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Vol 22  Issue 1,136  November 1, 2018

PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

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

I was really sadden this week when I was told about the passing of Willie Holmes. Willie was a custodian at the Carter County Courthouse of whom I had the pleasure of working with for several years. Everyone at the courthouse loved Willie. He always had a smile to share, and helping hand to give, and the example of Christian principals. Sometimes when we were short handed and I needed extra help in pulling a computer cable, or watching the test lights on the other end of an Ethernet cable I was testing, or whatever, Willie would offer to help me. He knew hardly nothing about computers, but willing to help me any way he could. Willie was always ready to say a prayer for anyone needing one in whatever was troubling them. When someone was needing a prayer, Willie would tell me, “I’m going to take his name to our church congregation Sunday for group prayer.” Willie was a friend indeed to any friend in need. You’ll be missed in the halls of the courthouse, rest in peace Brother.

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

October 1983
Lone Grove had a massive water line break. I hole approximately 4 ft deep and 5 foot wide was washed out near the well house for the town’s oldest water well.

October 1983
The Red River overflowed its banks last weekend and watch some old timers are calling the worst flood since the 1930s. At mid-morning on Monday October 24th at the I-35 bridge the water level was at 35 ft, well over the previous high of 29.45 Ft.

Q.  In 1959 this Oklahoma auto bank was the largest in the nation with 6 drive through lanes. Where was this bank located?
A. Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Vault Restaurant. When this auto bank was originally completed in 1959, it was the largest of its kind in the United States, with six drive-thru lanes. CLICK HERE

Q.  Where is the largest quilt shop in Oklahoma?
A.  Answer in next week’s newsletter

Here’s a paver I sandblasted the other day in remembrance of the one of the two Dickson school students that drown last month at Tishomingo. Turned out beautiful!

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

Below is from This and That newsletter archives of November 2, 2006

Halloween we had a lot of kiddos come though the courthouse looking for treats, and they found plenty all over the building. There were even some employees dressed for the occasion, so I snapped this photo of four of them on the first floor. From left to right is Janice Robertson, Lori Cain (Treasures office), Kim Cain and Jammey Howard (Assessors office).
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/JaniceLoriKimJammey6a.jpg
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“I may have the only copy of this rare photo of the interior of the original Kendrick Grocery of Britton, Oklahoma and I’ve not sent this one to very many folks but thought you might like to see it. Appearing left to right are: my grandmother, Martha Elizabeth (Burdick) Kendrick; my dad, John Chasteen Kendrick; my grandfather, Ernest Chasteen Kendrick (hiding the end of the arm that had the hand removed because of lead-paint poison); unknown, but appears to be Roy Avey (for whom I was named); 2 more unknowns and then; my dad’s identical twin brother, William Chester Kendrick. I wish I could read the date on that Buick calendar on the wall. It appears to be the same as a 1928 Perry, Oklahoma Buick calendar in my possession. I do NOT know where in Britton this was located but presume that it was somewhere between Western Avenue and the interurban tracks near the highschool, and probably on Britton Avenue. This would have been taken before mom and dad were married, perhaps before they’d met.” -Roy Kendrick
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/KendrickGrocery1920s.jpg
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“Dear Butch, I had t go out on the web for last week’s edition and I’m glad I did. I read the story that mentioned Luke’s Music Store and thought you might like to see a photo my dad took of Ed and his wife when they were a young couple. He and my dad, Ossian Cameron, were best friends all of their lives and some of the best stories I remember involved Ed Luke. Many of my fondest memories growing up in Ardmore involved the music store. In the front of the store was the glass enclosed display case that you walked around to enter the front of the store. There was a model of Nipper, the RCA dog, inside the store window at the front door. The front of the store contained appliances and the record department was in the middle with listening booths on the left hand side of the aisle. It seems like there was a mix of band instruments and pianos there also. Back toward the back of the store were the sporting goods. Every Christmas we always wanted to see Daube’s window, but I always wanted to spend as much time as possible in Luke’s. My mother bought Tennessee Ernie Ford’s record, SIXTEEN TONS, for me there. My first Lionel train came from Luke’s and I bought equipment there until I went to college. I got a .410 shotgun on my 10Th birthday from my parents that came from Luke’s. Later I discovered the fun you could have with a carbide lantern and cannon. I bought my first LP there which was Hugh O’Brian singing the theme from the Wyatt Earp TV show. It was also where I had my first charge account. I would allow myself to buy one train car at a time, but only if I knew that I would have the money within a month. Ed had a bookkeeper at the store who was there as long as I can remember. I don’t remember her name, but I remember the large accounting books that she worked with all day in the back of the store. Ed and his family lived on the corner, across the street and west of Miller’s Dairy Queen. They had two labs for pets. I would bet that you can probably still see the date the story was started painted on the back of the store in the alley. Looking back, it’s funny that I never hunted with Ed and my dad in all those years. Fond memories and then some. Thanks, Butch.” -Monroe Cameron
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/EdLukeAndWife.jpg

Additional Note: In 1893, E.B. Luke came to Ardmore from Detroit, Michigan. At the time, his brother, Jack Luke, operated a music and school book store in Oklahoma City. He urged E.B. to open a similar store in Ardmore. In 1895, Luke’s Music Store opened on east Main Street near the Whittington Hotel. Following the rail yard explosion in 1915, the store moved to 212 West Main. In the early years, the store delivered pianos via horse and buggy throughout the Chickasaw Nation. Over the years, the scope of merchandise increased. Appliances were added during World War I, and a complete line of sporting goods was added after World War II. Following the death of E.B. in 1942, the store was operated by his son, Ed, until it closed in the early 1980’s.
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“Butch I wonder if anyone would have early information on a Indian Lady named Mattahoya. She died in 1911 and is buried in the Lot 5 NE 1/4 – Blk 117 – Ave B. Her name was Sallie Hawkins on the 1910 census, but her house name was Mattahoya and this is what she went by. She was the mother-in-law of Overton Lavers. She was not buried in his plot but in a plot with the Chase family. Does anyone have any information on her.” -Kathleen Stoner
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“700 Ranch House in Ardmore. In 1880 Alva Roff, who had been living in the Hickory Creek region of Love County, purchased stock, cattle, fourteen ponies and one colt from E.N. Stevens of Cooke County for $9,500 to stock his 700 Ranch, which was at the branch of the West Fork of Anadarche Creek. The 700 Ranch house was occupied from time to time as crews of cowboys moved in and out of the area handling herds of cattle. By 1885, a third room had been added to the ranch house. Alva Buckingham Roff m,1-1867 to Matilda Bourland, who died 1868 in childbirth in Coesfield, Cooke County TX, but baby Matilda lived and married George Edward Clary of Missouri. They had at least 3 children: Leonard B. Clary, Eula Fay Clary, and Edna S. Clary. Alva m,2-1869 to Henrietta Davenport and had 4 more children. I would like to know more about this Clary family.” -Patti Adkins-Rochette of Duncan OK
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“This is a painting of the 700 Ranch House that my uncle, Bunt Crosby, did some years ago.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/700RanchCrosby.jpg
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“Butch, I couldn’t remember if I sent you this picture some time back. I took this picture of Ira Bridges (your uncle on the left), James Anthony, & Matt Meyer, at Lake Jean Newstadt shortly before Ira retired as Lake Ranger for the city of Ardmore. I took his over as Lake Ranger when he left.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/IraBridgesRanger.jpg
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“I am hoping that you might be able to help me. I am searching for information on a murder trial. I started with a newspaper clipping from the Ardmoreite newspaper from Sep 11, 1906. I have not been able to find a follow-up on this story. I have been told by another researcher that at least one of the men or maybe 2, died in prison. All I had to start with were the names and date. I contacted the National Archives in Ft Worth and they did find this in an index. They gave me a docket #5812 and the correct spelling on the names, but I was told that they do not have the records. This index covered the years 1895 -1907. They problem seems to be where would the trial have been? Was it Federal or State? The shooting was Sep 10,1906 and since Oklahoma became a state in 1907, I am beginning to think the records might have been transferred from Federal to State. I have contacted the Court Clerk for Carter Co. as well as Love Co and no one has been able to help so far. This is what I have:

Docket #5812
Murdered man was James (Jim) Martin Shot and died September 10 1906.
shooters were John Banks, Eldridge Gassoway and W.S. Aderholt
Place was near Oswalt, Indian Territory
The newspaper clipping stated that the “Marshals from Ardmore” were called.

I have checked the web page for Oklahoma Court System and the oldest cases listed there was for 1908. Also, they only list the State courts and I do think this would have been Federal. I once read (can’t remember where) about a trial from Indian Territory that took place in Paris TX. Does this sound right? Or even possible? I will greatly appreciate any tips or idea’s that you might have.” [email protected]
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“This is me and my mom just before we went to California in 1942. I was 8 years old, my mom 28. See how skinny we were. We were starving. My dad worked from sun up to sun down for 50 cents a day. Later he got a job with the WPA and made one dollar a day. Mom even has on a shoe with a hole it the toe, probably the only ones she owned. I probably didnt even own shoes. There were 4 of us kids and mom and dad. We went to California just like ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. But never had the kind of trouble they had.” -Minnie Lou Whittington
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos18b/MinnieWhittingtonAndMom.jpg
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Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..

Hello butch, I’m sure I’m over looking it but I cant find the carter county webpage for bells. Can you help me please. As soon as I get it mounted I have a bell you need to see. It’s a big bell made of bronze I think, it’s very ornate and dated in the 1850. I bought it in Mississippi. The guy I bought it from said it came from a working plantation from the Mississippi delta -Billy
https://oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
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“When you go north of Ardmore on U.S. 77 past Springer to the Arbuckle Mountains, you face a huge sign on the mountain ridge that is made of boulders painted white and spelling out the Lazy S Ranch. For many years this was the Moss Patterson Lazy S Ranch, and since his passing it has had two or three owners. Patterson first became interested n the ranch as a partner of Tom Cooper. Further back, about 1900 to be exact, the Lazy S was founded by one of Ardmore and Carter County’s pioneers, Robert F. “Bob” Scivally.” -Robert Hensley
https://oklahomahistory.net/photos/lazys3.jpg

Note: Carter County Commissioner Robert Scivally is center person in this photo.

https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos18a/FirstCarterCountyCommissioners.jpg

“The courthouse on the square in Madill can be seen in the middle background. The photo was taken in the south east section of town. Unusual man dressed in all white in left of photo out in the plowed dirt.” -Robert Hensley
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos18b/MadillCourthouseInBackground1905.jpg
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Hi Butch, I have reached out to you in the past and you’ve been able to help me in locating some old photos from the Ardmore area. I’m wondering if you or any of your readers have any pictures of the Springdale school? Older would be okay, but I would love any from the 1990s if I could find any. I went to school there for a while in that time. I have been trying to find pictures from there and the Healdton school from the years I went there and/or my dad taught there. I would appreciate any guidance you could provide. Thanks for your help! -Nathan
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“How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children? You can’t scare him–he has known a fear beyond every other.” -The Grapes of Wrath, 1940

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