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Vol 21  Issue 1,069  July 20, 2017

PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net, Phone: 580-490-6823

A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST

Three Shot, One Killed, Two Wounded, Alleged Result of Family Row
Saturday April 13, 1918 – The Daily Ardmoreite, Ardmore, Oklahoma

W. B. Bentley, a carpenter, who lived at 315 Fourth avenue northwest, was shot about 10 o’clock last night at his home and died at 3 o’clock this morning at the Hardy Sanitarium. His wife and her daughter by a former marriage, Mrs. Leonard Brown, are in the sanitarium seriously wounded.

A call came to the police station about 10 o’clock last night and Officers Johnson and Fenley responded. They found Bentley at the corner of Fourth avenue and C street northwest, he having walked there, a distance of a block, after being shot. At the house they found Mrs. Bentley and Mrs. Brown both wounded. All the parties were taken to the sanitarium.

Dr. Walter Hardy said this morning that Bentley was shot in the abdomen four times there being 15 punctures in the intestines. His left arm had been broken by a bullet. Across his breast there was a scalping wound and one entering the side and penetrating the left flank.

Mrs. Bentley’s left arm was broken and she was also shot in the right hip the bullet entering the abdominal cavity. Mrs. Brown’s left arm was broken by a bullet and one passed through her right knee cap.

On January 21, 1907, the Japanese government was pushing France to sell to them the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, both off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The Japanese were wanting to use these two islands to build military bases. If the United States was to object to the purchase of these islands, Japan would immediately declare war against the U.S. Could December 7, 1941 have been in the planning over 35 years?

June 1957 – Wooden clothespins are the latest in lures for bass. You take a clothespin, snap an effervescent tablet in it, bore holes for the casting line, fasten on some hooks, and you’re in business. Fishermen swear the bass go for the bubbling clothespin.

June 1933 – Additional rainfall brought yesterday’s total to 5.60 inches. Creeks continued to rise. A car was washed off the pavement near Caddo Creek bridge, and the rise in water over the highway was declared0 to be extremely dangerous. Damage to farm lands is extensive.

We went to the Stratford, Oklahoma Peach Festival last Saturday and bought some DELICIOUS peaches! Figured out $2.09 a lb.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/StratfordPeachFestival071517a.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/StratfordPeachFestival071517b.jpg

After the Stratford Peach Festival Saturday, stopped in at the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur, Oklahoma for an awesome $6 Taco Special Plate including drink, and then watched the movie Geronimo in the theater. Great movie, watch it you ever get the chance, highly recommended!

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/ChickasawTacoSpecial071517.jpg

August 21, 2017 is a big day in history. The sun, moon, and Earth will all be lined up, with the moon directly between the other two. This is what is called a total solar eclipse, and we are less than two months away from one of the most incredible astrological moments in our history. There hasn’t been a total solar eclipse in the continental United States in almost 40 years, and in fact, the last time there was a coast-to-coast path for a total solar eclipse was in 1918.
But here’s an even better part of this magic–parts of Northeast Georgia will fall directly in the path of the full solar eclipse. That’s right folks. Georgians are some of the VERY lucky few who have an opportunity to watch the total solar eclipse in a front row seat and we have the perfect place to see it all.

Montgomery Grocery Store Oswalt, Oklahoma
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/MontgomeryStoreOswaltOK.jpg

Greenville, Oklahoma grocery
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/GreenvilleOKGroceryStore.jpg

Last Tuesday was my birthday. I received over 1,000 happy birthday wishes my friends on my Facebook page. Humbling to say the least. Thanks everyone for making my day special. I appreciate every one of you!

I’ve known about O’Keeff’s Working Hands cream for years, been watching their TV commercials lately, but never tried it. Finally bought some at Ardmore’s Harbor Freight store. $7 container and in-store only. This is miracle working stuff
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/OkeeffsWorkingHands.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. What animal was so rare here that one was donated as the first animal to the Oklahoma City Zoo?
A. Oklahoma City Zoo began when a single deer was donated to a neighborhood park. Because deer were rare in 1902, crowds flocked to see the creature.

Q. Where in Oklahoma can you find over 700 varieties of sodas and beverages?
A. Answer in next week’s newsletter

Below is from This and That newsletter archives of July 15, 2005

A Reader sent me some pics from Pooleville, Oklahoma this week. Pooleville is located in NW Carter county. Several years ago the state historical society put up a marker to designate Pooleville as the place where the infamous Bill Dalton was shot and killed by Seldon Lindsey on June 8, 1894. But the actually place the shooting took place was about a mile west and a little south of where the historical sign is posted.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/DaltonSign5a.jpg

The actually site of the shooting is on a oil lease today. A couple of years ago when these next to photos were take, there were two markers placed at the actually site.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/DaltonMarker5a.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/DaltonMarker5b.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/PoolevilleSign5a.jpg
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Here’s something I found in Wilson behind a house located just 2 blocks south of the Wilson High School. Its a ‘modernized wagon’ with modern tire wheels. I remember in the 1960s a Mr. Wickware in the NE had a wagon like this pulled by mules. He’d stop by my grandfather’s lumber yard with his wagon and team, and I’d go out and look. I thought that it might be hard pulling on the mules, but my grandfather Stanley Carmon said no. In fact, it was just opposite. These wagons converted to modern automobile axles and wheels, well they were much easier to pull then the tradition wagon.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/WilsonWagon70805.jpg

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“My Dad has had this for quite awhile. It was in the garage when he moved in his house in the mid-late 70’s. Anyone know what this is?” -Bryan Pullen
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/ToledoCooker5a.jpg

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“Hi Butch, a week or so ago, someone commented on my sunrise photo in Wilson. He stated that an old indian friend of his said “that if a cloud passed between the sunrise and the earth that it would rain that day.” Well it did rain that day. I took pictures of this morning’s sunrise and are attaching them. As you can see, a cloud passes between the sun and the earth. And again it came a good shower around noon. Must be something to this old tale.” -Ken Updike
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/WilsonSunrise071305a.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/WilsonSunrise071305b.jpg
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Suspension bridge over Bromide creek at Sulphur.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/BromideBridge.jpg
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Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..Some photos of Ardmore’s past.

Ardmore’s A&W Root Beer stand was located at Lake Murray Drive and G Street SE just across from where the old locomotive was recently moved to its new location.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/AWRootBeerArdmoreOKa.jpg

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Wooden nickel from Eden’s Restaurant, Ardmore, Oklahoma.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/EdensWoodenNickel.jpg
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Hello Butch,
I just finished reading this week’s This and That. What caught my eye was the article about Betty Carroll’s Radio Spots “Once Upon A Time.” In Vol. 2 Spot No. 11, she tells about a “Train robbery near Greenville, Oklahoma, $50,000 in gold taken, Lake Murray cave.”
In the 1960’s, when I was County Attorney of Love County, I received a letter from an elderly gentleman with an Oklahoma City address, stating that he was the sole surviving robber of that very train robbery. He said they robbed the “KNOG” railroad (maybe Kansas Oklahoma Northern and Gulf, I can’t find that railroad anywhere) and hid the gold near the cave under where Tucker Tower now stands.
He asked who he had to get permission from to dive for the gold and assured any taxes due, etc, would be paid. I wrote him back and told him he didn’t need permission from anyone to dive for the gold and that no taxes would be due on the ancient train robbery gold. I did not hear back from him, so I drove to Oklahoma City to talk to him, however, he was gone from the rooming house where he lived.
Several months later, I told the Park Ranger at Lake Murray about the letter, etc. The Ranger was shocked and told me that an old man and two young scuba divers had recently been camped out for about a week near Tucker Tower. He told me that they had broke camp and left out in the middle of the night.
I never heard anymore from the old man and I suspect they did recover the gold that had been hidden there for nearly three-quarters of a century.
I thought you might like to know about how the train robbery gold story probably ended. I may have written about the letter in my book; I don’t recall right now if I did. I still have the letter somewhere in my old files.
Stay cool my friend and best wishes to you and Jill. -Ken Bacon
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Some stories of the Great Depression.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpfY8kh5lUw&feature=youtu.be
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“Dear Mr. Butch Bridges In your editorial you mention Tivoli Theater and Eden’s cafe, I been there a few times around 1950. I remember that in Eden’s cafe just at the entrance in the left side they had french fries and I loved, also I been in the Globe’s Theater a few times and here are two pictures in front of the theater . Love your editorials and you transport me to one of my best time of my life, Thank you very much and say hello to Jill please.” -Ernesto
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17a/ErnestoWallersteinAndGlobeTheaterArdmore.jpg



Its been hotter than Hades the past few days here in southern Oklahoma. The other day I saw a bird using a potholder to pull a worm out of the ground.

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