PO Box 2, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Email: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net, Phone: 580-490-6823
A. C. Young’s Furniture Store – 1899
Nearly three years of earnest application, studying to please the people of Ardmore and vicinity is, in a general way, what Mr. Young has been doing since he begin business here. He has succeeded. He keeps one of the most thoroughly up-to-date furniture stores in the Territory. His carpet department will provide proof a revelation to those who are contemplating such a purchase. Then in furniture can be always found anything suitable for either a mansion or a humble cottage. Mr. Young’s establishment, which is on the corner of Main and Court streets, is 28 by 80 ft in size, besides the gallery and the entire overhead floor.
-Indian Territory and Carter County Pioneers book 1982
Photo of Young Furniture store.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos19b/ACYoungFurniture.jpg
August 1935
40 Carter County folk left Monday morning by bus for Stillwater to attend the annual 4-H clubs Roundup. Official 4-H club representatives making the trip included Travis Glazner, Newport 4-H Harvesters, and J.D. Hitt, Marion Herndon and Janet Lasley, Criterion Prairie Valley Club. The group was accompanied by Mrs. Minnie Church, O. L. Putman, and Harley Duncan.
July 1959
Five lives were snuffed out last night a couple of miles east of Lone Grove in a maze of twisted metal and crushed glass. Killed when their car was struck by a teenager’s auto were Jay Criner and his wife Katherine. Teenagers killed in the other car were Larry Allen and Della Curtis, Ringing, and Pamela Parker, Houston Texas, who were visiting Ringling relatives. Two other passengers were reported in poor condition, both teenagers from Ringling. Criner was driving west on Highway 70 and attempted to turn south on a county road. Their car was struck broadside and swept 174 feet down the highway. It’s parts, seats, hood and fenders were strewn down the road and over the center median.
August 1959
Bill Ford’s dad, Sidney Ford, came from England to help open up the coal mines east of the present Lake Murray Park headquarters. At one time more than 150 men worked in those coal mines.
August 1984
Carter County Commissioners signed to solicit bids for demolition and removal of a building that stands on the site of what will be the new county jail. A two-story brick building over 70 years old, that is the former Coca-Cola Bottling Company facility, stands on the property. Commissioners want the work to be started by September 1st and finished by December 1st. A metal building and canopy from the lot will be used to construct a building for District 1.
Q. Where is the only rail-based, still operating trolley left in Oklahoma?
A. Sitting in the quaint town of El Reno is the only rail-based trolley left in Oklahoma. The Heritage Express Trolley will take you on a ride along the streets of downtown El Reno past historical buildings, shopping, murals and much more.
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/oklahoma/trolley-ride-ok/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=oklahoma&utm_campaign=newsletter
Q. In NE Oklahoma in the middle of a lake is a 3-span camelback bridge to nowhere. Where is this mysterious oddity?
A. Answer in next week’s newsletter
A flagstone paver I sandblasted this week.
https://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/PonchoDogFlagstone.jpg
Below is from This and That newsletter archives of September 13, 2007
This is an old photo taken probably in the 1920s of a Nitro Truck. It was used in the exploration of oil well in Carter county back when the oil boom had just beginning. You will noticed the ‘torpedoes’ on the truck. Those were lowered down into the well and the nitro ignited for seismic readings. The company that owned this truck was American Nitroglycerin Company.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/NitroTruck.jpg
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Wapanucka. In northeastern Johnson county, 17 miles west of Atoka. Site of the Chickasaw Rock Academy, a girls school established by the Chickasaw Nation in 1852. A post office established March 5, 1883, at the academy was in operation until 1911. The name is a Delaware word referring to the Delaware Indians and meaning “eastern people”. On December 17, 1888 the post office was moved 4 miles east to its present location. -Oklahoma Place Names
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In searching Google for Chickasaw Rock Academy, I find there is much history and mystery accompanied with this place at Wapanucka, Oklahoma involving hidden gold and much more…..
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/JessesHideout.rtf
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Richard Johnson (1942-2018) in Spring, Texas and grandson of Cole Johnson sent in a photo of Carter County Commissioner Cole Johnson this week. Cole was one of two elected twice to the office of Carter County Commissioner.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/ColeJohnson.jpg
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“Dear Butch, I enjoyed the interview two weeks ago with George Bourland and Dave’s letter the past week. Dave is right. George was a funny individual. My dad and I used to eat at Tommy’s quite often at night. It seems like George was always there and he would be telling stories. I remember him talking about the all night sings they used to have a couple times a year in Overbrook. My dad loved spaghetti and Anastasio’s was located in the Broadlawn Shopping Center, close to where we lived. I think I even remember Dave from the restaurant. Most people don’t remember that Tommy ran the convenience store on 12 Street at Highway 77 in front of the English Village Motor Court. That’s where I first met him as a child. I just wanted to add a note on your grocery store list. The Keith grocery located on 12th Street was owned by Elmer Keith and his wife who lived in the house to the east of the store. Until Howell Brothers opened in Broadlawn Shopping Center, my mother bought all her meat from Mr. Keith’s butcher case. After they quit the grocery business the building sat empty for a while and then became a donut shop.” -Monroe Cameron
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“Butch, Here’s the old Falls Creek bell that has been on the grounds for many years. Currently, it sits out in front of the new Tabernacle. I doubt this will be its permanent location as there is still much construction to do on the new Plaza and other buildings. One side says “Steel Alloy Church Bell” and the other says “The C.S. Bell Co. Hillsboro O.” I’ve not heard it ring in many years, but it can be heard all over the camp. I got to ring it several times myself as a teenager (but had to run from camp security after I did it!!).”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/FallsCreekBell7a.jpg
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“Butch, guess what. I think maybe I found it. After driving hundreds of miles around Southern Oklahoma and North Texas. Burning I dont know how much gas. Looking in big towns and small towns. Checking well known places as well as very little known places, I finally found it just on the East side of Lake Murray. Oh it looked so good when I first laid eyes on it I knew this was going to be something special. When I first touched it with my right hand it was so warm I just couldn’t wait to get both hands on it. I really wanted to just kiss it but when I bit into that hamburger I knew right then I had found the perfect one. Maybe you and Jill have already been there but if you haven’t, you gotta try Mom and Pops real soon.”
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/MomAndPopsMap.jpg
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————————————————————————-Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..
Butch, I happened onto this today in the Portal to Texas history. Thought you might like. This pic was taken around 1937 according to the website.
Santa Fe’s No. 1, with two diesel units heading “The Ranger” train No. 6, northbound, with a consist of ten cars, in Big Canyon near Dougherty, Oklahoma, close to the Arbuckle mountain range. The image has been attributed to photographer Preston George.
“The Ranger”
The Ranger was a named passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Chicago, Illinois and Galveston, Texas. The train began in 1916 and ran the same route as the Santa Fe’s streamlined Texas Chief. During the 1940’s, the Ranger would consist of up to four coaches and six sleepers. After the Texas Chief was introduced in 1948, the train was reduced to just two coaches and two sleepers plus several head-end express, baggage and mail cars.
In the 1950’s, the Ranger’s route was shortened to Kansas City to Galveston, and in June of 1957 from Kansas City to Houston. The train was never fully streamlined, however, it was pulled by streamlined diesel locomotives by 1937. The Texas Chief became the premiere train on the route and the Ranger was discontinued on May 29, 1960.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos19b/TheRangerLocomotive1937.jpg
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Hello, Butch,
A friend here locally has a father-in-law who lives in the Tishomingo area so friend travels to OK on occasion to visit family and go fishing. He’s always sharing photos and stories & such and this past weekend they went fishing down on Pennington Creek by the old Devil’s Den entrance. Turns out that the folks who own D.D. are actually building some houses on the property for the purpose of selling. So Jobey & I got to talking about Devil’s Den and I mentioned that I thought at one time on one of our many family outings to the Devil’s Den area in the 60’s, that I remembered seeing an old cabin that I swear was deemed to be Belle Starr’s cabin. Jobey said there was the remains of an old cabin there with a large stone fireplace, but that the whole area was quite grown up now. So I attempted to Google for this cabin and this is the photo that popped up as well as one or 2 others purported to be Belle’s cabin.Since you have such extensive knowledge of the Southern Oklahoma history, much more than I have, I told Jobey that you would be the perfect person for me to ask about this cabin. And if you didn’t know about it, that perhaps some of your T&T readers might remember the cabin and if it was in the Devil’s Den area or not.
Thanks,
Kathi George
Springdale, Arkansas
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos19b/BelleStarrCabinTishomingo.jpg
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———————————————–Quality means doing it right when no one is looking. -Henry Ford
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