PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net, Phone: 580-490-6823
Western Union in Ardmore
There has been a Western Union office in Ardmore since at least the year 1912. The manager at that time was W. T. Salisbury, as recalled by his daughter Mrs. Margarette Evans. Mrs. Evans worked many years in the office as district cashier beginning August 22, 1916
The explosion of 1915 was never to be forgotten by the Western Union employees. This office escaped damage except for losing the plate glass window. The office had to remain open continuously for 2 weeks to handle the telegrams to and from relatives and Friends, assuring relatives of safety, damage, etc. The Oklahoma City office sent a crew of Morse code operators and plant men in to set up extra wires to help transmit the heavy load of messages.
In 1917 Thomas H. Norman erected a new building at #7 “A” Street Northwest for the office’s needs. The operation through the years became highly mechanized with message centers, electronic brains, and push buttons for transmission of messages. It is a very efficient system, connecting major cities worldwide. The offices are now located at 111 C Street Southwest.
-Indian Territory and Carter County Pioneers book 1982
Note: Today I did a search and found at least 5 Western Union locations in Ardmore.
https://www.WesternUnion.com/
June 1935
Prompt action on the part of Scott Ballew, deputy sheriff, resulted in the recovery and return of a stolen diamond ring valued at $300. Mrs. Lillian Sullivan left the ring in her purse in the car while she crossed a field to talk to an acquaintance. When she returned to the car, the ring was gone. Ballew recovered the ring in short time. No arrests have been listed in this case.
June 1935
John Yell, “There is nothing like the great American game of politics but the thing a lot of office holders never seem to understand, and that is when is it time to quit. Usually they wait until voters retire them by ballot.
June 1955
Army private Don Waters has completed eight weeks of Automotive Maintenance helper training at Fort Ord, California. Waters, 20, entered the Army last February and received basic training at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas
June 1959
Pioneer oil man, Marcus Wasson, 79, died at his home west of Lone Grove. Services were held at the First Methodist Church in Wilson. He was born in Ethridge, Tennessee March 21, 1880. He drilled the discovery well in the Bayou oil field in 1920.
Q. Where in Oklahoma is the Teepee Church?
A. Edmond, Oklahoma
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hopewell-baptist-church
Q. Where in Oklahoma can a person do indoor skydiving?
A. Answer in next week’s newsletter
Ardmore Seventh-Day Adventist Hospital in Ardmore operated from 1958 to1991.
Below is from This and That newsletter archives of August 9, 2007
Crews have been busy at the Carter county courthouse this week using an electric lift to finish painting the molding around the rotunda, all three floors. Sure looks beautiful now with the different pastel colors that replace the all white surfaces. If your in the area of downtown Ardmore, stop by and take a look. It’s sure looking awesome. The inside has had quite a renovation the past month or so.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/Skyjack080607a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/Skyjack080607b.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/Skyjack080607c.jpg
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Here is an interesting webpage a Reader sent me in 2007 showing a world clock and its ever changing statistics in many categories, like births, and deaths, abortions, diseases, immigration, etc.
http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock/
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Here are a few pics of the bell. I do not have much history about it. It is at Sycamore Chapel United Methodist Church just outside Wyandotte, Oklahoma (Ottawa, County. It was a bell on the old school house before the church got it. It is used every Sunday. About 10:00 AM you can hear it ringing all up & down Sycamore valley.” -Tom
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/WyandotteBell7a.jpghttps://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/WyandotteBell7b.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/WyandotteBell7c.jpg
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“My Daddy, the late, Lloyd R. Benton, was a Ham Radio Operator, call numbers: K5YTW. He died on 25 September 1988. He was a radio and television repairman in the 1940’s and until 1956, when he moved to Palmdale, California and went to work in the Civil Service, then transferred to Tinker Air Force Base in 1959. We are from Ringling, Ok. He worked for several TV Repair shops in Ardmore, plus had his own, off and on in Ringling. In April, 1981, my husband lost his mind (to my way of thinking) and transferred from Tinker to the U.S. Postal Service, hired first at Healdton, where we still reside. He was as Distribution Clerk at the Ardmore Post from which he retired in 1996. My parents moved back to the area with us. Daddy went to many meetings at Ardmore. He never missed the Texoma Ham Fest, even when he still lived at Midwest City. My niece sent me an email awhile back, she, like all of his kin thought Lloyd hung the moon. I forwarded it on to a cousin of my Daddy in Kansas City, Mo., who is also a Ham. I added my Daddy’s name in places, and his cousin added a little more. His cousin sent copies to every one of his Ham Buddies, I am going to try to send it to you again. Every time I see the magazine, American Radio Relay League or anything pertaining to Hams, I start crying. I have his repeater books and the last badge he wore that gives his name and call letters, and other things, on a table in my bedroom, he was a member of The Mars Net Work out of Tinker. The late Henry Kyker, also from Ringling was a friend of his, plus others at Ardmore. His call letters were retired when he died.” -Betty Benton Lyle
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Butch – about the kerosene drinking story – over fifty years ago when one of my children had croup every spring and winter (also before antibiotics) my grandmother told me of an old country remedy for croup. Take a teaspoon of sugar or honey, mix in two drops of kerosene and give it to them – supposedly the kerosene would break loose the phlegm in their throat and the sugar or honey would coat it. I never tried it as I lived maybe 2-3 miles from the Dr. or Hospital. I’m not sure my grandmother had tried it either from what I remember.
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————————————————————————-Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..
I co-owned a full service gasoline station in Ratliff City from 1970-2004. We had that same “stack” of counter checks until around ‘73 or ‘74. I thought it was crazy, had never seen such, being raised in the city. -Donna Beller Brown
https://oklahomahistory.net/glimpsepast/fnb62co.jpg
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Butch, I thought I would share it with you for those who still live in the area and might remember this poem. It brought back many good and happy memories I have of our time in Hennepin but also this sad time for us. -Judy McGowan Price
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos19b/MrsDrennanRatliffCityPoem.jpg
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———————————————–“Whether the weather be fine, whether the weather be not, whether the weather be cold, whether the weather be hot, we’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not”
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
“Friends Make Life Worth Living”PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
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