PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Email: [email protected], Phone: 580-490-6823
A Glimpse Into The Past
The Daily Ardmoreite – June 8, 1942
Gene Autry, Oklahoma
‘To Be Taken To Mayes County’
Families Removed From Ardmore Army Air Field To Get New Location
Twenty-eight farm buildings on the site of the air field near Ardmore will be removed to government owned land in Mayes county say Clarence England eastern Oklahoma FSA project Manager. England said the houses, barns and other buildings constructed by the farm security administration in 1941 but now unoccupied will be shifted to an unsettled Mayes county tract of 1500 acres near Pensacola, Oklahoma. The land on which the structures now stand about 900 acres has been taken over by the army air force. England said more rural housing had been needed in the Pensacola vicinity but building restrictions had prevented construction.
I ran across a photo in the November 25, 1923 Daily Ardmoreite of a flying machine called the “Perry helicopter”. I did a search in Google for those exact 2 words, and found nothing.
“Here is the Perry helicopter, recently completed at Lombard, Illinois. During a recent flight it lifted 350 pounds dead weight directly off the ground straight up into the air. It has two pairs of wings superimposed above the other and revolving in opposite directions. The wings have a spread of 44 feet. It is said the craft can land in a ground space of 100 feet and can fly sideways or hover in the air like a bird.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos4a/PerryHelicopter1923.jpg
April 1933
A bill appropriating $90,000 for the purchase of a site to encompass a vast artificial reservoir in Love and Carter County, encompassing more than 15,000 acres, was presented in the state house of representatives on March 19. A similar presentation is ready for the Oklahoma Senators. If this plan carries through, it will mark the climax to nearly two years of intensive work on the part of a committee of southern Oklahoma men to take advantage of an amazing natural lake site existing in the Devil’s Kitchen area. Hundreds of men will be given weeks of work in clearing away timber, building roads to the lake and actual construction of the dam. (Note: would later be known as Lake Murray.)
April 1933
Mountain Lake, mecca of fishermen, was formally opened April 1. The big lake more heavily stocked then ever, will be visited by hundreds of anglers this season. More than 23,000 fish have been place in the lake this year. Located near Woodford, Mountain Lake has long been noted for fineness of fishing.
Three turkey Toms came strolling through our backyard this evening, courting one female turkey. They are so beautiful.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/turkeys041317a.jpg
You can find current gas prices for a particular Oklahoma town by entering the name or zip code in the GasBuddy search box.
http://www.oklahomagasprices.com/
Q. Where was Oklahoma’s first commercial long distance phone line installed?
A. The first commercial long distance telephone line in Oklahoma was placed in service at Ft Gibson, Oklahoma in 1886. It connected Fort Gibson with Tahlequah and Muskogee. The line was built by a company formed by a group of Cherokees, namely: L. B. Bell, J. S. Stapler, J. B. Stapler, C. W. Turner, John S. Scott and E. D. Hicks.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/FtGibsonPhoneLine1866.jpg
Q. The only skeleton museum in the U.S. is located where in Oklahoma?
A. Answer in next week’s newsletter
Below is from This and That newsletter archives of April 6, 2005
A T&T Reader left a Billy The Kid Casino token on my desk this week. This particular casino is in Ruidoso, New Mexico.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/BillyTheKidToken5b.jpg
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“Hello Butch I have a picture of the old Concord Indian school. I have been told anyway it was an Indian school at one time. My great great grandmother Ida Mae Holt is one of the kids in the picture.” -Steven Eaves
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/ConcordIndianSchool.jpg
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“Butch, what you probably heard from the Methodist Church was a recording of a bird in distress. It is supposed to keep the pigeons away.”
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“This catfish was caught today March 31, 2005 at Lake Texoma.”
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https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/UpchurchCatfish5b.jpg
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“Re: that downtown parade in 1947. Can anyone remember when Cashman Truck Co. sold Farmall tractors? Or when Stolfa Bros. Hardware sold haybalers and other farm equipment? I’m told that Stolfa’s once was a dealer for John Deere tractors. I know there was an Allis-Chalmers dealer on South Commerce near where the former livestock sale barn was.”
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The Daily Ardmoreite, January 2, 1905
McComb, OK–Both Constables MITCHELL and YANDELL were held to the Grand Jury yesterday charged with killing Justice of the Peace GINN here last Monday.
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June 12, 1911
Riley SMITH, a deputy sheriff of Seminole, was killed after he had killed one black man and wounded another in a battle at a all black picnic just north of the little town of Seminole Saturday afternoon, according to meager reports which have reached here Saturday night. According to the report Smith was trying to arrest one of the men for carrying a concealed weapon, and he drew a gun on the officer, who had been deputized to preserve the peace during the picnic. When the weapon flashed others drew their guns and knives and a general fight followed.
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June 13, 1911
Marietta, OK–The second death from a feud, left from the days when southern Oklahoma was a borderland, came Saturday afternoon. CHARLES LIDDELL, about 20 years old, shot and killed GEORGE HANCOCK, 50 years old. Nine years ago Hancock shot and killed Liddell’s father also name Charles, at Thackerville, in this county. Liddell has been arrested and a preliminary hearing probably will be granted him early next week. Sheriff A.J. DAVIS made the arrest. Whether the boy has lived with the intention of getting vengeance for the death of his father, or whether his action was caused by sudden anger he refuses to say, but the circumstances lead to the belief that he had determined to take a life for the life of his father. Liddell was standing in a livery stable on a side street with a rifle near him, when Hancock appeared, walking toward the stable. Liddell picked up his rifle and calmly waited until Hancock was about twenty-five yards from him, then stepped into the street and throwing up his rifle, started firing. He fired four shots, three of which took effect. Two of the three would have proved fatal. After killing Hancock he made no attempt to escape, but submitted to arrest and went to jail with Sheriff Davis. After the shooting it was learned that Hancock was unarmed at the time. He made no attempt to escape, but stood calmly facing the boy awaiting the shot which would bring death. Liddell had not been drinking at all during the day and the two men had not spoken for more than ten years, since Liddell was a boy about ten. Hancock has one brother who lives at Thackerville, but it is not considered likely that there will be further trouble in case Liddell should be released from jail. Liddell is from Texas.
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December 5, 1908
Muskogee–JAMES BURROWS, a farmer residing several miles east of Muskogee, is the proud owner of a freak pig that he values highly. The pig is one of a litter of seven and is normal in every way except that just above its eyes are two well developed horns. The pig is now several weeks old and the horns have grown at least an inch.
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Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..
Butch, I sent your lead article about the Ben Collins killing south of Milburn to an old friend in Texas who grew up in Milburn. This is his reply:
The place would have been at or near Nida, Oklahoma on ?Twelve Mile Prairie.? All that remains of the town is a Baptist Church. It once had a school, gin, and a post office. Odd that Collins would have a reward on his head and that it would take seven men to kill him. The report goes from ?several? to seven. Such was journalism in those days.
-Wayne
“Butch, Your article regarding the L. O. Majors store at Pooleville in 1933 brought home old memories. My cousins, Elmer and Vida Sheldon, residents of Pooleville at that time bought the store from the Majors during the late 1930’s. As a kid, I recall visiting Pooleville and going in that store. It’s contents were amazing; Old fashion clothing and shoes (and that was during the modern World War II years). The old wood floors, no cash register, just a box that would lock, and the big metal file that held the many charge account tickets of the resident customers. I think the old store eventually burned down, and like many other restless Okies, Elmer and Vida moved on to California. I’m certain not many folks are still around to recall those types of events. Thanks for the memories.” -Virgil Harris
“Seeing the red Prince Albert can reminded me of my Granddad, Oliver Asbury. He is the one through whom our family has our Chickasaw Heritage. His grandfather was Jesse Chisholm, though, so we have Cherokee blood, too.
I have a couple of old PA red cans, some of the last ones he ever used. And I can still smell the smoke when he stoked his pipe and lit up. It is one of the finest smells I can remember and that fragrance evokes wonderful memories and emotions just as the smell of movie theater popcorn reminds me of all those Saturdays at the Tivoli when I was a kid. I used to ride with him on his horse drawn mower and plow when spending the summer in Amber near Chickasha. I would actually go to sleep in his arms while the team pulled us through the fields of wheat. I’d give a lot to be able to do that again.” -Bruce Bennett
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/PrinceAlbertInACan.jpg
“Mr Bridges, my name is Gerald Webb and I was wondering if you might know someone who knows some of this history of the Ardmore area mainly Provence, Lone Grove and Springer. My mothers folks are from there, my great grandparents are buried in Provence Cemetery.
Thomas G. George who married Mary Jane Miller George and they had 2 sons John Calvin George and Willie Thomas George, and a daughter Carrie Lou George Hitt she married George Washington Hitt, my grandparents and great grandparents. I have located them on the census but would love to find out more about them when it was the Indian Territory. Mary Jane George got land from the Choctaw and Chickasaw chiefs around 1903. I have the deed and know where the land is located past Provence Cemetary. Any help would be greatly appreciated.” -Gerald Webb [email protected]
All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth. -Aristotle
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
“Friends Make Life Worth Living”
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443https://oklahomahistory.net
Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma
https://oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
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