulphur 1953
http://www.ardmorecriterion.com/1953Criterion.aspx
“Re: Proliferation of small town baseball teams after World War II and Camp Howze at Gainesville, TX.
I lived in Gainesville, Texas during the year of 1943 and half of 1944. I was aged 13 and 14 at those times. Before the war Gainesville population was approximately 12,000 souls. During the two years of 1943 and 1944 I witnessed the building of Camp Howze and visited it several al times. The thousands of incoming soldiers at Camp Howze created a shortage of housing so severe that a chicken coop recently converted into a house was rented by a desperate couple seeking housing. Economically Gainesville boomed. Also during those war years the creation of Lake Texoma was begun. German soldiers captured in Europe were used to glean the area of trees. In the middle of 1944 I migrated to Oakland, California. In 1946 a baseball team called the Gainesville Owls was created. An entrance ticket cost only 75 cents. When I returned for a visit to Gainesville in 1957 the Gainesville Owls no longer existed.” -Elmer G. West, an Okie living in San Antonio, Texas.
“Hi Butch: The birds that you showed eating pecans around the court house are Grackles. We have plenty of them here in The Rio Grande Valley. Speaking of birds I saw 2 or 3 hundred Turkey Buzzards flying over Mission heading South. Guess they are migrating seems a little early. It was 105 here today.” -Frank Lightsey
Grandma’s Lye Soap (It’s In the Book)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr_XQjBEgzk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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!
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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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