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Vol 22  Issue 1,129  September 13, 2018

PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

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

Someone brought back a memory of mine from the 1960s with the mentioning of the name Elmer “Goat” Elliott (1920-1989). Back in the mid 1960s I worked at the Eastside Service Station on east main worked with Goat when school was out for the summer. Of course I pumped gas, but I also fixed flats. We charged one dollar, and that was to break down the tire and put a “hot” patch on the leak. We could do the rubber plugs, but Elmer didn’t like them, too big a chance of the plug failing he said, especially if the tire tread was mostly gone. Back in those days we didn’t have any fancy air powered tools to break the tire down like today and remove the tire from the rim. We did it all by hand with a big heavy hammer and a tire tool. And every now and then a truck would come in with one of those wheels where a split ring held the tire on, and Elmer wouldn’t let me fix those, told me it was too dangerous when filling the tire up after repairing it, the split ring could fly off hitting you in the face. Here is a video on almost exactly how removed a tire from a rim back in the 1960s.   Video

Here is a photo of what’s left of the Eastside Service Station. On the right is the old 2-story Ardmore Fire Station #2.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos18b/EastsideServiceStationArdmore.jpg

Elmer was one the of the nicest guys, even with his experience of a couple years in a German concentration camp during WWII. I know that time in the German prison was hard, Elmer didn’t talk much, never laughed, and smile hardly. Just did his job at the gas station. He said the Red Cross would send food to them, but they never saw it, the German guards took the food and commodities for themselves.

An Ardmore fireman, retired as assistant chief, by the name of Kenneth Chandler leased the station from a man up around Elmore City by the name of Claude Pistole who actually owned the station.

When I was about 16 years old Elmer Elliott told me a story how if it weren’t for my grandparents, Stanley and Addie Carmon, he might have starved to death. It was the Depression years, and his father could not find a job. Those that were lucky enough to find employment were happy if they made 50 cents a day.  My grandfather, Stanley Carmon, was doing roofing and construction through his lumber yard at 3rd and H Street NE and making $50 a day according to Elmer.  My grandfather would go into the lumber yard and get a 4×8 sheet of plywood, bring it into their house next door, and place it on top of the dining room table. Elmer said he and the children in that area knew they could always go to my grandparents because they had food to eat. He said there may be 25 kids gathered around that dining room table. Below is a photo I took around 1972 of the lumber yard on the left and the home place on the right which I spent the first 21 years of my life.

https://oklahomahistory.net/carmon/lbryrd1.jpg

A lot of dirt work going on at Caddo Street and East Main. Below is a picture of the dirt moving and also a couple pics of bottles found in a basement that was covered up with dirt. Supposedly after the Great Explosion of 1915 the bottling company at that intersection was destroyed, so they just push the bottles in the basement and covered them with dirt, and started again.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos18b/CaddoDirtWork090718.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos18b/CaddoBottles090718a.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos18b/CaddoBottles090718b.jpg

July 1934
Officers have begun an intensive search for John Smith, a former Thackerville constable, after Smith failed to appear for his trial on the charge of murdering Sheriff Sam Randolph of Love County. Among those individuals surprised, where his attorneys, who seemed astonished at his failure to show up.

July 1934
Carter County Commissioners expressed regret over the necessity of cutting out and appropriation for the southern Oklahoma Fair. Commissioners had to lop $5,800 from their budget. “We are sorry to have to eliminate ounty fair.”

Q.  One of the best new hotels in the world is right here in Oklahoma with incredible art and personality that exudes from every corner of this posh hotel. Where in Oklahoma is it located?
A.   The 12c Museum Hotel in Oklahoma City
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/oklahoma/21c-museum-hotel-ok/

Q.  Where in Oklahoma is a 50,000 acre epic mountain range that will make your jaw drop with all its beauty?
A.  Answer in next week’s newsletter

Below is from This and That newsletter archives of September 14, 2006

This week I found a photo taken in 1847 in Altoona, PA of my great grandfather Howard Carmon and I am the spitting image of him. I have wondered all my life what he looked like and low and behold this week I found a pic of him hidden behind another old photo of my grandfather Stanley Carmon. Howard Carmon’s dad, Livingston Carmon, was one of the original founders of Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA and served as treasurer on its board. In 1993 I was told by the college archivist that some of the original buildings at Westminster were built by my great great grandfather Livingston Carmon and are still standing today. Guess I need to make a trip to PA and do some genealogy work, and find some cousins. -Butch Bridges
https://oklahomahistory.net/carmon/HowardCarmonAge22.jpg

http://www.westminster.edu/index.cfm
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The old Bowman Building located in the 200 block of Stanley SW will be coming down in a couple weeks.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/BowmanBldg091206a.jpg
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A couple of historical information plaques was recently placed on the south side of the Carter county courthouse. It always nice to see things that happened years ago, presented so people today can learn about it. Sometimes things get forgotten with the passage of time.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/CourthousePlaque6a.jpg

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/MarstonSign6a.jpg
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“Terri and I did another kayak trip down the Washita River last Saturday. We had a good time but were sore from bouncing off rocks! Ha! Our youngest son Brandon drove us up to Davis to set us in the river and then later picked us up down at the Dougherty bridge. I’ve attached a few shots of our trip. We stopped at “The Cut” and I shot the Heartland Flyer and a BNSF freight train from the river.” -Dwane Stevens
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/StevensKayak6d.jpg
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“Hi Butch, For people doing research, the Ardmore Public Library now has The Daily Ardmoreite on microfilm all the way back to the 1800s. It’s easy to print out copies when people find what they need. They also have some new reference books on all kinds of vehicles for do-it-yourself mechanics. I think there will be an article on this in Monday’s paper. Terri Sharp at the library sent me a news release. Your newsletter is a blessing for many. Thanks for all the great work.”
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“There is also a place near Cushing in Payne County that has been dubbed Ghost Hollow. This spooky spot is located about a mile north of the Cimarron River and in the late 1800’s was an ideal spot for hanging outlaws. There was an old elm tree and a sycamore there where lawbreakers were often strung up. The elm tree is said to still stand today… and is haunted. According to legend, an innocent man was hanged there in 1887 and the next day, all of the bark mysteriously fell off of the tree. From that night on, at the time of the full moon, the tree is said to glow an eerie, white color. The natural effects of having no bark in the light of the moon…. or the ghost of the wrongly punished man?”
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“I took this picture while we were doing some geocaching and a small bit of genealogy in Healdton. The bell is outside of the Oil Museum.” -Jim & Linda Oliver
https://oklahomahistory.net/bellphotos/HealdtonOilBell.jpg
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Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..

Butch, I can tell you that in 1968 Foss Reservoir didn’t have a single tree close nor did it have a beach. I took a sailing course through Southwestern State College in Weatherford and that is where I learned to sail. What I learned in the course provided many hours of sailing fun throughout the Caribbean for over 20 years. -Monroe Cameron
https://www.travelok.com/state-parks/2848
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I was surprised that we only saw a couple of bison in Hayden Valley at Yellowstone National Park. Talking with a friend yesterday I found out we missed seeing a large herd by less than 20 minutes. Years ago on a trip I saw a great gray owl in Hayden Valley that was almost 3 feet tall. -Monroe Cameron
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos18b/HaydenValley.jpg
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We can not direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. -Dolly Parton

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