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Vol 22  Issue 1,118  June 28, 2018

PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

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

Tomorrow, Friday 29th at 2:00pm will be my last day at the Ardmore Food Bank. I started work there May 9th of this year and as I mentioned on here and my Facebook 4 weeks ago that the heavy lifting required (mainly heavy boxes of frozen food) is just too hard on me. I can’t lift heavy things like I used to. Like I told James my boss, its not that I don’t won’t to do it, I’m just physically unable to do it. I guess its part of getting old.  I’ve enjoyed work at the Ardmore Food Bank, made some good friends, and working with Christians was a plus. My boss, James Rosson, is a great employer. So, next week I’ll be in the unemployment line. I wonder if I could apply for unemployment benefits? I’ve never applied or received an unemployment check in my life. But I know I’ve paid in a lot during my working years. Anyway, if you know of a job that might be suitable for someone like me (a Senior citizen), let me know. I would appreciate it. Just keep in mind my days of hard work, like digging ditches, is a thing of the past. lol

May 1934
J. Holmes Akers, 77, first sheriff of Carter County after statehood died after a long illness. Burial was in the Woodford Cemetery. The Akers family came from Whitesboro, Texas to Carter County and settled in Woodford. Akers brother, Fayette Akers, was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.

May 1958
Bob Bumpass says his oldest son, Ernie, was recently made Chief of Police in Altus. He had been with the state Highway Patrol for more than 20 years when he resigned to take the Altus  job.

May 1934
Because 39 head of cattle owned by him were killed as a result of their having drunk water contaminated by overflow oil, Creed Speake, rancher, file damage action against Skelly Oil Company for $1,400 for the cattle he lost.

May 1958
Paul Heartsill’s stormy political career as a Carter County Commissioner appear to be on shaky footing following a ruling by the Carter County election board. The decision to deny Heartsill a chance to run for another term opened up a list of candidates including: Huss Standifer, Roscoe Smith, Illey Oxford, Herman Day, Joe Buchanan, Otis Deatherage, and W. M. West. Shortly after the hearing a fight erupted outside the courthouse. Arrested for disturbing the peace were Hearsill’s son and one of the five petitioners protesting Heartsill’s candidacy.

May 23, 1934
Shreveport Louisiana – The 8 year trail of murder and robbery of Clyde Barrow, dangerous bandit of the southwest, was ended today beside Bonnie Parker, his woman companion in the crime, in a hail of bullets from a sheriff’s posse 50 miles east of Gibsland. Both the man and woman were killed instantly before they could fire a shot and their bodies and automobile were riddled with bullets as they drove into the ambush. Officers continue to fire until the car and bodies were virtually shot to pieces.

Q.  Built across Bird Creek in 1926, this miniature 50 yards long wood-planked suspension bridge (swinging bridge) is not for nervous pedestrians. Where in Oklahoma is it located?
A.   Pawhuska, Oklahoma
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/oklahoma/swinging-bridge-ok/

Q.  Back in the day automobiles were narrow and so were the cars that drove on Oklahoma highways. Where in Oklahoma is there still a stretch of old highway, only 9 feet wide, from those bygone days?
A.  Answer in next week’s newsletter

Some pavers I sandblasted recently.

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

https://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/LindaShepardPaver2.jpg

Thanks to a Reader who found my lost Issue #492 of June 29, 2006 on his computer, I now have it back in my online archives where it is suppose to be!

Below is from This and That newsletter archives of June 29, 2006

“I learned a week or so ago that a B-26 with a crew of seven crashed in Louisiana on the way from MacDill Field, Tampa, Florida to Ardmore. The 394th had just been transferred to Ardmore and the aircraft were being flown here. The crew had never been here as far as I know, but the unit had been assigned and the crash was credited to Ardmore. We will add their names to the monument at some point but I want to be sure that there aren’t others of which we have no knowledge. Still know of two people who said they were in air crashes (in separate aircraft) but I have no evidence of those crashes as yet. Still looking! I don’t have the home towns but maybe they can be found later.” -Gary Simmons

Date of Crash Type of Aircraft
July 12, 1943 Martin B-26C Maurader

Those who died:
Capt. Sheldon M. Pierce
Lt. William M. Lester
Lt. Joseph E. Murphy
Cpl. Paul W. Banks
Sgt. Austin M. Foley
Sgt. William C. Williams
M/Sgt. Estel B. Johnson (WWI Vet)
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“Hi Butch, Just read about a reader’s query concerning the quail she had photographed. I can’t tell a great deal of detail from the picture but, they are likely Gambel Quail. We live in Nevada (Arizona’s next door neighbor) and these little quail are thick over here. I have also seen them in Arizona. They have a little feather plumage on top of their heads, if that is what they are. Tell your reader to click on Search and go to University of Arizona and ask for Gorsuch’s Life History of the Gambel Quail in Arizona. We love birds and this might answer their question. Thanks for all your good work. We hope you keep sending out T&T FOREVER!” goody2shu@nvtel.net
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/BabyQuail6a.jpg
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“If you “good food” people ever come up to the big city (OKC) you can get a great burger, chicken fried steak, chicken fried chicken, etc at a little restaurant called Soda Pops. It’s next to the SW corner of SW 119th and Western (1020 SW 119th St, Oklahoma City, OK). It is owned by the son of the original Del Rancho owners so his crisp breading is the same as theirs. Because of construction in the Moore area, it’s best to turn west on the 4th street exit in Moore and go to Western and turn north to 119th in the city. Turn left at the corner of 119th and you’ll see it on the left side of the street. 119th is 12th Street in Moore. I was also glad someone finally mentioned the Brown family and Hamburger Inn. All of us 50’s kids spent a lot of time there at both the little one and the new one across the street. Their son Jerry was in debate class with me and became a Merit Scholar and Harvard graduate.” -RF Helms
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“I got VERY thirsty looking at the mason jar of pure clean water!! I have lived on well water all my adult life and I have had the worst of well water and the best of well water. Unfortunately I have the worst now here in Florida and no city water hookups nearby yet. My water is so bad I can’t even boil pasta in it. It turns everything a nice burnt orange color (including my hair!) and leaves horrible calcium buildup on everything. Fortunately it does NOT smell like sulfur like other wells just a mile or so away. I enjoy your publication SO MUCH!!!!” -Licia Babb in FL
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Sulphur, Oklahoma I.T., Here is an early photo of Sulphur before the Artesian Hotel was built. This photo is looking north up 2nd Street Street and Muskogee. The buildings on the left hand side are New York Misfit Parlor, Baily Building, First State Bank, etc. On the R/H side are Second Hand Goods, Sulphur Meat Market and The Fant Building etc.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/SulphurSecondSt.jpg

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Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..

Butch, the John Small Bakery at H and 2nd NE was the first floating floor that I ever was aware of. My dad hauled “blow sand “ from southeast of Ardmore to fill the space inside the stem walls . The slab was then poured. -Don Holder
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Ardmore, Oklahoma – Caddo Street BBQ Company is finally pleased to announce that the Grand Opening will be Wednesday, July 4th from 10:30 am – 2:30 pm. We will follow that up on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10:30 am – Until we run out. After week 1 our regular hrs will be Wed-Sat 10:30 – 2:30.
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The magazine Oklahoma Today webpage is using one of my bald eagle photos. -Vonda Barnett, Davis, Oklahoma
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1975 – Alligator killed in Love County west on Oswalt Road on the Jack Morgan place.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos18a/LoveCountyAlligator1975.jpg
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You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. -Erma Bombeck

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