PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402 Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net Phone: 580-490-6823
Last Saturday Jill and I went to Sulphur and walked around Veterans Lake. I hadn’t been there since the 60s when a big fireworks display was held there on the 4th of July. The track is 3 miles around the lake and every few hundred yards there’s a bench to set and rest if needed, or just to set and watch the birds and wildlife that might happen by. If you’re into jogging, it’s good for that too, we saw 2 people jogging during our 1 hour and 30 minute walk. The trail is an all concrete 6 foot wide sidewalk the entire 3 miles, so walking is easy. We plan on going again.
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The Daily Ardmoreite, February 19, 1912
J.H. CARLOCK HOME BURNED
BLAZE EARLY SUNDAY MORNING OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN AS FAMILY ABSENT
The home of Mr. J.H. Carlock, 501 B street southwest, was visited by a destructive fire at 1:45 o’clock Sunday morning. The fire was first discovered by a Rock Island watchman who blew a shrill blast from a locomotive engine. This was taken up by the night engineer at the oil mill. The alarm was next telephoned into the fire department, whose quick response alone saved the building from total loss. The prompt arrival at the scene of the conflagration was most meritorious.
A part of the building and some of the furniture was saved. The loss is estimated at approximately $1,500 which is, we understand, fully covered by insurance. The origin of the fire is not known but is thought to have caught from sparks of a passing locomotive.
None of the family were at home. Mrs. Carlock is visiting n Phoenix, Arizona, and Mr. Carlock was downtown. He got to the scene of the fire, however, shortly after the arrival of the fire department. A number of valuable papers were saved from destruction and this morning Mr. Carlock expressed his appreciation for this and other good works of the “fire boys” in a very substantial manner.
Q. My father was a full-blooded Cherokee and my mother, although Caucasian was culturally a Cherokee. In a government seizure of land my family was forced to relocate from our native Oklahoma to San Francisco. I married young and had two daughters but I managed a degree from San Francisco State University. There I became interested in Indian affairs and became in 1985 the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. What is my name?
A. Wilma Mankiller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h5TsMBO_nQ
Jill and I watched the movie Cherokee Word for Water last year at the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur. What a moving documentary about the community of Bell, Oklahoma. If you get the opportunity to watch Cherokee Word for Water, I highly recommend it.
Q. Who was the first Oklahoma Governor to serve two consecutive terms?
A. (answer in next week’s T&T)
Since I been posting to my webpage vicious dog attacks in Oklahoma (started 2001) today I saw the worst photos every of a little pony attacked by a pit bull just outside Ardmore. The owner had just dropped off this most adorable pony with its new owner today. The original owner had not even got home before the new owner called to say the pony had been attacked by her neighbor’s pit bull. This first photo shows the pony BEFORE the attack today.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/PonyPitBull1.jpg
Someone asked Tom Hicks if the pony would be ok, and his reply:
“Why hell no! He was dying, half his head gone, and more to his body, I had to put him down.”
Now, like I said, the next two photos are horrific. Do not click on them unless you are prepared to see the most mangled face of a pony a person can imagine.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/PonyPitBull2.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/PonyPitBull3.jpg
I will be so glad when legislation with teeth is put into law to hold owners of vicious dogs accountable in this state. I’ve been preaching this since May 2001 on my webpage.
From This and That newsletter archives of January 20, 2001:
I had a visit from a friend who lives in Wilson, Oklahoma this week, and did he have a surprise for me! Dillard Robbins and his wife have neatly organized in a photo album, a picture of every courthouse in Oklahoma! Dillard and his wife started traveling to county seats on April 11, 2000 and by June 21, 2000 had visited every courthouse. They drove over 5,000 miles getting those photos! And below each photo he has a file card with info about that courthouse and other pieces of history told to him when he went inside each courthouse to inquire. He is an Oklahoma history buff of the greatest magnitude. We’ll be sharing Dillard’s work of love over the weeks to come, like which courthouse he thought was the most exquisite. Which five courthouses in Oklahoma have a dome. To which Oklahoma courthouse an Ardmoreite provided the funds in 1985 to build wings on each side of the original courthouse. Which one moved several times to different towns in the county because of feuding. And which three have a tower clock in the dome! Lots of history to share in the weeks to come thanks to a Wilson, Oklahoma resident by the name of Mr. Dillard Robbins…. Oklahoma courthouse historian extraordinaire!
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I found out that a wooden Indian is on display at the Greater Southwest History Museum here in Ardmore and it’s over 8 feet tall and weighs 800 pounds! I’ll get a pic of it soon.
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Here’s a photo of taken back in the 1930s of Stonewood Courts on South Commerce here in Ardmore. The stone was petrified wood. Some of the stone buildings are still rented out to families while others are used by business.
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This photo is about all that shows what used to be PC Longhorn Trading Post which was about 8 miles south of Ardmore on Highway 77 (east side of highway). I think there is still a rock building standing as a reminder of the past. I remember a false store front attraction on the north side of that building that was supposed to make it look like a town from the 1800s, a saloon, etc. This pic was taken in the 1950s. I barely remember visiting it a few times when I was young. When I-35 came through in 1970, it took away so much auto traffic, it soon closed.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/PCTradingPost.jpg
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I was over at Healdton, Oklahoma (25 miles west of Ardmore) this week and stopped in at the Grasshopper Junction Cafe to eat lunch. I had heard of Grasshopper Junction Cafe for a many years, it being in several locations over the years in the Healdton area. So I decided to stop and get a hamburger. I’ve eaten hamburgers in every eatery in this county, and the burger at Grasshopper Junction is right up there at the top, maybe even the best in this county. It’s owner, Rose Wilson, and her daughter Sandy, pretty much run the place. Boy, that hamburger was enough for two people too. It’s located just one block west of the only red light in Healdton, and then turn south a wee bit.
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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
Non-ethanol gas (pure gas) stations in the Ardmore area (updated).
https://oklahomahistory.net/puregas.html
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..
“Fresh documentation of the abandoned section of the Oklahoma, New Mexico & Pacific Railroad (purchased by Santa Fe in 1926) that served Ardmore, Lone Grove, Wilson, Ringling and Healdton, Oklahoma. Includes historic photos by Ken Fitzgerald of the last train to travel the line on Oct 31, 1976.” -C. Dwane Stevens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3H_P0Rh1IU
“Butch, I shot this today just north of the Ardmore Industrial Air Park where the new railroad Loop track is being installed. “BNSF 5942 leads a bare table train through the new Wye construction project as planes fly overhead near the Ardmore Industrial Air Park on Jan 19, 2014.” -C. Dwane Stevens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKBo0wpznYM&feature=youtu.be
“Butch, next time you are out at the Ardmore Airpark in Gene Autry be sure and stop by Sonny’s convenience store for one of their burgers.”
“Butch, I enjoy your newsletter and have been reading it every week for several years now. Although I presently live in Georgia, I did live in Oklahoma in the 70’s and 80’s and still have family in the state. On a recent trip back last month in December. I was able to visit the Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie Ok. They have a small “Boot Hill”. Buried there are some real desperados of the territory days. And some of the members of the Wild bunch.” -Jeff Shillington
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“Butch, I noted with interest the message from Peggy (T&T, 16 Jan 2014) regarding the ?trail marker? tree on Sam Noble Parkway. The angular beauty of this tree?s horizontal trunk first came to my attention over 50 years ago when I was doing a statewide study of historic trees in Oklahoma. I did a pen and ink rendition of this tree to use as a logo for a new organization ?The Cross Timbers Heritage Association? I was forming to preserve and interpret the history of the Cross Timbers region in Oklahoma, a unique region that had all but been forgotten about. Traveling exhibits and publications were produced through this organization. My most recent publication resulting from this interest is ?Silent Witness: The Diary of a Historic Tree at Fort Sill? (Donning Publishing Company, 2010).
I am highly doubtful of the designation of this tree as a ?trail marker? tree. I have seen far too many trees in the forests with horizontal trunks that survived severe storm or animal damage to consider as ?trail marker? trees without more corroborating evidence. While the bent trunk was certainly used to mark trails sometimes, only a very small percentage of trees with horizontal trunks can legitimately be considered ?trail marker? trees. I once had an unusual experience searching for a specific ?hanging? tree on the Washita River near Anadarko. You would be surprised to learn how many trees in the forest fit the description of a ?hanging? tree. I still have fond memories of the oak tree on Sam Noble Parkway however.” -Towana Spivey
“Butch, Here is one you might want to pass to your readers. I follow on twitter, a lady who is an AP reporter in Oklahoma City I think, who has a blog called Main Street. It’s a simple idea that I’ve had some fun with. Kristi asks that readers, followers, whatever you want to call them, send her photos of Main street USA. http://mainstreetamericaphotos.tumblr.com/ “Documenting America’s Main Streets one iPhone photo at a time. Got a photo of Main Street you’d like to submit? Email it to kristi.eaton@gmail.com with the location listed”.
I get to travel around southern OK a lot in the course of my job and I’ve sent several photos to Kristi over the past few months. It’s been kind of fun gathering Main street pics and seeing them show up on her blog. Of course it’s pretty easy to snap a pic or two and email them in this age of smart phones. I like to try and send pics of places that are a little off the beaten path, but I’m sure Kristi would appreciate a main street photo from anywhere in the country, places big or small. Knowing you have a pretty large following around the country with the This and That newsletter, I thought some of them might have a little fun with this project too.
-David Cathey
“My name is Robert Alsted … we have not met but I came across your site while doing some basic surfing the Internet. I have recently rolled out (pun intended) a new website that is still very much under construction and still in the process of gathering data. While my target dates are 1912 to 1935 virtually any rink – anywhere from the 1940’s and older is welcome at this early stage. I would like to use whatever roller skating rink photos you or your readers might allow; giving proper credit of course. The one that got me to your site was the post by a Richard Henry and his grand parents rink in Ardmore but I think your site references others. In addition to whatever photos and history you can offer I would like to get in touch with Mr. Henry for his permission to use one of his photos. I am guessing that you have a good following as it looks like you have lots of memories. You are welcome to take a look at our site but please allow for our “under construction” status.” -Robert
http://www.rollerskatinghistory.org
“Butch, I have since moved from the lone grove and Ardmore area. I enjoyed my time as the owner of the local Mazzios in Ardmore. Lived in both towns for 8 years and catered to Ringling, Wilson, Plainview, Dickson schools. Always enjoyed the teachers and staff in those schools. I was put on your email by a veteran named Rick Filer. A veteran at age 15 1/2 . I wanted to thank you for your articles and also mention that in my travels in the restaurant business (14 states) that the Ardmore area has so many veterans and heroes. The history of those there is stunning. Bomber pilots / corsair fighter pilots just to name a few. I even met a navy man that was the battleship Missouri photographer and took the photos we see in our history books. There history should not be lost. Maybe you can research them and share there history with the Ardmore area and your fans across the United states. One to start with would be Major Barber and his wife. Major Barber was a pilot in aircraft of all types from early fighters to jets and then a command pilot in the B52’s during the Cuba missile era. His wife a WAC pilot. And if you pass through Grove, Oklahoma stop by the Mazzios there and I’ll make you a cheese burger pizza.” GOD bless.” -Monte
“Found my eagles x 2. This pair was over at the fish hatchery at Reagan, Oklahoma.” -Doug Williams https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/ReaganFishHatchering1.jpg
“Jan 12, 2014 Photos from Sunday’s dust storm in Cimarron County, Oklahoma (panhandle).” -Cecil
http://newsok.com/photos-from-sundays-dust-storm-in-cimarron-county/article/3923682
“Ida May Chancellor Garrett was the wife of the most famous sheriff of Carter county, Buck Garret, back around 1915. I think I may be kin to her and the Garret family, and I’m seeking to contact anyone who is a descendant of Ida Garrett. Ida May Chancellor Garrett was the eldest daughter of J. M. & Mollie Chancellor, and most likely was the family “archivist.” Her only child, Raymond, died in California in 1965.” -Susan Denney of Canyon, Texas. sgd4270@gmail.com
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” -Desmond Tutu
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore Oklahoma
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
Bells of Oklahoma
https://oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
Carter County Courthouse Paver Project
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/pavers
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/
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