PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net
Phone: 580-490-6823
There has been many mentions about Ardmore millionaire oilman Jake Hamon and his girlfriend Clara on my website over the years. I even created a webpage on this 1920 event that made national headlines. A 348 page book (Jake and Clara) by David R. Stokes has just been released on this affair and is available for download to a Kindle for reading from Amazon for $3. It is also available in book form.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0182XXLRA
This is a link to the webpage I made in 19996 on the Jake Hamon scandal.
https://oklahomahistory.net/hamon.html
A Reader reminded me last week of the plastic monkeys that used to come on the rim of drinks at Ardmore’s Sonic on Grand Avenue.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/SonicPlasticMonkeys.jpg
A Farmers Union meeting at Murray State College at Tishomingo in the early 1900s. Johnston County was first soil survey ever done in U.S.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/OklahomaFarmersUnion1900s.jpg
Marietta, Oklahoma had a big downpour last week causing Main Street to be flooded. This is just east of the courthouse in front of the Carry Out Corner convenience store.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/MariettaMainStreetFlood112615.jpg
October 1931
The charred body of James Reiser, 45 year old rancher, was found in a burned barn on his property near the foothills of the Arbuckles. He had just been married 2 weeks ago.
October 1931
The free bridge over the Red River between Marietta and Gainesville is now open for travel. The barriers on the Texas side of the structure, which have been in place for several weeks, were thrown aside Saturday afternoon. The bridge has been completed for a number of weeks.
October 1955
More ‘gators. The latest alligator to come out of Lake Murray was caught at the number 2 bridge by a fisherman, Marcus Goodson, who said he had a big perch on the line when the alligator snapped the perch up. “There’s a lot more of them in the lake.” he said, including a pair that escaped the Ardmore zoo when work was done on the gator pit last summer.
October 1964
Officers said Leonard “Popcorn” Vaughn, a 52 year old resident of Long Grove was shot at least three times by bullets fired from .38 caliber revolver. The incident occurred about 7:15 AM near US 70. Officers said Vaughn was shot at least twice near the abdomen and once in the hand. Ed McElroy was being held pending investigation of the shooting. It was later learned that McElroy was released from the county jail until Vaughn, shot four times with a 38 pistol, is able to register a complaint. Vaughn is reported recovering in Memorial Hospital after earlier being listed in critical condition.
In last week’s newsletter I posed the question about the Picks Hot Tamale sign on the front of the old Strasmick’s Jewelers building on Main. This wee I received my answer.
“Hey Butch, I?m not sure if it?s been pointed out to you already but the owner of the One Truth Recording Studio is the grandson of the original owners/operators of Picks Hot Tamales in Davis. His name is Brad Gaddy, He and I graduated from Davis together in 1997. And yes, they will be selling tamales!” -Lee Henley
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/PicksHotTamalesArdmore.jpg
Some pavers I sandblasted the past week
https://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/JerryMcQuistionPaver.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/OwlFlagstone112215.jpg
You can find gas prices for a particular Oklahoma town by entering the name or zip code in the GasBuddy search box.
http://www.oklahomagasprices.com/
Hope everyone made it through the Thanksgiving holidays without gaining to many pounds from all the good food. I can’t believe all the food and sweets I ate and I didn’t gain a one single pound. I attribute the NO GAIN to the Perfect Probiotic by Probiotic America I have been taking everyday. My stomach fat continues to melt away and I feel better than I have in years. If you really want to get rid of that belly fat I truly believe probiotics is a “must have”.
https://oklahomahistory.net/probiotics.html
The past month I bet I’ve had the electricity blink Off and the back On about once a week. So far I’ve had no damage to the electronics in the house thanks to my Okie Power Saver. Someone mentioned to me their electric bill is larger in the winter than in the summer because they have an all-electric home. Electricity is their only way of heating the house in the dead of winter. That’s all the more reason to own an Okie Power Saver. And OG&E continues to report each week I am in the “Efficient group”. I have only been placed in this efficient group since I installed my Okie Power Saver last April. My Okie Power Savers are also a FULL house surge protector. You say you have brown-outs? All the more reason to own a Power Saver unit.
Q. Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has been celebrated as a federal holiday every year since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”, to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November. When was the first Thanksgiving in the United States celebrated?
A. In the autumn of 1621, William Bradford and the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock had much for which to be thankful. After the first harvest, Massasoit and about ninety other Indians joined the Pilgrims for the great English tradition of Harvest Festival. The participants celebrated for several days, dining on venison, goose, duck, turkey, fish, and of course, cornbread, the result of a bountiful corn harvest. This tradition was repeated at harvest time in the following years.
Q. What state was the last one to declare Christmas a legal Holiday?
A. (answer in next week’s T&T)
From This and That newsletter archives of December 8, 2001:
“Butch, here are the results what I call very close from 5 testers voting on teas 1 to 3, with a 1 being the best.”
…………………Tea 1…………….Tea 2……………….Tea 3
Taster 1…………. 3………………. 1…………………. 2
Taster 2…………. 3………………. 1…………………. 2
Taster 3…………. 3………………. 1…………………. 2
Taster 4…………. 3………………. 1…………………. 2
Taster 5…………. 2………………. 1…………………. 3
“Tea 1 Very bland wishy washy no taste tasted like hot water with milk. Tea 2 Best flavour by far good pure taste of tea, flavoursome we would all buy this. Tea 3 Good flavour, unusual taste almost scented not as strong in flavour, but pleasant. Now then any time you want volunteers for Wine tasting don’t hesitate to ask, just send the wine and we will oblige you. hahaha.”
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Now to put tea brands to those numbers above. Tea #1 is Lipton, Tea #2 is Cains’s Tea, and Tea #3 is Luzianne Tea. So you can readily see, Cain’s was voted Number 1 by all five testers in England. But Cain’s Tea in the Poll on my website has Lipton Tea in First Place and Cain’s in Last Place. The results are just the opposite. Now why would voters on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean see these three teas so differently? Another mystery to figure out. hahaha. Here is the Poll and how the teas fair on this side of the Big Pond.
https://oklahomahistory.net/thepolls.html
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“In regard to your statement about the British tea and coffee preferences. As a tea lover I’d like to respond. I would say that close to 100% find the idea of iced tea disgusting, but I beg to differ with your statement that the British don’t like coffee. I lived a year in London and have visited back and forth with British friends since. My own assessment would be that while the 60+ crowd may still prefer tea, most younger Brits do like coffee, drink it often, brew a decent cup and in many cases don’t care for tea at all. In fact, at the school where I taught there, we had a mid morning coffee break daily. It will be interesting to see how the Brits respond to your test, because in my own experience I would say that the three brands you sent aren’t at all like the blends most drink in the UK.”
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Carter County Sheriffs Office Christmas float took 1st Place in Dec 2001
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/SheriffFloat2001a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/SheriffFloat2001b.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/SheriffFloat2001c.jpg
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The old Wilson, Oklahoma library
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/OldWilsonLibrary.jpg
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“Hey Butch Love Saturdays HA! HA! cause I know what to look forward to in my E-mail, Thanks and keep up the good work! That lady that told you not to cover your turbines up in the winter is RIGHT it is the worst time to cover them, and you should never cover them. During the winter there is moisture building up there on account of the heat from your rooms below colliding with the cold in your attic, and the turbines help keep it dried out if you cover them it can’t dry and it will start to rot every thing up there, so DON’T cover them. If you think you are losing heat through your roof have some more insulation blown up there.”
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“Butch—As always, enjoyed reading this mornings T&T. Loved hearing the stories about the old telephone with numbers like l or 2. My grandmother Daniels lived in Coyle, OK and her number was ll– I remember when they changed to three or four numbers and Grandma complained that she would never be able to remember that “long” number. Coyle still had an operator in the l940’s– on occasion, she would break in a call with a message that your mother was trying to call you or that you had left the lights on in your car. It was a very personal phone service. A friend called once from New York and laughed because the operator said “She isnt home—- when I look out the window I can see her car parked in front of the drugstore.”– I realize Coyle was not in southern OK but I bet there were operators just like that in the southern part of the state.– keep up the impressive work of spreading the news about OK. Those of us who are transplanted to other states really enjoy your T & T.” -sammie binkley
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“I enjoyed reading about the telephone numbers that used to be around. Back in the mid to late 50’s when I was growing up in Davis, our telephone number was very simple, 16 and nothing more. As more telephones (dial) were placed in the homes, we eventually became 316. It stayed that way until 1959 just before I graduated from High School and it was changed again – just can’t remember the number. Guess when you were a kid it was easier to remember the small numbers rather than the larger ones. I have fond memories of those days and the home we grew up in – it has a heart shaped rock above the front door (natural). Have a photo of it somewhere and once it is located, I will send you to can put into the T&T.
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“Hi Butch: I know of two cemeteries at Lake Murray. Porter and Harris. There are only two graves at Harris, infants; and Porter is an Indian Cemetery on the west side of Lake Murray. I have never heard of any graves being moved from the area of the Lake itself.”
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“I laughed and laughed when I saw that poor little Christmas tree in the Commissioners office…… (~.. ~) that reminds me of when my parents first got married and lived way out in nowhere near Dalhart, Texas in 1929. She said they were living in a dugout and about my father working on a large ranch. She said the nearest neighbor was 15-miles away and she wanted a Christmas tree. She shared how searching for dried cow chips to use for fire wood, she found a tumbleweed for her Christmas tree. She managed to get some paper and cut out strips and used flour paste to loop together, plus strung popcorn with a needle and thread for her decorations. She would probably have loved to have found or had someone present her with a limb such as the girls at the Courthouse received. Keep up your information on the tea testing. My mother thought there wasn’t any tea that measured up to Lipton’s and that is what she wanted all her life. I remember and even have some of the tall glasses Lipton put out with their tea, many years ago. When I lived in Alaska in 1961-63, hot tea was the thing…..My oldest son and I still love our hot tea. Recently when ill with pneumonia, I really enjoyed my numerous cups of hot Lipton’s Peach Tea.”
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“Butch, the past few T&T’s have mentioned when our telephones went from “operated assisted” to dial-up. The main memory I have is that the phone company sent reps to the area schools and taught us how to use the dial phone. They explained about a dial tone, how to dial and what a “busy” signal sounded like. I was attending school at Washington Elem. in Ardmore and remember that several of the children were allowed to come up on the stage in the auditorium, where we were being instructed, and actually got to dial a phone. I thought that was so neat and that those kids were just about the luckiest ones I knew. I guess the phone company thought that if they taught the children how to use the new dial system, that the parents would learn from them. I remember my mom being a little scared of using it – afraid she’d dial the wrong number, so I (for a long while) was her designated dialer, if I was at home. I remember the first time I dialed a number for her. I thought it gave me a busy signal, so I hung up…was actually a little shook up about it. It really hadn’t been a busy signal, but a “ring” through, but I didn’t know the distinction of the different sounds at that time. Somehow, the person I dialed figured out we had called and called back a short time later. We might have been the only people who ever called them or something…haha. Anyway, I still remember our old phone number – 1937J. We had a 4-party line and used to listen in on other people’s conversation. We didn’t have TV until I was in the 4th grade so I guess that gave us some entertainment. A person didn’t discuss things that were meant to be kept secret, if they had a party line…too risky. Then we got a straight line and had just 4 numbers, but they were different numbers than from our party line. Our phone number prefix, as you have mentioned, was CA3 (I believe the CA stood for Capital). My sister lived in South TX and hers was RA3-4078. Can’t believe I still remember all of those numbers. Anyway, just walking down memory lane a bit here, and wanted to thank you for triggering those memories of a more-relaxed, easier going time in my life. I don’t think we even locked our doors at night back then. Have to do that in the daytime now. Again, thanks, Butch, for all the time you spend on T&T.”
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“Butch: Here is a picture of a bell that I shot for you. It is located at the old First Mennonite Church in Geary, Oklahoma. I was passing through there yesterday and saw the bell and thought I would use my brand new digital camera and snap a photo for you. The bell is mounted on a brick structure in front of the church. The Mennonite community has died out there in Geary and the old church building now belongs to the city of Geary. There is a bronze plaque on the base of the bell stating that the bell was installed in the church in 1898. It is a large bell. I would estimate the diameter at the mouth of the bell to be close to 3 feet. I am sending a picture of the plaque. There is an antique store in the building now.
https://oklahomahistory.net/bellphotos/gearya.jpg
Mennonite plaque (cornerstone of somewhat) at the church in Geary, Oklahoma
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/GearyOKMennonitePlaque.jpg
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Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..
“Hello Butch. Seeing the picture of J. R. Shaw’s tire shop reminded me of all the time I saw him riding his Mo-Ped around Ardmore and wondering how the tiny little bike carried him all the time. I worked for my Dad at B&H Auto beginning when I was thirteen. When I hit 14, Dad bought one of those Cushman three wheel scooters with the bed on back for me to drive to deliver parts to customers and to use to haul box car loads of antifreeze from the tracks to B&H when it was on that side of town. Then when I hit 16, I drove that old Chevy light green 1953 step-side six cylinder truck to deliver parts. Almost every day I would see Mr. Shaw putting along on that Sears and Roebuck Moped accompanied by the cloud of smoke headed where ever he was going. Then on Sunday afternoons, he would be at Springer running the drag races on the old landing strip…. and usually winning the Super Stock competition in that big black Dodge of his. Seems like it was a ’61 but it might have been a ’63 or ’64. I will have to look at them to be sure. Maybe some of the other guys will remember it, too.” -Bruce
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15b/JRShawTires.jpg
Dear Butch:
In the captioned Newsletter which I just saw, I?m excited to first-hand recognize a book mentioned in your letters to the editor section entitled ?The Secret of Sherwood Forest.? [Being a third-generation Ardmoreite (I?m your friend Charles Tate?s older sister), I often recognize ?old? names, etc., and the informational updates.) I especially note the book because my lifetime Ardmore girlfriend, Shirley Rosser Harrison, is the daughter of E.P. Rosser, who was a Samedan man during WWII, a member of that secret group in England whose name is mentioned in the book. I believe she told me that the Woodwards, both accomplished folks, were also associated with Samedan long back in our personal Ardmore history.
In addition to the suggestion that Patrick Brennan of the Nobel Foundation might have some pertinent information in obtaining a copy of the book, Shirley also volunteered she believes it can be ordered from the University of Oklahoma Press. I hope this is helpful to anyone who?d like to obtain a copy.
Here?s my best wishes to you and Jill, Butch. You?s a Fine Couple!!!
Peace and love,
Anne Tate Boland
Oil Field Warriors
http://www.noble.org/news/legacy/2011/winter/oil-field-warriors/
University of Oklahoma Press $13.56 until Jan 11th.
http://www.oupress.com/ECommerce/Book/Detail/1884/the%20secret%20of%20sherwood%20forest
In 1843 Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” and he did it in six weeks. We’ve all seen it on TV, it’s enjoyed by every generation. It’s been filmed over 200 times! I remember in the film Bob Cratchet’s son, Tiny Tim, talking about eating razzleberry pudding. I thought it was a made up pudding, but this week I found out there really is such a dessert! Does anyone know what razzleberry pudding was made from? Has anyone ever ate razzleberry pudding?
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore Oklahoma
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
Follow me on the TruVision lose weight program
https://oklahomahistory.net/truvision.html
Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma
https://oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
Bells of Oklahoma
https://oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
Carter County Courthouse Paver Project
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/pavers
Ardmore High School Criterions Online
http://www.ArdmoreCriterion.com/
Oklahoma Bells: https://oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
Bill Hamm’s Cemetery Database
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/carter/cartercm.htm
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 Government Website
http://cartercountyOK.us/
All previous issues of This & That can be found on my Website.
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