PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

Email: [email protected], Phone: 580-490-6823

First bank in Ardmore

The first bank to open for business in Ardmore, Indian Territory, was a private institution known as the J. F. Anderson and Son Bank. It was organized by J. F. Anderson of Denton, Texas and his son Charles L. Anderson. This Bank begin business in 1889 with a capital of $10,000. It continued until August 13,  1890 at which time a national charter was secured with a capital stock of $60,000. C. C. Hemming of Gainesville, Texas was the first president and C. L. Anderson was cashier. Later L. P. Anderson succeeded C. C. Hemming as president and C. L. Anderson was cashier and C. L. Hemming was assistant cashier. -A History of Carter County First Edition 1957

The bank continued under this management until 1910 when it was consolidated with the City National Bank. Anderson, cashier: Ed Sandlin, assistant cashier. During 1917 the First National Bank and the Ardmore National Bank consolidated with Don Lacy, president; G. W. Stuart and P. D. Maxwell vice-presidents; cashier. The bank continue under the same management from 1917 to 1923.

Turner Falls foliage Nov 2017

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/TurnerFalls111017.jpg

Main street of Ardmore Indian Territory days looking west from Caddo 1906

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos17b/ArdmoreMainstreet1906d.jpg

October 1933
Newt Johnson, aged storekeeper, and a brother of Cole Johnson, Carter County Commissioner, was attacked by a lone hijacker at his store 3 miles west of Lone Grove on Highway 70 at 6 p.m. He was robbed of a small sum of money and severely beaten over the head with a bottle of lubricating oil. The robber was afoot and escaped in the gathering dusk a few seconds after the attack. Johnson, who has been the victim of three previous hijackings, lives alone at this roadside store.

October 1957
The Lone Grove telephone dial system is nearing completion according to Royce Gauntt owner of the new exchange. Estimated cost of the Lone Grove system is $125,000. There are 400 customers listed in the Lone Grove system. Some of them have been without telephone service for 20 years, and many have never had service. Customers have reported they are well pleased with the new dial system.

Granite is one of most densest materials on earth. A lot more time involved in sandblasting granite, but the time and results are worth it. beautiful. I sandblasted this granite plaque for the new Lake Murray Village Volunteer Fire Department Saturday, it turned out really nice, sandblasting went fine. Proud to have made it for them.

https://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/WestheimerPlaqueLMVFD.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/LakeMurrayVFD10Pavers.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 in Oklahoma are 50,000 items on display of the Wild West, ranging from riding saddles to Native American artifacts? But the bulk is a private collection of firearms dating as far back as the 14th century.
A. The largest privately-held collection of firearms in the world is the JM Davis Arms & Historical Museum, at Claremore, Oklahoma.
http://www.thegunmuseum.com/Q.  Where is the tallest building in Oklahoma?
A. Answer in next week’s newsletterBelow is from This and That newsletter archives of November 16, 2005

The past couple weeks there’s been mention about where did the meteor that hit near Ardmore many moons ago actually land. The meteor stuck southeast of Ardmore during the times of the dinosaur. It fell to earth on what was known years ago as the Coleman Plantation. This piece of land was owned by S.Y. and Venny Coleman and more recently by Ron Elmore. The exact place where the meteorite was found in 1933 was on the Coleman property. Not to many years ago the piece of property was known as “the pear orchard” or Thompson’s Bay on the northeast side of Lake Murray.

For many years after the meteorite was discovered in 1933, Junior Dodson tried to convince someone of authority to come look at it. It was not until 1952 he actually convinced a scientist to come to Lake Murray to investigate this mysterious black rock. The meteorite was eventually cut in half, and one half is on display at Tuckers Tower at Lake Murray. I have placed a red X where the meteorite was found on the map below. It was about 1/2 mile or so south of Dogwood Road (previously known as Lindsey Road) and just a little east of where the ‘pear orchard’ was located at the edge of a big open field.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/MeteorMap5a.jpg
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T&T Reader Anne Wylie sent in Mrs Sharp’s recipe this week typed up in Word. I have converted it to a TEXT file for easy use by everyone. Some of you wrote in saying you couldn’t pull up the three files on the cinnamon rolls, so here it is in text form.

MRS WILLIE SHARP’S CINNAMON ROLLS – Ardmore, Oklahoma
Cook for Ardmore High School Cafeteria in
the 1950s, 1960s and part of the 1970s

2 pkg. Yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
? cup butter
1 cup lukewarm milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs beaten well
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
7 cups or more sifted flour

Pour lukewarm water over yeast and let stand about 10 minutes
Scald milk and let cool until lukewarm
Cream together butter, sugar and salt
Add eggs and nutmeg
Add lukewarm milk to softened yeast and blend the liquid with 3 cups flour.
Beat until smooth and then add the butter mixture and enough more flour to make a medium soft dough. Knead smooth, but keep as soft as can be handled without sticking.

Let dough rise in a cozy warm place until doubled. Roll dough thin- about ? inch rectangle. Spread with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixed together.
Roll jellyroll style.
Slice in 3/4 inch thick slices.
Place in greased muffin pans or sheet pan, let rise.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 12 to 15 minutes.

CINNAMON ROLL ICING

3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp. Caramel flavoring
2 tsp. vanilla
Milk
Mix together all ingredients except milk in bowl.
Add enough milk to make a thick glaze,
Spread on warm rolls.

Note: If caramel flavoring is unavailable, use strong instant coffee liquid and mix with icing to suit taste.
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This is a 1932 newspaper clipping sent to me this week. During a 30 day period in the summer of that year there were 1,386 fish caught at Ardmore Lake by anglers. Boy, thats a lot of fish to clean for someone!
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/ArdmoreFishing1932.jpg
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In case you haven’t noticed, in our area of Oklahoma nearly all the payphones are gone. The telephone companies have been removing them from service. The two located at the courthouse first floor were removed recently.
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HIGHWAY 77 EVENT TO SEE BIG PAGEANT

November 27, 1930- Arrangement were made Wednesday with Col. Zack Miller of the 101 Ranch to organize and stage a pageant as a feature of the highway 77 celebration at Ardmore Sunday, December 7. The deal was closed with Colonel Miller by Roy M. Johnson of Ardmore, chairman of the state committee in charge of the celebration. Johnson was in Ponca City Wednesday for conferences not only with Miller but with L. A. Cann, L. K. Meek and others about north Oklahoma’s participation in the event. George C. gibbons, secretary of the committee, accompanied Johnson to Ponca City and to the ranch. Under the agreement Miller will furnish a stage coach, prairie schooners, an old-time phaeton and other early day vehicular features for the parade, which will be presented on the grounds near the Confederate home in Ardmore on the day of the celebration. In addition other units, depicting the evolution of transportation, including an ox team, buggy outfits and spring wagons will be seen in the parade. Miller also agreed to supply drivers and operators of the old time vehicles and they will be dressed in the costumes of the day in which they were all the rage.
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Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..

One of the first grocery and dry goods stores on Main Street in Wilson, OK was established by my grandfather, Samuel P. Brimer Sr. As early as 1916, he managed and owned The Peoples Store. Later changing the name to S. P. Brimer & Sons. As each son, Eugene, Earl and Samuel Jr. graduated from high school he entered the family business. After their father retired the store was renamed Brimer Brothers “for what you eat and wear”. Earl retired in 1963, Eugene in 1965 and my dad, Samuel Jr. retired and closed the store in 1968. Lots of good memories! -Carol Brimer Thornton
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Butch, I can’t believe you are working such a tough schedule. Thought you had retired. A Quick factoid; When I rented the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Club car from OKC to Ardmore depot I had a keyboard & drummer entertain my 40+ guests on board to celebrate Alec Waugh’s, prominent author, 70th birthday. This was in 1967. Today I received a phone call from the keyboard player and old friend, Jean Francoise who tracked me down & called from Córdoba Spain. I haven’t spoken to him in about 45 years.
Amazing how Facebook connects us. Just thought you would enjoy the Carter County connection. -John
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I’m pretty much up to speed on the 1920s period of Ardmore, family stories, since my Father, Grandfather and uncles were in the middle of things politic and otherwise.

My Father’s oldest brother fancied himself the head of the clan. My Dad, 20 years younger acted as his lieutenant and bodyguard, walking 5 steps behind him when out on the street. That uncle and my Grandfather (Mother’s side) had offices above a drugstore. Hot July, uncle ventures down to the drugstore for a cool something at the soda fount, no jacket and no gun. On the landing down the stairs he is met by a a tough pair intent on working him over with brass knucks. Fortunately uncle hadn’t forgotten his little Remington derringer and shot one of them in the leg, from his pants pocket, – who turned out to be the sheriff’s (Buck Garrett) son Raymond.

There was a bit of corruption in politics in the teens and ’20s. Uncle had bought a new Buick roadster that was promptly stolen. Couple days later my Dad sees it on the used car lot of the Buick dealer – he verified it because he checked out a tiny tear in the seat cover he had caused. Uncle says this is bigger than we are, insurance has agreed to pay so just left it alone.

Maybe 1949 I was driving & Dad tells me to pull over & stop, saying “this is where Bob got shot.” That around 1922, Uncle was shot twice on a back street Sunday morning while driving with his wife. Car sideswiped by a drunk, uncle is arresting the perp, shoving him into the back seat, when he turns, shoots him twice in the belly, once from the front and again from the side as he fell. Not drunk at all, shooter drives away. My Dad said he watched Doc Hardy cut him open, pull his innards out, wash them, sew them up and put him back together. He didn’t croak however; lived till 1950. Back in the day it was common to allow observers present in the OR.

Years later maybe 1949 I was visiting here and my Dad says you can’t guess who came to see me. Raymond Garrett! There was a time we would have been reaching for our guns on sight – but we spent couple hours talking over old times. -Robert McCrory
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“When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.” –Theodore Roosevelt

See everyone next week!

Butch and Jill Bridges“Friends Make Life Worth Living”PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443

https://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